Rebirth of a Top Student's Handbook

"It's alright. When I was little, my parents were quite busy, so I had to start school early for two or three years." Because she felt comfortable chatting with this older woman, Zhou Min chatted with her as well.

"You're quite clever, aren't you? My son has always been mischievous, and we pulled some strings to get him into school early, but he ended up repeating many grades and is now the oldest in his class." Speaking of her son, Ms. Zhang was full of complaints. Yes, this woman's surname is Zhang, and the driver was her husband, surnamed Jiang.

“Boys are usually quite mischievous in elementary school and their grades aren’t very good, but they improve in junior and senior high school,” Zhou Min comforted Sister Zhang.

"I hope so." Sister Zhang was clearly hurt by her son and was very reluctant to talk about him.

During their casual conversation, Zhou Min learned that Sister Zhang's family lived in the county town, and both she and her husband were in business. However, her husband, Brother Jiang, was in the home appliance business, while Sister Zhou was in the clothing business, and both seemed to be doing quite well.

Zhou Min suddenly realized that the winter vacation was very long, and her forty-odd yuan wouldn't last that long. She wondered if she should find a job to do for a while. Thinking of this, Zhou Min suddenly remembered that Sister Zhang's family was from the county town, and her network of connections was definitely much wider than hers. So she asked, "Sister Zhang, do you know where they're hiring? Preferably with room and board included."

Sister Zhang was taken aback by Zhou Min's words and asked, "Weren't you here to visit relatives? Why are you looking for a job?"

Zhou Min thought for a moment and then told Sister Zhang awkwardly, "Actually, I had a fight with my mother and she kicked me out." She then told Sister Zhang about the conflicts between herself and her mother.

Sister Zhang was surprised and said she couldn't understand. Zhou Min sighed after seeing Sister Zhang's reaction; it seemed that ordinary people couldn't understand Zhou's mother.

"Are your aunts all like your mother?" Sister Zhang found it hard to understand. Sister Zhang had two older brothers, and the whole family spoiled her. When there was something good, it was her maternal family who thought of her more.

"No, that's not it. My eldest aunt was the first child, so my maternal grandparents favored her, which is why she has a strong and self-centered personality and rarely compromises herself for others. My second aunt is different because her husband is selfish, and she dotes on her children. She never says a harsh word to them at home, and she doesn't want them to do any chores. She's also quite strict with her husband, so she doesn't act like that either."

As for my aunt, she graduated from a teacher's college, and because she was the youngest, she was always the one being waited on. Only my mother, who worked herself to the bone at home for so many years when she was young, was strong-willed and did more work than most men. After marrying my father, she wanted to work hard to earn money and live a better life, but at the same time, she gave all her money to her family. Seeing her family living a life of luxury, they even looked down on our family for being poor and dragged the whole family to work for my uncle's family, making them feel inferior…”

Zhou Min had a lot to say about this, and Sister Zhang was clearly someone who loved listening to gossip.

"Then what are you going to do? Are you not going back for the New Year either?" Sister Zhang had never heard such an outrageous mother before. Looking at Zhou Min's fair and lovely face, she couldn't help but ask.

"Well, if I can find a job, I don't want to go back. I don't want to have to go back and act like a servant during the New Year."

After hearing Zhou Min's answer, Sister Zhang thought for a moment and said, "Why don't you come and help me with the shop this winter vacation? My employees are all about to take leave to go home for the Chinese New Year, and I'm worried about not being able to handle everything during the holiday. If you come and help, you can just stay at my house."

"That would be too much trouble. Anywhere, as long as there's a bed, will do."

"It's okay, it's very convenient for you to stay at my house, I have plenty of empty rooms."

"I'd better not bother them. There are a lot of guests during the Chinese New Year, so I won't cause any trouble."

After thinking about it, Sister Zhang agreed and said to Zhou Min, "Why don't you stay at the shop? There's a small room upstairs where I can take a nap at noon. If you're not afraid to stay by yourself, you can stay there."

“Okay, thank you, Sister Zhang. I’m not afraid,” Zhou Min replied quickly.

"Then you can stay at my place tonight," Sister Zhang said, still a little worried.

"I'd better not cause any more trouble. If it's convenient, I'd like to go to the store today."

Seeing Zhou Min's determination, Sister Zhang had no choice but to take her to the shop. At this time of night, there were still very few people out shopping, and the shop was almost empty. Sister Zhang took Zhou Min directly to a private room upstairs. After learning that Zhou Min had brought toiletries, Sister Zhang took her downstairs and handed her over to a tall girl, asking her to teach Zhou Min before leaving, since Zhou Min needed to work during the Chinese New Year period.

After learning that Zhou Min would be staying at the shop that night, the tall girl locked the door from the outside. Zhou Min had already finished washing up in the bathroom around the corner downstairs, then turned off the main light and went back upstairs to rest in her small cubicle. She seemed completely unconcerned about whether her parents had noticed she wasn't home.

Actually, Zhou Min was overthinking things. Her parents hadn't even noticed she wasn't home. Zhou's mother assumed she was hiding in her room sulking as usual. Still angry, Zhou's mother stood in front of Zhou Min's door and yelled for a while. Only when she saw no movement inside did she go to sleep.

The next day, before dawn, Zhou Min got up early, washed up, and studied English vocabulary for a while before finally waiting for the shop assistant to open the door. The girl Zhang Jie had assigned to teach Zhou Min the day before, named Wang Jie, came over and began explaining the prices of the clothes and the bargaining power for customers. Zhou Min, with her excellent memory, quickly memorized the prices and made a small note to avoid confusion later. Wang Jie then explained the characteristics of each garment and their target audience. Zhou Min simultaneously memorized the information in her head and quickly took notes—a habit of hers. She firmly believed that a bad pen is worse than a good memory.

After saying all that, Wang Jie thought for a moment and realized there was nothing else, so she let Zhou Min get busy. Just then, the first customer of the day arrived. Zhou Min watched as Wang Jie began to introduce clothes to her. It has to be said that the sales language at that time was really lacking. You know, in shopping malls in later years, the salespeople's stock phrases could make passersby unable to resist buying a few items.

"Do you have anything a bit more upscale? I'm going to a wedding later." The customer listened impatiently to Wang Jie's introduction.

"Um, the clothes in our store are all very high-end. Go and look around the whole county, you won't find any clothes as nice and high-end as ours," Wang Jie proudly introduced.

Zhou Min was almost drunk after hearing Wang Jie's words. The other party was obviously impatient, and you were still talking nonsense to her. Shouldn't you be recommending some suitable outfits to her right now?