Chapter 24

Jian Li went home, cursing her Fourth Uncle’s family under her breath.

Meanwhile, in another part of town, several students lingered after school in the Olympiad math class, asking questions.

“Draw a line between these two points, then consider this section as a whole…”

One student’s confused expression lit up with understanding. “I get it now!”

Everyone enjoys a student who learns quickly, and Teacher Liu smiled with satisfaction. “For similar problems, you can always use this auxiliary line method. Now, try this next question…”

After an extra hour of lessons, Teacher Liu finally packed up his things and prepared to go home.

As he reached the gate, the security guard called out to him.

“Teacher Liu, one of your students said they forgot to give you some homework.”

“Homework?” Liu asked, puzzled, as he took the notebook.

He hadn’t assigned any homework.

As a teacher for advanced math training classes, he typically handed out worksheets with challenging problems—only a few questions per week. Most students found even those few problems difficult to complete.

How could a student be submitting homework?

Opening the pristine notebook, his heart sank as he read its contents written in neat handwriting:

“Your student Ge Ming has grievances against you. I overheard him plotting with other students to take revenge on you…”

“Please be cautious of your child, and warn them about students in neighboring classes close to Ge Ming. Be especially careful around the abandoned well behind the school…”

The note described everything in a plain, direct manner, listing Ge Ming’s plan and how it was overheard. Its clarity chilled Liu to the bone.

He grabbed the security guard’s arm, panicking. “Who gave you this?”

“A little girl, around twelve or thirteen,” the guard replied.

Since the advanced math class included both elementary and middle school students, Liu didn’t think much of it at first.

“Wasn’t she one of your students?”

With many new faces in his class, the guard hadn’t paid much attention to individual students.

“No,” Liu replied, his face pale.

The guard was now uncertain. Could it be…?

Liu forced a weak smile under the guard’s curious gaze. “Nothing serious… Some parents do strange things, giving their kids notebooks with hidden cards. I need to return it.”

It wasn’t uncommon for parents to bribe their way into his prestigious class. Some left gifts under the podium. But slipping a card into a notebook? That was rare.

The guard chuckled. “Must be another parent trying to get in.”

Despite already managing two oversized classes with over fifty students each, parents kept finding ways to enroll their children.

As the guard mused on his own granddaughter’s future education, Liu clutched the notebook tightly and hurried home.

Once there, he downed two glasses of water before rereading the message.

If the girl overheard Ge Ming’s plot, she might be a student from his own class.

He searched the class roster, narrowing it down to two possibilities:

One was from a wealthy, influential family, where education was a priority despite the child’s average math skills.

But after careful thought, he ruled her out.

This little girl was the only child in her family, and every day she went to school, a whole entourage of grandparents took turns accompanying her. Liu, the teacher, had seen it many times—her family didn’t even let her carry her own backpack, stuffing it full of food and drinks instead.

A child from such a family would certainly not be allowed to sneak into alleyways to “eavesdrop.”

That left only the last possibility.

This particular girl had been specially recruited into the class. Her family was very poor—her father was bedridden, and her mother rented half a market stall to sell vegetables.

If it weren’t for the child’s extraordinary talent in mathematics, Liu would not have charged only a symbolic 100 yuan to admit her into the class.

Ever since China hosted the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) in 1990 and achieved outstanding results, many schools began prioritizing math competition training.

Every year, schools conducted selections to gather the most talented math students for specialized training. Many parents, dissatisfied with basic education, sought prestigious private tutors for their children.

Since Liu started teaching math competition classes, he gained considerable influence in Peach City after successfully training three students who reached the finals of the Hua Luogeng Cup.

Because of his reputation, securing a spot in his class became increasingly difficult.

For Liu to save a place for this girl despite the demand demonstrated her extraordinary potential.

The more he thought about the situation, the more plausible it seemed.

The more plausible it seemed, the more agitated he became.

This girl had once expressed her desire to quit due to her family’s financial burdens.

Even after Liu offered to teach her for free, she still declined.

“My mother is too busy, and I can help her when I’m home. Ever since I joined this class, she has had to work alone from morning to night,” she explained sensibly, saying she would finish the current month but no more.

