between clouds and mud

Chapter 18
Jiang Lele's family conditions are second to none in Changsha City, and the children who have played with her since childhood are either rich or expensive. If the circle is divided according to economic conditions, Zhou Song's family conditions are slightly worse.

Jiang Lele's birthday party is also a way of entertainment in the upper class. Watching the banquet, Jiang's mother welcomes her at the door.

Zhou Song has an unrealistic sense of unreality and a strong sense of gap in this world of luxury and gold.

Zhang Fang was right not to come.

Jiang Lele likes music. There is a very lavish piano in her home. The girl gracefully finishes playing a piece, holding up her skirt and slowly bending over to salute. There are applause and flowers at the guest table.

Zhou Song was submerged in the crowd, and she applauded along with the guests.

Jiang Lele was going to socialize with her mother, and the two of them just greeted briefly before being hurriedly pulled away.

There was an exquisite and beautiful cake on the table. Zhou Song picked up a piece and tasted it. It tasted very soft and sweet.

"Yo, who is this?" Three or five boys and girls obviously came towards her, Zhou Song swallowed the cake in doubt, thought for a while, and finally remembered.

When she first came to Changsha, she studied in the private high school arranged by Feng Yi, but Zhou Song really couldn't adapt, so she transferred to the current high school after studying for more than a month.

Feng Yi was quite willing to spend his money. Now it seems that this is not only a private middle school but also an aristocratic middle school.What was in front of her was the group of rich kids who didn't fit in with her, and they were still in the same class.

It's not that friends don't get together, the campus life for more than a month is obviously not a pleasant memory, Zhou Song nodded in greeting, and then bypassed.

There is an open-air swimming pool outside the villa. Zhou Song took a drink and found a secluded place away from the hustle and bustle.

But someone obviously didn't want to make her happy, and a few boring people came over again: "Good student, why are you interested in coming to this kind of occasion?"

"Why are you pretending to be high-minded? Here we go, let's play together." She remembered the person who said this, and she was quite impressed - Chi Ye.

Zhou Song was sitting on a chair with a drink, facing a group of condescending people, she was lukewarm: "I'm not interested."

"I'm curious, how did a bumpkin who didn't even know about clothing brands and didn't know how to use electronic products get an admission ticket?" A girl looked at her, although she looked sweet, but the contempt in her eyes was visible to the naked eye.

Zhou Song is no stranger to this look, and Feng Yi has always been so arrogant.

Zhou Song felt disgusted, she looked at the men and women who were slightly intimate, and asked curiously: "Student Chi Ye, why is your girlfriend different from last time?"

This sentence stepped on the girl's culprit, and she brewed for a while and replied unwillingly: "I'm also curious, how did you wear Versace's dress?"

Zhou Song wore a white dress today, which Feng Yi prepared for her.Originally, she planned to come here in her usual clothes, but Feng Yi said that it was a birthday party with invitations after all, so she should be more decent.

But Zhou Song has no concept of the brand, nor does he know what Versace is.

Such noise and disputes are meaningless, Zhou Song stood up: "I'm sorry, please let me go."

The girl thought that it was poking at her heart, so her attitude became even more domineering, and she just stood still.

The men and women around me were also laughing, with an attitude of watching the show. The campus life I had survived for more than a month was such a miasma.

The girl continued to question her with a flaunting expression, and Zhou Song warned once: "Get out of the way."

Seeing that she still didn't want to stop, Zhou Song twisted her wrist, and the girl was held tightly by her: "I tell you to get out of the way."

"Are you sick?" The girl didn't realize that Zhou Song would do something, and her tone became sharp.

Zhou Song glanced at the calm lake, let go and pushed her down.

A thumping figure appeared on the water surface of the swimming pool, attracting one or two people to watch. The people on the bank began to shout, and gradually more people gathered. Seeing someone jumping down to save others, Zhou Song was relieved.

She glanced at the men and women in front of her, and they were all honest now.

Two people moved away to make way for Zhou Song, and she walked over with her drink in her eyes.

Zhou Song knows how to swim, and is very good at swimming, so he dared to do this.

