Chapter 921 - 899: Top Student in the 1980s 27

Chapter 921: Chapter 899: Top Student in the 1980s 27

"No."

Xiao Heizi said briefly to Sister Xu, then pointed to Xiao Yuan: "Ask him."

Sister Xu then asked Xiao Yuan, "Yuanzi, what’s going on?"

Xiao Yuan felt helpless and had no choice but to repeat what he had just said.

The result was that all three people at home were almost scared silly.

Xiao Baohu rubbed his face: "Yuanzi, are you saying you wrote an article, the magazine company bought it, and even gave you money? They actually pay for publishing books?"

Xiao Yuan nodded: "Yes, as long as they use my article, they definitely have to pay the manuscript fee."

He explained again how the manuscript fee is generally calculated, how much per thousand words, how many words his novel had, and how much money was given.

"I have the money order with me, I’ll take the household registration to the post office tomorrow to withdraw the money."

"Ha!"

Xiao Heizi confirmed he hadn’t heard wrong, his son had earned money by writing, and immediately slapped Xiao Yuan on the shoulder with joy: "Good boy, you’ve really brought honor to our family, our ancestral tombs must be smoking..."

Sister Xu tugged on Xiao Heizi: "His dad, let’s go back and burn some paper for the ancestors on Sunday, let the ancestors also share this joy."

"Sure, tomorrow you buy the paper, on Sunday we’ll go back and inform the ancestors."

He was genuinely pleased.

The Xiao Family had been farming soil for generations, he never thought they could produce a writer.

In Xiao Heizi’s heart, being able to write books and earn money was truly an impressive achievement.

Xiao Baohu was happy, too.

His brother actually earned money by writing, how amazing is that?

The key point is his brother is still so young, only thirteen or fourteen and already so skilled. What will he be like when he grows up?

Sister Xu, after her initial joy, began calculating: "Yuanzi, if you write tens of thousands of words like this, wouldn’t that be several hundred dollars? If you write even more, wouldn’t our family become millionaires?"

Xiao Yuan smiled wryly: "It’s not wrong to calculate like that, but articles aren’t something that can be written just like that, and besides, just because they accepted this one doesn’t mean they will accept the next."

"That makes sense, that makes sense."

Xiao Heizi quickly agreed and especially reminded Sister Xu: "We can’t say things like that to the child anymore. Being able to earn money is already amazing for the kid; if you keep mentioning becoming millionaires, it’s like forcing him. We can’t pressure the child."

Xiao Baohu smiled and said to Xiao Yuan: "There’s no rush, write if you can, if you can’t, then forget it, there will always be a meal for you at home."

Xiao Yuan nodded.

Xiao Heizi then asked, "When will that magazine come out? Make sure to bring a copy home for me when it does."

Xiao Yuan smiled and promised.

Sister Xu, in her joy, cooked several dishes that night and even let Xiao Heizi have a couple of drinks.

The next day, she got up early, tidied up the housework, and went to find Xiangling.

When she went, Sister Xu even brought a piece of meat with her.

When she arrived, Xiangling was making a bag for Anning, and she was also quite happy to see Sister Xu, quickly inviting her in to talk and taking out the seeds she bought earlier for Sister Xu to eat.

Sister Xu was nibbling on the seeds and sipping tea, thinking about how her son had abilities, she couldn’t be happier inside.

"Xiangling, your brother is making us proud. He didn’t want your dad and me to work too hard at our age, so he’s been thinking about making money himself. He pondered it for several days and wrote an article, and the magazine company accepted it. In just a few days, he earned US$ 10. You don’t know, when he told us about it yesterday, your dad and I were so happy, we felt our lives were truly worth it."

Xiangling was also happy hearing this.

"Yuanzi has achieved so much! I only knew he was good at studying, I didn’t know he could write articles too. Once the magazine is published, be sure to let him bring me a copy."

Upon saying this, Xiangling remembered something else.