For impoverished families, simply staying in school was already a strain on resources.

Liu, unable to convince her otherwise, clearly foresaw the girl’s future.

Many talented and hardworking students competed in math contests. Without continued training, her raw talent would fade, and she would eventually become indistinguishable from the rest.

But now…

Liu made up his mind.

If what was written in the notebook was true, this girl had saved his family.

Years ago, his wife passed away, leaving him with only his son. If he lost his son, too…

The mere thought made him dizzy with grief. He couldn’t imagine how he would survive that reality.

Just then, the door creaked open.

His son walked in and saw his father’s red, tear-filled eyes.

“Dad… what happened?”

Liu quickly wiped his eyes. “It’s nothing… Did anything happen at school today?”

“No, nothing.”

“Did anyone ask you to go somewhere?”

“No one.”

“Not even from another class?”

“No… Dad, what’s wrong with you?”

Liu felt a lump in his throat. He had classes to prepare for and couldn’t watch his son 24/7.

“It’s fine. I was just thinking—it’s time to invite your grandparents to stay with us.”

His son cheered, “Really?”

“Really.”

His father was a Korean War veteran, and his mother had cooked for soldiers back in the day. With both of them, plus the maternal grandparents already retired in the city, four elders would watch over his son.

He thought bitterly of Ge Ming.

Who would have imagined a middle-schooler could be so vicious?

Liu’s eyes flashed coldly. None of them would escape justice.

Jian Feng, after deciding to step down as team leader, quickly notified the factory.

The factory didn’t put up any resistance and soon promoted Zhao Xiaopeng to Jian Feng’s position.

For days, Zhao’s wife, Wu Haixia, strutted around the residential compound, her nose in the air. She even stopped by Wang Mengmei’s stall to gloat:

“I never expected the leaders to promote our Xiaopeng! He’s not nearly as hardworking as Feng! What’s Feng planning? Is he thinking of quitting to help with your stall? I don’t know how you manage—running a stall isn’t easy!”

Wang Mengmei felt exasperated. She could have explained that Jian Feng had recommended Zhao, but what was the point?

Wu Haixia was too narrow-minded—if she told her the truth, Wu would likely take it as provocation.

Good deeds were done; there was no need to argue.

So Wang simply nodded and humored her until Wu left satisfied.

With Jian Feng’s job change, their income immediately dropped by 80 yuan a month.

The couple now focused on how to make up that shortfall at their stall.

Wang proposed an idea:

“What if we sell stir-fried dishes in the evenings? Some vendors set up food stalls outside the factory at night. There are already a few here in the market, but I think we can make it work.”

Jian Feng was a bit unsure. “You wake up so early in the morning and stay up late at night. Can you handle it?”

Wang Mengmei gritted her teeth. “Why not?”

The thought of earning money to avoid being mistreated by her mother-in-law motivated her so much that she would rather work herself to death than complain.

Jian Li couldn’t hold back anymore. “If you wear yourself out and end up in the hospital, all that money will go to medical bills… Mom, please do the math properly.”

Earning money at the cost of one’s health was never worth it. Just like her own past life—trying to buy a house and car, rushing to pay off the mortgage early, only to collapse shortly after. What had it all been for?

Before Wang Mengmei could get angry, Jian Li pulled out her little notebook.

“Mom, I suggest you stop selling breakfast and focus on lunch and dinner instead. Look at the profit margin here. Breakfast items sell for low prices, and the most important factors are table turnover rates and the per-customer spending.”

Jian Li explained it point by point. Wang Mengmei felt embarrassed to admit she didn’t fully understand.

Jian Li noticed their silence after her explanation, sighed, and simplified her argument.

“In the morning, a customer spends just over a dollar, taking up a seat and leaving you with all the dishes to wash afterward. But at lunchtime, you can sell simple toppings for noodles, and customers often bring their own bowls, meaning no dishes to wash. A bowl of noodles can sell for over a dollar.”

“Then at dinner, a group of people might order a few dishes totaling five to six dollars, and you earn more from serving one table than from serving five or six breakfast customers.”

Finally, Wang Mengmei got it.

She was stunned.

Jian Feng was also stunned.

