Chapter 148

Chapter 148

Huzi's mother immediately showed a strange expression on her face.

Wang Meili didn’t notice it. Perhaps in her mind, Huzi's mother should have responded with a few polite words and sincerely invited her to join the business. After all, as an employee of a state-owned factory, Wang Meili felt too embarrassed to directly ask Huzi's mother for help. The two of them beat around the bush for a while, neither mentioning the matter of selling goods. Wang Meili fumed inwardly, thinking Huzi's mother was being dense—why wouldn’t she just bring it up?

Huzi's mother even offered hollow comfort to Wang Meili: "Kids? They’ll outgrow it. My Huzi was just as clueless at that age. Failing the college entrance exam isn’t the end of the world. Look at my Huzi—he didn’t even get into high school, but he’s still putting food on the table. There’s always a way forward in life."

Wang Meili’s smile stiffened, but she never got the words she was waiting for from Huzi's mother.

In the end, the two left on a sour note.

After returning home, Wang Meili harped at Xu Jia about finding a job. She refused to pay for her daughter to retake the exams—Xu Jia’s head was always in the clouds. Before the exams, she had sneaked out to play, and after the exams, she was even more carefree, gallivanting around like she didn’t have a care for studying. Wang Meili decided it was better to stop wasting money on her and instead follow Chen Hu’s example—getting her to work early and learn how to earn a living.

Meanwhile, Xu Jia turned on the TV, flipping through channels one by one in search of a drama to watch.

Coincidentally, there was nothing good on. She had already scrolled through the channels twice but still couldn’t find anything interesting. Bored, she flopped dramatically onto the bed and let out a long sigh. If only a rich long-lost aunt or uncle from overseas would return—it didn’t matter how much money they had, as long as they could slip her a few bills to last a few years.

Stories of long-lost relatives returning from abroad to reunite with their families had become quite common in recent recent years.

Wang Meili started in on the job talk again.

Xu Jia shot back, "Can you stop repeating yourself? I know I need to find a job, but it takes time. Just give me some money first—I don’t even have enough to buy a bowl of noodles right now."

Wang Meili stood up abruptly. "What? You’ve already spent all your money? Your dad just gave you five yuan!"

Xu Jia lazily replied, "Five bucks is chump change—it’s gone in no time. Are you giving me more or not?"

Wang Meili’s blood boiled. Thinking back to Huzi's mother’s attitude, she regretted not just asking outright earlier—whether she could still get supplies and find something for Xu Jia to do. She had heard that selling one hot pot base could earn eighty cents.

It wasn’t even hard to sell. Some said that if you set up at the morning market near the vegetable stalls, it was like picking up money—ten or eight would sell in no time.

It seemed like anyone with half a brain could make money from this.

But the moment Wang Meili brought it up, Xu Jia reacted as if stung by a bee, jumping up from the bed. "What? You want me to carry that stuff around and peddle it like some street vendor? How humiliating! Why don’t you do it? I’d be too embarrassed!"

What if she ran into someone she knew—especially her old classmates? She had been the queen bee at school.

She had all pride, no hustle—and now she looked down on selling things.

Wang Meili pointed at her and scolded, "Xu Meng was selling watermelons at the train station last year, and now no one laughs at her. All the neighbors praise her for being clever and sensible. These days, as long as you can make money, it’s fine!"

Xu Jia covered her head in agony as Wang Meili started praising Xu Meng again.

Meanwhile, Xu Meng was racking her brains to write a how-I-made-it essay.

Writing was definitely not her strong suit. After finishing, she showed it to Huang Xiaoying.

Huang Xiaoying gave her a side-eye. "Sis, I don’t think this is what they’re looking for."

Xu Meng had written something dry as toast. Huang Xiaoying picked up a pen, hacked away at some parts, added others, and handed the revised draft back. After reading it, Xu Meng’s eyes lit up. "Brilliant, my dear cousin! If I were a student, this speech would get me pumped too!"

Huang Xiaoying raised an eyebrow and said with a shrug, "You’re welcome."

Xu Meng read through the draft once more, gave it one last once-over, and went to the school on the third day.

