Most residents dismissed the warnings from the two electricians as alarmist.
However, when the electricians offered to inspect the wiring for free as “volunteers,” the residents thought, why not take advantage of such a deal?
No labour fees, just the cost of wires and sockets—what a bargain.
Grandma Yang lacked the ability to judge, but when Yang Hongan returned from scavenging, he noticed the house was much brighter. On closer inspection, he saw that all the wiring had been replaced, and even the light bulb was swapped for a higher-wattage one.
Yang Xi said she had arranged it, but Yang Hongan frowned with worry.
“Xi Xi, where did you get the money? We may be poor, but we don’t take others’ money.”
Yang Xi had a reputation as a delinquent outside, and Yang Hongan had heard rumours. But she was one way outside and another at home. Without catching her in the act, he clung to hope.
Yang Xi used to secretly use the protection money she collected to buy rice and flour for the family, never daring to use it openly. This time, though, she confidently claimed it was her own earnings.
Seizing the moment, Yang Xi formally brought up dropping out of school.
“Great-Grandpa, I’m really not cut out for studying. Sitting in class is torture—I can’t focus. Now someone’s offering me a decent-paying job. I want to try it. After all, even university graduates need to find work.”
Was a job for a university graduate the same as one for a high schooler?
Yang Hongan was anxious but tongue-tied, unable to articulate the difference. Yang Xi lowered her head, “Great-Grandpa, are you ashamed because my job isn’t some fancy office position?”
Yang Hongan sighed, warning that Yang Xi might have been deceived.
“I’m not deceived. You’ve met my boss—at the police station. I saved their daughter, and they’re grateful, so they offered me this job.”
It sounded more credible to say she was working for two adults than for a student like Wen Ying. Yang Xi played a little trick, claiming her employers were Wen Dongrong and Chen Ru.
Yang Hongan’s younger brother, back from his repair shop, saw the newly replaced wiring and spoke up for Yang Xi.
“Let Xi Xi try it. The boss seems decent.”
Even before starting, the boss had sent electricians. To Second Grandpa Yang, this was a good boss, and following such a boss wasn’t necessarily a bad choice for Yang Xi.
Despite Yang Hongan’s reluctance, Yang Xi’s persistence won out, and he went to the school to process her leave of absence, retaining her student status.
Yang Xi’s homeroom teacher knew about the Yang family’s situation. That Yang Xi had made it through her second year of high school already exceeded expectations. Learning she had found a job, the teacher earnestly advised her, “You’re actually a smart kid. I won’t nag, but I hope you’ll use your intelligence for good in the real world, working and living honestly.”
Though a high school diploma wasn’t worth much these days, it was better than nothing. The teacher promised to ensure Yang Xi got her graduation certificate.
“If you get the chance later, you can still further your education. It’s never too late to improve yourself.”
Yang Xi seemed carefree, but she took every word to heart. She just couldn’t say “thank you”—it would ruin her tough image.
When facing her teary-eyed delinquent followers, Yang Xi coolly reassured them, “Hang in there. Once I’ve settled in, I’ll bring you over.”
“Sister Xi, really?”
“We thought you were abandoning us!”
“Sister Xi, are you really going to work for that round-faced girl?”
“If that round-faced boss dares bully you with her authority, we’ll go beat her up!”
Yang Xi had them line up and tapped each on the head, “Who are you going to beat? Yue Shanni’s already been sacked. Don’t you know? I can work without studying, but if you drop out, what’ll you do? Stay in school and at least get your high school diploma. If you can’t get into university, at least aim for that.”
Yang Xi said this, but she was privately stressed.
Her followers’ situations differed from hers.
Their families were better off than hers, with working-age adults. Some had divorced parents who neglected them, others were spoiled by grandparents. Yang Xi scratched her head, “A high school diploma’s useless. Try to aim for a vocational college.”
The girls were teary-eyed, not just because they’d miss Yang Xi, but because getting into college seemed so hard.
But Sister Xi’s decisions were final. She’d made it clear: those who still saw her as their leader had to listen. Those who didn’t could do whatever they wanted—it wouldn’t concern her.
After lecturing her crew, Yang Xi waved and left the campus.
Those usually bullied by Yang Xi breathed a sigh of relief.
Some girls snickered behind their hands, “Yang Xi’s gone full delinquent now. Sure, bullying people in school doesn’t prove much, but out in the real world, when she realises she’s got no skills and can’t even fight male thugs, she’ll learn how tough life is.”
One of Yang Xi’s followers glared, “Has Sister Xi ever bullied you? When that guy you were dating’s real girlfriend came after you, who sorted it out? Pfft!”
The girl blushed, embarrassed.
Yes, Yang Xi had resolved her trouble. In the end, the guy dumped his girlfriend but didn’t pursue her either, instead chasing Yang Xi obsessively.
Not only did Yang Xi reject him, she beat him up, saying he was a two-timing sleaze who annoyed her just by existing.
The girl was both grateful and resentful toward Yang Xi. When Yang Xi dropped out, she let slip her true feelings.
She’d almost forgotten—Yang Xi was gone, but her loyal followers were still around.
While one follower scolded the girl, another was inexplicably confident in Yang Xi, “Sister Xi’s the smartest person I know. If she wanted to study, none of you would stand a chance. Now that she’s quit school, the world’s her playground!”
