Chapter 154: Good Seedling
Qiao Zijin could not be bothered to listen to the praises that Qiao Dongliang and the ward mate had for Qiao Nan. Although she was sitting by the side, it was as if she was transparent. Qiao Zijin was really very bored sitting there.
Qiao Zijin was also not interested in reading a decent book. She had been studying nine out of the twelve months in a year. The school holidays were hard to come by, and she refused to read such books.
However, if Qiao Zijin read other types of books, she was afraid Qiao Dongliang would chide her. Hence, Qiao Zijin could only sit there, idling for the past few days.
Even when Qiao Dongliang needed to go to the restroom urgently, Qiao Zijin was of no help. It was either the ward mate or the ward mate’s family who helped Qiao Dongliang there.
Qiao Zijin felt that she would rot if she continued sitting there in this way.
Qiao Zijin was only considering the problem from her perspective, so she did not realize that she sounded very abrupt and unfilial when she said this.
Qiao Dongliang was hit by a car and operated twice on the surgery table. He was literally fighting between life and death.
Furthermore, Qiao Dongliang’s injury had not fully recovered. His wound might bleed if he moved too vigorously.
If not for the occasional help of the ward mate or the ward mate’s family member, it was quite difficult to take good care of Qiao Dongliang given the family’s current situation.
Under such conditions, it was necessary for Qiao Zijin to stay around to attend to any emergency situations. If anything happened and there was no next-of-kin by Qiao Dongliang’s side despite him having spouse and children, was it not acceptable?
Qiao Dongliang’s face turned black and no longer knew what to say to Qiao Zijin.
His elder daughter, Qiao Zijin, was not only having a sweet tongue and bitter heart for Old Ding but also for him.
At this time, Qiao Dongliang was thinking who else Qiao Zijin cared about in the family of four beside herself. Her character seemed overly self-centered and cold-blooded.
“Dad, why don’t we do this? Mom will keep vigil at night. Sister and I will take turns during the day.” Her father might be willing to teach, but it also depended on whether Qiao Zijin was willing to learn. If they took turns each day, Qiao Zijin should have no complaints, right?
Qiao Nan knew that Qiao Zijin was targeting her with her earlier words.
“Then, who should stay today?” Qiao Zijin’s expression was more relaxed and her tone was better.
“I will, but I need to go home to take something first. I will be back soon. Before I come back, Sister, you have to remain in the hospital to take care of Dad,” said Qiao Nan as she thought about the job that Zhai Sheng was going to pass to her.
“Sure.” It was rare for Qiao Zijin to be so big-hearted.
“Dad, I will go back first, then.” Having that said, Qiao Nan brought along the thermal food container and went back to the Qiao residence as soon as possible.
Seeing Qiao Nan in a fluster, sweating profusely while catching her breath, Zhai Sheng, who was waiting at the entrance of the Qiao’s residence, knitted his brows. “No need to be in a rush. You could walk slowly.”
“Brother Zhai, did I make you wait for a long time?”
“No.” Zhai Sheng did not mention that he had waited for Qiao Nan for almost half an hour.
“Brother Zhai, come in first.” Qiao Nan opened the door and soaked the thermal food container in the water. “Have you brought over the documents?”
“They are all here.”
“Okay, Brother Zhai. I still need to make a trip to the hospital. I am really sorry to have troubled you to come.” Qiao Nan took a look at the documents and locked the bulk of it in her bedroom, bringing only some with her. She also brought the English dictionary along just in case.
“Are you going to the hospital to take care of Uncle Qiao?”
“Yes, I am taking turns with my sister to take care of my dad during the day.” Qiao Nan nodded as she carried the documents and left the house with Zhai Sheng. “Brother Zhai, I will be leaving for the hospital first. I will bring these documents to the Zhai’s residence when I finish translating them.”
“Sure.” Zhai Sheng did not manage to speak much to Qiao Nan. She ran off with the documents in her arms.
“Alright, you’re here. Then, I will go back and come again tomorrow.” When Qiao Nan reached the ward, Qiao Zijin immediately stood up and left. She only said a quick bye to Qiao Dongliang.
“Nan Nan, you are warm and sweaty. Go to the restroom to wash and wipe your face with a towel first.” Qiao Dongliang’s heart went out to his younger daughter when he saw that she had been rushing everywhere.
Why didn’t he discover that Nan Nan was so much more filial than Zijin in the past? She was so obedient and sensible. Indeed, those who complain the loudest get the most attention.
“Okay.” Qiao Nan put down the documents carefully. She took the towel and ran to the female restroom to wipe away the sweat on her face and body.
“Nan Nan, what did you bring over?” After Qiao Nan came back, she started to stare at a pile of papers and seemed to be writing something with the pen in her hand. This was unlike the Qiao Dongliang who kept his silence when Qiao Zijin was around. He was now extremely concerned about Qiao Nan’s situation.
“It’s some original documents. Brother Zhai asked me to help with them,” Qiao Nan said as she translated the documents.
True enough, Qiao Nan was unable to recall some words that she had not been using for a long time. She only managed to clarify them after a careful search of her memories.
Having done so much translation work, Qiao Nan had, in fact, long understood that it was much simpler to translate Chinese words into English.
For Chinese to English translation, although there might be occasional errors in the grammar or sentence structure, the contents could still be understood and would not deviate much from the original. On the contrary, English to Chinese translation was more difficult. A wrong sentence structure would result in a vastly different meaning.
Therefore, when Qiao Nan accepted translation jobs, initially, she would only take on Chinese to English translation. It was only until she was more familiar and confident would she dare to take on the English to Chinese ones.
Unfortunately, the assignment she accepted was a highly difficult one that required translation from English to Chinese. Qiao Nan could not help feeling nervous about it.
“My goodness, there are so many small tadpoles-like characters. Is this a foreign language?” Curious, the ward mate stretched his neck to glance over. His eyesight was good and actually spotted some of the contents.
Looking at the words on the papers, it was a pity that the words knew him, but he did not know them.
“I say, buddy, isn’t your younger daughter too awesome? She can even understand the tadpole-like language. Didn’t you mention that she is just about to enter high school? I reckon even the college students may not understand those tadpole-like words.” The ward mate was amazed. What talent! It was no wonder Qiao Dongliang had been telling him that his younger daughter’s grades were good, and she was the scholar of the provincial middle school examination. At one glance, he knew that she was someone with substance!
“I... I am not quite sure either.” Not only the ward mate, but Qiao Dongliang was also shocked when he saw the bunch of tadpole-like words which made his eyes sore. “Maybe... maybe the content is actually not that difficult?”
“Alright buddy, don’t be modest. Your younger daughter is obviously not an ordinary person. She will make it big in the future. You will be able to enjoy life one day.”
In comparison to the elder daughter who would rather sit there, idling and dozing off, the younger daughter was diligent to the bones and so enthusiastic in learning.
“There is only half the day left, and your younger daughter is still keen to learn. She is very clear-minded. Given her attitude, she will be able to truly learn, unlike most children. If they are forced to study, they may receive a borderline diploma in the end but with a laissez-faire learning attitude.”