Everyone looked at them.

Zhang Xiaowen felt her face getting hot, and she whispered, "What?"

"What do you mean, 'what'?" Jiang Xuan deliberately put his hand into his pocket. "I remember we had a bet, you haven't forgotten, have you?"

Li Xiaxia walked over, her face full of surprise, "A bet? Did you two know each other before?"

Zhang Xiaowen's face turned bright red, and she couldn't speak.

"Tell me what happened. He Yan, you tell me."

He Yan couldn't bring herself to say it.

They never expected things to turn out this way.

Jiang Xuan had already taken out the document. "How about I read it to everyone?"

"No, no..." Zhang Xiaowen quickly said, "This is a private matter between us, and it has nothing to do with other people."

He Yan also said, "That's right, it was just a joke, how could you read something like that to others?"

"A joke? If you had won today, would you still think this is a joke? Everyone should respect facts and promises. If a person breaks a promise, he or she will not only lose the trust of others, but also his or her own dignity."

"If you still want to argue, that would be a denial of yourselves. I am here today not only to prove my abilities, but also to tell everyone that integrity and respect are the bottom lines that each of us should uphold."

What exactly was their bet?

Li Xiaxia's gossipy nature was impossible to hide.

The others followed suit, crowding around. "What exactly is the bet? Zhang Xiaowen, you can't be such a sore loser, can you?"

Zhang Xiaowen is now filled with regret. What was she thinking yesterday that led her to make such an outrageous bet?

kowtow?

She never kowtowed to her parents!

If she were to actually kowtow to her, she'd rather just kill herself by banging her head against a wall.

She lowered her head and said, "I'm sorry, I apologize. I shouldn't have questioned your design abilities."

Oh, so that's what it is.

The members of the cultural troupe had heard in the past few days that at the design competition, someone questioned whether Platoon Leader Lu's wife had plagiarized someone else's work.

So this person is Zhang Xiaowen.

Jiang Xuan hadn't originally intended for her to actually kowtow, but she still wanted to teach her a lesson.

She said, "I understand your doubts, but I hope that through this incident, you can learn to respect other people's efforts and talents."

After saying that, she left.

Lu Shengye was just called away by Zheng Guoliang, who was invited to be a judge.

Under the banyan tree, Zheng Guoliang patted Lu Shengye on the shoulder and laughed, "You're lucky, lad. Comrade Xiao Jiang is quite good."

Lu Shengye said seriously, "She is indeed quite good."

Zheng Guoliang was taken aback, then burst into laughter.

This kid has finally figured it out.

When are you going to hold the wedding banquet?

"We plan to hold it on National Day."

"Okay, don't forget to invite me to your wedding banquet."

As the two were chatting, Director Li of the cultural troupe walked over.

"Xiao Lu, Comrade Xiao Jiang's talent is truly remarkable. We just talked with some leaders, and it's really a waste to leave such a talented person in society. Why don't you consider having her join our cultural troupe?"

"I thank Commander Li for his appreciation on behalf of Comrade Xiao Jiang, but she is currently in university and will probably not be joining the cultural troupe for the time being."

"Huh? Going to university?"

Zheng Guoliang laughed and said, "Commander Li doesn't know yet, does he? Comrade Xiao Jiang is a top student from Ningzhou University. I heard he studied mathematics, a key major at Ningzhou University."

A student from a top university majoring in mathematics, and also has such amazing design skills?

This girl is truly remarkable.

"Okay, okay, Xiao Lu, go back and tell Comrade Xiao Jiang that from now on, she will be in charge of the performance costumes for our art troupe. By the way, I have already filed the design bonus with the finance department, and it will be paid out at the end of the month."

Lu Shengye nodded: "Thank you, Commander Li."

*

On the way back.

Jiang Xuan always felt that Lu Shengye was secretly watching her.

She touched her face. "Is there something on my face?"

"No."

"Then why are you looking at me?"

Lu Shengye chuckled softly and said, "How come you're so amazing? Several leaders have praised you, especially Director Li of the cultural troupe, who wants you to join the troupe to specialize in design."

"Really? Then what do you say?"

"I told you you have to go to school and don't have time. By the way, are the courses at school demanding? If you're busy, you can live at school and come back once a week."

Lu Shengye added, "Especially since your aunt is living there now, it's not a good idea for you to keep running back and forth like this. Why don't you try to persuade her to be hospitalized again, to the General Hospital of the Military Region? If she gets proper treatment, there's still a chance that a miracle might happen."

"The possibility is very small. The doctor I saw at the time was a specialist at the Affiliated Hospital of Ningbo University. It was Professor Wang from the department who helped me. The doctor made it very clear that there was no point in treating it."

“I’ve asked my mom many times, and she’s made it clear that she doesn’t want to go through the hassle of going to the hospital anymore.”

Jiang Xuan stopped and looked at Lu Shengye. "My mother has had such a hard life. She was forced to leave by my grandparents, and my maternal grandparents didn't want her either. She had nowhere else to go but ended up with a man who was more than 20 years older than her. She never had any more children after marrying him. I am my mother's only daughter, and I want her to live, but the cancer cells have already metastasized to a large extent, and there's nothing I can do."

Jiang Xuan felt a sharp pain in her chest. "I wanted her to help sell egg pancakes, not to make money for me or anything. I wanted to give her something to do so she could have something to look forward to every day, which might help her condition a little."

"I was about to start earning money, but she's leaving. Why is my mother's life so miserable?"

Jiang Xuan couldn't continue speaking.

Lu Shengye sighed softly and patted Jiang Xuan's shoulder. "Don't be afraid, I'm here. I'll always be with you."

"Oh, by the way, do you know any renovation contractors? I want to renovate that shop on Xiguan Road as soon as possible."

"Yes, what kind of design do you want? Or can I have them produce some blueprints for you to take a look at?"

"No need, I'll draw the design myself. They can just install it according to the drawings. I can only use this shop on Saturdays and Sundays for now, so I plan to rent it out from Monday to Friday and collect some rent."

Lu Shengye's eyes lit up; he thought the idea was very creative.

In later generations, it was perfectly normal for several people to share a shop and each do their own business.

For example, A sells steamed buns in the morning, and B sells late-night snacks, etc.

"What about the stall carts?"

"The stall cart is placed near the school. My mom and I sell there in the morning."

Speaking of this, Jiang Xuan remembered something else and asked, "Do you know how much the design fee was this time?"

"500 yuan. Commander Li just said that it has been filed with the finance department and will be issued by the end of the month. It'll be soon."

Jiang Xuan nodded.

Once she receives the money, she'll try something else.