16: Closed food chain

"By the way, do you know how much money the family still owes?"

"Big brother: Just focus on your studies and don't worry about these things. A'Ruo and I will handle it."

Ye Su had wanted to take the opportunity to ask about the family's situation, but just as expected, Ye Xin didn't tell him anything.

With no other choice, Ye Su had to let it go. He told Ye Xin to go back to his own business, planning to find a breakthrough from Su Wan in the evening.

...

Since the intelligence for the early morning had been consumed, Ye Su had nothing to do all day. It was nothing more than watching movies, playing games, and pretending to be diligent by self-studying some development frameworks.

It wasn't until after dinner, around eight o'clock in the evening, that Ye Su went out. He found a secluded spot, took out his phone, and transferred ten thousand yuan to Su Wan.

As expected, the transfer wasn't accepted, and Su Wan's WeChat call came through immediately.

"Hello, Mom."

Su Wan's tone carried a hint of worry: "Why are you transferring so much money to me?"

"It's nothing." Ye Su explained according to the excuse he had prepared beforehand:

"Didn't I buy a scratch-off lottery ticket last week and win 9,000 yuan? Plus that electric scooter I won yesterday—I don't need it, so I sold it to a classmate for 3,500 yuan. After deducting the 1,000 yuan red packet I received last week, I still had over 10,000 yuan left, which is why I transferred 10,000 yuan to you."

If this were in the comment section of Douyin, this ten thousand yuan would just be the cost of a meal for some netizens.

But for an ordinary family like Ye Su's, it would take Ye Jianguo over a month of continuous driving to earn this ten thousand yuan.

Even then, it only happens thanks to some acquaintances who call Ye Jianguo's car directly when going to the neighboring city, allowing him to have such an income.

That is why Ye Su was so anxious to earn money for the family, so that Ye Jianguo wouldn't have to work so hard.

But Su Wan refused to accept the ten thousand yuan no matter what: "Keep the money you won for yourself to spend. Why are you transferring it to me!"

"It's fine. With the red packets from Aunt and the others during the New Year, plus the living expenses left over from last semester, I still have over ten thousand yuan on me. It's enough for my living expenses this semester and my senior year tuition, so just take the money."

How could Su Wan not know that Ye Su specifically transferred the money to her because he wanted to help share some of the family's burden?

"They say the current economic environment outside isn't very good. You'll definitely need money when looking for an internship next semester. You should keep this money for yourself; there's no need to transfer it to the family so soon."

"Don't worry. I'm in charge of development now, collaborating with two seniors who have already graduated. We take on projects from outside. Small projects are worth over ten thousand, and customized ones can go up to forty or fifty thousand. If I'm lucky, I might earn ten or twenty thousand a month. I'll definitely have enough money to spend."

"You should focus on your studies now; there's no need to rush to earn money. It's not like the family can't afford a meal; you don't need to work so hard, attending classes while also trying to earn money!"

"Our courses this semester are quite relaxed, and everyone is preparing for internships, so there's plenty of free time to work on outside projects."

"Besides, companies nowadays often demand that fresh graduates have work experience. By starting to do outside projects now, it will be easier for me to find an internship and get a job after graduation."

Not giving Su Wan a chance to refuse, Ye Su began to bluff according to his prepared script, saying he had a set of ready-made code templates that could be sold directly after a quick adaptation. If a client needed customized features, his seniors could ask the client for more money.

By occasionally interspersing some professional development terminology, he finally succeeded in bamboozling Su Wan, who knew nothing about computers, making her believe that Ye Su was indeed capable of earning money and that his life at school was going very well.

"So just take this ten thousand yuan. After all, this is the first time I've sent money home since I grew up."

"Alright, I'll take it." After being persuaded by Ye Su, Su Wan didn't forget to remind him: "Society is complicated now. We don't harm others, but we can't trust just anyone either. When you collaborate with your seniors, you need to keep your wits about you, you know?"

"Don't worry, your son isn't stupid."

Seeing that the time was ripe, Ye Su tentatively asked: "How much external debt does our family still have? Since I've started earning money anyway, I can at least help the family pay off a little bit."

Su Wan still wanted to brush it off: "Actually, it's not much. The family can pay it off slowly. You're out there on your own; you don't need to worry about these things."

Ye Su was determined and started using moral pressure: "You gave birth to three of us. It can't be that I'm the only one spending money, but when it comes to paying it back, only Big Brother and Second Sister are left to do it. It's not like I'm not earning money now."

With things put this way, Su Wan also felt that as a mother of three, being so biased toward Ye Su was indeed unfair to Ye Xin and Ye Ruo.

She couldn't just take it for granted because of Ye Xin and Ye Ruo, and she couldn't be so self-righteous as a mother.

Furthermore, Su Wan was afraid that keeping everything from Ye Su would cause him to let his imagination run wild while out on his own.

"Your dad just calculated it. Right now, the family owes a total of four hundred thousand yuan. Your brother and sister will help pay some of it, and it's estimated that it will be paid off in a few years, so you don't need to worry about the family."

"You should have just said that earlier. Raising children for a thousand days, using them for one moment—the three of us and Dad, if we each pay back one hundred thousand, won't it be paid off?"

Ever since the family's factory started to improve, Su Wan had been a housewife at home. Now, apart from some manual labor or being a cleaning lady, she could hardly find any other work.

Su Wan had mentioned finding a cleaning job to do for now to subsidize some household expenses, but the three siblings, including Ye Xin, definitely wouldn't agree, so Su Wan had to give up in the end.

Therefore, when making such an excuse, Ye Su naturally didn't include Su Wan in the calculation.

Ye Su's optimistic attitude also infected Su Wan, making her laugh on the other end of the phone:

"You haven't even started earning money yet, and you're already writing empty promises to your mom, huh?"

"Don't worry, I'll be earning money very soon."

If it were before, hearing such a large number as [four hundred thousand], Ye Su would definitely have felt like the sky was falling.

Even if he earned over ten thousand a month right after graduation, and didn't eat, drink, or pay taxes, it would still take him more than three years to save up four hundred thousand.

But now with the system, as long as he upgrades a few more times, Ye Su was confident he could get four hundred thousand within half a year!

"Where's Dad?"

"He went out after eating and resting for a while."

"Tell Old Ye not to work so hard. He's 52 this year; he can't endure like young people."

"I know, but you know your dad's stubborn temper—he's more twisted than the rag I use to mop the floor. Only you can handle him. You should talk to him when you have time."

"Got it. I'll talk to him next time I call."

Ye Su had always been the most pampered at home, and since Ye Xin and Ye Ruo both returned to their hometown after graduation, Ye Su was the only one studying in Yangcheng.

As a traditional father, Ye Jianguo couldn't express himself with words and could only hide his fatherly love in his actions. This made Ye Su's words sometimes even more effective than Su Wan's.

Now they were a biological chain loop—Ye Jianguo managed Ye Xin and Ye Ruo, the two siblings managed Ye Su, Ye Su in turn managed Ye Jianguo, and in the end, all four were managed by Su Wan.

"Then, while you're at school, don't starve yourself just to save money, you know?"

"Got it."

"Also, you can't do anything illegal just to earn money, you know?"

"Got it."

"And..."

"Got it..."

As they say, a mother worries when her child travels far.

Being nagged by Su Wan as if he were a child, Ye Su felt a headache coming on. He could only continue to perfunctorily deal with it, and only then did he hang up the phone.

Seeing that Su Wan had accepted the transfer of ten thousand yuan, Ye Su finally smiled.

The excuse for the income was fabricated, and he knew how much the family owed. Now, it was all up to the performance of the intelligence system!