The reason why Jolene is so anxious is because when she and her mother went to the supermarket to buy New Year's goods, they met an old classmate again. They also struggled in high school, but Jolene was never as good as others, and no one did well in college. I heard from my classmate's mother that she took a high scholarship, finished her doctorate abroad, and when the Spring Festival passed, she went to work as a teacher at a well-known university in the south.

After that, the mother casually raised an eyebrow: "How is Jolene doing?"

As soon as she heard keywords such as "scholarship" and "study abroad", Qiao Lin would be possessed by Sister-in-law, but she only lamented in her heart and did not babble about it. Compared with her energetic classmates, her experience was really lackluster, and Li Lanzhi replied for her: "Qiao Lin has worked for a year, and now she is back to school for a doctorate." In China, master's and doctoral studies are slow, and it will be thirty years to graduate. ”

"Ouch, that's pretty good, too. The parent said this, but Jolene didn't see the slightest "pretty good" expression. The parent said sincerely: "However, most of the students who enter colleges and universities now have to look at their overseas experience, and if you have study abroad experience, the treatment will be different immediately." ”

"Uh-huh...... Qiao Lin lowered her head, very helpless, when can the topic of "studying abroad" be skipped?

"And oh, you must learn English well......"

The parent kept teaching Jolene about her successes, and her classmate raised her face slightly, showing a faint smile. Qiao Lin couldn't bear it, and was about to say that she was an English major, and she would have a translation work coming out soon, who knew that the parent would come out again: "Teacher Li, my Yuanyuan's new book is about to be published, and I will give you a set when the time comes!"

"Yo, Yuanyuan still has this ability, can she write a book?"

"She liked to write in high school, and in the past few years of studying abroad, she has traveled a lot in Europe and has published a travelogue. What I want to publish this time is a collection of inspirational essays, and I heard from the editor that it has already begun to be printed, and I will definitely go to No. 2 Middle School to give it to you when the time comes. ”

"That's great! I have to talk to the school about this, it's a great honor for our school!"

Mom behaved decently, but Jolene couldn't laugh at all. Especially when she saw the confident and high-spirited look of her old classmates, she felt even more uncomfortable. She asked her mother if she was too cautious and why she couldn't congratulate her old classmates generously.

Li Lanzhi glanced at her and said: "That's your former competitor, people mix so well, it's good if you don't be anxious, how can you calmly accept this huge gap? ”

Maybe Mom is indeed getting old and becoming more and more patient with her. Qiao Lin silently took her mother's arm and put her face on it affectionately: "I missed the opportunity to study abroad, and the translated book has not been published...... I'll be 30 in two years, but I don't have any grades at all, and I don't get married and have children early like other classmates, don't you think I'm ashamed?"

"What are you talking about?" Li Lanzhi glared at her: "You're not lazy, it's only a matter of time before you get results, I just ask you not to work too hard, don't mess up your body." ”

Jolene was almost moved to tears by her mother, and when she got home, she contacted the editor of the publishing house and asked when her book would be published. As a result, the editor's reply pushed her into the abyss of anxiety, and she was extremely annoyed at the thought that the hard work of the past few days might be wasted—why did fate like to play tricks on her so much?

Crawled into Grandma's quilt at night, and after saying that sentence, Jolene nested beside Grandma and did not move. Just like when she was a child, her grandmother hugged her and said with a smile: "You have been admitted to the graduate school of Peking University, isn't this enough for you to be proud of?"

"Hmmm......"

"Contentment is the only way to be happy, and in a few years, after some vicissitudes, you will understand this truth. ”

"Well, actually, I already have a lot, and I shouldn't be so competitive. ”

Grandma was very relieved and patted her head to let her go to bed early. Qiao Lin came to her senses and simply supported her body: "Grandma, I plan to write a book about the story of the two of us, and my good friend will draw illustrations, okay?"

"It's good, but we just live a plain life, and there are no big winds and waves, even if it's written as a book, it's still a running account, will others like it?"

