Starting a new chapter in life

Chapter 188 Zhizhi Meets Her Rival

"Dad, remember to have both parties sign the rental contract. We were lucky this time. The neighborhood committee held onto the money, and the family didn't move out halfway through the lease. Otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to get the rent back so easily. We'll remember this in the future and can't leave without checking on them for a long time," Jingyan instructed.

He Jiaoxu was an impatient person, and he was indeed very quick to get things done. The next day, he really took He Zhijun to get things done. Jing Yan appreciated He Jiaoxu's hard work and specially brought out a case of Moutai from the store's inventory, intending to give it to He Jiaoxu to take home and drink slowly.

We've been getting a batch of Moutai every month for years, but sales have been slow. It's only in the last two years that we've seen some sales when people from major factories and government come over for meals. Most of our regular customers drink rice wine and beer, and even those who drink baijiu tend to choose more affordable options.

So now the store's storage room has accumulated five or six cases of Moutai liquor. Although it is a good liquor, it is still important to have proper storage conditions. Jingyan doesn't understand this, and He Zhijun doesn't understand it either. They just take it out according to the first-in, first-out principle, and at least so far there has been no problem with the liquor spoiling.

He Jiaoxu and Cui Hongru are indeed leaving. The eldest son and his wife have almost finished preparing for He Chaoli's college entrance banquet. They have set the date for the banquet in Yangzhou next weekend. After they return, they need to personally deliver invitations to some friends they want to invite. If only the eldest son delivers the invitations, it will not seem sincere enough.

Since it was the weekend, He Zhijun saw the elderly couple off to the bus to Haishi. He also called his older brother and asked him to pick them up at the station in about three hours. Although his parents looked to be in good health and didn't seem like retired people at all, their children were still worried. Seeing them off here and picking them up there would put their minds at ease.

Another week later, Jingyan's family of six, spanning three generations, was also going to Yangzhou to attend He Chaoli's banquet. The couple prepared a suitcase and 300 yuan as a gift, which was considered a generous gift at the time.

Grandma was going to give him a jade pendant symbolizing peace and tranquility. She had divided up everything she had, keeping only this one specifically for He Chaoli. This child lacked Ci'en's composure, and since he was studying law and politics, given his personality, he might encounter some troublesome people when he started working.

This jade pendant represents my grandmother's wish: to live a peaceful and safe life, free from illness, pain, accidents, and mishaps.

The graduation banquet was very grand. He Jiaoxu and his wife had many friends, and He Chaoli was the eldest grandson. In addition, there were colleagues and childhood friends of He Zhicheng and He Zhijun. The scene was indeed very big, at least more lively than He Ci'en's.

My uncle and aunt also brought their two children. The whole family sat at two tables, and with the others, there were nearly forty tables in total. Apart from her own family, Jingyan didn't know almost anyone else.

He Zhijun didn't take her sightseeing. Now that their roots were in Haishi, they didn't need to cultivate connections in Yangshi. The couple were happy to have a peaceful life and just needed to take good care of their grandmother.

After the banquet, both He Jiaoxu's and He Zhicheng's families were exhausted. He Zhijun was worried about his parents, so the group stayed until the afternoon of the next day to make sure they had recovered before taking his grandmother and the others back to Haishi.

He Chao-li's university registration and enrollment were naturally accompanied by his eldest brother, He Zhi-cheng. However, since the school was in Hai-shi, which was so close to home, there was none of the reluctance that was felt when they sent off He Cien. With such a short distance, they could go home during weekends, so it didn't really evoke any feelings of reluctance from their parents.

Moreover, not long after Zhou Jie learned how to barbecue, she rented a stall at the night market in Yangzhou. She set up her stall around 4 PM every day and closed it around 10 PM. There wasn't anyone else doing barbecue there yet.

Not only is it unique, but once grilled, the flavor is also incredibly strong, attracting a lot of customers on the food street. It quickly gained a stable customer base, and its business couldn't compare to Jingyan's.

But for a food stall, the income was already considerable. Zhou Jie and her family already had some savings, and now with the 30,000 yuan given by her grandmother, she was already considering whether they could buy a shop on the food street.

Because of Jingyan, when her family thinks about using a house, their subconscious thought is to buy it rather than rent it. This can be considered a subtle influence.

