1681 Continue Studying
Xu Ju had already said that she would not allow Xu Man to continue with her studies. The reason was very simple. She said that it was a waste of money for Xu Man to go to school and that Xu Man might as well help her with housework at home or go out to work to earn money!
Xu Jiao stammered and did not dare to tell everyone about her results. She looked to Xu Ju for help and Xu Ju immediately said, “There’s definitely no problem with her results! You don’t have to worry about that!”
Qiao Mei looked at Xu Man, who was standing alone, and said, “Which year are you in?”
Xu Man threw Xu Ju a look of fear and then said cautiously to Qiao Mei, “Second year in high school…”
“Then how are your results? Are you going to university?” Qiao Mei continued to ask.
Xu Man did not dare to speak up. She and Xu Jiao were in the same high school, but in different years. She was one year behind Xu Jiao, but her results had always been top among her cohort without fail. She had even topped the second place by more than 20 points before!
Xu Jiao, on the other hand, was in last place in her cohort. Many people would use Xu Man’s results to laugh at her. Every time someone mocked her, Xu Man would suffer for it.
After returning home from school, Xu Jiao would fabricate all kinds of lies to frame Xu Man and make her family members think that Xu Man had bullied her. Xu Ju would then give Xu Man a beating. Until now, there was not an unharmed spot on Xu Man’s body. There were bruises all over her body from the beatings.
Out of the house, Xu Man was not allowed to tell anyone about her good results. She must appear to be inferior to Xu Jiao and could not overshadow Xu Jiao. Otherwise, she would get a beating again when she returned home.
“Not very good…” Xu Man whispered.
If not for the fact that the Xia family had already done a background check on Xu Jiao and Xu Man, they might have believed what Xu Ju said.
“Third daughter-in-law! Don’t waste your efforts on that wretched girl. She’s just a piece of trash! She’s hopeless! Once she finishes school this year, I won’t let her study anymore!” Xu Ju said disdainfully.
“She’s still so young. It’s better for her to continue with her studies. Is the family not doing well? Looking at how nicely Eldest Aunt is dressed, I thought that your family is rich. I didn’t expect you not to have the money to send the children to school,” Qiao Mei said as she looked at Xu Ju with pity.
“You! What nonsense are you talking about! My family is doing very well! This girl can’t learn anything well. It’s a waste of money to spend money on her studies! She might as well go out to work early!” Xu Ju said.
Qiao Mei looked at Xu Man like she was looking at the person who used to live in Qiao Zhuang’s house. Xu Man was a smart person. If she was held back by such a family, her entire life would be ruined.
Xu Lan seemed to understand Qiao Mei’s intentions and also started to persuade Xu Ju. “The child is still so young. Who wants to hire her? You should at least let her finish high school. If she manages to get into university, then she can earn money to pay for her own school fees. If she doesn’t get into university, it’s not too late for her to start work then.”
“Eldest Aunt, if she stops going to school now, the neighbors will laugh at your family! Then it will be so embarrassing for you!” Xia He said quickly.
Xu Ju was stunned by what she heard. She had never considered these things. Her reputation in her neighborhood was already bad enough. If she did anything else to stand out, she would not be able to hang out in that area anymore. Those people could drown her with all their gossip!
This was especially so since Xu Man was an adopted daughter. In this era, if a child was disobedient and got beaten up or scolded at home, other people would pretend not to see it and no one would be a busybody. After all, the parents were just disciplining their biological children. As the saying went, even a monster would not hurt its own children!
However, if one beat up an adopted child, it would become a big deal! People from the community office and the neighborhood would come to investigate the issue. The parents might even be sent for reeducation or be criticized using posters!
Qiao Mei secretly smiled at Xu Man, who was in turn grateful to her.
“My sister-in-law is preparing to take the college entrance examination. She doesn’t intend to be admitted using her class background,” Xia Wen said proudly.
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