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墨書 Inktalez
"Yi Zhou, where did you come back from?" Jiang Maoyou pulled the Wooden Cart, still unable to believe that the clumsy guy from back then had changed so much.
He recalled that after this group stopped attending school, they mostly stayed at home doing odd jobs and learned some skills from their fathers. Later, he heard they were working in factories in the nearby town, but now he couldn't understand it at all.
"The capital city. There weren't many opportunities to make money back home, so this spring my dad let me go to the capital to work with Uncle," Jiang Yizhou replied immediately. It was still this year since there was no New Year celebration.
"I see..." Jiang Maoyou glanced back at him, wondering if big cities really were that prosperous. But wait, there were many people from the village who went to the capital and Yangcheng, and he hadn't seen them get rich either.
"Yi Zhou, you seem to have made quite a bit of money? What are you doing now?"
Jiang Yizhou took out the speech he had prepared long ago. "I'm just doing some business over there. I met a generous friend who lent me some money, and now I can earn about four to five thousand a month."
Of course, "business" referred to the Training Class. The generous friend didn't need much explanation; it was Ding Girl. The Training Class could earn nearly twenty thousand a month now. After all, a computer costs at least five or six thousand, and a good setup would cost over ten thousand. However, Jiang Yizhou was worried about scaring his parents, so he included his expenses and equipment depreciation in his calculations and reported a figure that, while high, was still within an acceptable range for his relatives.
He didn't dare to exaggerate too much because it seemed too unreliable. What was the Internet? What was Instant Messaging? What was venture capital? In China, there were only about one or two hundred thousand Internet users at that time; he couldn't expect his parents and relatives, who had little knowledge of these things, to understand.
In this village, the number of computers could be counted on one hand, and probably not many people knew how to use them.
"Hiss..." Jiang Maoyou found it hard to believe. Moreover, it seemed so easy for him; it didn't sound like a lie. Four to five thousand—he himself might not even earn that much in two years as a teacher. Teaching positions, especially in rural areas, were notoriously low-paying; it was just a matter of perseverance.
Seeing that the teacher seemed somewhat discouraged and didn't speak anymore, Jiang Yizhou felt he shouldn't say anything further. Teaching was tougher than other jobs.
Farmers could at least rent out their land or go work elsewhere for better prospects. Could teachers just abandon their students? Not every student's parents could afford to send their children to town or take them to cities for schooling; tuition fees were not insignificant.
Most children still attended the Village School. Five teachers were already very few; if one more left...
If he had money in the future, he would come back and support the Village School!
Jiang Yizhou thought to himself that giving money was definitely not the solution; compensatory education was the right approach. The kind of grudges that Dai Yi Ge encountered, where kindness turned into resentment over small favors, was not just an isolated case. In rural areas, it was a real issue to avoid mixing feelings with money. Once money was involved, it was likely to hurt relationships.
Building a road or helping to construct a Village School was the proper way to help.
Once I have money, everything still requires having money first! Jiang Yizhou shook his head vigorously, trying not to think too much about it; he just needed to remember.
Aside from some bumps and a few puddles along the way, the two of them walked briskly. When Jiang Yizhou reached his home, he checked his watch; it had only been a little over thirty minutes.
“Teacher, wait a moment. I’ll go call my parents to help move things!” He greeted Jiang Maoyou and quickly walked to the door of a row of mud-brick houses. “Dad, Mom, I’m back!”
It was already the twenty-seventh day of the Lunar New Year. The whole family had long since settled in at home; Jiang Maoqiang had already taken a break, and Er Ya was also on vacation.
However, only Er Ya came out. As Jiang Yizhou handed some items down from the Wooden Cart to his sister, he asked, “Xiao Ya, where are Dad and Mom?”
“They went to see Great-Grandmother!” Er Ya replied truthfully.
Great-Grandmother was not actually their great-grandmother but rather their great-great-grandmother. However, she was the only elder left from that generation in the village and held the highest status. Unfortunately, her son passed away early, and her grandson had run away after getting into trouble. Each year, she relied on her descendants to occasionally send bags of rice or jars of oil and to bring her some vegetables when passing by.
She lived in two dilapidated thatched huts and struggled to get by. It was unclear if she was waiting for her grandson to return. At over ninety years old, she evoked sympathy in those who saw her.
“Oh, let’s move the things back first!” Jiang Yizhou thought it wouldn’t be much; his parents would probably send some cured meat as they did every year during the New Year and maybe slip her twenty bucks or so—enough for her to have a good celebration. There wasn’t much to spend on in rural areas; at most, one could buy some meat for a taste or purchase some fabric or clothes. The older generation often made their own clothes and crafted shoe soles.
After moving everything down, Jiang Yizhou quickly grabbed a handful of each snack he bought and stuffed them into a bag before catching up with Jiang Maoyou to place them on his Wooden Cart.
“A small token of appreciation; please accept it, Teacher!” Then Jiang Yizhou ran back home. In the countryside, giving gifts could be tricky; offering money could change the meaning entirely. Aside from giving children red envelopes or sending monetary gifts for weddings and funerals without causing resentment, it was best to avoid cash altogether.
He just sent some snacks, and naturally, the teacher was willing to accept them.
"You want to eat that, grab a little for yourself, but don't overdo it!" Jiang Yizhou joked as he returned to the house and saw his greedy younger sister.
He bought a lot of varieties: chestnuts, salted melon seeds, plain sunflower seeds, watermelon seeds, red dates, raisins, pistachios, and all kinds of bulk candies. It was essential to prepare these items for the New Year. For families that received many visitors during the holiday, items were often bought by the pound.
Er Ya grabbed some raisins and pistachios, stuffing her cotton jacket pockets full, and happily returned to the room. Jiang Yizhou plugged his phone in to charge; in the house, aside from the electric lights, there was only one outlet next to the tea table, which was usually used for charging flashlights.
After waiting for a long time without seeing their parents return, Jiang Yizhou guessed they were chatting. The elderly person was alone and naturally couldn't stop talking once someone came over.
"Xiao Ya, has Mom said when she would be back?" Jiang Yizhou called out to his sister's room.
He heard a response from inside, "Ah!" as Jiang Xiaoya ran out of her room. "Mom will be back; let me wash the rice first."
Seeing his sister anxiously yet skillfully rinsing the rice, Jiang Yizhou smiled. "Is there anything you need me to do?"
Jiang Xiaoya glanced at the clock on the tea table and felt a bit rushed. She pointed to a large cabbage in the corner. "Brother, can you wash that cabbage and clean it up?"
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