Rebirth of the Millennial: Getting Rich After Parents Get Laid Off

Chapter 151 What's the point of being so smart? (Part 2)

Shen Qingqing sat with Chen Man. Chen Man had also attended banquets before and knew that only a professional chef could prepare a beautiful and delicious banquet.

But today, she didn't see the Shen family's chef at all!

But the dishes on the table in front of him were not much different from the banquets he had seen before!

Chen Man, holding chopsticks, leaned closer to Shen Qingqing: "Qingqing, does anyone in your family know how to prepare a feast?"

Shen Qingqing was picking up a golden-fried flatbread to dip in wasabi when she heard Chen Man's question. She glanced at Li Yuxing, who was chatting with Li Huifen and Chen Man's mother, and whispered, "My grandmother used to be a chef."

"Wow!" Chen Man looked at Li Yuxing with admiration.

This year, when the village held its traditional Labor Festival [Note 1], her family also held a banquet. It happened to fall on a weekend, so she could watch the chefs prepare the banquet from home.

At their doorstep, the chef and his assistants set up a makeshift stove and a long, wide table, and then the chef sat down and began to work.

Chen Man did not see the fire under the stove go out until she took her seat.

However, the chef had helpers who prepared the ingredients for him: picking vegetables, washing vegetables, peeling vegetables, cutting vegetables into small pieces... every step was done by someone else, and the chef only needed to turn on the fire and cook.

However, Qingqing's maternal grandmother didn't have many people to help her; she only had Aunt Xunli.

While Chen Man was still marveling at the moment, a crispy-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside flatbread dipped in wasabi was stuffed into her mouth.

Chen Man chewed it subconsciously, and the pungent spiciness that hit her head made her eyes water. "Ah—spicy, cough cough cough cough..."

Shen Qingqing was startled and quickly shoved Chen Man's Sprite into her hand: "Please take care of it!"

However, the strong bubbles of Sprite combined with the spiciness of wasabi did not relieve the spiciness at all; instead, it made Chen Man's eyes and nose run with tears.

The coconut juice that Li Xunli brought over was a step too late.

Shen Qingqing froze for a moment, then took the coconut juice somewhat guiltily, poured out a small cup, and brought it back to Chen Man's lips: "Drink this, drink this, it's not spicy."

Chen Man hurriedly poured the entire small cup of coconut juice down her throat, which finally reduced the intense spiciness that shot straight to her head.

"Qingqing!" After finishing the drink, Chen Man shouted angrily, her nose and eyes red.

Shen Qingqing felt incredibly guilty. "I just thought it tasted good. I ate it, uh, and thought it was pretty good, so I wanted you to try it too..."

Sitting on her other side, Shen Yangyang glanced at Shen Qingqing discreetly, her eyes revealing a hint of disdain. Who was it that had been so spicy that their mouth couldn't close for so long?
However, Chen Man was too easy to coax. Because Shen Qingqing said that she thought it was delicious and wanted her good friend to try it, she was so touched that she put the matter aside and even tried it again on her own initiative.

Shen Yangyang watched in stunned silence.

Afraid that Chen Man would try to get her to continue eating, Shen Qingqing quickly picked up two crab shells with crab roe, then picked up the noodles soaked in broth from under the crab and put them into the crab shells, stirring them a few times with the crab roe. "Do you want some?"

Chen Man looked at Shen Qingqing's way of eating in surprise, saying "I've never eaten like this before," but her hands honestly pushed the bowl over to her.

Shen Qingqing placed the crab bowl into Chen Man's bowl. The next second, Chen Man couldn't wait to pick up a noodle and put it in her mouth. The deliciousness of the crab roe, along with the noodles soaked in crab juice, created an amazing sensation that exploded in Chen Man's mouth.

Chen Man had never tried eating like this before. She would either eat the noodles at the bottom as a main dish and be full, or she would peel off the crab pieces one by one and eat all the crab meat.

Next, Chen Man followed Shen Qingqing and ate the entire meal in a new way.

The meal took almost an hour and a half to finish!
Chen Man patted her stomach and saw a small pile of bones next to her bowl and chopsticks. She never thought she could enjoy a banquet so much!

She used to go straight to the main course and eat until she was full, then she would leave the leftovers with shells because she thought they were too much trouble.

She thought with some regret how many delicious things she had missed out on before...

