Chapter 37
Qin Xiang washed the lunch box and went back. Ning Sumei had already returned to the principal's office and was talking to Principal Cao about Qin Xiang's test paper.
Seeing her come in, Ning Sumei said, "Come here."
Qin Xiang saw that her papers were all on the table with scores written on them.
She did well in math, scoring 110, Chinese 112, but her scores in physics and chemistry were a bit poor, with 78 and 76 out of 100 respectively. As for politics, she barely passed with 65 points, biology 54 out of 60 points, and English 94 points. The full score was 700. Qin Xiang calculated that her scores were almost 600, which was not a low score.
Ning Sumei's eyes lit up with joy, and she couldn't help but say to Qin Xiang, "That's right. I believe you haven't wasted your time over the past year. Especially your English, you actually did so well on the test. Few of our classmates here scored above 70."
Principal Cao was also very satisfied. To be able to achieve this score after over a year of absence from school showed that he had the necessary ability and skill. He was watching the students answer the questions, so there was no way they could have cheated. With another four or five months of diligent study, admission to a key university would be a no-brainer.
"Then let her enroll in school." Principal Cao spoke, and Ning Sumei was also very happy.
However, Qin Xiang was a little embarrassed. "Teacher Ning, I don't really want to come to school to study. I want to learn on my own."
Ning Sumei frowned, "Why?"
Qin Xiang said, "I studied in school for so many years, and everything the teachers taught me was already ingrained in my head. Later, I thought I could solve the problems by studying on my own." She said with embarrassment, "You know I'm divorced. Many people in my hometown have opinions about me and think I'm restless, so I just moved to the county. If I have questions later, I can come to school to ask the teachers and take the exams, is that okay?"
Ning Sumei understood immediately after hearing this, "You are under financial pressure."
Qin Xiang smiled and said, "Not entirely. The main reason is that the country now encourages the development of self-employed individuals. I'm very interested and want to give it a try. I went to the south a few days ago and tried it in Ningcheng through the Ningcheng Garment Factory when I came back. It felt good. I want to balance my career and studies. I hope the school can understand."
To be honest, Ning Sumei was a little unhappy when she heard this.
There is probably no teacher who doesn't want his students to focus on their studies. Ning Sumei was happy that Qin Xiang had come to his senses and wanted to study, but she was also worried that being a self-employed person would affect Qin Xiang's studies.
Qin Xiang looked at Ning Sumei and said, "Teacher Ning, I promise not to neglect my studies. I will make time to study every day, really. If I can't do better on the exam next time, I will come back to class immediately and honestly. Is that okay with you?"
Ning Sumei looked at Principal Cao. Principal Cao didn't know much about Qin Xiang, but through observation, he felt that this student was a very righteous person. They were blindly opposed to it, fearing that this student would go directly to No. 2 Middle School. Although No. 2 Middle School was not very good, this student was clearly just trying to get a student registration and find a place to stay. This student's level was clearly higher than the other students. Even if he returned to class, the teacher would only follow the pace of the majority, which might not be a good thing for Qin Xiang.
Thinking of this, Principal Cao said to Ning Sumei, "Teacher Ning, I think Qin Xiang is confident. Why not let her try? The next exam is just over a month away. If her grades don't improve, you can have her come back. As you can see, she has a solid foundation in knowledge, but she has more difficulty with physics, chemistry, and politics. There's still time for her to catch up later. If she were to take classes with other students, it would be counterproductive and a waste of time."
Ning Sumei thought so too, but she also vaguely felt that Qin Xiang's study seemed to be more solid than more than a year ago. Maybe he could really learn well at home?
"Have you thought it through?"
"I've made up my mind." Qin Xiang got excited when she thought about her stuff. She wanted to go to college, so she had to earn the money.
Qin Xiang said to Ning Sumei, "Teacher, don't worry, I will definitely be admitted to university."
