Chapter 37: Toss Them on a Construction Site to Mix Mortar for Two Days, and There Won’t Be So Much Trouble

Chapter 37: Chapter 37: Toss Them on a Construction Site to Mix Mortar for Two Days, and There Won’t Be So Much Trouble

It was already past eight by the time he got back to school.

He reviewed for the Subject One exam again, then went to play basketball.

While he was playing, Song Jianye showed up, holding a bottle of iced lemonade.

At noon, the two of them went to the cafeteria to eat. Song Jianye said with a completely serious expression:

"I’ve made up my mind. From now on, I’m going to budget carefully and not waste a single penny."

"Did something happen to you? To think you’d make a decision that goes so against your nature."

’Just stick to being a Celestial Dragon Person. Why are you trying to be some tragic character who pinches every penny, only to die miserably in the end?’

"I just think that being frugal is a traditional virtue in China. My uncle’s way is right, too. Uncle Zhang giving me money secretly is spoiling me too much. It can’t go on like this."

’What kind of insane talk is this?’

Song Jianye took out her phone and pointed to an app on the screen.

"This is a bookkeeping app I downloaded. From now on, I’m going to record every single cent I spend in it."

’Girls all seem to love these things that look useful but are actually useless. The daughters of rich families are no exception.’

"Let me see."

Song Jianye handed him the phone. Chen Yuan frowned as he looked at it.

"You spent 3,179 in eleven days, and you call that ’budgeting carefully’?"

"My monthly allowance is ten thousand, which is about 330 a day. The budget for eleven days is 3,630, and I only spent 3,179. I’m within my limit. Isn’t that budgeting carefully?"

"Let’s not make things so hard on ourselves. Aren’t you just looking for trouble for no reason?"

"My uncle and Uncle Zhang both said enduring a little hardship is good. I can’t be too self-indulgent either."

Song Jianye looked at Chen Yuan. "How much have you spent this month?"

Chen Yuan did a quick calculation. He hadn’t really spent much these past few days. During the National Day holiday, he had most of his meals at Jiang Wanyi’s place, and he hadn’t made any large purchases recently. He really hadn’t spent much money at all.

"A little over 600, probably no more than 700."

Song Jianye stared at Chen Yuan, just staring intently at him.

"You actually spent so little?"

Song Jianye felt embarrassed. She had been so pleased with herself just a moment ago, wanting to show off to him, but she hadn’t expected him to have spent so little, too.

’I seem to be useless at everything.’

’SOB SOB SOB... I’m really going to earn the title of ’useless female university student’ now.’

"Just eating three meals a day in the cafeteria is enough. That’s about 40 yuan for three meals, so 1,200 a month. The rest of the money can be used for miscellaneous things. About 2,000 should be enough."

Song Jianye propped her lovely chin on one hand. The beautiful girl sighed, her expression dejected. "I feel like I’m a bit pathetic. Every one of you is more capable than me."

"How are you pathetic?"

"This afternoon, I bought coffee and yogurt online and spent over 700 yuan. I feel like I have no concept of money."

"Your family earns money for you to spend, not for you to worry yourself over. Hurry up and eat."

"But..."

Song Jianye propped her chin on her hand again. She had only taken a few bites of the noodles in her bowl before setting them aside, saying distractedly:

"I was thinking about something last night. What would I do if my family ran out of money one day?"

’To be prepared for danger in times of peace. That’s a good quality to have.’

[System Mission: Your baby is already three years old. She has developed some bad, wasteful habits. You must teach her to be frugal. For the next week, limit Song Jianye’s spending to no more than 500 yuan. You may not use any external help. Reward: 1,500 yuan cash, Balance Multiplier Card x1]

A new mission, a new reward.

[Balance Multiplier Card: Remaining Balance x100 will be returned to your account as cash.]

The explanation was very clear and easy to understand.

Her spending for next week had to be controlled to under 500 yuan.

If she only spent 400, the remaining balance would be 100. After the 100x cash back, he would get a cash reward of 10,000.

