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Chapter 382: Chapter 276: Do you agree with this choice?_2
After she left, Jiang Ning continued to stay in his room for a while. Once he made sure Xue Yuantong next door had fallen asleep, he pushed open his door, released his Flying Boat, and flew towards Hu Qi Mountain.
Compared to the pitch-black Hu Qi Mountain under the cover of night in the past, there were now many white metal houses built around the mountain.
The rooftops were equipped with searchlights, lines of light illuminating the paths into the mountain. Paired security patrols made it decidedly difficult for ordinary people to enter.
And this was just the first layer of protection. In the woods of Hu Qi Mountain, there were also concealing arrays laid by Jiang Ning.
He rode the Flying Boat, penetrating into Hu Qi Mountain without drawing anyone’s attention.
As he was about to enter the array, Jiang Ning released a burst of Spiritual Power. He dropped from the Flying Boat into the forest below and with a casual gesture, stored the Flying Boat in his Storage Ring.
Standing in front of the lush spirit field irrigated by the babbling Spiritual Spring, mist wafted from the field. He was quite pleased in his heart.
Jiang Ning started collecting Spirit Rice.
...
The next morning, Jiang Ning intentionally waited for Xue Yuantong to finish making breakfast before he leisurely got out of bed.
During breakfast, Xue Yuantong, huffing with annoyance, declared that she would only cook for herself from now on.
Jiang Ning leisurely told her that he had found a particularly delicious ingredient.
Xue Yuantong immediately stopped her fuss. She knew anything Jiang Ning declared tasty must indeed be delicious.
Then, Jiang Ning had a lovely morning.
The day’s classes passed without incident.
The only thing that struck Jiang Ning as odd was that Dan Kaiquan was behaving unusually that day, having not spoken to Bai Yuxia at all. It was as if he’d become another person.
During the last period of evening self-study.
Chen Siqing turned around to chat, and today’s topic was a bit special—it was about family.
Knowing that Bai Yuxia’s father was an associate professor and her mother a deputy chief physician, Chen Siqing was curious about the occupations of Jiang Ning and Xue Yuantong’s parents.
Actually, this topic was somewhat private.
Many students at Fourth Middle School came from rural areas, and some had parents who were simply construction workers.
Concerned about face, quite a few high school students were somewhat reluctant to talk about their parents, feeling it placed them at a disadvantage.
Jiang Ning boldly said, "Working in Wen City, at the Evergreen Liquid Company."
This statement surprised both Chen Siqing and Bai Yuxia.
Evergreen Liquid Company had risen in Yuzhou, and its popularity had been booming recently. Everyone knew that a formidable local enterprise had emerged.
Not only was it a big company, but the compensation and benefits were top-notch—double or even triple those offered by other companies.
Bai Yuxia asked, "The Evergreen Liquid branch in Wen City?"
"Yes," confirmed Jiang Ning.
"That’s a really good job," commended Bai Yuxia before she continued to inquire, "Are they a part of the management?"
"Yes." Indeed, they were part of the management—with Jiang Ning’s help, his parents had become top management at the Evergreen Liquid branch in Wen City.
Wen City’s business acumen was nationally recognized, and there were many wealthy individuals. Evergreen Liquid sold exceptionally well within the Wen City territory.
Hearing Jiang Ning’s response, Bai Yuxia’s doubts dissipated.
She had heard that Jiang Ning came from a small town, yet the items he used on a daily basis were no worse off than hers. His phone was worth several thousand yuan, and his earphones were in the same bracket.
Even a fountain pen he owned was priced in the tens of thousands.
These luxury items, imperceptible to other classmates, were evident to Bai Yuxia—her father liked stationery a lot, and she was influenced by him and had a rough idea of their value.
Such luxuries could only be afforded by the group of peers around Qi Tianheng throughout the entire Fourth Middle School.
Now that she heard his parents were with Evergreen Liquid Company, she had no doubts.
Her father had casually mentioned at the dinner table that Evergreen Liquid had immense potential for future development and would, barring any surprises, become the most formidable enterprise in the entire province.
The employees there enjoyed extraordinary treatment, with some of the management earning an annual salary of over a million yuan.
If Jiang Ning’s parents were part of the management, it was no wonder he could afford luxury items.
Chen Siqing commented, "Evergreen Liquid is quite expensive."
"Yes, it is," added Bai Yuxia, "The cheapest bottle costs three thousand yuan."
