NOVEL NEXT Chapter 27
It was inevitable for ordinary young people in their twenties who start a business to experience setbacks and failures. It was either by making mistakes or encountering accidents. Very few were favored by the god of luck and made a fortune overnight.
In the eyes of many people, Jiang Wang was the type of person who buried shoes at his ancestor’s grave.[1]Not sure about this translation but based on the context, burying shoes in some cultures is superstitious practice believed to bring good luck or ward off bad luck.
They felt that this person not only knew football well but also had a keen sense of choosing the best locations for his bookstores based on Feng Shui principles. He robbed several of the golden locations in the city without saying a word.
Actually, this was not entirely true.
Jiang Wang’s ability to make money by opening a bookstore came from his keen sense of smell gained 20 years later and his professional vision as a senior in real estate sales.
He could distinguish the traffic volume of people on several commercial streets at a glance. The subtle differences between the East Third shop and the West Third shop, and the skillful selection of the location were considered using his business strategy.
Seeing that Boss Jiang made money, many people became restless. Just two months later, several bookstores attempted to imitate his business model. Selling milk tea in a decent manner, and welcoming students to come in to read and do their homework.
However, it only remained lively for a few days. After a bit of time, it returned to a depressing atmosphere.
Jiang Wang thought about it and decided to use the existing funds to invest in the provincial city.
The matter of investment was very addictive. There exists a kind of pleasure like in gambling.
At this moment, the major e-commerce companies finally showed preliminary signs of marketing, and online shopping orders began to appear in the fifth- and sixth-tier cities one after another.
The actual economy was booming, he had plenty of time to gain a foothold in the provincial city and then used this as a radiation point to gradually expand his business to the whole country after a few more years.
What’s even better is that he clearly remembered the golden locations of the provincial city subway and subsequent commercial centers.
Jiang Wang made the decision quickly. He thought of this the night before and drove to the provincial city of Yuhan the next morning. When he arrived, he refilled the fuel tank and took the camera and a map to write and draw.
He also took the child’s ruler with him, which had several Ultraman stickers pasted on it and was actually very easy to use.
After drawing several lines that intersect, the suitable places appeared immediately.
Without much hesitation, he drove over and stepped on the spot[2]Went to the location to physically check or inspect something.. He observed the nearby real estate that was still under construction and saw that many people had already moved in one after another. He quickly settled on a large three-story commercial space.
Real estate was the lifeblood hub of the city, where there was an abundance of richness, there was endless life.[3]Wherever there is a rich and dynamic flow of energy or activity, life and growth will continue to thrive and flourish.
The finance department did not expect things to happen so suddenly.
“Boss, really?”
“Don’t you have to think it over?”
“No need.” Jiang Wang informed him innocently. He turned his head and signed his name, and asked the designer to reconfirm the storefront style.
It took more than ten days to go over the plan, so in the end, Jiang Wang became a platinum member in a nearby hotel. He only returned to the small town after the construction plan was completely finalized.
The day he came back it was already September 9th, and the child had experienced second grade for several days.
Peng Xingwang knew that his elder brother had gone on a business trip and that his father had also gone on a business trip. He obediently went to school alone to register, he swiped the card to pay the tuition and went to the small dormitory for a nap as he spread the quilt and sheets.
He had taken care of himself for a long time and was proficient enough.
Ji Linqiu was still worried at the beginning, so he accompanied him in everything.
However, the old lady in charge of the class often twisted her eyebrows and glared. She usually got annoyed at the students and even more at her young colleagues, so she always had a few words to say.
“What happened to eight-year-olds these days? When the older generation was eight years old, they all followed their families to the fields to plant rice. He still has a lot to learn!”
Ji Linqiu looked disapproving of this, but still disappeared in front of her, to avoid further incidents.
On the contrary, Peng Xingwang efficiently took care of everything for the start of school. In the next few days, he completed wrapping his books and handled the formalities very well. On the way home, he took Teacher Ji’s hand deliberately and coaxed him.
“Don’t worry, I’m great by myself!”
“And I will be just as great as my elder brother!”
Ji Linqiu couldn’t help but smile, lowering his head he kissed the child on the top of his head and led him to cross the road together.
