Chapter 39

In the afternoon, Su Ye called a meeting with the teachers. Many of the teachers were involved in the project, and any large expenditures needed to be communicated to all members.

She referred to the financial records and reported on the first quarter’s income and expenses. “As you can see, the profits for this quarter are about four thousand yuan. It’s not a large amount, but it’s enough.”

“The government’s work on educational assistance has lightened our burden significantly. The support from the state has helped a lot. This money is what the children earned, and I believe it’s necessary to allocate part of it for their benefit.”

When the teachers heard the words “It’s not a large amount, but it’s enough,” the buzzing discussion abruptly stopped, and there was a few seconds of tense silence in the air.

Everyone stared at Su Ye with an odd expression, silently wondering: How could she say 4,000 yuan is not much? Didn’t her conscience hurt?

The teachers’ poor hearts were deeply wounded, and Teacher He almost spat out his tea.

Su Ye’s conscience certainly didn’t hurt, to her, this amount of money was something she was entitled to and didn’t think much of it at all.

With a serious expression, she suggested, “I plan to use 3,000 yuan to buy books and donate them to the school library. This will enrich the students’ extracurricular activities and broaden their horizons.”

The teachers who had been dragged into the meeting didn’t have much to say. When they heard that Su Ye wanted to buy books for the library, they thought it was a great idea and naturally agreed.

Not only could the students read the books, but the teachers could benefit from them as well.

Su Ye informed Zhou Yi to go to the bank to withdraw the money. Everyone was worried that carrying such a large sum of money might make them a target for robbery.

“Little Zhou, you go to the bank too often, it’s too obvious. The streets are chaotic right now, with so many gangsters and troublemakers around. We’ll go with you.”

“Yeah, even the students know that Teacher Zhou goes to the bank every day to deposit money.”

So, Zhou Yi, accompanied by several teachers, went to the bank in a large group.

While waiting for the bank to count the money, all eyes were fixed on the cashier’s nimble thumbs. The fresh, crisp new 10-yuan bills were being flicked through by the cashier, the edges stirring up gray ripples.

The money was packed in a large black leather bag, containing three hundred 10-yuan bills. The bills were stiff, and through the leather, they could almost feel the warmth of the freshly printed notes. Holding it in their hands, it felt heavy.

It wasn’t the money that was heating up, but their hearts.

When the principal of the school learned about this, she was deeply moved. She had the school library repainted and had a carpenter quickly build a few rows of bookshelves.

Although the school had a library, it was merely an old classroom. Due to limited funds, the library only contained a few poetry magazines, the Chairman’s quotations, newspapers, and the students’ spiritual nourishment was truly meager. Children from low-income families almost had no access to books. In school, aside from textbooks, all they could do was read textbooks.

After Su Ye withdrew the money, she drafted a list of book types to purchase. Books nowadays weren’t expensive—most were only a few cents each, with the more expensive ones costing three to five yuan. The three thousand yuan was enough to buy thousands of books.

Teacher He went to buy books from the publisher. In the morning, he took a bag of money there, and in the afternoon, he returned with several truckloads of books.

Su Ye stood at the library door, smiling as she watched the publisher’s staff unload the books while the workers checked them into the library, verifying the numbers.

Teacher He, witnessing all this, was utterly impressed by Su Ye. A few months ago, when the school was hiring teachers, who would have thought someone like her would join the school? From a small business venture to accomplishing such a big feat, even filling an entire room with books?

After the library was completed, Su Ye, smiling, addressed the class during their homeroom period, saying, “Students, our school now has a library, and many new books have been added.”

The eighth-grade students were both delighted and excited upon hearing this news, but they also felt a strong sense of pride.

The books in the library were all earned by their own hands. Every single book contained their hard work and sweat, but unfortunately, they would soon be graduating and wouldn’t have the time to read books like the younger students.

Su Ye shook her head with regret, clicking her tongue and saying, “What a pity. Students from other grades can still use the library for another year or two, but you will graduate in two months. Do you envy them? Are you jealous? These are books that you’ve earned with your own hands… ^[1]“The earlier generation plants the trees, and the later generation enjoys the shade” is a Chinese proverb that emphasizes the idea of selfless contributions made by one generation for the … Continue readingThe earlier generation plants the trees, and the later generation enjoys the shade. The future students of this school will thank you for your selfless contribution.”

The students felt a strange sensation in their hearts. Why did it sound like they might want to hit the teacher?

She smiled and said, “It’s only natural to envy and be jealous. Keep that energy and all of you should aim to get into the top school. Once you’re in, you can continue using the library. You’ll be the owners of the library!”

Everyone laughed together.

—

At the Changyou Oil Factory.

Yang Xue’s father returned the watches to the workers. His dark face flushed with a burst of red, and his breathing grew heavier and more labored.

“These watches weren’t bought from me, right? If you bought them from someone else, go to that person. I have everything registered here, and I only recognize those with a proper receipt.”

After investigating, Yang Xue’s father learned that these workers had bought the watches from the street. They were 9 yuan each, supposedly sold by the factory and made by an old watchmaker.

