Girls and boys were different, after all. If the university was closer, Mom and Dad would feel more at ease.
If Jiang Shu went to Jiangnan Academy, maybe he could even look after Yan Yan.
"Then let's tentatively settle on Jiangnan Academy. I'll see what conditions the four academies offer when the time comes. Mom, Dad, let's eat first. The food's getting cold."
"Xiao Shu..."
"Yeah?"
"About you being able to enter an academy without taking the exam, should we tell your grandparents and your uncle? Or wait until your results come out..."
"Dad, martial arts are different from academic results. With the liberal arts and science college entrance exams, people can underperform. Martial arts don't work that way, unless the government changes the rules in the final month. As for whether to tell them, you can arrange it. I'm free these next few days anyway."
Jiang Shu readily agreed. Of course, he knew that when his father said they should tell them, he didn't mean just making a phone call.
It was a custom in his family that whenever something big happened, everyone gathered for a meal.
When his younger sister had been admitted early to Jicheng First High School, for instance, their family had booked a table at a hotel and celebrated with a small banquet.
"Big brother, are you free these next few days? Nothing's wrong. It's just that Xiao Shu's taking the college entrance exam soon, and he's got a good shot now. We thought the family could get together and celebrate. Bring your wife and son too. I'll go tell Mom and Dad myself tomorrow. Okay, okay, you're free tomorrow night and the night after? Great, great. I'll hang up now."
"Ali..."
As the second son, Jiang Yongyi called his eldest and youngest brothers, then settled on gathering the family the night after tomorrow.
"Huh? Where's Xiao Shu?"
After hanging up, Jiang Yongyi set his phone aside and couldn't help asking.
"I don't know. He went out while you were on the phone." Jiang Yanyue wished she could bury her head in her bowl. Her voice came out muffled.
This was bad. This was really bad.
How had that bastard Jiang Shu suddenly completed the Full Body Vital Energy Circulation and qualified to enter an academy without taking the exam?
Not only would she no longer be able to joke around with him or treat him like her driver and bodyguard.
She might even have to become his secretary and handle all his calls.
What the hell... Was that fair?
Jiang Yanyue was miserable. Just then, Jiang Shu came back with a bottle of liquor. He opened it and poured some straight into Jiang Yongyi's bowl. "You seemed pretty happy, Dad, so I went downstairs and bought a bottle. Let's celebrate a little as a family too."
"Dad, you should stop driving for Didi. It's all algorithms now, and the competition's brutal. No matter how much you drive, they'll keep your earnings capped. You'd be better off resting and looking after your health."
"Mom, same goes for you. Since the rent's gone up and running a shop is so difficult, why not stay home too? You really don't need to worry about money anymore."
"Trust your son. A martial artist can make money far faster than you imagine."
Jiang Shu still didn't know how other martial artists made money.
But he made money incredibly fast!
He had what no one else did. Thanks to the unique qualities of salt and MSG, Zhou Family Restaurant's name had spread throughout Pingling County's Inner City in just two days, and business had more than doubled.
Jiang Shu did a quick calculation. If business stayed steady, he could take home a hundred taels of silver every month.
Then he could exchange those hundred taels of silver for ten taels of gold. On Mystic Star, that would be a full 250,000!
Nearly eight thousand a day!
Of course, he wouldn't do that in the beginning.
For one thing, Pingling County's gold reserves were limited, so he certainly couldn't keep exchanging money indefinitely. And on Mystic Star, he was still a minor.
He didn't have a steady job. This kind of gray-market income would have to wait until he became a martial artist.
Soon.
With a thought, a translucent panel appeared:
Jiang Shu-- Great Jing Dynasty language/writing: Minor mastery (20/1000) Horse Stance: Great mastery (430/1000) Hungry Tiger Sitting Cave Stance: Great mastery (30/1000) Hungry Tiger Breathing Method: Great mastery (30/1000) Tiger Form Three Styles: Great mastery (20/1000) ...
Two days later.
At dusk.
The setting sun slanted across the river. Rosy clouds and flowing water merged into one, soft and dazzling as satin.
At the hotel.
The whole Jiang family had gathered.
Grandpa and Grandma sat at the head of the table, their faces alight with joy.
