For the first time, Yan Chu failed to fulfill his promise. He overestimated himself and underestimated the children who were notably eager for knowledge in this era.
Looking at the transcript of the mid-term exam and counting his rankings three times from beginning to end, Yan Chu made sure that he was eleven and there was nothing wrong with it. Thinking of the promise he had promised to enter the top ten to the old lady, he felt his face swollen.
In truth, he was two points away from tenth place in his class. The score of the multiple-choice questions was known for a long time, and if he had known earlier, he should have filled in one or two more math questions correctly.
He stared out the report sheet posted on the classroom bulletin board. From the view of Old Liu, the headteacher who had just entered the classroom, Jin Zhande’s old classmate, this child’s achievement was incredible this time.
Looking at that reddening face, it must be because of happiness. Sure enough, there was a big difference between this child and Big De. He was not a bad child. He just lacked the proper education.
As the headteacher, Old Liu knew every student’s grades before coming to this school. Honestly, when Yan Chu just transferred to this school, he felt that this child might hold the class back because his grades before he came to this school hovered around the pass line, and his ranking on the previous school had always been the bottom. But it turned out that he was not so hopeless.
In this half-semester, he witnessed the transformation of Yan Chu. From the beginning, he always wanted to influence the bad students who bullied the girls at the front table at the same table. Now, he listened carefully and maintained good communication with his classmates.
These changes came from a heart-to-heart conversation. Old Liu found his cowardice and bluff pride hidden under mischief and arrogance. He was just a child spoiled by his mother, had no friends in his previous school because of his awkward temperament, and many classmates hated him.
At home, his two older brothers disliked him. Only his mother, who loved him, would instill in him that he was the best. Others did not like him because he did not have a vision or something. A vicious circle led him to hate school and study. Moreover, without proper guidance, his personality became more and more negative under arrogance.
Old Liu was very thankful that he was aware of this and helped the child untie his heart knot as soon as possible. At the same time, he was also glad that there were so many friendly classmates in their class, and they were willing to help Yan Chu change with him.
During this half-semester, everyone saw Yan Chu’s progress. He washed away his bad habits and became a child that everyone liked.
And as a teacher, it was a proud thing to pull a student on the right path. Perhaps, because Old Liu personally participated in Yan Chu’s change and contributed too, Old Liu saw Yan Chu especially pleasing to his eyes now. Every time he looked at him, it was like looking at a piece of jade. He wanted to know what kind of dazzling appearance he could transform him into in the end.
“You have made great progress. All teachers and I have praised you. From the 43rd rank who have just entered the school to the current 11th, you have improved more than 30 ranks in half a semester. The teachers have great expectations for you, and you should also be proud of yourself.”
Old Liu patted the shoulder of his favorite student. He could make such a vast improvement in half a semester, which was enough to prove that Yan Chu was smart. Yan Chu was only a child who got delayed by the education method. As long as he maintained his current learning state, he could achieve excellent results and get admitted to his ideal university.
“But remain modest and keep cool. In the class, you still have ten opponents. And in the batch year, you still have more than 100 opponents. The teacher believes that your talent is more than that.”
After giving praise, he naturally had to present some pressure and motivation. Old Liu inexplicably believed that the child in front of him would never let him down.
Yan Chu was just like an ordinary praised child. He looked excited and shy, and his eyes revealed his eagerness to try. Obviously, he listened to Old Liu’s words and planned to work hard for it.
His expression made Old Liu elated. During his years as a teacher, he found a good seedling. Nothing makes a teacher happier than this.
“You said Yan Chu was the 11th in his class and the 132nd in his batch year in the mid-term exam?”
Jin Zhande held the phone tightly. Even though he was so old when he died in his past life, it did not mean that his memory was not good. In fact, in his previous years, everything about his elder sister was repeatedly remembered by him. On the contrary, his impression was as deep as night. The memory of his elder sister was often inseparable from Yan Chu.
If he remembered correctly, Yan Chu’s grades never related to his friendship. Yan Chu’s ability to go to high school in his previous life was entirely due to his help. Otherwise, he would unlikely graduate from junior high school with his achievements.
