Tongue-Tied Salary

After Xi Xiu learned about the arranged marriage, she was down for half the day. However, by evening, she was fully revived.

When Zhen and Xue Fanhui saw her emerge, their expressions remained normal, and they felt a sense of relief.

They hadn't expected Xi Xiu to be unaware of the matter, nor had they anticipated she would care so much about something that, to them, should have been commonplace.

"Zhen, Fanhui, don't worry, I just didn't know about it before," Xi Xiu said, smiling at her roommates. Her smile was neither forced nor sad, and Xue Fanhui was completely relieved.

"Alright, anything unhappy you're feeling, you have to tell us. Don't keep it bottled up, understand?"

Xue Fanhui was older than the other two and had already become like a little adult, constantly attentive to the mental and physical well-being of both young girls.

"Okay, I've already adjusted. I'm sorry for making you worry," Xi Xiu said, feeling a little embarrassed.

She was all grown up, yet still being cared for by two children. It felt a bit awkward, but also heartwarming.

"Since that's the case, let's train together tonight," Xue Fanhui suggested.

After dinner, the three of them ate the uniform meal provided by the childcare center. Tonight's meal was mashed potatoes with snow beef, which was the best tasting. Xi Xiu really liked it.

About twice a month, the meal would be snow beef; otherwise, it was various mixed nutrient solutions, which tasted… unforgettable.

Xi Xiu didn't understand why, with the Alliance's advanced technology, food only pursued nutrition and not taste.

Many years later, she learned the reason from the Central Brain and remained silent for seven days.

Because it was a story so long that its origin could no longer be found.

Xi Xiu, Zhen, and Xue Fanhui went to the training room together and encountered Ding Zhizhi and Shu Anna, who were already training.

Ever since Zhen defeated Ding Zhizhi last time, there was always some friction whenever they met.

Xi Xiu initially wanted to take a detour, but then she thought, what was there to be afraid of? They hadn't done anything wrong, and a strategic win was still a win!

Shu Anna didn't provoke them directly. She held Ding Zhizhi back because she had recently heard about the reason Zhen and Xue Fanhui had become friends.

Before Fiona left, she had spent over a year cleaning the back building. Not only did it delay her training, but Vivian also noted her tendency to bully younger students in her file.

It was understandable that Fiona, who could have gone to the Capital Star First Military Academy, ended up going to Liuzhao, a military star system.

The second to seventh military academies of the Alliance were all located there. Although Liuzhao was a military star, how could its educational resources compare to those of the Capital Star?

The First Military Academy on the Capital Star trained commanders and captains. Most of the high-ranking officials in the Alliance Army came from the First Military Academy; very few came from Liuzhao.

After learning about this, Shu Anna reviewed the Alliance Law and found that Fiona's actions had indeed crossed the line.

Because she had twenty cases of bullying the weak and records of stealing others' belongings in the childcare center, the punishment Vivian gave was considered reasonable.

So, Shu Anna pulled Ding Zhizhi aside, gave her a look, and the two of them left as soon as Xi Xiu and her group arrived, showing no intention of direct confrontation.

Xi Xiu felt they must have known about Fiona's situation. Otherwise, given their nature as the "three tyrants" of the childcare center, how could they have passed up an opportunity to "teach them a lesson"?

After they left, Xi Xiu and Xue Fanhui began their sparring match, with Zhen observing from the side.

After fifty rounds, Xi Xiu sparred with Zhen, pointing out Zhen's shortcomings and suggesting she practice more.

They stayed in the training room until past nine o'clock. When they came out, the three moons of Ningkui Star hung high in the night sky, casting a soft glow on the ground.

The light from the three moons illuminated the ground, allowing them to see each other's facial features clearly, even when not all three moons were visible.

This was something Xi Xiu always found magical. Other star systems, like Tianning Star and Aola, had five moons. It seemed that among the twenty star systems in the Alliance, Ningkui Star had the fewest moons.

"Xiuxiu, are you still going to the virtual network combat room recently?" Zhen asked curiously.

"I'll go after August. I plan to take the Level 9 exam then. Once I pass, I'll have one less thing to worry about. What about you, Zhen?"

"I'm planning to take the Level 8 exam, but I'm not very confident. So, could I ask you to help me with some targeted training in the virtual network a few times?" Zhen said, feeling a bit embarrassed that she was always bothering Xi Xiu.

"Sure, we can start tomorrow. You need to pass the Level 9 exam before you turn twelve, so our travel plans can begin. Keep going!"

"Mhm, mhm."

Xue Fanhui watched the two girls, who were like younger sisters to her, feeling very happy.

They were both without parents or family. From now on, they would be each other's family. She felt she finally understood Vivian's words when she brought Xi Xiu to her: they would become family.

They only had less than four years left together before they would go their separate ways. Time truly flew by.

August arrived as scheduled. Xi Xiu spent two months giving Zhen intensive training until Zhen's physical combat was likely to pass Level 8, and then they stopped training.

Then, the new semester began. Xi Xiu poured all her energy into it. She wanted to design bodies and program for Sixi, mastering both of these intermediate courses so she could do some simple designs.

At the start of the new semester, Xi Xiu also chose botany. She planned to become a nutritionist after her service period ended, at least to improve the Alliance's nutrient solution formulas.

She was truly tired of the taste of these nutrient solutions. The mixed flavors and "dark cuisine" offered very little sense of happiness.

Then, she would open a small shop and make handmade snacks, which she believed would sell very well.

Vivian sent Xi Xiu a message, providing her with several work-study positions and letting her decide.

Vivian sent a total of five positions. Two of them required three people simultaneously. Xi Xiu, Xue Fanhui, and Zhen discussed it and decided to work at the snack factory next to the childcare center.

They would be mainly responsible for packaging snacks. Their work duration was one hour, and they could flexibly arrange their working hours, with no requirement to be there at a specific time.

These positions were specifically kept open by the factory for work-study students. Otherwise, with robots doing the work, there would be no need for manual labor.

The three of them enjoyed their work very much. They usually bought these snacks themselves and were surprised and intrigued to see how they were produced.

Moreover, the salary was quite good, calculated hourly. The rate was 500 Star Coins per hour, which would result in a decent income by the end of the month.

Xi Xiu had converted it based on the price index. The purchasing power of the Alliance's Star Coins was about 5 yuan in soft currency per Star Coin. So, her monthly salary's purchasing power was equivalent to 70,000 yuan in soft currency. A great deal! Money, money, money!

The reason for the high salaries in the Alliance was that labor costs were extremely expensive!

As long as "labor" or "handmade" was involved, the prices of all products would skyrocket.

In a situation where robots could do everything, the factory was willing to pay such a large salary to work-study students because providing work-study positions was tax-exempt, and by a significant amount!