In a dim room where the light flickered, strange things filled every corner of the space that measured about a dozen square meters.

There was a rabbit with wings locked up in a cage, an orange shaped like a banana, a pretty desk the size of a palm, and a book with a delicate cover that was over 2 meters tall and a meter wide.

On the cover of the book was the title ‘Modern History Essentials of Huaxia’.

A young man around 18 or 19 years of age was surrounded by those peculiar items. He was lying down on his study desk as he looked at his smartphone.

The screen on his smartphone was showing the page of a questionnaire app titled ‘How to earn 1 Million during your university years’.

The young man was scrolling down the page, jotting notes in the notebook beside him.

As he was carried away by the contents, his smartphone rang all of a sudden. The page of the questionnaire app turned into the incoming call screen and the caller ID showed ‘Mom’.

Quickly adjusting his sitting posture, the young man slammed the notebook shut and answered the call. He moved his smartphone to his ear to ask, “Mom? What’s wrong? Why are you calling me at this hour?”

On the other side of the call was the plain voice of a woman with a Southern accent. “Nothing in particular. I’m just calling you to see how you’re doing.”

A little pause later, the woman continued, “How have you been doing lately? Did you get into any trouble with the school? How are your studies?”

“No, I didn’t get into trouble and my studies are fine. You and Dad don’t have to worry about me,” answered the young man in a kind voice.

The woman answered with an ‘oh’ before she asked, “Do you have enough to spend? In the last two days, your pops and I got some extra grains and sold a bunch. We’ve been having it a bit easier lately, so why don’t I transfer another 300 yuan to you?”

The young man patiently waited for his mother to finish before he answered, “No need for that, Mom. I’m working part-time in between my studies, so it’s enough to cover my expenses. Don’t worry. You don’t need to transfer money to me. Save it or buy yourself some new clothes.”

“I’m fine, I’m fine. Your Ma has enough to wear. You’re the one who should take care of yourself, especially since the expenses in the capital are higher. You’d better not save on food and have some good meals. We still have money to spend back here...”

The two chatted for almost 10 minutes. Finally, the young man hung the phone up after his mother had voiced all her reminders.

After the phone call, the young man looked at his room of strange things and sighed.

His name was Su Yang from the Jiujiang Province, and he was currently a university student in Shanghai.

He was from a rural village in the Jiujiang Province. All the villagers there were farmers, including his parents, hence their lives were rather dry and meager, and they barely had enough to spend.