Then, Ji Ruochu turned to Tingting, who was standing quietly to the side. She was wearing slippers that the staff had just bought for her from a nearby store.
At this moment, the little girl was looking at the toys several children had received with envy written all over her face. Her eyes were full of longing, but she instinctively kept her distance from the camera.
Ji Ruochu had no doubt that if she didn't have a gift for her, Tingting wouldn't have dared to ask for one. But—
"Sister Tingting, I got you a present!"
Ji Ruochu's voice was soft and tender, and to Tingting it was the most pleasant sound in the world.
"Th-thank you, little sister Ruochu."
She came forward somewhat awkwardly, but was stunned when she saw what Ji Ruochu had given her.
She had thought that little sister Ruochu would give her a doll or maybe a new pair of sleeves. But—
"Sister Tingting, it seems like the shoes you gave me last time were washed away by the water too. I wanted to get you a new pair, but my mom said it's not good to give someone shoes as a gift. So..."
The little girl pointed to a small stack of books in her suitcase and said, "So I'm giving you my favorite picture books instead!"
At this point, Tingting was already stunned in place. She looked at the exquisite books in the bag, then at the new shoes on her own feet, wanting to speak but hesitating.
What floated up in her mind was her grandmother's stern face from when they went out this morning.
This time when they came to record the show, her grandmother had deliberately not let her wear any shoes. Although she was only six years old, she could guess her grandmother's intentions.
To be honest, walking barefoot with these younger brothers and sisters didn't feel inappropriate to her. And when the crew hurriedly brought her a new pair of shoes, she didn't feel like anything was wrong either.
But now, looking at this angel-like little sister who had given her so many beautiful books, her heart felt strangely oppressed for some reason.
It wasn't until many years later that she realized what that feeling was — "self-abasement" and "ashamed beyond measure."
Because when faced with these exquisite books, she still had to say: "Little sister, I don't want the books. If you want to give me something, can you give me some money instead?"
This was after her grandmother had specifically taught her to say this, upon finding out that the crew would continue filming.
Her grandmother said that these people were filthy rich. It would be easy to cheat those few children. As long as they could get even a little bit of money from them, her parents wouldn't have to struggle so hard for decades.
Her grandmother had even asked her, didn't she want her parents to come home more often? Didn't she want to follow her parents to live in a big city?
Of course Tingting wanted that. So she repeated her grandmother's words verbatim.
However, she didn't know that after the live studio audience heard what she said, they already had some criticisms.
【You see, I knew you can't be too nice to country folks, they're too shameless! She directly asked the little sister for money, unbelievable!】
【Hmm... I suddenly feel like Tingting deserves to have gone hungry.】
【You can't say that. The child is just terrified of being poor. And originally Ruochu lost her shoes, so compensating her with money is normal.】
【A pair of shoes is just a few bucks. How much are those books worth? Just one of them has got to be hundreds!】
【Oh... Ruochu's kindness was completely wasted.】
...
"Huh?" Ji Ruochu was puzzled. She glanced down at the books she had deliberately wrapped in cheap burlap, then looked back up and asked, "Why? Sister, don't you like reading?"
Tingting shook her head. "My grandmother said reading is useless. When I grow up I have to get married and have babies. Girls are worthless from birth, so getting married earlier means more dowry to subsidize the family."
These words were clearly inappropriate for Fan Jin and the others to hear, but not for Ji Ruochu. Still, even though she knew it was wrong, she couldn't show it. Instead, she asked doubtfully:
"Why?"
"Because I'm a girl. My grandmother said that when girls grow up we belong to someone else's family."
"That's not true. My grandparents never say stuff like that."
Ji Ruochu thought for a moment, then added, "My maternal grandparents don't say that either. Sister Tingting, do you think your grandmother tricked you?"
"Huh?" Tingting was stunned.
"Sister, don't let yourself be tricked. Reading is great!" The little girl's voice was very firm. "My dad said that people trick people, but knowledge doesn't. And books can be very valuable too!"
"Really? How much money can these books sell for?"
Hearing this, the little girl mysteriously waved her hand, "You can't sell books for much money, but there's gold inside them!"
"Gold?!"
The other children who were playing with their new toys heard this and immediately gathered around.
"That's right, and not just gold, but jade too!"
"Where, where?"
The children crouched down to scrutinize the books, almost reaching out to flip through them.
Ji Ruochu stated categorically: "I don't know exactly, but every adult says that the more books you read, the more likely you'll find gold and jade. So it must be true."
【Hmm... Is there any chance she meant the saying "There is a golden house in books, there are beautiful faces like jade in books"?】
【Doesn't matter, if Ruochu says there's gold then there must be. You guys watch the livestream first, I'm going to find some gold. 】
【+1, I haven't finished digging up my gold for today either, I'm out...】
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