234 Returning the Favor
Xiao Sheng nodded when he heard this. Soon, he found two books.
He raised the cover and asked, “Yu Bing, are these two books useful?”
Yu Bing approached the few books Xiao Sheng found. After taking a few casual glances, her eyes suddenly froze.
Xiao Sheng held an English-Chinese dictionary in his hand and a high school mathematics, physics, and chemistry exercise notebook that the other party had summarized. It was probably a summary that he had specially made to prepare for the college entrance examination, but it probably wasn’t used because the college entrance examination had been canceled.
Yu Bing touched Xiao Sheng’s upper arm in surprise. Then, she praised him excitedly, “Xiao Sheng, nice job! With these two books, I’ll definitely get twice the result!”
Mathematics, physics, and chemistry were different from liberal arts, where one could get some points from memorizing. If one didn’t have a scientific mindset and didn’t really understand the logic behind it, once the questions changed, they wouldn’t be able to solve the question.
Xiao Sheng looked at Yu Bing’s smile as he listened to her tell him how important these two books were. He didn’t interrupt and only watched Yu Bing quietly with a smile.
When Xiao Sheng was asked by Yu Bing to help find books, he thought of the county’s waste recycling station, so he established a good relationship with the old man here, so that they could sneak in, but he didn’t ask Yu Bing what she wanted to do.
In this era, knowledge wasn’t valued. When conspirators explained that labor was the most honorable thing, they raised the status of workers and farmers to a high position, while intellectuals became the targets of belittling and suppression.
Although these things were thrown here like trash, under normal circumstances, no one could take them out. If they wanted to transport these books out, they had to have some connections.
Xiao Sheng and Yu Bing placed the books they found on the ground and sorted them. Then, they chose one set of junior high books, three sets of high school books, and some other books as cover. Yu Bing took out the large sack in her bag and placed all the books in it.
Although Zeng Li followed them to the back, he didn’t climb up the pile of junk to help. He found an empty space nearby and stood there counting the ants on the ground.
After waiting for two hours, he saw the two of them interacting intimately in the distance. He was anxious but helpless. Just as he was about to give up and climb up, Xiao Sheng walked down with the sack.
Zeng Li asked curiously, “What were you guys looking for? Books?”
Zeng Li was far away and below, so he couldn’t see clearly.
Xiao Sheng replied calmly, “Yu Bing is preparing to set up a reading room in the village, so we chose some suitable books.”
Yu Bing pursed her lips and smiled when she heard this. Xiao Sheng’s words were true. She wanted to set up a reading room, and they did look for books. However, she had smuggled some other books with her at the bottom of the bag.
When Zeng Li heard this plan, he couldn’t help but praise himself for his good taste in women. In this era, many people looked down on intellectuals. Although this family was full of martial artists, they had always admired cultured people. Which of those scientists who served the country and the people were not intellectuals?
Yu Bing’s ideals were the same as his family’s. It meant that her ideas resonated with his! The more Zeng Li looked at Yu Bing, the more pleasing she became to him.
Yu Bing didn’t expect that Zeng Li already felt resonance with her just based on a few words.
Because Xiao Sheng had a good relationship with the old man guarding the waste, the other party only flipped through the books casually. When he realized that they were only books and comics related to agriculture, he only accepted one yuan and let them go.
Zeng Li wanted to show off, so he said, “It’s already one in the afternoon, so let’s go eat together.”
Yu Bing rejected him without hesitation with the excuse that she wasn’t hungry. A meal at a restaurant was enough for her to eat two home-cooked meals with meat. Yu Bing wouldn’t eat out unless she could get an order in exchange. She would rather go home hungry.
Just as Yu Bing refused, her stomach growled. A blush crept onto Yu Bing’s face. This physiological reaction that couldn’t be controlled by her subjective consciousness made Yu Bing feel embarrassed.
Xiao Sheng suppressed the smile on his face. “Let me treat you to a bowl of noodles. You’ve been so busy recently, but you still took the time to teach Xiao Li, so I have to return the favor. Although it’s not enough to repay your kindness, I hope you won’t mind.”
When Yu Bing thought about how no matter how tired she was, she still held classes for Xiao Li at least twice a week, she accepted this treat with a clear conscience.