Chapter 212

Xi Jiulu had been waiting for this day as well.

He had done a lot of homework in advance, fabricating a complete set of stories for himself and his ‘brother,’ creating a very specific and tortuous background for them.

He said that their family was originally poor, so they had sent him out for adoption at a young age.

His foster parents treated him well, but unfortunately, they were old and passed away not long ago, telling him about his background before they died.

He returned to his hometown and found that his biological parents had passed away many years ago, leaving only this ‘brother’ behind.

Because their relatives were not wealthy either, Xiaoci had no one to raise him.

He grew up eating at various households and mingled with beggars on the street, which led to his unruly and disobedient nature.

Mei Ruochu and Mu Er Pang were also very curious about the new classmate, especially since they had developed a close brotherly bond with their former classmates.

Naturally, they also wanted to get along well with the new classmate in the future.

After hearing Xi Jiulu’s story, they were even more moved and sympathetic.

So, after washing up, they immediately went to the classroom.

What they didn’t expect was that the new classmate was so young, only six or seven years old.

They didn’t mind each other’s young age, but they both lacked experience in dealing with such young classmates.

They looked at each other, and when Xiaoci saw this, he jumped up from his chair and angrily exclaimed, “You look down on me too? One of you is a poor fellow so Unlucky, the other couldn’t even more unlucky as the toilet blew up on his face Why…”

Before he could finish his sentence, his mouth was covered by Lao Buyu again, leaving only muffled sounds.

Mei Ruochu and Mu Er Pang naturally wouldn’t argue with a child of this age.

They just thought that this latecomer was quite special.

From now on, Master wouldn’t call them lonely anymore; it would be lively!

At this time, Shen Cui and Mrs. Zheng had already arranged breakfast and called them over to eat.

The others were about to go over, but Xiaoci refused, “I don’t need to eat!”

Well, this child was not only unruly but also refused to eat properly.

Mrs Zheng, who heard his shout from the hall, exclaimed, “Where did this naughty little thing come from? In our village, in our county town, if children know they can have fine food every meal, they’ll laugh even in their dreams!”

As she spoke, Mrs. Zheng also left the hall to deal with Xiaoci.

Mrs. Zheng had raised three children and several grandchildren, so no one doubted her ability to handle children.

Unlike Lao Buyu, who had only dealt with obedient and diligent students since he became a teacher and had never cared about the students’ behavior.

Mrs. Zheng was different.

Coming from a farming background, how could a farmer’s family not spank their children?

If it were another normal student, Shen Cui would surely give his mother a piece of her mind, making sure not to lay a hand on the child.

But if the target is Xiaoci then it seems like a couple of hits wouldn’t matter? Right!

“Will it hurt him?” Shen Cui quietly asked Xi Jiulu when nobody was paying attention.

Xi Jiulu said, “It won’t outside, but it will here.”

Understood, it means Except for the basic fact that he won’t disappear or die, there’s no difference from an ordinary person.

he could feel pain and emotions.

Shen Cui smiled

As they were talking, cries of pain from Xiaoci indeed came from the classroom, “How dare you flick my forehead! You’re done for!”

Lao Buyu and the others had already sat down at the table.

When they heard the commotion, Lao Buyu’s face showed a look of distress as she looked at Shen Cui, who seemed hesitant to speak.

Shen Cui glanced at Xi Jiulu, who immediately said, “I may be lacking in learning, but I do know the saying, ‘Without polishing, a jade cannot become a gem.’ Besides, my ‘little brother’ is really tough. Master, rest assured.”

Even though Xi Jiulu said so, Lao Buyu couldn’t help but look in the direction of the classroom.

“He’s so young, and no one has raised him since birth. It’s not his fault he’s like this now.”

After breakfast, Mu Er Pang and Mei Ruochu went on duty, and Lao Buyu went to the classroom immediately, rescuing Xiaoci from Zheng Shi’s hands.

Shen Cui and Xi Jiulu cleaned up the dishes and couldn’t help but whisper, “How come he looks so young? Although he’s younger, it’s easier for us to discipline him. But Master Lao is soft-hearted and might be worried about his young age, feeling helpless.”

Xi Jiulu explained, “Just like using the most energy-efficient method, he doesn’t have much strength left, so he’s using his true appearance.”

“His true appearance… is that of a six or seven-year-old child?” Shen Cui calculated as she spoke.