Chen Siqing then asked, "What about your parents, Xue Yuantong?"
Xue Yuantong paused upon hearing the question.
Her thoughts seemed to drift back several years in an instant.
At that time, she had just been in her first year of junior high.
In the junior high she attended, there was a severe amount of one-upmanship in her class.
Many boys liked to show off their shoes—Nike, Adidas—and often compared with each other in class, debating whose shoes were the best, who had the most prestige. 𝖓𝔬𝔳𝖕𝖚𝖇.𝖈𝔬𝔪
To determine who had the best shoes, the boys would scuff them across the cement floor with force.
If someone’s shoes could make a loud squeak, then those were the true quality shoes...
It wasn’t just the boys who competed; the girls were just as bad.
Once, they discussed their parents’ occupations.
One classmate’s parents owned a company.
And another girl’s parents worked for that classmate’s parents’ company, which made her automatically lower in status.
Xue Yuantong had been asked about her family situation before, and after she revealed her mother’s job, she was mocked by the girls—her mom was a janitor...
After that, when asked again, Xue Yuantong never mentioned her mother’s job.
Today, faced with Chen Siqing’s question,
Xue Yuantong subconsciously wanted to hide it but then realized there was nothing to hide.
Chen Siqing and Bai Yuxia were not like those girls from junior high; they wouldn’t mock someone based on their family background.
Besides, Xue Yuantong was different from before; she was the top student in her grade, and she could make her mother proud.
Most importantly, Jiang Ning was there.
After reflecting for a moment, Xue Yuantong puffed out her chest and declared with pride,
"My mom works at Changqing Liquid Company. If my mom were to be laid off, a hundred or so people would have no food to eat."
Chen Siqing gaped, Xue Yuantong’s mother was a leader?
Bai Yuxia said, "Indeed, a leader who can leave a hundred or so employees without food to eat is impressive."
"A small company would have about that many people."
Chen Siqing said, "The company where my dad works has just over eighty people."
They hadn’t expected Xue Yuantong’s family to be so well-off; no wonder she was close to Jiang Ning—it turns out they were from the same company.
Xue Yuantong, receiving their surprised looks, felt quite satisfied inside.
...
Pang Jiao said to Wang Yanyan, "Yanyan, I’ve decided to lose weight."
She took a sip of her milk tea.
Wang Yanyan said, "You’re not fat, and aren’t you on diet pills?"
Pang Jiao recalled the day she fainted in the classroom, and how several sisters had to lift her.
She had heard them counting ’1, 2, 3, up!’
Pang Jiao knew it all.
Thus, she was determined to lose weight, at least to the point where a few sisters could lift her.
Elsewhere,
Yang Sheng was filling out the sign-up form for the sports meet, and she chose the 1500 meters for women.
Yu Wen, Jiang Yanan, and Shen Qing’e were discussing the value of marriage.
Yu Wen offered her opinion, "If I ever get married, I’ll definitely find someone handsome. He doesn’t need to be too well-off; we can work hard together."
Shen Qing’e said nonchalantly, "I want both good looks and financial security."
She was living at her sister’s place and had seen her brother-in-law’s lifestyle—where they would go on vacation anywhere across the country as soon as holidays started.
Once you’ve experienced that kind of life, it’s hard to go back.
Shen Qing’e’s current pursuits were so that she could match up to that kind of life later, hoping to get into a top university and settle down in a big city.
Yu Wen glanced at Shen Qing’e and didn’t think Qing’e’s expectations were too much. Shen Qing’e was pretty and a good student, ranking in the top fifteen of the class.
Their Class 8 was ordinary, but much stronger than most ordinary classes.
Take Dong Qingfeng, for instance, ranked fifth in their class; in most parallel classes, his grades could vie for first place, yet in Class 8, he only managed to be fifth.
After the two girls finished speaking, it was Jiang Yanan’s turn.
Jiang Yanan said, "Looks and financial status are secondary to me. I hope that his parents are deceased because I’ve heard that in-law relations can be difficult."
"Especially men whose mothers have passed away—they really earn extra points with me, more than being handsome or wealthy."
This answer left Yu Wen and Shen Qing’e momentarily unable to grasp; they had never considered this aspect.
Nearby, Yang Sheng found it ludicrous.
She looked at Jiang Yanan and suddenly asked, "Would you be willing to earn points for your son in the future?"
