"Yes," Jiang Changhai casually replied, pouring the tea into a cup and swirling it around before continuing to drink.
The old man frowned and said, "Nonsense! How can you spend money to send a girl to school when you could save it for a boy in the family to get married instead?"
The old man was a highly respected elder in the Jiang Family, whom even Zhang Guihua and Jiang Dashan had to treat with courtesy.
But Jiang Changhai was a tough nut to crack and retorted, "Second Grandpa, my daughter going to school doesn't cost you a dime, so keep your nose out of it."
The old man was so angry that he blew his beard and stared, "Your Mianmian is dull-headed! Few years back, she was at the literacy class, and after two months she still couldn't do addition or subtraction within twenty. Sending her to school would just be wasting money!"
Jiang Changhai proudly boasted, "That's because Mianmian didn't want to learn. If she wanted to, I guarantee she'd do better than any kid in the village!"
When his daughter divided sunflower seeds and peanuts, he knew just how slick she was at counting; his wife never managed to trick her once.
Jiang Mianmian: ...
I didn't, I'm not, Dad, don't brag!
"Pfft~" everyone else laughed. Who in the village didn't know everyone else's business?
Someone who didn't like Jiang Changhai snickered, "Hahaha, Changhai, your daughter looks clever enough, but let's be honest, don't boast and exaggerate."
After that, the laughter grew even louder, making Jiang Changhe and his wife, who were thin-skinned, feel their faces burning—after all, they were a family, sharing in each other's honor and embarrassment.
Zhang Guihua also had a somber face, feeling uncomfortable inside.
She didn't want San Ya to go to school, but she didn't appreciate her son being ridiculed and teased either. Yet, she couldn't refute it because they were telling the truth.
However, Jiang Changhai touched his daughter's small head, saying firmly, "In my heart, our Mianmian is the most clever and quick-witted."
His big hand and his gaze were so gentle that Jiang Mianmian felt a warm sensation in her chest.
She couldn't stand seeing her dad being mocked like this!
So she puffed out her little chest and recited loudly, "At noon, hoeing in the fields, sweat drips down to the soil below. Who knows that each meal on the plate, every grain was hard-earned."
It's time for you all to know I am a champion!
Indeed, the laughter died away in an instant.
Jiang Mianmian continued, "In spring, one sleeps, unaware of dawn; the birds chirp everywhere. Come night, with the sound of wind and rain, how many flowers have fallen?"
...After she had recited ten poems in a row, everyone present was staring at her with dumbfounded expressions, even Jiang Changhai, who usually bragged about his daughter without a care, was shocked.
Even more exaggerated was her Aunt, who dropped the bowl from her hand.
Jiang Mianmian suddenly felt a satisfying and arrogant thrill of astonishing everyone and being awesomely enviable. She felt incredibly great about herself.
The System emerged to pour cold water on her, "Host, just a reminder, you have been to university. You're not really an eight-year-old child."
Jiang Mianmian: "No matter, let me bask in the glow of a child prodigy for a while."
"My girl, you're fantastic!" After Jiang Changhai came to his senses, he scooped up his daughter in a hug, grinning from ear to ear.
Jiang Mianmian jutted out her little chin proudly, "I also know the multiplication table by heart."
But it was too long, and she was too lazy to recite it.
"Impossible!" Sun Lixia immediately objected, knowing that even Zhiwen, who was in fifth grade, hadn't memorized it completely.
And someone eager for a show said, "If you know it, then recite it for us to hear."
Before Jiang Mianmian could refuse, her father protectively said, "Nice try, why should my daughter have to recite it for your amusement?"
Then, with a face full of affection, he said to Jiang Mianmian, "Here, have a drink. Your throat must be parched after reciting so many poems."
This time his daughter truly made him proud!
At that moment, Jiang Dashan asked, "San Ya, who did you learn all these poems from?"