Having witnessed the classic scene of using violence to control violence, she is used to applying what she has learned.

This turmoil obviously also caught Jiang's mother's attention, it happened on her place.

In the second half, after she was almost done socializing, she specially led Zhou Song over to save face.

After all, all the people who can attend are famous people in Changsha city.

Long-sleeved and good at dancing, Jiang's mother first gave a few words of comfort on the surface, and then introduced: "If you don't fight, you don't know each other. This is the niece and daughter of the senior deputy provincial official Zhou. She is our good friend of Lele. Let's play together in the future."

Zhou Huaiming's identity was deliberately revealed, the subtext is that this girl has a strong background, so don't look down on her.The girl who fell into the water was also obviously surprised by her identity.

In the end, Zhou Xuan, who was still Jiang's mother, bowed his head first and apologized, and then Zhou Song also apologized.

As for why the girl apologized first, of course it wasn't that Zhou Song was prettier.

It was Zhou Huaiming who had a stronger backer. This was the first time Zhou Song heard about her father's work. She knew that Zhou Huaiming was in the officialdom, and now it seemed that his position was not small.

It is not known how much interest there is in the status of a godmother.

But Zhou Song understood one thing, their family must not reach the level of a wealthy family, but their political status is not low. If Zhou Huaiming moves his little finger, it is estimated that Feng Yi will make a difference in the business field.

Zhang Fang also knows some friends while working in a supermarket, most of whom are salespersons like her.

Once, I quietly pulled Zhang Fang and said that you girl is too sincere, you don’t need to use your voice to attract customers, everyone hangs a small speaker in front of the product, and you can repeat the loop after recording the product introduction once, and wait until the manager comes to inspect It's time to be positive.

Zhang Fang listened and nodded, but didn't take it to heart.Even if her throat is hoarse, she will try her best to introduce the product personally, but the words are brief.

Seeing the yogurt dropped by guests on other merchandise shelves makes her lose heart.She would also be embarrassed to see other people waving their hands in disdain.Hearing other people's doubts, she would secretly get nervous.

But this process is also enjoyment. She loves to communicate with people in her bones.Every time a product is promoted, three customers pass by, but one person stops to listen and she feels respected.

Yes, respect is the most missing thing in her heart.Every moment she stopped, she deeply felt that her self-esteem, which had been crushed, began to mend slowly. This was Zhang Fang's process of finding herself.

Although there are two-thirds of the probability of rejection, there are one-third of the moments that inspire her.

Zhang Fang alternates between day shift and evening shift. Today, the day shift leaves early, and she plans to buy a bicycle.

But after a round in the market, they were all discouraged because there was only one reason - the price exceeded her budget.In the end, I found a favorite in the second-hand market, and I was very happy to ride home.

Although the chain dropped a few times on this bicycle occasionally, and the seat cushion was a bit sloppy, it did not prevent her from humming a ditty all the way. This was the first item she bought with the fruits of her own labor.

She brought a few boxes of yogurt that were about to expire from the supermarket and put them in the basket of the car, and first went to Zhang Chengnian's school for a walk.

This is the first partner she can share in this city. Although she has two friends, she can give yogurt to Zhang Chengnian frankly, but she cannot give it to Zhou Song.

This is the boundary between them, the huge identity difference is an invisible and intangible gap.

Back at Zhou's villa, Zhang Fang turned on the faucet in the garden and carefully wiped the bicycle body with a rag.

When Zhou Song came back from school, he saw Zhang Fang's bicycle and rode it again. He didn't think it was a second-hand bicycle.Zhang Fang smiled and said that Zhang Chengnian looked at her creaking car chain and helped to wipe the engine oil all over.

So the next day Zhou Song also rode his bicycle to Zhang Chengnian. Although there was no problem with the chain, he forced her to oil her bicycle.

Zhou Song told him by the way that she had already passed the rematch of the English speech contest, and she was going to BJ in the final.

It was very close to Tiananmen, rounding it up was equivalent to giving a speech under the national flag. She jumped up happily, hanging around his neck like a koala: "Brother Cheng, I really want to kiss you, but I hold back."

