Free Web NovelChapter 428: Chapter 428: Yanxi 36
Zheng Xue knew she had just been overthinking things, and she had come to terms with it. "But I still have to say, Xiuzai is a really good person. I’m so lucky to have met him."
Jin Li chimed in, "It’s more than that! Xiuzai is incredibly good to Little Snow. When Xiuzai first started working part-time, Little Snow held onto all the money he earned. They bought a house together, and it’s in Little Snow’s name. When Xiuzai goes out to eat with us, he basically always uses his credit card because he has no money in his other bank accounts..."
Zheng Xue laughed. "Song Yuan is very good to you, too; our situations are just different. You’re not good with finances, which is why Song Yuan gives you a monthly allowance. But he never hides any of his usual expenses from you."
"Or are you saying you want to learn how to manage money?"
Jin Li immediately shook her head. "No, forget it. I worked my butt off just to get into college; I really don’t want to worry about this stuff anymore. Besides, Song Yuan is great to me. I earn quite a bit myself, and Song Yuan never asks about it. He even gives me money every month. Our situations are different. I can’t just apply someone else’s relationship model to my own."
Song Yuan also smiled. "It’s like Xiuzai says, if we both accept it, then other people have no say in the matter."
Xu Yanxi had to cut in. "Alright, alright, let’s skip the relationship talk for now. But all in all, seeing you all doing so well makes me genuinely happy for you."
"I’ll say it again: getting married or not is truly a choice these days. Even if our country’s marriage and birth rates are now negative, that’s not something any one of you caused."
"In the face of such a major trend, it’s already hard enough for everyone to just take care of themselves."
"Since you’re here, just have some fun. My dad planted a lot of strawberries this year. How about we go to the strawberry patch and pick some later?"
Everyone immediately jumped on the suggestion. One of the students even started to complain, "I just think fruit in our country is so expensive. Why is it so expensive? Every time I go to buy fruit, I can’t bring myself to. That’s my hard-earned money."
"What can you do? It’s not like we have a lot of land," a girl said, swinging her ponytail. "I’ve never been to a strawberry patch before. I’m going to really enjoy this farm-picking experience today..."
Tan You couldn’t listen anymore. "The entertainment options you guys have here... are so lacking. You really haven’t experienced anything fun."
Xu Yanxi threw up her hands. "It’s a small town. We’re uncultured, what can I say? Sigh, if my dad hadn’t gotten into farming, I would’ve never done any of this stuff either."
Watching Xu Yanxi lead the students as they ran off, Xu Jinwu just smiled and shook his head. He had no other expectations for Xu Yanxi now. He didn’t push her to date, nor did he push her to get married. As long as she was still standing before him, healthy and well, he was content.
If Jin Xiuyu was a little disappointed at first, then after running a lap around the strawberry patch and various greenhouses with the upperclassmen, he was like a husky off its leash, absolutely ecstatic.
’Anyway, Sheng Zhou is just my uncle, not my actual dad,’ Jin Xiuyu thought. ’It’s a bit of a shame that Teacher wasn’t interested in Sheng Zhou, but it’s no big deal. I’ll just have to come visit Teacher more often myself.’
’These days, you really can’t rely on anyone else. In the end, I have to step up myself!’
They ate, drank, and played at Xu Jinwu’s place for two days. Before leaving, everyone raided the greenhouses one more time, and only then did they depart, content. However, they were sensible when they left. After all, this was Xu Jinwu’s property, not Xu Yanxi’s, so everyone paid.
Xu Jinwu flicked the stack of bills, a smile in his voice. "I’ve even made a fortune."
Xu Yanxi said, "It’s what you deserve. If these were my own greenhouses, I wouldn’t have charged them. But this is the fruit of your labor. How could I let them take it for free?"
Xu Jinwu glanced at her. "She certainly taught her students well. Speaking of which, are you not planning to tutor students anymore?"
"You’re the one who said *she* taught them well," Xu Yanxi rolled her eyes. "So forget about me. I’m planning to set up a scholarship fund at the school after the semester starts to help students in need."
Xu Jinwu thought about it. "That works too. You can handle it as you see fit. Here, take this money. Count it as my contribution."
Xu Yanxi didn’t stand on ceremony with him. "Alright. By the way, Dad, you’re pretty rich now, huh?"
Xu Jinwu was a little smug. "It’s alright. More than before I retired, anyway. Don’t underestimate it. Toiling in the fields is hard work, but once you start a proper farm, it’s quite profitable."
Xu Yanxi didn’t go back to her large apartment in the city at all before the semester started. After school began, she went directly to live in her house near the campus. When the Dean of Instruction heard that Xu Yanxi didn’t plan to run small tutoring classes anymore and would only be setting up a scholarship fund, he couldn’t help but be a little disappointed.
But on second thought, he could understand. "That’s true. You should have your own life, too. You’ve lost so much of your own time tutoring students all these years. It’s been really tough."
A smile touched Xu Yanxi’s lips. "Thank you for understanding, Dean. I’ve already prepared a list of students. Would you like to look it over?"
The Dean of Instruction looked it over carefully. "I’ve always trusted you to handle things well. To be honest, it pains me to see those students struggling so much. But we’re only teachers; there’s a limit to what we can do."
"I know what you mean. You’re the one with the truly big heart, Dean," Xu Yanxi said with a laugh. "If you hadn’t been supporting me, both openly and behind the scenes, all these years, I would have had to stop these tutoring classes long ago."
The Dean of Instruction sighed wistfully. "It’s also because you’re too responsible. You know how it is; this world has always worried about inequality, not scarcity. A lot of people think that way: since you’re making a selfless contribution, why only for a select few? Why can’t it benefit everyone?"
"Exactly. That’s why I’m not doing that anymore," Xu Yanxi shrugged. "Just giving money is easier for me."
She admitted that part of the reason was feeling her skills weren’t up to tutoring all subjects, but she couldn’t deny this was also a factor. Over the past few years, with Tan You running her own small tutoring classes, parents would seek her out from time to time, including no shortage of wealthy and powerful families.
But Tan You could withstand the pressure, whereas Xu Yanxi admitted to herself that she wasn’t as tough as Tan You, so she backed down in that regard.
The Dean of Instruction composed himself. "The school shouldn’t have any objections to you setting up a scholarship fund. I’ll go talk to the principal later. As for the student list, I’ll hold onto it for now. I won’t tell anyone before it’s all finalized."
Xu Yanxi thanked him. "Thank you, Dean. I’ll leave this in your hands, then. To be honest, handing this whole affair over makes me feel so much lighter."
Xu Yanxi’s scholarship fund was established very quickly, since it was only for students of her school. Moreover, Xu Yanxi had strict criteria. Her money didn’t grow on trees, after all; she couldn’t possibly help every single person.
She didn’t just look at grades, but at the student’s character. If a student had poor character, Xu Yanxi wouldn’t help them, no matter how difficult their family’s financial situation was.
