Studying Makes Me Rich - Chapter 4
Auntie Niu looked at
the silent and shy girl and saw her calm and peaceful demeanour. She realized
that her worries were unnecessary.
As water flowed down,
the girl carefully picked out the lotus seeds, making sure each one was clean
and intact. After a moment of hesitation, Zhou Xiu asked, "Auntie Niu, can
I make some food to bring to school tomorrow?"
Auntie from the Xi
family nodded and asked, somewhat surprised, "Don't you like the food at
the cafeteria?"
Of course, Zhou Xiu
couldn't reveal the real reason, so she just shook her head and said, "I
prefer to make my own food."
"I'll help you
with the cooking," Zhou Xiu offered.
Suddenly, the system
spoke up, 【"The purpose of education is to
promote diversified development. In addition to academic studies, it is also
necessary to cultivate essential life skills."】
【"Please learn how to make 'Plum-flavored
Sweet and Sour Pork Ribs' for a reward of 5 RMB."】
Zhou Xiu's gaze fell
on the ingredients in the kitchen. She happened to have sour plums and pork
ribs, and the system's eyesight was sharp enough to spot them among all the
ingredients.
Zhou Xiu was not
afraid of the kitchen. She had learned to cook at a young age in the
countryside. Zhou's father was physically weak and couldn't do heavy farm work,
but he often went out to cook for the villagers, earning extra income. Zhou Xiu
often helped her father and had decent cooking skills.
Auntie Niu was about
to politely decline Zhou Xiu's offer, but the butler was in favour of it.
"Okay, Xiu Xiu, let's see what you can do."
The system listed the
steps for making the dish. Zhou Xiu followed the instructions closely,
blanching the pork ribs in cold water, stir-frying them evenly, and preparing a
red yeast sauce with minced scallions, ginger, and garlic. She added the sour
plums, sugar, and stir-fried ribs to the sauce, then added water and let it
simmer on medium heat until the sauce thickened.
The butler was
surprised at her skilful movements, but quickly understood. Children from poor
families have to grow up quickly.
Zhou Xiu made one
dish, and Auntie Niu made four dishes and a soup. The butler said to Zhou Xiu,
"Xiu Xiu, go call young master down for dinner."
Zhou Xiu nodded and
went upstairs to knock on Xi Shao Yuan's door. He wasn't in his room, but in
the study doing homework. The door was slightly open and the boy's study was
well-heated. He was wearing only a thin t-shirt, with his sleeves rolled up,
revealing his muscular arms.
He was holding a
mobile phone with one hand and had a calm expression, but his brows were tinged
with gloom. "Oh, it's okay if you can't come back. It's just a birthday
after all."
"For Zhou Xiu….
right, oh, I see, ok," he said to the other person on the phone.
Just as Xi Shaoyuan hung
up the phone, he opened the door and saw Zhou Xiu about to knock on the door.
He took out a stack of cash from his wallet and said in a flat tone, " I must give you 10,000 yuan."
"Mom asked me to
give you this week's living expenses." The wealthy son seemed to have no
concept of money, the stack of bills was thick, and it was worth thousands at
least.
When handed to Zhou
Xiu, it felt heavy and even a bit warm. Zhou Xiu was stunned.
Xi Shaoyuan frowned,
"Not enough?" Xi's mother gave her son a monthly allowance of 100,000
yuan, which was not even the main source of his income. Since he started high
school, Xi's mother had put several funds under his name for him to manage, and
the dividends from these funds were substantial.
Xi Shaoyuan and his
friends could easily spend thousands of yuan on a single meal outside.
Zhou Xiu shook her
head, "Thank you, I don't need it."
Xi Shaoyuan took out
all the money in his wallet and added it to Zhou Xiu's hand. He impatiently
emphasized, "Take it."
He glanced at the
malnourished, flat-chested girl in front of him. Xi Shaoyuan wouldn’t have
believed that there was a girl as thin as her if he hadn't seen her with his
own eyes. She was so poor that she had no appearance of a girl at all.
Girls should be
fragrant, soft, sweet, carefree. Xi Shaoyuan knew that the girl in front of him
was deep-thinking and often played the role of being pitiful to gain sympathy.
Zhou Xiu wanted to
refuse again, but Xi Shaoyuan impatiently glanced at her and left without any
manners. He didn't even bother to argue over such a small amount of money with
Zhou Xiu.
Through Xi Shaoyuan 's
eyes, Zhou Xiu seemed to read his thoughts: ugly people always make trouble.
There may be another
interpretation: he thought Zhou Xiu was trying to please him but was pushing
him away. Zhou Xiu had to take the money and decided to buy a gift for him on
his birthday and return the money. Zhou Xiu counted the money in her hand, a
total of 45 bills, and was surprised.
Xi Shaoyuan 's
careless attitude just now made it seem like he was giving away paper instead
of money. When Zhou Xiu was struggling to earn five yuan, others could easily
use money to hit people.
Zhou Xiu now
understood her own thought process. Facing such great temptations every day,
she would inevitably indulge in fantasy. Although Xi's family's attitude
towards her was cold and indifferent, she was not mistreated in terms of food,
clothing, and other necessities.
【"Youth! Youth! Your thoughts are
dangerous right now!"】Zhou
Xiu smiled and went back to find a cardboard box, wrote the word "Xi"
on it with a ballpoint pen, and put the money inside.
"I will study
hard," the system's heart finally fell back into its stomach.
