Chapter 3: Steamed Chicken with Lotus Leaves
After an uneasy standoff that lasted about ten seconds, Li Hongmei finally spoke.
“That Tianguang… whatever game company you mentioned last time—can you really make money with it? It’s not some kind of scam, is it?”
Jiang Nian’s eyelid twitched. He had never brought up anything about a game company.
“Yeah, you can make money with it,” he replied.
“You’re in your final year of high school and still playing games? We need to swap out your phone!” Li Hongmei took off her apron, glaring at him with annoyance. “No more games from now on. And keep your money, don’t go spending it recklessly.”
“Ah, fine… whatever.” Jiang Nian was indifferent; he didn’t need his phone to complete the system’s tasks anyway.
After a moment, her tone softened. “The dishes look plentiful tonight. My son’s finally grown up.”
Hearing this, Jiang Nian let out a sigh of relief and grinned cheekily.
“When’s Old Jiang getting off work?”
“Soon. Look at you, getting all smug. Go call Qianqian for dinner,” Li Hongmei said, keeping a stern face. Her son had never been serious since he was a child—give him a little sunshine, and he’d beam.
“What about Uncle Xu?” he asked.
Li Hongmei pulled a watermelon out of the fridge. “He left on a business trip for training this morning.”
Knock, knock, knock.
A knock sounded at the door. Xu Qianqian opened the security door halfway, her cheeks flushed pink.
“What is it?”
“Dinner’s ready. Hey, why is your face so red?” Jiang Nian noticed something off and tried to squeeze his way in, grinning shamelessly. “What were you doing at home this afternoon?”
“Get lost!” Xu Qianqian blocked the door firmly.
Jiang Nian grabbed her arm. Xu Qianqian immediately went rigid, then let out a loud wail toward the door opposite.
“Auntie! Jiang Nian touched me!”
“What the hell?” came Li Hongmei’s voice from the kitchen. “Jiang Nian, are you itching for a beating? Don’t bully Qianqian!”
“I didn’t! Don’t make things up!” Startled, he panicked and squeezed inside. Seeing Xu Qianqian about to shout again, he quickly covered her mouth.
“Mmmph! Mmmph!”
They were so close he could see the fine fuzz on her cheeks. Her big, glistening eyes stared at him, full of panic.
The summer evening breeze was hot and dry; he could catch the faint scent at her neck, and for some reason, he felt awkward.
“Don’t shout.”
“Mmm.”
“If you promise not to shout, I’ll let go. Nod if you agree.”
Xu Qianqian mumbled a few times, then nodded.
No sooner had Jiang Nian let go than she turned and bit his arm, leaving a clear dental imprint. He sucked in a sharp breath but dared not cry out.
“Xu Qianqian, are you part dog?”
“Hmph, serves you right.” She turned her head away.
Perhaps from their earlier tussle, her cheeks were faintly flushed. Only now did Jiang Nian notice she was dressed differently. Looking her up and down, he froze for a second.
“A JK uniform? Is it new?”
No wonder she hadn’t answered the door—she was trying on clothes. But it wasn’t like she was changing; the outfit wasn’t revealing, and the skirt wasn’t particularly short. What was there to hide?
Xu Qianqian didn’t see it that way and looked embarrassed.
“What’s it to you?”
“It’s nothing. It looks good.” Jiang Nian rubbed his arm and headed out. “Come eat soon. I made your favorite—lotus leaf steamed chicken.”
Thud—the door closed.
Xu Qianqian stood in her living room, took a deep breath, and finally went to change clothes.
Seven-thirty.
Jiang Weizheng came home, paused in surprise at the spread on the table, and set his briefcase aside.
“What’s the occasion?”
“There’s no occasion. Your son cooked all this,” Li Hongmei replied with a glare, urging him to wash up for dinner. She called the two younger ones off the sofa and away from the TV.
“Come eat, time to stop watching.”
Soon, all four were at the table. Li Hongmei repeated what Jiang Nian had said earlier. Both Jiang Weizheng and Xu Qianqian were left dumbfounded, staring at Jiang Nian.
“You can actually make money with that?” Jiang’s father asked.
“Of course, Comrade Jiang,” Jiang Nian replied, not missing a beat.
“Is that really true?” Xu Qianqian shot him several skeptical glances. She’d never lacked for money growing up, and her standard of living was always a notch above Jiang Nian’s. “You’re in your final year and still playing games—careful you don’t flunk the college entrance exam!”
As kids, they’d been close, and she’d often shared her snacks with him. Later, they’d drifted apart, and as they both grew up, neither cared much for snacks anymore.
Li Hongmei chimed in, scolding him with a stern face and bringing up the topic of swapping out his phone again.
Old Jiang picked up a piece of lotus leaf steamed chicken. After taking a bite, his expression grew complex.
“Xiao Nian, did your grandfather teach you to cook this?”
“Yeah, it’s good, isn’t it?”
“Sigh, it’s not as good as your grandfather’s.” Jiang Weizheng sighed and put down his chopsticks. “When I was young, your grandfather’s cooking was second to none.”
He seemed to want to say more but stopped himself. “Never mind, it’s all in the past. Let’s eat.”
Jiang Nian didn’t mind; he didn’t have much of an appetite for his own cooking anyway. He just noticed Xu Qianqian seemed to enjoy it—she actually went back for a second bowl of rice, a rare occurrence.
Ding! The settlement panel appeared before his eyes.
[Task: Cook a sumptuous dinner for your parents. Reward: 800 RMB (completed).]
Almost simultaneously, his phone buzzed. Even though he already knew the bank transfer would go through, he couldn’t help taking a peek. He’d spent nearly four hundred on groceries, plus the eight hundred reward.
His current balance: 1,350.64 RMB.
“By the way, Hongmei, did you pay the utilities?” Old Jiang suddenly asked.
“No, why?”
“It seems our utilities…” He trailed off and looked at Jiang Nian. “Did you pay the bills?”
“Yeah, is that okay?”
Old Jiang was stunned for several seconds. “It’s fine. Keep your money—you’ll need it when you’re older.”
As he said this, he glanced at Xu Qianqian out of the corner of his eye, sighing inwardly. His son was as thickheaded as ever.
The two families were well matched, everyone knew each other well. But the two kids just didn’t get along. You can’t force these things, he thought. Who knew which lucky bastard would end up with Xu’s precious daughter?
After dinner, Xu Qianqian and Li Hongmei went to wash dishes while Jiang Nian cleared the table. Twenty minutes later, a bowl of chilled watermelon appeared.
They ate watermelon and chatted for a while before Xu Qianqian went home.
Once the door closed, the three of them prepared to rest for the night.
Old Jiang sighed. “Xiao Nian, which class is Qianqian in now?”
“She’s in the class next door, haha!”
Hearing Jiang Nian laugh, Old Jiang got irritated. “What are you laughing at? If you were even half as sensible as Qianqian, our ancestors would be proud.”
Jiang Nian was no Xu Qianqian. Instead, a new task flashed before his eyes.
[At thirty-eight, your body is already exhausted. Physical health is the foundation of everything. Rebuild a strong body and enhance your personal charm—this is the basis for a comeback.]
[Side task: Run 2 kilometers without stopping—Reward: 300 RMB.
Run 3 kilometers without stopping—Reward: 700 RMB.
Run 5 kilometers without stopping—Reward: 1,000 RMB.]