0086: The First Deal

They took Bai Xiaoxiao in for a thorough examination, and her body was in surprisingly good condition. Aside from malnutrition, there were no other problems.

And the malnutrition had nothing to do with eating too little; it came from eating too narrowly, without enough nutrients to make up the difference.

There was a lack of protein and various trace elements, for instance. The doctor did not prescribe any medicine, only recommended a few nutritional supplements that could be bought elsewhere, leaving her to choose what she needed.

What mattered most, however, was to get her schedule and mental state back in order. Her diet also needed to be balanced. Given time, she would gradually be fine.

“Did you hear that? It’s all about eating—eating well, and that skinny frame of yours will fill out on its own.”

“I don’t want to fill out,” Bai Xiaoxiao muttered with her head lowered, a little shyly pushing back.

“It’s almost nine now. Are you staying here with your mother?”

“Mhm. Could you help me ask for leave tomorrow? If I tell my mom, she definitely won’t let me take time off.”

“All right, but you’ll have to ask the lady beside you.” Xu Lin pointed at Su Qingwan.

“I forgot to mention it—I’m his English teacher. I can help you ask for leave. Your homeroom teacher is Teacher Wang, right?”

“Yes, thank you, Teacher Su.”

“Xu Lin, I’ll go get the car. We’ll leave through the north gate.”

“Okay, go ahead. I’ll say a few more words to her.”

“Mm.”

“Take this and use it for now.”

He pulled out three thousand yuan and handed it to her. On the way, he had withdrawn twenty thousand from an ATM. When he earned more money, he would make it up to his father and replenish that hidden stash.

“No, I can’t take it. We still have a little money at home. You’ve already covered the hospital deposit for us; we can’t pay you back anytime soon.”

“Then pay me back when you get into college and win a scholarship.” Xu Lin pressed the cash straight into her hand.

“If you don’t get in, then you can repay me by being my little wife.”

“Xu Lin, stop teasing me—! I’m not even pretty…”

Bai Xiaoxiao’s long eyelashes trembled slightly as if startled, and she did not dare look at him.

“How are you not pretty? You already look like this without even trying. If you dressed up, you’d put a lot of celebrities to shame.”

Xu Lin looked at her. She was still too thin for comfort, but her skin seemed much fairer now, and it was not bad at all. As long as she put on some weight, she would be fine.

Most girls were better off a little thin, but this girl needed some flesh on her bones. The system’s handsome-man charm rating really had not lied to him.

“Don’t say that… My mom says I shouldn’t dress too nicely. It’ll attract bad boys and affect my studies.”

“So that’s why I used some of my mother’s leftover cosmetics from when she used to run her little side business, and made myself look a bit darker.”

“Then do you think I’m a bad boy?” Xu Lin teased her, and she immediately answered.

“You like to bully me, but you… you’re a good person.”

“So I’m getting a good-person card?”

“What does a good-person card mean?” She tilted her head slightly, looking a little adorably naive. Xu Lin waved it off.

“Nothing. If you want to wear makeup, you can, but never use cheap cosmetics. They’ll damage your skin. Do you want your face to end up full of pits and pimples later on?”

“Your mother is being discharged tomorrow, so there should definitely be quite a bit left from the ten thousand you prepaid. Take the remainder and let your mother use it. Use these three thousand for nutritional supplements and cosmetics.”

Hearing this, she hesitated for a moment, then nodded. She had also seen news on television about girls using off-brand cosmetics and ruining their faces.

In the end, she thought that if she could finish first in the whole school at the end of the term, she would get a five-thousand-yuan bonus, and then she could return the three thousand to him.

Xu Lin did not know she was thinking about paying him back. He only felt that life was unpredictable, and that her family’s days ahead would only grow harder.

Her father had been the one earning money to get her mother treated, and now he would be unable to work for at least some time, while her mother could not afford any delay.

But such things were not rare in this world. He could not save everyone. He only hoped his own parents would take care of their health; when he went back, he would have them get checked as well.

As he finished thinking this, he was about to greet Bai Xiaoxiao and leave, when his eyes accidentally fell on a recruiting notice on the hospital bulletin board.

There were five or six franchise listings, and one of them—Zhang Guofu Spicy Hot Pot—caught his attention. He knew this place well.

It was an old, established spicy hot pot chain. In 2020, before his rebirth, the brand had already opened in Linshui, and there were two branches, one at the east gate and one at the west gate.

By then, delivery services had already become popular in his small city, and this spicy hot pot shop had consistently ranked among the top ten in orders.

Although Linshui’s delivery business had not really taken off yet, this was the same thought he had recently had about taking agency for the Blue Orange courier services.

Actually, taking a store franchise now would let him get ahead of the curve. In the next few years, no—perhaps even as early as next year—there might already be a Zhang Guofu branch here. He could not afford to wait any longer.

The investment was not that large, either, and he did not need to run it himself. There just happened to be someone right in front of him who could do the work.

Besides, the food market was enormous. Not just this one—many food ventures that would become popular in the future could be tried now.

The biggest problem, of course, was money. But he absolutely would not ask Chu Qingchan or Chu Fengyi for any. That was his bottom line.

Fortunately, a food franchise did not require too much capital. He could get it moving first. He memorized the contact number and the information on the recruitment notice.

“Xu Lin, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Have you thought about what your family will do if your father can no longer work?”

“I haven’t thought that far. If there really is no other way, I can quit school too. I have to get my mother treated.”

Bai Xiaoxiao was unexpectedly resolute. Even though she might one day get into one of the best universities in the country, even though she might have a future full of hope, she still said those words without hesitation.

“You’re a good kid! Besides, this money isn’t all mine. My father heard about your situation and put in some money too. When things at home settle down, go say hello to him.”

Whether the money was repaid or not did not matter. Xu Lin’s father had always been a frugal man; after doing a good deed and helping someone without even receiving thanks, he would probably be uncomfortable for quite a while.

“Of course!”

“Also, I said your parents can’t do heavy labor, but I can help find them new work. What do you think?”

“New work?”

“You know spicy hot pot, right?”

“Yes. When we first came to Linshui, we sold it for a while too. But it didn’t make much money, so in order to save up, we changed jobs.”

“That’s perfect then. I happen to have a spicy hot pot business idea. Just wait until your father is discharged, and then I’ll make arrangements. If you run into any difficulties in the meantime, come to me if you can.”

Hearing that her parents had done this before made Xu Lin even more reassured. It was a chain store with a standardized recipe; later on, all they would need was to hire a couple of employees, and it would be more or less set.

“All right…”

Although Bai Xiaoxiao did not fully understand, when she saw Xu Lin’s extremely determined expression, she smiled and nodded.

Even after only two brief encounters, she had already become certain of one thing: Xu Lin was a good person, a very good person—kind, gentle, and intelligent.

As for him saying he liked her, he was surely only teasing her. But what if he really did like her?

She was only an ordinary girl. Only a beautiful older sister like Teacher Su would be worthy of him, surely.

She rubbed the slightly callused palm of her hand and looked at Xu Lin’s handsome face, feeling for the first time an interest in something other than her parents and her studies.

“This feeling… is a little strange.”