But now, his old friend said that his nephew, the little bastard who squandered his whole family’s fortune in the future, ranked 11th in the class. He knew the school’s enrollment rate he arranged for Yan Chu was still very high. If a person could maintain this score, it might be dangerous to take the university examination, but it was absolutely safe for the technical secondary school one.
Before, he thought that as long as he could smooth Yan Chu’s temperament and isolate him from his bad friends, everything was enough. But he did not expect that the other party could achieve such good results. Obviously, his grades were still at the bottom when he entered school, didn’t he?
Jin Zhande’s first reaction was whether Yan Chu had cheated.
Forgave him for speculating on that child with the greatest malice.
In fact, for the rest of his life, Jin Zhande’s hatred for this nephew had accumulated too deep. However, at the same time, he also hated himself. He hated that he had unconsciously distanced his elder sister because of his work. If he still stayed in Jing City at that time and could often see his elder sister, he would never be unaware of such a thing at home.
At that time, he had many ways to deal with it. The worst thing was to help pay back the money, but his elder sister would not die because of it.
“Big De, do you have a big prejudice against that kid Yan Chu?”
The silence on the other side of the phone was too long. In the office, Old Liu’s face sank, and his voice was no longer happy like at the beginning.
“Why, do you suspect that Yan Chu cheated? Or do you suspect that I, the invigilator at that time, was blind and couldn’t see the small movements of the examinee underneath?”
Old Liu was the most experienced educator, and he could perceive a lot of things sharply. These were the doubts accumulated in his repeated calls with Jin Zhande.
“He is just a child, a 14-year-old child. I don’t know what kind of image he used to be in your mind, but since you choose to hand him over to me, you should have confidence that he can be changed.”
Old Liu felt that he should teach not only Yan Chu but also his old friend: “He has many problems. Can you deny these problems are related to family education? This problem comes from the child’s mother and the environment in which he grew up. If I speak too much, don’t you have a problem here?”
Hearing the accusation from the old classmate on the phone, Jin Zhande opened his mouth but could not say anything to explain.
In his previous life, he had a lot of capital. He converted the guilt of being unable to visit his elder sister often into money. He knew that his elder sister would not accept the cash he gave, so he directly bought some other things and sent them. Because Yan Chu was the elder sister’s favorite child, there were many things that Yan Chu could use every time.
For example, pagers, cell phones, and red envelopes were always necessary during the New Year holidays. His elder sister did not accept money, but it was common for elders to give red envelopes to younger generations at this time. With the elder sister’s love for her son, perhaps he would not hand in the new year money he received every year, or Yan Chu got worse. His uncle had given the greatest material support, but he did not know it.
Jin Zhande’s hand holding the receiver trembled a little. He did not want to believe the possible fact that he had part of the responsibility for the death of his older sister in the previous life and also had part of the responsibility as his uncle.
When Yan Chu was a blank sheet of paper, they spoiled him and indulged him but never thought about educating him well. They asked themselves whether he would treat his two biological sons as indulgent as his nephew, Yan Chu?
He would not because he hoped his sons would become promising and valuable men. Jin Zhande and his wife had always asked them with high standards.
In the final analysis, it was the responsibility of both he and his older sister to nurture but not teach.
“Big De, I don’t want to accuse you, but the next time you see Yan Chu, it’s time to look at your nephew with new eyes. He has infinite possibilities for shaping. You don’t have to let prejudice and see him nailed to the rules you set.”
Jin Zhande hung up the phone, still feeling a little stuffy and breathless.
“What’s wrong? Who called?”
Du Meijuan came in with a cup of ginseng soup. Seeing her husband’s expression a little ugly, she asked with a smile.
She was so satisfied with her current life. In her previous life, her husband did not disappoint her. In this life, she had the memory of her former incarnation. She thought he would achieve higher achievements and give her a greater honor.
And of course, the premise was to get rid of the so-called relatives who hindrance them. For a new life, her husband paid too much attention there. If she had not stopped it before, her husband even wanted to send Zongbao and Zongyu to study with that little bastard. He was thoroughly confused.
Anyway, in the face of his elder sister, his mind was unable to remain normal.
Du Meijuan’s eyes darkened, but the smile on her face became softer and sweeter.
“When I went to Hong Kong before, I bought a lot of bird’s nest isinglass and sent it to my eldest sister in a few days. These things are good nourishing things for women.”
