A life of financial freedom

After the funeral, Mom Chu was still unable to shake off the grief of her mother's passing. Her eyes remained vacant, and she would sit by the doorstep all day, gazing at the sky as if searching for something.

Chu Fang glanced at Zhong Tingyue, who shrugged, indicating helplessness.

He sighed and left home, heading to the town's school.

Dad Chu had agreed to go to Modu (Shanghai), and since he hadn't reached retirement age yet, there were many procedures to handle, which were entrusted to Chu Fang.

Arriving at the school, the teachers and students were holding a general assembly, with the principal giving a speech on the stage.

He had planned to talk to the principal after the meeting, but the principal spotted him immediately.

In front of everyone, the principal announced loudly, "As you all know, our school's achievements today are inseparable from one person's help, and that is student Chu Fang. Today, Chu Fang has come to the school, so let's have him say a few words to everyone."

Thousands of students turned their gazes towards Chu Fang. He was speechless for a few seconds, then walked onto the stage and spoke eloquently without any timidity.

The students below the stage stared at him with curiosity, surprise, admiration, and respect...

With urbanization, many families moved to the cities for better education, causing the decline of schools in rural towns.

However, Chu Fang managed to keep this small-town school thriving, attracting excellent students, all thanks to his help.

Over the years, Chu Fang had directly or indirectly donated no less than one hundred million yuan to the school. With that money, the school flourished.

To express their gratitude, the school even erected a monument for Chu Fang.

When he heard the news, Chu Fang was utterly speechless.

I'm not dead yet, what's the point of erecting a monument?

But it did have some effect, as the students held him in great respect.

"Is he the Chu Fang that the teacher always talks about?"

"The teacher said that Chu Fang is his most famous and proud student."

"He's so handsome."

"I heard he's very rich."

"..."

Chu Fang stood on the stage, chatting casually, mainly emphasizing the importance of studying hard and improving every day.

Although he hadn't studied hard himself, that didn't stop him from urging others.

After finishing his speech, the principal and Chu Fang went into the office. The former poured a glass of warm water and asked, "Xiao Fang, I know about your grandmother's passing. Please accept my condolences."

"I'm much better now," Chu Fang smiled. "Principal, I've come to you today to ask for a favor."

"Tell me, as long as I can do it, I'll go through fire and water," the principal said, patting his chest.

Now, Chu Fang was the school's biggest benefactor, so he couldn't be careless.

"I'm hoping my dad can move to Modu," Chu Fang said directly.

Hearing this, the principal immediately understood, "Yes, Old Chu should go to Modu. After all, it's a big city with abundant resources, which our small town can never compare to."

"No problem, I'll handle all the procedures. How about giving Old Chu a position? He doesn't have to work or teach, just receive a salary and have social insurance."

"No need," Chu Fang shook his head. "Just transfer his files to Modu, and I'll find him a teacher's job there."

"Old Chu is really something, not knowing how to enjoy life," the principal shook his head. "You're so rich, not enjoying life is one thing, but he still wants to work."

"I want to enjoy life, but my son is always fooling around. If he could have one-tenth of your achievements, I could die happy right now."

Chu Fang smiled without saying a word.

The principal naturally agreed to handle the subsequent procedures and processes; it was a small matter.

Chu Fang took out a check and handed it to the principal, "I hope the school can continue to operate and more students can walk out of the school and out of the mountains."

The principal waved his hand and refused, "Xiao Fang, no need. You've already helped enough. If I take any more, I'd be shameless."

This was truly sincere.

"I hope that the children in our town don't have to go to the city to attend school, and that the education here is even better than in the city."

"That would cost a lot of money."

Chu Fang stuffed the check into the principal's hand, "I think this should be enough."

Then he walked straight out of the office.

The principal stared at his back, stunned for a few seconds, then scratched his bald head, "What does that mean?"

Then, he lowered his head and looked at the check, a string of numbers. He poked at the zeros one by one, counting carefully.

"Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, hundred thousands, millions, ten millions, hundred millions, billions."

The principal's legs went weak, and he fell to the ground, "My goodness, a billion!"

He had been a principal for so many years and considered himself knowledgeable, but this was the first time he had seen a check for a billion yuan.

He was stunned.

After a long time, he slowly came back to his senses and hurried to the town government. He didn't dare to hold such a large sum of money and needed to discuss it with the government officials.

Arriving at the town government and seeing the check, the entire town government was like a炸开的锅 (exploded pot/exploded).

The town's annual GDP was less than a billion, so how could they not panic when they suddenly saw a billion-yuan check?

"What should we do? Should we use it to develop the economy?"

The mayor thought for a few seconds and shook his head, "Forget it. Chu Fang said it's for developing education, so it's not good for us to misappropriate it."

After negotiation, everyone decided to act according to Chu Fang's wishes and not interfere.

After everyone left, the mayor stroked his chin, "What an amazing young man!"

He had thought that Chu Fang was just rich, but he didn't expect the amount of money to be beyond imagination.

A billion-yuan check meant that his net worth was at least tens of billions.

"Really damn amazing!" Thinking of this, the mayor blurted out a curse.

...

Chu Fang could guess the reactions of the school and the town government, but he didn't care.

He was a very casual person, able to eat fifteen-yuan fast food and also donate a billion yuan casually.

He was very happy that his money could help the students.

Returning home, Chu Fang told Mom Chu about the move, expecting her to be happy, but to his surprise, his mother refused on the spot.

"No, I don't want to go to Modu," Mom Chu sat on the doorstep, shaking her head. "I don't want to."

"Mom, Dad is also going to Modu. Our family will reunite in Modu," Chu Fang said.

"Anyway, I don't want to go to Modu," Mom Chu still gave the same answer.

"Why?" Chu Fang asked in confusion. "Do you think you don't have friends in Modu? I can play mahjong with you, and there are many old ladies playing mahjong in our villa. You're already very familiar with them."

In recent years, Mom Chu had gone to Modu on weekends to visit her grandchildren and had also met the neighbors in the villa.

With her excellent social skills, Mom Chu had a great time playing with those old ladies.

Mom Chu was silent for a few seconds, then lowered her head, "Dad used to say something."

"When I die, he told me to sit at the door, and they will come back to pick me up."

"If I leave here, Mom and Dad won't find me."

Chu Fang felt his scalp tingle.

He didn't know how to comfort his mother.