Chapter 701

The city was always so bustling; the streets were filled with heavy traffic, and the roads were clamorous with voices. Even though it was already a winter day in the south, the streets were lively. This was the hallmark of a big city: many people.

Wang Yan walked alone with his hands behind his back along the straight sidewalk, strolling along, feeling very leisurely. He hadn't strolled so relaxedly for a long time, and at this moment, he was enjoying it.

Without a doubt, compared to the decades ago when war raged and life was precarious, the current environment was better, perhaps even beyond what predecessors dared to imagine. This was the greatness forged by the arduous struggle of three generations.

For a country to develop, it must always face various problems, both external and internal. There is a term called 'growing pains,' which is inevitable in development and reform; the term is light, but when it falls to the ground, it is a mountain that cannot be moved, and no one wants to be the one in pain. But regardless, life is always moving toward the better. Even in a fifth-tier city, if you serve dishes in a restaurant, you get room and board and a monthly salary of three thousand, enough not to starve. Decades ago, this was the life people dreamed of.

However, as the times develop and society progresses, the contradictions among the people are constantly changing, and this kind of comparison is clearly meaningless. But what remains unchanged is the spirit of arduous struggle.

Perhaps it is the various contradictions in real society that lead many people to be repulsed by arduous struggle. And they should indeed be repulsed, because the arduous struggle shouted by many people in high positions is for others to struggle for them while they sit back and reap the rewards; this is clearly wrong. But the spirit of arduous struggle is not wrong, and it will always be correct; it is always the people who are wrong.

Perhaps it would be much better to separate arduous struggle into 'arduous' and 'struggle' and look at them from two aspects. If you don't want to struggle, then be a bit more arduous. If you want to struggle, if you want to fight for something, then you must be even more arduous. Arduousness is the prerequisite for struggle, because without the need to struggle, where would the arduousness come from?

But this 'arduousness' is not arduousness in the ordinary sense. After all, in today's society, unless in extremely impoverished areas, it is difficult to be short of food and clothing. The country has spent many years on poverty alleviation, and countless people have bowed their heads to serve as willing oxen and revolutionary screws; it wasn't for nothing. If you go online when you're bored, you should clearly feel the restlessness and vanity of today.

So this 'arduousness' should refer to restraining desires. Life is not the problem; the problem is wanting too much and having too big a heart. What to do if you can't restrain yourself? Struggle!

So, in the end, it depends on personal choice. Wanting to earn money while lying down is clearly unrealistic. Even the contestants who have come out now that prices are soaring still have to work; they must be able to do ice, do fire, be able to suck, and be able to wrap. Or those who have changed careers and gone to do live streaming, they still have to dance on the edge and call out to their big brothers...

Not indulging in empty fantasies, not pursuing false fame, not being stuck on objects, not being trapped by actions, being down-to-earth, and struggling arduously—that is the great path of life.

This was Wang Yan's habitual random thinking, and of course, it was also the tearing sensation brought about by another crossing of time and space, prompting his thoughts to diverge and think about all sorts of messy things.

The completion of this mission gave him five attribute points. The previous five points had also been added to Spirit, and now his attribute panel was like this:

Wang Yan

Attributes: Strength 30

Agility 30

Constitution 30

Spirit 100

Unallocated points 5

Spirit had finally broken through one hundred, so-called quantitative change leading to qualitative change. Back then, when he first received the favor of the Living Father, his Spirit was only ten points; at that time, he was an ordinary, normal person. The one hundred points now were absolutely not a simple tenfold difference in numbers, but a difference as vast as the clouds and the mud, like a natural chasm.

Reaching this point, his abilities could be considered to have grown somewhat more. Because at this time, he truly achieved photographic memory. Although he was almost photographic before, he still had to constantly deepen his memory to fight against the forgetting brought by time. Now it was different; he truly could remember after one look and would never forget until he died.

However, for the sake of physical and mental health, he was not unable to control it like a patient with hyperthymesia; he could subjectively choose whether to remember or not. If not for this, looking at his long life, he probably wouldn't be able to bear it. Because he had experienced too much, and it was too complex. It wasn't just the life of an ordinary person, which didn't have many ups and downs over several decades. In addition, he was constantly learning new things, a vast ocean of various knowledge; he likely wouldn't be able to bear it.

Furthermore, with the addition of this active memory ability, it further strengthened his passive memory ability. Although he would still forget, his basic memory ability was there, and for him, it would also take a long time for memories to become blurred.

This was a good thing, but it was also not a good thing. Because his experiences were too many, there were always some people and some things that made him want to forget, yet he often wanted to remember.