The family's life gradually stabilized, and Zhizhi became a fourth-grade student the year He Chaoli went to university. Her smooth-sailing days at school began to fluctuate.

Originally, she was always given a performance at the school's annual performance events, and she lived up to expectations, always receiving praise from her teachers.

But since entering fourth grade, her previous glory seems to have been shattered overnight. This year, a transfer student from another place came to our class. She has thick eyebrows, big eyes, and fair skin. She is a beauty with striking features, which is a different kind of beauty from Zhizhi's snow-white cuteness.

Moreover, she not only surpasses Zhizhi in singing and dancing, but she is also an excellent host. Although she doesn't play instruments like the guzheng or guqin, she can play the piano and violin, both of which are very popular right now.

This little girl became a star as soon as she entered the school. No one could compare to Zhizhi in terms of looks, talent, or academic performance. She had never been surpassed since childhood. Before she could recover from the depression of Xiaoli's departure, she was hit hard by the new classmate. This time, she almost had an emotional breakdown.

As Jingyan spent more and more time at home, she naturally noticed her child's unusual behavior. She initially thought it was just a minor setback and that her child would be able to process her emotions in a few days, so she didn't think to interfere.

However, more than a month passed, and her mood not only did not improve but became increasingly depressed, which made Jingyan take it seriously. That day, she pulled Zhizhi to the study, and after the mother and daughter sat down, Jingyan said gently, "Zhizhi, you haven't been in a good mood lately. Has something happened?"

Zhizhi pouted and remained silent for a while before finally revealing the reason, looking aggrieved: "Mom, a new girl named Lu Xiaoxiao joined our class, and she's better than me in everything..."

"What do you mean? In which aspect?" Jing Yan didn't quite understand.

"She's better at studying than me; she was first in her grade on the test on her first day of school..."

"So you're ranked second in the grade?" Jing Yan asked with great interest.

“The twentieth…” Zhizhi’s tone grew increasingly dejected.

This time, Jing Yan was speechless. After a long pause, she managed to say, "You're quite a bit behind her in academics, so there's no need to compare. In what other aspects are you better than her?"

She's prettier than me.

“This is what your parents gave you. You didn’t have a choice, and there’s no need to compare. You just need to know that the most useless thing for a girl is beauty. No matter what era it is, for children from ordinary families, beauty is not an advantage but a disaster. Ordinary families can’t protect someone who is too beautiful. So your appearance is just right. You’re not bad-looking, you’re cute, and that’s perfect.” Jing Yan comforted her with a smile.

Zhizhi wanted to cry: "Mom, are you sure you're trying to comfort me and not hurt me?"

Jingyan… “I guess you could call it a consolation prize. At least you’re prettier than Mom. Anything else?”

"She sings and dances better than me, and she can also play the violin and piano. She's very popular with teachers and classmates. At the beginning of the school year's talent show, the teacher gave her the opening dance, and my dance was relegated to the middle." The little girl was really discouraged.

Jingyan… “Well, if someone is more talented than you, it’s true that we, with our average aptitude, can’t compete. But Zhizhi, are you sure you’re really working hard when you’re learning your special skills?”

If you give it your all and are still overwhelmed, it just means you lack talent. But if you're just taking a half-hearted approach to learning and get crushed, that's perfectly normal.

After all, if someone else's achievements after hard work can't compare to yours, that would be too unfair to those who work hard, wouldn't you agree?

Zhizhi...

"You can't blame others just because they're better than you. You should think that you should also take back the glory that others have earned with their own strength. Even if you can't take it back in the end, you've done your best, and at least you won't regret it, right?"

There are always people more powerful and influential than our family. We are at best a middle-class family. There are countless people more talented than you, with exceptional abilities. You are still young and have been trapped on Changxing Island.

"But there are so many places and so many people across the country, far more and far better off than you. If you were to be depressed about every single one of them, you might as well not live at all." Jing Yan said earnestly.

Although these weren't exactly kind words, Zhizhi took them to heart. She seemed thoughtful and said, "Mom, I will study hard with Teacher Tong and spend more time practicing. Although I can't play the piano or violin, she can't play the guzheng or guqin either, so I'm better than her in that area."

