Chapter 29: Part-Time Job

You want to introduce me to a part-time job?

Shu Shu shook her head: "Not an introduction, I'm personally providing it for you."

Shu Lingchen wondered: "Then what do you want me to do?"

Shu Shu gave him a mysterious smile: "I'll tell you later."

…

All the way until after school when he went home, Shu Lingchen was anticipating Shu Shu's line: "I'll tell you later."

After dinner, Shu Lingchen gazed at Shu Shu eagerly.

Only saw Shu Shu open her bag and take out a stack of wrinkled test papers.

Noticing the name on it, Shu Lingchen blinked: "My test paper?"

"Yeah, I took it from your desk."

Shu Shu placed the test papers one by one on the coffee table.

The first one was Chinese, 21 points.

Then math, 12 points.

English, 18 points.

Physics, 16 points.

Chemistry, 13 points.

Biology, 0 points.

Shu Shu said: "This is your monthly exam from last month, total score 80 points."

Being scrutinized by his mother, what's the difference from a public execution? Each time she laid out a paper, Shu Lingchen's ears grew hot: "Mom, what are you calculating this for?"

Shu Shu had already braced herself for Shu Lingchen being a poor student, remained calm, and curiously pointed at the zero-point biology test paper, asking: "Did you fall asleep during this exam?"

"No." Shu Lingchen felt embarrassed, stammering: "It's not that, I didn't even guess a single question right."

So the scores for the other five subjects were all from guessing.

Shu Shu sincerely praised: "You guessed quite a few correctly."

Shu Lingchen: "……" His neck hairs stood on end, as if facing death: "Mom, if you're angry, feel free to hit or scold me directly!"

Don't talk like that, he's kinda scared.

"I'm not angry." Shu Shu blinked: "I'm actually surprised that you honestly did the questions—oh wait, guessed them—rather than just skipping the exam."

Shu Lingchen looked at Shu Shu uncertainly: "Really not angry?"

Shu Shu told him calmly: "No, if I were truly angry, I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you; I'd go find a new baby while I still have my youth."

Shu Lingchen: "……" He also worried a bit about his father's coffin board situation across land, sea, and air.

Relieved, Shu Lingchen wondered again: "Isn't this supposed to be arranging a part-time job for me?"

"Yes."

Shu Shu glanced at the test papers on the coffee table and said: "This is the part-time job I'm arranging for you."

Shu Lingchen looked at the test papers, then at Shu Shu, then suddenly realized, his expression horrified: "You wouldn't want me to improve my grades, would you?!"

Shu Shu snapped her fingers: "Correct!"

"Then I can't do this part-time job!" Shu Lingchen blurted out without thinking: "Making me study is worse than teaching a pig to climb a tree."

Earning money by improving grades, he definitely couldn't earn that money.

Shu Shu tapped her finger on the test paper: "One point increase gets you ten thousand."

"Then I also—too little?!" Shu Lingchen sat back down in a second, serious expression: "Mom, we can negotiate."

This doesn't count as a slap in the face.

No way, Mom gave it, it's really too much!

Shu Lingchen asked: "Does any way of improving the score count?"

"No copying."

"Then what about guessing?"

"Counts."

"Really ten thousand per point?"

"True."

Shu Lingchen's eyes lit up instantly, then he thought: "But exams are only once a month, so my chance to earn money would also be only once a month."

"No." Shu Shu smiled: "Not just that."

Next day.

An Shi San Zhong, Grade 10 (12) Class.

The first class was math.

The male teacher explained the new formula for this lesson, then routinely put an example problem on the blackboard, which was a multiple-choice question.

After a while, the male teacher leaned on the podium, looked down, and asked: "Has any student solved it? Tell me the answer."

The students below lacked interest, not a single one made a sound.

The male teacher wasn't surprised either, accustomed to Class 12 basically having no students who actively want to learn.

Just as he was about to turn around to lecture, his peripheral vision suddenly caught a hand raised in the back row.

