CHAPTER 188: CHAPTER 188: A WEIGHT OFF HER MIND

Uncle Zhang pulled out four perfectly pressed bills from the book and found eight dimes: "Count them."

Yu Xinyan’s attention wasn’t on the money at all; she kept staring at the book in Uncle Zhang’s hand: "Uncle Zhang, whose book is that?"

Uncle Zhang looked down at the book in his hand: "It’s mine, the old man’s. What, do you like it?"

Yu Xinyan exclaimed with delight: "Uncle Zhang, you can read traditional Chinese characters?"

Uncle Zhang burst out laughing: "Yes, back in my day, we learned traditional characters in school."

Yu Xinyan was thrilled: "Uncle Zhang, I have a favor to ask, could you spare some time to teach me how to read traditional characters?"

Uncle Zhang saw the hope in her eyes and, a bit boastfully, said: "Why not, come over when you have time."

Hearing Uncle Zhang agree, Yu Xinyan’s face lit up with a smile: "Uncle Zhang, consider this fish as my tuition fee for today."

Uncle Zhang and Aunt Zhang naturally didn’t want to accept, but Yu Xinyan insisted, and after a long back-and-forth, Yu Xinyan finally said: "If you don’t take it, I’ll be embarrassed to come over to learn."

Uncle Zhang and his wife had no choice but to accept with a smile.

With this important matter resolved, Yu Xinyan was in an exceptionally good mood.

After going back, she quickly washed off the fishy smell, drank a bowl of porridge that had been stored in the space since last night, and ate a bun with some pickles, then packed her backpack and headed out the door.

From a distance, she saw Zhao Jianlan waiting at the entrance of the residential area. When Zhao Jianlan saw her come out, she waved: "Xinyan, over here."

Yu Xinyan quickly walked over: "How long have you been waiting?"

Zhao Jianlan linked her arm through Yu Xinyan’s: "Not long."

The two of them left the Mechanical Factory together and headed toward the school. Zhao Jianlan thought about the apricots and mulberries Yu Xinyan had given her yesterday: "Xinyan, those apricots and mulberries were so delicious, where did you pick them?"

Yu Xinyan laughed: "There are no more if you want them. When I went, there weren’t many left, so I picked them all."

Zhao Jianlan felt a little regretful: "Ah, those were the best apricots and mulberries I’ve ever eaten. I didn’t even get to grab a few; they were all snatched by that little rascal Zhao Jianjun."

Seeing her like that, Yu Xinyan laughed: "I still have some at home. If you really want to eat them, come home with me after school at noon."

Hearing this, Zhao Jianlan hugged Yu Xinyan: "Mmm, mmm, mmm, you’re so nice. Then I’ll shamelessly take you up on that offer."

Laughing and chatting, the two walked through the school gates. Quite a few people greeted her, which puzzled Yu Xinyan at first: "I don’t know these people, what’s up with them?"

Zhao Jianlan looked proud: "Of course, it’s because you took first place in the city math competition. Everyone admires you."

Yu Xinyan didn’t expect such a strong reaction from everyone. She couldn’t help but smile at the thought of what it would be like if she placed in the provincial finals. She had to admit, she felt a little proud at that moment.

Composing herself, she pulled Zhao Jianlan into the classroom.

Before she could settle in, a classmate came in and called her: "Yu Xinyan, Teacher Cao wants you to go to the office."

Yu Xinyan quickly arrived at the teacher’s office. When Teacher Cao saw her come in, she gestured toward an empty spot: "For the next few days, you’ll be working on problems here in the office."

She pointed to an empty spot and then handed her a stack of test papers: "Start working on these problems. If there’s anything you don’t understand, we’ll work through it together."

Yu Xinyan knew she could avoid it on Sunday, but not on Monday and Tuesday, so she resigned herself to her fate and sat down since the teacher had already prepared pens and scratch paper for her.

*

On the other side, He Jinxuan had taken the day off to go back to the city to handle the property procedures.

Early that morning, he had dropped off Ye Silai and Ye Siyan at the kindergarten to help them adapt in advance since he had matters to attend to today, and it was a good day to start.

After Yu Xinyan’s careful care over time, the two little ones were completely different from when they first arrived at the Mechanical Factory. They no longer guarded against others like frightened birds. Seeing how well they played with other kids, He Jinxuan finally felt at ease to leave.

After reaching the city, he didn’t go straight home. He had already arranged with his Big Brother yesterday to meet at the housing management bureau.