The glasses on the table were already filled.
"Xiao Shu, you're that confident? You can get into an academy?" Having heard the wonderful news, the eldest brother, Jiang Yongren, was the first to speak. "Come on, let's raise a toast to Xiao Shu."
"Eldest brother, where's Hongfei?"
"Oh, him. He'd just arrived at the hotel when he ran into his section chief at the entrance. Funny coincidence, too—it's the section chief's birthday today, and he's drinking in a private room on the second floor. How about you go call your brother, Xiao Shu? You can get a taste of the wider world while you're at it. After all, school life and society are completely different."
"Society's not what it used to be. If you want a good life, you still have to go into government. You young people have a saying, right? The end of the universe is a government job. Look at your uncle. He's a contractor and doing pretty well, isn't he? Even so, he still told your brother to take the civil service exam. No industry is secure, but that one's the most stable!"
Jiang Yongren gave a thumbs-up. When Jiang Hongfei had passed the civil service exam, he'd thrown a grand banquet at the hotel. That was nothing like this little celebration.
University, huh?
It was nothing special.
It wasn't like decades ago, when Xia Kingdom was desperate for talent. Degrees had lost their value too quickly. He hadn't met any academy graduates, but over the past few years, he'd met plenty of graduates from top universities.
Some capable ones could make hundreds of thousands a year.
Those without ability often hit a wall in society.
Academy students were probably no different.
Being good at studying didn't mean you were capable.
Besides, Jiang Shu had only gotten into an academy by practicing martial arts. Maybe his credentials weren't worth as much as those of students who'd gotten in through the college entrance exam.
Of course, he wouldn't say any of that out loud.
"Hongfei really is the most capable among you," Grandpa said from the head of the table. "A-Shu, go see your brother and learn from him. Then come back and eat."
"What the heck."
Under the table.
Jiang Yanyue kicked Jiang Shu beside her and whispered.
Then she took out her phone and sent a message: "Grandpa's so biased. You're about to get into an academy, and they're still going on about how great Jiang Hongfei is. It was the same last time. They told me that after I finished school, I had to take the civil service exam and get a government job, and that I should learn from Brother Hongfei. Ugh, ugh, ugh."
"It's fine. It's only for one day. Just go along with it and let them be happy."
After replying and giving his sister a reassuring look, Jiang Shu left the private room and headed toward the room number his uncle had mentioned.
He knocked on the door. A moment later, a young man in his twenties opened it, his face flushed red. It was hard to tell whether he was excited or had been drinking.
"Huh? Xiao Shu, what are you doing here?" Jiang Hongfei asked, taken aback.
"Grandpa asked me to call you back."
"Xiao Jiang, who's outside?"
As soon as Jiang Shu finished speaking, a voice from inside the room rang out, clearly slurred with drink. Jiang Hongfei, who had always held his head high at Jiang family gatherings since getting his government job, lowered it without thinking. His voice turned noticeably ingratiating. "Section Chief Guo, it's nothing..."
Jiang Hongfei shot Jiang Shu a look, signaling for him to leave quickly. He hurried back into the room. "Let me pour you another drink, Section Chief Guo. I wish you eternal youth and ever-rising success."
"Xiao Jiang, don't be so secretive. The person outside—is he a relative of yours?"
Section Chief Guo sat in his chair with a large belly. From his seat, he could see Jiang Shu, a teenager of about seventeen or eighteen. At that age, if he'd come looking for Jiang Hongfei, he was probably Jiang Hongfei's younger brother or something.
After all, Jiang Hongfei seemed to be at a family gathering at the hotel today.
"Your eye for these things is amazing, Section Chief Guo." Jiang Hongfei's hand, which held his glass, paused. He hurriedly gave a thumbs-up and praised him. He smiled along, but inwardly he seethed.
He'd had a hard time getting this chance to cozy up to Section Chief Guo.
Why had Jiang Shu come running over?
What was the point of calling him back?
What could possibly matter more than keeping Section Chief Guo happy?
So what if he missed one meal with the family?
"Enough. Someone's come to call you, and your relatives are probably waiting. Go on back, Xiao Jiang." Section Chief Guo took a sip of wine and waved him away.
The people close to him had been notified well in advance about his birthday gathering here.
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