Chapter 29: The man who loves to boast 9/ blowing the cowhide to the sky 9
Author: 打字机N号
T /N: This is a MTL work. I tried to edit as best as I could, any mistake plz do put your comment and I will edit it ASAP. This is my first attempt on chinese novel so please cheer me up! I hope you will find this novel as interesting as I do.
These days, among the islanders, the most discussed news in private was on the topic was whether Jiang Liu was really a rich man and if so, how much was his net worth.
“Husband, do you think that boy really so rich?”
At this moment, a middle-aged couple was discussing this things while lying on the bed. Their mind started to wander on the 800,000 yuan donated by Jiang Liu to the island’s primary school. If he had no money, from where did he grab those 800,000 yuans? The old principal was a highly respected person and there was no way that he will accompany that Jiang Liu boy’s to blow a cow hide.
“There is still that car. What did our son said? I seem to remember that he mentioned that a Ferrari car should at least cost between three or four million. If he really did not have any money, how could he easily toss his money away like that, right?”
The woman’s voice quivered a bit. This was not three or four hundred yuan. That kind of money was enough for others to buy a small villa in Daishan Island. Yet, Jiang Liu used that much of money to buy a totally unusable car. Therefore the only conclusion they could come out was that he is really a rich person.
“Who knows?”
Her husband did not dare to make any conclusion at this moment. He felt that what happened today was too chilling, resembling like an opera performance
“If what Jiang Liu used to say was by no means bragging, then he really had dinner with that Ma Yun before, right? Can you tell Jiang Liu get me a signature from Ma Yun? My aunt and I had always worship him. By the way, can you ask Jiang Liu to request Ma Yun to give me a quota upgrade on the amount of flowers to spent?You see, I have been industrious and conscientious spending my money every month on Ma Yun Mao. How is it that my quota still capped at thousand? Our neighbour next door did not even used that ma Yun Mao much. Yet, her flower quota was already one thousand and five. I can’t even compare with her at all.”
The woman asked her husband enthusiastically.
“Heng, if Jiang Liu really telling the truth, then that person was
truly people who do big things. You think those people who do big things will
spend their time chatting about those flower that could not amount to anything?
Do not be a disgrace.”
That man felt dissatisfied. But if what was said about Jiang Liu was true, he would
also like to ask Jiang Liu to tell Mr. Ma to seal his wife’s Ma Yun Mao’s account.
His wife and his mother do not know how to economize and instead wasting the
money every day.
“What do mean by disgrace? I have been working hard for you all these years. Do you think it is easy for me to reach from where I am now? Well, if you said that I am appalling to your eyes, what are those children at the outside? You better make it clear to me.”
Originally, they were still gossiping about Jiang Liu, but now it had turned into a family war. Naturally, all the trivial matter in the past was dug out.
However, regardless of the process, the possibility that Jiang Liu may had not been bragging all these years had become the consensus conclusion among the islanders.
*****
At the beginning of August, Jiang Chongde followed his father to the first completed Hope Primary School.
This elementary school was located in Dashan Township of the Jiangzhou Autonomous Region. The mountain road was rugged and because it was not yet open to traffic, they could only walk up the mountain with their own feet. There were not many people living in this mountain. It was at most hundred folks living there. Most of them were old people and children.
As for the young people, as long as they have some ability, many of them had left the village to work. Due to the limited conditions of living, they could only reluctantly left their children on the mountain and let the elderly take care of them. Before Jiang Liu decided to build a school here, most of the children here will woke up at four o’clock and then spend three hours walking throughout the mountain to reach the nearest school.
After coming here, Jiang Chongde finally knew that the per capita annual income of some places was less than one thousand yuan. These brothers and sisters that could not be more than seven or eight years old could be seen carrying their one or two-year-old brother and sister to work at the field. As for taking care the elderly, it was a normal things to them.
Not long ago, he had been feeling resentful towards his irresponsible father. But now, he realised that these children who were facing far more difficult life than him could actually still be so optimistic. Due to this, he finally recognized of his own shortcomings.
When they finally arrived at the site, it happened to be the time for the lunch break.
Because of the donation provided by Jiang Liu, the school could finally provide these children with free lunch for the whole year. The dishes were very simple in Jiang Chongde’s view, but for the children living in these mountain, these were rare luxury to them.
Jiang Chongde helped the school’s teacher to distribute the meal to the children. Today’s lunch was egg drop tomato soup and stir fry lettuce and pork. There were not many pieces of pork could be seen among the abundance of lettuce leaves, yet, these egg drop tomato soup was rich in taste, and the unique sour aroma made the children around them started to drool.
“Wow, there is meat today!”
The first child in the line saw the meat on the stir fry lettuce and pork dishes. He excitedly told the child behind him. Their black face was full of joy and excitement. Jiang Chongde could see that the children started to gulp in anticipation.
It seemed that it was very difficult for them to eat meat from where they came from.
“Their meal was really improving recently. Before the donation from Mr. Jiang arrived here, these children can only go to school bringing their own meals. Because there was no place for them prepare for their hot meals, they could only eat their porridge and steamed bread that had long been left cold. Some of the children family’s conditions were far off worse. They did not even have anything to eat during lunch. They could only persevered until they had their dinner after returning from school.”
Jiang Chongde was talking to one of the volunteer who came here to teach. As if detecting the discontentment in Jiang Chongde’s heart, the teacher who prepared the love meal continued to explain.