The school had already hung up a banner: "Celebrating our student Xu Meng for ranking third in the city and first in XX District, successfully admitted to Peking University!" Xu Meng stared at the banner for a moment before ducking inside.

By now, the previous senior class had already graduated. The newly promoted seniors had been dragged back to school in early August. The hapless juniors, fueled by their senior’s inspirational story, were riding the hype.

"They say Xu Meng used to read books all day long."

"They say Xu Meng studied every waking hour."

...and similar gossip spread quickly through the school.

Fortunately, few among this year's students actually knew Xu Meng. While others were discussing her, she could calmly walk past them—quite impressive indeed. Xu Meng found Ms. Zhang and was first met with praise after praise in the teachers' office.

Although the school had some expectations and knew Xu Meng was a standout student, no one anticipated she would score beyond everyone's predictions.

Yang Ruohua and Mr. Xia were persona non grata at school now. Envying a student, especially trying to hinder one capable of getting into Peking University, would be career-ending in education circles. These two key figures had become pariahs on campus—not only were teachers displeased with them, but even students looked at them strangely. Luckily, it was still summer break, and the two central figures of campus gossip hadn’t returned to work yet. However, they already felt the psychological pressure awaiting them when school resumed. Living in the faculty housing, they rarely went out because whenever they did, people would throw shade.

Under the teachers' enthusiastic questioning, Xu Meng spent over an hour fielding questions about her study habits before she could finally excuse herself.

In the end, it was Ms. Zhang who noticed she couldn’t take it anymore and led her out.

"Alright, enough questions. I still have something to discuss with her. Xu Meng, let’s go talk outside."

Sensing the situation, Ms. Zhang took Xu Meng to sit outside the convenience store, where they ordered two bottles of ice-cold Arctic sodas.

Xu Meng tried to pay, but the shop owner refused, pushing the money back. "These two are on me today. Having our district’s top scorer drink at my shop is an honor. By the way, you used to come here often for drinks, didn’t you? With two other girls. How did they do in the exams?"

Well, just another perk of acing exams.

The shop owner had only vaguely heard of Xu Meng before, with a faint impression mainly because Xu Meng was pretty.

After summer arrived, this girl often came in the afternoons with two other girls to buy drinks. Unlike the rumored cold, unfeeling top student, she was quick with a joke. When the shop wasn’t busy, the three of them would linger for a long time. It never seemed remarkable before, but now, looking back, Xu Meng stood out while blending right in.

Meeting the shop owner’s kind gaze, Xu Meng thanked her warmly.

"Ms. Zhang, did Wei Xiang pass the cutoff?"

Ms. Zhang nodded. "She applied for an education program and scored over a dozen points above the line. But whether she’ll need to accept a different program is uncertain. Your admission letter is in the first batch, but I expect hers will arrive soon too. Hers is also being sent to the school. Once it arrives, I’ll need to find a way to notify her. Have you kept in touch with her?"

"Yes. When the time comes, call me, and I’ll reach out to her."

Lately, Wei Xiang had been frequently coming to the city to get inventory from her, almost every week.

Now, her family had rented a small one or two-square-meter counter in the county town, and business was thriving. They regularly sourced goods from Wang Shuanzhu while also selling some hot items like digital watches—also supplied by Wang Shuanzhu from the south—which were quite popular in small towns.

Ms. Zhang smiled. "You seem just as busy now as you were in school, don’t you?"

Xu Meng admitted honestly, "A little busy."

If people knew this poster child for academic success was actually busy with business, they’d be even more shocked.

After fulfilling the school’s request for a pep talk, Xu Meng received a 1,000-yuan scholarship, which greatly eased her recent financial strain. The factory construction was less than halfway done but had already consumed most of her savings. Soon, she’d have to ask her mother for gas money.

On her way back from school, Xu Meng was still riding high.

Tonight, Feng Yanwen was throwing a little party at the courtyard. She had ordered takeout of several meat dishes from a restaurant outside, leaving Sister-in-law Qian to prepare a few side dishes at home. By the time Xu Meng arrived, two tables were already set up in the yard, laden with the pre-ordered dishes. Sister-in-law Qian was busy in the kitchen, while Chang Xi’s family and Sister Liu had also arrived.

