Quick Transmigration: The Mad Beauty Refuses to Be the Scapegoat!-Chapter 76: Cannon Fodder Sister of the Female Lead (28)

Early in the morning, she heard Jiang Lai reciting his lessons again. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

The sound came from the room next to hers, a mix of English and Chinese, with a few sentences she couldn’t understand at all.

Jiang Qu subconsciously stood there listening for a long time, feeling more uncomfortable and irritable the longer she listened.

Why could Jiang Lai sit here and study in peace?

While she, about to take her college entrance exams, had to take care of an old lady every day?

Moreover, Jiang Lai was also dating someone!

At this moment, Jiang Sheng was just putting on a cotton coat, getting ready to go to the team, and Jiang Qu called out to him.

"Dad, I want to talk to you about something."

"What is it?"

"It’s about little sister."

Then Jiang Qu told Jiang Sheng everything she saw that day, finally lowering her eyes and saying helplessly.

"I know you’re disappointed in me, so I don’t want sister to walk the same old path I did. Besides, her grades have improved, and she should focus entirely on school."

Jiang Sheng was silent for a long time, frowning deeply.

"You shouldn’t spread this around. Let me talk to your sister first."

"Don’t worry, Dad. I won’t say anything. I just hope sister can be more clear-headed and not be fooled by idle people in society."

After she said this, Jiang Sheng gave her a look as if to say, aren’t you like this too?

Jiang Qu blushed, but her heart felt numbed.

She had no choice but to walk this path to the end. The situation wasn’t too bad; at least when He Xing came back, he would be able to completely escape the identity of a lower-class farmer.

Thinking of this, Jiang Qu picked up a bowl to take food to Grandma He.

The old woman’s small house was cramped and dark, and the wind outside was strong. It broke her window, and the wind howled into the room. The stove by the bed had gone out at some point, and the old woman was shivering under the quilt, curling up from the cold. She only hurriedly called out when she heard someone pushing the door open.

"Is it Little Qu? Bring me some water to drink."

Jiang Qu put down the meal and went out in silence to ladle a scoop of water from the water tank, handing it to the old woman.

The icy water made Grandma He shiver, and after taking a couple of trembling sips, she couldn’t drink any more.

"It’s too cold, a person could freeze."

Jiang Qu looked at the stove, seeing it was out of coal. She would have to go shovel more; one or two pieces wouldn’t be enough. At least a small bucket was needed each day.

She frowned slightly.

"I’ll go get some coal. Eat your meal first."

With that, she turned and left, while the words Grandma He wanted to say silently swallowed back.

The Jiang Family was also running low on coal; Jiang Qiuhe was just about to go fetch some.

Jiang Qu happened to say,

"When you bring it back, take some over to the He Family."

"Alright, how’s Grandma He doing?"

"She’s fine, I’m going to study."

Time was pressing for her now. If she wanted to get into a university in Beijing, her current grades weren’t enough.

This winter break was the last chance for third-year students to sprint, and she couldn’t waste time on meaningless things.

——

After reciting his vocabulary, Jiang Lai was hungry and followed the smell of food to the kitchen, where he found Liu Shuping making fried rice.

"Wow, fried rice, I want some too."

Liu Shuping paused with the spatula and smiled at Jiang Lai.

"This bowl of rice is for your sister. Don’t you love yellow mantou? There are some in the pot."

Jiang Lai chuckled.

"Why’s my sister eating so much oil and eggs when she’s not sick? Isn’t Grandma He sick? Let her eat it."

"You ingrate, siding with outsiders! Do you know how expensive oil and eggs are?"

"I don’t need to know, as long as it’s not for me."

Jiang Lai wouldn’t let it go, especially with Liu Shuping.

Liu Shuping was at a loss for words against her, so she had no choice but to cook Jiang Lai a bowl of egg drop soup. Seeing that she was reluctant to use oil, Jiang Lai quickly opened the pot lid while she went out for something, poured in a good amount of oil, added some salt and pepper, and then, when it was ready, pestered Liu Shuping to put a couple of drops of sesame oil in the bowl.

"You’re an ancestor. Why compete with your sister over this when she hasn’t been eating or sleeping well lately!"

"I don’t care, everyone should eat or nobody eats. I’ll take a bowl and leave the rest for big brother."

In the family, the good stuff barely ever got to Jiang Qiuhe, who was dark and thin, like a worker just pulled out of a coal mine.

Liu Shuping said helplessly,

"Alright, you’re the only one who cares about your big brother; the rest of us don’t care, is that it?"

"Exactly, making him fetch coal in this cold weather, do you know how dangerous the slippery roads are? Fine, pack the egg drop soup for me, I’m free and will go meet him."

Liu Shuping thought it made sense and was also worried her son might freeze on the road, so she took out the family’s thermos, filled it with egg drop soup, and handed it to Jiang Lai after sealing it tightly.

"Walk slowly, stay on one path to the end, and don’t slip."

Jiang Lai nodded, put on her cotton coat, scarf, and gloves, and set out, carrying the thermos on her arm, looking down at the road as she trudged forward slowly and with difficulty.

She hadn’t walked far when she vaguely smelled something foul, and then Little Buding spoke up.

"Look to the left, under the pile of straw."

Following the suggestion, Jiang Lai looked over and immediately spotted a thin figure lying beneath the straw pile.

She hurried over, and upon closer inspection, found that it was Grandma He.

"Grandma He, are you okay?"

The elderly woman was too frozen to speak, her withered hands clenching tightly to Jiang Lai’s sleeve, shaking like a leaf in the wind.

Jiang Lai quickly set down the thermos and carried the old woman on her back, bringing her home.

This was right in the backyard of the He Family; due to the Hes’ bad status, the large yard had been divided into many pieces, but some parts were still connected. The old woman had followed the wall slowly all the way to the straw pile.

Seeing her wet pants, Jiang Lai didn’t ask any further questions but directly helped her onto the bed and then found a clean pair of cotton pants in the cabinet. Before changing her, she took off her own scarf to wipe down the old woman.

The house was as cold as an ice cellar, even colder than outside.

The air was musty and damp, with cold air that didn’t freeze away the foul smell.

The cabinet was not short of cotton quilts and blankets; they were obviously prepared by He Xing before he left.

But the bedding on the bed was stiff and cold, with the cotton inside soaked with urine, hardened into clumps, laying on top like pebbles—lying on it for even a second was torture.

The blankets were in no better condition, full of odor.

The elderly woman’s mobility was limited, and even the simplest tasks were extremely difficult. It was already incredibly hard to maintain even basic cleanliness without help.