The Shocking Chill of the River (Part 1)

  After a week of investigation, Jiang Zhihan chose two places. The first one is not far from home and Jiang Zhihan's school, next to a farmer's market, within a 15-minute walk there are three schools, one primary school, and two middle schools. The surrounding residential areas are also very concentrated. Near the farmer's market, there is a long street, most of the houses on both sides are still residential, and a small part has opened their own shops or rented them out.

  This area is just within Lin Suo's jurisdiction. Jiang Zhihan and Li Rongrong told her to ask around nearby who has the intention of renting, how much the price is. Jiang Zhihan roughly summarized the original market survey given by Nian Xiang to provide some basic directions for her mother, of course, the top priority is to find a good storefront, apply for a license, and then decorate, hire people, and stock up goods.

  Li Ruoruo told Jiang Zihan, since the overall direction has been determined, let him take full responsibility for the rest. He should focus on reviewing his lessons and preparing for the mid-term exams. After all, in the hearts of most people, getting into a university is the right path to take. Although Li Ruoruo had an inexplicable confidence in her son and knew he had his own plans, she still hoped he could follow that so-called right path.

  Jiang Zihan refocused his energy on school and started preparing for the mid-term exams. He had never listened in class before, and his homework was always copied from Nian Yu's. Now it was time to cram. In physics and English, two subjects he excelled in, Jiang Zihan often discussed with Nian Yu, and both benefited greatly. After forcing himself through a difficult original book for some time, Jiang Zihan's vocabulary had probably become the largest in his class. He found that memorizing words through large amounts of reading was ten times more effective than rote memorization. His speed and sense of grammar and fill-in-the-blank questions were also getting better. However, he still couldn't handle some tricky grammar questions well, after all, he had practiced too little, and his foundation wasn't perfect.

  Since Ni Xiang helped Jiang Zhihan with the market survey, Ni Xiang vaguely felt that Jiang Zhihan's attitude towards her had changed. Sometimes, she found that Jiang Zhihan would observe her for a long time with his peripheral vision. Sometimes, when discussing problems with him, Jiang Zhihan would look at her with a very gentle gaze. But Jiang Zhihan didn't have any out-of-the-ordinary language or behavior, instead he suddenly became extremely diligent. Ni Xiang asked Jiang Zhihan, "Don't you think the exam is not that important?" Jiang Zhihan said, "I never thought that way, it's just that I wasted too much time repeating labor in the past, and it's necessary to work hard before the exam."

  Actually, Ni Xiang didn't notice the change in herself. Usually, she remembered her father's warning and couldn't get too close to a boy. When they tried to get too close, she should politely but firmly turn around and leave or take two steps back to maintain distance. With Jiang Zhihan, Ni Xiang unknowingly lost that caution instilled by her father. She felt that talking to this boy, discussing schoolwork, sometimes going together to buy ice cream, casually chatting about family and things around them, was a very comfortable and natural feeling. When Jiang Zhihan slowly got closer to her, this time she didn't escape, but just instinctively felt happy and safe.

  Li Ruo's efficient and decisive approach to getting things done was once again proven. She quickly found a house and began discussing the rent. At the same time, the business license had been successfully obtained. That evening, when she returned home, Li Ruo said to Jiang Zihan: "The rent for that house is quite cheap. I'm thinking of signing a one-year lease, but the landlord insists on a three-year contract. Three years is a bit long, and if things don't go well, we'll lose a lot." Jiang Zihan thought for a moment and said: "Three years is fine, you can use this opportunity to negotiate a lower rent each month. Mom, I think that in a few years, when the market develops, even if you're not doing business, you can still make money by subletting at this price. However, we need to find someone to review the contract carefully, so as not to run into trouble later. Those people might try to raise the rent or cancel the contract if they see that the bookstore is making a lot of money." Li Ruo continued: "Yesterday, I brought some gifts to visit Director Lin. He's a very nice person and willing to help. He said he would also help with the industrial and commercial tax bureau and city management department, as long as we operate legally and don't sell pirated goods, there won't be any problems. He also told me to come find him directly if I need anything in the future. You should focus on your studies, but you're not a kid who stays at home reading books all day anymore, so it's necessary to have some money for socializing. When we go out to eat with Director Lin and others, don't always let others pay the bill."