"Xiao Liu, come down." Zhang Chengnian's face could no longer be calm, his cheeks flushed all the way to the roots of his ears.

Since his hands were full of engine oil, he didn't lift her down.

Listening to his heartbeat speeding up, Zhou Song whispered close to his ear: "I will kiss you when I grow up. Your first kiss must be left to me."

The boy who liked to tease others since he was a child was also teased maliciously at this time. Zhou Song then rode his bicycle home contentedly.

Zhang Chengnian stood there foolishly, and laughed after realizing it.

He responded to the distant figure: "Okay."

On this day, people from Dengxinqiao Township gathered together.

Zhang Chengnian made a phone call to the town, and the person who answered the phone sent a message to Dengxinqiao Township, saying that it was eight o'clock in the evening to watch the live broadcast on CCTV-1.

Zhang Chengnian has always been diligent and thrifty and is rarely willing to spend so much money. After receiving the news, the villagers became cautious.

Zhou Laoliu's family is surrounded by old and young people in front of the TV. Although TVs are very common now, because the young people are gone, the old people don't spend much money on it.

Zhou Lao Liu shook the antenna on the roof for a while, and finally got a picture underneath.

Grandpa Chengnian was so frightened that his eyes widened, he came out and called the sixth child: "Dear family, please watch TV quickly, come and see."

This also scared Zhou Laoliu, is there no signal again?
Outside the crowd, he heard a chirping sound coming from the TV in the house, pushed aside the crowd and walked in: "Oh, what kind of bird language is this?"

"Isn't that our Xiaoliu?" Zhou Laoliu looked at the girl wearing a red scarf standing on the podium on TV, behind her was a bright five-star red flag, and the podium in front of her was full of lilies.

The teenager in the center of the screen was holding a speech script in his hand, with a satisfied expression on his face.

"Sixth, what is my daughter saying?" Fuying sat in front of the TV anxiously, and she hurriedly pulled the man to ask.

"I don't understand either." Zhou Laoliu was still in a daze. After being stunned for three seconds, he saw the subtitles scrolling below, and slowly opened his mouth to follow.

Two voices are intertwined, one is thunderous and smooth, the other is thick and long with difficult tone
Dear teacher, dear students, my name is Zhou Song, and I am a sophomore student at Qingyun Middle School in Changsha, Hunan. Under the national flag, the topic of my speech is "Cultural Inheritance of Traditional Chinese Architecture".

A hundred years ago, the world asked the East, do you have architectural culture in China?
Mr. Lin Huiyin and Mr. Liang Sicheng embarked on the journey of investigating the history of ancient Chinese architecture.

In the turbulent era, stepping all over the mountains and rivers with your feet, and restoring ancient buildings with your hands.

There are mortise and tenon structures everywhere, each building is stamped, and each structural drawing is preserved.

This is our Chinese architectural culture and our architectural history.

Today, the times are changing.

People's lifestyles are undergoing great changes, and buildings are towering reinforced concrete structures.

Crafts gradually withdraw from the stage of history, but a group of people are still persisting.

I can proudly say that my father is a traditional carpenter.

Although his hands have long been inflexible, he still insisted on his beliefs despite the culture shock. My father was a "half-handed carpenter".

Why do you call yourself half-lazi?
After reading this, Lao Liu's voice began to choke.
Under everyone's earnest eyes, they continued to read tremblingly.

This is not self-effacing, because tradition has extremely high requirements on carpenters, and ancient Chinese buildings are all made of wood. They are not just ordinary types of work that people understand today.

They are also the chief engineers of the project, who are in charge of the overall situation, and the pavilions and waterside pavilions rely on their wisdom to build.

Behind me is the BJ Forbidden City, the Chinese gardens in Suzhou, the Tengwang Pavilion in Nanchang, and the ancient city tower in Xi'an.

The wisdom of traditional carpenters of past dynasties has been left on the land of China from south to north.

Then should our culture be lost with the innovation of modern civilization?

"Is this broadcast on TV all over the country?"

