Chapter 321: First Prize

"Oh, and don't say they're just kids who don't understand; I'm a kid too, I must be the youngest here, right? Is there anyone younger than four years old?"

The people present fell silent!

Jiang Yuzhen also fell silent. She is a little older than Su Yu!

The boy who had just questioned Su Yu, whether intentionally or not, pointed at Jiang Yuzhen and said, "She is younger than you!"

The young police officer watching the commotion retorted, "No, Su Yu is even younger!"

The boy stared at Jiang Yuzhen's displeased expression and froze. His gut told him not to press further.

The organizer's teacher was thinking how to break the awkward scene, and the teacher announcing the results entered through a side door.

"Now announcing the competition results: First grade group… fourth grade group, first place, Su Yu; second place, Tang Can; third place, Liang Yan. Fifth grade group… heartfelt congratulations to the above students for receiving the competition rewards!"

The competition reward consists of a certificate and a cash prize.

Although Su Yu and the other two aren't short of money, receiving the prize money still made them happy, especially after Su Yu was mocked for cheating.

"Yay! We're in the top three!"

Su Yu joyfully hugged Liang Yan and Tang Can, and finally the excited teacher scooped her up together!

The students from other schools who also made the top three were equally excited, grinning broadly and sharing their joy with those around them.

The boy who had just accused Su Yu of cheating wore a face full of embarrassment and jealousy. He is in first grade, thought he answered well, yet didn't even make the top three.

He began to wonder whether the teacher's claim that he is suited to study mathematics is true.

Jiang Yuzhen's expression was also bad. If the news that Su Yu won first place in the fourth‑grade group got back home, her mother would go crazy again!

Afterwards came the award ceremony and photo session.

Seeing Jiang Yuzhen unhappy, Su Yu became happy, grinning and giggling the whole time.

Tang Can and Liang Yan, infected by Su Yu's mood, held their certificates and envelopes, feeling very good.

The classmates who didn't make the top three were somewhat unhappy, but some thought of a "shield".

Su Yu said they had learned high‑school material, so when they go back to face their parents' questions they can use this as an excuse. It's not that they didn't work hard or aren't smart, but that the competition was too fierce and the opponents too strong!

The results of Su Yu, Liang Yan, and Tang Can quickly spread among the dozen elementary schools.

The story even went online, not posted by parents but by Ji Tianlin, who loves to flaunt his granddaughter!

Xu Mingyue was somewhat displeased, "Why are you posting nonsense?!"

Xu Mingyue doesn't have high demands for the kids; as long as they know how to spend money and aren't scammed, that's enough! The money she left for Ji Yan and Su Yu is enough for them to live well for three lifetimes.

Su Yu is a little prodigy and she's quite happy about it! With a brain, she'll be able to have a better life later.

However, she's very dissatisfied with Ji Tianlin's behavior. Su Yu being a prodigy now doesn't mean she'll stay that way when she grows up. Overpraising will only raise others' expectations of Su Yu continuously; when she fails to meet the imagined achievements, no matter how outstanding she is, she'll be scolded.

Ji Tianlin scratched his head; he hadn't thought of that.

"I was wrong!" but I'll still post next time!

These years he has constantly been hinted at as having no descendants, that everything should be given to his brothers' children.

During this period, the sons of his two older brothers came to "accidentally" meet him one after another. His second brother shamelessly showed up with a newborn baby boy, saying he wanted to adopt him out to him, so that when the child grows up he can support Su Yu and Ji Yan.

His eldest brother is already in prison, impossible to visit, yet his brother's assorted illegitimate children and their mothers are still around.

Regardless of how stern he looks, those people linger at his company's entrance, and someone even dares to call their son his father!

This whole thing is purely disgusting!

Finally getting a chance to show off his child and simultaneously reveal his will, he naturally seized the opportunity to slap those guys in the face!

Seeing Ji Tianlin like that made Xu Mingyue angry, so she went upstairs to the study. Ji Tianlin hurried after her to coax her.

Su Yu chewed a fruit slush while sitting on the living‑room sofa, watching the commotion.

Ji Yan patted Su Yu's head, "Sweetie, no matter what happens to you later, Mom only wishes you a lifetime of peace, joy, and carefree happiness!"

Su Yu, in a coquettish way, nudged Ji Yan's hand with her head, "Mom, love you the most!"

Here the mother is kind and the daughter filial, while over there the mother is kind and the daughter cries!

Jiang Family: Jiang Yuzhen stood in the corner, desperately shedding tears!

