In the elementary school classroom, Yueyue sat at her desk, deep in thought, staying quiet. This had been going on for a while now.
Noticing Yueyue's mood, her friend, Xixi, decided to skip going to the bathroom during the break and instead sat next to Yueyue, curiously asking, "Yueyue, what's wrong? You've been down all day."
"My New Year's money... I don't know where to put it," Yueyue replied with a pout, resting her chin in her hands.
This year, her mom and dad hadn't taken her New Year's money like before, but she was worried she might spend it impulsively. Now, she didn't know what to do.
If she spent it carelessly, her parents would just take it away again.
"New Year's money, huh?" Xixi immediately understood and said confidently, "Why don't you put it in the bank? I started saving mine in the bank this year!"
She said this with a tone of certainty.
In the past, her mother would swoop in and take most of her cash, leaving her with just a few smaller bills.
But this year, things were different!
Now that she had a small savings account, she knew what to do. After learning about banks, she had even asked her grandmother to take her to open an account and put her money in there.
And the best part about saving money in the bank?
"If you put your money in the bank, it grows all by itself!" Xixi added with pride, clearly feeling like she was very knowledgeable.
"Huh? It grows? How?" Yueyue asked in surprise, pausing her movements and looking at her friend with wide eyes.
"Uh..." Xixi's face turned red.
She didn't really know why the money grew; that's just what her grandmother had told her. Flustered, she quickly changed the subject, glancing away as if avoiding eye contact. "Uh... hey, Yueyue, what about today's test? I didn't study at all!"
"The test? I think it's going to be okay."
As expected, Yueyue was distracted, and she began talking about the test.
Seeing this, Xixi let out a sigh of relief.
After school, Yueyue got into the car. Her dad was picking her up today.
As soon as she sat down, she remembered what they had talked about at school. Why does money in the bank grow?
Yueyue was curious, but also a bit excited. If her money could really grow, maybe she could ask her dad to help her save it!
"Dad, does money really grow if you put it in the bank?" Yueyue asked from the back seat.
"Huh? Why are you asking about that all of a sudden?" Ren, who was driving, looked at Yueyue through the rearview mirror, then thought for a moment before answering, "Well, it does, but only if it's in a savings account."
"Really?" Yueyue's eyes lit up. "How much more could I get? Like, if I put in 7,000 yuan, how much would I get back?"
"..."
Hearing the amount, Ren paused for a moment. Then he realized something.
Yueyue's New Year's money this year was around 7,000 yuan, wasn't it?
Although bank interest was nothing impressive to Ren, encouraging Yueyue to save money wasn't a bad idea.
Previously, Jada had taken Yueyue's money to prevent her from spending it all, depositing it in the bank instead.
"Well, it's not a lot, but it does add up over time. You'd have to save for a whole year to see any real difference."
"Then... then I want to save it in the bank!" Yueyue said excitedly, standing up on her seat in the back and leaning over her dad's seat. "Let's go to the bank now!"
"We can't do that," Ren replied, causing Yueyue to pout in disappointment. Just as she was about to argue, Ren explained, "The people who work at the bank are probably done for the day."
"Huh? But I just got out of school, and they're already off work? That's so lazy!"
The next day, Ren took Yueyue to the bank, holding a savings book.
The savings book was something Jada had set up after taking Yueyue's money to keep it safe.
For Ren and Jada, Yueyue's money wasn't a big deal, so they would never just take it from her without reason.
The reason they chose to open an old-fashioned savings book instead of using a bank card was because they didn't want Yueyue carrying a card around and losing it. Cards could be easily copied, and there was always a risk of someone stealing the account details. With a passbook, they could keep it safely at home.
After taking a number and waiting in the lobby, everything felt new and exciting to Yueyue.
It was her first time at a bank!
She had passed by banks before, but she had never been inside. The only times she had seen the inside of a bank was in cartoons, and usually, in those stories, the bank would get attacked by bad guys or monsters shortly after the characters arrived.
Sitting in the bank's lobby, Yueyue looked around, full of excitement as she waited for their number to be called.
Soon enough, it was their turn.
"She's the one handling the business today. We're here to deposit her New Year's money," Ren explained, helping Yueyue onto the high stool at the counter.
"No problem. Hello there, little one!" the bank teller said with a friendly smile.
Yueyue squirmed in her seat, feeling a bit uneasy.
She wasn't sure how to respond. She had never spoken to someone through a glass window before.
What really made her uneasy was that last night, on TV, she saw a scene where prisoners talked to people through glass windows just like this.
Quietly, Yueyue leaned over to Ren and whispered, "Dad, why does this place look like a prison? Did that lady do something wrong and get locked up in there?"
"..."
Although Yueyue spoke softly, the bank teller still overheard and couldn't help but twitch a little.
A prison? Really?
Well, it's just a child speaking her mind, the teller thought, reassuring herself before smiling at Yueyue again. "You're here to make a deposit, right? Just hand me the money, and I'll run it through the counting machine to make sure everything's correct. Then we'll deposit it for you."
"Uh, okay!" Yueyue nodded eagerly.
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