He had lived until now, gaining much, but also losing much. Although his memory had greatly increased at this time and his earlier blurred experiences had all become clear, that didn't mean he had found back what he had lost; after all, lost is lost, and it could never be made up for. This was also the price he, this long-lived one, should pay.

A smile that hadn't changed in hundreds of years hung on the corner of Wang Yan's mouth as he bathed in the cold wind of a winter day in Lin'an. The wind blew up his medium-length hair, which had no hair wax on it, and swirled the surging past in his mind...

He went to the supermarket near his home to buy some meat, vegetables, and fruit. Returning home, he didn't stay idle; first, he cut the fruit to make a fruit platter and put it on the coffee table outside, instructed the noisy cat and dog not to move it, and then started busy cooking.

He mixed the meat filling, made meatball soup, and put it on the stove to simmer, cleaned the stewed fish, and then picked and cut the vegetables. Estimating that the time was about right, he first stewed the fish, and then started clanging and banging with the big ladle, making the dishes.

When he finished the last dish, the door was opened, and Wei Lan and Sun Yi walked in with big and small bags.

"Oh my, I'm exhausted," Wei Lan greeted, "Hubby, we're back."

Wang Yan smiled and brought out the dishes: "Very punctual. You two go wash your hands, dinner is served."

The two of them brought the things and piled them in the living room. First, they glanced at the dining table. Sun Yi gave a thumbs up to Wang Yan, who was washing his hands there: "You are truly amazing, Big Boss Wang, making such a big table of food all by yourself. But... isn't it a bit too much?"

"If you come over for a meal, how can I make too little? Hurry up and wash your hands, eat while it's hot, and taste how my craftsmanship is."

"That's right, a guest is a guest, must treat them well. Let's go, go wash hands."

Soon, the three of them were sitting at the dining table eating and drinking.

Wang Yan pointed with his chopsticks at the pile of bags piled there: "Shopping for a day, what did you buy?"

Wei Lan laughed: "We two strolled and strolled until we strolled into a baby supply store. We wanted to buy everything we saw, so we listened to the clerk's sales pitch and bought some."

"There are still several months to go," Wang Yan shook his head, "Didn't buy anything for yourselves?"

"Lan Lan said, now that she's pregnant, clothes and such might not be wearable later. Besides what we bought for the baby, the rest is what we bought for you. Look, thinking of you everywhere we go, can't let Lan Lan be wronged."

Wang Yan ate his food and laughed: "You don't need to worry about that, Beauty Sun. Hurry up and eat your meal."

Sun Yi rolled her eyes. She didn't interact much with Wang Yan, having only met him a few times in total. You know, she was quite a head-turner when she walked outside. Men were usually of that sort; every time she passed by, the head-turn rate was at least sixty percent, but she had never seen the amazement and covetousness that should be in Wang Yan's eyes regarding her looks, figure, and attire.

However, she didn't care; she just thought of it occasionally when contacting Wei Lan and would sigh to herself, truly worthy of being a contestant who could accomplish great things, achieving financial freedom in just two years with a net worth of several hundred million.

She ate the food Wang Yan made, praised him profusely, and then asked: "It'll be New Year's in a while, what are you two planning?"

Wei Lan looked at Wang Yan, her eyes also carrying a question.

Wang Yan shook his head: "Forget it, don't go through the trouble. After all, she's pregnant; what if something happens on the road? Wait a couple of days and ask our parents to come here for the New Year. It just so happens that your grandparents are in good health; haven't they never been to Lin'an? Let them come over to play together, two families spending the New Year together, lively and bustling."

"Okay, listen to you. Ask them tomorrow and see what they think." Wei Lan looked at Sun Yi, who was sitting alone opposite them, "What about you? When are you leaving? Do you need me to send you off?"

"Haven't said how to arrange it yet. I'm someone working for others, not as free as you two big bosses." Sun Yi leaned forward slightly, gossip shining in her eyes, "I know all about your company's affairs lately. Good heavens, it's become a diplomatic incident. This kind of thing surely isn't that simple, right? Can you reveal some details?"

Sun Yi was talking about how the 'Smart Sound' had become popular abroad, which led to the popularity of the 'Body-Strengthening Pill' on the official website. Because of the unfair price difference of more than three times between domestic and foreign sales, foreigners felt discriminated against. In the environment of Western countries where political correctness is everything, this was of course unacceptable, especially since it was an enterprise from China, which made them even angrier. Thus, a small matter that originally had no heat was hyped by Western media into a big deal and then escalated into a diplomatic incident between countries.

Wei Lan looked at Wang Yan again. The heat of this matter hadn't subsided yet, and it indeed involved national affairs. She didn't dare to speak recklessly and still had to let Wang Yan make the decision.