  In the blink of an eye, the mid-term exam arrived. After finishing the exam on that Friday, Jiang Zihan asked Ni Xiang: "How do you think you did?" Ni Xiang shook her head and said: "Not very good." Then she asked Jiang Zihan back: "What about you?" Jiang Zihan smiled and said: "I feel pretty good." Ni Xiang stared at him with wide eyes: "Why are you always so confident?" Jiang Zihan smiled and said: "Because our standards are different, if you don't get first place, you think it's not good. As for me, as long as I pass in the middle, I'm already satisfied." After saying that, he stood up and bid farewell to Ni Xiang. Finally having some free time from school, he wanted to visit Old Man Yang. When he arrived at Old Man Yang's house, Old Man Yang checked Jiang Zihan's progress in his training and found that although he had been busy lately, he hadn't given up on practicing. Although he didn't say anything, he was secretly very pleased.

  Li Ruoruo had already signed the lease and was busy with the renovation, not leaving the house day or night. On Sunday, Li Ruoruo went out early to supervise the progress of the renovation, and Jiang Zihan stole a rare lazy morning, finally having time to sleep in. Unbeknownst to him, the tunnel dream came back again, Jiang Zihan sat up, dazed for a moment, before hearing someone knocking on the door.

  As soon as the door opened, it was Shen Pengfei, the little neighbor he had saved during the summer vacation. Shen Pengfei had already come to his house with his grandparents and sister to formally thank him. Jiang Zihan didn't know what he came for, so he politely invited him in. Over the past few months, Shen Pengfei's injuries had fully recovered, and fortunately, there were no serious aftereffects left behind.

  Shen Pengfei sat down and said straightforwardly: "Brother Jiang, I don't want to study anymore, I want to come out and work."

  Jiang Zhihan said in surprise: "Aren't you just entering vocational high school? Why don't you finish vocational high school?"

  Shen Pengfei said: "Our vocational school was the worst kind, unlike other schools like banking and finance, where graduates can easily find jobs. Our school didn't have many job opportunities after graduation, so what's the point of studying? Besides, I went back to school for half a semester after being discharged from the hospital, but it was all dark and gloomy inside, and I didn't want to waste two more years there. What can you do with a vocational school diploma anyway? Who still values vocational school diplomas nowadays?"

  Jiang Zhi thought for a moment and said, "It's hard to find a job too."

  Shen Pengfei said: "So I came to consult with you. Grandpa and others all say that you are not only a man of integrity, but also have your own ideas. I said I want to go out to work, my parents don't even listen. I want to go south, but I don't know if they will think I'm too young to hire me. Actually, I started school late and was held back for a year, so this year I'm already 17."

  Jiang Zihan thought for a moment and said, "I happen to know of an opportunity, but it requires patience and hard work. I don't know if you can do it."

  Shen Pengfei said: "Jiang Ge, I'll be honest with you. I'm just not the type to study, it's all in vain anyway. But when it comes to doing things, I'm willing to put in effort. These past few years during holidays, I helped my aunt watch her stall and did many things without complaint. This time, I almost got screwed over, but I thought about some things. My parents don't care if I live or die, but my grandparents are still worried sick for me at their age, so I want to work hard and earn money, that way I can take good care of them in the future."

  Jiang Zhan said: "Alright, I'll go and discuss it with the person in charge. You wait for my response."

  Shen Pengfei said: "No problem. My life was saved by you. Both Director Lin and Dr. Guan said that if I had been hit two more times, I would have died. Brother Jiang, I'll listen to you, where do you point, I'll hit."

  Jiang Zhan patted him on the shoulder and said, "Alright, let's go out for dinner together."

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  On Wednesday morning, it was time to announce the mid-term exam results. As soon as the results were announced, the biggest surprise came from Jiang Zhihan. He scored 9 points in physics (this is an era of full marks of 100), and surprisingly became the first in the class. He scored 90 points in English, ranking fourth in the class, while his overall score rose to seventh in the class. Ni Xiang's scores were also very good, with Chinese first, English second, chemistry third, physics fifth, and overall ranking second in the class.

  Before the results were announced, Ni Xiang went to the teacher's office. Class teacher Zhang gave her a brief overview of the class's overall performance and asked her to organize a class meeting to discuss learning experiences and summarize the gains and losses of the semester. Zhang also praised Ni Xiang, saying that she had risen to eighth place in the entire grade, which was something to be proud of. More importantly, she was commended for her willingness to help her classmates, particularly Jiang Zhihan, who had made significant progress, especially in physics, where he scored first and surprised the physics teacher. He was the only one in the class to fully solve the last 15-point question, despite making some small mistakes earlier, which laid the foundation for his first-place finish. In Zhang's opinion, Jiang Zhihan's sudden improvement was not only due to his own efforts but also thanks to Ni Xiang's influence and help as his deskmate. Zhang suggested, "At the class meeting, we should discuss how to help each other and improve together. You should share your experiences." Ni Xiang thought to herself, I have helped him a lot, borrowing many homework assignments from him, but I don't know if this experience can be promoted as a learning model.