When Xiao Lingyu was admitted to the famous university in S Province as the top scholar in the county, even the country television station came to interview Mother and Father Xiao.
The local government and big companies also sent over gifts and money as presents. It made the other villagers very jealous.
However, Mother and Father Xiao rejected all the interviews and gifts. Father Xiao told the camera, “Thank you to all the officials for their kindness.
“My daughter is entering the university to start a new page of her life. Her road ahead is still very long. No one knows what will happen in the future, so it’s too early to celebrate. Therefore, I can’t accept the money. If I do, my kids will think I’m only making them study for money. I want to teach my daughter that studying is not for money but to better her life. She has to learn to be responsible.”
The villagers thought Father Xiao was being stupid and arrogant.
The money was a drop in the ocean for the local government and company. However, it was a huge sum for any local farming family. How could Father Xiao reject it?
Xiao Lingyu would have to pay university tuition in the future. How was the Xiao Family supposed to scrape together the money for her? They were just asking for trouble.
In reality, the reason Father and Mother Xiao rejected the presents was because they didn’t want Xiao Lingyu to be indebted to these local government bodies and companies. There was no free lunch in this world. Once Xiao Lingyu accepted the money, she would be indebted to these people. They didn’t want Xiao Lingyu to have to live her life with this burden. Therefore, no matter how hard it was, they would depend on themselves to send their daughter to university.
It was indeed difficult for the Xiao Family to support Xiao Lingyu’s university tuition. This was especially true in the first year when the tuition fees were the highest. Even if the Xiao Family sold everything they had, they didn’t have enough money. Therefore, they had to borrow money from relatives and friends.
They were ridiculed and mocked by some. If Father and Mother Xiao weren’t so prideful and accepted the money given to them, they wouldn’t need to go around begging people for money. Some even said, “We definitely don’t have several ten thousand to borrow. Life is not easy for us too. We have to look after the elders, and the kids have to study. We don’t have spare money. But we can lend you 10 or 20 RMB. In the future, when Yu ‘Er finds success, remember to repay this favor!”
Father Xiao’s face darkened, and he turned to leave. People wanted Yu ‘Er to repay the favors despite loaning just a pittance. Father Xiao was not that dumb. He decided to cut off ties with such relatives.
Father Xiao was an honest man, but he was clear-minded. He knew what was right and what was wrong.
He jotted down the names of the people who had helped them. He had all of his siblings remember their names. He would repay their favors in the future.
Xiao Lingyu and Xiao Lingye were influenced by Father Xiao since they were young.
After the first year, Xiao Lingyu started to work part-time while studying. She worked as a tutor, cleaner, and so on. She never asked her family for money again.
After Xiao Lingyu graduated, she joined a large company. Her starting salary was two thousand, and when she left, it was around six thousand. Xiao Lingyu sent most of her money home. She put away some for living expenses and saved the rest.
Over the past two years, the Xiao Family used the money Xiao Lingyu sent back to pay the debt. They cleared the debt, and their lives improved. Last season, Father Xiao even used five thousand to buy a plow machine. It expanded his business. He charged 80 RMB for one Mu. He could plow around twenty to thirty Mu a day. In other words, he could earn one to two thousand a day. Many villagers envied him.
Last year, Father Xiao had already paid back the investment in the plow machine. This year, the Xiao Family was enjoying a pure profit. During high season, he could earn around five to six thousand.
This time, the Xiao Family didn’t need to go around begging to send Xiao Lingye to university. This was all thanks to Xiao Lingyu, who managed to enter university and get a job in the big city.
Therefore, the people of Taoyuan Village paid attention to their children’s studies. They hoped that their children could be like Xiao Lingyu. That way, they would have a good life like the Xiao Family.
Xiao Lingye was also a good student. He had good results. Many villagers would bring their children over to him to have tuition. The adults would ask advice from Mother and Father Xiao.
This caused quite a bit of trouble for the Xiao Family, especially Xiao Lingye, who had to sit for his university entrance exam this year. He needed to study, but every time, there would be people who came to disturb him.
To give Xiao Lingye some peace and quiet, Father and Mother Xiao refused people from crowding their houses. Most villagers were offended.
Unfortunately, only a small handful understood Mother and Father’s difficulties. They understood that Xiao Lingye had to study too. Furthermore, their children’s results didn’t improve after being taught by Xiao Lingye. Did this mean that Xiao Lingye didn’t teach their children seriously? No one would be thick-faced enough to say something like that. The more likely answer was their children didn’t like to study. Xiao Lingye could only do so much.
They didn’t hog Xiao Lingye’s time. They didn’t demand Xiao Lingye to sacrifice his own study time to give their children tuition. Who would be so selfless? If Xiao Lingye was their son, they wouldn’t allow that too, so they understood Father and Mother Xiao’s difficulties.
However, most villagers were stubborn and selfish.
Sometimes, when someone appeared at the Xiao Family door with their child, Mother Xiao would go and reject them directly. “My Ye ‘Er is studying, and he has no time to tutor your child.”
Some of them turned hostile and chided Mother Xiao for being stingy. Mother Xiao fired back, “This is not the first or even the second time my Ye ‘Er has tutored your son. Is my Ye ‘Er your son’s private tutor? Private tutoring is charged by the hour. If you want a tutor, fine, then we’ll charge you 5 RMB per hour. It’s much cheaper than finding a private tutor in town. So what do you say?”
Most parents were frightened off. Most of them couldn’t even earn ten RMB a day.
When the villagers heard that Mother Xiao was charging people to have private tutor sessions with Xiao Lingye, other than a few families who were willing to pay, the rest kept their distance.
They started to talk behind Mother and Father Xiao’s back. They were described as stingy misers. Father and Mother Xiao ignored them.
