Chapter 20: Making Money Is as Easy as Breathing

In the residential area for families of the Salt Industry Company, the peeling plaster on the walls bore the scars of time.

"Being broken has its benefits; at least there's no property management fee to pay."

Chen Yansen glanced up, muttered a couple of complaints, and knew exactly why Old Chen had suddenly exploded in rage: most likely, the other man had discovered that half of his years of savings had been 'scooped' away by his son.

"At his age, he panics at the slightest trouble; Old Chen still has a lot of refining to do."

Chen Yansen hummed a little tune and strolled leisurely toward home.

Reaching the fourth floor, he saw his own door standing wide open.

Through the crack in the door, he could see a stick as thick as a bowl being gripped tightly in Chen Guobin's hand.

Chen Yansen stepped back and turned to leave.

"Get in here!"

However, Chen Guobin spotted him at once; seeing Chen Yansen turn to run, he immediately grabbed the stick and charged out.

Tears welled in the old father's eyes, filled with grievance and disappointment.

He had seen Chen Yansen's behavior these past days; he had thought his son had grown up and become sensible, only to find the boy had buried an even bigger mine for him.

"Old Chen, put the stick down first; let's talk this through calmly."

Chen Yansen not only didn't enter but continued to back away, one foot already on the stairwell, ready to bolt at any moment.

"Was it you who took the bank card from the photo album?"

Chen Guobin gritted his teeth, his eyes turning red, staring fixedly at Chen Yansen, his gaze blazing with fury.

"That's right."

Chen Yansen forced himself to answer.

"How much is left now?"

Old Chen's lips trembled as he panted heavily, fearing Chen Yansen would reply, 'It's all spent.'

"Not a single cent has been touched."

Chen Yansen spread his hands, his expression extremely serious; by any look, he did not seem to be joking.

"Hmph, a rat falling into a granary and not eating a single bite in the end?"

Chen Guobin froze, then let out a cold snort, not believing his nonsense for a second.

"There's an ATM at the entrance of the complex; check it yourself!"

Chen Yansen pulled the bank card from his pocket and carefully handed it back to Chen Guobin.

"Don't try any tricks; we'll go together."

Chen Guobin's face cleared slightly; he let out a long sigh and finally threw the stick in his hand onto the ground.

'Clang!'

The wooden stick fell heavily, rolling to the side of a coarse burlap sack, with a bundle of nylon rope piled nearby.

"Old Chen, before you opened the bookstore, were you perhaps a notorious bandit?"

Chen Yansen swallowed hard, looking at the 'Three Treasures for a Beloved Son' that Chen Guobin had carefully prepared for him; he feigned composure and joked with a smile.

"If a single dime is missing from the card, I'll hang you up and beat you!"

Seeing Chen Yansen's grinning, cheeky expression, Chen Guobin was instantly furious and burst into curses.

"If my mother were—"

Chen Yansen tried the same old trick, bringing it up immediately.

"If your mother were alive, knowing how useless you are, she would have beaten you even harder than I would."

Chen Guobin cut him off irritably.

There was a total of 135,800 yuan on the card; he had saved it for a full eighteen years, and even if Liang Huizhen were to rise from the dead right now, she could not stop his determination to beat Chen Yansen to death.

"Let's go! But since you're so old, be steadier in the future and worry me less—hey, hey, hey, put down that rope, will you? I won't run! Do you really intend to tie me up and take me to the bank?"

While speaking, Chen Yansen slipped away, sprinting off.

"You stop right there!"

Chen Guobin didn't even close the door and hurried after him.

One ran ahead, the other chased behind.

Passing the ATM, Chen Yansen voluntarily stopped, leaning against the glass wall at the entrance, waiting for Old Chen with an air of bold assurance.

"You're sensible, kid; stay put."

Chen Guobin glared fiercely at him, then pulled out the bank card and inserted it directly into the slot.

"The balance on your card is 135,800 yuan."

Only when a long string of numbers appeared on the screen did Chen Guobin rub his eyes in disbelief.

He had imagined countless possibilities, but never this one.

"I have another card; let's check that one too."

Chen Yansen rummaged in his pocket and handed over his own bank card.

"Whose card is that? Yours?"

Chen Guobin, full of doubt, asked repeatedly.

"Mm."

Chen Yansen crossed his arms, a faint smile on his face.

Although the card held only 180,000, incomparable to the eight-figure balance he had before his rebirth, this sum held extraordinary meaning for him.

