klisemfg Chapter 383 The Beloved Little Sister 18
Chapter 383 The Beloved Little Sister 18
Three days later, the county's commendation meeting was held in the commune auditorium.
The county health bureau director personally arrived at the scene, shook Ji Xiaosong's hand, and said, "Comrade Ji Xiaosong, you bravely faced the danger of the fire and rescued medical equipment and medicines worth tens of thousands of yuan, protecting the commune's collective property. After deliberation by the county party committee, it has been decided to award you the title of 'Advanced Health Worker' and a cash reward of fifty yuan!"
The applause at the commendation ceremony was like a tidal wave. Ji Xiaosong stood on the stage, and the sunlight shone through the glass windows of the auditorium, casting dappled shadows on her.
The villagers sitting below the stage all wore proud smiles, especially Dr. Li from the clinic, who kept wiping his reddened eyes with a handkerchief.
Wang Xiuhua sat in the first row, her back ramrod straight, her rough hands gripping the hem of her clothes tightly, afraid of missing any moment of her daughter receiving the award.
"Next, please welcome Comrade Ji Xiaosong to give her acceptance speech!" The host's voice echoed in the auditorium.
Ji Xiaosong took a deep breath and glanced at the familiar faces below the stage.
When she saw the tall figure in the corner, her heart skipped a beat.
Her eldest brother, Ji Jianguo, had arrived at some unknown time and was leaning against the doorframe, smiling at her.
His work clothes were still covered in sawdust, clearly indicating that he had just come from the carpenter's shop.
"Actually, the fact that these devices were saved is thanks to everyone's efforts."
Ji Xiaosong's voice was clear and firm, "If it weren't for the villagers lining up to pass water, if it weren't for Zhang Hongmei helping me carry the equipment case, if it weren't for the militia company commander catching the X-ray machine..."
Each time she called out a name, applause erupted from the audience.
Finally, her gaze fell on Dr. Li. "Especially Dr. Li, if it weren't for his strict requirements for us to properly store every vial of penicillin, I wouldn't have thought of rushing to the emergency pharmacy immediately."
These words drew even louder applause from the audience. The commune secretary quietly wiped his eyes and turned to the director of the health bureau, saying, "This girl, she clearly works the hardest, but she pushes all the credit onto others."
After the meeting, Ji Xiaosong was surrounded by people.
Zhang Hongmei held her hand tightly, saying, "Xiao Song, the equipment you rescued that day was just used to deliver Liu's baby yesterday!"
Director Wang from the supply and marketing cooperative squeezed through the crowd and handed her a bag of fruit candies: "Take this back for your little nephew."
Even the usually stern militia company commander blushed and handed over a notebook: "I heard you're going to study in the provincial capital, this... is for you to take notes."
Having finally escaped, Ji Xiaosong found her older brother waiting for her under the old locust tree in the commune courtyard.
Ji Jianguo was squatting on the ground, scratching at something with a twig. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a math problem.
"Brother?" Ji Xiaosong squatted down in surprise. "What's wrong with you...?"
Ji Jianguo hurriedly wiped the equation off the ground with his foot, and stood up somewhat embarrassedly: "It's nothing, I just scribbled something down."
He took the certificate and prize from his sister and carefully wrapped them in newspaper. "Let's go home. Mom said she's making dumplings today."
On their way home, the brother and sister walked one after the other.
Ji Xiaosong noticed that her older brother's back seemed a bit more hunched than usual, and there were patches on the knees of his work pants.
She suddenly remembered something and quickened her pace to catch up with her older brother: "Brother, are you reviewing? Was the practice set I gave you useful?"
Ji Jianguo paused, his ears turning slightly red: "What nonsense are you talking about? How old am I already..."
He was still somewhat hesitant.
Although Ji Xiaosong had always been supportive of him, he was already this age, and his parents were trying to find him a wife.
If I were to take the college entrance exam now, my parents would probably be extremely anxious.
“I saw the study materials sticking out of your pocket,” Ji Xiaosong said, directly exposing his attempt to hide it. “It’s the ‘College Entrance Examination Math Problem Set’ that I gave you.”
The setting sun stretched their shadows very long.
Ji Jianguo remained silent for a long time before finally sighing, "Yes, I'm studying. But don't tell Mom and Dad about this, lest they..."
His voice lowered, "So that they won't get excited for nothing."
So, after all this time, my older brother still hasn't told our parents.
"Brother, you'll definitely pass the exam!" Ji Xiaosong grabbed her older brother's rough hand. "I'll help you! You can even look at my nursing school textbooks, and I can tutor you when I come back on weekends!"
Ji Jianguo looked into his sister's bright eyes, his Adam's apple bobbed, and in the end he just gave a soft "hmm".
When she got home, Wang Xiuhua indeed made dumplings with chive and egg filling.
The family sat around the kang table in a lively atmosphere. Ji Tiezhu, unusually, poured half a cup of sweet potato liquor and sipped it with dumplings.
