northernbook Chapter 107 There's no such thing as a free lunch.
Chapter 107 There's no such thing as a free lunch.
Lu Yuanqing stared at the two of them, dumbfounded.
He found it somewhat amusing after realizing what he'd said, "Wait, when did I say she couldn't continue her studies?"
"then you……"
Lu Yuanqing looked at Lu Mingxi and saw the sudden brightness in her eyes because of his words. He raised his hand and ruffled her hair.
There are differences between men and women. He likes to be so affectionate with the boys at home, but Lu Yuanhuan and Lu Mingxi are both grown women, so it's rare for him to be so intimate with them.
I don't know why, but even though Lu Mingxi caused such a mess, he shouldn't like her.
But while dealing with this matter for her, he also learned about Lu Mingxi's psychological problems from Teacher Yunxiao. Now he felt like he was really dealing with problems for his own niece.
Although I was angry, I cared more about her feelings.
Is this how elders feel about younger generations?
This was the first time Lu Yuanqing had acted as such a dutiful elder, and he didn't know what a real elder was like.
But right now he really didn't feel like scolding Lu Mingxi at all; instead, he was very concerned about why she had such an astonishing idea.
Lu Yuanqing didn't show his emotions on his face. He smiled and said to Teacher Yun Xiao, "I'm so sorry to have troubled you with this today. I didn't mean for Xiao Xi to drop out of school. But with so many things happening today, I thought she wouldn't be able to concentrate even if she stayed at school. So I thought I'd take her home to rest for a day. She'll come back to class tomorrow after she's had a good rest!"
Besides, he's already paid the tuition for this semester, and the school doesn't have a tradition of refunding tuition, so why would he waste the money?
Unaware of Lu Yuanqing's petty concerns, Yun Xiao felt relieved and smiled, "You're right. I'll approve the leave and let Lu Mingxi go back and get some rest today."
After saying that, he turned to Lu Mingxi and said, "Lu Mingxi, remember to be back at school on time tomorrow!"
“Okay, teacher!” Lu Mingxi nodded obediently.
After saying goodbye to Yun Xiao, Lu Yuanqing stood at the gate, waiting for Lu Mingxi.
Afraid that Lu Yuanhuan and Cheng Xia wouldn't know she was home, Lu Mingxi insisted on going to tell them.
After waiting for a while, the person returned.
"Is it settled? Can we go home now?"
Lu Mingxi nodded, "Yes, I told my aunt and Xiaxia so they wouldn't worry!"
Lu Yuanqing had a sweet tooth, and when he passed by a steamed bun shop, he bought quite a few large meat buns to take home.
Steaming hot meat buns are irresistible to anyone who sees them.
Lu Yuanqing handed one to Lu Mingxi first, then quickly grabbed one and ate it.
As for the others, there are still quite a few people in the family!
Lu Mingxi hesitated before accepting the food, and he also hesitated before eating it.
She made her third uncle lose so much money today, does she still deserve to eat meat buns?
"Hiss!" The meat buns were fresh out of the steamer and very hot. Lu Yuanqing ate them while making a scalding sound.
But no matter how hot it was, he couldn't bear to throw it away.
Fortunately, his hands were calloused, so the food wasn't too hot to hold; only his tongue got burned.
The way home still depends on my own two legs.
Recently, everyone in the village has been busy with farm work, and no villager wants to waste time going to town, so there's no one to hitch a ride home in an oxcart.
"Uncle Three..."
Lu Yuanqing was enjoying his steamed buns when Lu Mingxi's hesitant voice rang out.
Lu Yuanqing raised an eyebrow, not looking at her, and said indifferently, "What's wrong?"
"Third Uncle, did I do something wrong?" Lu Mingxi asked.
Lu Yuanqing neither said it was right nor wrong, but simply said, "There is no such thing as a free lunch."
"When someone gives you a gift, they naturally have something in mind. If they're a good person, they won't mind, but what if they're a bad person? What should you do if they make demands after you've accepted their gift?"
"Of course it is..." Lu Mingxi asked, puzzled, "What do you want!"
"Take those four boys from earlier, for example. You know why they gave you food and other things, don't you?"
Lu Mingxi immediately said, "I did not agree!"
Lu Yuanqing nodded: "Then how about I give you something else expensive?"
"what?"
"What if I give you the Pechoin milk you want most?"
"This!" Lu Mingxi fell silent!
Lu Yuanqing: "Originally, you didn't have any feelings for this guy and didn't want to date him, but you had feelings for Bai Que Ling, so you accepted him. Right after you accepted him, he wanted to take you to see a movie. Are you going or not?"
"Hiss! If we go there and people see us, they'll think we're dating!" Lu Mingxi said in alarm.
She has always been very careful, and in all this time, only Yun Xiao has noticed, which shows how cautious she is.
Human nature is a fearsome thing, and she knew that if people saw her walking with a boy, no matter how many mouths she had, she wouldn't be able to explain herself.
But she doesn't want to be in a relationship!
Lu Yuanqing smiled faintly and continued, "The next day, the other party gave you another gift and bought you a beautiful dress. You were tempted again and wanted it. The other party even wanted to take you home to meet their parents. Are you going or not?"
Lu Mingxi was completely dumbfounded. "It's not Third Uncle, it's just some food, nothing valuable. Why are you getting so carried away!"
Lu Yuanqing understood. "Do you want to date them?"
"In no mood!"
"As friends?"
"I don't want to either!"
"Then why did you accept their gifts?" Lu Yuanqing's smile faded, and he said seriously, "Whether it's dating or making friends, there should be give and take."
"If someone gives you a gift, you should return the favor."
“Cheng Xia is a friend I grew up with, and I can tell that you genuinely consider her a friend. She always shares her treats with you when she has something delicious. Think about it now, have you ever shared yours with her?”
"If you only think about receiving, what if one day the one who gives is unwilling to accept the loss?"
"Xiaxia wouldn't!" Lu Mingxi could doubt others, but he would never doubt his friend Cheng Xia.
Lu Yuanqing wasn't in a hurry. Instead, he asked in return, "Think about it from Cheng Xia's perspective. If you were Cheng Xia, and Cheng Xia were you, you would always be very good to your friends and willing to share everything with them. But she is very selfish and never considers you!"
"Words of concern without action don't count!"
Lu Mingxi calmed down and began to think, something he hadn't paid much attention to before.
After all, Cheng Xia had a better living environment. Her father, grandparents, and even her uncles and aunts treated her very well.
The snacks that they couldn't usually afford were bought for Cheng Xia by her father from a young age, without her having to ask for them.
Cheng Xia was very generous to her and would always give her food.
Lu Mingxi never felt there was anything wrong with it. She was Xiaxia's best friend, so what was wrong with giving her food?
But now that I think about it, my third uncle is very capable. Look, he used to be able to get meat buns, but now he just buys a whole bag of them and brings them home.
She gets a reward from her third uncle if she does well on the exam.
Whenever my third uncle went on a long trip, he would bring them back lots of delicious food.
Last year was as blissful as a dream.
When she received her share of milk candy, why didn't she think to give one to Xiaxia?
What was she thinking at the time?