Chapter 30
Chapter 30: Using the Treasury to Keep a Wife—A Blood-Pumping Championship
After Jiang Tea Tea heard what the cafeteria head chef said, something crawled over her skin—like a fat grub clinging to her, chewing at her bark. She shivered and blurted, “Are you serious? His Highness Chong Ming said he’d… support me?”
That Big Golden Dragon had shoved her straight toward a mutant tiger just to see if she’d awaken an ability. Since when did he have a kind bone in his body? Support her? Please. Who did he think he was fooling—devils?
“I’m curious too,” she added, narrowing her eyes. “Did my male idol really call me out by name and say he’d support Sister Tea?”
Huang Da Zhuang looked even more excited than she did. His puppy-dog eyes practically turned into stars, the same look he got whenever he imagined his idol personally raising him.
Sui Xuan Chu lifted a hand, calm as ever. “I’m curious too. Is Commander-in-Chief Chong Ming really that careless now—calling people out by name, playing favorites, and feeding them?”
The head chef’s expression softened, smile deepening. “It’s like this. After His Highness finished inspecting the school, he paid special attention to students with financial difficulties.”
“Out of all those students, Classmate Jiang Tea Tea’s situation was… unusually distinctive. She was so poor she was basically penniless. I heard there isn’t even a single star credit in her account. Just to eat, besides studying, she’s been working three part-time jobs.”
“His Highness told the principal: a student who gets into this academy is a pillar of the nation. If a pillar of the nation can only afford food by working part-time, then the nation is failing them—and the school is doing nothing.”
“So the principal revised the hardship assistance plan as quickly as possible. In addition to waiving various fees and providing extra monthly support, food and housing are now fully covered. If there are special circumstances, students can submit a report and apply directly to the school’s finance office.”
“And to make it more visible—to let students clearly feel His Highness’s and the school’s care—the principal used you, Classmate Jiang Tea Tea, as the example. A notice was sent to every cafeteria, informing us that hardship students represented by you eat for free.”
“And that’s why, Classmate Jiang Tea Tea, aren’t you being ‘supported’ by His Highness? Did I say anything wrong? I didn’t say anything wrong!”
The cafeteria staff nodded along warmly. “Right, right. Classmate Jiang Tea Tea, you’re one of the aid recipients personally named by His Highness Chong Ming. That’s basically His Highness using the treasury to keep you fed.”
“So don’t go out and work part-time anymore. Put that time into studying. Graduate as an outstanding student, enter the nation’s top legions, serve the country, serve His Highness—that’s what you should be doing.”
Jiang Tea Tea finally understood. It wasn’t that the Big Golden Dragon wanted to feed her personally. He simply couldn’t stand seeing people struggling—and she’d happened to stand out in front of him and the principal.
And the principal had dragged her out as a shining example, conveniently telling every other hardship student exactly who they should thank: that Big Golden Dragon.
Fine. A gift this good delivered to her door? Only an idiot would refuse.
Jiang Tea Tea tipped the steak off her tray into a basin of grilled beef. “If His Highness Chong Ming says he’ll support me, then I won’t be polite.”
The head chef beamed. “No need to be polite. Eat your fill. Just don’t waste.”
Jiang Tea Tea picked up a basin piled with grilled steak in one hand and a basin of braised donkey meat in the other. She didn’t forget the other dishes, either. “You two,” she called to Sui Xuan Chu and Huang Da Zhuang, “help me carry the stewed venison, the lamb stew, the mouthwatering chicken, the mouthwatering duck, and the fried pork.”
Sui Xuan Chu and Huang Da Zhuang answered at the same time, crisp and loud. “You got it.”
They made four trips.
By the end, they’d hauled out twenty-four basins—each one heaped into a mountain of meat. Aside from a sprinkle of scallions and cilantro, there wasn’t a trace of green anywhere.
Jiang Tea Tea’s second cafeteria meal went viral across the academy again and shot straight to the top of the school intranet’s trending page.
The female students who saw it teared up with envy. She ate that much and her stomach didn’t even bulge. It was infuriating.