At home only her mother is present, and her mother stood behind her holding a whip, as if she would strike her in the next second.

"Why are you such a useless person?!"

Shui Wanhua was happy when she first took back her biological daughter! She looks a lot like herself at that age.

But her motherly love for this child has worn away day by day.

Jiang Yuzhen is truly foolish!

Clearly, what Su Yu can do in one go, Jiang Yuzhen has to learn ten times!

She has no learning aptitude at all; outside she only brings her embarrassment!

Given that Jiang Yuzhen can act and attract some people, the Jiang Family enrolled her in a special training class.

What was the result? What did she do?!

"How could you be so foolish as to preserve her reputation? Huh?"

Did she treat the rumors circulating in the circle as wind in her ears? Or did the teacher tell her not to take it seriously, making her think she's better than the teacher?

Not afraid of others being stupid, but afraid of people being stupid without realizing it while also causing trouble!

"Now you're happy? Huh? Everyone is praising her! Do you want to be scolded by everyone around you for not being as good as her?"

Jiang Yuzhen's tears streamed down, and she couldn't speak at all. She regretted going home with Shui Wanhua and the others. She wanted to find Ji Yan, but she was uncertain.

If Ji Yan sent her back to Shui Wanhua, and Shui Wanhua learned of her escape, she would suffer more than death!

"No meals today; empty the water in your head!"

Shui Wanhua went upstairs, contemplating the possibility of having another daughter. She has poured over a year's worth of resources into this child, so she can foresee her growth ceiling; raising her is a loss‑making project!

Jiang Yuzhen, seeing Shui Wanhua leave, dared not move. As long as her father Jiang Qiyu returns, she will be free. No matter how crazy her mother is, she will obey her father.

But until she could no longer endure the exhaustion, she fell asleep in the corner, and Jiang Qiyu never came home.

……

"Mom, the rooms are full; you said should we open up the hotel lodging?"

Yan Le Yuan residential complex has a special area, set up specifically for students who have no money but need to take exams in Jingdu. It's not close to the exam sites, but it provides public toilets and tents.

Renting a tent costs, per night, a price that varies with the tent's level of luxury, ranging from 20 to 50. Storing belongings in a locked fixed area costs only five yuan per day.

The other option is a hotel room. Hotels are for students and members of society who desire safety and have a little money. They are safe, reliable, comfortable, and offer better services.

But compared with the fully occupied Yan Le Yuan rental area, the hotel's business is not particularly good; its occupancy rate is not high.

"We can open it up, but later we might not be able to run the hotel business. Actually, you set the tent price too low."

The number of people staying in tents is far more than Ji Yan and Su Yu expected. Some college students who like budget travel, some people looking for jobs in Jingdu, all have come here to stay.

The most basic tent costs 20 per day, only 600 for a month. Those who stay in tents use public restrooms for personal needs, thus saving water fees. As for electricity, they can use the smart charging robots here, or they can team up with nearby people to move into a remote, unrented shop and share the electricity costs for air conditioning and other usage.

All told, the monthly electricity bill is only about a hundred to a little over two hundred yuan.

Overall, their rental expenses total less than nine hundred yuan, which is extremely economical!

Whether short‑term travelers or long‑term workers, everyone can accept this price.

In contrast, staying at a hotel costs hundreds per night, offering a lower cost‑performance ratio.

"Anyone need it!"

"But they aren't very appreciative!"

The hotel receives fewer negative reviews than the tent houses. After staying in the tent houses, many people point out a long list of flaws.

"Blacklist those who leave negative reviews; just don't let them stay here!"

Su Yu doesn't mind. She does this to do some good deeds, helping those in distress. If she's lucky, her tent house might help a distressed big shot, and after the big shot recovers, might they unknowingly help her?

She doesn't care about those who get a cheap deal and still leave a negative review!

Those who don't get any benefit aren't her problem!

"Your grandmother already blacklisted people, not allowing them to stay here. If you plan to turn the hotel back into rental lodging, have you thought about the pricing?"

The hotel rooms are a bit smaller than the officially rented rooms. If the price is uniform, it's not very fair to new tenants.

"I haven't thought about it; Mom, have you?"

Su Yu doesn't want to think; she only has her money on her mind!

【Wulongcha, when will I save enough of the money Uncle gave me to spend?】

【Still far away!】

The expenses for Yan Le Yuan are paid through Su Xi's personal account, considered his gift of property to her.

