Chapter 96: This time it's in time

The call with Chief Lou En lasted for 20 minutes, and he didn't hang up until his mother urged him to come out for dinner.

The two sides finalized quite a few things, including that the publishing contract would be sent as soon as possible; even if Zhai Da hadn't completely finished writing, they were willing to lock in the publishing rights.

After the contract was signed, Zhai Da could split the first 10,000 to 20,000 words and post them online. There was no need to limit how many words per blog post; he could just follow the plot.

At the end of the call, Chief Lou En also "casually" mentioned something, asking about Lu Zetao's recent condition, some nonsense like whether his health was good lately.

This was clearly an act of building connections. Selling a favor was definitely selling a favor, and the work being good was an unexpected surprise. Chief Lou En was still counting on taking his family abroad for a trip next year.

Zhai Da thought to himself, I don't know a damn thing; I only know his daughter's health is quite good.

After hanging up the phone and going out, Yu Xiaoli and Lu Wei were already waiting for him at the dining table.

The TV was on, playing a special program about the Jingbei Olympic Games. As the time drew near, there was more and more related content.

Yu Xiaoli fiddled with the bowls and chopsticks and asked seemingly casually: "Who were you on the phone with for so long?"

After saying this, she also observed Lu Wei's expression. Clearly, she didn't really want to manage who Zhai Da was on the phone with, but was worried about whether Zhai Da had a phone call of that nature.

Who she favored in her heart was a matter that didn't need to be asked.

What matter she favored was a matter that needed to be asked even less.

Unfortunately, Lu Wei, this 1.7-meter-tall little quiet person, didn't feel anything at all and just waited honestly for the meal.

Zhai Da didn't feel that his mother's words had a hidden meaning either. On the contrary, at the moment of being asked this, he felt it was time to give his mother a heads-up.

Making money wasn't a shameful thing. The college entrance exam was only a few days away, so revealing some good news could be used to persuade his mother to relax her mindset and not work so hard.

He remembered that after winning the lottery in his past life, he met an older brother with similar interests who once patted him on the shoulder and said: A man must hide things from his old mother above and from his wife and children below, and carry everything himself.

At the time, Zhai Da also deeply agreed, but thinking about it now, what the older brother was talking about should have been the frequent visits to "matchmaking clubs."

It could be seen that his pressure was indeed very high; after all, when he was found by his wife and daughter together, he had even lost one of his shoes...

But if it was good news, why not?

Zhai Da cleared his throat and said solemnly: "Mom, I have some good news to reveal to you. You know my essay writing is very good, right?"

Yu Xiaoli nodded, not understanding.

"So actually, some time ago, I did some part-time work..."

"You helped others write essays?"

"Uh... it's a bit more high-end than that. I participated in a micro-fiction contest, and later I won first place and got a bonus..."

When he got to this point, Yu Xiaoli was already a bit confused, and her brows furrowed involuntarily, as if she could crush an amoeba.

"The micro-fiction contest was held by Star Wave. After winning, they said that if I wanted to get the bonus, I had to be an active user..."

When he said this, Yu Xiaoli couldn't understand at all.

Zhai Da picked the key points to explain the ins and outs and finally concluded: "The first month's income was remitted today."

Yu Xiaoli captured the keyword "income." She could understand this, and her expression relaxed a lot. So it was just this little matter; she estimated he had earned a few hundred yuan...

"How much?"

"Over seventy thousand."

Yu Xiaoli:...

"Hell money or Japanese yen?"

"That's called Japanese yen! Don't interrupt... What I received is RMB."

Yu Xiaoli nodded: "I understand. Telecom fraud. Don't send money back; let the scammers lose out completely!"

"No, it's absolutely not. I even have a contract."

Zhai Da got up and went to his room to get the contract. He also showed her the screenshots Lu Siwen occasionally sent him in their QQ chat history, which were all feedback on the blog's reading volume.

Of course, there were also the text messages from his phone about the deposit.

Although the table of dishes was getting colder, clearly the matter at hand was more important. It took Yu Xiaoli about ten minutes to barely digest it.

Zhai Da said seriously: "In short, I can earn money now. Whether it's future college tuition or living expenses, it's more than enough. Mom, don't work so hard usually; if you want to rest, then rest."

"There's also half a novel; a publishing house is very interested, and the current talks are going very well."