She was very virtuous, and what Jin Zhande liked most was her tolerance and understanding.
“I remember when you went to Hong Kong this time, didn’t you buy several sets of facial balm and give one set to your elder sister? Next time I go to Hong Kong on business, I’ll remember to buy more for you.”
As a man, Jin Zhande did not know why women needed so many things to smear their faces. Thanks to the developed Internet information of later generations, Jin Zhande was forced to understand these.
In his memory, his elder sister never used these things. She was poor before she got married. And after she got married, she raised him, this little brother. If the elder sister bought something that seemed unnecessary at that time, she would attract more criticism.
Later, when her husband died, she was even less in the mood to use those things.
But as long as she was a woman, she must have loved beauty. Jin Zhande knew that his wife had a lot of experience in this regard. What she liked must be no worse.
“Big Sister may not be accustomed to those things.”
Du Meijuan almost pinched her nails into her palm. Those sets of skincare products were well-known French brands. Even now, each set had cost her nearly 300 Yuan, equivalent to the salary of ordinary workers for half a year.
“It’s also my negligence. Big Sister hasn’t used these things before. She’ll get used to them as long as she uses them a few more times.” She keenly noticed the change of her husband’s look and changed her tone and expression as quickly as possible.
“I’ve been forgetting this before, thanks to you reminding me.”
Her expression was warm and soft. Those bird’s nest isinglass that she wanted to give to Jin Zhanhua were only glamorous in appearance. In reality, their real value was far less than one percent of the bird’s nest isinglass she had taken. But men were never concerned about these trivial matters and details. And the group of country bumpkins in the Yan family did not know anything and thought they got something good. When it came to the amount of money spent, that bag of tonics was not as good as half of a box of balm.
In terms of the life that Du Meijuan enjoyed in the future and her growing horizons, she would not be unable to live for this 180 Yuan. But for Jin Zhanhua and the Yan family, she could not get over it.
In Du Meijuan’s eyes, they were a group of leeches who sucked their family’s flesh and blood all their life through their so-called kindness.
Jin Zhanhua was not easy, but how much money did she spend to raise her pretty boy? She had paid it off in pieces over the years. That woman just relied on her husband’s kindness. But Jin Zhanhua always looked like an elder sister who acted like a mother. But she wanted to look like a mother-in-law in front of her. Pooh her!
No matter what she thought in her heart, Du Meijuan’s expression was always well controlled, and even Jin Zhande could not see his wife’s careful thoughts.
“Meijuan, thank you.”
Jin Zhande held his wife’s hand. When he got married in his previous life, he always worried that his future wife would be unhappy with his sister. On this point, Meijuan never made him sad.
She understood his guilt and respect for his elder sister and was willing to be filial to his eldest sister with him. Many times, Meijuan made up for him where he had not thought about everything.
In his previous life, he paid the debt of 800,000 Yuan for Yan Chu. Meijuan still did not say anything, but comforted him, cared for him, and tried to get him out of the grief of the death of his elder sister as soon as possible.
So, Jin Zhande loved and respected his wife. Therefore, when he created such a tremendous wealth, he did not want to learn from his business partners to keep young and beautiful stars or play with the opposite sex on other occasions. He was loyal to marriage and family and tried to give his wife and children the best life.
“What nonsense do you say? Big Sister is kind to you. Even if you favor me, I naturally respect her as an older sister.”
The couple loved each other, but Du Meijuan thought in her heart that if only things in the previous life could happen early, they would be happier without those obtrusive people.
And Jin Zhande, who had no idea what his wife thought, considered the words of his old classmates in his mind and thought it was time to find a chance to get to know his little nephew seriously.
In the two months of rebirth, except for the company’s affairs, Jin Zhande visited his elder sister Jin Zhanhua more frequently than in the previous life. But he consciously avoided Saturday night and Sunday day when Yan Chu would be at home.
The elder sister had complained more than once that her brother and son were always staggered, and Jin Zhande thought that maybe next time he should choose the time he could not avoid before appearing in the Yan family.
“Yan Jinbao23JinbaoYan Chu's nickname, refers to valuables in general; precious; darling; sweetie, we haven’t seen each other for a long time. You truly forgot us after you transferred school.”