The student insisted, and Ning Sumei couldn't persuade him any further. She also thought of Principal Cao's concerns, but she still instructed Qin Xiang, "Look, make a study plan for yourself. If you need help from the teachers at school, come to me. As for the papers, I'll keep them for you. You can at least make time to come to me every week to pick them up. Is that okay?"
Qin Xiang breathed a sigh of relief after hearing her say this. "Okay, thank you, Teacher Ning."
Ning Sumei's serious face softened a little, "As long as you students can become successful, I, as a teacher, will be satisfied. You must remember that being a self-employed person won't last long. Studying is the most important thing. You can't put the cart before the horse. Come on, I'll take you to register for school."
After the academic registration was completed, Qin Xiang's name was finally registered in the review class, but there were two review classes. Because Teacher Qi had some opinions about Qin Xiang, Teacher Ning registered Qin Xiang in another class of Teacher He.
Teacher He was naturally happy to have a good student for free, "Isn't this a bargain, hahahaha."
He took the test paper and looked at it carefully. The more he looked at it, the more he liked it. "Wow, 94 points in English, the highest score in the whole grade."
Teacher Qi on the side was a little depressed. If he had known that this student could still do so well in the exam after more than a year of school, he would definitely not have said those words and offended him.
But it's too late now, and I'm in the class next door.
Qin Xiang greeted Teacher He, successfully obtained some review papers, and prepared to leave.
Ning Sumei repeatedly urged him, "You must spend more time studying."
Qin Xiang nodded seriously, "I understand." She paused, then decided to repay Teacher Ning, saying, "Teacher Ning, I have some ideas about how to learn English on my own, which is why I've learned so much. I'll sort it out and bring it to you later."
Ning Sumei asked in surprise, "Really?"
Qin Xiang nodded with a smile, "Really, Teacher Ning, don't worry, I will sort it out as soon as possible."
"That's great." Ning Sumei was overjoyed, her expression softening as she leaned closer to Qin Xiang and whispered, "Let me tell you, our school's English teacher is really not that good. I feel like his writing isn't as good as yours."
Qin Xiang was amused. "After all, they are also professionally trained. They are different from me."
It's been a few years since the Gaokao was reinstated in 1977. The students from the first few years have graduated, and some have gone on to pursue careers in education. However, the English teachers in their county are all graduates from colleges in the provincial capital, so they're quite good by comparison. But she had been honed by practical experience in her previous life, so her spoken English, not just her written, was quite good. Later, when her two children hired a tutor before the Gaokao, she, out of a desire to be a good mother, also took a lesson. The few points she lost this time didn't seem to be her fault, but rather because the English of that time was somewhat different from that of later generations, something she needed to be mindful of.
After a busy day, it was already five o'clock in the afternoon. When he left the school gate, he saw Qin Yang confronting the old man guarding the gate at the school gate. Qin Xiang was worried and hurried over, "Third brother, why are you here?"
The old man guarding the gate looked at him and asked, "Is this your brother too?"
Qin Xiang smiled and said, "Yes, the one this morning is my second brother, and this one is my third brother."
The old man looked Qin Yang up and down, and always felt that this man was not a good person, but Qin Xiang said that he was his biological brother, so it couldn't be a bad thing. But he was a little worried, because the difference between siblings was too big.
Qin Xiang said goodbye to the old man and turned to look at Qin Yang, "Third brother, let's go."
The two were too lazy to go back and cook, so they simply had dinner outside. While eating, Qin Xiang reported today's situation to his third brother. Qin Yang disagreed and said, "How about you come to school and I'll sell goods for you?"
"No, let's go together." Qin Xiang glanced at his third brother and said, "I value this opportunity very much. There will be a market in Dazhuang Township tomorrow. Let's go there early tomorrow morning."
Qin Yang knew his sister was capable, so he stopped talking and said, "Okay."
After returning home and packing up briefly, Qin Xiang sorted out the things she brought back, and then opened her old high school textbooks to prepare for study.
The textbook still contained the notes she had written back then, but the knowledge she had learned was firmly imprinted in her mind. Qin Xiang breathed a sigh of relief and planned to start with physics, her weak subject.