"I don't know, but I'm going to give it a try, maybe someone really likes that kind of plain and heartwarming little story, and if it does, it will not only become a memoir for both of us, but even if it is told to the children at home, they will love it." ”

"Okay, okay, you can write if you want, but you have to write quickly, otherwise grandma won't be able to wait for ......"

Qiao Lin blocked her grandmother's mouth: "Don't say unlucky things, grandma is optimistic and open-minded, and she will definitely live longer than Nanshan!"

"Got it, go to sleep!"

Qiao Lin was in a better mood, couldn't sleep, and became excited again: "Grandma, fortunately you came back with a puppy, otherwise the little commander would definitely be sad, and I wouldn't be used to it when I went home." ”

"There are a lot of small earth dogs in the village, and it doesn't take much effort to get one, so if you like it, I can't afford to give you anything else. ”

I remember when I was very young, you took me to the market, and there were a lot of puppies for sale. I'm squatting there and won't go, there's nothing you can do. You pulled me away, and I cried all the way. In the end, the episode was almost over, and you pulled me back and bought the last little black dog. ”

"At that time, I was very poor, and I couldn't spend any money in my hand. The dog seller didn't ask me for the price, it seemed that it was only one dollar, so he took Xiao Hei home. "Grandma, if you're in the village, you can get a puppy, right?

"It also depends on luck, whether people are willing to send it or not. I feel sorry for you, this little pity, grandma has no gifts for you, a little black dog can make your heart bloom, of course grandma has to satisfy you. ”

"Hehe, I'm happy, and I'm still happy when I think about it! It seems that there are no shortcomings in childhood, and I am satisfied when I think about it. I'm going to make sure I put this little story in the book!"

"Okay! When I was a child, a puppy could make you happy, but now I'm studying for a doctorate at Peking University, and I'm still depressed! Grandma doesn't know what to say about you!"

Grandma was old after all, and after laughing for a while, she soon fell asleep. She goes to bed early, wakes up early, usually wakes up at four o'clock, creeps outside to clean up, cleans the living room and kitchen, and welcomes the arrival of a new day.

I heard from my parents that in the first few months, my grandmother went out to buy breakfast, but then she had eye problems again, and she fell on the road, and her family never let her go out alone. Grandma is also very glad that she didn't break her bones, otherwise she would have to trouble the children again.

She has always refused to be idle, in addition to coaxing the little commander to sleep, she also pickles a lot of pickles at home. The bottles and cans in the kitchen were all full of her, and she still couldn't stop. Qiao Jianjun persuaded: "Mom, you can rest! If you pickle it again, I will have to sell it on the market!"

"It's just right to sell it, and it can subsidize some families. Lan Yun is sick and still runs a cram school in the town, just to pay back the second child and save some money for Baoqing. I'm so good on my hands and feet, if I can go out and buy pickles, then I can't ask for it!"

Of course, it was impossible for Lao Qiao to let his elderly mother-in-law sell pickles, but he took the pickled radish strips and cucumber strips to the store, and used them as a buffet side dish for old customers to enjoy. He gave his mother-in-law a few hundred yuan of pocket money every month, and he also knew that it was impossible for the old man to spend it, so he saved it all for his children and grandchildren.

The person that grandma cares about the most has changed from an uncle to an aunt. When Jolene went home, she learned that her brother-in-law was not suffering from an ordinary illness, but that there was some mental problem, and the family kept it secret. Considering the self-esteem of the Song family, the elders didn't let Qiao Lin visit, but grandma often called her aunt to come over for dinner.

The aunt hasn't changed much, and occasionally comes to Qiao's house, still with exquisite makeup and her head held high. Jolene felt that her aunt was tired of living like this, but she never poked through her downfall. My aunt will only say to my grandmother - Mom, I am living like this now, is it that you can't hold your head up? The people in your hometown are also pointing fingers at you, right?

Grandma rarely straightened her face and reprimanded lightly: "What are you talking nonsense? Da Lijia Village counts you as the most beautiful, no matter whether your man is rich or not, you are the same scenery." No matter what others say, it has nothing to do with us, and no one can compare to you. ”

The little commander squeaked in the room, but Jolene still heard her aunt sobbing. Probably in the eyes of parents, people who live seriously will never be down!