As soon as Yan Chu came out of the school and crossed two streets, he got stopped by two sloppy young men in old school uniforms.
They looked about the same age as Yan Chu, and they should be students from Yan Chu’s previous school, looking from the school emblem on their school uniform.
Yan Chu remembered that every school had the same time after school. Some students might get detained because of their schoolwork, but it was absolutely impossible to leave early.
Calculating the distance from the previous school, if others wanted to stop him on this street at this time point, these two people were truant, right?
He looked up carefully at the faces of the two people in front of him and soon recognized their identities. This time, those people were even more uncomfortable than he thought.
“Chen San, Lou Hui, why are you here looking for me?”
Yan Chu smiled and punched them in the chest as they did before.
F***, it hurts. This kid hadn’t seen them for some time. Did he eat Dali Jingang pills13Dali Jingang pillsmedicine for muscle and bone flaccidity, waist and knee pain and limb fatigue caused by kidney deficiency and essence deficiency?
Chen San and Lou Hui, the two young people who stopped Yan Chu, covered their chest and grinned with pain, but they thought that it was only a thin boy who had just punched them, and the other party’s expression showed that he did not use much force at all just now as if his fist as light as a feather.
With this appearance, it seemed that they were useless. Almost a moment later, these two endured the pain and returned to their normal standing posture. It was just that their mouth was snarled from time to time, and it seemed that the heavy blow to the chest was indeed not light.
The inexplicable self-esteem of children of this age was indeed hard to understand.
“I haven’t seen you come to us for such a long time. Of course, we can only come to you.”
Chen San draped Yan Chu’s shoulders, speaking with a look of good brothers.
“Your uncle is too much. What kind of school does he make you transfer to? Why don’t you talk to your mother to let you transfer back again?”
They used to look down on Yan Chu, but who made this kid rich? His mother was very generous to him and always gave him 5 Mao from time to time to buy snacks or those illustrated books and the martial arts novels in the second-hand bookstores. Moreover, the other party’s food was good. The lunch brought at noon every day was white rice or white steamed buns, and almost every meal had meat. If there were no meat, his mother would pack two hard-boiled eggs.
He had a bad temper and got spoiled by his mother. He always wanted to deny the cleaning duty in the class, which made the classmates not like him very much.
He also had a rich uncle, and he often showed off with his classmates what interesting toys his uncle bought for him. His haughty, arrogant, and willful appearance made him have few friends in the class.
It was just an accident to befriend him. They found that this seemingly arrogant teenager was actually very easy to manipulate. It did not seem to take much effort to coax him to share pocket money, share his sumptuous lunch, and even share the toys given to him by his uncle for what a ridiculous friendship.
For the sake of money and voguish toys, they reluctantly took him to play together.
“I’m afraid I can’t. I promised my mother that I would study hard later. I want to go to college.”
Yan Chu hesitated, thinking repeatedly, and rejected their proposal.
“How boring studying is.”
As soon as Chen San and Lou Hui heard that they were studying, they were reluctant to attend junior high school. And everyone has figured out that after three years of junior high school, they directly followed their big brother to work in the billiards hall.
“Recently, our brother found an amusing thing, but we didn’t have any money. Your mother must have given you pocket money. Just lend us some. Next time I see you, I promise to pay you back.”
They had heard that Yan Chu’s uncle had made a lot of money. He was so kind to Yan Chu before. Now he would not deficit him, right? Especially his mother, who gave him more pocket money.
“I don’t have any money with me.”
Yan Chu frowned: “My current school is boarding one. I can’t even leave the school gate on weekdays, and I eat three meals a day in the school cafeteria. There is no small shop in the school, and I can’t buy any snacks, so my mother hasn’t given me pocket money for a long time. I don’t have much money left now.”
“No money?”
Chen San and Lou Hui looked at each other. Because of Yan Chu’s generosity in the past, they did not suspect that the other party lied to them.
“Then let’s make an appointment and bring out the money when you go out tomorrow.”
The tone of the two was very casual, and they did not look like asking for help at all.
“I have an appointment with my classmates tomorrow to buy counseling materials. The money is useful to me.” Yan Chu once again rejected the proposal of two former good friends.
“What counseling materials do you buy? Besides, can’t you ask your mother for money?”