Tough days ahead?
Sister Xi would definitely make a name for herself.
Just wait and see!
Yang Xi packed her books into a cardboard box and carried it out of the school gate.
Yang Hongan waited at the gate with his rickety tricycle.
He never entered the school with Yang Xi, fearing she’d be mocked.
Yang Xi figured her fists could handle anyone who dared laugh, but Yang Hongan disapproved of her fighting.
No need to worry about that anymore.
Yang Xi placed the box in the tricycle’s cargo bed, told Yang Hongan to sit, and pedalled home herself.
“Once I get my pay, Great-Grandpa, you won’t need to scavenge anymore. Grandma keeps wandering off, so you can stay home and keep an eye on her.”
“I’ll get Second Grandpa a new wheelchair, one of those electric ones, so he doesn’t have to push himself.”
“Your bed’s so old, with two bricks propping up the legs, and it’s still uneven.”
Yang Xi couldn’t stop talking about how she’d spend her wages.
The Yang family was desperately poor.
Yang Xi and Grandma Yang shared the only bedroom. Yang Hongan and his brother hung a curtain in the living room, sleeping there at night.
The house was cluttered with bottles, cans, and stacks of cardboard Yang Hongan hadn’t sold yet. Yang Xi felt she’d been sleeping in a junk heap all these years.
She didn’t mind the junk, but remembering the electrician’s warning about safety hazards, she frowned and stressed again, “Once I get paid, Great-Grandpa…”
You won’t need to scavenge.
We’ll sell all the bottles, cans, cardboard, and old newspapers, and live in a clean house.
This house was tiny.
In the future, she’d buy a big one, with a room for Great-Grandpa and Grandma, one for Second Grandpa, and one for herself.
Dreaming of the future, Yang Xi pedalled the tricycle with strength, fast and steady.
Yang Hongan listened to her vision, hopeful yet不敢妄想.
Sigh, was it good or bad that Xi Xi dropped out? Had he done the right thing?
Yang Xi moved quickly, completed the paperwork, and wanted to start work the next day. Wen Ying told her to head to the shop.
Deng Shangwei eyed Yang Xi up and down, unsure if Wen Ying had been fooled.
“Your base salary is two thousand yuan a month. If the shop’s turnover is high, you get a bonus. This is two months’ salary advanced by Wen Ying, minus the cost of the wiring replacement.”
Deng Shangwei handed Yang Xi an envelope.
Wen Ying had paid for the electrical inspections in Yang Xi’s neighbourhood, as the electricians were paid by the day.
As for Yang Xi’s home wiring, sockets, and switches, it hadn’t cost much. The house was small, so how complex could the circuits be?
Even without Wen Ying’s advance, the Yang family could have afforded it with some effort. They hadn’t replaced the wiring because Yang Hongan was frugal.
If the wires worked, why change them? The savings could have been Yang Xi’s university fees.
Yang Xi didn’t think she’d attend university, but she wouldn’t let Great-Grandpa pay for wiring. Every penny mattered in a poor household. With three elderly people, what if someone fell ill without savings?
Yang Xi clutched the envelope, thicker than she’d expected.
Even collecting protection money couldn’t match this.
Two thousand yuan a month, plus bonuses.
On the entire night market street, aside from the head chef, no one earned this much, right?
Yang Xi rubbed her face.
If she and Wen Ying didn’t look so different, she’d suspect Wen Ying was a long-lost relative, abandoned by the Wen family years ago, now circling back to make amends.
Deng Shangwei paid Yang Xi in advance, half-expecting the delinquent to take the money and run. To his surprise, she showed up for work the next day.
Since the Shrimp King shop wasn’t open yet, Yang Xi focused on the temporary stall. She didn’t mention being the new manager, doing whatever the other workers did. When Wen Ying visited on Friday night, she found Yang Xi had already bonded with the stall’s crew.
Yang Xi asked Wen Ying why she hired electricians. Wen Ying looked surprised, “Didn’t you say the wiring needed replacing? A boss as caring as me is rare. You’d better cherish me!”
Yang Xi secretly rolled her eyes.
So, the round-faced boss was just winning her over.
Same old tactic, like buying milk tea, and she’d actually been touched.
But thinking of how she brought the advance home, and how Great-Grandpa sold off all the piled-up junk after a night’s thought, Yang Xi figured a tactic was fine if it brought change to the Yang family.
Yang Xi earnestly analysed for Wen Ying—not how much Shrimp King earned daily, but how much business Shu’s Seafood Stall was stealing.
“They’ve started selling crayfish too, you know?”
Yang Xi, being a fresh face, had visited the stall as a customer.
The crayfish were fishy and awful.
But they were dirt cheap—six yuan per jin for cooked shrimp!
With her two-thousand-yuan salary, Yang Xi wanted to deal with Shu Guobing’s threat for Wen Ying. Wen Ying watched her frown in thought, young and serious.
By preemptively fixing the electrical hazards in Yang Xi’s neighbourhood, last life’s accident wouldn’t repeat, right?
Yang Xi might never know that Wen Ying’s claim of valuing her character wasn’t nonsense.
The reason Wen Ying spent so much to hire Yang Xi wasn’t her delinquent leadership skills, but her character.
