Ye Qing had pretended to bump into Wang Tiezhu outside the village; he didn't want Wang Tiezhu to know he had been following him.
Wang Tiezhu, with a backpack slung over his shoulders and ready to set up his stall, was suddenly greeted by his fellow villager Ye Qing. Hastily, he adjusted his backpack, awkwardly greeting Ye Qing in return.
"Oh, Tiezhu, you've come at just the right time," Ye Qing waved and said, "Can you do me a favor?"
"Sure," Wang Tiezhu responded without a second thought, as Ye Qing was the person he was most grateful to at this school.
Ye Qing said, "A friend of mine asked me to find a tutor for him, someone good at math. You've been here longer, do you know where I can find a tutor?"
A glimmer of hope flashed in Wang Tiezhu's eyes as he replied, "A tutor, huh... are there any specific requirements?"
Ye Qing replied, "Just that they're good at math, the pay is pretty good."
"Ah..." Wang Tiezhu's eyes gleamed even more eagerly, clearly very interested in the job.
"Well, actually... I mean, my math is... not too bad..." Wang Tiezhu's face flushed red as he spoke, looking down at his toes, his expression extremely embarrassed.
"Oh, how could I have forgotten about you!" Ye Qing immediately slapped his forehead and said, "Right, your math is quite good. No need to look further, do you have time? How about you come with me and give it a try?"
"Yes, yes!" Wang Tiezhu was overjoyed. He had only taken a few steps when his expression suddenly turned somber again. "That... I... I'd better not go..."
"Why?" Ye Qing asked in surprise, turning to look at Wang Tiezhu. He was looking down at the holes in his shoes, his expression very awkward.
Seeing Wang Tiezhu's expression, Ye Qing immediately understood his concerns. He felt embarrassed about his shabby clothes, fearing he would embarrass himself as his outfit was barely different from a beggar's.
"I asked you to tutor, not to enter a beauty contest. They only care about your knowledge, who cares what you wear!" Ye Qing scolded him a few times and, without further ado, dragged him along.
Zhao Chengshuang had already received a call from Ye Qing and had returned to the Zhao Family home to wait for him. He was taken aback when he saw Ye Qing bring a man in tattered clothes and blurted out, "Hey, Little Leaf, I asked you to find a woman, and you bring me this..."
Ye Qing glared at him sharply, and Zhao Chengshuang, realizing there was certainly a problem, quickly changed his tune, "Having a male tutor isn't really an issue, but is he good at math?"
"No problem!" Ye Qing swiftly replied. He had seen Wang Tiezhu's notes and knew his studies were quite commendable.
"That's good, that's good." Zhao Chengshuang, still a bit shocked by Wang Tiezhu's appearance, felt a visual impact. However, since Ye Qing had brought him, he couldn't outright refuse and led them into his uncle's house.
The Zhao Family all lived together in a large compound that resembled a villa had the houses not been so retro. However, the interiors were nicely decorated. Entering the living room made Wang Tiezhu feel out of place. His clothes were completely at odds with the decor of the house.
Wang Tiezhu followed Ye Qing, extremely nervous. He felt desperate as he thought his very presence polluted the house, let alone being here to teach.
Zhao Cheng's great-aunt Lin Yun was sitting in the living room. Seeing Wang Tiezhu, she was honestly taken aback. However, having been raised in a learned family, she politely asked him to sit down in the living room.
Wang Tiezhu sat on the edge of the sofa, barely touching it, fearing he might dirty its elegance.
Watching from the side, Zhao Chengshuang was incredibly surprised and couldn't help but say, "Right, Little Leaf, my great-uncle mentioned wanting to have a word with you. Why don't you come with me to see him first?"
Ye Qing knew what Zhao Chengshuang mostly wanted to discuss, left Wang Tiezhu with a brief instruction to wait here, and got up to push Zhao Chengshuang's wheelchair into the inner room.
When they entered the room, Zhao Chengshuang was surprised to see his grandmother Chen Shu sitting there, quietly watching Wang Tiezhu outside.
"Grandma, what are you doing here?" Zhao Chengshuang asked curiously.
Chen Shu answered indifferently, "You brought a tutor home, of course, I want to see what he's like. If his character isn't good, how can I let him teach your cousin?"
"Oh?" Zhao Chengshuang looked at Wang Tiezhu outside and then back at Ye Qing, saying, "Little Ye, what's going on here? I asked you to bring back a girl, and not only did you bring a guy, but what is this situation?"
"I think he's quite good," Chen Shu spoke up before Ye Qing could say anything.
Zhao Chengshuang was surprised, "What's good about him? Grandma, you haven't even spoken a word to him, how do you know he's that good?"
"Judging a person by their appearance is the least accurate thing. If you want to see what a person is like, you can tell from the small details," Chen Shu said. "Although this kid is dressed in rags, since he entered the room, he's almost always walked on tiptoes. That means he's afraid of dirtying the floor with his shoes, which shows a rare sense of responsibility.
