The shop assistant, hearing her words, was very moved. "Are you really giving me a three-cent commission?"
Liu Xiaoting nodded. "Naturally."
"Alright," the shop assistant readily agreed, but then added with some unease, "I don't know how much stock you have? Can I take more?"
With a three-cent commission for each item, she saw a chance to make money and wanted to take more stock. What if Liu Xiaoting was going to supply other supply and marketing cooperatives? Then she would earn less.
"Don't worry, I have plenty of stock. I'll give you fifty pieces first. If they sell well, I'll give you more later."
…
After Chen Lishu successfully passed her oral exemption exam, the final exams quietly arrived.
On this day, the entire dormitory woke up relatively early, even Li He, who usually loved to sleep in, was up early.
"Hey, how are you all prepared? If we happen to be in the same examination hall, we can look out for each other. If any of you don't know something, I can pass you the answers," Sun Ling said while combing her hair, her gaze falling on Zhu Qing, Li He, and the others.
"I haven't reviewed much during this time. Sun Ling, if we are indeed in the same exam, you must help me," Zhu Qing eagerly chimed in.
Sun Ling paused her combing. She had intended to rely on others when she said that, but she hadn't expected Zhu Qing to be so brazen.
"It depends. If we're too far apart, I won't be able to help."
As everyone tidied themselves up, Chen Lishu, Zhang Xue, and Yang Lili went to have breakfast together. Yang Lili was still busy memorizing words on the way.
"Big sister, the exams are approaching. Don't be too stressed. Relaxing a bit might help you perform better," Chen Lishu said with a smile, seeing her.
"I've calculated this time, and there are three tiers of scholarships. I can't compare with you and Jiang Yuwei, but I have to strive for at least the third-tier scholarship."
Even the third tier was over twenty yuan, which was a significant sum for her.
After breakfast, the three walked into the teaching building. There were twenty-four students in the class, and two examination halls were set up for this exam. Chen Lishu and Yang Lili were in the same hall, while Zhang Xue was in another.
A few minutes before the exam started, Sun Ling and Li He walked in.
Following their assigned seats, Sun Ling visibly relaxed when she saw that Yang Lili was sitting next to her.
"Big sister, let's look out for each other during the exam."
Yang Lili naturally understood what she meant. She wanted to refuse but was afraid of displeasing Sun Ling, so she could only force a smile. "Okay."
Soon, the exam bell rang, and the invigilator walked in with the test papers.
After all, they were university students, so there was no need for extensive reminders about cheating before the exam. Thus, the teacher came in and directly distributed the papers without saying a word.
Chen Lishu had undergone intensive training for over half a month before the exam, so she found answering the questions quite straightforward.
Yang Lili took the test paper and first scanned it briefly. The anxiety she had been feeling finally eased. Fortunately, it wasn't too difficult.
Sun Ling looked at the questions on the test paper. Many of the words were familiar, but she had no idea what they meant. She managed to do a few questions by guessing, her heart growing anxious as she glanced around. Seeing that everyone else was focusing on their answers, her gaze finally landed on Yang Lili.
Yang Lili was diligently answering her questions when, unexpectedly, a hand reached out from the side and snatched her test paper. Startled, she quickly looked up to see Sun Ling, who had seized her paper while the teacher wasn't looking, now hunched over her desk quickly copying the answers.
Yang Lili instinctively looked at the invigilator and found that he had already made a round and was about to turn back. Her heart leaped into her throat.
"The teacher is coming over." Anxious and scared, she kept urging Sun Ling in a low voice.
Sun Ling, having copied most of it, impatiently tossed the paper back.
However, due to the time lost in between, Yang Lili hadn't even managed to answer the last major question by the time the dismissal bell rang.
Seeing her test paper handed in, her eyes welled up with tears. The scholarship was definitely gone.
Chen Lishu, sitting at the front, was unaware of what had happened behind her. After leaving the exam hall, she wanted to ask Yang Lili to go eat with her, but she refused. Chen Lishu then went to the cafeteria with Zhang Xue.
…
Gu Xingping also had an exam today. After the exam, seeing that it was still early, she stopped by Second High School on her way home to wait for Chen Liyuan to finish school.
As soon as she reached the school entrance, she saw Liu Dabao lurking on the opposite side of the road, peeking suspiciously at the school gate. She couldn't help but frown.
Liu Dabao also froze when he saw her. After a moment of hesitation, he left reluctantly.
Chen Liyuan, coming out after school, was surprised to see Gu Xingping there. She quickly walked over, discreetly glancing around. Not seeing Liu Dabao, she let out a quiet sigh of relief.
"I just saw Liu Dabao. Was he looking for you?" Gu Xingping asked as they walked back.
Chen Liyuan, seeing that she couldn't hide it, said with red eyes, "He came to find me twice, insisting I be with him. If I refused, he threatened to make sure I couldn't attend school."
After all, she was still young, and encountering a rogue like Liu Dabao, if Gu Xingping hadn't run into him, who knew how long she would have kept it to herself.
"That shameless scoundrel!" Gu Xingping was furious upon hearing this. "I've never seen anyone so shameless! Who does he think he is to demand you be with him?!"
Chen Liyuan bit her lip. "Sister Xingping, since my exams are almost here, I'll apply to a school far away. Once enough time passes, he won't bother me anymore."
"Someone like him, if he sets his sights on someone, he'll find a way through any crack. For such a thick-skinned person, you should tell your family. Otherwise, he'll keep pestering you without end."
Thinking of her family situation, Chen Liyuan hesitated but nodded. "I'll do it after my exams."
Before going home, the two first went to the supply and marketing cooperative. They were out of salt at home and needed to buy some. After buying it, as they were about to leave, the shop assistant called them over again. "Ladies, do you need any underwear? Clothes are thin in the summer, and this is breathable and doesn't show through. It's only two yuan and eight cents per piece."
"Two yuan and eight cents?"
Gu Xingping and Chen Liyuan exchanged a look. They remembered that the goods were supplied at two yuan and nine cents. When did the price drop?
"Didn't this used to sell for three yuan? Has the price dropped?" Gu Xingping asked curiously.
"Yes, the price has dropped. It's selling for two yuan and eight cents now."
As their family was in this business, they naturally didn't lack such items, so they smiled and shook their heads before leaving.
When they returned home, Lin Qi was packing underwear to send to various supply and marketing cooperatives. Chen Liyuan casually said, "Brother Qi, has the price of underwear dropped?"
Lin Qi paused his packing. "No, who told you that?" This was the peak sales season, and sales had been good. Why would they deliberately lower the price?
"We just went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy something, and the shop assistant there said so," Chen Liyuan said, looking at Gu Xingping, who nodded in agreement. "I heard it too. It was two yuan and eight cents."