"Don't always look at me. Look at what kind of look Beauty Sun is giving us two. You're like this, making something out of nothing." Wang Yan shook his head and laughed, "Actually, there are no details. What's circulating online is basically the truth. It's just because the smart sound was a hit, making many people notice the Body-Strengthening Pill we operate, which made people think our company was cheating old people out of their money. Then, with all sorts of self-media and such talking nonsense, the public opinion started.

The country has public opinion monitoring; they noticed this matter and then sent people to investigate our company. We've been selling the Body-Strengthening Pill for a year, and the sales volume has spread based on real curative effects. So, after the relevant departments investigated and visited, didn't this matter pass? However, the procedure is still ongoing, and the specific curative effects of the Body-Strengthening Pill need to undergo various tests further. After all these are done, the State-owned Assets Commission will invest a sum of capital and hold a certain amount of shares. As for now, they have already dispatched financial personnel, as well as party group members for the company's party branch construction.

There are no secrets, but you should also try not to spread it. For this kind of thing, just let the heat subside naturally. Even if people know about it in the future, they won't pay too much attention to the company, but will only pay attention to the product."

Wang Yan was very familiar with this kind of thing; he had experienced it too many times. It wasn't that the country was taking advantage of him personally; he also needed the country's help. After all, many things were difficult to accomplish by his own strength alone; money wasn't enough; it required countless talents to struggle together. Except for the initial research on artificial intelligence where he recruited people himself, ever since the appearance of the Body-Strengthening Pill, a cash cow, his research projects had suddenly become large and numerous, all requiring the participation of national power.

In other words, the massive amount of data recorded on the hard drives in his space was the result of the optimal power mobilized by the China of every world, conducting hundreds of years of continuous research on the projects he mainly studied. Of course, he contributed, but now, with the appearance of the hard drives, he was more like a porter...

"Don't worry, Lan Lan knows, I've always been tight-lipped since I was a child." Sun Yi blinked her big eyes and asked curiously, "According to what you said, won't your company become a state-owned enterprise in the future?"

"More or less, but we still need social recruitment; there's no such thing as a permanent position, it's about the same as a normal private enterprise, just with a stronger connection. As for the treatment, we've always done very well in this regard."

"Look, big bosses talk differently. 'Stronger connection,' you've already reached the top, what else do you want to do?"

Wei Lan laughed: "The more it's like this, the more cautious one must be."

"This awareness is different." Sun Yi teased, then sighed despondently, "Oh my, it's better for you two, unlike me who works for others, having to look at other people's faces for everything."

"If you don't like it, then do it yourself. Live streaming and bringing goods is so popular now, and you're so beautiful. If you do the content well and accumulate fans, you'll be able to make money soon. You're not unaware that I made videos for the cat and dog before, and I could earn tens of thousands without even opening a live stream to bring goods; you'll definitely be able to earn more."

Wei Lan gave her good friend advice like this, without mentioning letting her friend come to the company to work. She herself knew clearly that it wouldn't be appropriate and would easily lead to the loss of their relationship. Of course, she believed Sun Yi didn't have that intention, so she gave the advice seriously.

Sun Yi wasn't a primary school student; if she went under Wei Lan, she would be an employee, but now it was as friends. Even if they couldn't play together in the future due to the huge gap in status, the friendship would still remain. Between friends and employees, there was no doubt that friends were more valuable.

She curled her lips: "It's not that easy. You're not unaware that I also post on Douyin when I'm bored, and I haven't accumulated many fans until now. The main thing is that I'm just good-looking, and I don't know any other talents. If I want to attract people, I have to rely on dancing on the edge. Not to mention whether I can succeed, I don't want to do that, and that's where I'm stuck."

Wang Yan didn't speak, just ate his meal in big mouthfuls. Everyone has their own choices, and there's no saying whether it's good or bad. He appreciated Sun Yi's persistence now, but it didn't stop him from looking at other women dancing on the edge and looking at other women's long legs in black silk with an appreciative gaze and a critical psychology.

However, one still had to distinguish between reality and illusion; after all, beauty filters and such made so-called beautiful streamers lose their truth, and long legs were mostly fake. But it couldn't be denied that they were indeed good-looking...

The meal was quite good. Wang Yan didn't say too much; it was all the two good sisters, Wei Lan and Sun Yi, chatting happily. After the meal, he didn't disturb them but cleaned up the bowls and chopsticks to wash them.

It wasn't until after eight o'clock that Wang Yan led the dog, with the cat riding on the dog's back, and went downstairs with Wei Lan to send Sun Yi off, and by the way, strolled along the river...