Chapter 60

Liu Zhenhai, hearing the people's disbelief, glared and said, "Don't believe me? Ask Teacher Lin, is what I said true or not?"

Lin Chunli nodded, "It's indeed over 6,000, a total of 6,578.38 yuan."

Liu Zhenhai turned to look at Xiao Youjin, feeling frustrated inside. He had clearly thrown a grand banquet to celebrate for his daughter, yet Xiao Fei had come to steal the spotlight. However, he still maintained his composure, smiled, and nodded to Lin Chunli, saying, "Teacher Lin, since Brother Zhenhai is here, why don't you just give him all the receipts? It will save you the trouble of running around, okay?"

"Sure, as long as it's given to Xiao Fei's family," Lin Chunli said with a smile.

Liu Zhenhai then handed the stack of remittance slips to Xiao Youjin, saying, "Old Xiao, having a son like Xiao Fei, your family has a bright future! Congratulations! Take good care of these slips, and go to the post office to withdraw the money and deposit it in the bank; that's the safest way."

"Uh, uh!" Xiao Youjin took the remittance slips, his hands trembling and sweating.

Lin Chunli also handed over Xiao Fei's letters to Xiao Youjin.

Holding these, Xiao Youjin felt as if he were carrying a precious infant, carefully and hurriedly running home to tell his son the good news.

Originally, dozens of villagers gathered under the shed and followed Xiao Youjin to his house.

Liu Xinmei, standing not far away, heard and saw everything. For some reason, she felt a sourness in her heart.

So what if he got into university?

After graduation, even with a decent job, he would only earn a hundred or so yuan a month at first, and even after turning regular, his monthly salary would only be two or three hundred yuan.

In a year, his income wouldn't even match Xiao Fei's monthly remuneration!

The joy of receiving the admission notice was now completely replaced by a deep sense of loss.

Such an excellent boy, why hadn't she noticed him before? If they had established a romantic relationship early on, would she still feel this sadness today?

Xiao Youjin hurriedly ran home.

He was sweating profusely but didn't bother to wipe it off.

Behind him, dozens of villagers followed, their footsteps rumbling, which startled Xiao Fei, who was writing at his desk in the yard.

He quickly stood up and went to meet them.

"Dad, what's wrong?"

Xiao Youjin looked at his son, grinned foolishly, and didn't know what to say. He was just a simple, honest country man.

Now, facing his son, he felt a bit of awe.

"Here, your remittance slips and letters!" Xiao Youjin said.

At this moment, the villagers who followed behind gathered around, chattering.

"Xiao Fei, look, so much money!"

"Wow! Writing articles can earn so much!"

"Xiao Fei, teach me how to write articles. I love literature too; I've read Jin Yong's martial arts novels four or five times!"

"Xiao Fei, how do you submit articles?"

Xiao Fei took the remittance slips from his father, glanced through them, and was surprised that "The Legend of the Kitchen Knife" had been published so quickly.

He hadn't expected the remuneration from "Storytelling" to come so fast, with the money arriving right after the article was published.

It was really impressive!

With this over 6,000 yuan in remuneration, his mind was finally at ease.

Next, he could smoothly implement his plan: first, build a new house, and then set aside 1,000 yuan for his trip to Shanghai.

He was calculating in his mind while still having to deal with the villagers surrounding him.

Receiving so much remuneration at once had definitely shocked the entire village. Many people must be thinking that earning money by writing is easy and are eager to try.

This was a problem.

He expected that many people would find various excuses to disturb him in the future.

He had already noticed that many villagers were looking at the manuscript on his desk with the same enthusiasm as if they were seeing a beautiful woman.

It took a lot of effort to finally send the villagers away, and the house became much quieter.

Xiao Youjin didn't go to Liu Zhenhai's banquet.

He went to the fields and called his wife and children back home.

Hearing the news of Xiao Fei's large remuneration, his brother and sister were very excited. His mother, who was often melancholic, was so moved by the remittance slips that she started to cry again.

"We should celebrate!" Father waved his hand confidently.

"We should celebrate. I'll go buy meat and alcohol. Today, we'll have a good meal. Hmph! I knew my brother wasn't ordinary, he's a celestial scholar descended from heaven, much better than Liu Xinmei getting into H University," Xiao Yang said proudly.

"Then, let's go to the town to collect the remuneration while we're at it," Father said.

In his eyes, a stack of paper at home couldn't bring peace of mind; it was better to have the money in hand.

"Alright, I'll go with my brother and bring our ID cards," Xiao Fei said.

The two brothers rode the family's bicycle to the town.

On the way, everyone they met greeted them with smiles and praised Xiao Fei.

When they arrived at the town post office, they encountered a problem.

The female clerk behind the counter said there wasn't enough money to exchange at the moment. This was true; even the county post office wouldn't keep a large amount of cash on hand for remittances.

After all, large remittances were rare in those days.

The Dongping Town Post Office usually processed only a few remittances a day, totaling a few hundred to a few thousand yuan. Xiao Fei was a rare exception.

"Come back tomorrow. We'll report the need for funds today and exchange them for you tomorrow," the female clerk said. She had never seen someone come to exchange so many remittance slips at once.

In fact, when the post office received these remittance slips from the county post office yesterday, the few employees of the Dongping Town Post Office were quite stunned.

The news that Xiao Fei from Xili Village had received over 6,000 yuan in remuneration had already spread widely in the town.

"Ah? We have to come back tomorrow?" Xiao Yang was unwilling and wanted to argue with the female clerk.

Xiao Fei pulled his brother, "Let's go, we'll come back tomorrow."

Arguing with the female clerk would be futile and a waste of energy.

Moreover, Xiao Fei noticed that since they arrived, more people had gathered in the post office, starting to watch them.

After leaving the post office, the two brothers bought some alcohol and dishes and returned home.

At noon, the Xiao family prepared six dishes. The family sat in the room, enjoying the meal and drinks while chatting and laughing, creating a very pleasant atmosphere.

"Dad, I think we should start building the house now. We've lived in this small, dilapidated house long enough. We should build a new house as soon as possible!" Xiao Fei said.

This suggestion immediately received the most enthusiastic response. Since the three children had grown up, the family's desire for a new house had reached its peak.