“
Because of the love meal funded by Mr. Jiang, this children can finally
eat hot meals every day and eat meat dishes once a week. This could be
considered as a happy thing for them. As long as these children can eat, can
study, and being guaranteed of their basic needs, no matter how they will life
in the future, they will be able to rely on their own efforts to fight for it. This
kind of assistance is better than giving them dishes with generous amount of
meat and fish.
The volunteer quickly gave the allocated food to the little girl in front of her who was had been carrying her two-year-old brother. She added extra spoonful rice to the little girl’s bowl, but the dishes given to here were no different from the amount given to the other children.
The little girl looked at the extra spoonful of rice in her bowl, smiled and bowed to the volunteer before she carried her little brother and walked to the classroom with her rice bowl, ready to share today’s lunch with her brother.
“Mr. Jiang is a good person. You are very lucky to have such father.”
The volunteer’s word turned Jiang Chongde silent. He looked at his dad who was playing with some children who had been picking their noses. Those children was black and thin. He found himself unfamiliar with that man’s life.
The lunch that Jiang Chongde and others had was the same meal as the children. After eating, Jiang Chongde planned to wash the dishes, only to find that the children who finished their meal just cleaned their rice bowls, but did not want wash them.
“There is no water source in this mountain. The nearest deep-water well was more than three hours walk from here. Every morning, people in the village will go to fetch water from that well and brought back enough water needed for cooking and drinking water for the teachers and the children. There is no extra water after that.”
The teacher at the school explained that the local water resources were extremely scarce. They will not be able to procure any water unless they spend a lots of money to dig a deep-well. Otherwise, it was necessary for them to take a few hours on the mountain road to pick up the water for their family needs. Therefore, for the people in the mountains, the water was as valuable as money.
So the children choose to take the bowl home to clean, or clean it once every few days. They were already used to such a life.
“How much does it cost to dig a well?”
Jiang Chongde couldn’t help but ask.
“About two or three hundred thousand.”
The teacher on the side replied.
Hearing this number, Jiang Chongde realized what does it meant for that Ferrari that he had asked his dad to buy.
He didn’t speak of it because he knew it was his father’s money and not his. Thinking of those children getting drenched simply from carrying water home to eat and drink, he could only gave his father a meaningful glance
“I will contact the well-drilling team to see if there is a place near the school that is suitable for drilling wells.”
Jiang Liu finally said something. In fact, it was not only Jiang Chongde who couldn’t bear it. Even he couldn’t bear it. Only people who had lived at the bottom could understand the people living there. It really made his heart turned bitter.
It was said that mountainous area and poor living could not be separated. However, it was precisely because they were poor that they found it hard to survive and succeed among other people. When these children view their self-esteem and morality of having no value, the outside community will regard them hundred time worse. Therefore, Jiang Liu wanted to provide them with the opportunity to learn and taught them the necessary survival skills. As for the future? It will depend on their own efforts.
Among the hundred Hope Primary Schools that were set to build by Jiang Liu, many of them situated in areas where the water resources were scarce. Since he already built the school, he might as well dig the well for them.
Thinking that his private money was about to shrink again, Jiang Liu could not help but felt some pain.
While they were discussing about it, one of the volunteer quietly took pictures of this pair of father and son and saved it on the phone.
******
During the nearly two months of summer vacation, Jiang Liu took his son to inspect all the Hope Primary School built by him. Jiang Chongde finally ascertained that his father was really a rich man. Otherwise, how could he spend tens of millions yuan to do such good deeds.
These two months allowed Jiang Chongde to have a deeper understanding of his father. His father become less unfamiliar to him and he began to regard his father with more admiration and respect.
Jiang Liu was by no meant a too strict father. When he saw that his son had been following him these past two months without any complaint, he thought that he should take him to eat delicious food before the start of school semester. There should not be endless suffering in life. Occasionally he should pamper his son well.
Jiang Liu took his son to a private kitchen owned by one of his acquaintance in Hangzhou. The food here was expensive and you cannot make any order. The boss will cook whatever he wanted for the customer according to his mood of the day. But because the boss’s craftsmanship was good, the people continued to come back to eat therefore there were a stream of people here every day.
“Daddy is not someone who is wasteful and indulging in this kind of luxury on normal days. This is because of you that daddy decided to bring you to eat at this kind of restaurant.”
Jiang Liu drank a mouthful of homemade sour plum soup meant to alleviate the summer heat, his whole ambiance exuded happy mood.
Jiang Chongde had never come to this kind of posh restaurant. He was afraid to look around. He scared that others will find himself acting like a country bumpkin. He could only nodded his head as he listened to his father’s words. He could not help but thought that his father really treat him well. He will wait until he make his own money later on. By then, he will be able to bring his father to eat all delicious food.
“Jiang Liu, you haven’t come here for more than two months. Before that, you had always ran to me to eat here every day.”
The boss came out to greet the guests. When he saw Jiang Liu, he quickly walked over. Jiang Liu got a big slap on the back before the boss continued.
“I thought that you already tired of my craft that you decided to ran elsewhere.”
Jiang Chongde: …
This is what he mean by doing things solely for him? What with that absolutely never visit this kind of restaurant?
Oh, sure enough, this old man really a big pig hooves (T/N: Idiom: unreliable).
T/N: Aww Chongde got tease by daddy LOL
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