Tang Xiaonan sensed Old Master Tate’s deep sorrow and understood completely. He had returned to his homeland burning with patriotic fervor, only to be met with endless hardship, unable to even fill his stomach. She knew that abroad, he had been a highly sought-after figure, with countless prestigious universities begging him to teach. Forget simply having enough to eat—he could have feasted on abalone and sea cucumber daily without issue. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

’But now, even eating a single White Rabbit creamy candy is an extravagant wish. Worse, in the book, he was beaten to death by a few ignorant fools right before his name was to be cleared. The Old Master’s fate was just too tragic.’

Tang Xiaonan held Old Master Tate’s rough, thin hand and said softly—

"Don’t be dismal, don’t be wild!

In the day of grief, be mild

Merry days will come, believe."

Old Master Tate trembled, looking at Tang Xiaonan in shock. Overcome with excitement, he said in a quavering voice, "Xiaonan, you... you read that again. Read it again!"

’I only recited the poem once,’ he thought, ’and not even that slowly. An adult might not have been able to remember it, but the lines Xiaonan just recited... Her pronunciation was perfect, and there wasn’t a single mistake in the words or grammar. And she’s only six years old!’

Tang Xiaonan could feel the old master’s joy. His eyes were shining as he looked at her as if she were a precious treasure. At that moment, Old Master Tate was happy and content because he had discovered a rare talent. For a teacher, there was no greater joy than discovering a promising student.

After a moment’s thought, Tang Xiaonan decided to stop holding back. ’Even if I’m not a real genius,’ she thought, ’if it can make Old Master Tate happy, I’m willing to ’deceive’ him for a while. At least it will bring some joy into his bleak life.’

Tang Xiaonan slowed her pace and recited the entire poem. This poem was one of her favorites from her past life; she knew it by heart. In fact, it was this very poem that had motivated her to learn Russian. Pushkin was a Volkovian nobleman who wrote poetry only in Russian, and while the English and Chinese translations were good, they couldn’t quite capture the flavor of the original.

Out of her love for Pushkin and this poem, combined with the fact that border trade with Volkovia was booming at the time, Tang Xiaonan had used her spare time to learn Russian. To be honest, Russian was much harder to learn than English. The pronunciation was a mouthful and the grammar was complex. If it weren’t for the motivation of Pushkin and money, Tang Xiaonan definitely wouldn’t have stuck with it.

She studied on and off for two or three years, and since she met many Volkovian businessmen at work, she had plenty of opportunities to practice. As a result, her Russian became quite fluent.

Her fluency in Russian also opened up many more job opportunities for her. Many Volkovian businessmen were willing to hire her as a translator, allowing her to earn a lot of extra money each year.

Spurred on by the money, Tang Xiaonan developed a passion for languages. She went on to teach herself Korean and Japanese, both of which were quite easy to learn. Having mastered four languages, Tang Xiaonan became a popular figure in the foreign trade circle.

On top of that, she had a great service attitude and was warm and friendly. She was familiar with many company bosses and could help foreign merchants connect with suppliers who offered good quality at low prices. Even during the off-season for foreign trade, she was still incredibly busy, and her income naturally rose with her success.

However, Tang Xiaonan was the type to live paycheck to paycheck. No matter how much money she earned, she would always max out her credit cards. She didn’t even know where all the money went; all she knew was that even earning 100,000 a month wasn’t enough.

Old Master Tate was stunned for a long while before he slowly came back to his senses. He excitedly hugged Tang Xiaonan and laughed heartily. "Do you know, Xiaonan? You’re a genius! HA HA... Heaven has been kind to me!"

His loud laughter startled a flock of birds and also caught the attention of Jacqueline Spann, who was on the mountain gathering firewood. Carrying a basket of thin branches on her back, Jacqueline Spann watched from a distance as Old Master Tate and Tang Xiaonan embraced, her eyes gradually filling with jealousy and resentment.