Ch 62: After My Mother Returned to the Rich Family

On Sunday, the third day.

The 120 students and teachers of No. 2 High School boarded the bus back to Nanshi. Unlike the ride over, where everyone was busy doing their own thing, most students on the way back were engaged in one activity:

“Learning farming is so fulfilling! Being a chef is pure bliss!”

OP: “When I got picked for the farm trip, I felt so reluctant, complaining the whole way here. But on the first day, the base surprised us with an amazing hotpot and desserts! The next morning, we even got to customize our breakfast! [Image][Image]”

7th Comment: “Ahhhh, OP beat me to it! I have to share this—I asked around, and it turns out the cabbage and lamb rolls were supplied by Three Slackers! That’s the supplier for Seven Star, where a single cabbage costs a thousand yuan!”

14th Comment: “Are you guys heat-struck from picking strawberries in the greenhouse? Talking nonsense in broad daylight?”

35th Comment: “Seriously? Three Slackers supplies Seven Star? And a single cabbage for a thousand yuan? What do you think this is, some immortal cultivation cabbage from a fantasy world? Seven Star’s prices are high because of the craftsmanship, thank you very much.”

OP: “No, really, it was Seven Star’s cabbage. On the second evening, He Wuwei himself taught us how to make desserts and confirmed it! Check out how handsome He Wuwei is → [Image].”

65th Comment: “Haha, I took a picture of the cabbage crate. It’s really from Three Slackers! No fakes → [Image].”

73rd Comment: “What the heck? It’s really Three Slackers? Did your meal cost tens of thousands? Why is Jintao Base playing favorites? I went there last year to pick strawberries, and there was nothing like this!”

78th Comment: “I was too slow to snap a pic of the hotpot, but I managed to document every other meal—breakfast, lunch, and dinner → [Image][Image][Image].”

88th Comment: “To the senior at 73, haha, we have a little boss from Jintao Base among us. Care to guess their name?”

91st Comment: “Hehehe, I know, but I’m not saying.”

97th Comment: “Not saying +1.”

104th Comment: “Not saying +10086.”

113th Comment: “What the heck? Why stop halfway? Spill! Who’s the little boss? And what did you do at Jintao Base?”

120th Comment: “What’s so blissful about being a chef anyway?”

124th Comment: “We’re from the same school, so why all the secrecy? Tell us who the boss is—I want to cut the line at Seven Star!”

157th Comment: “I’m shallow. I just want to taste a thousand-yuan cabbage. Poor folks can’t afford it.”

Ruan Cha sat on the school bus, scrolling through the forum thread. The remaining hundred or so replies were mostly guesses about who the “little boss” of Jintao Base was, peppered with occasional queries about why OP envied chefs. She covered her face silently.

So this was the real reason why her family’s cabbages hadn’t been selling well—

They were too expensive.

To be honest, Ruan Cha had never thought they were pricey. Her understanding of big-city produce prices came entirely from He Wuwei, and nothing he ever mentioned cost less than four figures.

But now, upon reflection, He Wuwei’s association with Seven Star had clearly set a premium price bracket.

The forum thread’s heat showed no signs of cooling, and under relentless questioning from classmates, someone from the group of 120 finally spilled the beans.

As a result, Ruan Cha’s personal WeChat exploded with verification requests, all bearing wildly creative remarks but centering on one theme: cabbage.

Ruan Cha accepted each request, replying with the same message: “Go home and discuss with your parents. Have them ask Three Slackers if they sell single cabbages.” She then neatly sorted the “Cabbage Enthusiasts” into a category labeled Foodies.

As for revealing that Three Slackers’s cabbages were grown by her family, Ruan Cha had no qualms about sharing it previously—she had casually mentioned it to Liang Cunjin and openly discussed it over lunch with Fu Chen and the others on her first day at No. 2 High.

But after the Jintao Base “incident,” Ruan Cha decided that being the “little boss of Jintao Base” was title enough. She didn’t need the added label of “Three Slackers Cabbage Princess.”

