Chapter 11: Skepticism from the Academic Ace

Chapter 11: Skepticism from the Academic Ace

"Fifty cents, one yuan... ten yuan."

"One hundred!"

"Two hundred!"

"Five hundred!"

It took over an hour to count all the money.

After neatly stacking the bills, they arrived at a precise total.

A sum of nine hundred and sixty yuan and fifty cents!

Ye Changyuan: "So much money!"

Ye Changsheng: "And this is after deducting the costs."

Even he was a bit excited.

Ye Xiaoxiao took out nine hundred yuan, "Let's each take three hundred yuan from the nine hundred, and give the rest to Grandpa."

Miao Fengshan had helped roast sunflower seeds, cook, and manage the daily needs of the three children for the past month. Offering him this sum was truly insufficient.

No one else raised any objections, only Miao Fengshan, who was watching the scene, hurriedly waved his hands in refusal: "Grandpa, I can't accept this. This is all money you've worked hard to earn."

"Grandpa, just take it. When we earn more, we'll give you a larger share."

Ye Xiaoxiao insisted on giving the money to Miao Fengshan.

"Then Grandpa will hold onto it, to treat you all to some good food." Miao Fengshan no longer refused.

His little granddaughter was quite the visionary, a beacon of hope for the family's prosperity!

Ye Changyuan, holding the money, was at a loss: "Xiao Xiao, isn't this too generous for me?"

He hadn't contributed significantly, merely lent a hand.

In past winter breaks, he had done nothing but idle away, not engaging in anything productive, let alone earning money.

And as for this amount of money, he had never even imagined it.

"Brother Changyuan, this money is what you deserve, and... I trust you're not the type to squander it. You would definitely be willing to give the money to Uncle and Auntie for safe-keeping."

Ye Changyuan: "Of course, I will definitely give the money to the family!"

Ye Changsheng: "..."

Ye Xiaoxiao also handed her three hundred yuan to Ye Changsheng for safe-keeping: "Fourth Brother, please hold onto this money, and help me give it to Mom and Dad later. They must be quite anxious these days."

Ye Xiaoxiao did this because she knew that Ye Changsheng was one of the Ye family members who knew the truth.

In the book, it was because of this incident that Ye Changsheng harbored the most animosity towards the female lead, Hao Yanyan, among the Ye family.

And due to his paralysis, Ye Changsheng's character in the book was bitter and aloof. He even often resented the female lead and the original host, as the deeds of these two marked the onset of the Ye family's tribulations.

Ye Changsheng's gaze fell upon Ye Xiaoxiao.

Does she also know about Yan Yan taking all the family's money?

Ye Changsheng didn't know who had told Ye Xiaoxiao, but he was deeply moved by her actions at that moment.

"Why don't you give it yourself?"

"Because I'm kinda shy," Ye Xiaoxiao said with a playful wink and a funny face.

Even though they were both weather-beaten outside, Ye Xiaoxiao's skin remained smooth and delicate, clearly different from the village children.

She was beautiful, and even exaggerated expressions didn't mar her looks; instead, they made her appear even more playful.

Ye Changsheng tucked the money away, saying, "I'll tell Mom and Dad you earned all this money."

Ye Xiaoxiao shrugged it off. Once the money was split, the three of them finally got to relax during the day.

Miao Fengshan pitied the children who had been running around in the cold these past few days and instructed them, "You kids stay home and play. Grandpa's going to buy some meat, and we'll have a nice meal tonight."

"Grandpa, I'll go with you."

Ye Changsheng stood up.

"No need, just stay put at home."

Out of all his grandkids, Miao Fengshan had the softest spot for the youngest, bookish, and delicate fourth child. The children had been busy for so many days, and he couldn't stand to let them run around again.

"Grandpa, I'm not tired."

Ye Changsheng slipped on his shoes and insisted on going with Miao Fengshan.

Ye Changyuan was still pumped, "Xiao Xiao, I never thought making money could be this easy."

"Making money's no walk in the park; we just got lucky."

Ye Xiaoxiao remained relatively calm.

Although it was the 1980s, and the outside world was full of opportunities with millionaires aplenty, this business's success was mostly down to luck.

She was just a med student and didn't have a head for big business.

Ye Xiaoxiao knew exactly where she stood.

Ye Changyuan: "Yes, if it weren't for you, Xiao Xiao, we wouldn't have made so much money."

Ye Xiaoxiao had been lost in thought but turned her head when she heard this.

The original book didn't cover Ye Changyuan's family since they were minor characters, so there wasn't much about them.

But according to the book, not one Ye family member showed up at the main characters' wedding.

Ye Changyuan's family likely didn't fare well either.

She reminded him, "Brother Yuan, you should concentrate on your studies. The money we've made now can keep us comfortable for a year."

Ye Changyuan sighed, "But I'm not as good at studying as Brother Sheng. I've got a plan—if I don't ace next year's college entrance exam, I'll enlist."

But nowadays, enlisting isn't as straightforward as it used to be. You've got to ace an interview with the top brass before you can enlist.

Ye Xiaoxiao encouraged, "Yuan Ge, you're tall, and you don't have a hunchback or bow legs. You'll have no problem joining the army."

Joining the army is better than doing anything else.

After spending these days together, it was clear that Ye Changyuan's lively and simple nature made him an easy target in business.

Ye Xiaoxiao's words greatly encouraged Ye Changyuan, further solidifying his determination to join the army.

Miao Fengshan and Ye Changsheng quickly returned with groceries, carrying two pounds of pork and half a bag of flour into the house.

"Grandpa's making flour dumplings for you today."

This was a meal usually only had during the New Year.

Ye Changyuan sat up on the kang, his eyes sparkling, "Grandpa, you're amazing!"

Soon, the outer room was filled with the sounds of chopping and mixing. The meat filling was minced, and a stored cabbage was also chopped and mixed with the meat filling, seasoned with salt, MSG, soy sauce, sesame oil, and thirteen-spice powder...

Even before the dumplings were made, the sight of the bowl of filling was enough to make mouths water.

Miao Fengshan kneaded the dough with practiced ease, his movements smooth and skilled.

Ye Xiaoxiao thought about helping, but after looking around, she realized there wasn't much she could do.

Miao Fengshan didn't let the kids help; he was used to working alone, and having them around just got in the way.

So Ye Xiaoxiao and the others just sat on the kang, waiting.

Ye Changsheng wasn't bored; he pulled out some textbooks from Miao Fengshan's collection and started flipping through them.

There were many books here, including high school-level textbooks.

Ye Changsheng asked Ye Xiaoxiao, "What grade are you in school?"

Ye Xiaoxiao replied, "Same as you, I'm taking the college entrance exam next year."

"How are your grades?"

"Pretty good, I suppose."

Ye Xiaoxiao was indeed a top student, but since college students often start from scratch, she wasn't sure how well she'd do now.

Her lack of confidence made Ye Changsheng think she was just putting on a brave face.

Maybe she was like Yan Yan, not great at school.

Ye Xiaoxiao picked up a math book from the kang table and started flipping through it. She did need to brush up on some knowledge points.

She quickly flipped through the book, realizing that even though the 1980s textbooks were different from what she had studied in her time, the key points were the same. She remembered them after a quick glance.

After finishing the math book, Ye Xiaoxiao noticed an English textbook.

The content was really basic, just simple words and dialogues.

She flipped through the book noisily, disturbing Ye Changsheng, who was quietly working on problems.

Ye Changsheng looked up and saw that the person who had been flipping through the math book two minutes ago had now switched to an English book.

He frowned, "What... you don't even remember cosine and sine?"