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

Chapter 152: Admission to Experimental Middle School (Combined)

After the housewarming party, Shen Qingqing started her routine of getting up early every morning to play badminton with Chen Man, then waking up Shen Yangyang to do her test papers, and then reviewing the test papers with her.

The day for the admission results of the Experimental Middle School was fast approaching.

Shen Qingqing has developed a habit of waking up at seven o'clock in the morning. As soon as she wakes up, Chen Man gets up with her.

Chen Man went to another bathroom to wash up, while Shen Qingqing went into her parents' master bedroom.

Li Xunli also got up at this time, while Shen Rongzhou got up even earlier because his commute to work was farther away.

While her mother finished brushing her teeth and went to wash her face, Shen Qingqing quickly took over the brushing position and began to brush her teeth carefully in front of the mirror.

After washing her face, Li Xunli asked, "Is today the day the lab results are released? What time are they released?"

"Yes, nine or ten o'clock, please." Shen Qingqing rinsed her mouth and simply washed her face with water.

She's not old enough to use face wash yet; her face is still so soft and delicate.

"Why don't you call the academic affairs office of the lab yourself to check?" Li Xunli poured the water from the basin into the toilet.

Shen Qingqing took the Dabao lotion and lightly applied a layer to herself: "We'll see. If it's ten o'clock and my aunt hasn't called yet, I'll call her myself to ask."

Seeing that she had her own plan, Li Xunli didn't say anything more: "Then remember to tell your mother when there are results. Your father bought groceries this morning and came back. Your mother won't be home for lunch."

Shen Qingqing made an "OK" sign in a pretentious manner and swayed her body playfully as she left the master bedroom.

Chen Man was already waiting in the living room with her badminton racket, but her expression was tense.

As Shen Qingqing poured herself some water, she was amused by Manman's expression: "Manman, what's wrong? Why are you making that face?"

"Isn't today the day you get your results? I'm a little nervous." Chen Man puffed out her cheeks.

Shen Qingqing poured her half a glass of water: "Why are you so nervous about my results? Don't you believe in my abilities?"

Chen Man took it and pouted, "No, didn't I call my parents a couple of days ago? My mom said that the experimental school doesn't admit students based on scores, but on rankings."

"Rankings are based on scores, so as long as I get a high enough score, why should I worry about my ranking?" Shen Qingqing smiled confidently, raising her eyebrows.

Chen Man slowly finished the half-glass of water, then belatedly said, "That's true!"

As usual, the two played badminton for forty minutes, both working up a good sweat, their faces flushed, and then they each took a refreshing shower.

While drying her hair, Shen Qingqing went to Shen Yangyang's room to call for someone.

As Chen Man came out of the bathroom, she heard wailing coming from Shen Yangyang's room.

"Stop pretending, get up quickly. Breakfast is steamed buns and black soybean milk, it will get cold if you're late."

Shen Qingqing's voice came closer from afar.

Chen Man came out of the kitchen carrying a small plate of xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) and saw Shen Qingqing skipping and hopping into the dining room.

"Hey, is it xiaolongbao today? When I woke up this morning, I saw my dad eating char siu bao, so I thought we were all eating the latter." Shen Qingqing really liked xiaolongbao, happily eating them one after another.

Shen Yangyang was no exception. As soon as she heard Shen Qingqing say there were xiaolongbao (soup dumplings), she got up immediately, even though she was still lazing in bed.

By the time she finally started working on the test, it was almost ten o'clock.

The phone at home remained quiet.

Shen Qingqing was reading a copy of La Dame aux Camélias while watching Shen Yangyang do her test paper, while Chen Man was scratching her head and looking at her as she did her summer homework.

"Qingqing, aren't you going to call and ask?"

Shen Qingqing glanced at Shen Yangyang, who suddenly turned her head away to daydream: "Focus on the test paper. If you dare to turn your head around and look around during the exam, you'll be in trouble if the teacher calls on you."

Shen Yangyang shrank her neck and immediately turned her head back to write the test paper obediently.

Then Shen Qingqing slowly replied to Chen Man: "No rush, it's not going to run away."

"Even if I don't get into Experimental Middle School, I can still go to Red Star Middle School, right? My score for the junior high entrance exam is already high enough."

Chen Man opened her mouth, then mumbled, "But you actually want to go to Experimental Middle School..."

Shen Qingqing heard her muttering, smiled, and was about to speak when the telephone in the living room rang urgently.

Chen Man's eyes lit up: "Did they come to tell you you got accepted?!"

"Hurry, hurry, let's go!"

Chen Man couldn't sit still any longer and pushed Shen Qingqing out.

Shen Yangyang immediately put down her pen and followed behind them.