Plus, look at him sitting on the sofa, he's barely touching it. Such a sense of responsibility is rarely seen in young people nowadays. When hiring a tutor, you need someone responsible!"
After hearing Grandma's analysis, Zhao Chengshuang's eyes bulged. He turned his head to look at Ye Zi and couldn't help exclaiming, "My heavens, his butt isn't really sitting on the sofa, look at the sweat on his forehead. Ye Zi, your friend is really cautious!"
"That's called politeness!" Chen Shu glared at him and turned to smile at Ye Qing, saying, "So you're Ye Qing?"
"Yes," Ye Qing bowed in response, even though this was his first time meeting the old lady. But the words she analyzed about Wang Tiezhu made him admire the old lady's wisdom.
"I've heard Cheng Shuang mention you quite often. Young man, you're very impressive," Chen Shu nodded and said, "That boy outside is not bad either."
After saying this, Chen Shu got up and left the room. The two inside looked at each other. Zhao Chengshuang shrugged and said, "What else is there to say, Old Madam has spoken, so let's settle it ."
Ye Qing took a long breath. He really feared that the Zhao Family would not hire him because of Wang Tiezhu's clothes. Now that Chen Shu had spoken, it seemed the matter was truly settled, and Ye Qing felt happy for Wang Tiezhu.
Wang Tiezhu sat nervously in the living room, not leaning on the sofa. This posture was very uncomfortable, and his forehead was covered in sweat. However, he didn't dare say anything and could only anxiously wait for Ye Qing; he had already given up hope for this job.
When Ye Qing and Zhao Chengshuang came out of the inner room, seeing Zhao Chengshuang's expression, Lin Yun knew the situation immediately. She stood up and smiled, "Tiezhu, let me first discuss our tutoring rates with you. I consulted with nearby tutoring agencies, and the general tutoring fees are around thirty yuan per hour.
My daughter's situation is a bit special, she lacks a strong foundation, and the tutoring will be more challenging. I can offer you forty yuan per hour. We need about two hours of tutoring each day, plus, we will reimburse you twenty yuan for travel expenses, so it's one hundred yuan a day. You can also have dinner with us. What do you think of this arrangement?"
"Ah?" Wang Tiezhu was stunned, not understanding what Lin Yun was saying at all. He couldn't believe he had actually been hired, and for such a high rate.
He earned very little money working five or six hours at his stall each evening. He had to deal with the harassment of local hooligans, and it was luxurious to make fifty yuan in a night, plus he had to travel a long distance. To have his travel expenses reimbursed here was something he had never imagined.
Moreover, they were providing dinner, whereas he usually only ate a few bites of leftover food before going to his stall at night; it had been a long time since he had eaten a proper meal.
Seeing that Wang Tiezhu didn't respond, Lin Yun smiled lightly, "Tiezhu, is there anything you want to add?"
Ye Qing patted Wang Tiezhu on the shoulder, and he finally snapped out of it, hurriedly waving his hands, "No... no... nothing else..."
"That's good," Lin Yun extended her hand and smiled, "Then we'll be counting on you in the future."
Looking at Lin Yun's fair hand and then at his own dark ones, Wang Tiezhu felt very awkward. He reached out tentatively and shook hands with Lin Yun, afraid that his dirty hand would contaminate hers.
Lin Yun smiled faintly, very pleased with Wang Tiezhu.
To prevent Wang Tiezhu from feeling too embarrassed, Ye Qing stayed and had dinner with him. After chatting with a few members of the Zhao Family, Wang Tiezhu finally relaxed a bit, not as awkward as when he first came in.
Starting that evening, Wang Tiezhu became the Zhao Family's tutor. The daily payment of one hundred yuan was a substantial income for him, enough to support his mother and sister and even fund his own education.
When leaving, it was Wang Tiezhu who saw Ye out of the Zhao Family's home. At the door, Wang Tiezhu's eyes were slightly red as he looked at Ye and sincerely said, "Ye, thank you!"
Ye smiled faintly and patted Wang Tiezhu on the shoulder, saying, "Who hasn't been young and poor? Enduring hardship allows a person to grow."
Wang Tiezhu nodded vehemently, "Ye, I will definitely try my best!"
After bidding farewell to Wang Tiezhu, Ye first went home.
The girls were all at home. Chen Cuddly was now working the night shift, so Ye hardly saw her when he came home. On the other hand, Zhao Qingyue came home quite early in the evenings. Seeing Ye, Zhao Qingyue immediately smiled, "Ye, today at school I saw someone who looks a lot like you. If he hadn't been with Lin Corporation's heiress, I would have thought it was you!"
"That's him!" Mu Qingrong said coldly.
"Ah?" Zhao Qingyue's eyes widened in disbelief as she looked at Ye. She couldn't imagine how Ye could possibly be with Lin Huayu, the richest heiress in Shenchuan City. What was going on?
Mu Qingrong gave Ye a resentful glance. She knew Ye had his reasons for doing this, but it still made her heart ache.