"Okay, eat more, there's more if you're still hungry."
"That's enough, that's enough."
Jian Changnian devoured the rice and vegetables in his bowl in a whirlwind, let out a burp, ran over and put the empty bowl into the pot, and said indistinctly.
"Grandma, could you please wash the dishes today? I'm going to watch TV at the village committee!"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than he had run out of the courtyard gate.
Grandma shook her head helplessly: "This child, come back early after you're done watching."
***
"Welcome, viewers, to CCTV-5, the Central Sports Channel. We are now broadcasting the Men's Singles Final of the 2011 London World Badminton Championships—"
Jian Changnian burst through the door, panting, just in time.
"Hey, Little Jane's here."
Shuigou Village is remote, and only a few families can afford a color TV. The one the village committee has was given to them by the higher authorities. They can only watch a few CCTV channels. There are not many entertainment activities in the small mountain village, so this place has become one of the gathering places for villagers after meals.
After greeting several familiar uncles, aunts, and other relatives, Jian Changnian moved a small stool and sat down obediently to watch the game.
She was so focused when watching the game, more attentive than she was in any of her professional classes.
When the Chinese player won, she clapped and cheered just like everyone else.
When things turn against her, she frowns, purses her lips, and clenches her fists tightly, as if she were the one playing a game.
The elders watching laughed.
"Look at our little Jian, she watches the game so attentively and plays badminton quite well. She should be an athlete!"
Faced with the teasing of the crowd, Jian Changnian blushed and said shyly.
"I...how could I..."
Looking at the spirited young players on the screen, Jian Changnian felt a genuine sense of envy.
Wearing the red flag and going to war for the country seems like a distant dream.
"This was destined to be a thrilling and unforgettable match, a battle between the world's number one and the world's number two, Lin Dan and Lee Chang-ho. After falling behind in the first game, Chinese player Lin Dan fought back fiercely, winning back two match points in the final game to claim his fourth World Championship title and become the first four-time World Championship winner in history! Congratulations to Lin Dan!"
The commentator on the screen delivered a passionate speech, and the two players gave each other a big hug.
Jian Changnian, watching from outside the screen, was moved by the atmosphere and clapped enthusiastically, her eyes slightly moist.
That night, Jian Changnian had a dream in which she stood on the world's highest stage.
She swung her racket, fighting hard, while the audience roared. Her opponent raised his head, staring intently at her.
"My name is Xie Shi'an. Is there any point in playing a match where the outcome is already decided?"
Jian Changnian woke up suddenly, covered in cold sweat, her heart pounding violently.
She swallowed hard and looked outside. A few rays of sunlight shone through the window onto the ground; it was already daylight.
After lunch, she prepared to return to school.
Grandma packed her schoolbag and stuffed a few thick clothes inside.
"The seasons are about to change, so dress warmly and don't catch a cold."
"Okay, Grandma, I can do it myself. You sit and rest." Jian Changnian took the work from her grandmother and tidied it up herself.
Grandma, however, was always busy. She went to the pickling jar in the kitchen, scooped out some of the prepared pickled vegetables, put them in a clean beverage bottle, put it in a plastic bag, and stuffed it into her bag.
"You said the chili sauce was delicious last time, but we finished it and haven't had time to make any more. This pickled vegetable is made from the leftover vegetables from the fields that were ripe a while ago. It also contains cured meat, finely shredded. If you like it, I'll give you a lot so your classmates can try it too."
As Grandma spoke, she zipped up her schoolbag, then took out a stack of small bills from her shirt pocket and carefully counted out the largest denominations.
Three ten-yuan notes and four five-yuan notes were given to her to make up a whole number.
"Here, take this. This is your allowance for next week. If it's not enough or you need to buy any study materials, just call me and Grandma will bring them to you."
Seeing that her grandmother's hands were trembling more and more violently as she picked up things, Jian Changnian felt a surge of warmth in her heart and rushed into her grandmother's arms. She used her grandmother's clothes to wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes and whispered.
"Grandma, don't work so hard. Do less needlework; it's bad for your eyes. I'm not short of money at school. You should take care of yourself. Don't forget that when I'm not home, you don't even put oil in the cooking..."
Grandma stroked the top of her head, a contented smile always on her wrinkled face.
"As long as we are determined to succeed, Grandma will do anything for us."
Only in front of her grandmother could Jian Changnian let go of all her pretense of maturity and reveal her soft, mischievous, innocent, and lively childlike nature.
"Once I start working, you won't have to farm or make shoe soles anymore. We'll move to the city together and live in a big house. I'll buy you beautiful clothes and a car so I can take you around when I'm on vacation. You can just drink tea, listen to the radio, and dance with the old folks downstairs, enjoying your retirement..."
Grandma couldn't stop smiling.
"Okay, okay, Grandma, we'll wait for that day."
