“Zhou Na, your brother is back to school, you should be happy for him.”
“Your brother is a very good student, no worse than you. If it weren’t for your brother’s single-minded focus on the three of you siblings, he would be in college by now.”
"You should thank your brother."
The teachers' comments forced Zhou Na to force a stiff smile, and she congratulated Zhou Chen.
Then,
When the school bell rang, I gave a brief greeting and turned to go to class.
The moment Zhou Na left the office, her smile vanished.
Even before she entered this high school, she had heard her teachers mention Zhou Chen quite often, especially the fact that Zhou Chen had given up her studies for her family, which led to her being frequently talked about.
She wanted to argue that it was none of her business, and that not going to school was Zhou Chen's own decision.
To escape the influence of Zhou Chen, she studied hard and relentlessly, determined to become even better than Zhou Chen.
Through her hard work, she succeeded, achieving top grades throughout her senior year.
She hadn't heard anyone compare her to Zhou Chen in a long time because she had become better than Zhou Chen. But today, Zhou Chen came back.
"After a three-year break from school, you've forgotten most of what you learned. Even if you continue your studies, it's not certain you'll be able to pick it up again."
Zhou Na thought to herself.
She could help Zhou Chen quickly pick up the knowledge she had previously acquired, for example, by sharing her own review materials and notebooks with Zhou Chen.
But she quickly dismissed the idea.
She didn't want to continue living in Zhou Chen's shadow. She wanted to be the one with the best grades and not be surpassed by Zhou Chen, becoming a mere supporting character. Otherwise, she would only become a laughing stock.
"Brother, it was you who wanted to split up the family, don't blame me."
It's not that I don't want to help you.
"Blame it on your greed! Why didn't you just do your job honestly instead of coming back to fight with me!"
Zhou Chen stayed in the office for a while, then left the teaching building with a large bag of books. After arriving at the security booth at the school gate, he greeted Grandpa Liang again.
Instead of going straight home, he took a taxi to a construction site in the county town.
In 2005, the entire county was responding to the national call to carry out large-scale construction. Zhou Chen worked on a construction site, carrying bricks and cement, doing some manual labor.
He came today to resign from his job as the foreman at the construction site.
"Why are you so late? I don't remember you ever skipping work."
"But you don't need to worry. Your master is protecting you. He has already counted it as a leave of absence for you, so you don't need to worry about your salary being deducted."
Before our eyes,
The man with thick skin, dark complexion, and a northern accent was Zhou Chen's foreman and also his mentor, Xu Laoqi.
When Zhou Chen first joined the construction site, he worked under Xu Laoqi. However, at that time, Xu Laoqi was just a worker who took him under his wing. Later, when the foreman was injured, Xu Laoqi took over.
With Xu Laoqi as his mentor, Zhou Chen's work was not as tiring as it had been at the beginning. It was much easier than for others, and most importantly, he could occasionally slack off.
“Master, the reason I came here this time is actually to say goodbye to you.”
"bid farewell?"
"Yes, I want to go back to school."
In front of Xu Laoqi and his fellow workers, Zhou Chen did not hide anything and spoke frankly about it.
"You little rascal, you've finally figured it out. You're so young, with endless possibilities, you really shouldn't be doing this kind of manual labor like us."
After a moment of silence, Xu Laoqi suddenly burst into laughter.
"Master, are you willing to let me go?"
Zhou Chen thought Xu Laoqi would be reluctant to let him go back, but he didn't expect Xu Laoqi to be so supportive of his return to school. In fact, he felt that Xu Laoqi was even happier than he was.
"Nonsense, you're my apprentice. What master doesn't want his apprentice to succeed? Besides, I've long seen that you wouldn't be content to be a laborer for the rest of your life."
"Going back to school is great. You learn quickly anyway. If you study well, you can get into a big city and develop your career there."
Xu Laoqi's words touched Zhou Chen deeply; he was genuinely concerned about Zhou Chen's future.
"It's a pity. I originally planned to get you a job in the cafeteria, do some easy work, learn cooking skills, and be in charge of our meals in the future. It seems that this idea has fallen through. Go back and study hard."
"If you ever make something of yourself, don't forget your master." Old Xu sighed. Actually, he was quite reluctant to part with his disciple Zhou Chen, who suited his temperament very well.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Chen was slightly taken aback. Then, as if realizing something, he asked, "Master, what do you mean by the cafeteria? Isn't Manager Li in charge of the cafeteria? Can you arrange for someone to work there?"
"Brother Zhou, Manager Li has been complained about. The terrible food he prepared made the visiting leaders sick."
The boss was furious and shut down the cafeteria on the spot. They're currently preparing to contract it out. Your mentor is lucky; the boss entrusted this task to him.
A fellow worker quickly explained.
Zhou Chen then realized that his master had been given an important position and entrusted with a major responsibility by his superiors.
At this moment, Xu Laoqi revealed a rare look of pride, after all, it was a rare opportunity to show off.
"My disciple, are you feeling a little regretful? Let me tell you, working in the canteen is much easier than on the construction site. If I weren't leading a team right now, I'd probably..."
As Xu Laoqi was speaking, Zhou Chen suddenly interrupted, "Master, can I take over this canteen?"
What!
Upon hearing that Zhou Chen wanted to take over the cafeteria,
Everyone present was stunned for a moment, and then burst into laughter.
"Don't try to fool your master. Even if the contract were given to you, you couldn't do it. Do you even know how to cook a big pot of food?"
"That's right, Brother Zhou, don't you dare get your master killed."
Zhou Chen knew these people wouldn't believe him, so he immediately quoted the prices of various vegetables and beef and mutton:
“Besides the price of vegetables, I also know where to get vegetables cheaply. Although I can’t cook large batches of food, I can hire people to do it and still make it cheaper than the old canteen. I don’t think the higher-ups will necessarily object. I just want a chance to prove myself.”
Upon hearing this, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.
"Disciple, are you serious?" Xu Laoqi sensed that Zhou Chen wasn't joking.
However, if Zhou Chen could really do it, he really didn't want to give this lucrative position to an outsider.
"Master, I can."
Zhou Chen said earnestly.
Xu Laoqi frowned, pondered for a while, and then suddenly clapped his hands and said, "Then I'll give you this opportunity. You'll be in charge of preparing dinner tonight. I'll call the leaders over to taste it myself. You better not embarrass me."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Chen was overjoyed.
If he could really land this cushy job of contracting the cafeteria, he wouldn't have to worry about making money or tuition fees, and he could dedicate more time to studying.
If you're lucky, you might even be able to earn enough to cover your college tuition.
He had to get this deal.
...
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