She whispered to Sister Xu: "Mom, keep Yuanzi’s earnings saved for him first. I was thinking, when our family has money, we should buy Yuanzi a tape recorder. It’s hard to find tapes to buy, I’ll think of a way to get some blank ones, and let Ning record her tapes for Yuanzi to try and learn some foreign languages at home."

Sister Xu nodded consistently: "Yes, I know. Your dad said it too, and we’ve discussed it. Once we’ve saved enough, we’ll buy one for your brother."

Sister Xu didn’t stay long; she left after a short while.

When Secretary An came back from shopping, Xiangling told Secretary An about this matter too.

Secretary An was also quite happy and even went out in the afternoon to buy some books for Xiangling to send to Xiao Yuan.

The Xiao Family and Zhang Heping’s house had constant happy events these days, both families were quite joyful.

But life was not going well for Zhang Erzhu’s family in Tuliang Village.

Ever since the Xiao Family kicked up a fuss at Zhang Erzhu’s house, burning Xiangling’s dowry in front of many village people, Zhang Erzhu’s family’s reputation only worsened and became utterly notorious in the village.

Zhang Erzhu knew in his heart that there was no chance with Xiangling anymore, so he gave up on seeking her out.

But it wouldn’t do to live without a woman, so Zhang Erzhu asked around to be introduced to another wife.

He originally wanted someone without children, but given his conditions, who would marry him without baggage?

Later, having no choice, Zhang Erzhu lowered his standards, accepting older women or those with children.

With that, someone indeed introduced him to a woman.

This woman’s maiden family was from Tuliang Village; now over forty, she was much older than Zhang Erzhu and had two children, a son, and a daughter. The son was older, about fifteen or sixteen now, and the daughter younger, about twelve or thirteen.

This woman’s name was Chunfeng, married to Xia Gou Village, about ten li from Tuliang Village. Her husband died last year, and it wasn’t easy for a woman with two children.

Plus, the customs in Xia Gou Village were bad, with many ruffians in the village.

Chunfeng, being good-looking and not very old, was continually harassed by the village hooligans, which annoyed her greatly, so she wanted to quickly remarry.

Chunfeng’s family was from Tuliang Village, so she was willing to marry there.

The matchmaker asked for Zhang Erzhu and Chunfeng’s opinions, Chunfeng agreed, and both parties arranged to meet at the house for a look.

That day, Zhang Erzhu got up early, heated water to wash his face, and found a clean and decent set of clothes to change into.

Not long after breakfast, the matchmaker brought Chunfeng over.

Chunfeng looked quite pretty, with a round face, big eyes, small mouth, and fair skin, and she had a good figure.

She was groomed neatly, wearing blue pants, a green corduroy collared top, with a checked scarf around her neck, and her short hair was tidily combed. As soon as she entered, Zhang Erzhu felt he had taken a fancy to her.

Even though Chunfeng was older, she looked quite good, and her face didn’t show many wrinkles, making her look youthful.

On the other hand, Zhang Erzhu, having done much hard labor over the years, appeared older than Chunfeng.

Zhang Erzhu chatted happily with Chunfeng, who smiled and answered back.

After sitting for a while, Chunfeng said to Zhang Erzhu, "Since my parents are gone, I haven’t been back for several years, I’ll go visit my uncle’s first and come back later."

Zhang Erzhu quickly replied, "Alright, remember to come back for lunch later."

Chunfeng agreed and left.

Around ten o’clock, Chunfeng returned.

When she came back, her smile was not as genuine as before.

Zhang Erzhu didn’t notice.

He kept talking to Chunfeng, asking about her children at home and other such things.

Chunfeng smiled and said, "My son is good at studying, but the family’s previous conditions delayed him by two years. He is now in the second grade of middle school, studying at the county’s No.1 Middle School. He is in the top ten of his grade every time he takes an exam, and the teachers really like him."

Hearing this, Zhang Erzhu was also pleased: "That’s great to hear; don’t worry, if our matter is settled, I will definitely support the child’s schooling well."

Chunfeng paused for a moment and said nothing more.

Just as Zhang Erzhu said he would go out to buy a piece of meat, Zhang Gouxiong came back.