God's Gift

It would have been better if she hadn't met Chen Qingqiu when she went out.

Ah Chou subconsciously hid her hands behind her back, but this action made Chen Qingqiu's eyes fall on her hands.

But Chen Qingqiu just looked away as if nothing had happened, said nothing, smiled gently at Ah Chou, and asked, "Is it Granny Li who asked you to deliver the things? I just met her and she told me. Sorry to bother you."

Ah Chou said nothing and quickly ran past Chen Qingqiu.

-

One day during class, Achou arrived very late.

When she was grazing cattle, the cattle suddenly went crazy and broke free from the rope. She was afraid that the cattle would run away and be beaten to death when she got home, so she could only grab the cattle's horns to stop it. When she couldn't hold the cattle's horns, she grabbed the cattle's feet.

If you are not careful, you might be trampled to death by a cow.

But she couldn't let go, a cow was much more valuable than her life.

Achou was dragged by the cow for a long distance and fell into a paddy field before the cow finally stopped.

When Ah Chou walked to school with injuries all over his body, it was almost time to go home and Chen Qingqiu was finishing up today's teaching content.

When Chen Qingqiu saw Achou appear outside the window, he was stunned for a second, then stopped and did not continue to talk about the contents of the book.

He picked up the chalk and wrote two words on the blackboard.

"Alive."

After Chen Qingqiu wrote these two words, the students below were a little confused.

He smiled and asked, "The get out of class will be over soon. I won't talk about anything else today. I just want to talk to you all about why you are alive."

After he finished speaking, he stood quietly beside the podium, looking at the students below with gentle eyes. Soon some students began to speak enthusiastically.

A fat, dark-skinned boy stood up and answered in Mandarin with a thick accent:

"I live to make a lot of money. My mother said she is counting on me in the future. I want to buy a big house and a big car to make her happy!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the students around him laughed. The boy scratched his head and laughed too.

Chen Qingqiu did not answer, but just nodded, and with a gentle look, he asked the boy to sit down.

A girl with pigtails stood up and answered with her head held high:

"I live to get out of this village and see the city that Teacher Chen talked about!"

Chen Qingqiu smiled, still said nothing, and continued to listen to the answers of other students.

There were many strange answers, some said it was to make a lot of money, some said to become an official, but basically they were all living for their own dreams.

Chen Qingqiu just smiled and encouraged the students to answer with encouraging eyes.

Ah Chou sat outside the window, listening to the lively discussion inside, and was a little absent-minded.

What is she living for?

It seems like it's just to avoid dying.

Living so numbly and soullessly.

But if that's all, then why should she live?

Ah Chou suddenly felt confused.

At the end of the discussion, the students began to pester Chen Qingqiu for answers, and some even asked him why he was alive.

"There are many answers, and what you said are all the answers." Chen Qingqiu's eyebrows were gentle, and he continued:

"If I were to say something about myself, it's probably because I want to go downstairs and buy a basket of steaming hot buns before dawn in the morning. I eat them while walking, watching the first rays of light break through the dark sky, and waiting for the golden sun to gradually rise, and my whole body becomes warm."

"After get off work, I took a leisurely stroll along the streets full of hibiscus flowers under the pink sunset glow of summer, feeling the cool evening breeze as I walked slowly home."

"Or you can sit at the dock all day, watching the waves splashing white flowers, and the seagulls scattering bread crumbs on the ground. When it gets dark, the lighthouse in the distance will light up, and you can wait for the fishermen who have returned with a full load to buy two yellow croakers, and then steam them at home. The fragrance will fill the whole room."

Chen Qingqiu said a lot, with a gentle light in his eyes. The children in the audience listened attentively. He gradually stopped talking and looked at Ah Chou outside the window.

“There are thousands of reasons, but only by staying alive can you do what you want to do. You have to survive first, then there will be a future, and then there will be possibilities.”

“So no matter how hard life is, no matter how bad the days are, we must live.”

After saying that, Chen Qingqiu glanced at the children in the class who were looking at him seriously and smiled slightly, "Okay, school is over, let's go home quickly."

The students then began to pack their bags and went home together, chatting and laughing.

Achou also packed up his pen, dragged his injured leg, avoided other students, and walked slowly towards home.

But before she took a few steps, a voice came from behind her.

"Little girl, wait."

Achou stopped, turned around and saw Chen Qingqiu.

Chen Qingqiu walked up to her, looked at her muddy clothes and the bloody wounds on her body, and after a few seconds of silence, he asked, "Do you have any medicine at home?"

Ah Chou glanced at Chen Qingqiu, then quickly lowered his head and stammered, "No."

Actually, yes, but if her parents knew that she almost lost the cow, they would probably beat her again.

Her voice was very low, but Chen Qingqiu still heard it. Chen Qingqiu sighed and asked softly, "If you have time, come home with me to get some medicine. I don't have it with me now."

Achou looked at Chen Qingqiu in silence for a long time, and then nodded.

So she followed Chen Qingqiu back home. Chen Qingqiu not only gave her medicine, but also helped her bandage her wound carefully and repeatedly reminded her of precautions.

Ah Chou looked at Chen Qingqiu under the old lamp and suddenly said, "I stole your pen."

Chen Qingqiu didn't seem to expect Ah Chou to say this. He was stunned for a second, looked at Ah Chou who lowered his head again, and sighed, "I know."

Hearing his words, Ah Chou clenched his hands and asked in a muffled voice: "Why don't you scold me?"

If other people found out about this, they would probably not just scold him, but Chen Qingqiu was not angry at all.

Not only was he not angry, he also said to Ah Chou: "This is not your fault, I don't blame you."

Ah Chou never thought that Chen Qingqiu would say this. She raised her head in astonishment and looked straight at Chen Qingqiu.

"I know your parents are not good to you." Chen Qingqiu's voice was as gentle as water, and as tolerant as water.

"Every time I passed by your house, I saw your parents either beating or scolding you. They never had a good look on their faces towards you."

But he was powerless to change it, so he didn't dare to look at it any longer when passing by and could only leave in a hurry.

"I also asked Mr. Li, and he said you had never attended classes at school."

Chen Qingqiu squatted down, and instead of looking down at Achou from a standing position, he looked at Achou like a friend.

"You were not brought up by your parents, nor were you taught by your teachers. You have no knowledge of etiquette and no sense of shame. It is not your fault."

Achou stared at Chen Qingqiu blankly. The dim light fell on him, but it had never been as bright as it was at this moment.

Chen Qingqiu looked at Ah Chou's cloth bag and said, "I don't need that pen. It's much more useful for you to hold it in your hand than for me to hold it in my hand."

A tear fell from Achou's eyes. She hurriedly stood up, turned around and ran out.