"Hurry up and answer it!"

Chen Man was anxious; when she actually got to the phone, she was the one who didn't dare to answer it, urging Shen Qingqing to answer the phone quickly.

Shen Qingqing chuckled as she picked up the phone receiver: "Hello?

"Qingqing? This is Jinjin. You've been accepted into the experimental program! You ranked first in the total score across all three subjects!"

Hearing the expected answer, Shen Qingqing looked at Chen Man with delight, thanking her aunt as she said, "Really? That's wonderful! Thank you, Auntie!"

"Registration for the next semester is at the end of August. I'll come to your house to pick you up then. I'll call you when I'm almost there, and you can come downstairs."

"Okay, Auntie, I understand."

After saying a few more words in a cheerful tone, my aunt hung up the phone.

As soon as Shen Qingqing hung up the phone, Chen Man pounced on her.

"That's wonderful! Qingqing! You've been accepted!"

Shen Qingqing raised her chin with a touch of smugness: "Guess what ranking I was admitted?"

Without a second thought, Chen Man exclaimed, "It's definitely number one!"

The arrogant Shen Qingqing was satisfied and laughed: "Who was so worried just now?"

"I believe it, but I'll still worry until the results are in, and I'll be worried about you! Otherwise, I wouldn't be worried at all!" Chen Man gently punched Shen Qingqing's shoulder.

Shen Qingqing habitually shook her head and asked, "So, to celebrate, what do you want to eat for lunch?"

"Raw pickled cucumbers!" Ever since Chen Man tasted Shen Qingqing's raw pickled cucumbers, she'd been captivated by their sweet and sour, incredibly refreshing flavor. Shen Qingqing nodded in agreement, then looked at Shen Yangyang: "Yangyang, what about you?"

"I want fried rice! Sausage, ham, eggs..." Shen Yangyang started counting the side dishes.

"Stop, stop, stop. Sausage, ham, and egg fried rice is fine, but no more." Shen Qingqing interrupted her. "I'll also make you a separate soup with shrimp and tofu."

Shen Yangyang and Chen Man raised their hands high: "Yay!"

Shen Qingqing sent Shen Yangyang inside to continue writing her test paper, and then sent Chen Man inside to watch Shen Yangyang do her test paper.

She called both Shen Rongzhou and Li Xunli to tell them the good news that she had been accepted.

Shen Rongzhou and Li Xunli were both very pleased.

After saying a few more words, Shen Qingqing went to the kitchen to cook.

First, I washed the rice, then I put a steamer basket on top of the inner pot, put two sausages inside, and set it to the 45-minute cooking time.

Shen Rongzhou bought a full two jin of shrimp. Shen Qingqing caught twelve of them, cut off their heads, removed their veins, and peeled off their shells bit by bit.

Shen Qingqing neatly arranged the twelve shrimp, which were initially lively and jumping around, into a plate, separating them by their heads and meat.

Then Shen Qingqing scooped up the remaining shrimp that were jumping around in the basin, drained them, heated a large pot, put a steaming plate on it, poured the shrimp directly onto the pot, added seven or eight slices of ginger, and then covered the pot with the lid. Even if the live shrimp wanted to jump, they couldn't get out.

Next up are raw pickled cucumbers.

The raw pickled cucumbers made by the Shen family are not the kind where a whole cucumber or a piece is pickled. Instead, they are sliced, mixed with vinegar and brown sugar, and pickled for about ten minutes before they are ready to eat.

If you want it to be more flavorful, you can marinate it for a little longer.

This dish is usually only made in the summer when cucumbers are in season; it's refreshing, helps cut through greasiness, and the cucumber flavor is especially fresh.

After stirring the cucumbers, Shen Qingqing placed them in the dining room. She also picked out a bag of mushrooms from the ingredients Shen Rongzhou had bought that morning, washed them, and took the tofu out of the bag to drain the water.

On the stove, a pot was steaming prawns. Shen Qingqing took out a clay pot, washed it clean, heated oil in another pot, and then cracked three eggs into it to fry sunny-side up. However, it wasn't very successful, as the yolk of one of the eggs was showing.

After frying three eggs, Shen Qingqing didn't wash the pan. She poured in more oil, and when it was hot, she threw in the shrimp heads she had cut off earlier and two slices of ginger.

"Sizzle—" Shen Qingqing skillfully stir-fried the shrimp heads in the casserole, frying out the shrimp oil. Seeing that it was almost done, she poured in a large pot of water to make soup.

When it's almost done, add three fried eggs, mushrooms, twelve prepared shrimp, and tofu in that order, then cover the pot and wait for it to simmer until you hear a bubbling sound.

