I have few friends, but many childhood sweethearts.

Chapter 13.13. Persuaded, yet not persuaded.

The next day.

After breakfast, the whole family went out together.

In less than half an hour, the two urea sacks they brought were filled with crayfish, each one weighing at least an ounce.

Xu's mother rushed home to prepare the crayfish, and the three of them went home without even having lunch.

They came empty-handed, and left with their hands full.

A carrying pole was secured to the back of the motorcycle by Xu's father with rubber bands, and two snakeskin bags of crayfish, along with a large pile of fresh fruits and vegetables, were piled on top of it like a small mountain.

There wasn't enough room in the back, so Xu Qingfan was forced to sit on the metal gas tank in front of the motorcycle.

After a bumpy journey, the family finally made it back to the Lotus Courtyard safely.

On the way back, he felt like he had forgotten something, but he just couldn't remember it.

Since it wasn't important, Xu Qingfan didn't take it to heart and ran up to the third floor as soon as he got out of the car.

"Aunt Lin!" he shouted at the door, and in response was Xia Xiaoxiao peeking out of the room.

"My parents have gone out. Can you come in for a moment?"

"What's wrong?" Xu Qingfan took off his cloth shoes, stepping on his right foot with his left, and casually slipped on a pair of slippers before walking into Xia Xiaoxiao's room.

"Look at this question, I've been thinking about it for a long time but I can't figure it out." Xia Xiaoxiao took the test paper from her desk and handed it to Xu Qingfan.

"Let me see."

许庆凡瞄了一眼，题目有点类似高中的裂项相消：（1+3+5++99）-（2+4+6++98）=？

He suddenly felt a little confused. Xia Xiaoxiao valued this exam so much, so why did she, in her previous life, who had passed the exam, end up going to a public elementary school with Xu Qingfan?

"This question is actually about finding the pattern: 3-2=1, 5-4=1. Subtracting the first number from the last number always results in a 1. You just need to know how many 1s there are, then add them together, and that's the answer!"

"Oh right, I see!" Xia Xiaoxiao suddenly understood.

She counted on her fingers a few times and finally wrote "50" on the line.

This question has two difficult points and one common mistake. He was quite surprised that Xia Xiaoxiao could come up with the correct answer so quickly.

"How did you know it was 50?" Xu Qingfan asked.

Seeing Xu Qingfan's surprised expression, Xia Xiaoxiao said smugly, "What's so difficult about that? First, hide the 1. From 2 to 99, we're missing 1 and 100, leaving 98 numbers. Half of that is 49. So the answer is 49 + 1!"

[No wonder she's a computer genius who studied at MIT!] Xu Qingfan silently gave her a thumbs up.

"Stop studying, I'll take you to do something fun!"

"playing what?"

You'll see when you get here!

After half an hour.

"My hands are so sore, this is no fun at all, I want to go home!" Xia Xiaoxiao said dejectedly.

"It'll be ready soon, it's really delicious, just hang in there a little longer," Xu Qingfan comforted her.

"If your little hands are tired, go watch some TV. Auntie will call you to eat when it's ready." Aunt Xu put down the crayfish and gave her son a light tap on the head. "It's okay, Auntie. There's only a little left. Xu Qingfan and I will finish it quickly." Xia Xiaoxiao deftly removed a whole shrimp vein and threw the cleaned crayfish into the iron basin.

If he were to process thousands of crayfish one by one, how long would it take?
[Wouldn't it be foolish not to fight for free labor?]
"Mom, how much do you plan to sell the crayfish for?" Xu Qingfan was worried that his mother would disrupt the market, so he decided to give her some pointers.

"This thing isn't worth much, let's sell it for one dollar."

"One yuan each?" Xu Qingfan asked excitedly, not expecting his mother to have the potential to be a shrewd businesswoman.

"What kind of daydream is this? You dare to say it's one yuan a pound or one yuan a piece? Aren't you afraid of being gossiped about behind your back?"

Xu Qingfan asked with tears in his eyes, "Mom, how much is lean meat per pound?"

"It depends on whether you want to buy fresh or not fresh. Fresh ones are three yuan, and not fresh ones are one yuan."

"Mom, these are crayfish! Do you know how much they cost in America? You're only selling them for one dollar, cheaper than pork!"

"What? You know?" Mrs. Xu glanced at her son, who was obsessed with making money.

"Of course I know! Crayfish are more expensive than beef in America, how can you sell them for only one dollar!"

"The United States is the United States, and China is China. How can they be the same?"

Tired.

"Mom, you're only selling them for one yuan. You'll work yourself to the bone all day. How much money can you possibly make?"

Yao Jinping stared at her son with a puzzled look: "Why are you concerned about adult matters?"

"Why can't I care? I need money for elementary school, my mother-in-law needs money to repair her house, everything costs money! Mom, you won't make any money selling like this!"

Aunt Xu chuckled: "Then how many yuan do you think it would cost to make a profit?"

"It'll cost at least six!"

Mrs. Xu shook her head with amusement, clearly not wanting to pay attention to her somewhat foolish son.

Xu Qingfan felt a little helpless. This was a common problem among parents in China. They were willing to believe that their child was the smartest in the world, but unwilling to admit that he was the smartest in their family.

[Forget it, with a million yuan from the lottery as a safety net, let them do whatever they want.] He suddenly felt like giving up.

After cleaning the crayfish, under his guidance, Xu's mother first made two small portions of crayfish to taste.

One is spicy, and the other is garlicky.

Yao Jinping has many years of experience in stir-frying snails. When it comes to cooking, once you master one method, you can master all methods. The crayfish she made this time were obviously even tastier than the ones she made last night.

"How is it? Delicious, right?" With the delicious food in front of him, Xu Qingfan quickly put the unpleasantness from earlier behind him, peeled a plate of crayfish for Xia Xiaoxiao, and said boastfully.

[Wait a minute! Why would I peel crayfish for Xia Xiaoxiao for no reason?]
If his hands weren't covered in oil, he would have loved to slap himself. He's gotten so used to being a sycophant that it's triggered muscle memory, hasn't it?
Xia Xiaoxiao happily ate the lobster that Xu Qingfan had peeled, feeling sweet inside.

"Yeah, delicious!"

"I just peeled it for you, now it's your turn to help me. Good friends should give and take!"

"We're not even friends. I'm your sister. Hurry up and peel it for me, or I'll tell Auntie you're bullying me!" Xia Xiaoxiao revealed a sly smile.

Xu Qingfan:
[Little Wan Ning is still so well-behaved and adorable. Xia Xiao Xiao, you're no longer my childhood sweetheart!]
Xu Qingfan silently complained to himself.

(End of this chapter)