He didn’t see Jiang Wang leaning on the street lamp until they finished walking the zebra crossing and reached the other end of the wide road.
The man obviously saw the scene of him kissing Peng Xingwang and laughed smugly.
Ji Linqiu blinked and deliberately pursed her lips when he walked up to Jiang Wang.
“What are you laughing at?”
“Did I laugh?” Jiang Wang raised his eyebrows. “I don’t think so.”
We haven’t seen each other for more than ten days, but your narcissism hasn’t changed.
Ji Linqiu gave him a glance, and the three of them walked back together tacitly.
Jiang Wang had been away from home for a long time, so when he came back, he had an inexplicable sense of freshness.
In fact, he, like Peng Xingwang, had only experienced the feeling of having a family for the past two months and had previously been used to being a lone wolf.
Now, not only does he have a close friend, but also a little tail that needs to be taken care of every day, which feels pretty good.
When they returned home, Ji Linqiu went into the house to correct homework. Jiang Wang accompanied Peng Xingwang to water the gardenia tree in the small courtyard under the setting sun. The child lowered his voice and spoke quietly.
“Brother, tomorrow is Teacher’s Day.”
Jiang Wang thought for a while and responded, “Is there, not enough money? I’ll accompany you later to buy flowers for the teacher?”
“No! I saved a lot of money!” Peng Xingwang looked at him with a ‘you blockhead’ expression. “Tomorrow, we should send flowers to Teacher Ji!”
Jiang Wang thought about why the child’s clinginess hadn’t passed yet and pondered for a few more seconds.
“In fact, students from several classes will send him flowers. If you also give him flowers, you’ll be drowned out. It’s estimated that even the fragrances will be mixed.”
Peng Xingwang drooped his head, feeling sullen.
“Giving gifts is too common, and giving flowers is not good. What should we do?”
Jiang Wang didn’t expect to have to worry about this kind of thing again after graduating for so many years. He said after a while, “Let’s write a card with our heartfelt wishes. Your handwriting… is very special. Teacher Ji will definitely remember it.”
He held back from using the comparison of cutting a horse into five parts, not wanting to crush the child’s confidence.
Peng Xingwang looked up in amazement and took him to his room to get the greeting card.
This was sold a lot in the bookstore, and the salesgirl in the bookstore also liked to give postcards and greeting cards to the children, so Peng Xingwang unknowingly collected a lot of them.
Peng Xingwang picked a light blue card for himself and specially picked a bright yellow bow-tie greeting card for Jiang Wang.
Jiang Wang was puzzled, “I’m not in the second grade of elementary school.”
The child handed the pen under his nose. “You write too!”
Boss Jiang looked puzzled. Seeing that the other had already started to bite the tip of his pen and concentrate as he sat next to him, Jiang Wang wanted to leave. But after a while, he also took the cap off his pen and followed the child’s lead to writing.
He really should write a thank-you letter to Teacher Ji.
Jiang Wang was very poor when he was a child, and his family couldn’t afford greeting cards at all.
At that time, the children were all competing with each other. Some were even embarrassed to take out a single flower because the rich children would directly send beautifully woven flower baskets to school, each one more beautiful than the other.
Many students not only wrote greeting cards on Teachers’ Day but also sent greeting cards to their favorite teachers on Christmas Day and New Year’s. Some even played music when they opened it.
Jiang Wang was also in the second grade of elementary school at that time and had learned to write a few sentences fluently, but he was secretly scared in his heart.
In the end, he hastily tore off a piece of paper from his homework and scribbled two lines of thanks in a hurry. He put it on the desk of Teacher Ji and the class teacher like a thief when there was no one around, and he didn’t dare to sign it.
There were many children’s heartfelt wishes on the desks. There were even chocolate, flower baskets, single carnations, and greeting cards that played songs.
His words were hidden in a drawer, folded very small, like garbage, and would not be found if they didn’t look carefully.
But from that afternoon on, the stinky old lady with a poisonous tongue spoke to him a lot less harshly.
And Teacher Ji deliberately stopped him after school.
“Xingwang,” At that time, he also called his name the same as today, with a kind smile. “I received your greeting card.”
“But you folded it too small, I almost didn’t see it.”
