HLnovel Chapter 164 Developing a Patina
Chapter 164 Developing a Patina
Qi Zhiqiang is recovering well and woke up at eight o'clock in the evening. The nurse has already explained the precautions, especially that he cannot drink water.
During this time, Zhang Jianjun came several more times to check his pulse. When no abnormalities were found, Zhang Jianjun was relieved.
Qi Zhiqiang woke up at night. He could speak and move, though he was weak, but seemed to be fine.
Wei Shufang and Qi Weimin had been waiting by the bedside. They were very happy to see Qi Zhiqiang wake up. Qi Weimin quickly called the on-duty doctor, who examined him and said there was nothing wrong, and that he should be careful not to move around.
After waking up for a while, Qi Zhiqiang seemed to have regained a lot of energy. "Have you two eaten?"
"I ate!" Qi Weimin lied. Wei Shufang had eaten a little, but Qi Weimin was worried about his father and couldn't eat anything. He took a cotton ball, dampened it, and used it to wipe Qi Zhiqiang's dry lips. He had gotten the cotton ball from a nurse; Qi Weimin, a high school sophomore, already knew what a sterilizing cotton ball was.
Qi Zhiqiang was very pleased. Qi Weimin's performance made him feel that he had not lived his life in vain.
The Qi family had two children left, who were entrusted to Wei Shuying. Qi Weimin had no interest in taking care of them, so Wei Shuying took them with him.
Qi Zhiqiang had no idea that Wei Shuying had been there, and no one had specifically told him about it.
Qi Zhiqiang didn't ask specifically.
…………
Zhang Jianjun was at Wei Shuying's house, helping Qiao Sanli check her homework, while Qiao Erqiang waited nervously nearby.
After starting tutoring, Qiao Erqiang, with Zhang Jianjun's unremitting efforts, finally jumped from second to last place to twentieth place, which is about the middle level of the class of about fifty students.
The level of this group is about the same. If someone is careless during the exam, it is not impossible for them to fall back to fortyth place.
Even so, Wei Shuying was still very happy. She knew that Zhang Jianjun had done his best, and that Qiao Erqiang was probably just a bit slow-witted and couldn't seem to learn anything no matter what he did.
Zhang Jianjun's reputation was ruined by Qiao Erqiang. Zhang Jianjun was initially full of confidence in the education plan he devised for Qiao Erqiang, but when it was actually used on Qiao Erqiang, it could only be said to be somewhat effective, but not much!
Learning is ultimately something that science can't explain; it depends not only on the amount of effort put in but also on talent. Some people work so hard they've slicked back their hair, but they still can't compete with naturally gifted children!
In stark contrast to Qiao Erqiang was Qiao Sanli, who had consistently ranked first in her grade since first grade, with even more stable grades than her older brother, Qiao Yicheng.
Fortunately, Qiao Sanli wasn't a stunner!
Qiao Sanli's homework was done very well, and Zhang Jianjun patted her head as encouragement. Qiao Sanli was pleased, and like a kitten being soothed, she squinted her eyes.
Qi Xiaoyi and Qi Xiaoya watched from the sidelines, finding it somewhat strange. Although the actions and expressions seemed normal, something felt off. Neither of them were particularly perceptive; they just sensed something was amiss but couldn't quite put their finger on it.
The two then put the matter out of their minds. Qiao Simei took out her treasured candy wrappers and showed them off. There were two wooden boxes full of candy wrappers of all kinds, with almost no duplicates.
Qi Xiaoyi and Qi Xiaoya stared in disbelief, their eyes gleaming with envy.
Qiao Simei is already in second grade. Some of those candy wrappers were collected before she started school, while others were collected after she started school, when Zhang Jianjun tried to cultivate her study habits by enticing her.
After Qiao Yicheng entered high school, he chose to live at school, so his family didn't have to worry about him too much. A child with a mother doesn't need to carry such a heavy burden. As for Qiao Simei, she fell into Zhang Jianjun's hands. Whatever Zhang Jianjun wanted Qiao Simei to grow up to be, Qiao Simei could become that way! Wei Shuying would only support Zhang Jianjun and would never undermine him.
This is the benefit of maxing out favorability!
