Cyberpunk: 2075.

Chapter 105 83. Strange

At 11:25 pm, when David returned home with a plastic box filled with braised pork, fried rice, and two corns, he found that his mother had also returned home.

"David?"

David's mother Gloria looked at David who had just returned from outside, and a bit of surprise appeared on his tired face: "Why did you come back so late?"

Due to her busy work, Gloria seldom sees her son at night and in the morning. Usually, when she comes back, David is already asleep, or when David goes out, she is still asleep. It is rare for David to be still awake at this time and come back from outside, as it was today.

Almost instantly, a rather ominous motherly guess flashed through Gloria's mind.

David, you haven't learned bad things, have you?

Just when she was worried that the child she had raised with great difficulty would hang out with street thugs without her knowledge, David had already handed over the things in his hand, and then, according to Carl's instructions in advance, he gave the reason for coming home late.

"Today a classmate from school invited me to his house for dinner. I played there a little late, so I am going home now. My classmate asked me to bring back some food. I am already very full. Mom, have you had dinner? Come and have something to eat."

“I went to a classmate’s house for dinner.”

Gloria looked at David with a little bit of disbelief. Her son actually had friends he could invite home at Arasaka Academy?

After this disbelief, Gloria's heart was filled with joy.

His son, David, David Martinez, is finally no longer a lonely child. He has also found good friends in the academy.

"Isn't it causing any trouble for others?"

This was the first question Gloria asked in her joy, and David, who was looked at with joy by Gloria, was a little uncomfortable with it.

This kind of conversation with his mother showing concern for his friendships had never happened since he entered Arasaka Academy. But even though he was a little uncomfortable with it, he still answered it this way: "No, I helped with the cooking."

"You, help with the cooking?"

Gloria listened to David's words and smiled: "Isn't he causing trouble for others?"

"No, it really helped."

David pushed the plastic box that originally contained takeout over to him: "Compared to this, you should have some, mom, it's delicious."

"Yeah, well, I'm hungry too, so let me see the dish you helped me make."

Gloria originally thought that it was just some common semi-finished street food that had been heated up, which was consistent with her impression of the cooking level of her son's so-called "help". But after actually opening the plastic lunch box, she was stunned.

Although it was a bit cold, when the lid was opened, the brightly colored pork appeared. And the boiled corn in the compartment on the side had full grains and was clearly real corn. Gloria doubted for a moment whether she had seen it wrong because she was too tired.

But immediately, the smell of oil floating in the air told her that this was reality, and what she saw was indeed real.

"David?"

Gloria looked at David immediately and asked: "What are these foods?"

"As I said, my friend made it, and since he had a lot, he asked me to bring some back." "But is this real corn?"

Having never eaten real pork, Gloria did not dare to make any guesses about it, but as for corn, she had actually eaten a plant in the past. It was bought for her by David's deceased father with the money he had saved for a long time during her honeymoon period, thanks to his friends. They finally divided it into two halves and ate them together. The aroma of the plant, which symbolized love, was the support that allowed her to raise David alone after her husband left, so she would never make a mistake.

“It is real corn indeed.”

David pointed to the pork in the lunch box and said, "Mom, try the pork. I helped get the spices for this pork. It tastes great."

“David.”

What Gloria cared about was not the taste: "Is it really okay for you to bring back something so expensive?"

David's friend is a student at Arasaka Academy, so it's not uncommon for him to eat real corn. But this one is too expensive, and yet David is allowed to bring it back.

Gloria was worried that bringing back such valuable items would affect the relationship between her friends.

Is it valuable?
After hearing what his mother said, David realized belatedly how valuable real corn was. One real corn plant, shipped through channels, plus the fees paid along the way, costs about 100 to 200 euros. The price would be cheaper if the quantity was large. The money from one corn plant, based on David's two meals a day, one euro for bread at noon and three euros for normal food at night, is enough for his monthly food expenses.

More than 90% of the family's earnings went into David's tuition, so such luxurious meals were indeed a bit expensive.

but
"Don't worry, mom. There are other people going with us. We've brought everyone with us."

It’s just that the others are not classmates.

"Is that so? It seems your classmate is very generous."

After feeling relieved and knowing that her relationship had not affected her son's friendships, Gloria started to eat the food her son brought.

"Mom, don't you want to warm it up?"

"Yeah, it's okay. It's delicious, David. When you get back, you must thank your classmates."

"I know."

Seeing his mother's fatigue disappear and her relaxed and satisfied look because of the food, David couldn't help but smile.

"Just like what Gaius, no, Karl said, delicious food is something that can soothe a tired soul."

However, looking at his tired mother, David remembered something because of the price issue.

Every month, the money earned by the family is basically spent on my tuition, so the family is very tight on rent, food and equipment usage fees, but.
No matter how tight the financial situation is, the money that the family can save is not much. Besides, I already know the salary where my mother is, which is 5,000 euros a month. Even if my mother works overtime every month, she can definitely not earn more than 10,000 euros:

I started attending Arasaka Academy in April this year. The academy adopts a three-semester system. The first semester is from April to July, the second semester is from September to December, and the third semester is from January to March of the following year. I am now in the end of the second semester and have been in school for six months. Even if the tuition for December has not been paid yet, the tuition of 20,000 euros per month means 100,000 euros in five months. How did my mother earn this money?
"Is it really like what my mother said, that this is the compensation my father received from an accident at work? Can it still support my schooling?"

David noticed a black bag that his mother carried when she returned home. He didn't know if it was his illusion, but he seemed to smell a hint of blood in it.

Just like my mother, she often brings black bags home.

(End of this chapter)