As night fell, Jiang Nian took a shower and returned to his room, turning on the air conditioner and lying in bed.
He opened the task panel and smiled.
Although Jiang Nian's grades were average, as one of the key players on the school basketball team, he had silently run five kilometers continuously for a whole semester just to be able to play full-court and show off.
He ran five kilometers in one go, as if drinking water.
His plan was to get up early tomorrow, run five kilometers first, then three kilometers, and finally complete two kilometers. After all, he understood the principle of "one effort, then decline, then exhaustion."
After reviewing the task, he checked his bank account balance on his phone.
Money is a man's courage. Jiang's family wasn't well-off; his grandfather had been unwell a few years ago. They had borrowed a lot of money, only just paying it off this year.
Consequently, Jiang Nian's allowance wasn't much, at most three or four hundred yuan a month.
But in just one afternoon, a thousand yuan had appeared in his account. If he ran ten kilometers tomorrow, another two thousand yuan would be in his pocket, making it three thousand.
"Money not spent is money wasted," he thought, opening the shopping website JD.com. He
was in his final year of high school, and even with the game company as a cover, the money was legitimate. But in his parents' eyes, earning money through games and neglecting studies was putting the cart before the horse.
Although he might face round after round of family interrogations, Jiang Nian was thick-skinned and didn't care. He figured he might as well take this opportunity to buy something.
The most straightforward way for ordinary people to save money is a two-pronged approach: buy fewer clothes and shoes, and conserve water and electricity. Appliances, phones, and electronics are only bought when they break.
The Jiang family was no exception; Old Jiang and his mother hadn't replaced their phones, clothes, or shoes for two or three years. They rarely used the TV or air conditioner, and used rice water to flush the toilet.
Thrift is a virtue, but this kind of thrift was clearly just about saving money. It wasn't about quality of life; it was simply about tightening their belts.
Clothes were hard to buy, and he couldn't afford phones or appliances, so he could only buy shoes.
Shoes were the kind that cost tens of yuan, but those costing hundreds were necessities for a reason. Walking every day, a good pair of shoes is essential.
Jiang Nian first bought a pair of leather shoes for his father, costing over 500 yuan, and then a pair of soft-soled sneakers for his mother, costing over 300 yuan. He also bought himself two pairs of shoes
, each costing around 200 yuan. The whole set cost him 1300
yuan. He checked his balance: 100 yuan.
"Okay, time to sleep."
Meanwhile, the Jiang couple couldn't sleep.
The master bedroom was pitch black, and the couple were having a late-night chat. Things they couldn't say in front of their child during the day, they could discuss at night with the lights off.
"Sigh, it feels like just yesterday the child was growing up," Jiang Weizheng said, lying on the bed with his hands behind his head, staring at the dark ceiling.
"He's earning money now, and he even cooks for us."
"Isn't it good that Jiang Nian is sensible? Why are you sighing like this?" Li Hongmei rolled her eyes at her husband in the darkness. "
He used to be so unruly, like climbing on the roof if you didn't discipline him for three days." "I wish he were more sensible, so I wouldn't have to worry so much. Now I'm just worried that his money isn't from the right place, and he'll go astray at such a young age."
"It can't be that bad, I know Xiao Nian, he's sensible." Jiang Weizheng withdrew his hand, frowning. "I checked that game company, it's quite big."
"I estimate he can earn some money a month without any problem, just don't let him get too addicted."
The couple chatted for a while longer, but ultimately didn't reach a conclusion. Feeling sleepy, and remembering they had to go to work the next day, they went straight to sleep.
The next day.
It was September, and dawn was breaking in the small southern county town at five o'clock.
Jiang Nian got up early, changed into her sneakers, and subconsciously glanced at Xu Qianqian's house across the street. The door was closed; Uncle Xu was away on a business trip, and she was home alone.
Fine, I'll take pity on her and bring her breakfast.
It was a bit chilly in the early morning. Wearing a short-sleeved quick-drying shirt, he went downstairs, and goosebumps rose on his arms in the wind. Before him lay a not-so-bustling street and old, self-built buildings.
"Damn."
At Nancheng Middle School, on the track, a figure stretched endlessly in the morning light.
Jiang Nian was sweating profusely, his chest and back soaked with sweat. Running wasn't strenuous, and the morning wasn't too hot; a long run was bound to make him sweat.
After finishing five kilometers, Jiang Nian's phone vibrated. He picked it up and saw the reward had arrived.
"Phew! It's here."
A thousand yuan had arrived. He unscrewed a bottle of water from his backpack and gulped down a few mouthfuls. He rested in the shade of a sycamore tree in the southwest corner, preparing for another 3 kilometers.
Soon after, he finished the three and two kilometers.
"XX Bank received a transfer of 700 RMB and 300 RMB."
By this time, Jiang Nian was also a little out of breath. He looked as if he had just crawled out of water, his hair parted at the front, but his eyes were unusually clear.
Conservatively speaking, with some rest, he could run another five kilometers. Aside from being unable to get out of bed the next day, there would be almost no aftereffects.
For some reason, Jiang Nian wasn't at all averse to leg training.
He didn't have any grand ambitions; as a strong, single male high school student, he shared the same thoughts as Mr. Ji Xianlin in his youth: He only wished to live a long and fulfilling life.
The autumn air was crisp and clear, the sun had just risen, and the sunlight on the streets was warm and bright. The morning light filtered through the gaps in the tree branches, the Tyndall effect tracing the shape of the light.
Jiang Nian, holding his bicycle, bought four breakfasts before eight o'clock.
Prices in the county town were relatively cheap: radish and vegetable buns were one yuan each, a cup of soy milk was one yuan, fried dough sticks were one yuan and fifty cents, and meat buns were one yuan and fifty cents.
"Thirty yuan in total, please take it."
Ding! "Paid."
"Okay."
The breakfast cost thirty yuan in total, a whole bag full. Jiang Nian could eat four meat buns, two fried dough sticks, soy milk, and two or three vegetarian buns by himself.
The two thousand yuan he just received, plus the 161 yuan left from yesterday, minus thirty yuan for breakfast, left him with a total of 2131 yuan.
There were many people like Jiang Nian carrying large bags of breakfast, but they were mostly elderly. They went to bed early and got up early to buy breakfast for their children and grandchildren who were at work or school.
The bicycle wheels rolled over the dry road, the boy's spirited figure imprinted in the golden morning light.
Screech, a sudden stop, Jiang Nian jumped off the bike.
Carrying the large bag of breakfast home, he ran into his mother, Li Hongmei, just as she was getting up. Her hair was disheveled, and her eyes showed the weariness of an early riser; she seemed to be preparing breakfast.
Although prices in Zhennan County were already quite cheap, homemade breakfast was still more cost-effective.
Four yuan worth of rice noodles, chopped millet peppers, green peppers, garlic, scallions, mixed with chili oil, peanuts, cilantro, and pickled cowpeas—a dipping sauce was all you needed.
The curtains in the living room were drawn, making it dimly lit.
Li Hongmei, wearing a curtain-like, handmade pajama set and slippers, looked at her son, who walked in sweaty and smelly, carrying a large bag of breakfast.
"You went to buy breakfast?"
"Yeah, I bought it while I was running this morning." Jiang Nian nodded, placing the large bag of breakfast on the table. "Mom, you don't need to go to so much trouble. I'll take care of breakfast from now on."