Ji Linqiu squatted in front of the young Jiang Wang, reaching out and touching his head.
“Xingxing, if you want to say Happy New Year, Happy Autumn, and Happy Winter to the teacher in the future, you can write it in your English homework book.”
“This teacher will quietly draw you a small smiley face when grading your homework to show that it has been received, okay?”
Jiang Wang was probably wearing too little at that time. When the temperature suddenly dropped in autumn, his nose would freeze and become runny. He nodded slightly while wiping his face with the back of his hand in embarrassment, then turned around and ran.
He wrote Happy New Year to him in his English book every year until graduation.
Every year, the teacher would draw a small smiley face for him, even if there weren’t any greetings written.[4]TL/N: There’s just some dust in my eyes don’t mind me
(˃̣̣̥ᴖ˂̣̣̥)Jiang Wang had deliberately kept these memories on the edge of near oblivion, so when he remembered it again at this moment, his expression was not quite natural.
Memories could put people in a contradictory state of helplessness and strength at the same time.
As long as he thought of his childhood, it felt as if he would return to the old times when he suffered from pain every day.
Ji Linqiu in his memory was the same person as the Ji Linqiu who was grading homework in his living room at this moment.
He grew up alone, forcibly looking for one choice after another among teenagers who had no choice.
Then when he became independent as an adult, he returned to the past with a sentiment of being able to make his own choice in everything.
Facing Ji Linqiu from that year.
It should’ve been the same Teacher Ji who watched countless children in the wheat field, and also the Ji Linqiu who was trapped in family ties and societal expectations.
Jiang Wang thought about it for a long time, when Peng Xingwang started sticking Ultraman stickers to his greeting card, Jiang Wang finally started writing.
His words were too similar to those of his childhood, but his strokes were deep, his curves were strong, and there hid a lot of stories.
After the man finished writing, he folded it carefully and put it back in the transparent card holder.
Peng Xing looked up at him, “Should we give it together?”
“Okay.”
Ji Linqiu was grading homework in a daze. When he heard the sound of footsteps, he looked up and found Peng Xingwang leading the somewhat silent Jiang Wang over.
“Teacher Ji!” Peng Xingwang rubbed against Teacher Ji’s side, “I want to give you a Teacher’s Day greeting card in advance. Can I?”
“Of course, you can,” Ji Linqiu said with a smile. “Do you have something in mind, let me see?”
The child’s handwriting was very bold.
Compared with the previous five-part split horse writing method where the heads flew randomly, it finally evolved to a three-part split dog and was barely recognizable.
[ Teacher Hezi, you forever are the best Teacher Hezi!
(Teacher Ji, you will always be the best Teacher Ji!)
I definitely have a good time looking for English, and be your maqiaorenao!
(I definitely have a great time learning English and will be an excellent student of yours!)
Love Xingxing ][5]The letter was written with typos and Xingxing’s amazing handwriting, excluding the typos the one in the parentheses are what I think are the correct translations.
Ji Linqiu endured a laugh and finished reading, and kissed Peng Xingwang in front of Jiang Wang again.
The child was bubbling with joy and then turned to look at Jiang Wang.
“Brother also wrote a letter to you!”
Ji Linqiu was taken aback and was full of surprise.
“…Really?”
Jiang Wang handed it to him calmly.
“See for yourself.”
As soon as the greeting card was unfolded, there were only two short lines.
[ Happy Teacher’s Day, Ji Linqiu
May you always be bright and free from constraints 🙂 ]
TL NOTE:
That smiley face in Jiang Wang’s letter wuwu readers let’s not cry okay
Translator: asoc1a7 ꒰˶• ༝ •˶꒱
References
↑1Not sure about this translation but based on the context, burying shoes in some cultures is superstitious practice believed to bring good luck or ward off bad luck.↑2Went to the location to physically check or inspect something.↑3Wherever there is a rich and dynamic flow of energy or activity, life and growth will continue to thrive and flourish.↑4TL/N: There’s just some dust in my eyes don’t mind me(˃̣̣̥ᴖ˂̣̣̥) ↑5The letter was written with typos and Xingxing’s amazing handwriting, excluding the typos the one in the parentheses are what I think are the correct translations.