The Reborn Sidekick Rejected The Male Lead-Chapter 344 - 334: Friends

Jiang Yuan looked very different from before; the years had certainly put him through his paces at the team.

Lu Jingqiu poured him some water, and Jiang Yuan seemed a bit restrained.

After Shen Mu came in from outside, he said, "Sister-in-law, Comrade Jiang, please have a seat; I’ll go and make dinner."

Jiang Yuan quickly stood up and said, "Second Brother Shen, let me help you."

"No need, no need."

Shen Mu declined, but Jiang Yuan still rose to his feet, Lu Jingqiu hurriedly pulled him back, saying, "How can we let a guest help out? Please take your seat."

"Sister-in-law, Yiyi has been a concern for you lately, I don’t know how to thank you enough. You and Big Brother Nanzhou have given so much help to me and my sister."

"That was just a simple gesture on our part; you don’t need to feel any burden about it. Just do your best in the team, and if there’s a chance for a study spot, strive for it. You and your sister are only here temporarily. Once things get better for you, see who can still bully you. Yiyi is a sensible child; she actually spares me a lot of worries when she’s here."

She had him sit down and talked to him about Yiyi’s performance at school—Yang Linghua’s matter had also been settled.

Jiang Yuan had previously thought about finding a school farther away where he could board, so that his grandparents, uncles, and others in their alley wouldn’t trouble them, so they wouldn’t be bullied by the other children in the alley. He hadn’t expected his sister to still be bullied by her classmates here.

He was alone in the team with not many days off, so there were areas where he couldn’t quite look after his sister, which worried him as well.

Thus, he couldn’t bring himself to say that it was no trouble for Sister-in-law, "Sister-in-law, please take care of Yiyi from now on. This is Yiyi’s living expenses."

With that, he took a wad of money out of his pocket. Lu Jingqiu quickly refused, saying, "No, how much could Yiyi possibly eat? She’s also company for me here. Take this money back; don’t be so formal with your sister-in-law."

"Sister-in-law, I heard from Yiyi that you’ve been covering her school living expenses. If you don’t take this money, I’ll be ashamed to let Yiyi stay with you. Please accept it."

"No need, Yiyi’s school expenses aren’t much, and the child even secretly put money in my room. I don’t need it, you keep it."

The two went back and forth several times, but Lu Jingqiu ultimately refused to accept the money, and Jiang Yuan didn’t insist.

He had a meal over there, and during the meal, the atmosphere was very cheerful; he talked a lot about things going on in the team with Lu Jingqiu and Shen Mu. freёnovelkiss.com

"I was on training elsewhere for half a year before being transferred back, and now I’m already a platoon leader. I didn’t finish middle school; I don’t know much. If there’s a chance for further study, I probably won’t be considered. So I’m thinking of learning skills from the old squad leader."

"What can your old squad leader do?"

"He can operate a cannon."

Shen Mu said, "Learning a skill is good, but if there’s an opportunity to further your education, you mustn’t miss it."

Lu Jingqiu nodded, "What grade did you reach in middle school?"

"End of junior high second year."

"The selection process in your military unit is different from our regular exams, with a part on cultural knowledge and a part on skills. The knowledge from junior high third year is also quite simple. When you have time, try to borrow a book for that grade and study it. Once you’re done with that, move on to high school material. You’re only seventeen now. You’re still young."

"I..." Jiang Yuan started, but after hearing Sister-in-law’s words, he thought for a moment, nodded his head hurriedly, and said with a smile, "Sister-in-law, I will work hard."

Lu Jingqiu smiled, "Opportunities are always there for those who strive for them; make sure you do more than just talk. If you can’t manage English, come ask your sister when you’re off duty. I’m teaching her English right now."

Shen Mu added, "If you don’t understand other subjects, I can help you clear up any confusion on Sundays. I can’t promise complete expertise, but explaining things so you can understand them shouldn’t be a problem."

"Thank you, Second Brother Shen."

Jiang Yuan finished his meal, then left cheerfully, saying he wouldn’t come by tonight, as he was going to pick up Yiyi, and wanted to spend the day off bonding well with his sister, since he only had a two-day leave and one day had already passed.

After Jiang Yuan left, as Lu Jingqiu was cleaning up the dishes, she discovered fifty yuan hidden beneath a bowl, and instantly knew it was secretly left by Jiang Yuan. She sighed helplessly.

Shen Mu chuckled, "Sister-in-law, keep it. If we don’t take it, he won’t rest easy. Use the money to buy Yiyi some stationery or clothes; that would be good."

"Sure, that works. I’ve been meaning to knit her a sweater. I’ll take her shopping for a couple of warm clothes on Sunday. School is definitely not as warm as home. Ah Mu, do you need anything?"

"I’m not in need of anything. The clothes you bought for me last time will last me through the winter."

"Oh, right, you’re still missing a military coat. I’ll get you one soon. It’s good for bike rides in the morning."

"I do have a military coat, remember? When I went to the countryside, so many people in our educated youth team were envious."

"True, but your coat must be seven or eight years old now." Back then, in the educated youth team, Shen Mu and Gao Shu each had a military coat, which was quite a rarity. The other educated youths were green with envy, and quite a few locals were covetous as well.

Then she arrived, wearing her father’s hand-me-down green uniform and a military coat. At that time, she attracted the notice of all the female colleagues in the entire village, not to mention the men.

Luckily, she was rather wilful back then and was looking for Gao Shu, constantly causing trouble with Xia Lin. The male colleagues from the village didn’t dare to approach her.

Before going to pick up his sister, Jiang Yuan tidied up the house and then went to visit a close classmate from before, borrowing a set of ninth-grade textbooks. He had taken Sister-in-law’s advice to study seriously to heart.

He was planning to bring them back to the school at the educated youth team’s site. There were quite a few highly educated comrades there, and he could ask them for help when needed.

That evening, he discussed a lot with his sister. Both siblings talked about striving hard. Without close family but having friends, they wouldn’t be completely alone. They both felt that meeting Big Brother Jiang and Sister-in-law Lu was the luckiest thing in their lives.

"Yiyi, if we hadn’t met Big Brother Jiang and Sister-in-law Lu back then, Big Brother might have really turned out to be a street hoodlum, robbing and stealing. I might even have wound up behind bars by accident, leaving you all alone."

"Hmph, what do you mean, ’left alone’? If I didn’t have you by my side, brother, I could have been sold by Grandma and Grandpa. This house of ours would have been taken over by them too."

"Yeah, that’s also true."

"Brother, I’m doing well at Sister-in-law Jingqiu’s place. Don’t worry, I won’t be a burden to her."

"Sure, you should be diligent in someone else’s home. Wash your own clothes. Help out Sister-in-law when you can."

"I will. But the Sister-in-law doesn’t let me do too much; she always makes sure I’m focused on my studies."

"Good. If you study well, you can go to high school like Sister-in-law did, and then on to university."

"Brother, you need to work hard too. I hear that even in the team, being uneducated is no good."

"I know. Starting now, I’ll study hard too. Big Brother Jiang is my role model."

"Brother, since we don’t often come back, what will we do about our house here? Won’t those people covet it again?"

"No, I’ll have time now on Sundays."

"Huh?"

"I’ve been promoted, to platoon leader. I’ll get one day off every week from now on."

"That’s great."