Introduction

"Why can't a girl be a programmer? This is stereotyping and discrimination. Are programmers bad?"

Xia Xu felt that he was responsible for leading this little white flower onto the right path.

How could she not like programming? This was a five-star talent. If she wasted it, it would be such a pity. There was no future in just being a wealthy woman.

"No, no, I don't mind. I just don't think I have the talent for this. I…"

Tang Youxin waved her small white hand and explained quickly.

"So you mean you don't believe me?"

Xia Xu's face turned black.

Tang Youxin quickly shook her head. "No, but…"

"No buts."

Xia Xu held her cheeks and stopped her from shaking her head. At the same time, he looked into her eyes seriously. "What I said is true. You are very talented in this area. You can even be called a super genius. The scholarship bond agreement I mentioned before is not a joke."

"If possible, I am very happy to provide you for your studies, and the price for doing this is to work for me after you finish your studies. This is not friendship or sympathy, but a normal deal that I am happy to do, or even eager to do."

"I don't want to."

Tang Youxin seemed to be not used to looking at others, or maybe she was not used to Xia Xu's burning gaze. After a slight struggle, she lowered her head and continued to refuse in a timid tone.

After hearing the same answer, Xia Xu looked helpless and disappointed.

"I… I will try."

Just when Xia Xu was disappointed, a timid voice suddenly sounded.

Xia Xu was stunned for a moment before he suddenly realized what the little white flower meant.

This rejection was not because she refused to learn programming or come to work with him, but rather because she refused the scholarship bond and his 'funding'.

Whether it was out of pride, confidence, or unwillingness to owe too much to the point the relationship between the two sides would deteriorate, the white flower was actually willing to give it a try.

This was enough.

As for whether he wanted to fund her or not, haha, this was not up to her.

Other people could stop him from making money, but could they stop him from spending money? Wouldn't it be easy to deal with this little white flower that was like a punching bag?

"Okay, let's talk about this later."

Xia Xu didn't say anything else. He just chuckled. "Let's go, I'll send you home first. We'll clean up this place tomorrow."

"Ah? Send me home…"

Tang Youxin listened and nodded obediently. She then realized what Xia Xu meant and quickly shook her head.

"No, this is not negotiable."

Xia Xu pulled a long face. "What if something happens to you on the road and you encounter a bad guy? This will implicate me. Your family will find trouble with me, and even the police will find trouble with me…"

"The police won't find trouble with you because of this…"

The little white flower retorted weakly.

"No, I'm afraid. What if they find me? I'm timid."

"You are clearly the bad guy…"

"What did you say? Say it again?"

In the end, the little white flower, who wanted to argue, was defeated by someone's unreasonable and domineering attitude. She had no choice but to take a taxi to her house.

Her home was also in the city center village near the school, but it was quite a distance away. Moreover, it was much more dilapidated and complicated than Xia Xu's village. All kinds of low antique-looking houses and messy sheds formed complicated streets.

The only thing better than Xia Xu's residence was the fact that there was a lot more human activity. All of the streets were facing the street, and many people were sitting at the entrance, talking and laughing in groups. Some of them were also doing small businesses, opening small stores or various snack shops. At night, everything was brightly lit.

"It's my stop."

There was a hint of shyness on Tang Youxin's chubby cheeks. The atmosphere in the car seemed to be silent and gradually fermenting.

After the car stopped, her stiff body relaxed slightly. She quickly picked up her bag and fled.

"Wait."

Xia Xu followed her and got out of the car. While pulling her back, he took out a few hundred-yuan notes from his pocket and said with a smile, "What, you don't even want your salary? If other bosses knew that you were such an employee, they would be overjoyed."

"I didn't do anything today… and isn't it just a hundred yuan?"

Tang Youxin avoided taking the money.

"This hundred yuan is your salary, and the other five hundred yuan is your bonus. You have contributed greatly to have recruited talents like Old Yang today!"

Xia Xu stuffed the six notes over.

"I don't…"

"I don't want to, right?"

Tang Youxin was about to refuse, but Xia Xu had already learned how to answer. He smiled helplessly and said seriously, "This bonus is not for you, but to set rules and encourage others. You will lead the way and encourage others to recommend talents."

"But there's no one else…"

The little white flower argued.

"This is a rule. There has to be a beginning, no one else is needed."

Xia Xu pulled a long face. "Do you know that it is a huge mistake to not want money, and you are even trying to harm me? Haven't you heard of the story of Zi Lu Saving the Drowning and Zi Gong Redeeming the Slaves?"

"No… never heard of it."

The little white flower looked scared, not because she was afraid of Xia Xu's fierce attitude, but because of Xia Xu's confident look which made her feel unconfident.

Was she wrong? Was she also wrong for not wanting money?

"Confucius had two disciples, Zi Lu saved a person that was drowning and received a reward as their gratitude. He was praised by Confucius. Zi Gong used his own money to redeem his fellow countrymen who were slaves yet he refused the ransom money that was given to him by the country and was scolded by Confucius."

Xia Xu briefly summarized the two stories, then said in a dignified manner, "Do you know why?"

"W… why?"

After hearing that Xia Xu even mentioned the sage Confucius, Tang Youxin felt even more guilty.

"You saved people. You are moral and noble so you don't want a reward, but you can't expect everyone to be as moral and noble as you.

"If you didn't ask for a reward, others would be too embarrassed to ask for a reward as well. Many people are unwilling to do things that do not benefit them, so they might not save people who are drowning in the water next time."

"On the contrary, if the promised rewards for rescuing drowning people could be obtained, wouldn't others be eager to rescue them in the future?"

"Is a little reward more important than a life? Or is your noble ethics more important?"

"Isn't it the same reason why you refuse to accept my money? Wouldn't this cause no one to be willing to find talents for me in the future?"

Xia Xu pulled a long face. He was not being unreasonable, he was just being aggressive.

Tang Youxin was at a loss for words.

But Xia Xu still didn't let her go. He said with a straight face, "It's the same for Zi Gong. You do good deeds without asking for anything in return, and you are even willing to suffer losses. Do you want everyone in the world to do good deeds without asking for anything in return?"

"If others don't learn from you, they will appear to have a poor character. If they learn from you, they will be at a disadvantage. Naturally, they won't be willing to do this kind of loss-making business. Isn't this causing me to be unable to hire others to work for me?"

"No one is going to recommend talents to me, and no one is even willing to be my employee. Am I going to go bankrupt? If I go bankrupt, I will lose all my money, and I will starve to death in the future. The blow of losing my business will also affect my college entrance examination…"

"I… I… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

After listening to Xia Xu's description of the chain reaction, Tang Youxin looked guilty, aggrieved, and helpless.

"What's the use of apologizing? You have to take action, take it."

Xia Xu grabbed Tang Youxin's right hand, opened her palm, and slapped the six notes on it.

After thinking about it, he took back three notes and said with a straight face, "In consideration of favors, I won't force you to accept them all. I will just reward you with two hundred yuan, and these three hundred yuan will be used as food allowance. I'll take care of your meals from now on."

"Oh, okay."

The little white flower obediently took the money and walked home with a dazed expression.