Darkstone Code

Chapter 1075 - 1073: Tuition

In the dim room, the long-unwashed bulb above barely cast its light around.

The fifteen-year-old child sat at the table, dull-eyed watching the heavy snow outside the window.

Her father sat on the sofa, watching the TV report about this year’s snowstorm, while her mother sat opposite her.

The family maintained silence, with only the TV reporter continuously speaking.

The sound was a bit harsh, the old TV speaker should have been retired long ago, sometimes emitting sharp noises, yet no one here has considered buying a new one, not even a second-hand one.

Because... poor.

Being poor is not something shameful, because many people in this world are poor.

But being poor is something hurtful, as many things that seem trivial to others become major issues, like changing to a new TV.

Like... paying for the children’s school fees.

The toilet made a flushing sound, and then the door opened, a slightly older boy than the girl walked out somewhat bewildered.

He had been hiding in the bathroom for a long time, half an hour or more, but he still couldn’t escape this conversation.

"Come here, sit down..."

The man stood up, walked over to the table, and sat down, the boy walked over nervously, glancing guiltily at the girl, and sat down quietly.

"This year’s snowstorm... the factory decided to resume work after March, which means we have more than two to three months without income."

"But the school notice has arrived, we must pay up before February, or they will remove your names from the register."

"Yet all the money I have can only support one of you to go to school..."

Still silence, no one spoke.

This snowstorm, lasting over a month, destroyed many lives, just when life was starting to improve, they were hit by such dreadful weather.

The ongoing snow made road traffic chaotic, with intercity and interstate roads entirely halted.

There were numerous issues in the city, many factories and warehouses collapsed under the snow, never had anyone thought that light snowflakes could bring such horrible disaster to the world!

In fact, they were too optimistic.

The factory closure meant workers couldn’t earn through labor, and their meager savings could scarcely support them.

If added with tuition for two students... many families simply couldn’t afford it anymore.

This wasn’t just one family’s problem, but a societal issue.

Currently, the Federation’s education is monopolized by educational groups, they never consider reducing the burden on student families, they only demand more.

Each student’s semester fee ranges from tens to hundreds of dollars, plus the cost of various books, over two hundred dollars; for families struggling with such amounts, it’s a problem.

Like this family in front, they can’t suddenly come up with more than four hundred dollars for two kids’ schooling, certainly, someone has to fall behind.

And falling behind means stopping for a year.

They wouldn’t let that child repeat the current grade, they’d wait until this time next year.

But by this time next year, a year’s gap, how could the child’s learning keep up?

Though the Federation’s middle and lower education isn’t so concerned about student grades, at least you have to prove you’re not foolish and have some knowledge of what’s been covered.

Missing a year could mean never returning to school.

The girl’s expression was indifferent, her hands tightly gripping the hem of her clothes, pinching hard.

The pain from her fingernails digging into her palm couldn’t compare to her pessimistic mood, her life’s future seemed as dark as this dim room, devoid of light.

She had a premonition that the one who couldn’t go to school would be her.

The boy had a premonition too, his was that he could go to school, but his sister couldn’t.

The man tilted his head and glanced at his wife, "So we made a very difficult decision, ...", he called out the girl’s name, "Can you stop school for a year for your brother?"

"We are still discussing it, the outcome isn’t necessarily like that..."

Everyone knew that was a lie, the girl’s eyes immediately welled up with tears, she stubbornly bit her lip, a trace of fresh red blood spreading outward along the lines of her lips.

She neither said no nor agreed, just looked at her father.

Perhaps her gaze was too "fierce", perhaps it was internal guilt, the room sank back into silence.

The man didn’t exercise his authority as head of the household, requiring it to be done that way, he felt it was his inadequacy that led to these problems.

But actually, he worked very hard, starting work at eight, off at seven-thirty, eleven hours of work plus a half an hour lunch break each day.

He was never lazy, never had his salary docked for not working diligently, yet he still couldn’t come up with enough money for two kids right now.

Damn those immigrants!

