Rebirth: Those Years When I Was a Bad Student

During the holidays, Zhang Yumian couldn't bear to see her mother running back and forth every day to make lunch for them, and her father eating steamed buns at noon to save money.

She volunteered to cook at home and send it to her father at the construction site so that her mother could take a break at noon and her father would have enough energy to work.

As usual, after getting up, I ran and made breakfast, and then called Zhang Qingfeng to get up.

After washing up, she started to study English and supervise her younger brother to do his homework.

After finishing a math test, it was almost half past ten.

Zhang Yumian went into the kitchen and started preparing lunch. Her father liked noodles, so she prepared some oil-splashed noodles. It was quite hot at noon, so she had already made mung bean soup in the morning and put it in the refrigerator so that she could give it to her father to cool him down.

The noodles were already alive and awake after breakfast. After washing the side dishes, I started to boil water and cook the noodles.

She cooked two bowls of noodles first, added washed Shanghai greens and bean sprouts, a little chili powder and seasonings. And garlic, after all, if you don't add garlic to noodles, the flavor will be half gone. Then she poured the hot oil on top, and the fragrance came out immediately.

Zhang Qingfeng praised it highly, "Sister, when did you learn to cook? This is so delicious."

Zhang Yumian said proudly: "With your sister's IQ, she must have learned it all by herself. What do you think? Isn't she very talented?"

Work on the construction site ends at 12 o'clock and starts at o'clock. There is only one hour at noon, so time is really tight. It takes nearly minutes to ride a bicycle from home.

By the time she got the noodles out, it was almost 11:30. She added a little more oil to the noodles, fearing they would clump together. After putting the noodles in the pot, she took out the mung bean soup from the refrigerator. She went back to her room, put on her hat and shirt, and hurried out.

I was staring at the pedals all the way, worried that if I got there too late the noodles would not taste good and the mung bean soup would not be cold anymore.

Somehow, the weather this year is exceptionally hot, and there has been no rain in the entire month of June. Today is another cloudless day, and the heat has caused sweat to flow from Zhang Yumian's forehead to his neck. At this moment, he can clearly feel the sweat rolling down his back.

Because they had said they would deliver food today, when Zhang Yumian arrived, Zhang Guohua was already looking out the gate.

Seeing Zhang Yumian coming over, he quickly took the lunch box from her hand, and saw that her daughter's red face was full of sweat. Zhang Guohua's face was full of distress, and he quickly pulled his daughter in and rested in the place where they usually ate.

Because he knew his daughter was coming, he just went to buy a bottle of drink. He usually drinks boiled water, and a bottle costs three yuan, so he couldn't bear to buy it.

It was the jasmine tea that his daughter liked. He unscrewed the bottle and handed it to her.

Zhang Yumian took the water and looked at his father's face, which was full of vicissitudes. There was dirt and sweat mixed in the wrinkles, and his clothes were also covered with dust. It can be seen that his hands have been washed, but there is still dirt on them, and his nose can't help but feel sore.

Dad’s hands are big, dark, hard, and have many scars.

Zhang Yumian looked at his father in front of him, who was only in his thirties, but looked as weathered as a man in his fifties.

Her tears immediately came out, and she really wanted to tell her father not to do it, but she couldn't, there was no reason.

All she could do was study hard and not let her father end up like him in his previous life, working on a construction site at the age of fifty.

When Zhang Guohua saw his daughter crying, he panicked and wanted to touch her head and wipe her tears, but his hands were still dirty even though he had washed them.

So he hesitated and just said, "Let Dad see what you made and ate today."

Zhang Yumian turned around, lowered her head, wiped her tears, and took out the lunch box.

Like offering a treasure, she said, "We have your favorite fried noodles and green bean soup, which can help you cool down. I made it this morning and just took it out of the refrigerator. Come and have some."

Zhang Guohua sat on the ground and ate heartily. Zhang Yumian looked at his father eating so contentedly and smiled happily. Then he took out a tissue from his pocket and wiped the sweat off his father's face.

While wiping her forehead, her hand paused and she noticed that her father was starting to have white hair.

This white hair was like a needle piercing her heart, causing her so much pain.

She didn't have the courage to look at her father's face, and just turned her eyes away. It seemed that the people around her were about the same age as her father, but they seemed very happy and chatted with each other.

Only a few people were eating boxed lunches, while the rest were either eating steamed buns or instant noodles.

It turns out that the reason we thought we had no worries about food and clothing was because there was someone behind the scenes clearing the way for us.

It turns out that fatherly love is so deep. He never mentions love in every sentence, but love is everywhere.

When her eyes swept across a corner, Zhang Yumian felt that she saw a familiar figure. In order to confirm her guess, she began to move forward.

But every step forward confirmed that her guess was correct.

It wasn't until I got closer that I realized it was really him.

At this moment, he was curled up in the corner like an abandoned kitten.

He was wearing a black short-sleeved shirt, black trousers, and black canvas shoes, which were covered with dust. He leaned against the cement wall behind him, chewing a steamed bun, with a water bottle next to him.

He just ate the steamed bun and sipped water, and no one knew what he was thinking.

He is only thirteen years old, why is he working on the construction site?

Don’t his adoptive parents even give him food to eat now?

Beishui County is too backward and it is impossible to find day laborers. Coffee shops, milk tea shops and fast food restaurants will only appear in ten years.

Supermarkets and restaurants have long been contracted by middle-aged women.

There is no way. It is too difficult to find a job in this small county.

After a long time, Cheng Yao noticed a shadow on the ground.

He slowly raised his head and saw Zhang Yumian. She had her hair tied in a high ponytail, and was wearing a white baseball cap, a blue shirt over a white T-shirt, blue jeans, and white canvas shoes.

It must be because of the sun, her face was red, but her eyes were bright, just like the sun shining into the lake, with the twinkling light of Heze.

After just one glance, he subconsciously lowered his head, not wanting her to see his current miserable state.

He didn't quite understand why she had seen the few embarrassing things he had done recently.

Zhang Yumian walked a few steps closer and squatted down. "Will you come tomorrow?" Zhang Yumian did not expect that this sentence would come out of her mouth, even though she had made many drafts in her mind.

Why are you here? Are you short of money? I want to tell him not to worry, your biological father will be back next semester, he is very rich, or you can contact him now.

But what came out of her mouth was another sentence. If she really said it, there would be no way to explain it, and it would also confuse him. It would be better to let nature take its course.

Cheng Yao looked at her in surprise, as if he had not expected her to ask this question. He had thought that she might ask, "Why are you here? Where are your family? Are you short of money?" and other questions, but he had never thought that it would be this.

After hesitating for a while, he pursed his lips and said, "Come on."

What else can he do if he doesn't come? He has to pay tuition and miscellaneous fees after school starts, as well as daily living expenses. His so-called parents won't give him a penny, and he can't always spend his grandfather's money.

His biological parents had long since abandoned him, and he was the only one he could rely on.

This was the only job he could find after searching for four or five days.

How could he not come?

Zhang Yumian replied directly: "Then don't eat steamed buns tomorrow. I will send food to my dad and bring some for you."

After thinking for a while, he continued, "It's not for nothing. You have to do your duty once for each meal. Remember to return it when school starts."

Afraid that he would refuse, Zhang Yumian turned around and left after saying this.

She really didn't expect that he was having such a hard time. His father would be back in two or three months. I remember his father came to the school at that time and set up scholarships and grants at the school.

Fortunately, the hard times are coming to an end.

In fact, seeing him like this just now, Zhang Yumian felt a little sad.

But she just told herself in her heart that she was helping him out of friendship, nothing else, they were just classmates.