Su Yu gladly accepted it, but deep down she still wants to pay it back. She hasn't earned much, so saying this now is a bit presumptuous and makes Su Xi embarrassed.

Ji Yan picked a number in her mind, compared it with the price, and worried, "If we choose this price, it'd be better to open a hotel!"

"If Mom thinks the hotel is losing money, we can offer weekly, monthly, seasonal, or yearly passes. A weekly pass could be priced for seven days but allow ten days of stay. If the stay within the period is insufficient, either no refund or a refund of fifty to eighty percent? Monthly, seasonal, and yearly passes could follow the same logic."

Su Yu personally thinks the weekly pass price is quite attractive.

Buying a weekly pass saves a few hundred yuan!

"I'll discuss it with the hotel management."

"Okay!"

After Su Yu finished discussing the Yan Le Yuan hotel arrangements with Ji Yan, her gaze turned to the newly filmed short drama.

"Mom, the characters in the new drama look great, but the voice acting doesn't fit them well!"

Among the newly recruited people, there are good‑looking girls.

The prop masters and makeup artists in their studio are excellent; you can't tell that the actor is a girl at all.

But the voice acting chosen for the short drama doesn't match the characters, at least that's how Su Yu sees it.

"Some voices within the circle are quite homogenized. Sometimes master‑disciple transmission is like copy‑pasting, with little difference, but to laypeople it sounds the same."

"Then why not cultivate our own CV!"

"If the people we hire from outside aren't good, we find them ourselves!"

"We should give the vocal‑training students an extra competitive track!"

Ji Yan poked Su Yu's forehead, "Your words sound nice, but do you really know how big the workload is?"

Su Yu covered her big head, feeling a bit guilty.

She does know!

"Mom, a single cow is also let loose, many cows are let loose; let's create more money‑making projects!"

【Why let others earn our money!】

Su Yu whined in Ji Yan's arms, but Ji Yan gently pushed her away, "It's too hot, stop messing around; Mom will have someone arrange it."

Male voice is a big issue; Ji Yan has already prepared by having the dubbing team live outside.

"Mom, you're the best!"

……

Time flows like water; it seems slow, yet it slips away from people's hands swiftly.

Su Yu has skipped grades for two consecutive years and is now a second‑year middle school student. It's not that she doesn't want to skip to the third year; the school simply doesn't allow it. They hope Su Yu can be in top form, win first place in the high‑school entrance exam, and, while still in second year, join Tang Can, Liang Yan and the others in more competitions, earning more honors for their alma mater and making their résumés look better!

"Mom, did Guoguo go traveling? I haven't heard Dream Aunt scold her for the past two days."

Su Yu does stretching exercises in the garden with Ji Yan. When she was five, Ji Yan suddenly decided to enrich herself and began learning dance.

Each time Su Yu stretches before practicing martial arts, Ji Yan follows along. After Ji Yan stretches, she goes to the dance studio to study dance.

Shi Xu's family next door also moved in that year. Since they moved, Guoguo and her sister's crying hasn't stopped.

Her sister cries because infants can only attract adults and express their needs by crying. Guoguo herself is just being dramatic!

She is especially mischievous!

For example, while her younger sister is sleeping, she does her sister's makeup. Guoguo's technique is excellent; she dresses her sister to blend with the surroundings, and Mingmeng can't tell at first glance!

If her younger sister weren't a living creature that could move, with a little belly that would rise and fall, Mingmeng would have been nearly duped.

After Mingmeng washes her little daughter's face clean, Guoguo takes a beating, and Guoguo cries for half an hour. The next day, Guoguo again forgets the beating and goes off to do something else that challenges Mingmeng's motherly heart!

During the year the Shi Family were neighbors, aside from visiting the Ming family for New Year and festivals, Su Yu could hear Guoguo cry once almost every day.

But in the past two days, with no holidays, Guoguo somehow didn't cry, nor did Su Yu hear Mingmeng scold her. Apart from traveling, Su Yu can't think of any other possibility.

Guoguo poked her head out of the flower bushes in the next‑door garden, pouting, and with big, beautiful apricot eyes looked at Su Yu plaintively, shouting loudly, "Can't I be good for just two days?"

The kid next door really is the most annoying!

More obedient than her!

More clever than her!

And even says bad things about her!

Su Yu was silent for a moment, "You are indeed rigorous, you've been good for two days!"

Su Yu recalled that from Guoguo's last cry until now, it has been exactly two days and two nights.

Guoguo looked at Su Yu cluelessly, and a roar from an old mother behind her made Guoguo's body shudder!

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