His pained expression was filled with anger towards the immigrant workers, those lowly immigrants lowering their wages just to get a job.

Originally, he had a salary of over three hundred and thirty dollars, but now he can only get the minimum wage, losing several dozen dollars each month.

Apart from the change in salary, the benefits have also decreased, for instance, the lunch has turned into a meatless vegetarian meal.

For example, the original ten-hour work time has become eleven hours due to the immigrants’ voluntary overtime requests.

You can choose not to work overtime, but if the factory needs to adjust positions, you might get laid off.

Capitalists never speak of corporate sentiment to employees; only when they need to use the employees do they brandish it as some sacred mission for promotion.

The woman looked at the struggling family and was also in deep pain inside. She took off her pearl earrings, a bequest from her grandmother.

"Sell these, maybe they could cover her tuition."

The man glanced and said, "They’re worth at most twenty dollars!" He paused before adding, "And that’s your only piece of jewelry."

The family sat under the dim light, plunged into despair over the more than two hundred dollars of tuition fees.

Now they despair over two hundred dollars, and later they’ll despair over other sums, this may be what ordinary families must invariably face.

Exhaust all efforts to overcome one hurdle, only to approach the next!

Poor life offers no shortcuts, because shortcuts mean money!

If there was money, there would be no hurdles.

Without the girl’s consent, and without the ability to change anything, she stood up after a long silence, returning to her room to cry secretly under the covers.

She knew she couldn’t blame anyone; society is like this, women’s status is forever lesser than men, even in facing future choices.

No matter how her learning surpasses her brother’s, it holds no reference value.

Have boys go to school, girls marry off, that might be the simplest, most basic thought and action of ordinary families.

Be aware, after a girl marries, even her surname changes, so people wouldn’t invest much in her, unless she remains unmarried for life.

But, is that possible?

The next day, the man took the boy through wind and snow left home early to pay the tuition at school, having heard there’s more severe snowstorm coming in days.

If the city’s traffic gets blocked it would be troublesome.

The girl watched her brother turning back amidst the snowstorm, silently shedding tears.

She began considering doing something, this year she couldn’t do nothing, perhaps she’d embrace her life’s first job.

A girl in her teens working, isn’t that normal?

A woman appeared behind her, gently stroking her hair, "Don’t hold hate towards anyone, at least you still have a warm room to stay in, and maybe the meals aren’t tasty, but they satisfy hunger."

"Learn to be tolerant, that’s our destiny..."

Originally, everyone thought this matter ended here, but unexpectedly when the two men came back home at noon, things changed.

Surprisingly, a smile appeared on the man’s face, he found the girl, somewhat excited, "Listen, the issue with your schooling is solved, you can go to school with your brother."

The girl widened her eyes at her father, slightly shaking her head, as if saying "Don’t joke."

Until her father vigorously nodded again, tears quickly flowed out.

"What happened?" the woman hurried over, pulling the curtain aside.

After two days of snowstorm, it paused slightly at this moment, the sun came out, brightening the room!

"I saw Mrs. Catherine, you know, the flower among civilians!" The man remained somewhat excited, speaking incoherently, struggling to articulate his thoughts.

"She inquired about our family situation, knowing we have a child unable to attend school due to lack of tuition, and it’s a girl, she’s willing to help us, for free!"

The woman also became excited, tightly hugging her daughter, "That’s great, really great..."

The man nodded, "Yes, great, many students’ families faced issues this year, the snowstorm came at such a wrong time, fortunately, Mrs. Catherine appeared timely."

"Oh, by the way, there’s also Mr. Lynch, I saw Mr. Lynch too!"

The man gazed at his children, somewhat emotional, "They are truly important figures from Sabin City, very few like them remember us poor folks even after becoming successful."

His emotion was justified, not all charity gala donations truly reach those who need them most.

Sometimes, fundraising organizers don’t disclose that they often use only a certain percentage of total donations for specific groups, with more as Foundation or other agency maintenance funds.

Finally, the man looked at the girl, "Perhaps you’ll see them in a couple of days..."