Chapter 17 The Whole Institute Knows
Colton sprinted all the way there. By now, he was panting, with little beads of sweat on his forehead.
After hearing Fredrick’s words, he slapped the paper bag containing the translated manuscript onto the table.
“The manuscript is all done!” There was so much pride in Colton’s clear voice.
When Fredrick heard this, he jerked his head up, adjusted his glasses, and looked completely stunned. “What did you say? It’s done?”
He thought he had misheard, so he asked again.
Colton nodded vigorously. “Yep! It’s all done. Lizzie asked me to bring it to you!”
Fredrick quickly put down the book in his hand, grabbed the paper bag from the table, and pulled out the manuscript inside.
There it was, Lizzie’s elegant, forceful, and neat handwriting. Just looking at it was a pleasure.
Fredrick glanced over it quickly. He was only in charge of assigning translation tasks, not reviewing manuscripts. His Latin wasn’t good enough to judge the accuracy, but he had a gut feeling that this manuscript was top–notch!
At the same time, he felt a flicker of confusion. “Why do I trust Lizzie so much?” he wondered.
But right now, he was too shocked to dwell on that. As he flipped through the manuscript, he asked in amazement, “Did Lizzie really translate all of this in one day?”
“Of course!” Colton puffed out his chest, beaming with pride. “Lizzie is super amazing!”
Fredrick carefully examined the manuscript again and then put it back in the file bag.
“I’ll take the translated manuscript. I’ll let you know the review results tomorrow. If it passes, Lizzie can take on high- er–level tasks directly.”
Colton was stunned for a moment and then got a bit anxious. “Fredrick, why do we still need a review?”
Fredrick explained with a smile, “Well, I’m just the contact person. The review for primary manuscripts is done at the city level, and for intermediate and advanced ones, it’s at the state level. But don’t worry. With Lizzie’s skills, there’s no problem.”
In the end, Fredrick even reassured him.
Colton had faith in Lizzie. But he also heard about the manuscript levels that day.
He thought that once the manuscript was submitted, Lizzie would move up to the intermediate level right away.
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“Will she take on new translation tasks?” Fredrick put away the manuscript and tidied up a bit. He was ready to send it to the city soon.
Colton scratched his head. Lizzie didn’t say whether she wanted to take on new tasks or not.
Fredrick also noticed that Lizzie hadn’t given any instructions. She probably wanted to teach Colton to handle things himself.
So he just waited with a smile.
Colton thought for a moment. Then he cleared his throat, trying to sound more mature as he asked, “Fredrick, if we take on new tasks now, what level is the payment based on?”
Fredrick looked at Colton, who was acting all grown–up. He found it amusing, so he deliberately spoke in a serious tone, “Right now, she’s at the primary level, so the payment is based on the primary rate.”
Colton frowned, thinking Lizzie was losing out.
Right after that, he remembered Fredrick’s words and kept asking, “What time tomorrow will we know the result of the level determination?”
Fredrick’s eyes flickered with approval. He smiled and replied, “I’m heading to the city soon. If things go fast, we’ll get the result by tomorrow morning.”
Colton’s eyes lit up. His voice rose a bit. “Fredrick, if Lizzie takes on another task today and we get the result tomor- row, what level is the payment based on?”
Fredrick’s eyes lit up with approval. He thought, “This boy is really sharp!”
“It’ll be calculated based on tomorrow’s level determination,” said Fredrick.
After all, Colton was a young boy. He clenched his fist in excitement and let out a soft cheer.
He grinned from ear to ear. “Got it. I’ll take one home now and come back tomorrow.”
Fredrick handed him the periodical. “Here you go. I won’t return your deposit.”
Colton carefully put the new periodical into his schoolbag, looked up, and said politely, “Fredrick, I’ll leave first. I’ll come back tomorrow!”
With that, Colton turned and ran out, disappearing in a flash.
Fredrick watched him go, smiled, and shook his head. “This kid seems scatterbrained, but he’s actually pretty sharp.”
He called out, “John, take good care of the bookstore. I’m heading to the city.”
Someone inside replied, “Sure thing!”
Colton rushed home and handed the new periodical to Lizzie. “Lizzie, mission accomplished!”
Lizzie took it. Colton had already dragged over a stool and sat opposite her. He excitedly recounted his conversation with Fredrick.
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Lizzie praised with a smile, “Colton, you’re awesome! You did a great job!”
Colton felt a bit embarrassed. He scratched his head and laughed sheepishly. “Lizzie, it’s time for me to cook.”
He turned and went into the kitchen, starting to prepare dinner.
Lizzie opened the periodical, found the marked page, took out some paper, and quickly started translating.
Suddenly, there was a noisy commotion outside. Lizzie heard Glenna’s familiar voice.
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She immediately put down her pen. The ink stained the paper, but she didn’t care. She grabbed her crutch and slowly pulled herself up.
Colton moved even faster. He tossed the bowl aside, pushed the door, and rushed out.
Lizzie followed closely, ignored the ache in her leg, and hobbled toward the door.
“Mom!” Colton’s voice was rough but loud.
Colton stepped outside. The arguing with Glenna stopped for a moment. Only Glenna’s sharp voice could be heard.
“Cut it out, Norma! Lizzie is not like that! You better shut up before I shut you up for good!”
Lizzie saw Glenna standing at the door, hands on hips, facing a short, plump woman. It was Norma Wheeler, the no- torious busybody who loved stirring up trouble.
Norma retorted, “What are you hiding? Your niece got dumped by Mr. Howland! The whole Equinox Research Insti- tute knows!”
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