Shen Qingqing next to her was in the same position, her belly round and full, making her feel a little uncomfortable.

Soon the adults finished eating, and the men moved to the coffee table and sofa to make tea and watch TV, leaving the women to chat and clean up the tables on both sides.

Fortunately, a plastic film had already been laid on the table. All you had to do was remove the bowls, chopsticks, plates, and bowls, and then simply remove the film and throw away the remaining kitchen waste.

It's too hot, so the children are forbidden from playing on the balcony to avoid getting heatstroke.

Fortunately, the house is big enough. The inner side of the living room is where the adults drink tea and chat, while the outer side, near the dining room, is where the children gather and play.

Play whatever you want: one, two, three, freeze!, eagle catches chicks, hopscotch, etc.

It was almost time, and those who were supposed to leave had already left.

Only the Li family and the Shen family remained, along with Chen Man, who was planning to sleep with Shen Qingqing tonight.

The children's appetite remained strong even at dinner, after playing energetically all afternoon. Because Li Yuxing and the others were in the kitchen preparing the two tables of food for dinner, they didn't even get to have afternoon tea, and their stomachs were completely empty.

Although there was a disagreement with Zhang Mingxian and his family when the porcelain factory opened, Li Yuxing gradually stopped helping her fourth uncle's family with everything as Shen Qingqing brainwashed her every week or two.

All the little grudges that had accumulated over the past are gone in this lifetime. Li Yuxing's body is no longer affected by emotions, so she no longer has the problem of getting dizzy when she gets angry in her previous life.

However, since it was a major event like moving to a new house, it was unacceptable to invite all the other relatives but not the descendants of Zhang Mingxian's family who had been adopted into the Li family.

Shen Qingqing even went with Li Xunjin to the ancestral hall to invite Zheng Wanyu back.

Zheng Wanyu originally disliked large gatherings, but since Shen Qingqing had personally invited her, and Zheng Wanyu had raised Shen Qingqing, the only grandson of the great-grandchildren, from childhood, the effort she had put into Shen Qingqing was naturally different. So, unable to resist Shen Qingqing's persistent pleading, she was invited over.

Because the relatives all knew each other, the atmosphere was even more lively in the evening, and the banquet was divided into three tables: one for the men, one for the women, and one for the children.

As the eldest child among the relatives on both sides, Shen Qingqing was solemnly entrusted with the important task of looking after all the little ones at the table. Fortunately, Shen Qingqing was a bit fierce when she wasn't smiling, and even some relatives who weren't familiar with her were intimidated by her. Although there was some commotion during the meal, she was still able to keep things under control.

After a chaotic day, the Shen family saw off their relatives and collapsed onto the sofas. Four people were slumped on the large sofa in the middle, facing the television, while one person was slumped on each of the two single sofas on either side.

Chen Man hadn't originally joined the gathering; it was Shen Qingqing who dragged her down onto the large sofa in the middle, making her feel part of the group instantly.

After the reputation of the Xunqing brand soared, Li Xunli also switched to a smartphone. She took it out, glanced at the time displayed on the screen, and said lazily, "Aren't you going to take a shower? After you shower, I'll let you play for a bit more before you all go to bed."

Shen Qingqing had been in high spirits all day, but now that she had rested, she felt a little weak. She immediately changed the subject: "Xiao Hong goes to sleep early and washes up quickly, Xiao Hong, go wash up first."

"Yangyang, go help Xiaohong turn on the water. You can go to the other shower room to take a shower."

"Ah..." Shen Yangyang was somewhat unwilling.

However, Shen Qingqing's casual question, "Are you going or not?" immediately silenced the critics.

Shen Hong obediently stood up and followed Shen Yangyang to take a bath.

Two bathrooms greatly improved the speed of showering for multiple people. Before nine o'clock, the whole family, plus Chen Man, had already showered and were sitting in the living room watching TV, feeling refreshed.

This happened to be the time when "Detective Dee" was airing, which is the origin of the popular internet meme "Yuanfang, what do you think?"

However, Shen Qingqing was timid and had been afraid of ghosts and spirits since she was a child. She was frightened by this drama in her previous life, especially the case of the headless corpse of the Yuwen family.

So even though Shen Qingqing has now experienced two lifetimes, she still doesn't dare to look.

Chen Man wasn't interested in this kind of TV series either, and the two girls whispered to each other quietly on the side.