Learning never ends and we must keep learning.
After studying for a while, Qin Yang came over and asked her, "How are we going to get all these clothes to the market tomorrow?"
This question made Qin Xiang confused. She slapped her head and laughed, "Look at me, I really forgot about this. I'll go ask Aunt Liu."
"Come on, don't ask anymore. I'll go borrow a cart from the team. Dazhuang Township is a bit far from the county town, and it'll take at least an hour and a half to walk there. We have to leave early."
Seeing that Third Brother had made up his mind, Qin Xiang chuckled and said, "Third Brother, you are really thoughtful. You have the potential to be a boss."
Qin Yang was too lazy to chat with her, so he went out to borrow a cart after he finished speaking.
Qin Xiang sighed and rubbed his forehead. He was still too poor. Otherwise, it would be great if he could buy a tricycle. But money is a good thing these days, and a tricycle is not cheap.
After studying until ten o'clock, Qin Xiang washed up and went to bed. The next day, Qin Xiang got up at six o'clock, washed up, cooked and ate.
As soon as it was light after dinner, the brother and sister went out to the market.
The cart that Qin Yang borrowed belonged to the fleet, which meant that Qin Yang had a good relationship with the logistics staff, otherwise they would not be willing to lend it to him.
As for the 600 yuan worth of clothes they brought back this time, Qin Xiang put 300 pieces in, and each of them took 100 pairs of socks. Although the market in Dazhuang Township was not small, the economic conditions here were slightly better than those in Ningcheng, so it was difficult to estimate the purchasing power.
Moreover, selling socks and underwear can only make a little money. Before she had funds, she naturally thought of accumulating money slowly by selling these small things. Now it is different, because Ning Cheng's matter has made her have some assets, so if she wants to make money, she has to sell clothes, and the money earned from selling clothes is the biggest part.
After they left, Qin Yang said, "Sit on it."
Qin Xiang went up and said, "Let's take turns pulling the cart later." It was still dark and a little cold in the morning.
Until dawn, Qin Xiang took turns pulling the cart for a while, and when she sat back again, she took out the chemistry textbook from her bag.
The reason she took the chemistry textbook was because her physics and chemistry were relatively weak. Physics requires more calculations, but chemistry is different. There are many things that need to be memorized. She only picked out the parts that needed to be memorized and learned them first.
As for Chinese, mathematics and English, you can learn them when you are at home.
Seeing her reading in the car, Qin Yang couldn't help but say, "It hurts your eyes to move around like this. Look at you, it would be better if you just studied hard. Why do you have to toss around like this?"
Hearing him say this, Qin Xiang laughed, "Third brother, if you really don't think my business is promising, why don't you just quit and follow me?"
Then she added, "If Mom knew you quit your job, she'd probably call me a troublemaker who deliberately hurt you."
This is entirely possible. Although Qin Yang's job is not formal, he has a high salary and occasionally some benefits. Lian Fengying is very proud of this in the village, and many people have proposed marriages to her third brother.
If her mother knew that her third brother had resigned, she would tear her apart.
Qin Yang couldn't help but frown when he thought of this. "It's okay, let's keep it a secret for now. If she really finds out, I'll protect her. I won't let her tell you about you."
Qin Xiang said "oh" and didn't care. "As long as it doesn't delay me from making money."
They finally arrived at the market around eight o'clock. Because it was still early, they had a good vantage point. After setting out their things, Qin Xiang began to assign tasks. "Third brother, you will be responsible for the clothes. Our prices are fixed, fifteen taels per piece. If you want to buy one, it's eight yuan, no ticket required. I'll take care of the socks."
Although the clothes were divided into men's and women's styles, tops and pants, Qin Xiang was too lazy to separate them and simply sold them all at the same price. She wanted to ship out the goods quickly so that she could quickly pay Ning Cheng and then purchase more. This would make things simpler and avoid confusion when her third brother was selling.