"Maybe it will be broadcast to the world. This is a foreign language."

"Lao Six, Xiao Nier was talking about you on TV just now."

"Our little Nier is striving for success!" The folks watched Xiao Nier grow up, and started discussing with each other.

"Stop talking, Xiaoliu is on the podium." A villager pointed at the TV, his fingers were shaking, and they were all proud of it at this moment.

Zhang Fang from the Zhou family villa specially transferred a shift with her colleagues today. She has been waiting in front of the TV since the news broadcast.

There was no movement in the Zhou family, until Zhou Li looked closer curiously, and called out: "Dad, Mom, come and watch, my sister is on TV."

Feng Yi heard the voice and came out with the mask on, and screamed: "Ah! Husband."

Zhou Huaiming was the last to be seated, and the four of them sat in front of the TV and listened to the speech with concentration and breathlessness.

"Why didn't my husband mention you?" After Zhou Song finished speaking, Feng Yi continued to ask: "Did it be edited?"

"Auntie, this is a live broadcast, not cut." Zhang Fang replied holding the remote control.

"Xiao Song said he would go to the BJ competition, but he didn't tell us about such a big competition." Feng Yi said unwillingly, "That's what our parents are like."

She didn't say the word failure. Even Zhang Fang knew about Zhou Song's game, but she didn't tell the couple.

"So that's how it is." Looking at the girl wearing a red scarf on the podium, Zhou Huaiming said, "The reason why she is interested in ancient architecture is——carpenter."

When the girl standing on the podium on TV talked about her father, her admiration and pride were beyond words.

Zhou Huaiming had been unwilling in his heart, and he kept fighting.

But at this moment, after his infinite loneliness, he felt relieved, and had to admit that the facts were before his eyes. He murmured to himself: "Her adoptive father is great."

It is no longer selfishly feeling that her daughter is very good, but praising her adoptive father for being great.

The husband and wife once had a quarrel over who their daughter looked more like.

They all feel that the advantages of their daughter are up to them, and the shortcomings are up to whoever they are, so they don't know.

It was Feng Yi who was most shocked.

Feng Yi grew up in a relatively privileged family and lived in the United States with her family for a period of time when she was young. Her spoken English is very good.

Hearing Xiao Song's pronunciation in the corridor several times, she knocked on the door to ask if she could help, but there was no response from inside.

Feng Yi has always felt that Zhou Song resented them in her heart, but now it seems that her daughter is indifferent, she has no extra feelings for her biological parents, just like strangers.

Her biological father's every move, every word and deed may affect the direction of the whole province, but Zhou Song is proud of his father who was born as a farmer in the mountains.

The biological mother came to her with all kinds of famous brand designs, but Zhou Song stubbornly found the few tattered clothes in the garbage station.

Why is that.
But does she really not know the answer?

People are shameful animals. When she unintentionally picked up the "stolen" necklace in the crack of the cosmetic box, how did she feel in her heart?

Teacher Wen took Zhou Song to visit Tiananmen Square for an extra day.

His eyes touched the red walls and yellow tiles, and Zhou Song looked up at the magnificent and magnificent ancient buildings. This is the crystallization of wisdom left by ancient craftsmen, and it is a miracle in the world.

She took Jiang Lele's borrowed camera and asked a tourist to help take pictures.

In the photo, she is holding Teacher Wen's hand and standing in front of the white marble railing, with the magnificent palace behind her.

Teacher Wen knew that girls of this age love beauty, so she offered to take two photos for her alone.

Zhou Song held the camera and shook his head: "This one is enough, my father must be very pleased to see it."

As the head teacher, Mr. Wen has never met Zhou Song's parents in the parents' meeting. Every time the girl's uncle and aunt attended, she couldn't help touching the girl's head lovingly: "I hope to have the opportunity to meet your parents. They must be good too."

"Mr. Wen, they are farmers in the mountains. At this time, Hunan mountainous areas are working in the fields with hoes on their shoulders." Zhou Song looked at Tiananmen Square in front of her, her tone was somewhat proud.

(End of this chapter)