Jian Li added, “You want to earn money, not suffer! If making money is all about hardship, then street sweepers would be the richest people in the world.”

Wang Mengmei’s heart pounded as she realized she had never thought of it that way.

Jian Li kept going. “It’s like tightening screws. Tightening screws in a factory and tightening them on a rocket may seem the same, but rocket screws are worth much more. Your energy is limited. If you just keep your head down and rush forward, you’ll wear yourself out in the factory. But if you lift your head and look around, you might be tightening screws on a rocket one day.”

“Doing the most valuable thing in the right place—that’s what smart people do.”

When Jian Li finished, both Wang Mengmei and Jian Feng remained speechless for a long time.

“…Where did you learn all this?” Jian Feng finally found his voice after a while.

At that moment, he truly realized that his daughter had changed.

His previous feelings were not just misunderstandings—Jian Li had really become a completely different person!

Jian Feng felt something indescribable, a mix of pride and confusion. He considered himself a responsible father, working hard to provide for the family and care for his wife and children. Yet here was his daughter, growing far beyond his expectations, as if silently pointing out his shortcomings as a parent.

Jian Li flashed a big grin. “Books taught me!” She held up a magazine. “See this?”

Jian Feng flipped to the cover. “Economic Digest… Where did you get this?”

Jian Li replied, “I bought it with my pocket money.”

Before speaking up, Jian Li had already planned her way out. While boldly showing her newfound knowledge, she carefully crafted an excuse for it.

Jian Feng and Wang Mengmei exchanged glances, a shared look of relief passing between them.

Their daughter hadn’t turned into some strange creature after all—what a relief.

As Jian Li left them to their thoughts, she said, “I’m going to play with Xia Liu!”

Xia Liu had recently taken up table tennis. Inspired by Deng Yaping’s two gold medals in 1992 and the upcoming Olympics next year, the school had organized activities to promote Deng Yaping’s spirit. Everyone was into table tennis lately.

Jian Li figured table tennis counted as exercise, so she joined Xia Liu for daily practice. It might even help with her weight loss goal.

“If I’m late, all the tables will be taken!”

The community only had five tables, so she needed to go early to secure a spot.

As Jian Li left, Jian Feng and Wang Mengmei decided to sit down and do some calculations.

“Jian Li is right. We should do the math,” Jian Feng agreed.

Wang Mengmei had only ever tallied up daily earnings, believing in hard work and diligence. She worked until her back ached, convinced that money earned through toil was more valuable.

But after calculating, she realized the truth—breakfast, the most labor-intensive meal, earned far less profit than simply cooking a couple of toppings for lunch noodles.

“I’ve been so foolish,” Wang Mengmei murmured to herself.

She had even considered dropping lunch sales to focus solely on breakfast.

It wasn’t that breakfast didn’t make money, but it was grueling, low-margin work.

With her culinary skills, there were much easier ways to earn a good income.

“I was really foolish!” She tapped her head. “If I’d known, I would’ve stopped selling breakfast ages ago.”

Jian Feng reassured her, “It’s not too late now.”

Selling stir-fried dishes at dinner was a promising idea.

Wang Mengmei pondered and decided to specialize in stir-fried chicken dishes for dinner.

This time, she cautiously sought her husband’s opinion and resolved to consult Jian Li that evening.

Reluctantly, she admitted, “That girl does have a good head for making money. I’ll ask her tonight.”

Jian Feng chuckled. “It’ll work for sure. She loves your stir-fried chicken the most.”

A rare smile spread across Wang Mengmei’s face at this compliment, even though it wasn’t quite a romantic one.

“If my cooking wasn’t good, how could she get so fat from eating it?”

Back when Jian Li gained weight from taking medication, she had a huge appetite, and Wang Mengmei would cook five meals a day.

Wang Mengmei declared, “Tonight, we’re having stir-fried chicken! I’ll go to the market and buy a Sanhuang chicken. We’ll have a proper feast tonight.”

It had been a long time since they’d had a good meal, and Wang Mengmei was determined to show her cooking skills. She rushed out the door in excitement.

Jian Feng picked up a magazine and started reading.
“This magazine is pretty good. I’ll get a subscription later,” he thought.

