Chapter 4: Morning Run

As night fell, Jiang Nian finished showering and returned to his room. He turned on the air conditioner and lay down on the bed.

He opened the panel and greeted it with a smile.

Although Jiang Nian’s grades were average, as one of the main players on the school basketball team, he had silently run five kilometers every day throughout the semester to maintain his stamina for playing the entire game.

Five kilometers in one go, like drinking water.

His plan for tomorrow was to get up early, run five kilometers first, then three kilometers, and finally complete two kilometers. After all, he understood the principle of starting strong but weakening over time.

After reviewing his tasks, he checked the balance of his bank card.

Money is courage. The Jiang family was not well-off; a few years ago, his grandfather’s health had been poor. They had borrowed quite a bit over the years and had only recently cleared their debts.

As a result, Jiang Nian’s pocket money wasn’t much—at most three or four hundred yuan a month.

But just this afternoon, his card had an extra thousand yuan. If he finished running ten kilometers tomorrow, he would earn another two thousand, totaling three thousand.

Money is meant to be spent; earning it without spending is pointless. He opened the shopping site JD.com.

It was the final year of high school. Even though the gaming company masked the source of income, it was legitimate. However, to his parents, making money from gaming and neglecting studies was a complete reversal of priorities.

Though he might face rounds of family interrogations, Jiang Nian was thick-skinned and indifferent. Since they would talk anyway, he might as well seize the opportunity to shop a little.

The most straightforward way for ordinary people to save money was to buy fewer clothes and shoes, save on utilities, and only replace electronics like home appliances and phones when they broke.

The Jiang family was no exception. Old Jiang and his mother hadn’t changed their phones, clothes, or shoes for two or three years. The TV and air conditioner were rarely used, and the water from rinsing rice was reused to flush the toilet.

Frugality was a virtue, but this kind of saving was clearly just to pinch pennies. It had nothing to do with quality of life—just tightening their belts to get by.

Clothes were hard to buy, and phones or appliances were out of his reach, so he could only buy shoes.

Shoes were a necessity that could be cheap or expensive for good reason. Since he walked every day, quality shoes mattered.

Jiang Nian first bought a pair of leather shoes worth over 500 yuan for Old Jiang, then a pair of soft-soled sneakers for over 300 yuan for his mother. For himself, he bought two pairs of shoes costing about 200 yuan each.

The total came to 1,300 yuan, nearly wiping out his balance.

He checked again—just 100 yuan left.

Enough. Time to sleep.

Meanwhile, the Jiang couple lay awake.

In their master bedroom, enveloped in darkness, the husband and wife whispered quietly. Things that were hard to say in front of the child during the day could be discussed after turning off the lights at night.

“Sigh, I blinked and suddenly realized how grown up the kid is,” Jiang Weizheng said, lying on his back with his hands behind his head, staring at the dark ceiling.

“He can already make money and even cooked for us.”

“Isn’t it good that Jiang Nian is sensible? You just keep sighing like that.” Li Hongmei shot her husband a glance in the dark. “Used to be, if he wasn’t beaten for three days, he’d tear the house apart.”

“I just wish he’d be more sensible so I don’t have to worry so much. Now I’m just worried that his money isn’t coming from a proper place. If he goes down the wrong path at such a young age, it’ll be over.”

“That’s not likely. I know the kid well; he’s got good judgment.” Jiang Weizheng pulled back his hands and frowned. “I checked out that game company. It’s pretty big.”

“I’m guessing it’s no problem for him to earn some money a month, as long as he doesn’t get addicted.”

The couple chatted on and off but couldn’t reach a conclusion. Eventually, sleepiness overtook them, and thinking of work the next day, they went to bed.

The next day.

It was September, and dawn was just breaking in the small southern county.

Jiang Nian got up early and put on his running shoes. He glanced instinctively at the house across the street—Xu Qianqian’s door was firmly shut. Uncle Xu was away on a trip, so she was home alone.

Oh well, feeling generous, he decided to bring her some breakfast.

It was a bit chilly in the early morning. Wearing a short-sleeved quick-dry shirt, he went downstairs, the wind raising goosebumps on his arms. The street in front wasn’t bustling, lined with old self-built buildings.

“Damn.”

On the track of Nancheng Middle School, a figure stretched long in the morning light.

Jiang Nian was sweating profusely, his chest and back soaked through. Running wasn’t difficult, and the morning wasn’t too hot, but long-distance running always produced sweat.

After completing five kilometers, his phone buzzed. He picked it up and saw the reward had arrived.

“Ah! It’s here.”

One thousand yuan credited. He twisted open a bottle of water from his backpack and took a few gulps. Standing under the shade of a sycamore tree in the southwest corner, he rested, preparing to sprint three more kilometers.

Before long, he finished the three-kilometer and two-kilometer runs.

“xx Bank received transfer 700 RMB... 300 RMB.”

By then, Jiang Nian was panting. He looked like he had just climbed out of water, hair clinging to his forehead, yet his eyes were remarkably clear.

Conservatively, with some rest, he could still run another five kilometers. Aside from the difficulty of getting out of bed the next day, there were almost no side effects.

For some reason, Jiang Nian had no resistance at all to leg training.

He had no grand ambitions. As a strong, never-dated high school boy, his thoughts were much like those of Mr. Ji Xianlin in his youth: in this life, he only wished for more…

The autumn breeze was brisk and refreshing, the sun just rising. The sunlight on the street was warm and clear. Morning light filtered through the gaps in the tree branches, casting dappled patterns of light.

Jiang Nian leaned on his bicycle, buying four breakfasts before eight o’clock.

Prices in the county town were cheap: a radish and vegetable bun cost one yuan each, a cup of soy milk one yuan, fried dough sticks one and a half yuan, and meat buns one and a half yuan.

“That’s thirty yuan total. Here you go.”

Beep! “Paid.”

“Alright.”

The breakfast cost thirty yuan in total, filling a large bag. Jiang Nian alone could eat four meat buns, two fried dough sticks with soy milk, and two or three vegetable buns.

With the two thousand yuan freshly received, plus the remaining 161 yuan from yesterday, minus the thirty yuan for breakfast, he still had 2,131 yuan left.

Many people carried large bags of breakfast like Jiang Nian, but most were elderly—early to bed, early to rise, buying breakfast for their working or studying children and grandchildren.

The wheels of the bicycle rolled over the dry road, the boy’s lively silhouette outlined in the golden morning light.

A sudden screech of brakes, and Jiang Nian jumped off his bike.

Carrying the large bag of breakfast home, he met his mother Li Hongmei just getting up. Her hair was tousled, and her eyes showed the fatigue of an early riser, seemingly ready to prepare breakfast herself.

Although prices in Zhennan County Town were already low, homemade breakfast was still more cost-effective.

Four yuan for rice noodles, chopped spicy green peppers, garlic, scallions, mixed with chili oil, peanuts, cilantro, pickled sour beans, and a little sauce made for a filling meal.

The living room curtains were drawn, casting a dim light.

Li Hongmei wore a “mom brand” sleepwear that looked like the curtains, slippers on her feet, watching her sweaty son come in with a large bag of breakfast.

“You went to buy breakfast?”

“Yeah, I ran in the morning and bought it on the way,” Jiang Nian nodded, placing the heavy bag on the table. “Mom, you don’t have to work so hard. From now on, I’ll take care of breakfast.”