Chapter 3 — Little Grass Under The Sun

She froze, her ears suddenly turned red, her fingertips tapped hard on the opened bamboo card:

"If you don't pay attention, I'll really settle the score with you. Look at your essay again, you can't even copy the 'Sutra of Poetry'."

I don't dare to be distracted anymore. Every morning before dawn, I wake up and mumble to study. Before, at the village school, everyone hated me, but I had a lot of time to study diligently, and my results were always top. But now I'm in the bottom of the exam, involving the whole class, I absolutely cannot... disappoint Tan Tri Lam's heart.

05

Because there is no pocket money, eating becomes a difficult problem. I went to find him and asked if I could work in exchange for a meal, do some sweeping or light a fire to cook in the library. It was as if he had just heard an earth-shattering joke: "There's no such thing as a student having to do odd jobs at Nam Son Library. Didn't the Wen family bring you here? How come you're short on money to eat and drink?" The old man sitting next to him quietly pulled his sleeve and whispered: "This is the child that the Wen family... was kidnapped by the girl." He was still very young and had just returned from studying abroad. Hearing that, his face suddenly turned pale and he took two steps back.

“There is no precedent for this in the hospital, please go home quickly.” He turned away, his voice became forced, "Why does the library accept any kind of person like this..."

I bowed my head and left the staff room. I have heard such words since I was a child, and I no longer feel heartbroken. Since that didn't work, I had to go to the good hall (canteen). At least there are pickles and soup for free. I wonder if today... will there be any dog rice left to eat? Thinking back to the shredded meat the other day, my throat couldn't help but swallow, my stomach cramping. As soon as I sat down in a corner, a heavy box of food made a "click" sound and hit the table hard. Giang Lam Phong stood there with his arms crossed, his eyebrows frowned tightly: "Hey, do you all women like to be beautiful like that? Just eat soup! Eat this, you'll be fat and you'll die." Trieu Vien stood next to him, trying to look fierce: "That's right! My cousin only increased one coin (a small unit of weight) and cried for half a day! Go ahead and kill her, let's see what kind of crying she will become." I said nothing, quietly opened the lid of the box. Braised sweet and sour pork ribs, lightly stir-fried baby shrimp, and two golden fried eggs, the rice is compressed very tightly. I picked up my chopsticks, bowed my head and ate greedily. The rice is still warm, the stewed ribs are tender, and the young shrimp are sweet. I ate extremely quickly, extremely cleanly, in just a moment I could see the bottom of the bowl, even the fat scum on the rim of the box was scraped clean with a spoon.

“Thank you.” I put the empty box down, looked up at him, and my eyes suddenly felt hot.

Giang Lam Phong stiffened, his ears turning red at a speed visible to the naked eye. He took a step back and spoke in a loud and confused voice: "You, are you paranoid? Who needs your thanks! We are bullying you! Bullying you, do you understand?!" He was so embarrassed that he became angry, pulled Trieu Vien who was bewildered, turned around and walked away:

"I told you to be a little fiercer! Otherwise, how can we talk to On Than?! We are the overlords of the library! We have to be fiercer!!!"

On Than. The name of my cousin. My heart felt like it was gently stabbed by a thin needle, it felt a little tight in my chest, but Doesn't count as too painful. He hates me like that, probably because he loves his wife too much, and is too sorry for the suffering she has to endure. As long as the lady in the Wen family can recover well from her illness, everything else is not important. I wonder if the lady has eaten rice today or if her condition is any better. I carefully wiped the food box clean and put it back in Giang Lam Phong's desk drawer. The sunlight shines on it, strangely warm. I pondered for a moment, then took advantage of the moment when no one was around, leaving him a piece of paper.

“No need to be awkward, please don't give me any more food. Thank you.”

Thinking for a while, I gently crossed out the words "difficult" and changed it to "heartbreaking".

06

After class ended in the evening, I was the only one left studying. At the same time, everyone had family members coming to pick them up, but I was the only one who asked to stay. I am also familiar with this situation. When Tan Tri Lam left, she expressionlessly placed a stack of commentaries on the Four Books on my table.

“See more, it will help you understand better.”

I don't dare to procrastinate, these are all things she has worked hard to synthesize. Her academic ability was extremely excellent, and the private instruction of this valedictorian was even more profound than the teacher's lectures. The me of the past, I wouldn't have dared to think about it even in my dreams. But after a while of doing the homework, my stomach started to hurt again. Damn it, although the lunch was delicious, it didn't last long. I stood up and went out to the hallway, put my head into the brass basin and immediately drank two buckets of cold water. Unexpectedly, she bumped into To Van Nguyet's flower garden, who had just returned to pick up her things. She looked at me like a monster:

"Are you sick? You drank so much water in one gulp."

I bowed my head not daring to answer. At this moment, my extremely ignorant stomach "gurgled", the sound echoed clearly in the quiet hallway. To Van Nguyet's face froze, she frowned, with a disgusted look on her face, she threw an incense stick (scented sachet) into my lap.

“Take it.”

I don't dare accept it. Not because I'm afraid of traps, but because I feel like I'm not worthy. That incense burner was made of soft blue silk fabric after the rain (Vu Qua Thien Thanh), on top embroidered with silver thread the image of an arrogant lino (cat), whose eyes were inlaid with two extremely small but extremely bright crushed gemstones, so dazzling that it blinded the eyes. Just looking at it, you can tell it's expensive. To Van Nguyet seemed even more annoyed, firmly pressing the incense stick firmly into my palm: "I'm just annoyed by your stomach growling, it's so noisy. I have a clean sickness, understand?"