The male students who saw it gave her a thumbs-up. That prehistoric-beast appetite, those giant-shark chompers, that deep-sea stomach—she was a starship among women, a cosmic black hole among men. Absolutely insane. Unprecedented.
After eating, Jiang Tea Tea split up with Sui Xuan Chu and Huang Da Zhuang. Sui Xuan Chu headed for the Combat Department building, while Jiang Tea Tea and Huang Da Zhuang returned to the Pacification Department.
Jiang Tea Tea had barely sat down and pulled out her books and soothing tools when a bright red apple was placed on her desk.
She followed the apple with her gaze, then looked up—and saw six little girls standing in front of her, led by Lin Feng Feng. Jiang Tea Tea opened her mouth, blunt as a blade. “What’s this? An invitation to the restroom so I can treat you to toilet water?”
Lin Feng Feng waved her hands frantically. “No! Jiang Tea Tea, it’s not like that. We believed Jiang Yi Zhu before and misunderstood you. We thought you were a vicious girl who stole other people’s Mom and Dad, beat people, and stole other people’s males.”
“After what happened today with Jiang Yi Zhu, we know she framed you and misled us. We hit you. We bullied you. We were wrong. We want to apologize and ask you to forgive us.”
As soon as Lin Feng Feng finished, she and the other five bowed deeply in perfect unison.
Kids around ten really were… weirdly earnest. They did something wrong, realized it, and came running to apologize.
That fake heiress had been miserable and weak. If she’d been able to adjust herself—if she’d fought back when people bullied her and iced her out—she wouldn’t have suffered so much, and she wouldn’t have carried so much resentment.
Jiang Tea Tea snatched up the apple, wiped it on her palm like a barbarian, and took a loud, crunchy bite.
She chewed, swallowed, then spoke slowly. “You apologized. I forgive you. Learn from it. Next time, don’t act like dogs—biting wherever someone points.”
Huang Da Zhuang choked on air beside her, eyes wide. Of all the metaphors she could’ve picked…
Lin Feng Feng and the others had expected Jiang Tea Tea to beat them up, or at least curse them out, to make up for the past half-year of bullying.
They hadn’t expected forgiveness to come so easily.
Shame surged up their faces. They started blurting promises like vows. “Jiang Tea Tea, don’t worry. From now on, we’ll never bully anyone again. We’ll start an anti-bullying group!”
“We’ll help anyone who gets bullied. We’ll tell bullies that bullying is wrong. We’ll be united and friendly, become people useful to the nation and society. We can’t let our idol husband, His Highness Chong Ming, be disappointed!”
The first part sounded sincere. The last part made the crisp sweetness in Jiang Tea Tea’s mouth go bland.
She shoved the half-eaten apple into her desk and flicked her hand at them. “Go.”
In the afternoon, the teacher walked in, turned on the projected lightbrain board, and announced the first thing the moment he stepped onto the platform.
“Classmates, I have good news. The Military Department, together with the Top Thirty Elite Legions, will hold a three-month joint training championship for thirty military academies—including ours.”
“It involves as many as 1.8 million cadets. We’ll compete by academy as the main unit and by squad as the smaller unit, fighting for first place.”
“To get good results, you can form teams freely. You can recruit seniors from other departments or team up with classmates. Ten per team is fine. Twenty is fine. A one-person team is allowed too.”
“If you don’t form a team, the system will match you later. Whoever you’re matched with is your teammate.”
A student raised a hand. “Teacher, how much time do we have to form teams?”
“Three days,” the teacher said. “Two days for manual team formation, one day for system matching. After teams are formed, the departure date will be announced later.”
Another student leaned forward, eyes gleaming. “Teacher, if we crush the other academies, beat the other cadets into the ground, and take first place—what rewards do we get?”
The teacher smiled. “First place gets four rewards. First: qualification to train with the Top Thirty Elite Legions for six months.”
“Second: a one-million star credit prize.”
“Third: the most advanced custom skeletal mech armor.”
“And fourth—most important of all—the championship will be commanded by Commander-in-Chief Chong Ming as overall commander. He will review you, direct your battles, and personally present all rewards.”