That was definitely a huge sum of money!

In other words, the more she saved, the more he earned.

But this mission was a real pain in the ass.

To complete the mission, she could only eat in the cafeteria and couldn’t buy anything else.

For him, this mission would be no trouble at all. His living expenses were 2,000, which averaged out to 500 a week. No big deal. But she was a rich young miss. It was impossible.

’This damn system really thinks I’m her dad. What right do I have to control her?’

"Why did you stop talking? Do you also think my worries are justified?"

"There’s some sense to it."

"So I want to try and see what it feels like to spend only 2,000 yuan a month..."

Song Jianye looked at her phone, pulled up the calculator, and crunched the numbers for a while.

"But..."

After finishing her calculations, she slumped in disappointment. "It’s not enough at all."

"How is it not enough?"

"Just buying necessities every month like underwear, stockings, and sanitary pads costs over 1,000."

’The wall between me and rich people is just too thick.’

"Socks are 9.9 yuan for four pairs. You don’t need to buy new underwear every month, do you? And sanitary pads should only cost a few dozen yuan, right?"

Song Jianye tilted her head. "What kind of stockings are that cheap?"

Chen Yuan froze. "Stockings?"

"These."

Song Jianye revealed her leg. Sure enough, she was wearing a pair of nude-colored stockings. He hadn’t even noticed.

"Don’t tell me you’ve never even seen these before?"

’Young Miss, I feel like you’re trampling on my dignity.’

"I’ve seen them, just never torn them..."

Tear?

This was touching upon a blind spot in her knowledge.

"You can tear these." Song Jianye moved her leg closer.

"How much did that pair on your leg cost?"

"80."

’Whoa. Two days’ worth of food money. One leg per day.’

"But I don’t wear stockings often, so that doesn’t cost much. A set of underwear a month is over 800. I also want to get my nails done, and if you add in other expenses, it’ll probably be at least 1,500. The remaining 500 isn’t enough to live on. This is so hard."

’A set of underwear for over 800? Are the cups made of gold, or are the straps made of gold? How can they sell for so much?’

’I wonder what style it is.’

"Actually, for you, that’s not a lot."

Looking at it from another angle, Song Jianye had actually been raised very well.

Her family owned hotels, and she rode around in a Maybach, yet she only spent 10,000 yuan a month. That was truly frugal.

This was clearly the model of a diligent and thrifty homemaker.

"But you only have 2,000 yuan, and you can still treat me to dessert. That’s amazing," Song Jianye said.

"Yueyue and the others are also very frugal. I’m the only one who isn’t. I want to become a little more outstanding, too."

Chen Yuan frowned as he listened.

’The worries of rich people are truly bizarre.’

’If she were thrown onto a construction site to shovel cement for two days, she wouldn’t have so many problems.’

"This goal is a bit difficult. Let’s take it slow. Starting next week, try to keep your living expenses under 500."

"Okay, I’ll listen to you."

Song Jianye was very happy. Her big, dark eyes shimmered like the surface of a lake, and her two dimples seemed to hold a thousand miles of clouds and a vast, clear sky.

"If I succeed, is there a reward?"

Chen Yuan glanced at her. He was about to give a casual, dismissive answer but saw that she was serious.

"What kind of reward do you want?"

"Anything is fine, but there has to be one. I need a little bit of motivation. It’s best if it doesn’t cost money, otherwise doing this would lose its meaning."

"No problem. As long as you do well, there will be a generous reward."

Chen Yuan couldn’t think of what to give her at the moment, so he just gave a vague reply.

"What if I don’t do well?"

"There’s a reward for that too, but it’s not nearly as generous as the reward for doing well."

"Okay."

Looking at the smiling Song Jianye, Chen Yuan decided he wasn’t even going to bother with this mission. He didn’t think she could stick with it anyway.

’It’s not like the punishment is my dick shrinking. It’s just a little less money. I couldn’t give a flying fuck.’