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Chapter 577: 370
On the way home, Xue Yuantong leaned against the backseat of the mountain bike and asked about Chuchu.
She and Chuchu got along very well, having grown up in the same village. They would often roam the hills and fields together, playing with marbles, catching butterflies, scavenging for junk to sell for snack money, and walking to and from school together, forging a deep friendship.
It was only later, when Xue Yuantong followed her mother to Yuzhou City and entered junior high, that they had no choice but to part ways.
But her friendship with Xue Chuchu wasn’t diminished much by the distance.
Now that Xue Chuchu had come to the city for high school, and in the vast Yuzhou City, Xue Yuantong had only her as a true friend.
Although she was naive, she wasn’t a fool; she worried that Jiang Ning might dislike Chuchu, and if that were the case, she didn’t know what to do.
Hearing this, Jiang Ning wondered why she would ask such a question.
Xue Chuchu appeared to be cool and aloof on the outside, but she was actually gentle and mild-mannered, well-read and sensible. He believed not many people would dislike a girl like that.
"Why would I mind? If you want her to come over, just call her. It’s just an extra set of utensils," he said in a casual tone.
"Mm-hmm," Xue Yuantong felt relieved upon hearing this.
Jiang Ning rarely lied to her. With him speaking this way now, it showed he didn’t dislike Chuchu.
Thinking this, she smiled and, taking advantage of the cool summer night breeze, she started to speak,
"Jiang Ning, do you know? The last time I chatted with Chuchu, I found out that in our village, she and I are the only girls still in high school."
"What about the others?" Jiang Ning pedaled slowly, allowing the wheels to turn more gently.
Xue Yuantong sighed, "They all dropped out of school. I heard from Chuchu and my mom that they went to work in factories outside."
Nowadays, farming in rural areas isn’t profitable. Even with a few mu of land, you can only earn a few thousand yuan a year. If you want to improve your living conditions, you have to leave home to work.
In their village, working was the general trend.
Jiang Ning thought for a while and said, "Our village is similar. Currently, there are only two or three boys my age left."
The educational conditions in the countryside are far worse than in the city. For many, the only aim of attending school is to get by, spending their days playing in game arcades, surfing the internet, and matching wits with teachers.
When they see people around them working, especially peers who come back each year dressed fashionably, speaking knowledgeably, having spare cash, and even able to afford new phones, many students naturally develop the idea of working instead.
For a student to complete high school is now as rare as a phoenix’s feathers or a unicorn’s horn.
For girls, the situation is even more severe. Although Jiang Ning is only a freshman in high school, there are already girls in the village who are married with children.
He remembers that by the time he was a high school senior, some were already on their second marriage.
"So, Jiang Ning, do you think studying is better, or working is better?" Xue Yuantong asked him.
Jiang Ning thought and then said, "Studying is better, I guess."
Although the ultimate results of studying might not be better than those who start working right away, the process is undoubtedly much more enjoyable.
"Mm-hmm, that’s what I think too." Xue Yuantong snuggled closer to him, not minding the heat of the big summer.
Jiang Ning steered the handlebar and turned into the fields below the river dam. The mountain bike, under the force of gravity, suddenly accelerated, and using this momentum, the bike surged forward a great distance.
With a couple more pushes on the pedals, they were home.
"Mom! Mom! I’m on vacation!" Xue Yuantong yelled out in her crisp voice. Without waiting for Jiang Ning’s bike to come to a complete stop, she excitedly leapt off the backseat.
Aunt Gu was enjoying the cool at the door. Seeing her daughter’s antics, she laughed first, then reminded her, "Be careful, don’t fall."
Xue Yuantong immediately bragged, "How could I? I can handle a bike that low with no problem."
After boasting a bit, she went on, "Mom, I’ll take you horseback riding sometime, then you’ll see me leap off a horse."
The speaker was unintentional, but the listener took it to heart. Aunt Gu remembered there seemed to be a small horse farm by the river dam. Back when they didn’t have money, horseback riding was expensive, and she couldn’t bear to let her daughter try it.
Now with a good job and a salary of several thousand yuan per month, things had eased up. It was time for her daughter to have some fun.
Aunt Gu was tempted but didn’t say anything. She planned to ask about it further and then suggest her daughter and Jiang Ning go for a ride.
"Mom, what are you having for dinner?" Xue Yuantong asked.
"I’ve already eaten at the company before coming back," said Aunt Gu, one of the chefs at Changqing Liquid Company, who takes almost all her meals there.
Her daughter had almost taken over the kitchen at home.
"I’ve eaten too. Jiang Ning and I had some cold skin noodles and meat sandwiches, and we also drank watermelon juice," Xue Yuantong reported. n𝚘vp𝚞𝚋.com
Aunt Gu cared, "Are you full?"
Xue Yuantong patted her stomach, "Full, very full."
"Really full, or just pretending?" Aunt Gu asked again to be sure.
"Mom, I’m really full!" Xue Yuantong felt her mother was questioning her sincerity.
It was no wonder Aunt Gu was skeptical, considering her daughter had quite an appetite. She remembered times in the past when Chuchu’s parents would invite them to a restaurant.
Whenever she told Chuchu’s mother not to order more because Tongtong was full, her daughter would invariably prove her wrong with gusto.
"Today Boss Shao came to the kitchen and let us take some food home. I got a box of cooked screw snails. You and Jiang Ning can have it for dinner," Aunt Gu said.
Xue Yuantong exclaimed in surprise, "Mom, your boss is so nice! The delicious pastries you brought home last time were also given to you by the boss, right?"
Aunt Gu replied with a smile, "Of course. Your mom has been a long-time employee."
When Changqing Liquid Company was not yet well-established, she got hired, and fortunately, she had not doubted that the owners were con artists; otherwise, she wouldn’t enjoy the benefits she has now.
Because she joined the company early, Boss Shao was quite familiar with her, which led to everyone in the kitchen department thinking she was related to the boss. As a result, Aunt Gu had a very comfortable position at the company.
Despite her repeated clarifications, no one at the company believed her, so she stopped trying to explain.
