During the third evening self-study session, Lao Liu had just entered the classroom when he saw Sun Zhicheng and Yang Qiming quarreling, nearly causing him to faint with anger.
"What’s all this fighting!"
"If you want to fight, take it outside. Go home and reflect on your actions!"
After Lao Liu shouted, he turned his head and caught Jiang Nian and Li Hua, who had just sat down quickly like two green onions.
"Jiang Nian, Li Hua, why are you two standing up?"
"I’m sleepy, teacher," Jiang Nian replied without hesitation.
Li Hua didn’t innovate, his brain stopped working.
A minute later, Sun Zhicheng and Yang Qiming were sent to the office for a second hearing.
Holding books, Jiang Nian and Li Hua stood at the back of the class. Each was assigned a corner, staring across half the classroom at each other, and were no longer sleepy.
Zhang Ningzhi turned her head to look at Jiang Nian, and when she saw his gaze also coming over, she couldn’t help but purse her lips.
On the podium, Lao Liu supported himself on the lectern and scanned the class one more time.
"Ah, everyone, put down what you’re doing. Ah, a few things to say here. The first is the class discipline issue. Fighting is not allowed."
"If this happens again, we’ll call your parents and you’ll have to go home and reflect for a week."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Nian in the corner of the class looked up at Li Hua. Coincidentally, Li Hua also sensed it and looked back at him, sharing a knowing smile.
Staging a fake fight, both getting a week off.
It’s like Huhai and Fusu at the same table, a win-win!
"The second thing is, this Sunday afternoon we have a senior parent-teacher meeting. Go home and ask your parents if they’re willing to attend, and report the number to Cai Xiaoqing."
"Ah, no need to register names, just a rough count of the number of attendees."
After saying this, Lao Liu left briskly without dragging it out.
As soon as Lao Liu left, Jiang Nian and Li Hua walked back to their seats with a confident strut. Due to the announcement of the parent-teacher meeting, the class was buzzing with noise.
"Taking up our weekend, what’s the point of this parent-teacher meeting?"
"Darn it, we still have make-up classes in the morning."
As Li Hua returned to his seat, Ma Guojun leaned in with a mischievous grin.
"Hey, Li Hua, is your dad coming to the parent-teacher meeting this weekend?"
Jiang Nian leaned over, showing his head with a sly grin.
"His dad’s not coming, got something to do over the weekend."
Li Hua looked surprised, turning to him.
"How did you know my dad....."
Halfway through his sentence, Li Hua paused. Suddenly, Ma Guojun and Jiang Nian burst into laughter, making Li Hua’s face turn red.
"Chi Shi Chi Shi Chi Shi!!"
"Holy crap, you’re really something else!"
Ma Guojun laughed heartily for a while, taking advantage of the noisy class discussions. He quickly asked around and finally got to Jiang Nian.
"Jiang Nian, are your parents coming?"
Li Hua’s eyes lit up, ready to replicate someone’s bold move.
"His dad’s not coming."
Jiang Nian, nonchalant, nodded.
"What’s the point of a parent-teacher meeting? The teacher can talk to me directly."
Then, as if he remembered something, he turned to Zhang Ningzhi.
"Are your parents coming?"
"Yeah, both are coming," Zhang Ningzhi nodded.
"Alright, both Li Hua and my seats will be empty," Jiang Nian said, "You can let your parents sit in our seats; it won’t be as cramped."
"Oh, okay," Zhang Ningzhi was a bit curious, "Are your parents really busy?"
"Kind of, yes, a bit busy," Jiang Nian didn’t want to mention past experiences in front of these two troublemakers, Li Hua and Ma Guojun, so he switched to a different explanation.
"They’re working hard to save up for my bride price, so I can’t disturb them."
"Huh?" Zhang Ningzhi was dumbfounded.
Li Hua also laughed, "Nian, how much are your parents planning to save for your bride price?"
"It’s hard to say; it depends on the future market rates," Jiang Nian quipped with the timeless bride price joke, "Whatever it takes, we can’t let it affect Zhennan’s GDP."
Technically, the senior parent-teacher meeting should be scheduled after the end-of-month Six Cities joint exam. But because next month, which is December, there’s an adult ceremony event.
If there’s too much going on, parents will have complaints.
Honestly, this place is just too poor.
Generally speaking, schools won’t interfere with parents’ daily work without reason. Everyone’s got bride price to think about; if making a living is hard enough, then education becomes an even more distant dream.
Jiang Nian was laughing and joking for a while, then glanced at the class monitor on a whim and asked.
"Class monitor, will your parents attend the parent-teacher meeting?"
Li Qingrong thought about it and shook her head.
Hearing this, Li Hua glanced back at Li Qingrong, wanting to say something but holding back.
He turned around and saw Ma Guojun laughing as well, obviously having overheard.
After school, Jiang Nian was carrying his backpack and heading out.
The corridor was crowded, and he was bumped from behind by Yu Zhiyi, who protected her chest with her hand. Neither of them minded, gave each other a look, and moved on.
It was roughly , Yu: "Sorry," Jiang (deadpan): "Speechless."
If it were someone else pulling this deadpan face, Yu Zhiyi might have felt embarrassed. But realizing it was Jiang Nian, she didn’t care.
Partly because they were familiar with each other, having interacted before.
And partly because... ah, he’s just that kind of person, right? Super sarcastic, hard to get along with, no need to take it to heart.
