Chapter 38: A New Perspective

“You… sell mushrooms?”

Another surprise for Nan Fangjue.

“Yeah, I’ve sold them a few times. I know it’s speculation and profiteering, but I sell them to state-run restaurants. I won’t get caught. The restaurant kitchens have to buy them anyway, so I deliver them directly, and they’re more than happy to get them.”

Wen Yanyan, lonely for half a month, finally had someone to talk to. She spoke incessantly, like a radio.

Xiao Qiuqiu, nestled in its dog house, watched her quietly.

“Fresh mushrooms are 25 cents a pound, dried mushrooms are three yuan a pound. No stealing, no robbing, I picked them all on the mountain. I made over thirty yuan! Don’t worry, I won’t tarnish your image.”

She said triumphantly.

“Unexpectedly, you’re quite daring.”

Nan Fangjue thought, why does she talk like a machine gun lately? She doesn’t stutter anymore!

And she can even do accounts.

“If you weren’t a soldier, I’d be even bolder. I’d even dare to sell guns!”

Wen Yanyan was a little inflated.

“Stop.”

Nan Fangjue couldn’t listen anymore.

“Don’t talk nonsense. Selling firearms is a crime. Do you want to go to jail? But your recent actions have indeed made me look at you with new eyes.”

He said this without sarcasm. Saving a life isn’t something everyone can do.

Huh?

Wen Yanyan, who had been opening her heart and speaking freely, instantly became silent.

“Did I accomplish some great feat?”

She didn’t know. Him having a new perspective on her was a bit of an exaggeration, wasn’t it?

“I heard you saved a child?”

Nan Fangjue wanted to hear her explanation. After all, in his understanding, based on Wen Yanyan’s usual behavior, it was a fairy tale.

Huh?

Saved a child?

Wen Yanyan hesitated for a moment, then suddenly understood, her brow smoothing.

“Oh, that? I forgot about it. It was a small matter, a simple act. I just happened to be there; I couldn’t just stand by and watch, could I? I also rescued a puppy from town. The Great Teacher even wrote an inscription: ‘Save the dying, heal the injured, serve the people.'”

Her knowledge was a bit mixed; her words were all over the place.

Nan Fangjue frowned slightly. Why was she still so poor?

“How did you save him?”

Compared to his previous question, he was more interested in this answer.

“I used a scientific method to easily do it.”

Wen Yanyan assumed a standing posture, explaining as she spoke.

“I first hugged him from behind, clenched one fist, and held the other fist with that hand. I used my fist to forcefully press on his chest and abdomen, creating a reverse airflow, repeatedly impacting several times, which would expel the foreign object from his throat.”

“When I was a child, someone saved me this way, so I learned it.”

Half of what Wen Yanyan said was true, and half was false. A mix of truth and falsehood to avoid exposure.

“Oh.”

Nan Fangjue nodded. What she said made sense.

It turned out that he only truly knew her today. His previous impressions of her were wrong.

“Do you like reading too?” Finally, back to the main topic.

Wen Yanyan took back her book from the table and lovingly caressed the cover.

“I like it.”

“What’s your educational level?”

Nan Fangjue didn’t know much about her. His deceased grandfather only mentioned where her home was and who her parents were.

He had zero information about her personally.

“Why do you have so many questions?”

Wen Yanyan changed the subject. She didn’t want to say that she only graduated from primary school.

It wasn’t because she was afraid of being looked down upon, but because she herself couldn’t accept the original owner’s low educational level.

“Can’t you tell me this?”

Nan Fangjue looked into her eyes.

“I don’t want to say it, but I dare say I know more characters than you.”

Wen Yanyan used a different approach to prove herself.

“I graduated from high school.”

Nan Fangjue reminded her that he joined the army at sixteen after graduating from high school.

Because the college entrance examination had been cancelled at that time, he didn’t have the opportunity to take it.

“The number of characters you know has nothing to do with your graduation. We can compare if you don’t believe me.”

Wen Yanyan was very confident.

“How do we compare?”

Seeing her confidence, Nan Fangjue also wanted to test her.

Wen Yanyan put the book on the table.

“It’s this book. You find ten characters that you think are difficult for me, and I’ll pick ten characters for you. If you recognize them all, you win; if I recognize them all, I win. How about that?”

“Good.”

Nan Fangjue looked at the wall clock; there was still enough time. He started flipping through the book to find characters.

After he finished, Wen Yanyan started to look for hers.

In the end, Wen Yanyan recognized all ten characters Nan Fangjue chose.

However, Nan Fangjue didn’t recognize two of the ten characters Wen Yanyan chose: tāo and tiè.

Therefore, Wen Yanyan won.

“See? A high education doesn’t mean anything. A low education doesn’t mean you’re nothing. Life doesn’t require solving equations or square roots. You just need to be literate and know some basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.”

After saying this, Wen Yanyan felt guilty. After all, she had a doctorate in her previous life. She only said this because of the original owner’s low educational level.

In reality, the higher the education, the better, just like money.

“Good.”

Since Nan Fangjue lost, he didn’t want to say more. He really hadn’t seen those two characters before. He accepted his defeat.

“Why didn’t you read in the first two months?”

His house wasn’t without books; he had never seen her read a single one. Once, she even tore a page from his book to wipe her nose.

“I didn’t have the heart to read in the first two months. I was in a new environment, a little uncomfortable, and a little emotional. Oh, it’s getting late. Shouldn’t you be going back to the camp?”

Wen Yanyan wanted to avoid this topic because the reasons she made up were too weak; she couldn’t even say them herself.

“Yeah, it’s time.”

Nan Fangjue got up to leave, but he stopped after two steps.

“Don’t sell mushrooms anymore. It’s not a good influence. You can use my military allowance. If it’s not enough, tell me.”

Then he really left.

Huh?

Wen Yanyan stared at his back in a daze. What did he just say? Don’t sell mushrooms?

But she still wanted to save money to build a large hospital after the reform and opening up.

What’s wrong with selling mushrooms? It’s not just her who sells them!

So many people are selling them on the black market, and the government turns a blind eye.

Just be careful, right?

Sigh, it’s all because she was too quick with her tongue; she shouldn’t have said that.