A person used to being poor might haggle over a couple of dollars, but would have no concept of tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, and might even become generous.
Xiaoqi felt that she was like this now.
When buying clothes for a few hundred or thousand dollars, she would calculate it on her phone calculator and make a memo.
But faced with 350,000-400,000 dollars, she had no concept anymore and felt a bit numb.
After looking at the house, she told the real estate agent Old Wang that she would think about it and to contact her again if there were any good listings. Then she went back.
Returning, Xiaoqi felt a little tired and took a nap first, originally planning to sleep for half an hour and setting an alarm. But she was too tired and slept another half hour.
Waking up, she looked at the interface in front of her, just over 190,000 dollars.
She scratched her head. Lately the system had remained at Level 5, earning 0.5 dollars per step walked, with no increase. She recalled that she had to do good deeds for the system to unlock higher levels.
But she also couldn’t distinguish what the system used to judge whether she had done a good deed, helping someone out yet the system gave no reaction.
It wasn’t easy to just plain do a good deed for no reason.
Having just woken up, still a bit groggy, there was a knock at the door then. She got up to open it.
She saw Lin Qingqing with an excited face saying: “Sister Xiaoqi, I bought the wallpaper, are you free now?”
Xiaoqi remembered she had promised to help paste wallpaper for her.
“I’m not busy now.” She went back and put on an apron, then came out.
From the last experience of pasting wallpaper, cleaning was imperative, moving beds and cabinets, wiping the walls as well with a wet cloth, otherwise too much dust will prevent the wallpaper sticking or else falling off after a couple days.
Lin Qingqing’s room was in the corner. The hospital originally just provided living quarters for the nurses, at the end of the underground corridor. They had cleared up the storeroom at the end to make another room.
The window was very small, a skylight, its orientation slanted at an angle, framed higher up by a nearby tree, looking as if a glass-framed picture hanging there, letting some sunlight into the dark little room.
Lin Min’s situation was even poorer though, with just a bed with curtain separation. The window was on Lin Qingqing’s side so he couldn’t even see the window, his room pitch black.
“My brother’s going to university soon, after that it will be just me in this room.” Lin Qingqing happily said.
She was 15 this year, simple-minded, not even thinking so much, just happy that with her brother gone she could monopolize a room to herself.
Xiaoqi rather envied her carefree innocence, unlike her own state of mind at age 15.
In the afternoon no one else was in the tunnel corridor. Outside was not as overcast as the morning, lifting the curtain a ray of sun came through the window.
Lin Qingqing usually didn’t like housework, also wasn’t made to do any chores at home, but decorating her own room made her happy. She assisted Xiaoqi, together they shifted furniture and moved the bed.
Xiaoqi wiped the walls while Lin Qingqing passed her cloths from below.
Even swept the ceiling clean.
The corner room was a bit irregularly-shaped, not a standard rectangle but a polygon.
Only after they removed the furniture and bed did Xiaoqi discover it was actually quite spacious, just the irregular shape making it seem cramped.
Xiaoqi flipped open Lin Qingqing’s purchased wallpaper, it really was good-looking, the artistic kind, much better than what she randomly bought at the school gate, and asked the price – also not expensive. The little girl had evidently put in much thought.
She bought many types of wallpaper, even intending to paste the ceiling.
Pale blue wallpaper, she also borrowed a ladder.
Xiaoqi hadn’t pasted a ceiling before either. Trying first, crawling up she pasted a sheet. Felt that craning her neck upwards was tiring but no other issues.
Seeing Xiaoqi demonstrate, Lin Qingqing impatiently went up herself.
So Xiaoqi let her do it.
The two changed off doing the work, going much faster than if Xiaoqi was alone.
Who could have thought that lazy Lin Qingqing worked very efficiently pasting, her speed faster than Xiaoqi’s.
The ceiling quickly became clean pale blue.
Next was the walls.
Lin Qingqing applied different wallpaper on different walls. One side was specially foliage, which was directly facing the little skylight to let light shine on it. Finished pasting, with the outdoor light rays falling on that green leaf wall, looking gorgeously like a garden itself.
The darker side was red flower patterns, clustered all about, very cheerful.
Given a choice, Xiaoqi would not have selected such bold designs. Also being at the head of the bed, suddenly waking up to clusters of red flowers could be a bit freaky. Recalling Lin Qingqing getting scared by Halloween once and running over to squeeze into her bed to sleep together, she still dared to be so audacious.
Yet when finished, even Xiaoqi herself thought it looked surprisingly good, not scary at all. Matching with the green foliage wall next to it, with some artistic flair.
Next wall used animal print wallpaper.
Xiaoqi had only casually flipped it open earlier, feeling it garishly flowery. Who knew Lin Qingqing actually bought so many kinds.
Not small birds and the like, but large wild beasts, tigers and lions repeatedly in sequence.
Also, this wall was small. Completely pasted with just 3 beasts total, only half the body of a tiger shown at the wall corner exposing its head.
The two spent an entire afternoon rearranging the furniture and hanging curtains. Only then did Xiaoqi notice that the wild beasts print wallpaper seemed specially selected for her brother. With the curtain down, Lin Min’s room appeared as one wall with wild beasts and one curtain wall. Very compact yet still giving a delightful, quirky feel, like a boy’s room.
While Lin Qingqing herself sprawled largely on her bed, also pulling Xiaoqi to lie on it with her. The two peering at the blue ceiling, green leaf wall, red flower wall, plus a soft curtain on one side.
Lin Qingqing suddenly turned over and hugged Xiaoqi tightly.
Hugging her for awhile.
Then let go.
Xiaoqi felt her clothes get wet...
Right at her chest area, as the little girl pounced over just about that spot.
“Sister Xiaoqi I love my room, thank you.”
Lin Qingqing’s voice sounded a bit hoarse.
Xiaoqi awkwardly patted her head.
“You’re really good, your choice of wallpaper has not gone to waste at all. The colour schemes blend very nicely together, I couldn’t coordinate this sense of cohesion.” Xiaoqi earnestly said.
Hearing her praise made Lin Qingqing’s eyes appear slightly damp, but more so, shining brightly at her.
“You really think I’m good?”
Xiaoqi nodded.
“Also, you worked very fast. Pasting wallpaper, your speed is much quicker than mine. Your edge trimming was neat. You have very capable hands, high work competence.”
Lin Qingqing’s eyes became even brighter, spinning around with joy. As a poor student, she had always resigned herself at home to be scolded, never washing bowls, pretending not to hear constant haranguing until her ears were calloused. She felt herself useless trash, with parents also cursing her thus.
But of what use even if she put in effort and performed brilliantly like her brother, still getting cursed by parents?
No one had ever praised her before, neither parents nor teachers, nor peers of the same age. Even her brother who treated her well, never commended her either.
She suddenly felt happy.
Feeling as if she did seem to have some strengths after all, not so trashy as she thought.
Xiaoqi watched the little girl’s eyes shine with swirling delight, wondering what she could be thinking. Then she saw her again spring up from the bed bubbling with joy.
At the same time, she heard the familiar mechanical sound ringing by her ear: “Host has noticed the strengths of the neighbouring little sister, giving her affirmation, instilling confidence into this rebellious emo kid, changing her worldview and bringing positive energy to society. System level unlocked, system upgraded to Level 6 Progressive System. Host now earns 0.6 dollars per step walked, capped at 30,000 steps daily.”
Su Xiaoqi: ...... Turns out a whole afternoon’s hard labour helping to paste wallpaper means less than a few kind words spoken.