"Currently, I have one hundred thousand yuan on hand. I'll transfer thirty thousand to you at the bank later as a subsidy for our family's living expenses, or consider it as filial piety to you. I won't spend the rest recklessly either; I might use it during the summer vacation."

"Anyway, there will be similar income every month from now on, and it will only gradually increase within a year, not decrease."

Yu Xiaoli looked left and right, seemingly hoping that someone could remind her that this was an unreliable joke, but unfortunately, there was no such person.

"Also, let's skip the arguments like 'this is not a long-term solution.' I didn't intend to be a blogger for a lifetime; it was just grabbing some wool while I was at it, and it didn't even take up any of my energy usually. All the miscellaneous matters are being handled for me by another classmate."

"In summary, you can praise me now."

Yu Xiaoli tilted her head and asked a question that many middle-aged and elderly people share: "Is the internet so easy to make money?"

To put it bluntly, an ordinary worker works hard for a year, and even gets occupational diseases from exhaustion, yet they can't earn seventy thousand... thirty thousand is even a stretch.

Yu Xiaoli's confusion stemmed both from her lack of understanding of "new things" and from the impact on her "old concepts."

Zhai Da smiled: "Admittedly, your son's intelligence and wisdom were the main factors, but the internet is indeed a place with more opportunities at the moment."

After a long time, Yu Xiaoli sighed and said: "Mom has really been eliminated by the era..."

Unexpectedly to Zhai Da, Yu Xiaoli did not show excitement; it was far less joyful than when she learned of Zhai Da's grade improvement before.

Instead, it carried a bit of sighing.

Seeing that the dishes were almost cold, Yu Xiaoli waved her hand, signaling everyone to eat first, and then picked up Lu Wei's bowl to serve her a bowl of soup.

While scooping, she suddenly laughed.

"It's funny to say... over seventy thousand a month, not sixty thousand or eighty thousand, but it just happens to be seventy thousand..."

"Little Da, do you know that all our family's savings combined are also over seventy thousand?"

Zhai Da shook his head. In his past life and this life, he had never asked Yu Xiaoli this question because he expected it wouldn't be a comfortable number.

Yu Xiaoli's salary was less than two thousand yuan, which was once the family's entire source of income. She had to manage the food and drink for two people, provide for Zhai Da's schooling, and even give him pocket money so he wouldn't be unable to get along at school.

Being able to save seventy thousand yuan was already something squeezed out from the palm of her hand.

Although the value of money was constantly changing, these seventy thousand yuan...

Had consumed half of Yu Xiaoli's life.

She considered herself hardworking and frugal, but half a lifetime of accumulation was surpassed in a single day, and two identical numbers were contrasted so strongly...

That was why she suddenly felt a sense of sighing.

"Originally, I thought this money would be enough for your college education, and plus Little Wei would also be fine... After all, I'm not old yet, and I can still work, right..."

Lu Wei raised her hand and said: "Teacher Yu, I have a little money, and I can do work-study... I can also strive to get scholarships and student loans. I'll go work during the summer vacation..."

As a little pitiful person "living as a guest" here, she clearly had thought about these things privately and didn't want to cause pressure for Zhai Da and Teacher Yu.

Yu Xiaoli placed the served soup in front of Lu Wei and said gently: "Don't interrupt. I meant to say... it seems now that I am truly old, not in body, but in thought."

"People... aren't afraid of dressing out of fashion, but are afraid of their thoughts being out of fashion. I really am destined to be a worker for a lifetime."

Zhai Da said: "Mom, you're wrong there. In a broad sense, aren't we all workers? What? I earned seventy thousand yuan and became a capitalist? This is income from labor, not income from exploitation!"

"What 'destined to be a worker for a lifetime'? You just have too much life pressure and no time to care about other things."

"If workers could earn superior wages, have time and ability to travel, go online, cultivate hobbies, and learn skills outside of work... would their vision be worse than others? Are workers a cut below others?"

Yu Xiaoli felt that what Zhai Da said... was a little reasonable...

Zhai Da also picked up Yu Xiaoli's bowl and served his mother a bowl of soup:

"You, don't think so much. Why does it seem like you're really uncomfortable that I earned money?"

Yu Xiaoli felt much more relieved: "Alright, in short, it's a happy thing... Mom has said this a few times, but this time I still have to say..."

"Little Da, you've grown up. That's really great."

Zhai Da placed the warm soup bowl in front of his mother:

"And you aren't old yet. That's really great." ===== CHAPTER 97 =====