To outsiders, this seemed like a cheap deal, and they were made by a skilled master. Why pay a few extra yuan for watches made by a bunch of kids? So they bought the cheap watches, but within less than a week, they found that the watches they bought were faulty.

The workers holding the watches now looked embarrassed. Some of them, instead of feeling guilty, started making excuses.

“It’s just a watch repair, right? Didn’t your daughter say she could fix them for free, Comrade Yang? Just take a look at ours. We bought them for nine yuan each, and they broke within less than a month. I wanted to buy from the school, but it was too late.”

“I trusted you all, which is why I didn’t buy the new watches from the department store. I bought a second-hand one instead.”

Yang Xue’s father, fuming, said, “Who told you to be greedy! Yang Xue is preparing for the high school entrance exam. At home, I don’t even let her do housework. She has no time to fix your watches.”

As far as he knew, the price set for the watches by Teacher Su Ye had already been kept extremely low. Yang Xue had mentioned that sometimes it took five or six broken watches to make one good one, and the small earnings were just to help out the students. If they used their time to repair watches, they could have made much more money.

It was only because students’ time was considered cheap that the price could be kept so low. If an old master had done the watch repairs, the price would not have been just ten yuan—watches made by skilled masters sold for 9 yuan. It was absolutely crazy!

“I’m saying it right now—don’t go blaming the kids for this. If you bought watches from someone else, go back and get your refund from that person,” Yang Xue’s father said.

Soon, the street vendor, Gao Xiaoyang, who had been selling the watches, was found and confronted.

Unfortunately, by the time they came looking for him, he had already ^[2]“caught wind of the trouble” means that someone became aware of or learned about a potential problem or situation, often through indirect means or rumors.caught wind of the trouble and packed up his things. He ran off to stay with his niece, who worked in the county town.

While munching on sunflower seeds, Gao Xiaoyang angrily told his niece about the incident. “Do you think these people are crazy? You can’t return something once you’ve bought it?”

Gao Anna replied, “I told you not to get involved with this. Even Su Ye was reported for selling watches. How could you touch this? If we’re being serious, you’re buying and selling things on the side. When are you leaving? My colleague says two people can’t stay in that house.”

Gao Xiaoyang grumbled, “I’m doing this to help you out. Without me, where would you get the 100 yuan to compensate them? Besides, I’m just the errand runner. How much responsibility could I have? The watches are made by the big boss. I have no skills and no money. How could I possibly handle this?”

Seeing his niece look at him as if she were about to disown him, he nervously added, “I’m telling you, if I get caught for buying and selling illegally, you’ll be known as the niece of a black market trader. You won’t have any chance for any awards or recognition in the future!”

He pulled two large black tens from his bulging wallet and slapped them onto the table. “Even you, despise your dear uncle! I’m leaving, you keep the money and spend it yourself.”

Gao Xiaoyang took out a thick stack of large black tens from his wallet, which looked as heavy as bricks. Gao Anna’s eyes flashed when she saw the money. She hadn’t expected that this job could be so profitable.

How much money had Su Ye and those kids really made?

Gao Xiaoyang smiled and said, “You shouldn’t look down on the work I’ve been doing. If I had seen that report earlier—well, I’m just talking nonsense. I’m off now.”

He had spent a week or so in the countryside, feeding birds, playing with dogs, and picking vegetables. After holding a few rural widows’ hands, he went into the city and handed over the last payment to the watch-making boss.

This boss used to be the deputy factory director of a glass and plastic factory. Gao Xiaoyang, who ran transportation, received many broken watches. Yu Fuda, the boss, had money and connections, allowing him to contact the factory for glass and metal parts and find a master watchmaker.

The two of them hit it off and got to work.

The boss’s last name was Yu, and his name was Yu Fuda. He was a portly man with fine eyebrows and thick lips, a rare sight in those days when fat people were few. He was plump, wore a Zhongshan suit, and looked the part of a wealthy person. Wherever he went, people greeted him as “boss.”

Yu Fuda counted the money, satisfied, and stuffed it into his pocket. He heard Gao Xiaoyang mention that many workers were looking for him, and without thinking, he replied, “It’s fine, don’t sell them here in C City.”

Gao Xiaoyang received 300 yuan in wages and happily ran back to the countryside to find the widow.

—

At No. 1 High School, in the office.

Teacher Lu received a call and hurriedly packed up his things, rushing out the door like a whirlwind.

He ran to the middle school department to find Su Ye and immediately started talking, “Little Su, can you cover my classes for a week? My father’s in the hospital, and I need to go take care of him. I know it’s a bit much to ask…”

Su Ye listened and teasingly replied, “Don’t worry, I’ve got it here.”

This wasn’t difficult at all! In fact, it was like handing the vault keys to Su Ye. She was more than happy. From now on, she wouldn’t have to go through the trouble of making excuses to go to the high school department. This was like someone offering a pillow just when she had started to doze off.

When Su Ye said, “I’ve got it here,” Teacher Lu felt a surge of emotions.

He grabbed Su Ye’s hand, a tall man of seven feet, almost on the verge of tears. “Thank you, Little Su. When I get back, I’ll deduct this month’s salary and give it to you!”