The two children’s tone was a little impatient, but the environment of people coming and going on the road and their current age also made them unable to make threats.
“But…”
Yan Chu hesitated to say something, then changed his tone and asked: “You first tell me what you are using it for, and then I will consider whether to lend you money.”
“Why? Are you also interested?”
Chen San’s eyes brightened when he heard Yan Chu’s words. Why didn’t he expect that? As long as he pulled Yan Chu over and realized the fun inside, he would naturally take the initiative to ask his mother for money. At that time, they could also be benefitted from association with him as friends.
“Why don’t you bring the money tomorrow and let these two brothers take you to have an eye. I’m sure you like it too.”
Chen San’s arm around Yan Chu’s neck closed more tightly. Yan Chu inevitably smelled a sour and sweaty smell at the tip of his nose. He took off Chen San’s arm without a trace and showed that he was very interested in the matter.
“Is it so interesting?”
He asked curiously.
“Of course, it’s just that you have to hide it from your mother and can’t let her or other adults know.” Chen San and Lou Hui had been with their big brother for a long time before they knew the place.
Unfortunately, they did not have much money, so they could not play many fun games.
“I promise not to say.” Yan Chu swore with a smile.
The three agreed on the time. Chen San and Lou Hui did not stop him anymore. They had to help Big Brother watch the game for two nights. They were young and could not be of great use many times. If they were not more active, maybe they could not be seen in Big Brother’s eyes anymore.
Early on Sunday morning, Jin Zhande took a large bag of gifts prepared by his wife and walked to his elder sister’s house.
Because the two sons reported some extracurricular expertise, his wife, who was responsible for picking up his sons to and from school, could not go with him, Jin Zhande was very considerate of this.
Some things might happen today. Jin Zhande might feel embarrassed if his wife was present.
While walking to the alley not far from the quadrangle where the Yan family lived, Jin Zhande saw a familiar figure with sharp eyes. Two strange teenagers were standing next to that familiar figure.
The two children dressed up sloppily in loose coats, in their jeans had several holes cut and had unsteady posture. They did not look like obedient and well-behaved students.
Yan Chu actually mixed with such people?
Jin Zhande clenched his hand tightly, and a fit of anger erupted in his heart. Just thinking about the reminders from his old classmate on the phone before, he did not rush over immediately. Instead, he chose to move to a more hidden place. Fortunately, the other party did not notice him and saw what happened there.
Because the distance was a little far away, he could not hear what they said, but he could see the movements between them. Yan Chu seemed to give something to the two gangster children. Then he did not know what he said to those people, but they then left with a dissatisfied expression. After the two people were far away, Jin Zhande stood out from the corner and walked towards Yan Chu.
“Uncle.”
Yan Chu was so happy to see his uncle, who he had not seen for many days. But he probably guessed the scene just now. Maybe his uncle saw it, and his face was a little pale. Such an expression was a sign of guilt in Jin Zhande’s eyes.
He was still a child, and he could change. Jin Zhande comforted himself like this.
“Those two are your friends?” Jin Zhande asked calmly.
“No, yes.” Yan Chu’s answer was a little flustered, and his eyes flickered.
“Yes is yes. No is no. What did you say just now? I saw you give them money?” Jin Zhande recalled that the stack of things just handed over by Yan Chu was paper money, but he did not know how much it was.
“The two were my classmates from the previous school. They came to me this time to borrow money.”
When Yan Chu said those two were his classmates, there was a faint fear and timidity in his eyes. Jin Zhande clearly saw this scene.
If it was what he had guessed before, why did the nephew look afraid, or was there something he did not know?
“They know that I have a rich uncle and that my mother often gives me pocket money.” Yan Chu lowered his head and drooped his shoulders. “Those two people hang around with Boss Qiu. The students in the class are afraid of them. I dare not refuse to borrow them.”
Boss Qiu!
Jin Zhande heard this familiar name sharply. In his previous life, he paid off the debt for Yan Chu. The creditor who lent him had surnamed Qiu. Was there any connection here?
“How many times is this?”
Jin Zhande’s voice was a little tight. He looked at the frightened nephew in front of him and found that he and his elder sister did not really know his situation in school. If he had not accidentally bumped into this scene this time, they would not know that he had been bullied by bad students in the school before.
