The owner of this spicy hot pot stand was Jiang Xu's cousin, Chen Mi.
She didn't go to university after high school and decided to have this stall instead, and the business was pretty good.
Jiang Xu had texted her even before school was over.
Chen Mi had received the message.
The three of them each grabbed a plate and began choosing their ingredients.
An Nuonuo chose a bunch of cheap vegetables.
Jiang Xu, on the other hand, grabbed all the meat he could find, quickly filling a large plate.
Fu Yanjie gritted his teeth: "Jiang Xu, can you finish all that?"
Jiang Xu: "I suppose I could."
Chen Mi: "That will be sixteen yuan in total."
Jiang Xu was about to pay.
But Chen Mi said: "Today marks one year since I started this stall.
So, I'm holding a special raffle event.
There's a chance to win a free meal."
Jiang Xu became interested: "Really? Nuonuo, you draw."
"No, you do it. I have bad luck."
"Alright, I'll do it then."
Jiang Xu reached into the box.
He had already made arrangements with Chen Mi.
The winning tickets had a different texture.
Rougher.
Jiang Xu felt around for a bit, then selected one.
He handed it to An Nuonuo: "You open it."
An Nuonuo took a deep breath.
And then, she opened it.
"Ah!"
She covered her mouth, her face full of surprise.
"How is it, did we win?"
"It's a free meal!" An Nuonuo's eyes glittered: "You're so lucky."
"Oh, that's good then, let's eat."
There was a ton of food, enough for four or five adults to eat.
When the food was cooked and served, Jiang Xu frowned: "We were careless. We ordered too much and can't finish it. It's wasteful."
Fu Yanjie was about to say it was no problem, that he could take the leftovers home.
But before he could speak, Jiang Xu gave him a warning look.
Fu Yanjie wisely kept his mouth shut, he understood.
That dog. He was trying to impress a girl.
Jiang Xu smiled at An Nuonuo: "We ordered too much and can't finish it.
Could you help us out and take half of it home with you?"
Seeing that An Nuonuo was about to refuse,
Jiang Xu quickly said: "Anyway, it's all free.
My parents are eating at a restaurant tonight, so taking leftovers home won't be of any use.
Fu Yanjie's family is rich, he wouldn't care for this. Consider it as doing me a favor."
Jiang Xu was purposely trying to let An Nuonuo eat more nutritious food.
He hoped she could regain the nutrition she had missed out on quickly.
Now that he thought about it,
An Nuonuo's mediocre academic performance might be due to a lack of proper nutrition.
How much energy could one have for studying when hungry all day?
The brain wasn't getting enough nutrients.
Perhaps, in this lifetime,
An Nuonuo could shine under Jiang Xu's efforts, earlier than expected.
"Oh, alright." An Nuonuo swallowed the words she had wanted to say.
And protested quietly, "Can you not call me little sister?"
Jiang Xu: "You called me big brother last time, so why can't I call you little sister?"
"I..." An Nuonuo was stumped and didn't know how to argue back.
So, she just lowered her head and continued eating her spicy hot pot.
Her cheeks were chubby and she looked extremely cute.
Jiang Xu's index finger twitched, he really wanted to pinch her cheek.
After these few days, An Nuonuo looked much healthier.
If she got enough nutrition, she would be completely revived within a week or two.
"Holy, what's going on? You guys are already calling each other 'big brother' and 'little sister'? " Fu Yanjie was incredibly surprised.
An Nuonuo didn't want to answer this question.
Jiang Xu rolled his eyes at him.
After finishing their meal,
Jiang Xu, taking the opportunity when he went to get a takeaway bag, discreetly gave Chen Mi the money.
Chen Mi blinked, speaking fast: "This little girl is not bad, go for her."
Jiang Xu: "Thanks cousin."
At the intersection, Jiang Xu said to Fu Yanjie: "See you tomorrow."
Fu Yanjie: "Wait, aren't we heading the same way?"
Jiang Xu: "This way is closer."
Fu Yanjie: "Nonsense, this route is the shortest, you going that way…"
His voice trailed off.
Because there was an unmistakable murderous look in Jiang Xu's eyes.
"Ah, right, that side is closer for you. I'll take my leave now."
His legs dashed off at breakneck speed.
An Nuonuo's pink lips moved, "You don't have to take me home every day. I can go by myself."
"Mm." Jiang Xu nodded, "That's a good suggestion, but I won't take it."
He pushed off with his two legs and they were off like a shot.
An Nuonuo let out a gasp.
Jiang Xu was moving too fast, she nearly lost her balance.
Instinctively, she wrapped her arms around Jiang Xu's waist.
The summer clothes he wore were thin.
An Nuonuo could clearly feel the warmth emanating from Jiang Xu's abdomen.
It seemed, he had abs.
An Nuonuo quickly withdrew her hands, her heart pounding several times faster than normal.
Her mind was in a daze.
This level of intimacy was a bit more than she was used to.
The corner of Jiang Xu's mouth lifted into a smirk.
After dropping An Nuonuo at her place, she said goodbye, and dashed into her house as though she was running away.
Only after washing her face with cold water for quite a while did her temperature drop.
Looking at her reflection in the mirror, An Nuonuo couldn't help but cover her face with her hands.
She felt so embarrassed.
Meanwhile,
Jiang Xu didn't go straight home.
Instead, he went to the post office to check if there was a response from the Story Club.
There was.
A fairly thick letter.
Jiang Xu felt it, he knew what it was.
There was money inside.
He didn't open the envelope until he was home.
Inside was a letter and six ten yuan bills.
The lengthy letter essentially acknowledged Jiang Xu's talent.
It invited him to join Story Club.
The offered price was thirty yuan per thousand words.
In that era, that was considered a high price.
To Jiang Xu's knowledge, even renowned authors rarely earned more than two or three hundred yuan per thousand words.
The sixty yuan was for two thousand words of his submitted work.
If the novel's popularity increased, he could negotiate a higher price.
There was also a contract included.
A straightforward contract.
They only asked for publishing rights. All other rights remained with Jiang Xu.
The letter also mentioned that even if Jiang Xu didn't sign the contract, the sixty yuan was his to keep.
Quite generous of them.
Jiang Xu read through the contract thoroughly again.
In his former life, he often helped run business errands for Zhou Qingyue's company. He knew how to spot potential traps in contracts.
The terms weren't demanding—submit at least two chapters per week, each chapter not less than a thousand words.
He signed the contract.
He was quite quick when it came to matters like this.
After the contract was signed, he could work at the internet café.
Typing up three or four thousand words per hour was an easy task.
Then, he could just print it out.
After signing, he set it aside.
He could mail it while on his way to school the next day.
Jiang Xu then proceeded to cook dinner and bring it to his parents.
The property sale was already finalized.
The ownership was transferred to Jiang Shan's name.
They borrowed three million from the bank, with the loan term of thirty years. The total interest amounted to over 1.1 million with an interest rate of 2.6%.
They chose equal principal repayment.
The first month's repayment was close to fifteen thousand.
In the following months, the amount would reduce slightly.
"Ding dong!"
Just as he was about to step out, he received a notification from QQ.
It was a message from Zhou Qingyue.
The content of the message took Jiang Xu by surprise.