"Huh? Why did you take the entrance exam for Experimental High School? If you can get into both schools, which one will you choose?" Chen Man was a little surprised when she heard Shen Qingqing say that she had also taken the entrance exam for Experimental High School.

Shen Qingqing truthfully replied, "I definitely have to go to Experimental Middle School. It's close to my new home. If I go to Hongxing Middle School, I'll have to ride my bike for more than half an hour to get there!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Man's expression also furrowed: "But what if I don't get into the Experimental Middle School after graduating from elementary school? When I graduate from elementary school, you'll be in your final year of junior high, and I'll only have one more year to study at the same school as you..."

Shen Qingqing hugged her: "What are you afraid of? I can tutor you to get first place in the final exam, are you afraid I can't get you into the Experimental High School?"

“That’s right!” Chen Man’s eyes lit up, her tone showing no doubt about Shen Qingqing’s words and complete trust in her.

"When will your exam results come out?" Chen Man asked again.

Shen Qingqing has answered this question several times in the past few days: "Next week, my aunt will be a teacher at the Experimental Middle School. If I can get in, she will definitely have my uncle call to tell me."

"Ah...you have relatives at the Experimental Middle School? Then you'll definitely get more attention from the teachers, right?" Chen Man nudged her.

Because many teachers' children attend Wangling Elementary School, it's common for many teachers to give special care to their children.

For example, giving class officers to the teacher's child, or allocating one spot for the "Three Good Students" award to the teacher's child, etc.

Shen Qingqing shook her head: "Probably not. My aunt teaches the third year of junior high school, and I heard that the third year of junior high school has its own separate teaching building."

"Will your younger brother and sister also attend primary school in Anlu Town?" Chen Man asked, looking at the children sitting in the two single sofas.

Shen Qingqing nodded: "Yes, my brother's kindergarten has been transferred to the Experimental Kindergarten, so that's easy to arrange."

"However, my sister has to take the entrance exam for the Experimental Primary School next month. The exam results will be announced five days before registration, so it won't affect her registration for other primary schools."

Chen Man said enviously, "That's great! Is the Experimental Primary School affiliated with the Experimental Middle School in the same school?"

“Yes, the Experimental Kindergarten, the Experimental Primary School, and the Experimental Middle School are all in the same school,” Shen Qingqing affirmed. “When I went to take the exam before, I was lucky that I went early, otherwise I would have gotten lost and gone to the Experimental Primary School and missed the time to enter the exam room.”

Chen Man knew that Shen Qingqing was terrible with directions, so she laughed when she heard that. After laughing, she pouted and said, "I wish I could transfer to the Experimental Primary School, so that I could be in the same school as you."

“It’s a bit inconvenient. The learning pace at the Experimental Primary School seems to be quite fast. You’re used to the teaching at Wangling Primary School, so you might not be able to keep up.” Shen Qingqing had actually done her research.

Shen Qingqing knew very well that she was a person with high emotional needs and a high dependence on family and friends, so when she thought about leaving Wangling Elementary School, she naturally thought about whether to take Chen Man with her.

Unfortunately, I can't bring it.

Chen Man will be in fifth grade soon, and will graduate from elementary school in two years. She has become completely accustomed to the teaching pace and problem-solving methods at Wangling Elementary School. Suddenly changing her school's learning environment and pace might actually cause her to have unexpected problems in the entrance exam for junior high school.

So Shen Qingqing never mentioned it, but unexpectedly Chen Man brought it up herself.

After hearing this, Chen Man hugged Shen Qingqing with regret: "Ah... why are you so smart..."

Shen Qingqing felt incredibly guilty. She wasn't smart at all; she had only been reborn and had grasped a tiny bit of information advantage.

When Bitcoin came out last year, she immediately pestered her uncle to start trading it.

Her uncle initially didn't understand and thought she had been scammed. Why would she spend so much money to buy something virtual? Wasn't that just cheating her out of her money?
It took Shen Qingqing a lot of persuasion to finally get Li Xunjin to buy a little bit for her.

Fortunately, the account used was Shen Qingqing's card. When Li Xunjin was operating the system, Shen Qingqing also noted down the account number and steps. Later, she secretly added some more items to her cart a few times.

Shen Qingqing doesn't understand Bitcoin, but she doesn't need to. All she needs to know is how to speculate and how to cash out.

Now, when she sells her Bitcoin next year, it should be enough to buy another house.

See you tomorrow night~