She had crossed over six years ago and had only recently read the book “Keju Qingyun Road,” which had just finished a few months ago.

Calculating, it seemed that the rules of this world had only been running for about six or seven years.

“In that case, will he grow up like a normal person in the future?” Shen Cui asked softly.

Xi Jiulu murmured softly, then paused silently before saying, “I know the host likes to raise young ones, but don’t forget, it’s not a real person after all! And…”

He paused again, and then spoke quickly, “And I am from the host’s side!”

As they were talking, Zheng Shi, who hadn’t had breakfast yet, came over.

Seeing the two of them cleaning up after others, she immediately said, “Just leave it, I’ll clean up after I finish eating.”

As she spoke, she snatched the cloth from Xi Jiulu’s hand and said, “Guests should be treated as guests. You brothers are here to study, not to do chores.”

Shen Cui didn’t need to worry about it.

Xi Jiulu obediently said, “I’ve spent almost all the money I had on hand to find my ‘little brother,’ so I might not be able to come up with tuition and living expenses for a while. Please let me do some work that I can handle.”

This is a very practical problem.

After all, Mrs. Zheng is just an ordinary person.

When she came in happily today with the new students, she was also thinking about having some new income for the family in the future.

If someone else said this, Zheng Shi would definitely retort, “What? You have no money and you still come to study at the academy? Do you think my house is a charity?”

Although Zheng Shi felt uncomfortable, she held back the words she wanted to say and sighed, “You brothers have it tough. Get settled first. Your little brother is young, but you have hands and feet. As long as you’re willing to work hard, you can always earn money.”

Xi Jiulu smiled gently, his handsome face showing a touch of tenderness.

He replied respectfully, “You’re right. So, since my ‘little brother’ is here to study, I’m just accompanying him. I won’t be attending classes, but I’ll do some work to earn money. However, I’m still young and don’t understand many things.”

Seeing his humble and patient attitude, Zheng Shi waved her hand generously, “It’s okay if you don’t know. What matters is having a heart willing to learn and work hard. Back in the day, our family was also dirt poor in the village…”

As people age, they love to reminisce about the past.

Especially for someone like Zheng Shi, who is old and far from her hometown, once she starts talking about the past, she can’t stop.

Everyone in the academy had heard these stories so many times that their ears were calloused, but they didn’t want to dampen Zheng Shi’s enthusiasm, so they patiently listened to her.

Now that Zheng Shi had found someone like Xi Jiulu who was truly willing to listen to these old stories, Shen Cui went straight to the kitchen to wash dishes.

Later, Zheng Shi really liked this younger generation, as mentioned earlier.

She taught him many skills, whether it was simple sweeping, pickling vegetables and salted eggs, or mending and washing, Xi Jiulu was willing to learn.

And he was very clever.

After Zheng Shi taught him once or twice, he could grasp about seventy to eighty percent of it.

Seeing how smart he was, Zheng Shi didn’t want to just let him do odd jobs around the academy.

After asking if he could read and write and do arithmetic, she led him out of the academy and found him an apprenticeship in an accounting firm.

An accounting job like this generally requires someone trusted by the employer. Who would be willing to let someone they didn’t know touch their accounts?

So, if he wants to really earn money from this job, he’ll have to endure for a few years.

Zheng Shi didn’t use any connections from her family but personally helped him find the job.

She also prepared herself for not receiving any money from him for several years. I

Instead, she told him, “That’s how it is in the city. If you’re not willing to work hard, you won’t earn any money. Just be an apprentice for a few years, and it will be better later on. When you’ve made it through, you can pay back your and your brother’s expenses.”

Xi Jiulu readily agreed and promised to work hard in front of Shen Cui!

Wasn’t he unwilling before?

After all, Shen Cui had originally asked him to stay at the academy as a companion to occasionally come and see his “little brother.”

Now that Zheng Shi had even found him a proper job, would he have to go to work every day?

But fortunately, the system used his current appearance, which was closest to his original appearance, and only cost 100 shopping points per day.

With the academy reopened and a new student added, there were daily announcements again.

For Shen Cui, who had already cleared the game, the daily tasks were no longer mandatory but optional.

Since she now had a stable income, Shen Cui started doing the daily tasks again, earning 200 shopping points a day, more than enough for expenses and saving quite a bit.

However, compared to the smooth job search for Xi Jiulu, the education plan for Xiaoci by Lao Buyu did not go as smoothly.