Free Web NovelChapter 409: Chapter 409: Yanxi 17
"If you’re basing it on family circumstances, some of their families aren’t the ones in the most dire straits. And if it’s about diligence, there are plenty of students who work harder than they do."
The boy argued his case with self-assurance, but the more he spoke, the wider Tan You’s smile became. Soon, he trailed off, unable to continue. ’Did I say something ridiculous?’
"I understand what you mean. I’ve received quite a few letters lately, and of course, I’ve read every single one." Tan You smiled. "First, you all need to understand one thing: I never wanted to run a formal tutoring class in the first place. My only intention was to tutor a few students privately."
"It was only after their grades improved that other students started showing up on their own. You ask for my selection criteria? It’s simple. I primarily look at their character."
"They don’t get jealous of others, they don’t bully the weak, they never give up on themselves, and they don’t have any unsavory traits. Those are my conditions. Instead of being green with envy, you should take a good look at yourselves and ask if you fit that description."
Her gaze turned mocking as she spoke. "Your grades are indeed good, and you usually work hard. But what about the things you do on your way home? Do I need to spell them out for you?"
"And you few," Tan You called out several more names, all students who had just been wearing resentful expressions. "I hear that back in middle school, you bullied your classmates. Perhaps you thought that now that you’re in high school, no one knows about your past. But I do."
The students whose names were called turned pale. They never imagined Tan You would know about their pasts and were speechless for a moment.
Tan You opened her lesson plan. "As I said, my main criterion for selecting students is character. Before I make my choice, your pasts are almost completely transparent to me."
"Don’t talk to me about being fair and impartial. I’m an individual, and I have the right to live my life as I see fit. I don’t get paid a single extra cent to tutor students."
"I tutor them privately because I want to. It’s not for anyone else to stand on the sidelines and point fingers."
"Instead of envying others, every single one of you should take a look at yourselves first. See if your own conduct is upright. If you’re just hoping I’ll give you a handout, I find that truly pathetic."
"As for those of you from wealthy families, you don’t need me to put the icing on your cake. You already enjoy abundant educational resources. The teachers at your cram schools are certainly more qualified than I am, so there’s really no need to fixate on me."
"In my opinion, since you already have a large umbrella to shelter you, you can’t—or at the very least, you *shouldn’t*—go around tearing up other people’s umbrellas." freewebnσvel.cѳm
Tan You’s words were merciless. The scolded students all hung their heads, utterly dejected and filled with a deep sense of panic. They had never expected her to say such things; they thought their pasts would be buried and forgotten once they started high school.
But someone knew, and had even called them out on it to their faces. Clearly, the rumors at school weren’t just hot air. There was something uncanny about this math teacher—for instance, her computer skills were said to be incredible.
Tan You didn’t dwell on the point. "All right, let’s get back to the lesson..."
Tan You didn’t have a strict quota of six students. This time, for instance, she had chosen four: two girls and two boys. When she brought them home, Jin Li and the others were already waiting, and they showed no surprise at the sight of the newcomers.
Tan You understood immediately. She glanced at Li Xiuzai. "You’re already capable of this?"
Li Xiuzai rubbed his nose. "I just took a peek at the school forums and a few of the class group chats. Teacher, I promise I won’t do anything illegal."
"You’d better not," Tan You snorted, turning to the new students. "These are your senior classmates. Go on and get acquainted."
Jin Li was particularly warm. "Hey, everyone! I’m Jin Li. You can call me Jin Li or Lili, whatever you like. But please don’t call us ’seniors’ or anything like that. Our teacher isn’t formal about that stuff."
The four new students instantly relaxed and were soon laughing and talking with Jin Li and the others. Zheng Xue led them into the kitchen. "We’ll be leaving for college soon, so from now on, you’ll be the ones running the food cart. You can start by helping us at the stall tonight."
Tan You’s little food cart was also well-known at school. All the students knew it was her way of helping out the students in need. And while some were envious, no one had ever tried to sabotage it. After all, not everyone is irredeemably wicked.
The students were even more thrilled to hear they would be taking over the food cart, especially since Tan You hadn’t mentioned it before. They were already overjoyed just to be getting special lessons from her; they hadn’t dared to dream of being involved with the food cart business.
Now, with Jin Li and the others teaching them, the four new students were all the more diligent. After all, who didn’t want a little spending money? They thought about how kind Teacher Xu was. She didn’t just give them money; instead, she led them and let them earn it for themselves.
The money they earned through their own hard work gave them a greater sense of confidence and security.
Tan You, of course, understood how her students felt, having been a poor student herself. Sometimes, the pride of those with less is stronger than anyone else’s, because pride might be all they have.
The four new students took over the food cart smoothly. Jin Li’s group only tagged along for the first two days before deciding to use the free time to start their own venture. They chose to sell mini hot pots, and with the weather turning cooler, everyone was craving something warm, so business was booming.
Even though they were running their own business now, the group still came over to Tan You’s place every day to count their earnings. It had become a sort of ritual for them.
Zheng Xue and Jin Li were calculating the day’s profits while Song Yuan lay sprawled on the floor. "Teacher, I think making money with you is surprisingly easy. I’ve already saved up almost a hundred million in the past two years."
Tan You arched an eyebrow. "Is a hundred million a lot?"
"If you convert it to RMB, it’s only a little over 520,000. I’m sure that’s not much in your eyes." Song Yuan rolled over, resting his chin on his clasped hands. "Teacher, you really do love converting everything to RMB, don’t you?"
Tan You replied, "I just find it more intuitive. If you’ve managed to save a hundred million, I assume everyone else’s savings are in the same ballpark."
Song Yuan sighed. "I probably have the least. Zheng Xue and Xiuzai have saved the most. Zheng Xue does art commissions for people, and Xiuzai has started taking on small freelance jobs."
Tan You was a little surprised. "He’s already taking on jobs?"
Li Xiuzai looked a bit sheepish. "I’m just starting with some simple ones to get a feel for it. I took a network maintenance job a few days ago. It was a bit of a challenge, but I managed to stumble through it and get it done."
"In RMB, it came out to twenty thousand yuan."
Tan You understood. "Then it wasn’t a very difficult task."
Li Xiuzai said, "I haven’t been learning for that long, so I’m starting with small jobs like these."