The aroma of ginger slices and steamed prawns wafted out. Shen Qingqing opened the lid, glanced at the prawns, and after turning over a few to make sure they were all cooked, she used chopsticks to remove the steaming plate and placed it on the dining table to cool.

However, to avoid attracting flies, Shen Qingqing still found a perforated lid to cover it.

The aroma of rice and sausage wafted out, and Shen Qingqing walked out of the kitchen just in time to see that the rice was cooked.

Shen Qingqing put on gloves and took out the steamer basket and inner pot together, placing them on the dining table.

The beaten eggs were prepared before I made the fried eggs, but my hand got sore from beating them that I broke one of the eggs when I flipped it later.

As Shen Qingqing tore at the sausage casing, she thought to herself that she would give the broken fried egg to Shen Yangyang later.

There were only two sausages in total. Tearing off the casings was quick. After tearing off the casings, Shen Qingqing took two more sausages, cut them into long, diagonal slices, and put them together.

The three-delicacy soup in the casserole was ready. Shen Qingqing sprinkled some salt and pepper, tore a head of lettuce into it, stirred it a few times, and then brought it to the dining room.

It's hot in the middle of summer, but it's perfectly fine to let it cool down before drinking.

Shen Qingqing poured out the water from the large pot of steamed shrimp, wiped it dry with a piece of paper, then heated oil in a new pot. Once the oil was hot, she added white rice and fried it slightly before adding beaten eggs and scrambling them. When the eggs were slightly set, she added sliced ​​ham and Chinese sausage, then stirred them repeatedly until they were broken up. After that, she added soy sauce and stirred them again.

The rice is ready! Take it out of the pot!
The aroma of soup and fried rice grew stronger and stronger. After finishing their exams, Shen Yangyang and Chen Man, who were in the room, both abandoned the grading process and ran out.

"Wow--"

Shen Yangyang and Chen Man saw the golden-brown fried rice and the orange-white soup, and the two distinct aromas wafted into their noses, making their stomachs immediately rumble.

"Go, get some bowls and chopsticks to eat." Shen Qingqing sat down directly at the table, already tired from cooking.

Shen Yangyang understood her well and immediately ran to wash her hands and get the bowls and chopsticks.

After washing up, he made a point of serving Shen Qingqing the first bowl of rice.

Fragrant and soft rice wrapped in egg is delicious when you put it in your mouth, and the savory ham and sausage are even more delicious.

"Delicious, delicious!" Shen Yangyang fell in love with it at first bite.

Chen Man ate without saying a word, taking bites of fried rice and raw pickled cucumbers, thoroughly enjoying herself.

The three of them finished off a soup, a side dish, and a large porcelain bowl of rice perfectly.

After finishing their meal, the three of them slumped in their chairs in the same spread-eagled position, burping one after another.

Chen Man stared blankly, "Qingqing, you're amazing! How can you make so many delicious things..."

Shen Qingqing chuckled, "Have you forgotten? Didn't I tell you that my grandmother used to be a head chef?"

Chen Man then remembered Li Yuxing's cooking at the housewarming party that day and immediately changed her tune: "Your grandmother's cooking is still the best."

"Then why did you eat so much just now?" Shen Qingqing immediately sat up and looked at Chen Man.

"Hehe—different kinds of delicious, they're all delicious!" Chen Man readily admitted defeat.

Shen Qingqing sat for a while but still felt too full, so she stood up and walked towards Shen Yangyang's room, saying, "You guys wash the dishes!"

Shen Yangyang and Chen Man exchanged a glance and skillfully began playing rock-paper-scissors, best of three.

The loser goes to wash.

Shen Qingqing took the test paper that Shen Yangyang had prepared and graded it while looking at it. It had been about a week since the test paper training began. Shen Yangyang's answering performance had improved, but the improvement could not be directly reflected in the score. The score was still around 80 or 90 points.

What was improved was some of her error-prone answering habits, but her grasp and understanding of the knowledge points was still slightly biased.

Shen Qingqing tapped her temple with a headache as she held the red pen. The review of the questions was always done in detail for her. Could it be that she was more suited to the kind of method that breaks things down and stuffs them in?
After neatly and efficiently grading Shen Yangyang's Chinese test paper from that morning, Shen Yangyang and Chen Man strolled into the room.

"Manman, when you go over the test paper with Yangyang today, please explain it in more detail. She feels that there are still some questions that she doesn't quite understand." Shen Qingqing took out the test papers that had already been prepared and wondered if she needed to revise some of the questions.

However, the questions at the Experimental Primary School are what they are. If she changes the questions for Shen Yangyang, it will be even harder to guarantee that she will pass the exam.

See you tomorrow night~