—-

Jian Li rushed to the ping-pong tables, where five tables were set up. Three were empty, so she claimed one, sitting on it and waiting for Xia Liu.

Before Xia Liu arrived, a few familiar faces showed up instead—Liu Xiangdong’s sons, Da Jun and Xiao Jun, along with a few boys from the neighborhood.

Da Jun and Xiao Jun looked almost identical, being twins. One had a mole on his face, while the other didn’t. Both were tall and lanky, with acne-covered faces, resembling their father.

They were as thin as reeds.

The two “reeds” grinned mischievously when they saw Jian Li.
“Hey, fatty! Aren’t you worried about breaking the table sitting on it?”

Jian Li slowly turned her head, visibly annoyed.
“Chopstick Brothers, what are you two doing here?”

Da Jun and Xiao Jun: “…”
“What did you call us?”

Jian Li replied calmly, “You two standing together look just like a pair of chopsticks. If you make your debut, you wouldn’t even need a stage name.”

Da Jun and Xiao Jun, who were notorious for giving people nicknames, were enraged by this.

“Who the heck are you calling Chopstick Brothers?! You mouthy fatso!”

Unable to win a verbal battle, they resorted to insults.

Jian Li wasn’t going to let them get away with it. “Oh, sure, you’re skinny. But who wants to be like you? Even with the box and ashes, you’d only weigh five pounds.”

Their jaws dropped. They weren’t used to this kind of combat power.

Jian Li continued mercilessly, “Calling you Chopstick Brothers is actually a compliment. You two are so creatively built that standing side by side, you look like date seeds my grandma sucked on. You’re not just 360 degrees with no good angles—you’re 360 degrees of nothing but bad angles! Even flies would trip on the pits on your faces. Your features? They look like scrap materials from a construction site. Your entire face is full of illegal structures!”

The boys who came with them couldn’t hold back anymore.

“Hahahahahahaha!”
“Scrap materials! Hahaha!”
“Illegal structures! I’m dying!”

Back then, most insults were full of curse words, but Jian Li’s were creative and curse-free. Her calm and collected demeanor only made her words sting more.

Da Jun and Xiao Jun were livid. “Stop laughing!”

The more they shouted, the harder people laughed, bending over in fits of laughter.

The more they thought about her words, the funnier it became.

The boys couldn’t wait to spread the story.

Furious, Da Jun and Xiao Jun lunged at Jian Li, “You mouthy girl, let’s see you run your mouth now!”

Jian Li nimbly jumped off the table. “Oh, getting physical because you lost a verbal match? You’re mad, you’re mad!”

Da Jun and Xiao Jun: “…”

“How is she so infuriating?!”

Nearby, adults playing ping-pong had stopped to watch. Seeing the boys about to hit her, they stopped laughing and intervened.

“Hey! No hitting people! We’ll call your parents!”

The adults found Jian Li’s insults amusing, but letting the boys hit a girl right under their noses would be too shameful.

Da Jun and Xiao Jun, on the verge of tears, yelled, “She insulted us!”

Jian Li stuck out her tongue. “You insulted me first!”

“But that’s not the same!” they cried.

Their “fatty” insults barely scratched the surface, but Jian Li had thoroughly dismantled them, from their nickname to their very existence.

They could already imagine the shame of being called “Chopstick Brothers” everywhere they went.

Jian Li muttered under her breath, “What’s the big deal… the real Chopstick Brothers even have hit songs.”

(Sorry, Xiao Yang and Wang Taili!)

Da Jun and Xiao Jun demanded an apology.

Jian Li shrugged. “I was just joking. Can’t you take a joke?”
She sighed and added, “Fine, I’m sorry. Happy now?”

But her apology only made them feel worse.

Jian Li grinned. That’s all it took to upset you?

In her previous life, Da Jun and Xiao Jun had often taunted her by calling her fat and giving half-hearted apologies. To adults, those apologies were enough to move on, but she never felt happy about it.

Now, no one needed to be happy.

Now we’re even.

Ignoring them, Jian Li sauntered away. There was no point playing ping-pong after that. She was off to Xia Liu’s house to watch Journey to the West on their color TV.