Rebirth 08: A Happy Life Begins in Elementary School

On his way home from school, Chen Nian kept marveling at the power of the article "Four Knives".

To Li Zhao and He Shuyao, this sounded very subtle.

"Ah Zhao, can people really make such accurate judgments through scientific knowledge?" Chen Nian asked.

"Sure. You learn about earthquake zones in middle school. It's no secret how many places in the world are located in earthquake zones."

"So... will these places experience earthquakes?"

"Of course not."

"How did Four-Knife Claw know that an earthquake would occur in Sichuan?"

He Shuyao also blinked her bright eyes at Li Zhao.

"That article never mentioned that he knew there would be an earthquake in Sichuan. Chen Nian, you didn't understand."

Chen Nian immediately took it seriously.

"The main point of the whole article is to plan ahead. A city's disaster resilience is not something that is built after a disaster has occurred. Everything must be done in advance for 'disaster resistance' to have any meaning. In earthquake zones, we need to resist earthquakes; along major rivers, we need to prevent floods; and in coastal areas, we need to withstand typhoons."

He Shuyao listened very attentively.

"Take flood control for example. Normal minor floods can be withstood by any city that has implemented some water conservancy projects. What everyone fears are floods that occur once every thirty, fifty, or even a hundred years. Since it's a once-in-a-century event, it's naturally very rare. Most cities that are likely to experience floods haven't encountered a once-in-thirty-year flood in hundreds of years. But can you guarantee that a once-in-a-century flood won't happen tomorrow?"

"I wouldn't dare," Chen Nian replied.

"That's right. So as long as you have the capacity, and as long as you can determine that you are in a risk zone, you should move towards a higher level of disaster prevention standards. It's just a coincidence that Si Kou Dao happened to have been to Shu.

"No wonder you said it's the power of knowledge." Chen Nian nodded. "Ah Zhao, don't you know too much?"

Li Zhao waved his hand, "These are not difficult to understand at all. You'll understand them after reading a few more books."

Chen Nian was thus completely persuaded.

However, He Shuyao still had doubts in her eyes. Taking advantage of Chen Nian going to buy snacks, she asked in a low voice:

When did you go to Sichuan?

"...I haven't been there, but I have some information about it."

"Oh~ some necessary creative work, right?"

Li Zhao's temples were already sweating. "Yes..."

"I understand."

What do you know, young lady?

Upon reaching the bus stop, Li Zhao boarded another bus, while Chen Nian, engrossed in analyzing the bus routes, didn't even notice.

Li Zhao is going to the bank.

Having elementary school let out early has this advantage: it gives him a lot of room to maneuver.

The ATM limit is 2 yuan per withdrawal, but Li Zhao withdrew 13200 yuan.

There is still 40 million left.

On his way home, Li Zhao looked at some adults on the bus carrying briefcases. They looked to be in their thirties or forties, and suddenly realized that their savings probably didn't even amount to his own.

Li Zhao glanced at his still particularly thin arms, then at his youthful face reflected in the car window.

It's...a strange feeling.

On his way back, Li Zhao passed by the neighborhood committee and carefully crept to the mailbox.

This place is basically not well managed; envelopes are just thrown around haphazardly.

After all, it's an important document; who would write the neighborhood committee's address as the address?

Li Zhao observed for a moment and found that there were no suspicious people staking out the spot.

You're scaring yourself.

He flipped through the pages and saw that the payment for his article from the *China Urban Studies Journal* had arrived—one thousand yuan, a little less than Li Zhao had expected.

However, as a top-tier journal in the industry, it probably has no shortage of manuscripts. In fact, many people consider it an honor to publish in it.

The royalties are just a bonus.

The payment for the article "One Picture" has arrived, 500 yuan.

Li Zhao currently has pocket money. He received 2000 yuan for the article on the seven major issues, spent 200 yuan on books, and with this 1500 yuan, he has a total of 3300 yuan on hand.

Even for a junior high school student, this allowance is more than enough.

We still need to finish writing about the seven major topics. Right now, disaster relief is the absolute theme of all newspapers and magazines. It will probably be about a month before things return to normal.

Li Zhao can hold off for now and repost in June.

Now, I'm learning junior high school knowledge to build a foundation, and when I get tired of that, I'll read some youth literature to get a feel for it, and I'm hoping to write a novel during the summer vacation.

