Rebirth 1983: Building My Business Empire

Chapter 135: Chapter 127: Looking for a Tutor_2

Deng Yan came over this time mainly to understand the situation of Lu Jiaxin and then to specifically develop a learning plan that suited her.

Lu Jiaxin said, “Classmate Deng, I need an English teacher who can come to teach me every day, as well as a math teacher who can teach in full English. Do you have any recommendations? Don’t worry, I will give you satisfactory remuneration.”

Deng Yan had no trouble finding part-time jobs because of his high level of ability, but he was somewhat puzzled, “Your English is already very good, and getting high scores in grammar shouldn’t be a problem, so why do you still want all-English instruction?”

Lu Jiaxin didn’t explain, only saying, “If you have any candidates in mind, I hope you can introduce them to me. As long as they meet the requirements, the fee is not an issue.”

As a student, Deng Yan couldn’t possibly come over to teach her every day: “I’ll ask around for you.”

After teaching for two hours, Deng Yan left because another person was taking over, and he settled the fee with him—five yuan an hour. However, there are few people who know English now, and those like Deng Yan who speak so fluently are even rarer, so the price was also higher.

Xue Mao curiously asked, “Sister, how come your English has suddenly gotten so good?”

He didn’t understand this bird language, but Lu Jiaxin had stumbled when she was initially following along with the tape recorder, while now she was very fluent, and the university student who came also responded smoothly.

Lu Jiaxin glanced at him and said, “Since September, I’ve been spending three to four hours every day on English, do you think all of this was for nothing?”

Xue Mao chuckled twice and said, “I just think that, Sister Xin, with your English being so good, there’s really no need for you to hire a tutor anymore.”

“My spoken English is fine, but I need to strengthen my grammar. I must improve this aspect if I want to score high.”

As someone who didn’t even want to step through the doors of night school, Xue Mao thought that being good enough was okay. However, Lu Jiaxin was aiming for university, unlike him: “Sister Xin, study hard and get into Hua University or Beijing University.”

Lu Jiaxin’s original goal was Zhong University, but since she was preparing to go to Hong Kong, she would definitely be taking exams there. Her aim was the Hong Kong University Business School, but there were differences in teaching between the two places, so she was not sure she could get in.

Deng Yan was quick, and on the thirteenth day of the first lunar month, he brought two people over. One was surnamed Wu, about fifty, a former university English teacher who did not wish to return to teaching at the school after being rehabilitated; the other was surnamed Zhou, female, around forty years old, a math teacher from the Hua University affiliated middle school. Both spoke standard British English, which happened to meet her requirements.

Lu Jiaxin chatted with the two separately and then confirmed the timing for the lessons. Since Teacher Wu didn’t have to go to work, she first set the schedule based on Teacher Zhou’s availability and then set the English class times. The fees were the same as Deng Yan’s, charged by the hour, but more expensive at ten yuan an hour.

After Lantern Festival, Su Heyuan found out about the background of Ding Xiaoxia’s mother. Ding’s mother was named Guh Lanlan, who had come back following a girl from Ding Family Village who worked as a maid in the city. Because she was good-looking, Ding’s father took notice of her and married her.

Guh Lanlan never revealed her background to others, and after marrying Ding’s father, she lived contentedly. Unfortunately, she was frail and passed away from illness when Ding Xiaoxia was nine years old.

People in Ding Family Village also asked Guh Lanlan about her family, to which she replied that they had all died, killed by bandits. Fearing to touch upon her painful past, no one asked about it later. However, Ding’s father, who’d shared a bed with her for over ten years, knew some things, and Su Heyuan managed to get him to talk after spending some money.

It turned out Guh Lanlan had been sold by her father, who was addicted to drugs, to a wealthy family as a maid. The first few years were calm, but as the situation became more chaotic and wars were frequent, that family moved their valuables to the Magic Capital to avoid the conflicts. The girl from Ding Family Village who had signed a life contract was left behind to watch over the house, but one night, hooligans came to rob. She and the village girl hid in a dry well to escape the ordeal. The village girl decided to go home, and Guh Lanlan, not wishing to go back, followed her back to Ding Family Village.

Su Heyuan was skeptical about Ding’s father’s account. Judging from Guh Xiuxiu, Ding Xiaoxia as well as Lu Jiaxin, the girls in this family were all attractive. Given Father Guh’s nature, he would definitely want to sell his children for a high price, and becoming a maid wouldn’t have brought in much money. However, having obtained the information he needed, he didn’t continue to investigate.

Before long, news from inquiries about the Guh Family also came. Madam Guh had initially had three sons and two daughters, and except for the eldest son, Madam Guh and the other children were sold. But Madam Guh hanged herself the night she was sold. The two daughters—Guh Xiuxiu was sixteen at the time, sold to a wealthy merchant over fifty, who died suddenly after taking Guh Xiuxiu as a concubine on the night she disappeared; the younger daughter, Guh Lanlan, was sold into a brothel. At just eleven, she was first made to serve tea and water as a maid inside. Four years later, a group of soldiers stormed the brothel, causing chaos, and at that time, the back courtyard was flooding, so many of the girls and maids managed to run away during the commotion.

The name matched, and Lu Jiaxin looked like Guh Xiuxiu, coincidences like this don’t happen that often in the world. Therefore, he could be sure that Guh Lanlan was indeed the younger sister of Guh Xiuxiu.

Su Heyuan called Su Hong and shared the news: “Auntie, I plan to reveal the information about Lu Jiaxin to Madam Guh. She has no trustworthy people by her side, and knowing she has such a clever and exceptional granddaughter, she would probably want to bring her close.”

Su Hong knew he wanted to get Lu Jiaxin to Hong Kong, but that was not an easy thing to do. Lu Jiaxin would agree, but Lu Hongjun and Lu Jiaguang would not. However, if Madam Guh wanted to bring her to Hong Kong, that would be easier.

After thinking for a while, Su Hong said, “I’ll ask Lu Jiaxin what she thinks first. If she agrees, then you can tell Madam Guh about her.”

“Okay.”

“Jiaxin, Jiaxin, phone call…”

The loud voice of Fatty Aunt echoed from the outside again. Because Lu Jiaxin received many calls, it had become a spectacle in the alley.

Lu Jiaxin felt somewhat helpless and put down her book to go out: “Fatty Aunt, could you not shout outside in the future? Just knocking on the door to let us know would suffice!”

These days when she went out, people always asked her why she got so many phone calls? What could she do but say they were from Lu Jiaguang or her hometown, or friends? Neighbors not interfering with each other in future generations might seem a bit cold, but the excessive enthusiasm now was overwhelming.

Fatty Aunt laughed and said, “I just didn’t want you to miss it! Go on, this time it’s a woman who’s called, and from the voice, it’s not your elder or Fifth Sister-in-law.”

After she said this, a glint of gossip flashed in her eyes. Lu Jiaxin’s calls were all answered by her, and she was familiar with the voices of the usual callers. She wondered who it could be this time.