Jiang Nian was harsh towards everyone except those he was close to.
So Yu Zhiyi, on the contrary, had a "whatever" attitude about bumping into him, since he wasn’t a good person anyway.
Lin Dong hurried downstairs, heading to the dorm with Sun Zhicheng’s phone.
Today was the day to see some real action, as he regularly took advantage of all sorts of mobile gigs. Winning meant luxury clubs; losing meant hard work at sea.
He blended into the group heading back to the dorm, walking forward with his head down.
Suddenly, someone called out behind him.
Ever since Jiang Nian recommended he watch a movie called "Don’t Look Back at Midnight," he’d become too spooked to turn his head, even with lots of people around at night.
Lin Dong turned and found it was Hu Nianzhong.
Hu Nianzhong was a bit shy. Ever since Yu Tongjie approached him today, he couldn’t calm his emotions, spending the whole evening study session thinking.
Whether it was the two hundred yuan he’d received immediately upon meeting or the eight hundred yuan promised for a pair of running shoes in the afternoon, they both made a huge impact.
The total was a thousand yuan, and for someone the same age to spend that without blinking an eye was astounding.
What did that prove? It proved that his disposable assets were not less than ten thousand yuan. Ten thousand was almost astronomical; saving up could cover a year’s tuition and living expenses.
Despite his shock, he deeply felt the world was unfair.
He’s a person who’s good at observing and thinking, so he didn’t blindly feel jealous. After pondering through the evening study session, he decided to focus on both learning and earning money.
With a starting fund of one thousand yuan, what could he do?
Considering all possibilities, he thought of Lin Dong. In the third-class boys’ dormitory, if anyone was top-notch at playing online, Lin Dong would be the first to come to mind.
"Brother Dong, I want to make money."
Hearing this, Lin Dong was stunned.
"Ah Zhong, don’t joke."
"I’m serious, Brother Dong, please help me," Hu Nianzhong bowed his head, "I don’t have any problems on the learning side, I just want to make some money."
"But what’s the connection between the two?" Lin Dong walked ahead.
Hu Nianzhong followed quickly, adding in stride.
"Bro, I won’t ask you to work for free; I’ll split everything I earn with you fifty-fifty."
"We’re friggin’ brothers; how could I take your money?" Lin Dong prefaced with a refusal, "I really don’t have any money-making methods; you’re overthinking it."
Seeing that benefits couldn’t move him, Hu Nianzhong could only play the sympathy card.
"Brother Dong, you know my situation; my mom works in Zhennan. Even if she had time, she wouldn’t come to the parent-teacher meeting because she’s afraid her old age would embarrass me in front of classmates."
"It’s not about making money later to take care of her; I don’t think that far ahead. But with the weather getting colder, I want to buy her some clothes..."
"Damn it, you...!" Lin Dong gave in, looking at him incredulously, "You’re really something, hitting me with the moral guilt all of a sudden?"
Hu Nianzhong chuckled, "Thanks, Brother Dong."
"Don’t rush; I might have a way recently, though the risk is high....." Lin Dong lowered his voice, "But it needs some startup capital, and there’s a chance of losing it."
Remembering Yu Tongjie, Hu Nianzhong thought he’d deal with losses later.
"It’s okay, I trust Brother Dong."
"Alright, don’t tell anyone about this," Lin Dong said, "Only you, me, Jiang Nian, and heaven and earth should know. If others find out, we’ll be in trouble."
"Okay," Hu Nianzhong was puzzled, wondering if something odd had slipped by, "Jiang Nian? Is he also involved in this?"
"Oh no, he’s not involved," Lin Dong casually explained, "But he did transfer me five hundred yuan, asking me to invest his share too."
"Yeah, that dog is putting pressure on me," Lin Dong seemed slightly exasperated, "I’d dare to go all in myself, but including his money makes me hesitant."
At this point, he looked at Hu Nianzhong and after some thought said.
"I’ll invest five hundred for you as well then."
The upstream of the pressure chain.
Jiang Nian was leisurely walking on his way home, holding a drink bottle that Xu Qianqian had finished, turning to her as he spoke.
"Do you believe I can throw this bottle into that trash can over there?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Qianqian estimated the distance between the two.
"I don’t believe it."
Under the streetlamp, Jiang Nian didn’t even aim, just like casually tossing it. [Accuracy] kicked in, and the bottle, as if it grew eyes, clanked into the bin.
His smile gradually reached a smug curve, as if he were the Dragon King.
"Keep praising me, Xu Qianqian."
Xu Qianqian’s mouth formed an ’o’ shape, glancing from Jiang Nian to the trash can.
"Next time, I’ll take you to Zhennan Square for ring toss. I’ve had my eyes on those toys for a while."
What she said unintentionally, Jiang Nian heard with intent.
His eyes lit up, he said seriously.
"How about we go tomorrow afternoon? Just tell me what you want, I’ll win it for you."
Xu Qianqian was shocked, "How could you do that in just an hour tomorrow afternoon?"
"Ride the e-bike, it only takes half an hour there and back," Jiang Nian sounded so certain, "I can go by myself and deliver the big toy to you in class."
"Go to hell!" Xu Qianqian blushed at the image, "Don’t intentionally do these embarrassing things; I’ll punch you to death!"
"So, do you want to go or not?" Jiang Nian asked.
"Yes... yes, I’ll go."