So the weekend, which I thought was slow-paced and long, suddenly flew by.

Chen Nian was still concerned about Li Zhao's sudden enlightenment in badminton and kept urging him to play more; his parents discussed the store's affairs at home every day, as if they were determined to prove themselves to their son, and who knew when they would confidently pull out a business plan to challenge Li Zhao...

I'm quite busy.

On Monday, when Chen Nian went to school, Li Zhao first gave him 1,200 yuan. Chen Nian accepted it with trembling hands and an excited heart. He went from worrying that "Li Zhao might be involved in shady business" to thinking that "Li Zhao is so good at making hundreds of yuan in stocks is easy for him." It only took him one class meeting to agonize over the decision.

Then Chen Nian spent the whole morning making a spending plan, including buying Li Zhao a pair of brand-name sneakers as a thank you...

Look, what does it mean to be a good brother?

Li Zhao couldn't understand why this kid's gaze had become so arrogant.

At noon, Li Zhao invited He Shuyao to the playground.

It's the same familiar tree pit, and the same familiar sunny weather.

Even the envelopes were familiar.

But isn't this envelope a bit too heavy?

When Li Zhao slapped the envelope into He Shuyao's hand, she almost missed it due to a moment of carelessness.

Is it too heavy, Li Zhao...? *thud*

"Here's the promised double return, keep it safe."

One hundred and twenty 100-yuan bills filled the envelope, making it bulge.

"I..." He Shuyao felt the weight of the envelope and was still hesitant to accept it directly. "Maybe I should..."

She gently pushed the envelope back to Li Zhao.

"You must accept it."

He Shuyao felt as if she had been electrocuted, and then blankly accepted the envelope.

"My pockets can't hold it all... There's so much, I'm a little nervous."

"You deserve all of this."

"What if my parents find out?"

"You should think about how to hide it well. If you are ever discovered and questioned, just tell the truth, and I will explain."

He Shuyao really liked this way of talking and nodded like a kitten.

Liu Yiting, who was hiding behind the stone tablet, was stunned.

She forgot to bring her homework today. As an outstanding student, she has the privilege of not being punished, but she really forgot to bring it. She couldn't bear to be misunderstood as lying, so she asked her family to bring it and leave it at the security booth.

While picking up his homework, Li Zhao turned around and found himself standing face to face with He Shuyao in the tree pit.

She quickly hid behind the stone tablet at the school gate and secretly observed.

I've stumbled upon a juicy piece of gossip.

Is such that:

Li Zhao handed a heavy letter to He Shuyao. He Shuyao was a little shy, but Li Zhao, with his domineering CEO attitude, said, "You must accept it." He Shuyao was afraid that her parents would find out, but Li Zhao faced it calmly.

Then the two of them happily went upstairs together.

He Shuyao? Yes, she's very pretty, has excellent grades, and a great personality.

As expected of a god, his vision is truly unique.

"You're going to the office again, aren't you?" He Shuyao asked before Li Zhao could even speak as they walked to the top floor.

"The way you're asking..." Li Zhao sensed a certain emotion in the question.

"We've gone downstairs together several times, but you've hardly ever come back to class with me."

Li Zhao had originally planned to go find Huang Keyun, but since He Shuyao had said so, he said, "No, I wasn't planning to go to the office today."

"Eh?" He Shuyao immediately felt embarrassed.

"Go back to your classroom."

The weather is gradually getting hotter, the wind is not as refreshing as it was at the beginning, and the sunlight is more dazzling than before.

"I thought..." He Shuyao walked slowly, "You were worried that if people saw us going out and coming back together, there would be some bad rumors."

"Why is it not good?"

"?" He Shuyao hadn't reacted yet.

"No, cough, I mean, what's so interesting about this rumor?"

"Well...yes, we've always been good friends."

As they were talking, they suddenly heard a series of hurried footsteps.

"Li Zhao!" It was the voice of the class teacher, He Lin. She walked over quickly while holding her phone and made the call. She was stunned for a moment when she saw He Shuyao next to her.

"Teacher He, what's up?"

"The inspection team is coming this Wednesday! Great news!"

He Lin covered her phone, her face showing an unprecedented level of excitement.