First, it verified the reality of the system; second, it laid the foundation for his future business empire.

"180,000!? Where did you get the money?"

Chen Guobin was shocked again, his eyes wide as copper bells, staring expectantly at Chen Yansen, waiting for a reasonable explanation.

"Are you questioning my talent?"

"Making money is as easy for me as breathing."

"So, take the measly few hundred thousand on your card, hurry up and buy a few tube-shaped apartment blocks, then sit tight and wait for the demolition compensation to land in your account."

Chen Yansen patted Old Chen, who was spacing out, in a tone of earnest advice.

"You earned a hundred and eighty thousand in one summer break?"

Chen Guobin could hardly believe it.

"To be precise, it took about ten days!"

Chen Yansen's tone was flat, not finding anything remarkable about it.

Afterwards, he laid out the whole story of reselling mp3s and mp4s, finally clearing up Chen Guobin's confusion.

"If something like this comes up again in the future, be sure to discuss it with me."

Old Chen's eyes held an incredibly complex expression—relief, joy, and a touch of melancholy.

With his son's earning ability, he was afraid the boy would look down on his own small savings.

"If I'd told you in advance, would you have agreed?"

Chen Yansen agreed readily on the surface, while secretly grumbling inside.

The two of them, each with their own thoughts, walked toward home; familiar neighbors who saw this scene couldn't help but marvel at it again and again.

Just now the father and son had been chasing and hitting each other out of the compound, yet now they were walking home peacefully together, leaving everyone thoroughly baffled.

The living room.

Chen Guobin picked up the stick, nylon rope, and sack from the floor, turned and stuffed them under the bed, then took out two EMS parcels and placed them gently on the coffee table.

"Teacher Zhang delivered these personally. One is yours, the other is for Wang Zihao."

Chen Guobin sat down on the sofa, took a big gulp of cold tea, and the fire in his heart finally subsided.

"Xucheng College, 2010 Admission Notice. Student Chen Yansen, you have been admitted to our university's Journalism major…"

Chen Yansen tore it open directly; the contents were exactly the same as in his previous life.

In fact, his and Wang Zihao's admission notices had long since arrived at the school, but the two of them had been busy with driving tests and making money, and kept putting it off for over ten days.

"If you want to repeat a year and retake the exam, I won't object."

Chen Guobin gave it a cursory glance, thought for a long moment, then said seriously.

"Forget it, a first-tier university and a second-tier one make no difference to me. The ultimate goal is to make money, so why take an extra year-long detour?"

Chen Yansen smiled, not caring in the slightest.

"As long as you've thought it through, just don't regret it later. Also, your maternal grandparents heard you got into college and want you to go over for a visit."

Chen Guobin's face stiffened for a moment; he gave a wry laugh, then waved his hand and sighed, clearly knowing he couldn't force the issue.

"I'm not going!"

Chen Yansen refused on the spot; he didn't want to experience the events of his previous life a second time.

In this world, there are maternal grandparents who dote on their grandchild, and there are also maternal grandparents who detest their grandchild.

"Alright then, I get it."

Chen Guobin had wanted to try persuading him a bit more, but seeing his son's resolute gaze, he gave up immediately.

"I'll deliver it to Wang Zihao. I won't be home for dinner to keep you company."

The two were silent for a moment. Chen Yansen spoke first, stood up with Wang Zihao's admission notice in hand, and said to Old Chen.

"Come back early, don't be too late."

Chen Guobin offered a token admonition.

"Got it."

Chen Yansen waved his hand, walking outward unhurriedly, while taking out his phone and sending a message to Meng Jie.

"A person has to keep their word. Your admission notice must have arrived long ago, so where are those white silk stocking photos you promised to show me?"

Meanwhile.

Meng Jie, alone, stood in the lingerie section of Shanfu Department Store, furtively picking things out.

"This one has too much lace, looks indecent at first glance."

"This style is too sheer, it's like wearing nothing at all."

"This one won't do either—why does it have little heart patterns on it?"

Meng Jie muttered to herself as she picked through the items.

Her short hair, originally level with her ear tips, had grown over an inch longer than before; the black-framed glasses on her nose bridge had been swapped for frameless glasses that suited her face shape better, and her pink, pouty lips were dewy and glossy—clearly coated with a layer of lip glaze.

"Beep beep beep—"

Hearing the phone notification, Meng Jie hurriedly picked it up to look. The text on the screen made her chest tighten involuntarily, and her cheeks flush an even deeper red.

(End of chapter)