Back home, Zhang Jianjun saw that only Wu Fenglan remained in the house, and suddenly wondered if he had been somewhat superfluous. If he hadn't intruded, perhaps Zhang Jianshe wouldn't have gone to the countryside, nor would he have thought of separating from the family and moving out after getting married. Although his sister-in-law had played a significant role, she didn't want to live with her mother-in-law.
Perhaps, we could let Qiao Sanli keep Wu Fenglan company. I used to run to the other side of the wall all the time; we can let Qiao Sanli come over here in the future.
Back and forth!
On Monday, sitting in the classroom, Zhang Jianjun suddenly felt incredibly bored. In this school, it was just him and Qiao Erqiang; there seemed to be nothing left to miss. It was time to speed things up!
The following week, Zhang Jianjun was already sitting in the classroom of Class 1, Grade 9.
Surrounded by unfamiliar classmates, Zhang Jianjun didn't care. After all, he wouldn't be classmates for more than a few days. He didn't even ask his deskmate's name. During class, he would casually flip through his textbooks and then take out his medical books to study them carefully.
The teachers knew that the student who transferred to their class was a prodigy, but no one paid any attention to him.
That year, Qiao Erqiang heard that Niu Ye's family had bought a television set, and he even went to watch it secretly once. However, Zhang Jianjun was tutoring him, so he didn't have time to watch it. He could only glance at it a few times before hurriedly returning home.
Seeing Qiao Erqiang panting, Zhang Jianjun asked curiously, "Erqiang, where did you go? Why were you in such a hurry?"
Qiao Erqiang made no attempt to hide anything, "The Niu family bought a color TV. I went to see it, and it's really nice!"
"Niu Ye? Are you that close to him?" Zhang Jianjun frowned.
Qiao Erqiang didn't know why Zhang Jianjun cared about this issue, so he honestly replied, "No, we just knew each other before, but we ran into each other at school the day before yesterday, and he invited me to watch TV."
Zhang Jianjun believed him. Qiao Erqiang wouldn't lie easily, and when he did, his characteristics were too obvious; he was his own lie detector, and Zhang Jianjun could see through him at a glance.
"Don't go to the Ushino family anymore! And don't associate with Ushino and his ilk, understand? You're different from them. You still have a future. How long can you live a carefree life by hanging out with them?"
Ushino's father was a sailor who spent most of his time at sea and made a lot of money. Later, he partnered with someone to do business, I think it was on the southern coast. This television set was sent from the south.
Ushino, lacking discipline and with plenty of pocket money, was the most fashionable person in the area—bell-bottoms, long curly hair, and a tape recorder slung over his shoulder, making him very stylish. At only fifteen, he'd already made friends with a few gangsters and was always shouting orders around.
"I understand!" Qiao Erqiang obediently agreed. He didn't even dare to mention asking Wei Shuying for money to buy bell-bottoms and floral shirts!
Zhang Jianjun's physical attacks are imbued with magical effects, making each hit painful, but to outsiders it appears as if he's not using any force. Wei Shuying even tells Zhang Jianjun not to hold back and to just beat him as hard as he can.
A crackdown is coming soon; it's best for Qiao Erqiang to stay home. He's too dense; he might be sold out without even realizing it. His brother-in-law can't die so easily!
To appease Qiao Erqiang, Zhang Jianjun decided to buy two black-and-white televisions himself! Color televisions were expensive these past two years, requiring a TV ticket, and were difficult to obtain unless one could travel to the south. Black-and-white televisions, on the other hand, had tickets readily available, and he could watch dramas and the Spring Festival Gala just the same. He'd make do for two years!
The TV was kept in their own house, and Qiao Erqiang could watch it by climbing over the wall whenever he wanted! Qiao Erqiang wasn't as good at climbing over the wall as Zhang Jianjun. When Zhang Jianjun climbed over the wall, he was like Jackie Chan, smooth and effortless. As for Qiao Erqiang... well, let's not go there.
However, the wall was already very smooth, almost polished by Zhang Jianjun's hands.
I haven't given Zhang Jianshe a gift yet, so I'll consider this other TV a wedding gift! Even though they've been married for several years.
After the New Year, the countdown to the high school entrance exam began. For Zhang Jianjun, the photo shoot was just like any other exam.
By the time Qiao Yicheng and Qi Weimin were in their final year of high school, Zhang Jianjun had become an alumnus again.
When Qiao Yicheng saw Zhang Jianjun on his way to school, he was stunned. "Jianjun, your school doesn't go this way!"