***
When Jian Changnian arrived at school, she suddenly remembered that she hadn't taken in the quilt she had left drying on the balcony yesterday. She slapped her forehead and ran back to her dormitory.
Back in the dormitory, everyone else had returned as well. When Jian Changnian entered, the group, who had been chatting and laughing, immediately fell silent, lowering their voices and whispering among themselves, making faces at each other, seemingly saying something unintelligible.
Jian Changnian ignored them and went straight to the balcony. Her bed was the lower bunk next to the balcony door, at the very back of the dormitory.
As she passed her bed, she was suddenly startled, thinking that the blanket that was still drying on the balcony had been folded and placed on the bed.
Yuanyuan, who was on the opposite bed, jumped down and said, "I need to hang up my clothes, but there's no room, so I'll bring your blanket in first."
Jian Changnian glanced at her but said nothing.
The same girl who hit her first came over.
"How can you be like this? Someone helps you take in your blankets and you don't even say thank you. No wonder nobody wants to be your friend."
Jian Changnian wasn't a particularly vengeful person, and she remembered what her grandmother had told her to get along well with her classmates, but she was still a little awkward because she had just had a fight last Friday.
She turned her back, intending to make the bed, and softly uttered a "thank you."
The two exchanged a glance, and a malicious smile crept onto Yuanyuan's lips, which she quickly suppressed, trying to appear more approachable.
"What are you still packing for? We're about to have evening self-study. There's a class meeting tonight, and being late will result in points being deducted from the class's score."
Just as I feared, the bell rang for evening self-study, and everyone else left the dormitory.
"Let's go, let's go, we'll pack up when we get back."
Jian Changnian thought for a moment, put down what she was doing, took out a few books from her bag, and ran towards the teaching building.
It was already past nine o'clock when Jian Changnian finished her evening self-study session. After returning to her dormitory and washing up, she was about to go to bed when she touched the blanket and froze.
It's wet.
She turned the blanket over in disbelief, and there was a large water stain in the center of the blanket, as if someone had deliberately poured water on it.
"I need to hang the clothes out to dry, but there's no room, so I'll bring your blanket in first."
Jian Changnian remembered what Yuanyuan had said and trembled with anger. She turned around abruptly and stared at Yuanyuan, who was sitting in a chair opposite her applying skincare products.
"Why is my blanket wet? Is it because of you...?"
Yuan Yuan didn't turn her head and shrugged.
"I have no idea. Maybe it got wet from the rain last night."
As soon as she finished speaking, several people in the dormitory chuckled.
Jian Changnian blushed: "It didn't rain at all last night!"
Yuan Yuan hissed, put down the cosmetics in her hand, turned her head, and said in a rather impatient tone.
"So what do you mean? Are you implying that I did it? Do you have any proof? You've made things worse by trying to help someone."
"Yeah, who knows what happened, and they're blaming Yuanyuan."
“We were all there when Yuanyuan came back, but we didn’t see her splash water on your blanket.”
"Who knows when it was done?"
"Maybe you're the one who wets the bed."
Everyone else burst into laughter.
Jian Changnian stood there, her face flushed, her fists clenched, utterly alone and helpless.
She knew that even if Yuanyuan hadn't done it, she was still involved, or rather, she was involved with everyone in the dormitory.
Watching their mouths open and close, uttering lies, Jian Changnian felt utterly disgusted.
A surge of anger welled up inside her, and she blurted out, "You're lying!!! I've never wet the bed!"
"Lights out! Why aren't you asleep? What's all the noise about?!" Just as the argument was at an impasse, the dormitory supervisor pushed open the door and shouted.
A glimmer of hope welled up in Jian Changnian's heart, and she opened her mouth.
"Auntie, I..."
The dormitory supervisor frowned and interrupted her.
"It's you again. You were involved in the fight last week. How old are you? You still can't get along with your classmates. We live under the same roof and see each other all the time. Look at yourself and see the problem. If there are any conflicts, just take a step back and it will pass."
Yuanyuan quickly stood up and gave two of the big apples she had brought from home to the dormitory supervisor.
"Yes, yes, Auntie is right. I'm the dorm leader, it's my duty to give way to my classmates. Lights out, everyone go to sleep, let Auntie rest too."
The dormitory supervisor finally smiled, took the apple, and left satisfied.
"If everyone were as sensible as you, I would have so much less to worry about."
Everyone else climbed into bed as well.
"Go to sleep, go to sleep."
The roommate closest to the light turned it off.
The dormitory was pitch black, leaving Jian Changnian alone, silently hugging her blanket and standing in the darkness, her eyes slightly red.
Jian Changnian slowly climbed into bed, turned the blanket over, curled up into a ball, and covered only the corner that wasn't wet.
She hugged her pillow and sniffed.
Jian Changnian thought that she missed her grandmother a little.
Even though I haven't been away from home for long.