Rich in the 70s: I Made a Rugged Veteran a Millionaire-Chapter 19: I Just Can’t Say No

"I can’t bear to see you work so hard."

Jiang Cheng said, squatting down and pressing Teacher Lü’s leg with moderate force.

"Let me explain it to you."

Teacher Lü wasn’t angry, she hummed to signal Jiang Cheng.

Jiang Cheng began to explain.

"Teacher Lü, have you ever thought that I might not need one-on-one, targeted, all-day teaching?"

"In my view, there is a difference between a self-taught genius and a regular genius. A regular genius might need your wholehearted dedication to education, but for a self-taught genius like me, there are benefits to being nurtured in a more relaxed way."

Teacher Lü looked at Jiang Cheng without blinking.

"I suspect you’re just cleverly bragging about yourself."

Jiang Cheng exaggeratedly expressed surprise.

"Even with such subtlety, you still discovered it?"

Teacher Lü was amused.

"You... get up, it’s not good if someone sees this."

"How could that be? This is called respecting teachers and valuing their knowledge, honoring the elderly. Who dares to say anything against me? I’ll have a good argument with them."

Teacher Lü pulled Jiang Cheng up and said with deep feeling, "With that mouth of yours, I’m sure you can win."

"Alright, what you said makes sense. Since you managed to learn the entire book yourself, it proves you have your own methods, and I shouldn’t try to plan things for you."

"It’s not planning; it’s your appreciation for talent and your profound and loyal love for the country!"

Teacher Lü’s heartstrings were touched.

Jiang Cheng continued, "Teacher Lü, I truly need your guidance. How about this: apart from giving me homework, I’ll walk with you every evening, and you can give me some additional tutoring on the way."

Teacher Lü thought seriously for a moment and then shook her head.

"It’s dangerous for you to go home too late in the evening; it’s better if you come earlier."

"Alright, I’ll be at school by five ten."

Jiang Cheng agreed cheerfully, and Teacher Lü is a straightforward person as well.

"Tomorrow I’ll handle some paperwork for you, which might take about ten days or so. You can’t just take foreign books home casually."

"Teacher Lü, you think things through better than I do. Thank you!"

Jiang Cheng didn’t smile cheekily but sincerely thanked her.

The person before her is someone who truly contributes to the ongoing effort in education.

Jiang Cheng helped Teacher Lü downstairs, and after seeing someone come to pick Teacher Lü up at the entrance, she confidently said goodbye.

After sending Teacher Lü off, Jiang Cheng turned to Grandma Shen and the four others, whose eyes were all curiously waiting for Jiang Cheng to explain.

She adopted a helpless expression and said:

"It’s nothing major. On my first day in Russian class, I performed so well that Teacher Lü said I’m a rare language talent and voluntarily offered to give me extra tutoring, which I couldn’t refuse."

Grandma Shen: To turn the truth into such an irritating statement, only Jiang Cheng could do it.

Uncle Wang: Does that sound like boasting? He must have misunderstood. Xiao Jiang isn’t like that.

Shen Xing: Sister’s ’humility’ kicks in again!

Shen Yue: Sister looks so pretty!

Jiang Cheng modestly boasted a bit, chatted with Uncle Wang for a few minutes, and then went home with Grandma Shen and the three of them.

The road home was still full of laughter, learning interwoven with fun.

Jiang Cheng casually mentioned to Grandma Shen that she wouldn’t be home for dinner tomorrow night.

"Knowledge in your own hands is true knowledge, but not eating won’t do. ’People are made of steel, rice is iron,’ skipping a meal makes you hungry."

Grandma Shen genuinely cared for Jiang Cheng, and she began thinking about how to bring food to Jiang Cheng tomorrow.

"Grandma Shen, I’m not coming home for dinner, not skipping meals."

Jiang Cheng interrupted Grandma Shen’s thoughts, "The scrap station has a cafeteria at noon. I’ll pack an extra portion for dinner."

