Chapter 427: She Can’t Do It, Survival Is More Important

"Hurry up and go to work. Stop coming here to pester me."

The mere thought of Fu Mingxue’s maniacal methods for teaching the two little ones to read and recite poetry made Mrs. Fu’s head throb.

’So, tormenting the kids wasn’t enough for her.’

’Now she’s come to torment her own mother?’

"Mom, I’m being serious. Why don’t you try learning? I’ll give you money—"

Mrs. Fu glared at her. "Your money? If I don’t learn, you’re not going to give me any?"

"It’s different. That’s money for household expenses. This would be money you earn through your own hard work." ’Although, I’d also be tearfully pocketing ninety yuan from it.’

’If my mom learned a few hundred characters in a month...’

’Wouldn’t that be several ninety-yuan payments for me?’

’Man, making money so effortlessly sounds pretty great.’

"With my own hard work? What hard work? Isn’t your money just your money? You want me to earn your money? Just moving it from your pocket to mine? I can’t believe you’d even think of that." Mrs. Fu didn’t want to waste her breath on her daughter, who clearly wasn’t thinking straight.

Then, she suddenly grew a little worried. ’Wait, I didn’t hit her too hard just now, did I?’

’Did I actually knock something loose in her head?’

Fu Mingxue: ?...

’How am I supposed to explain to her that I’m earning a huge fortune from this?’

’Learning one hundred characters a day means one hundred yuan in my account every day.’

’Where could you even find a job with a salary that high these days?’

"Mom, okay, I’ll come clean. This is part of a literacy campaign from my department—"

"Alright, alright, stop making stuff up."

’What kind of literacy campaign gives you ten yuan for learning a hundred characters?’

Fu Mingxue was quick on her feet. Her eyes darted around for a moment, and a great idea struck her.

She immediately declared with righteous conviction, "Mom, the literacy campaign part is true—but the ten yuan is my own addition. It’s a bonus I’m offering you. There *are* real rewards, though. I can get a bigger bonus from work. If you can manage to learn anywhere from one to a thousand characters a month, I’ll get a cash bonus, or they’ll reward me with things like cooking oil and rice to encourage me."

Hearing this, Mrs. Fu’s eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Are you telling the truth? Wait a minute, what kind of company gives out rewards for a literacy campaign?"

’How come I’ve never heard of something so good?’

"Of course it’s true. Our boss assigned this task to my team. We’re starting with a small-scale trial."

Fu Mingxue lied with a straight face.

Mrs. Fu: ...?

"I guess I could give it a try?"

’It’s not like I have anything better to do, anyway.’

Seeing her mother finally waver, Fu Mingxue’s eyes lit up.

"Yes, Mom, you have to try! Besides, wouldn’t it be great for you to know more characters yourself? Later, when the two kids are older and start school, you’ll even be able to help them with their homework."

Mrs. Fu: ...?

’Now she’s just getting carried away. This is getting more and more ridiculous.’

’I don’t want to hear another word of it.’

"Alright, that’s enough. Hurry up and get to work."

"So, what’s your verdict on learning the characters? Mom, you know there’s only one illiterate person left in our family—"

Those words really struck a nerve.

Her eyes flew open. "What do you mean, illiterate? I know plenty of characters!"

Over the years she’d worked at the textile factory, she had learned quite a few.

Fu Mingxue sighed. "Fine, my mistake. Just think about it, okay? I’m heading out."

’If I can make this money, great. If not—well, there’s nothing I can do about it.’

’After all, I can push the two kids, but I can’t force my mom to learn.’

Mrs. Fu looked at her with disdain. "Just go already. The sight of you gives me a headache."

Fu Mingxue: ...?

After Fu Mingxue wheeled her bicycle out and left, Mrs. Fu actually started mulling over the idea.

’Learning characters... If it really could help my daughter complete her literacy campaign task, that would be a good thing.’

’She wouldn’t lie to me, would she?’

However, when she picked up the book her daughter had given the two little ones and looked at the characters inside, her head started to spin.

’Forget it. I can’t do this.’

’My life is more important!’

Just then, a knock sounded at the door, followed by someone calling out, "Is Mrs. Fu home?"

Mrs. Fu went to open the door and was surprised to find Director Wang.

’I haven’t seen him in ages. What’s he doing here now?’