As Tu Xiaohei approached Class 3 of the third grade, a slightly pungent smell of cream assaulted his sense of smell.

Although Ren Xiaobai and his group threw away the trash, the strong smell of cream still lingered.

"Gurgle..."

A roar came from Tu Xiaohei's stomach.

"It's a birthday party..."

Tu Xiaohei looked at the empty classroom with a hint of regret.

"I want a birthday present too..."

Tu Xiaohei sighed in frustration, then carefully checked the ground for dust.

This is the last classroom. Once he finishes cleaning it, he can leave.

After Tu Xiaohei emptied the last bit of trash into the trash can.

He looked at the classroom with a hint of lingering affection.

Although, to this day he still doesn't know the names of his classmates.

But this did not prevent him from longing for and cherishing that period of his life.

After closing the classroom door, Tu Xiaohei forcefully hoisted the slightly heavy snakeskin bag onto his back.

That cream-smelling classroom was his dream, while this slightly smelly snakeskin bag was reality.

Tu Xiaohei slightly raised his head and glanced at the sky.

The sky has long been polluted by humans; the stars that were once clearly visible have now disappeared.

Tu Xiaohei walked slowly away.

I knocked on the guardhouse door again.

This time, the security guard wasn't sleepy-eyed; he looked quite energetic.

After opening the door, the gatekeeper glanced at the snakeskin bag behind Tu Xiaohei but said nothing.

At first, he might have had to suspect that Tu Xiaohei had stolen something from the school.

However, three years have passed, and this kid is still only carrying around trash like aluminum cans.

He just couldn't be bothered to care anymore.

Watching Tu Xiaohei's departing figure, the gatekeeper scratched his head, then closed the gate and walked back into his guardhouse.

It's a bit cold outside.

Waste recycling station.

"Ding ding ding".

Tu Xiaohei slowly lifted the door, and then a middle-aged man with a potbelly staggered over, dragging a bottle of beer.

"Oh! Little Black!"

The uncle and Tu Xiaohei were already quite familiar with each other; Tu Xiaohei would sell the trash and other things he picked up to this uncle.

Although the money the uncle gave Tu Xiaohei was slightly below the market price, given Tu Xiaohei's sensitive age, the uncle was already very grateful that he was willing to accept Tu Xiaohei.

"Give."

Tu Xiaohei handed the snakeskin bag to the uncle.

He didn't have money to buy a snakeskin bag; this snakeskin bag was lent to him by this uncle.

"Hmm? Let me see..."

The man put down the beer and then quickly began to count the contents.

This uncle has been in this line of work for a long time, and his speed in cleaning up trash would put some professional accountants to shame.

Fifty-five.

The uncle handed Tu Xiaohei fifty-five yuan in loose change, and then took the snakeskin bag.

"Uncle, hasn't the market price of this kind of garbage dropped recently?"

Tu Xiaohei looked at the fifty-five yuan in his hand with a puzzled expression.

The item he gave me should only be worth twenty-two yuan according to the current market price. Given the uncle's past personality, he would have given me at most fifteen yuan.

The uncle took the snakeskin bag, then shook his head and said, "It's rare for me to be in such a good mood, so I'll give you a little more."

After a pause, the uncle put down the snakeskin bag, then took out a bright red hundred-yuan bill from his pocket and handed it to Tu Xiaohei. He then said in a calm voice, "You're going to high school soon, so study hard! High school is not as simple as junior high. If you can get the top score in the country, then I'll be very proud!"

After saying that, the uncle looked up to the sky and roared, "The top scholar in the country once worked for me. I can brag about this for the rest of my life!"

"Thank you..."

Tu Xiaohei's eyes were a little moist.

For ordinary people, one hundred yuan may not be a significant amount in this era of inflation.

But for Tu Xiaohei, who was extremely poor, it was like a lifeline.

"No need to thank me."

The middle-aged man shook his head and waved his hand, then walked directly into his scrap metal recycling station.

"Don't come tomorrow. There's no future in the garbage-collecting business."

Tu Xiaohei carefully put the hundred-yuan bill into his pocket, and then put the fifty-five yuan into his pocket.

Is it number one in the country...?

Others might not know, but how could Tu Xiaohei not know?

When he failed to rank first in the province in the high school entrance exam, he had already deviated from the normal path of education.

With a sigh, Tu Xiaohei quickened his pace.

After some time had passed, Tu Xiaohei finally returned home.

It was already 11 PM.

The dark house seemed lifeless. Tu Xiaohei took the house key out of his pocket.

"Creak~"

The door opened, and Tu Xiaohei turned on the light, then closed the door behind him.

Only at this moment did the dim lights show a slight sign of life.

Actually, Tu Xiaohei's family didn't seem particularly poor.

Having their own vegetable garden and house seems quite normal.

However, everything changed three years ago when his father was arrested and imprisoned.

Grandpa became seriously ill in a fit of anger and died after spending all his last savings.

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