As for socks and underwear, although they were not in great demand before, they were in large quantities, of many types, and at different prices, so Qin Xiang could only look at them by herself.
It was still early, so Qin Xiang went to a nearby breakfast shop to buy fried dough sticks and soy milk.
Everyone passing by at this moment was setting up stalls, most of them were from nearby villages. There were also some selling agricultural tools and cloth, but at first glance it seemed that they were the only ones selling clothes.
After breakfast, Qin Xiang put out a few pieces of clothes. As for her and Qin Yang, they naturally put on one each. When people started to come in around nine o'clock, Qin Xiang started to sell them.
When Qin Xiang was selling for the first time at the Ningcheng market, she was actually very nervous, but she was afraid that Mi Hongjun and her third brother would notice, so she pretended to be calm.
But the first time is unfamiliar, the second time is familiar, and this is the third time. Qin Xiang put the big cardboard over there and started shouting.
It's still about how much it costs per piece, or whether it's a clearance sale.
As soon as Qin Xiang shouted, people heard her and stopped to watch. Some of the brave ones came over to touch the clothes. "Such good clothes for eight yuan a piece, and no ticket required?"
This is the problem of information asymmetry. If this happened in the south, not having a ticket wouldn't be that surprising. But in the north, it's a really great thing.
So even though there are people selling cloth at the market, they still need tickets, so business may not be as good.
Qin Xiang said loudly, "Sister-in-law, I really don't need a ticket. I'm helping a friend clear out the factory, so I'm selling them at a low price, and I don't need a ticket. Feel the quality. I brought 300 pieces, and they're all of this good quality."
The woman who spoke was a woman in her thirties. She felt the quality and looked at what Qin Xiang was wearing. She smiled and said, "The style looks average, not as good as some department store ones, but it seems to look good on you."
"You're not bad looking, and you have a slim figure. You'll definitely look good in it." Qin Xiang said as she gestured with the clothes to her and even took out the mirror she had prepared in advance to show her, "Take a look."
The mirror is only about the size of a plate, so you can't really see your whole body in the mirror, but if you stand farther away, you can still vaguely see your entire reflection.
The woman was quite satisfied, and at this time other people also gathered around to look at the clothes.
Didn’t Qin Xiang say that Xiang Yanghong’s clothes are of very good quality in terms of workmanship and fabric quality. The only drawback is the style.
In the countryside, even if the clothes look good, they still have to work in the fields. They need to be strong and durable to wear them out when they are old. They don't like to buy clothes that look good but are not practical.
Everyone held the clothes and started asking questions one after another. Qin Xiang had no time to take care of selling socks, so she could only temporarily exchange jobs with her third brother. Moreover, her third brother didn't know the price of the socks, so Qin Xiang had to take care of both sides.
Qin Xiang was busy looking for clothes. After buying clothes, the woman saw underwear and socks and couldn't help but pick them out.
There is no doubt that expensive nylon woven socks are not as popular as ordinary nylon socks and cotton socks. After all, they are consumables and the price is cheap. Some people think that if they have already bought clothes that cost seven or eight yuan a piece, why do they need a few pairs of socks?
So a lot of socks were sold as well.
"Get me a pair of men's trousers and a shirt. My husband is going to a wedding in a few days, so they'll be perfect for me."
"Give me a coat, I have to attend the wedding too."
"Didn't your family spare any effort to make clothes during the Chinese New Year? Why are you willing to buy them now?"
"You know what? Making clothes yourself costs a lot of money, not to mention the fabric coupons. It's cheap and you'd be a fool not to make money."
"You're right, this dress is really not expensive."
"Give me one..."
Qin Xiang was tired from bending down to look for clothes, but she was also very happy. She really hoped that this kind of business could last long.
While busy, Qin Xiang suddenly noticed someone staring at them. Because of Ning Cheng's incident, Qin Xiang has been very sensitive. When she looked up, she saw a girl in her twenties staring at them.
To be more precise, is he staring at her third brother?
Qin Xiang narrowed her eyes and looked at the woman. She seemed familiar.
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