"You look... seemingly not very happy?"
Breakfast was simple: a bowl of plain noodle soup with a fried egg nestled on top, steaming hot.
Little Jingliu poked at the noodles, wondering if there was any chili sauce she liked among the pile of jars and bottles Wangshu bought yesterday.
"After all... I'm about to be all alone," Wangshu sighed, his tone half-genuine, half-fake.
Wasn't that the truth? He finally got an Emanator Experience Card, only to find out it had negative side effects.
This feeling was like winning the lottery only to discover you had to pay a huge amount of taxes. As for Little Jingliu having to go to the Academy today and being unable to accompany him in his business venture for the time being, that could also be counted as a small regret.
Jingliu stirred the noodles, trying to mix the chopped green onions and the egg evenly. Although stirring noodles didn't seem very polite, she didn't care.
"Little Wangshu, how about you come with me to ask for leave? I don't want to go to the Academy."
The Academy was not interesting at all. Most of the knowledge taught wasn't useful—at least at her age, she couldn't learn anything useful in the Academy.
However, she heard that after obtaining the Adult Qualification Certificate, the Xianzhou had an Adult Academy that mostly taught knowledge convenient for employment.
Wangshu was somewhat puzzled: "But what reason can you users of the Celestial Physique use to ask for leave?"
Stomach ache? If a Celestial Physique had a stomach ache, that wouldn't be a minor issue; they would probably have to go to the Alchemy Commission for medical attention.
Little Jingliu's face stiffened. Right, she was still an orphan, and the teachers knew it; she had absolutely no reason to ask for leave.
"Sigh, to think that the 18-year-old me is still wasting time in the Academy, while the 17-year-old Little Wangshu is already running about for the sake of making a living..."
Jingliu pursed her lips and didn't finish her sentence. After all, thinking of that pile of zeros on the money order yesterday, she really couldn't apply the words "running about" to Little Wangshu.
"After all, it's also for your Xianzhou household registration. We already have a place to live, now we just lack a suitable job... I guess the cash flow can't be just muddled through casually."
"Once we get the household registration, then we can think about how to join a serious department."
As for why not think about joining a serious department from the start? It was rare. The Xianzhou had a population of hundreds of billions, and employment was very difficult, not to mention that the Xianzhou itself had a sense of regional superiority.
It was very hard for Outworlders to find work here.
"Ugh, I don't want to go to school."
Little Jingliu covered her head. But thinking that 17-year-old Little Wangshu was still watching, she forced her small face to perk up and finished this tasteless breakfast.
"I hate going to school too, but having a degree does make doing many things much more convenient in the future."
Wangshu rubbed Jingliu's small head, an action that made Jingliu regain some spirit.
The Academy was not far from Jingliu's home.
Although Cangcheng was huge, with a population numbering in the tens of billions, the urban planning was perfect. Every district had a relatively independent living circle, and various Academies were scattered everywhere to facilitate schooling.
Jingliu was listless the whole way, her small head drooping as if she were going to accept some punishment. However, just as she dawdled her way to the courtyard gate, ready to resign herself to fate and accept imprisonment, a series of soft beeps suddenly came from behind her.
She turned around, only to see Wangshu walking out, riding that portable multi-functional stall cart gifted by Asta. The small cart was driven by some unknown clean energy; it ran smoothly and silently, and the dashboard showed the energy remaining was over 80%.
Beep beep beep!!!
"What is that? Little Wangshu, riding this kind of small cart is too stupid."
Jingliu's eyes lit up, though her mouth deliberately expressed disdain.
Despite her words, a smile had already bloomed again on her small face. She moved agilely, hopping onto the passenger seat specially installed on the side of the stall cart in one go.
She touched the two large buckets attached to the cart curiously: "But, why are there two such big buckets? For making Jianbing pancakes, one for batter should be enough, right?"
"Heard from Asta that this was the small cart she used when distributing porridge back then."
"Distributing porridge?"
"Her family is very rich, so they cultivated the child's reputation from a young age. She followed her mother to do charity work when she was very small."
As a prop for Asta's first time going out to do charity, she kept a part of it, which was this small cart.
Jingliu's small face was blank.
"Do little children have to follow along to do charity too?"
The lives of rich people were truly complex.
"I'm not clear either, but Asta told me she didn't need to do anything at all for these activities, and others didn't care what she did. She just needed to appear there."
When the time came, the poor received help, the rich gained reputation, and the media gained traffic. It could be considered a triple win.
Asta hated this kind of completely arranged life when she was young, but when chatting while practicing the sword, her expression held a bit of relief and teasing.
Jingliu's small face looked even more blank; it sounded even more complicated.
"I seem to have read a similar plot in storybooks."
"You didn't take her and escape from the family, did you?"
Anyway, the plots involving the eldest miss were often like this. After all, that person called Asta gave Little Wangshu so much money.
However, she was still not as good as her future self.
"No, she was taken away by Herta."
"Herta?"
"A member of the Genius Society. But I don't know her; it's just that Asta admired her in every word she spoke."
Little Jingliu nodded. To be fancied and taken away by that kind of legendary big shot, the possibility of this Asta being a Central Air Conditioner was even greater!
As for the Genius Society... not knowing them was normal. After all, the omnipotent Lord Jingliu didn't know that group of mysterious members either.
"Little Wangshu, don't go too far from here. I definitely won't stay in the Academy at noon."
While chatting, the short journey was already over. Jingliu hopped off the small cart. The clear breeze blew past her blue-and-white shifting hair. She raised her small face and pressed the big horn hard twice.
The crisp electronic sound seemed particularly abrupt at the Academy entrance, drawing more people to look sideways.
In the nation of long-life species, everything was accepted very naturally.
As for the wealth gap? Actually, one didn't need to care too much about such things. After the Living Tribulation passed back then, the gap was no longer that obvious. Situations where there were frozen bones by the roadside didn't exist, so... personal hobbies were respected.
"Mn, if there are no Urban Management officers here."
He moved deftly to hang up a banner he had prepared long ago, on which was written in the common script of the Xianzhou:
*[Thousand-Year Old Brand, Ancient Kingdom Selection, Jianbing Pancakes]*
*[Promising Future Chat Group]*
Wangshu: "Family members, we're open for business! Screenshot.jpg"
Jingliu: "...This is, the Academy entrance?"
Asta: "This kind of small stall definitely has to be opened at the Academy entrance."
Jingliu: "I was so concerned with face when I was young; did I really have no objections?"
Jingliu: "@Wangshu."
Wangshu: "I feel Little Jingliu is very happy. She even helped me honk the horn to advertise just now."
Jingliu: "Huh? Me?"
Jingliu: "How did you persuade me?"
Wangshu: "...Can't talk now, Senior. A customer has arrived."
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