The male teacher immediately looked over, surprised, but as soon as he saw who raised his hand, his face fell.

It was Shu Lingchen.

The male teacher, as if used to it, impatiently waved: "Go to the bathroom quickly!"

Among the teachers, there's a joke circulating—

Underperforming students often need to go to the bathroom.

And the troublemakers especially love to go to the bathroom during class.

Shu Lingchen is one of them.

"Brother Chen, let's go together, let's go together." Bo Luo Zai didn't know what he ate that upset his stomach; he bent over and frantically grabbed toilet paper from outside his desk.

As a result.

"Teacher, I'm not going to the restroom." Shu Lingchen stood up, gave a light cough twice, and said: "I want to answer the question."

His words fell.

The entire classroom fell into a terrifying silence, and everyone in the class turned to look at him in unison.

Bo Luo Zai's toilet paper went "thud" as it rolled onto the floor; he didn't even glance at it, still clutching a big wad of paper in his hands, having forgotten he needed to defecate, his attention wholly on Shu Lingchen.

Everyone's faces were shocked.

What did they hear!

What the heck? Shu Lingchen actually raised his hand to answer a question!

Shu Lingchen's expression was unnatural; he didn't even want to!

But—raising his hand to answer a question is one of his opportunities to make money.

His mom personally said: "Raising your hand to answer a question in class earns 100 each time, and if correct, it doubles."

Shu Lingchen swore that today he would raise his hand until it broke!

The male teacher snapped out of his daze, instinctively glanced at the window to see where the sun was rising, then said: "Well, then you answer."

Shu Lingchen: "I choose A."

"Very good."

Shu Lingchen was surprised—had he guessed correctly? Was the money in his hand?!

The next second he heard the male teacher say: "You got it wrong."

Shu Lingchen: "..." So what's so good about that?

The male teacher seemed pleased that Shu Lingchen had raised his hand to answer; in a good mood he gave the correct answer, then explained the solution in detail, and after finishing he kindly asked Shu Lingchen if he understood.

Before, Shu Lingchen would just let the teacher's words go in one ear and out the other during class, listening to heavenly scriptures.

This was the first time he barely caught a clue.

This feeling was rather novel.

After Shu Lingchen sat down, Shu Shu beside him raised an eyebrow and showed him the 100 already recorded in the ledger.

Shu Lingchen instantly felt full of motivation, brimming with energy.

Thus, for the rest of the day, all the teachers of Class (12) repeatedly doubted whether the sun was rising from the west.

The little tyrant Shu Lingchen voluntarily raised his hand!

Although he didn't know the answers and got them all wrong, he was extremely eager; answering incorrectly wasn't embarrassing, and he earnestly listened to the teacher's explanation.

As soon as the teacher showed signs of calling roll, his hand shot up first; when the teacher didn't want to call on him, his eyes gleamed like two big headlights, as if saying: "Ask me, teacher, ask quickly! If you ask me, I'll definitely raise my hand!"

It made the teacher feel embarrassed not to call on him.

All the classmates stared, dumbfounded.

Bo Luo Zai deliberately walked over to touch Shu Lingchen's forehead, puzzled: "Huh, you don't even have a fever."

Shu Lingchen, annoyed, waved his hand away, shoved him aside, then excitedly asked Shu Shu how much money he had earned.

Shu Shu opened the ledger: "Wait until the last class, which is English; the English teacher doesn't have the habit of calling roll, so you raised your hand 11 times today, totaling 1100."

Earning 1100 in a day, Shu Lingchen was uncontrollably excited.

Now I can give an explanation to Aunt Chu!

He'll go tell Chu Chu after school lets out!

Shu Lingchen couldn't wait and said: "Mom, can you transfer this money directly to my WeChat?"

"No way." Shu Shu, with her peach-blossom eyes curved, said: "Forgot to tell you, this money can be withdrawn only after reaching 100,000; you only have 1,100, far below the withdrawal threshold."