Make a Fortune and Become Well-off [90] - Chapter 206

Jiang Ning looked at the packed bus, filled to the brim with people, feeling anxious and scared.

As the vehicle bumped along the road, the mix of smells inside was overwhelming. Someone, unable to endure it, shouted, “I’m going to vomit! Driver, stop! I need to get out to throw up!”

The driver would then pull over momentarily, waiting for the passenger to finish before continuing. During the journey, the ticket collector, tired from hanging on the bus door, sometimes sat on the roof for a stretch. Luckily, the rice Jiang Bai and the others brought provided some shelter from the harsh winter wind.

Upon arriving in Wucheng, not only Jiang Ning but also Tong Jingang and Jiang Bai looked pale, feeling disoriented and weak as they got off. As soon as they stepped down, several people rushed to the roadside to vomit.

Jiang Bai wanted to carry the rice back to school himself, but Jiang Ning directly called for a small three-wheeler to load up the 500 pounds of grain, pickled vegetables, and the marinated coriander and radishes, along with any unsold clothes.

The three-wheeler, which could usually seat four people, ended up crammed with so much stuff that only Jiang Grandpa and Jiang Ning managed to squeeze in. Jiang Bai and Tong Jingang had to walk.

After several days away from the shop, Jiang Grandpa opened the roll-up door, and the store looked the same as before, with a bed inside and a shop front. However, the shop was rather empty, as most of the clothes had been sold by Jiang Bai and Tong Jingang during their time in Shuibu Town.

To save space, Jiang Grandpa pushed the bed all the way to the back against the wall, stuffing the various items he had into the space beneath the bed.

After Jiang Ning struggled to drag everything inside, she rested for a while until Jiang Bai and Tong Jingang returned.

Jiang Bai was someone who couldn’t stay idle. The first thing he did when back in the shop was to clean. He wiped, scrubbed, and washed everything while Jiang Ning sat there watching him.

Tong Jingang looked at Jiang Ning, who was seated and seemingly doing nothing, and asked in surprise, “Aren’t you going to help clean?”

Jiang Ning, embodying her mother’s remark that she had no sense of urgency, looked back at Tong Jingang with confusion. “Where? Isn’t it all clean already?”

It really was clean!

Tong Jingang glanced around and, seeing that there didn’t seem to be much left to do, got up and said, “I’ll go borrow a cart.”

After a flurry of cleaning, Jiang Bai finally made the floor spotless, shining like a mirror. He and Tong Jingang, who had borrowed a cart, worked hard to transport the grain to the school cafeteria.

With the first and second-year students still not back at school, the campus of No. 1 High School appeared quite empty. They exchanged the grain for food coupons and locked the pickled vegetables and chili sauce in the cafeteria table drawers. Jiang Ning then took Jiang Grandpa’s water jug to fetch hot water.

The hot water room was right next to a small shop. After filling the jug, she climbed the stairs toward the girls’ dormitory, calling out, “Dorm manager! Dorm manager!”

The shopkeeper said, “The dorm manager hasn’t returned yet; she’ll come back just before school starts.”

Jiang Ning asked the shopkeeper, “Do you have a key to open the door?”

The shopkeeper replied, “I’m not in charge of the dorms, so I wouldn’t have the key.”

The small shop was located on the first floor of the dormitory, allowing access directly to the dorm through the shop’s door. However, the door leading from the shop to the dormitory stairs was tightly locked.

Jiang Ning knew that the shopkeeper must have the key to that door, but she didn’t press the matter. Originally, she just wanted to see if she could stay in the dorm; if not, she would rent a room outside, which would be more convenient.

She didn’t ask anyone else and simply crossed through No. 1 High School to the staff housing area behind it to inquire about any rental properties.

Due to the presence of No. 1 High School, Wuceng High School, and No. 2 High School nearby, there were many people renting houses in the area. Some staff members had moved to the countryside to earn more money and rented out their houses entirely, while others lived in their homes but offered one room to students. Parents preferred to have their children live with teachers for peace of mind.

However, it was rare to find someone like Jiang Ning who wanted a room to herself, as most shared with five to eight people.

Fortunately, at the beginning of the school term, not many people were around. When someone asked Jiang Ning how long she wanted to rent, she replied that she needed it until school started. This allowed her to secure a room, as the others were reserved for students who had rented there the previous year.

Since she was only renting for a few days, the rent was only ten yuan, but she had to prepare her own bedding and blankets.

After getting everything sorted out, Jiang Ning returned to the shop, sitting on a small stool and looking at the mud on her pant legs. Combined with the sweat from the journey, she felt quite uncomfortable and decided to take Jiang Grandpa to the bathhouse, asking Jiang Bai if he wanted to join.

“Absolutely! Of course!” Tong Jingang was the first to jump up.

Jiang Bai and Tong Jingang, who had been running back and forth between Shuibu Town and Wucheng these past few days, were also quite tired. Especially Jiang Bai, who had just hauled 500 pounds of grain and had to run back to school with Tong Jingang.

Tong Jingang, who usually sweated easily, had initially planned to wash up properly at home in the evening. But upon hearing Jiang Ning mention going to the bathhouse, he couldn’t resist packing his clothes, towels, and soap. The three of them then set off together for the bathhouse.

The bathhouse was not far from the school, and during the winter, when it was inconvenient for students to wash at school, many would gather on weekends to bathe.

The bathhouse was open all day and had both shower and bathing pool sections. Jiang Ning warned them about the risks of infections from communal baths, causing even Tong Jingang, who liked pool bathing, to grow anxious. With his hands clasped in prayer, he pleaded with Jiang Ning, “Sister, please, good sister, I’m begging you, can we just go for a bath? I promise we won’t take Grandpa to the bathing pool!”

Jiang Bai was originally a bit of a germaphobe, and after hearing all that, he never took a bath in the pool again.

It was both Jiang Bo and Grandpa Jiang’s first time at the bathhouse, and they were both very curious, looking here and there.

Jiang Ning wanted to buy the bath tickets, but with over three hundred yuan in his pocket, Tong Jingang stepped in front of Jiang Ning with great flair, raising his chin, “You can let your brother pay for your bath!”