As long as the child is open-minded, it doesn't matter how she thinks about it. However, in the days that followed, Zhizhi did become much more serious. Indeed, no matter where you are, there is competition that leads to progress. Look at the results, how good they are!

Jingyan didn't pay much attention to Zhizhi's psychological journey anymore, but she didn't expect that in just over half a year, when Zhizhi mentioned this competitor again, her tone was no longer one of complaint, but of appreciation. The implication was that the competitor had become her good friend.

"What kind of friend is she to you?" Jingyan teased Zhizhi.

Zhizhi said seriously, "Friends who can go to the toilet together and tell secrets together."

Jing Yan… “You need a companion even to go to the toilet?”

"It's so lonely being alone." Zhizhi didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

Jingyan didn't want to continue this topic, so she asked again, "Didn't you say before that she suppressed you in every way, which is why you didn't like her? Has she surpassed her in some aspect now?"

Zhizhi… “No, it’s not that. It’s what Mom said before: I shouldn’t be jealous of others just because they’re better than me. Instead, I should strive to become better myself. So, I’ve been studying very hard and also diligently learning extracurricular classes from Teacher Shen and Teacher Tong.”

Later, for the performance, the dance moves that Teacher Tong designed for me were too weak for one person. But there was no one else in my class who could cooperate with me except her, so I went to invite her. She was also very interested after seeing me dance it. Later, we practiced dancing together and performed together, and our relationship got better and better.

"Mom, you don't know, she's actually not difficult to get along with at all. It's just that she's too beautiful. If she doesn't keep a cold face, too many people come and bother her, which annoys her. Actually, she's very interesting. She has so many stories in her head, and she knows more idioms than I do. Almost every idiom has a story behind it, which I find very interesting."

"You think she knows a lot, but does she think you know too little?" Jingyan couldn't help but give her a sharp retort.

Zhizhi looked like a mischievous mouse who had just stolen some oil: "I know about astronomy and constellations! I used to find it so boring when my brother Ci'en took me to look at the stars, but I just went along with him because he liked it."

I talked to her about the Big Dipper and the constellation Leo, and she was very interested. She even said I had a wide range of interests. So, Mom, now I go to Ci'en's room to read whenever I have time. I think if I read all of Ci'en's books, I'll definitely know more than her.

"Okay, then read more books when you have time. These are only a few years away. Once you go to junior high, you won't have such leisurely days anymore. You know that your brothers Ci'en and Xiao Li will have a more intense schedule starting from junior high, so cherish the present." Jing Yan patted her head and encouraged her.

A few days later, during the weekend, Zhizhi got up early and ran to Aunt Wang: "Aunt Wang, Aunt Wang, my good friend is coming to visit me today. Can you make me something delicious? I want to entertain my friend."

It's already December. After thinking for a while, Sister Wang said, "How about I make you some red bean dumplings and sprinkle some osmanthus sugar on them? We have apples and oranges at home, and I'll fry some peanuts too. That should be enough for snacks and desserts. Would your friend like to stay for lunch? Let me see what we can cook for lunch."

Sister Wang never ignored the children's requests just because they were young. Zhizhi was overjoyed: "Aunt Wang, you're so kind." She then hugged Sister Wang's neck and kissed her on the cheek.

Grandma passed by the kitchen at that moment and saw the two of them being so affectionate. She couldn't help but ask, "What's making you so happy?"

"Zhizhi invited some friends over, and I discussed with her what to prepare to entertain them. If the child stays for lunch, I'm also planning to cook some delicious dishes. It's a rare occasion for Zhizhi to invite her friends over, so we should take it seriously," Sister Wang replied with a smile.

Grandma was also very interested when she heard this: "Zhizhi has made a good friend. How many people are coming today? Let's make more dishes. We can't let Zhizhi lose face."

Zhizhi shook her head: "I only invited one. She is beautiful, can sing and dance, and is good at studying. In short, she is better than me in every way. I didn't like her before, but now we are best friends. She knows so much."

"Just one? That's fine. We'll kill a chicken for lunch and make a chicken and mushroom stew, with lots of glass noodles. I love it." Grandma casually mentioned one of her favorite dishes.

Sister Wang smiled and agreed: "I'll also prepare a dish of sweet and sour pork, which kids love."