Unable to wait until the next day, Zhouzhou called Li Yuanming in the evening, telling him about Elder Xiao's visit and casually ntioning that Elder Xiao charges one thousand per hour for teaching students.
Upon hearing this, Li Yuanming couldn't help but gasp in shock, "What's his specialty? Cultivation?"
How else could he charge such an outrageous fee?
Zhouzhou quickly corrected him, "No, no, he is a math teacher. Master, he wants to ask if you'd be willing to give him lessons."
"Can I charge money?" Li Yuanming eagerly asked.
If Elder Xiao charges a thousand, surely he can charge ten thousand, right?
Zhouzhou tilted her little head, considering it for a mont. "Ten thousand is too much. Also, Master, you only know how to teach, but you can't actually do the problems yourself, so it's not worth that much money."
As for Elder Xiao, she heard from Brother Dafu that he was very skilled at solving problems himself.
Li Yuanming was offended by her words, "I'm just lazy, I don't want to do them!"
Zhouzhou just nodded thoughtfully, choosing not to press the issue. After all, this was the last bit of tenderness she could show him as his disciple.
Seeing her expression, Li Yuanming muttered to himself, "This rebellious disciple! Can't even have a proper conversation with her anymore."
Zhouzhou rolled her eyes at him. Li Yuanming sighed, "Alright, alright, let him co. Money or no money doesn't matter; it's just nice to have soone to talk to."
Hearing this, Zhouzhou felt a little sad. She said softly, "Master, we're about to have our sumr break. I can co visit you and spend ti with you."
Li Yuanming quickly clarified, "That's not what I ant!"
His temple had just started picking up, and he couldn't let anything go wrong now.
Zhouzhou squinted her eyes, a pout forming on her lips. "I knew it, you don't want there!"
Well, no more love.
Seeing her look of resentnt, Li Yuanming quickly turned his head, avoiding her gaze. He continued to pretend he didn't care, but after a while, he couldn't stand it anymore and said, "If you want to co, just co. I won't chase you away."
Yes, that was his way of saying he was not going to kick her out. He'd just keep all the food for himself and then act pitiful until she decided to leave.
"Cheap master!" Zhouzhou thought, growing angrier by the second.
She didn't want to talk to him anymore.
Realizing he had upset his little disciple, Li Yuanming quickly tried to smooth things over. "Alright, alright, don't be mad. I was just joking."
"You can co anyti. This place is your ho too."
Upon hearing that, Zhouzhou smiled again and said earnestly, "Master, don't think you can throw out! I was brought here by you, and now I'm sticking to you! Even if you want to leave, I won't!"
"I wouldn't dare," Li Yuanming replied with a soft chuckle.
This was the truth. His little girl, apart from being a little too obsessed with money, had no other flaws.
He had raised her from the ti she could barely walk, until she was full of energy, running all over the mountains. She used to only know how to call him for food, but now she even gets angry at him! He's spent so much effort on her, how could he ever abandon her?
Though sotis, when they were apart, he'd miss her, but once she was around, he'd get annoyed again. He couldn't help it.
It happened with any other parents in this world, didn't it?
Luckily, Zhouzhou didn't know what was going on in his head; if she did, she'd probably cry again.
The two chatted for a long ti on the phone. By the ti Zhouzhou's eyelids began to droop, they reluctantly hung up.
Qin Lie ruffled Zhouzhou's hair and said, "When sumr vacation starts, I'll take you back to the mountain."
"Mm-hmm!" Zhouzhou nodded eagerly. "Daddy, let's bring our own vegetables this ti. Master is really stingy!"
Qin Lie laughed softly. "Alright."
Once everything was arranged, Zhouzhou, content, closed her eyes and quickly drifted off to sleep, humming lightly.
The next day, Elder Xiao couldn't wait to head up to the mountain. Qin Lie drove him there, making sure he wouldn't get lost. He also brought a generous amount of gifts for Li Yuanming.
When they arrived, Li Yuanming peeked behind Elder Xiao but seed disappointed when no one else showed up.
Qin Lie, noticing his expression, couldn't help but chuckle. Just yesterday, Li Yuanming had complained about Zhouzhou not coming, but now that she wasn't coming, he was actually disappointed.
Qin Lie smiled and explained, "Zhouzhou still has classes today. She'll co when the holiday starts."
"Who asked?" Li Yuanming huffed, unwilling to admit he cared.
Qin Lie just watched him with an amused smile, saying nothing.
After a long pause, Li Yuanming sighed. "Well, you rember to bring her when the holiday starts. I've planted several acres of vegetables in the back mountain this year. It can certainly be enough for her to eat for a whole month."
"Alright," Qin Lie nodded, smiling.
Li Yuanming didn't really want her to leave, but Zhouzhou's appetite had been driving him crazy.
They couldn't grow vegetables fast enough to keep up with her speed to finish them.
But this year, he had planted plenty, so she could eat as much as she wanted!
At that thought, Li Yuanming couldn't help but smile to himself. When he turned to look at Elder Xiao, his expression beca serious.
He cleared his throat, stroked his beard, and adopted an air of a sage.
To be honest, when he wore his Taoist robe, he did look quite imposing.
And since he was Zhouzhou's master, Elder Xiao already had a favorable impression of him.
He praised Li Yuanming extensively, which flattered Li Yuanming's vanity, and after a short while, agreed to teach him the calculations of the Eight Trigrams.
Neither of them were procrastinators, so they imdiately got to work.
Li Yuanming wasn't great at practical application, but he was a gifted teacher.
Luckily, Elder Xiao had a solid foundation, so he didn't need to explain every step in detail. Just a little prompting from Li Yuanming and he was able to grasp the concepts.
By the ti Elder Xiao left on the last day, he still hadn't realized that Li Yuanming only knew how to teach, but couldn't actually do the problems himself.
But that would only beco clear much later.
Qin Lie stayed for a while and took so photos of the vegetable garden in the back mountain. When the evening was approaching, he finally got up to leave.
Once he got back, he showed Zhouzhou the photos. She was so excited that she couldn't stop grinning. "I knew it, Master loves the most!"
All those vegetables were exactly what she liked to eat!
At that mont, Zhouzhou couldn't help but miss Li Yuanming. She called him again, cuddled the phone, and kissed it so affectionately that Li Yuanming's longing surged within him.
In the end, both master and disciple hung up the phone with teary eyes.
Zhouzhou clenched her little fists. After she wins the competition and gets her prize money, she'll go see Master with her earnings. He'll definitely be thrilled.
She wasn't the little baby who needed him to worry about every al anymore. Now she could earn money and take care of herself. Master wouldn't have to work so hard anymore.
Thinking this, Zhouzhou gave herself a little pep talk, more determined than ever.
Study hard!
Earn money!
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