As Guan Rui watched Hua Kai's retreating figure, he felt increasingly distant from her. Even when she was right in front of him, it was as if there was a chasm between them. Although they were friends, they seemed to have nothing in common to talk about.
Thinking back, the topic they talked about the most was when they were helping Zhu Tao. At that time, Hua Kai would come up with solutions while she listened.
He felt even more lost, unsure if he could follow in Zhang Huakai's footsteps, and whether there was any possibility between them.
Hua Kai went back to the classroom and started reviewing.
A moment later, Yu Hongdi arrived and sat down next to Huakai: "Huakai, why did Zhang Miao take so many days off?"
Hua Kai wrote: "I guess something's wrong at home. If she doesn't come by tomorrow, I'll go ask her fellow villagers about it."
Yu Hongdi, having no particular idea, nodded: "Hmm, that works too, otherwise I'm really worried about her."
Hua Kai said, "You'd better study hard and take good notes. If Zhang Miao comes back, he'll need to review your notes." Her notes weren't complete because she could remember most of them; many were just written to appease the teacher.
Having received the task, Yu Hongdi regained some of his energy: "Then I'll go back and organize my notes, and I'll ask you if I don't understand anything."
Hua Kai agreed, and Yu Hongdi returned to his seat.
Zhang Miao still hadn't returned the next day, so Hua Kai went to the next class to ask Zhang Miao's fellow villager about the situation.
After asking, she learned that something had happened to Zhang Miao's family. Zhang Miao's father was a carpenter who fell from a house while repairing a beam. He had incurred a lot of debt for medical treatment and would be left with a limp even after recovery. Zhang Miao promised to drop out of school.
Hua Kai knew she couldn't stand idly by. This was the first close friend she had made since she came to this era, and she admired Zhang Miao's personality, so she decided to do something for her friend.
She went to see her homeroom teacher, asked for a day off, and then took a bus to Zhang Miao's house without having lunch.
When she arrived at Zhang Miao's village, she asked around and found Zhang Miao's house. The gate was open, and there was no one in the yard.
She entered the room and called out, "Is anyone home?"
Soon Zhang Miao ran out and saw Hua Kai. She rushed over, hugged Hua Kai, and cried, "Hua Kai, I, I..." She couldn't say anything, but she couldn't control her tears.
Hua Kai patted Zhang Miao on the back: "Zhang Miao, don't cry, we'll figure something out together."
It took Zhang Miao a while to stop her tears: "I'm sorry, Hua Kai, for making you worry about me."
Hua Kai placed her hand on Zhang Miao's shoulder and squeezed it: "We're friends, no need to be so polite with me."
Zhang Miao pulled Hua Kai along, saying, "Come inside, sit down and have some water before we talk."
Hua Kai followed Zhang Miao into the house. It was a typical rural family home, a three-room old tile-roofed house. The kitchen was at the entrance, and there was a room on the east and west sides. Zhang Miao led Hua Kai into the east room. The house was quite clean, and because Zhang Miao's father was a carpenter, there was a lot of furniture in the house.
Zhang Miao's father sat on the kang (a heated brick bed), his leg in a cast and his head wrapped up, looking quite badly injured.
Hua Kai greeted Zhang's father first: "Hello Uncle Zhang, I am Hua Kai, Zhang Miao's classmate."
Although Zhang's father was in pain, he was still happy to see his classmate come to visit Zhang Miao and smiled: "Good, good child, sit down. There are mattresses over there, get them yourself."
Hua Kai then realized that she had been so focused on helping Zhang Miao when she came that she had forgotten to buy a gift, and had come empty-handed.
Anyway, I didn't buy it, and now I have a way to make sure Zhang Miao can go to school without interfering with my earnings, so this can be considered a gift.
Zhang Miao poured water for Hua Kai: "Hua Kai, drink some water." She wanted to say something, but in the end, she didn't say anything because she didn't know how to say it or what to say.
Hua Kai took a sip of water and said to Zhang Miao, "Zhang Miao, I have to go back in a bit, and time is limited, so let's get straight to business."
Zhang Miao was completely confused, thinking that Hua Kai had just come to visit her, so when Hua Kai got down to business, she was genuinely bewildered.
Mr. Zhang looked at Hua Kai with worry: "Did Miao Miao get into trouble at school?" He was really scared. The family was already in a lot of debt, and he was disabled. He couldn't afford to have anything else happen to them.
Hua Kai quickly waved her hand and said, "No, no, don't misunderstand. I've thought of a way for Zhang Miao to earn money while studying, and I wanted to discuss it with you."
Mr. Zhang was shocked again: "What? Earn money while studying? How is that possible?"
Zhang Miao had great faith in Hua Kai's abilities, because Hua Kai was earning money while studying, while Zhang Miao himself didn't know anything about it.
She looked at the blooming flowers and said, "Flower, I know you want to help me, but I can't be a burden to you."
Hua Kai said, "It won't be a burden to me, because it's not helping me, but you're putting up a huge effort on your own. You'll be very tired, and you might even face different looks from your classmates. Can you accept that?"
Zhang Miao nodded quickly: "Yes, yes, I'll do anything as long as I can make money."
Hua Kai didn't waste any time and said, "We students all have some pocket money, and we usually buy some snacks. Some of us don't even want to go to the cafeteria at noon, so we buy food from street vendors outside. Are you afraid of losing face if I ask you to set up a street vendor?"
On her way here, she had already thought out a perfect plan. Zhang Miao is different from Jiang Lanfeng. Jiang Lanfeng and her husband are older and have more time. They have many choices, but Zhang Miao is different. She doesn't have many choices and time is tight. She can only do her best to help her plan everything.
Zhang Miao shook his head and said firmly, "I'm not afraid, but I don't know how to do anything."
Hua Kai continued, "I learned how to make a cold skewer snack called Bo Bo Chicken. You can make it in advance and sell it directly after school in the evening. It won't interfere with your classes, and you can still make money. But you have to get up early to go to the market to buy vegetables, skewer the food during your lunch break, and sell it after school in the evening. You will have less time to study and it will be very tiring. Can you accept that?"
Zhang Miao replied without hesitation, "I'm not afraid of being tired, I can handle it." Then, with some doubt, she asked, "Hua Kai, with your skills and your brother in the city, if you have a way to make money, wouldn't it be better if you did it yourself?"
Hua Kai smiled and said, "I have plenty of ways to make money. My brother is going to learn a skill and will also be going to adult education next year. Nothing is more important than learning, so you don't need to think too much. I'll be happy if I can eat skewers for free in the future."
Zhang Miao laughed and then cried: "Hua Kai, I don't know how to thank you."
Hua Kai walked up to Zhang Miao and took her hand: "We're friends, and I can't guarantee that we'll make money. You'll have to try it yourself when you get back. But I've calculated it. If we make skewers, each skewer sells for 20 cents and we make 10 cents. There are about 1,500 students in our school. Selling 100 skewers a night won't be a problem. That's 10 yuan a day. Excluding Sundays, we can make 250 or 260 yuan a month, and it won't interfere with your studies."
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