The Laptop Arrived

(New book, requesting recommendation tickets!!!)

In the Living Room, everyone nodded slightly at Zhou Xing's lesson for Mo Jingchun. Every family present had a similar ledger at home.

After Mo Jingchun's mother, Zhou Wan, passed away, why had all the neighbors voluntarily come to his home to help out? Why had people come to pay their respects for several days in a row, bringing gifts as well?

All that respect and goodwill had been built up little by little by Mo Jingchun's mother and father. Now, this "ledger" had been passed down to Mo Jingchun.

With his head lowered and his vision slightly blurred, Mo Jingchun gave a soft affirmative before saying:

"I understand, Uncle."

Zhou Xing raised his brows and casually asked, "Do you really understand, or are you pretending to understand?"

"I really understand."

Zhou Xing nodded. "You'd better. You're old enough to be sensible now."

"I'm not forcing you, but with the burden this family carries now, you have to shoulder it whether you want to or not."

With that, Zhou Xing stood and gave up his seat.

"Sit down and record it carefully. Don't get the accounts wrong, or you'll make a fool of yourself later."

In the countryside, people valued returning favors. There were rules to how much one gave as a gift each time, and the figures in the ledger were the most important reference.

The embarrassment Zhou Xing spoke of was Mo Jingchun carelessly recording too small an amount. For instance, if someone gave his family 200 yuan but the ledger recorded only 100, then when that family had an event and he added another 100 to the recorded amount before giving 200, what would the hosts think? And if he gave only 150, wouldn't that make the hosts unhappy?

As the saying went, good news never left the house, while bad news traveled a thousand miles. Within days, the whole village would know.

At the table, Mo Jingchun's hands trembled slightly as he counted the hundred-yuan notes one by one, silently keeping track.

The stack of red hundred-yuan notes in Mo Jingchun's hands was the one Zhou Xing had taken out.

After watching his nephew count the final bill, Zhou Xing knowingly asked:

"Finished counting? How much is it?"

"A total of 6,000 yuan." Yes, Mo Jingchun had counted sixty bills in all, far more than he had guessed earlier.

"Mm."

Zhou Xing grunted and said nothing else, stepping aside without another word.

Zhou Xing: 6,000 yuan

Mo Jingchun wrote it down on a blank page, then picked up another stack of red bills and slowly began counting.

Focused entirely on recording the accounts, Mo Jingchun failed to notice that when he announced the 6,000 yuan, several of his aunts and Uncles exchanged strange looks, their faces somewhat awkward.

As expected, Younger Uncle and Big Aunt's families had also given 6,000 yuan. Mo Jingchun knew they must have discussed it before Uncle and the others came.

What made Mo Jingchun so certain was not merely that Uncle, Younger Uncle, and Big Aunt had all given the same amount. More importantly, whenever they gave gifts in the past, he often saw his mother call Big Aunt and the others to discuss how much they should give.

Growing more practiced, Mo Jingchun opened Grandpa Mo Changyou's red envelope in front of everyone. After counting the money, he turned back somewhat helplessly toward Uncle Zhou Xing, who was leaning by the window, his eyes seeking help.

Mo Jingchun was ultimately still a child who had just graduated from high school. He simply could not tell whether, in this situation, he should announce the amount before recording it as he had done earlier.

"Why are you looking at me? Read it out."

"Th... three thousand..."

Seeing that Uncle Zhou Xing said nothing, Mo Jingchun did not dare raise his head to meet Grandpa Mo Changyou's eyes.

Just as expected, the other Uncles had all given 3,000 yuan. What Mo Jingchun had not expected was that his two Aunts had each given 5,000 yuan instead.

Mo Jingchun bit his lip, his nose stinging.

His two Aunts were not in the Living Room at the moment. They were busy in the kitchen, and the ones who had just taken out the red envelopes were their husbands.

Only then did Zhou Xing, still leaning by the window, speak again in a deep voice. "Take the ledger and the money back and lock them away. After we eat, I'll go with you to the bank and deposit it, so you don't lose it through carelessness."

Mo Jingchun obediently nodded. He took the money and ledger back to his room and locked them in the drawer where the ledger had originally been kept. Thirty-seven thousand yuan—this was the first time Mo Jingchun had ever held so much cash.

He had been admitted to Jing University through the Gaokao, and the school had also given him a reward of 50,000 yuan. But it had been directly transferred to his bank card rather than given in cash.

The number fifty thousand and holding thirty-seven thousand yuan of solid cash in his hands truly felt different.

After lunch, which his two Aunts had helped cook, Mo Jingchun and Uncle Zhou Xing rode a motorcycle to the bank in town and deposited the 37,000 yuan in cash into his account.

As they walked out of the bank lobby, Zhou Xing's rough, large hand patted Mo Jingchun's shoulder.

"Xiao Chun, sometimes even a single penny can stump a hero. When it comes to money, you can never be too careful."

Mo Jingchun opened his mouth, then finally let out a breath and gave an affirmative hum.

"Come on, I'll take you back."

"Your Aunt and I will be heading home soon too. There's still a pile of work waiting at home."

When they got home, Mo Jingchun was somewhat startled to find that only Aunt remained, holding Candy. Everyone else had already disappeared, and the motorcycles and cars that had been parked in the courtyard were gone too.

"They've all gone home. You know how it is—every household has been busy harvesting rice these past few days."

As she spoke, Yu Yaqin added, "Even though you have Candy to look after and can't help them much, when you have nothing to do during the day, go help your Uncles watch their children. That way, they can work without worry."

"And you won't have to cook lunch for yourself."

"I understand, Aunt."

"Enough. He's not that young anymore. He knows his limits." Zhou Xing, who had not gotten off the motorcycle, waved a hand.

Mo Jingchun took the sleeping Candy from Aunt's arms and watched Aunt get onto the motorcycle.

"Xiao Chun, call your Uncle if anything happens."

Yu Yaqin's voice gradually faded away, and in the end, the small motorcycle carrying the two of them disappeared around the bend in the road.

For a while, the house became quiet again, and Mo Jingchun found himself somewhat unaccustomed to it.

For several days in a row, Mo Jingchun followed Aunt's instructions and helped watch the children every day. Although taking care of children was truly painful, he no longer felt quite so empty inside, and the smile on his face grew more frequent.

On August 16, Mo Jingchun finally received the laptop he had been waiting for. Although it was somewhat expensive, he gritted his teeth and bought it anyway when it came time to pay.

People online said that software development was demanding on computer specifications, but Mo Jingchun did not even dare imagine getting this relatively high-spec computer to run the full version of the AI Smart Butler.

Mo Jingchun figured that if this computer could run ten threads of the AI Smart Butler at once, that would already be incredible.