"I can’t let my clever mind go hungry."

Originally worried, Grandma Shen rolled her eyes in an instant.

No need for her to worry!

This girl, even without a cafeteria, would find a way to get a free meal.

Four of them reached home and quickly washed up.

Before sleep, Jiang Cheng still studied until eleven o’clock.

She went to bed precisely at eleven, got up at four-thirty in the morning for further study and morning exercise.

Around six o’clock, Jiang Cheng walked out of the house, carrying a bag of rice.

Inside was the millet she’d saved over the past few days.

An extra pound of millet appears every day in her space, totaling four pounds in the bag.

"Grandma Shen, let’s cook porridge with this in the mornings from now on. When it’s used up, I’ll buy more."

Grandma Shen opened the bag and weighed it with her hand.

"That’s too much."

"Not much, I don’t have rations, nor can I keep eating yours."

Grandma Shen wanted to refuse, but when she looked at Jiang Cheng, she knew she couldn’t win the argument.

"Hold on."

Grandma Shen wiped her hands on her apron and went into the house, coming out again.

"Take these; we won’t eat if you don’t."

Grandma Shen held several industrial coupons, each neatly kept, showing how much the holder valued them.

"How could you think like that? Am I the type to refuse such things!!"

Jiang Cheng swiftly grabbed the coupons, beaming as she looked at them.

"I’m a person with coupons now."

Grandma Shen, speechless, looked at Jiang Cheng and said, "That mouth of yours."

Jiang Cheng affectionately hugged Grandma Shen’s arm.

"I was just teasing you for fun; smile and you become younger by ten years. Don’t you feel much happier, right?"

The smile on Grandma Shen’s face was the answer.

After breakfast, Jiang Cheng, Shen Yue, and Shen Xing left together, and she informed them she wouldn’t be home for dinner.

The two kids, like Grandma Shen, worried she might get hungry. After Jiang Cheng explained, they felt relieved.

The trio parted; Jiang Cheng spent a busy morning at the scrap station with Sister Wang.

At noon, Jiang Cheng held off on buying dinner, waiting for everyone to finish purchasing, and then she would buy the leftovers.

If there weren’t any, it didn’t matter; she had her space, so why worry?

After lunch, Jiang Cheng cleaned her lunch box before heading to the cafeteria again.

She happened to see five buns left on the steam rack.

Perfect.

She only bought to show she had a legitimate source of food, but she actually ate a much wider variety of things.

"Sister Kong, I’ll take two buns."

"No way!!"

A sharp voice of refusal rang out, Sister Kong swiftly turned around, arms spread, in a tense and defensive posture.

Seeing Jiang Cheng hadn’t reached out to take by herself, Sister Kong relaxed a bit, explaining sheepishly, "These are reserved for Old Li, the night watchman."

"Oh, I see. Is there anything else left?"

Jiang Cheng asked casually, and Sister Kong relaxed a little.

"I can spare you one bun; there’s some leftover cabbage too."

Jiang Cheng bought the bun and the leftover stir-fried cabbage slices.

Back in the office, Jiang Cheng didn’t mention the earlier incident and continued checking the accounts seriously.

Sister Wang watched Jiang Cheng work intently and efficiently and felt deeply satisfied.

If she were a city resident, it would be perfect.

But upon further thought, being a city resident doesn’t guarantee being a good person, and for a moment, her matchmaker’s instincts started itching.

At four thirty, Jiang Cheng bid farewell to Sister Wang and rushed to evening school.

Twenty minutes later, Jiang Cheng arrived at the evening school.

After panting lightly for a few minutes, she ate quickly within ten minutes and appeared punctually at five ten at the office door.

"I don’t believe anyone is that capable."

A muffled male voice came from inside, and Jiang Cheng’s hand was unaffected as she knocked.

"Knock knock—"

Sigh! It’s time for passive boasting again.

But, she likes it.