“Several times. Uncle, don’t tell Mom. If Mom knows, she will be angry.”
Yan Chu raised his head with a hint of pleading in his eyes.
“Apart from this, what else is hiding from us?”
Jin Zhande did not promise anything but asked again.
“They said they would take me to open my eyes next time. I didn’t want to go, but they said they would come to me next week.” Yan Chu’s voice was obviously trembling with fear.
Jin Zhande clearly realized that the one standing in front of him was just indeed a child. When they, the elders, did not know, he was under a lot of pressure. In the previous life, because they had not noticed this matter, he was led into the abyss step by step by those bad guys.
But he was very fortunate that his nephew had not gone spoiled yet. This time, he noticed all this on time and had a chance to stop it.
Now he thought about it, how could the child that was loved by the elder sister be inherently bad? But in his previous life, he didn’t send Yan Chu to boarding school, but let him stay in the original class and get along with those children, who would threaten him to ask him for money. Under such significant pressure, he certainly could not study well.
This reason was also why his nephew made immense progress after changing schools. Jin Zhande found a reasonable ground for everything.
Looking at his nephew, who was still pure now, Jin Zhande’s eyes were much more gentle and kind.
He recognized his mistakes in the previous life, and now his nephew was innocent. He should not face him with his attitude of the previous life.
Jin Zhande embraced his nephew, who was only on his chest tall: “You study at ease, and Uncle will handle other things for you.”
All the nodes were just right. Jin Zhande could not see, but Yan Chu’s eyes were calm. Starting from Old Liu’s phone call, this was just a chess game that had just begun. As long as he could calculate people’s hearts, everything was not difficult.
The uncle and nephew who returned home did not say anything, and the family had a lively lunch.
On the other hand, although it was unexpected why Yan Chu suddenly changed his tone and did not participate in their activities, the brothers who got the money were happily sent away. They came to the billiards hall of Boss Qiu in their mouth and entered the secret underground casino.
The brothers did not have much money on hand, but they could also have fun. If the two were lucky, they could win several packs of cigarette money. It did not matter if they lost. Anyway, the money was not theirs.
But before they could enjoy themselves, a group of public security officers surrounded the billiards hall and quickly found the secret basement, bringing all the gamblers inside the room.
“Brother Wang, what’s going on?”
The Boss Qiu in everyone’s mouth came out with a cigarette full of sweat and asked a man in the group of public security.
“Qiu Hu, you’re doubly guilty of bribing police officers and even a worse crime.” The public security officer surnamed Wang glared at him and stated.
Most of these underground casinos had backers. Obviously, the public security officer surnamed Wang was Qiu Hu’s backer. But this time, he did not know why, but his backer was unreliable. It seemed that he still wanted to get rid of their relationship.
Qiu Hu’s expression became serious, and he realized that this time things seemed difficult.
“Take it all away.”
Wang Gong’an’s heart was beating like a beaten drum. He just asked Qiu Hu to be intelligent and not mention anything that should not, or he would be over.
This operation notice came from the higher up. Wang Gong’an heard that they received an anonymous report. Not only did this report go to the Municipal Bureau, but also sent to some authoritative newspapers. Perhaps it was already crowded with reporters outside. At that time, there were so many people staring at the Public Security Bureau, and he could not give Qiu Hu a tip-off.
Now was the time to strike hard, and crowds had gathered for gambling. Some students and civil servants were also involved. It was possible to shoot.
The weather gradually turned cold, but Wang Gong’an was sweating. If he had known that there would be today, he would not have been involved in that money at all.
Qiu Hu and other gang-related members were all imprisoned. Chen San and Lou Hui were locked up for a few days because they were still young. After a scolding of education, they were taken away by their parents.
Life in the detention center was probably not easy. The two children had heard too much about shooting. These days, they were frightened, and their souls were half scared. The majestic Brother Qiu in their hearts got arrested by the police. The two realized that the underworld was not that easy to mix up. After being taken back by both parents, they were much more honest. Fortunately, the two of them did not win a lot of gambling. With this lesson, they would think more about the consequences in the future.
Jin Zhande came back from his elder sister’s house and began to think about managing Qiu Hu’s affairs. He did not know that Qiu Hu had already finished.