Sister Liu congratulated her—for the fifth time already.

Xu Meng said with a laugh, "You’ve said it so many times."

Sister Liu replied, "Our neighborhood has produced an academic star—we can't brag enough."

Chang Xi’s mother also brought over some treats. "Chang Xi did well too. I checked with Jiao Tong University—there shouldn’t be any issues. Even if Communications doesn’t work out, she can switch to Comp Sci."

Chang Xi broke into a sweat: "Like computers are even worse."

Chang Xi's mother said cheerfully, "Well, I wouldn't know about that. It's up to you. Anyway, if you get in, I’ll throw you a celebration dinner too."

After all, their daughter getting into college was like the Chang ancestors' graves were smoking. Once this meal at Xu Meng’s place was over, the Changs would surely host the next one. So, everyone kept their gifts light, knowing they’d return the favor with the same standard when it was Chang Xi’s turn.

Amid the lively chatter, they waited for a long time, but Feng Yanwen still hadn’t come out.

Chang Xi's mother said, "We should toast Teacher Feng later. If it weren’t for her tutoring my daughter in English, Chang Xi would’ve been on thin ice this time. Just her English score alone improved by at least twenty points! That’s why I say Teacher Feng really knows her stuff. We’ll still need her help with the basics even in college."

She flashed a "V" sign, her expression exaggerated.

Sister Liu, puzzled, asked, "Just twenty points? That doesn't sound like such a big deal."

Chang Xi's mother clapped her hands. "Don’t underestimate those twenty points! It’s because of twenty here, five or ten there—it all stacks up. The rest of the credit goes to Xu Meng. Thanks to her crashing at our place for a while and keeping an eye on Chang Xi, my girl stepped up her game. Studying together, working on problems, analyzing key points—it helped all her subjects."

The conversation then shifted to the topic of learning from top students.

Xu Meng joined in briefly, but seeing how engrossed they were in their discussion, she couldn't get a word in edgewise. "I’ll go call my mom," she said before quickly heading inside.

Meanwhile, Feng Yanwen was inside, having an agitated conversation with someone.

"The number of students enrolling for the new semester has dropped? That can’t be right."

Standing before her was Zhao Jing, a young woman in her twenties whom Feng Yanwen had hired as a receptionist.

The training school had grown considerably, with over twenty teachers and more than a dozen classrooms. Enrollment and scheduling had become too much for Feng Yanwen to handle alone, so right before summer classes started, she’d hired Zhao Jing to manage the school's admin work.

Zhao Jing usually lived on campus and ate meals there, so she was pretty much part of the family. When she saw Xu Meng enter, she nodded at her before continuing to Feng Yanwen, "Should I reach out to former students and ask what’s going on?"

Feng Yanwen irritably nodded. Pregnancy discomfort and mood swings had made her much more quick to snap.

But the moment she saw Xu Meng, her mood softened.

"Why aren’t you outside waiting for dinner?"

"All the guests are here. They sent me to get you." Xu Meng hesitated before asking, "Is there a problem with enrollment?"

Feng Yanwen rubbed her temples. "I checked the accounts for next semester and noticed something off, so I had Xiao Zhao look into it. Turns out, it’s not the finances—it’s the enrollment numbers. School’s about to start, and if I hadn’t caught this, no one would’ve known until it was too late."

Xu Meng remarked casually, "Xiao Zhao’s job is front desk work. She wouldn’t think that far ahead."

Feng Yanwen fell silent. This was indeed her oversight, not Xiao Zhao’s fault. Lately, her health had been poor, and she rarely left the house. On top of that, after Xu Meng’s college entrance exams, her emotions had been swinging between extremes, leaving her physically weaker and more prone to agitation.

Xu Meng knew this well—the whole family had been walking on eggshells around her lately.

"Don’t overthink it now. I’ll go check out the school later and see what’s really going on."

But early the next morning, the oldest kid rushed in and exclaimed, "Sis Xu Meng, did you know? Another training school opened right across the street! Their place is all fancy and decked out—they’ve swooped in and took all our business!"