Chapter 35 - Boastful Dad
Qiao Zijin finally had the opportunity to meet Elder Lee, and he was all smiles when he saw her. She was so proud that she was well liked by everyone. She was about to say “Yes” but her words were choked up in her throat.
Why would Elder Lee mention Qiao Nan as soon as he started to speak?
Qiao Nan was always bad with her words, she was not likable like her. Why would Elder Lee have mistaken her as Qiao Nan?
Qiao Zijin’s words were stifled in her throat and she ended up letting out a faint sound. Elder Lee took it that she had acknowledged his questions.
When he saw that this was the child that he was looking for, he became all the more amiable. “Xiao Qiao, you have raised a good daughter. She really looked like the daughter of a soldier, full of righteousness.”
“But Xiao Qiao, you should pay more attention to your children’ health. Nan Nan, are you still in shock from the incident last time? Have you fall ill, and hence your voice sounds weird?”
Qiao’s family were speechless.
Qiao Zijin’s “oh” was a slip of tongue. She tried to hold it in, but ended up going out of pitch. She was not admitting to having fallen sick.
“Uncle Lee, you have the wrong person. This is my elder daughter Qiao Zijin, this is my younger daughter Qiao Nan. Nan Nan, you must have not met Uncle Lee before, come and meet your Grandpa Lee.”
Qiao Dongliang might not know why Elder Lee was here today, but he had the utmost respect for him.
“Grandpa Lee.” Qiao Nan addressed him politely.
Qiao Nan was also puzzled as to why Elder Lee would come to visit and to call her name upfront.
Of course, Qiao Nan was not angry at him for calling the wrong person. In fact she was happy. Qiao Zijin had made a fool of herself this time.
“Oh, you are Nan Nan, you are really pretty. Xiao Qiao, you have brought up a good daughter. Nan Nan might be quiet, but she is hardworking. Like us, she has the same down-to-earth attribute and mannerism of a soldier.”
Elder Lee knew that he had got the wrong person. He gave a smile, not paying much attention to it.
Ever since Qiao Dongliang was discharged from the army, he had never been to Elder Lee’s house. Elder Lee knew that this matter had been weighing on Qiao Dongliang’s mind. As for Elder Lee, he was also disappointed in Qiao Dongliang. As a result, they had gradually lost touch.
Elder Lee had once carried Qiao Zijin when she was young. But he had never seen Qiao Nan since she was born.
The two sisters looked alike, it was no wonder that Elder Lee could not tell them apart.
Qiao Nan could not help but smile at Elder Lee’s compliments. She found them familiar. Had he not said similar words when he mistook Qiao Zijin for Qiao Nan?
This was the first time that Qiao Nan had seen Elder Lee. He seemed to be a funny person to her.
Qiao Dongliang was used to Elder Lee’s style. He smiled and said, “Uncle Lee, this younger daughter of mine is really a good daughter. She has always been good in her studies. Not only is she the Vice Class Monitor in class, every year she is awarded the top three model students and outstanding class committee member. It’s just that my wife is too careless to have burnt her certificates by mistake.”
At the mention of Qiao Nan, Qiao Dongliang turned into a boastful parent, pride was evident in his voice.
Ever since he discharged from the army, Qiao Dongliang dared not face Elder Lee. His biggest wish was that Elder Lee was still healthy, that his two daughters would be successful and have good prospects.
In that way, he could bring his daughters to Elder Lee and tell him proudly, “Elder Lee, I did not make the wrong choice back then, I did not let your efforts down.”
He was not successful, but he had nurtured daughters who were even more successful than him!
“Elder Lee, I am sure you don’t know. Nan Nan is in the third year of junior high school. She did not do well for her Chinese and Mathematics exams at the first day of school. Her Chinese teacher was very angry as she scored close to full marks for her essay but lost some marks in the component that required memorizing. She could have scored 99 points, but had 85 points instead. But luckily Nan Nan scored full marks for her English. She was the only one who scored full marks in her school.”
After finding out that Qiao Nan was not only the Vice Class Monitor, but she also received awards for her good performance every year, Qiao Dongliang reflected on himself and began to pay more attention to her studies.
This Wednesday Qiao Dongliang applied for an hour off from his workplace. He went to Qiao Nan’s school and spoke with the teachers who taught the main subjects, asking about her studies.
If he did not ask, he would not have known. After the session, he could not help but feel proud of his daughter.
Every teacher who taught the younger daughter were full of praise for her.
Even though it angered and pained Teacher Lee to talk about the younger daughter’s Chinese results, he could tell that it was because Teacher Lee wanted Qiao Nan to do well.
Qiao Dongliang could tell from the criticisms and praises that Teacher Lee meant that if only Qiao Nan had done her revision, she would have scored at least 99 points for her Chinese exam this time.
99 points, and that was for Chinese. Qiao Dongliang never imagined that this result would be attainable.
At least for the elder daughter, it was considered a good result to score 89 points for her junior high Chinese exams.
Qiao Dongliang was burning with embarrassment at the teacher’s underlying meaning. But he could not blame the younger daughter for telling the teacher that her mother sold the textbooks.
After all, what his wife did had really affected the younger daughter’s results. But one should not wash dirty linen in public. It was a total mess!
Qiao Nan has the worst results this time. But it was the best that she could do. It made Qiao Dongliang hold his head up high in front of Elder Lee.
“Oh, really?” Elder Lee was somewhat surprised. He knew Qiao Dongliang well. He would not lie.
Elder Lee already had grandchildren and they were still in school. So he was aware that in junior high school, it was difficult to get 99 points or even 100 points for exams. 95 points would already be seen as an excellent score.
As expected she was the industrious type. Elder Lee looked at Qiao Nan with affection, as if she was his granddaughter.
Elder Lee was getting on in years. His only wish was that his grandchildren would study hard and be successful.
So naturally, he had an affection for hardworking children like Qiao Nan. Besides, it was due to Qiao Nan’s good upbringing and character that he had visited Qiao’s house today.
“Xiao Qiao, do you know why I visited your house today?”
Qiao Dongliang paused for a moment and said, “Is anything the matter, Uncle Lee?”
“I came on behalf of Zhu family to thank you and your family.”
“Zhu family, Uncle Zhu’s family?” Qiao Dongliang was not close to Zhu family. Zhu family were in-laws with Uncle Lee. The son of Zhu family married Uncle Lee’s daughter.
Zhu family and Lee family all stayed at the quad. They were well-matched in terms of social status. Zhu family was fairly well-to-do.
“Yes, it’s your Uncle Zhu’s family.” Uncle Lee became agitated. He took a few moments to calm down before he continued, “You must have heard about what happened to my daughter.”
“Elder Lee, it has been years. You must take care of yourself.”