Rich in the 70s: I Made a Rugged Veteran a Millionaire-Chapter 83: Can She Do It?

Jiang Cheng didn’t move her feet, but her head turned slightly to look at Shen Yue, who stood up holding the painting paper and presented it to Grandma Zhao.

Grandma Zhao put down her teacup and looked at the painting paper earnestly.

Shen Yue was so nervous she didn’t dare breathe.

She loved painting!

Loved it very much!

Before meeting Jiang Cheng, she didn’t know she could formally learn to paint.

All along, she had been told not to scribble in books, not to waste paper, not this, not that.

In short, no one ever told her, like Jiang Cheng did, that there was nothing wrong with painting.

Shen Yue sneaked a glance at Jiang Cheng, who gave her a nod of affirmation and a smile.

Shen Yue smiled genuinely and turned back to await her judgment.

"Come to learn every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at five o’clock, prepare your own brushes and paper, buy professional paper and pens, can you do that?"

Shen Yue’s big round eyes were full of surprise, forgetting to speak.

"I can do it!"

Jiang Cheng stepped forward and agreed.

Grandma Zhao nodded, handed the painting paper to Shen Yue, and said, "Let’s go."

Jiang Cheng gently nudged Shen Yue, who immediately said, "Goodbye, Teacher Zhao."

Without turning her head, Grandma Zhao continued to trim the roses with scissors, taking advantage of the last bit of daylight.

Jiang Cheng held Shen Yue’s hand, along with Sister Wang, and walked out of Grandma Zhao’s yard together.

She first took Sister Wang home, expressed her thanks, and then took Shen Yue back to the tenement courtyard.

On the way back, Shen Yue chatted non-stop in disbelief.

"Sister, I really have a teacher now!"

"Yes, and a very skilled teacher, too."

"If you say she’s skilled, she must be super skilled! I must study hard."

"I believe in you! But you have to promise me, you need to study hard in school as well."

Shen Yue put on a determined look and said, "Okay!"

Jiang Cheng looked at her helplessly.

This is also why she said to study hard, not to necessarily do well.

Shen Yue is probably the kind of student who is very insensitive to studying.

*

The next day, Saturday, Jiang Cheng took Shen Yue, Shen Xing, and Grandma Shen to the department store.

Grandma Shen said she wouldn’t go because of chores at home, but actually, she was afraid of spending money.

Li Chunxiang popped up out of nowhere, eagerly saying she’d do the chores.

Sun Aiguo also appeared, saying he’d carry water.

Neither of them could see their own household chores, yet they were competing to help with Jiang Cheng’s.

The most outrageous thing was that the parents of both families not only didn’t mind but even insisted on helping out personally.

If Grandma Shen hadn’t stopped them, she might have lived like a dowager empress of ancient times.

In any case, Grandma Shen eventually went with them to the department store.

There were especially many people on the weekend.

Seeing the crowd, Grandma Shen held onto Shen Xing and Shen Yue and said, "Stay close, don’t get lost."

Noticing this, Jiang Cheng took Grandma Shen and the three of them to the second floor, finding Sister Zhu, whom she had met when buying a bicycle last time.

After chatting for a few minutes, Sister Zhu took Jiang Cheng and the four of them downstairs, walking through their internal passageway to the stationery counter. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

There weren’t many people at the stationery counter. Seeing a pretty young girl, Jiang Cheng immediately started complimenting her endlessly.

"Young and promising, so beautiful and capable..."

...

With just a few words, she made the young sales clerk thrilled and happy.

"This paper is really nice! It’s grade-one paper from the paper mill, right?"

"You even know this."

The sales clerk asked with a smile, and Jiang Cheng replied, a bit embarrassed, "I’ve visited the paper mill a few times, and I remembered this when the manager introduced it to me back then."

With one sentence, Jiang Cheng conveyed that she knew the manager of the paper mill.

After hearing this, the sales clerk became even more enthusiastic.

After smoothly buying paper and pens, Jiang Cheng, under the young sales clerk’s attentive service, successfully bought clothes and shoes for Shen Xing, Shen Yue, and Grandma Shen.

Jiang Cheng was decisive in her purchases, straightforward in paying, and talking with her was truly a pleasure.

After walking around once, Jiang Cheng became acquainted with quite a few sales clerks.

When they came out, Jiang Cheng pretended to sigh and said, "Everyone is very enthusiastic; no one looks down on you."

Grandma Shen said nothing, pointing in a direction, "It says there not to assault customers without reason."

Jiang Cheng thought for a few seconds and said:

"This is a reminder for both parties to remain calm."

Grandma Shen: You say a lot, I’ll believe you.

After finishing speaking, Jiang Cheng promptly took Shen Xing, Shen Yue, and Grandma Shen to a state-run restaurant for a meal.

At lunchtime, there were many people, with limited seating and limited dish supply.

Seeing the crowded state-run restaurant, Grandma Shen said, "Let’s go back home to eat; even if I’m not worried about money, there’s no place here!"

"We’re already here, and I’ll be going to the provincial capital in a few days."

After taking a few more glances, Jiang Cheng handed the cloth bags to Grandma Shen and said, "You hold these, I’ll go check it out."

"What are you doing? Do you know someone?"

Jiang Cheng shook her head.

"I don’t know."

Jiang Cheng went inside.

Grandma Shen: Can this work?

It turns out it really could work.

The four of them sat at a small table near the kitchen door, each with a small stool.

Grandma Shen asked quietly, "How did you get in?"

"By coincidence, she’s the sister of a night school classmate."

Grandma Shen looked shocked and asked, "You remember which of your night school classmates has a sister?"

Jiang Cheng replied as if it were obvious, "Isn’t that a given?"

Grandma Shen: Is it? Is it?

No one gave Grandma Shen an answer, and at that moment, the dishes arrived.

Braised pork, stewed cabbage, spicy tofu with green peppers, and minced meat tofu.

The portions were generous, and the taste very good.

Every cook in a state-run restaurant could boast some skills.

After eating their fill, Grandma Shen and the others used steamed buns to soak up the sauce left in the dishes.

Jiang Cheng went to chat with the sister of her night school classmate, who was also a sales clerk at the state-run restaurant; the two talked and laughed.

Grandma Shen didn’t need to ask to know that this girl had already become part of Jiang Cheng’s new network.

Upon returning to the tenement courtyard, even before Grandma Shen could unlock the door, He Dan and Lin Chengyuan came over with angry faces.

"Jiang Cheng, you’re too cruel! Chengyuan and I are in love freely, why do you have to oppose us? What good does it do for you to get me expelled from night school!"

Jiang Cheng raised an eyebrow upon hearing this.

"Comrade He Dan, during the last three months, you missed two-thirds of your classes and can’t pass any exams. That’s the real reason night school expelled you, and it has nothing to do with me."

"Is the Lin Family historically inclined to bite the innocent? Why is your family too noble to make mistakes?"

"Instead of spending time looking for trouble, why don’t you reflect on yourselves? No mirror? Use a reflection in water!"

Jiang Cheng’s quick tongue and disdainful look pierced He Dan and Lin Chengyuan.

This Jiang Cheng, whom they once looked down upon, had somehow come to surpass them in every matter.

Shen Xing and Shen Yue stood by Jiang Cheng’s side, sharing the same enemy.

"Lin Chengyuan, if you dare to bully Sister Jiang Cheng, I’ll get my big brother to beat you up!"

Shen Yue held up a small fist, full of momentum.

In a moment of heated emotion, Lin Chengyuan blurted out, "Shen Que is dead!"