Wang Xiuhua put a dumpling in her daughter's bowl and said, "Eat more, you've lost weight lately."
Ji Xiaosong took a bite of a dumpling and suddenly said, "Dad, Mom, I want to discuss something with you."
All eyes turned to her.
“I…I want my older brother to come to the county with me.”
Ji Xiaosong put down her chopsticks. "The nursing school has staff dormitories. I can apply for one. My older brother can study there; the conditions are better than at home."
The dinner table fell silent instantly.
Ji Jianguo suddenly looked up, staring at his sister in disbelief.
"Nonsense!" Ji Tiezhu was the first to object. "Your brother is the pillar of the family. If he goes to the county, who will do the work in the fields? Will we just give up the money we make from selling vegetables every day?"
“Dad,” Ji Xiaosong said earnestly, “there are only two months left until the college entrance exam. My older brother has sacrificed so much for this family over the years, let him give it his all this time. I can pay for temporary workers in the fields, and as for selling vegetables…”
"I can sell vegetables. Anyway, I have a lot of family members, and with everyone's help, we can all get through this!"
Ji Jianjun, who had been silent all along, suddenly interjected, "Big brother has a dream and has been studying hard, so he will definitely pass the exam."
Wang Xiuhua looked at this one, then at that one, and finally her gaze fell on her eldest son: "Jianguo, you...you really want to go to university?"
Ji Jianguo's Adam's apple bobbed a few times before he finally nodded: "I want to."
This simple word seemed to have taken all his strength.
Ji Xiaosong saw that her older brother's eyes were red, and his large hands, which had been used for years of hard work, were trembling slightly under the table.
It was late at night, but the kerosene lamp in the house was still on.
Ji Tiezhu squatted in the yard, puffing on his pipe. Wang Xiuhua mended clothes under the lamp, glancing occasionally at her daughter who was helping her older brother organize his study materials.
“Xiao Song,” Wang Xiuhua suddenly spoke up, “can your older brother… really pass the exam? He’s already this old…”
Ji Xiaosong continued copying key points into her notebook without looking up: "Mom, do you know? Our nursing school's best anatomy professor was 35 when he got into university. My older brother is only 29, it's not too late at all."
Wang Xiuhua paused for a moment, the needle tip leaving a small dent in the fabric.
She looked at her husband's back in the yard and said softly, "Old man, how about... we let Jianguo go?"
Ji Tiezhu didn't say anything, but simply tapped his pipe heavily.
But everyone knows that this means they've agreed.
The next morning, Ji Xiaosong went to the commune to get a certificate.
When she returned, she had an extra letter of introduction and two train tickets to the county.
"Brother, pack your things, we're leaving the day after tomorrow!" She ran into the house excitedly, only to see her older brother staring blankly at a math problem he had only half-solved, his forehead covered in sweat.
Ji Jianguo looked up, his eyes filled with fear: "Little sister, I... I just did a set of last year's college entrance exam questions, but I still couldn't get a perfect score..."
Ji Xiaosong is beyond words when it comes to Versailles.
But since my older brother cares so much about it, I suppose he wants to go to the best school.
Ji Xiaosong slammed the train ticket on the table and snatched the pencil from his hand: "What are you afraid of? There are still two months! I promise, as long as you follow my plan, you will definitely pass the exam!"
Her voice was so firm, as if she were stating a fact that had already happened.
Ji Jianguo stared blankly at his younger sister, suddenly realizing that the little girl who used to follow him around asking for candy had grown into a capable young woman.
On the day of departure, everyone in the production team came to see them off.
Zhang Hongmei handed Ji Xiaosong a packet of dried locust flowers: "Soak them in water and drink it; it'll calm your nerves."
Dr. Li gave Ji Jianguo an old notebook: "My son used this for his college entrance exam; all the important points were marked."
Wang Xiuhua handed two bundles to her children, one containing boiled eggs and pickled vegetables, and the other containing a brand-new Dacron shirt.
That was fabric bought with Ji Xiaosong's bonus; she stayed up two nights in a row to finish it.
"When we get to the county, don't be stingy with money." Ji Tiezhu stuffed a roll of change into his eldest son's hand.
The bus slowly started moving. Through the window, Ji Xiaosong saw her mother secretly wiping her eyes with the corner of her clothes, and her father's back seemed more hunched than usual.
Ji Jianguo sat beside her, his hands tightly gripping the cloth bag full of review materials, his knuckles turning white.
“Brother,” Ji Xiaosong said softly, “do you still remember when I was ten years old and had a fever, you carried me for ten miles to town to see a doctor?”
Ji Jianguo paused for a moment, then nodded.
"Now it's my turn to help you," she said with a smile, her eyes shining like stars. "We siblings will definitely make a name for ourselves!"
Outside the car window, the wheat fields in April rippled like green waves, and the distant mountains stretched out in a continuous range.
Looking at the land where he had lived for twenty-nine years, Ji Jianguo suddenly felt that although the future was unclear, as long as his younger sister was by his side, there was nothing to be afraid of.