Chapter 10
Su Xiaoqi stumbled and fell, hurting her knee a little.
But she had a silly grin on her face.
She never imagined that doing a rare selfless good deed would bring such a pleasant surprise.
Her parents had always taught her not to get involved in other people's business, just focus on her own matters.
A young girl from the countryside sticking her nose into other people's affairs would only cause trouble for her parents, so Su Xiaoqi was always very careful.
She didn't expect that the one time she did a good deed, there would be such a generous reward.
She couldn't wait to go for a run right now.
Walking 20,000 steps every day would earn her 4,000 RMB.
A month would be 120,000 RMB.
What did 120,000 RMB mean to Su Xiaoqi?
She had no concept of it. She felt light on her feet just thinking about it.
Everything she had on added up to just 364 RMB.
Her 188 RMB glasses, 59 RMB white t-shirt, 39 RMB athletic pants, 48 RMB sneakers, a no-name digital watch that a classmate had given her for her birthday purchased at the school gate boutique for around 30 RMB, and a small cloth bag that came free with a purchase.
Just 364 RMB worth of outfit made Su Xiaoqi feel guilty and anxious, because she knew her parents worked hard for money.
But she didn't want to be looked at differently by her classmates. There was a girl in the dorm across from hers who was from the same village. She often wore ill-fitting hand-me-down clothes to school and was frequently mocked.
Su Xiaoqi didn't mock her, but she worried about being mocked herself, isolated, gossiped about. That feeling was awful.
This was her vanity and contradiction.
But now, tens of thousands of RMB??
She really didn't know how to spend that much. She floated into the bookstore. By the time she made her way to the shelves and picked up a book, she snapped back to reality.
She was holding a copy of "The Art of Bamboo Weaving Inheritance" for some reason.
She was about to put it back, but thought of the bamboo winnowing baskets her parents wove at home. That was a type of bamboo weaving, just nothing artistic.
Her parents never let her touch it, because the bamboo was hard and sharp. It was easy to cut your hands weaving winnowing baskets.
At first, only Dad did the weaving. But when she got to high school and money was tight, Mom started helping too.
Mom wove slowly and her baskets were average, but at least she could help.
When Su Xiaoqi held her parents' hands, she could feel the roughness.
But the same bamboo weaving - her dad could only sell a large pair of winnowing baskets for 30 RMB, which he called a high price. She remembered a classmate bringing a small bamboo woven bag to school once, for holding tea accessories. She had borrowed it to play with. Su Xiaoqi was curious and asked how much the bamboo bag cost. Her classmate said over 2,000 RMB!
Su Xiaoqi was thrilled. That weekend when she went home, she excitedly asked Dad if he could weave a bamboo bag.
Dad thought she wanted one for herself, and carefully spent two days weaving one. But it didn't seem right - it was huge and coarse, the kind for holding vegetables, not tea accessories. It was nothing like her classmate's delicate bag.
Su Xiaoqi didn't take it and it remained at home, used sometimes for picking vegetables.
She looked at the price on the back of this book - a whopping 227 RMB!
She had to read it based on the price alone, couldn't miss out.
The first chapter gave a long history of bamboo weaving, over 10 pages. More interesting than her English textbooks, at least.
It even mentioned their village of Gumula, known for its hilly terrain, ancient forests and abundant bamboo groves. The older bamboo was beloved by bamboo artisans.
Chapter two introduced a famous bamboo weaving artist - his background, works, techniques and craft characteristics. It was written very simply, as if she could learn it herself.
The images were vivid. But Xiaoqi knew that just reading wouldn't enable her to do it. Her dad was one of the best bamboo weavers in the village, yet he could only make winnowing baskets and farm tools - big, rough things.
She saw it daily but couldn't reproduce it.
The young weren't interested in learning this unprofitable skill.
Talented elderly artisans were too old, while medium-aged ones like her dad did it because of disabilities limiting other work. They didn't formally learn or inherit the craft.
Still, Su Xiaoqi read carefully, wanting to tell her dad about it later. Her memory was excellent now - she absorbed everything she read.
Chapter three showcased famous bamboo works - furniture, floral arrangements, tea accessories. Bamboo had a natural, simple elegance. One small bamboo cage even sold for 200,000 RMB at a foreign auction!
Su Xiaoqi sized it up - about the width of her palm. Chapter four, the last, lamented the loss of so many bamboo techniques and skills over time. Only a few remained.
Finishing the thick book nearly word for word took two hours. Looking up, it was dark outside, the streetlights on.
Time to go back or Auntie would worry since she didn't know Xiaoqi had a phone now.
She got up and returned the book to the shelf, gently stomping her numb legs.
"Host has finished an immersive reading session of one book, lasting 2 hours 19 minutes. Awarded one Platinum Bamboo Weaving Skill Card, which comes with one affiliated card. Host can use one card themselves and assign the other card to someone else," sounded the mechanical voice.
Su Xiaoqi was stunned, then overjoyed.
She desperately needed this skill. No - her dad desperately needed it.
Since discovering the system's existence and that it was real, she had been thinking about how to improve her parents' lives.
Suddenly giving them a large sum of money wouldn't work - she had no explanation and they wouldn't dare spend it freely.
They were just ordinary farmers. Dad had some education, finishing middle school, while Mom didn't even graduate primary school. Giving them money to start a business wasn't realistic either.
She could only build on what they currently did. Bamboo weaving was perfect - Dad often helped villagers weave useful items and was praised for his skill. But it was a sideline, nothing remarkable.
Xiaoqi decided that once her tutoring job was settled, she would make a trip home.
Leaving the bookstore, she walked back to the hospital dorm, stepping lively.
The young girl Su Xiaoqi walked down the street, loudly singing a song - she needed roller skates.
Under the neon lights...
"One step, two steps, one step two steps
It's the devil's pace, the devil's pace
Friction, friction
I'm keeping the beat for myself
This is a beautiful moment in my life
I'm going to complete my favorite dance
Under this lovely moonlight
On this lovely street
I tell myself this is real, this is no dream"