The Xi family's villa
was very large, with many rooms that couldn't possibly be lived in. Usually,
only two elderly people accompanied Xi's young master, making it seem empty. It
wasn't until dinner that Zhou Xiu saw that there were still only two sets of
bowls and chopsticks, intensifying the feeling of emptiness.
Zhou Xiu took out her
vocabulary book and studied while eating, without looking away. Xi Shaoyuan
grabbed several pieces of the plum-flavored sweet and sour Pork Ribs to eat, as
if he really liked it.
After dinner, Zhou
Xiu took the initiative to wash the dishes and prepared the lunchbox to take to
school the next day. She made two coconut-flavored buns and cooked the leftover
ribs form the fridge. Xi Shaoyuan frequently picked this dish a few times
during dinner, and Zhou Xiu didn't dare to touch it.
The rice cooker
"dinged" a sound, indicating that the spareribs were already stewed.
Zhou Xiu ate a piece and couldn't help squinting her eyes. After eating a piece of food, Zhou Xiu didn't feel drowsy. She
reached into her pocket and found five yuan.
【"Reward for 'Plum-flavored Sweet
and Sour Pork Chops' has been received,"】the
system notified.
Late at night, Zhou
Xiu received a call from home while she was studying. This time it was from her
father.
"Xiu Xiu, did
your grandma call you this afternoon?" Zhou's father asked.
"I'm sorry. You
don't have to listen to her. You should focus on your studies. Your uncle found
me a job on a construction site. I can work there in the spring, and this time
I'll support you to continue your studies," he said, his voice choked up,
as if his throat was blocked by cotton.
Zhou Xiu's pen
stopped as she was writing her homework, and the howling wind outside seemed to
stop as well. Her heart seemed to be blown away by the wind.
She smiled and said,
"Okay, I'll wait for Dad."
Zhou's parents were
typical rural folks who worked hard but ate little, and never complained. They
had been oppressed by Zhou's grandmother for half a lifetime because they
couldn't have a son.
Zhou Xiu put down her
pen and started writing again. She spent the night completing a chemistry test,
several papers, memorizing two texts, and several dictations and essays.
At dawn, the first
rays of sunlight shone through the window. Zhou Xiu stretched and washed her
face. After getting ready, she made breakfast and hurried to catch the first
bus to school.
On the bus, Zhou
Xiu's head was filled with the sounds of notifications:
【"Completed homework for November
20th, 95% accuracy, rewarded 15 yuan."】
【"Completed homework for November
21st, 95% accuracy, rewarded 15 yuan."】
【"Completed homework for November
22nd, 95% accuracy, rewarded 15 yuan."】
【"Completed homework for November
23rd, 95% accuracy, rewarded 15 yuan."】
【"Youngster, don't work so
hard!"】
---------
When Hua Xu arrived
at the classroom, she was surprised to see her usually upright and attentive
desk mate sleeping on the desk. She stepped on the morning reading bell and
tapped on the desk.
"Wake up,"
she said.
Zhou Xiu finally woke
up from her drowsiness and made room for Hua Xu to sit down. She handed
something over to her.
"What's
this?" asked Hua Xu.
"Food,"
replied Zhou Xiu, giving her back the juice as a gesture of appreciation.
Hua Xu opened the bag
and found warm coconut buns inside. She ate them without hesitation and said,
"Hmm, it's pretty good."
Zhou Xiu had noticed
that Hua Xu liked desserts with a coconut flavour. She ate two in one breath,
and seeing her happy, Zhou Xiu breathed a sigh of relief.
The class bell rang.
Zhou Xiu stared at
the face of Huang, their math teacher, during the first class, struggling for a
while before giving up the task of actively answering questions. This task had
a reward of 30 RMB, and Zhou Xiu felt a bit guilty for missing out on this
money.
Yesterday, she had
previewed the material and had done a lot of homework exercises, so she easily
understood the new material they were studying today. She began to furiously
work on her homework.
System: 【...】
【Completed homework for 11/22, with a
95% accuracy rate. Reward: 15 RMB.】
【Completed homework for 11/23, with a
95% accuracy rate. Reward: 15 RMB.】
Zhou Xiu bit her lip
and said, "I need money now."
Okay, dear, if you
want to make progress, there are any number of ways to do it here!】
The system released
new tasks: 【Books are the ladder of human progress.
"Reading history makes people wise, reading poetry makes people graceful,
mathematics makes people precise, and science makes people profound."
Please don't underestimate the use of the library! Reading for 2 hours per day
earns a reward of 5RMB.】
【"'If you have one idea, and I have
one idea, exchanging with each other, we each have two ideas, or even more than
two ideas.' Isolationism is not advisable, young man. Please passionately
communicate with those around you about learning! A daily exchange of 5 times
can earn a reward of 5 RMB."】
【"'A sound mind in a sound body.'
Having a healthy body is the foundation of learning. Young man, please move
your body. One hour of exercise per day can earn you a reward of 5 RMB."】
Greatly inspired,
Zhou Xiu eagerly picked up the book at her desk.
Yesterday, she had
been caught slacking off in class by the strict teacher, Mr. Huang, who had
given her a stern look.
He then loudly
proclaimed, "Some students never listen in class and always pretend to be
hardworking afterwards. Is self-deception useful?"
His sudden increase
in volume startled several students who were dozing off or chatting.
"Tsk," they scoffed, wondering if Mr. Huang had just discovered this
fact today.
Even Hua Xu was awakened
by the commotion and yawned lazily.
Mr. Huang then
singled out Zhou Xiu, saying, "Come up and do this problem for me!"
Comments
Post a Comment
Leave a comment