Feeling complicated, Ruan Cha returned to the Liang household. Seeing the empty first floor didn’t strike her as odd.

The Liang family’s eldest, Liang Cunhuai, had originally planned his graduation ceremony for June, but changes had pushed it earlier. With Tang Hua coincidentally performing in England, she and Liang Zongqi went together.

Liang Cunjin was busy with Starry Trainee and promoting his new album. For convenience, he had moved back to his downtown apartment, as he often did.

As for Old Master Liang, he was out with friends, enjoying tea and a comedy performance—unlikely to return anytime soon.

Ruan Cha went up to the third floor and was about to return to her room when she noticed the slightly ajar door to her parents’ room. Through the gap, she saw her mom and dad sitting back-to-back on the bed, each holding a thick stack of documents.

Thinking about how they had been so busy the past few days that they only returned home late at night, Ruan Cha felt an uncontrollable surge of joy at seeing them now. Her previously complex emotions were momentarily forgotten.

“Mom, Dad, you’re back?”

“Cha Cha, you’re home?” Wei Jiao put down the materials she was holding about grape variety assessments, which she couldn’t understand at all, and gestured for Ruan Cha to sit down. Her face was full of concern. “Were you tired at Jintao Base? I heard from David that your schedule was packed during the day, so much so that he didn’t even get a chance to chat with you one-on-one.”

Hearing this, Ruan Zhengfei also turned his gaze toward Ruan Cha. In truth, David had added something else later—apparently, a boy from the second year had been following his daughter around, clearly showing interest.

After asking David for a description of the boy, Ruan Zhengfei didn’t need to think twice to deduce that it was likely a certain Fu Chen.

It seemed his initial suspicions weren’t unfounded—Fu Chen’s feelings for Cha Cha had clearly gone beyond mere friendship!

—Huh! That brat!

When Ruan Cha heard the mention of Jintao Base, her eyes flickered, and she hesitated as if she had something on her mind, which puzzled her parents.

“Dad, Mom, I think we need to have a little talk.”

Ruan Cha pulled out her phone and opened the post her classmates had been sharing. “Some classmates heard that we could buy cabbages from Three Slackers and immediately started adding me as a friend. For the first time, I feel so popular.” To be precise, popular among foodies.

After saying this, she turned to look at her father. “Also, some classmates heard you were giving away the Luyuan Garden houses as competition prizes. They started asking if our family owns dozens of houses. Otherwise, why would you give away houses as casually as handing out ten-yuan red envelopes?”

Initially, her classmates had likened her family’s house giveaways to handing out cabbages. But after seeing the thousand-yuan cabbages from Three Slackers, they felt the cabbage analogy didn’t do justice to her father’s generous splurging.

Both Ruan Zhengfei and Wei Jiao looked a bit stunned. It seemed that in big cities, people didn’t just value companies and hobbies—even their cabbages and rental properties could gain attention?

Had they been going about things the wrong way during the art festival and parent-teacher meetings? Should they have been giving gifts instead?

The two looked down at the documents scattered on the bed, then back at each other. It seemed they might have stumbled upon a faster way than hosting wine galas or acquiring vineyards.

Recalling her classmates’ comments about Luyuan Garden, Ruan Cha asked, “Dad, why did you use Luyuan Garden houses as prizes? Do you think our houses are burning a hole in your pocket?”

Ruan Zhengfei came back to his senses and replied with some disdain, “The tenants in those two units at Luyuan Garden weren’t very clean. When I went to inspect them last time, I almost thought I was visiting a pigsty. So I kicked them out, cleaned up the place, and kept the units as perks for the chefs at the base.”

After saying this, Ruan Zhengfei grinned and added, “Besides, I recently bought two new storefronts. Giving away two houses is no big deal—subtract two, and we still have a neat total of 100. Your grandfather always liked the number 100, said it brings good fortune, so we’ll keep it that way.”

Ruan Cha: “…”

Such willfulness. Also, storefronts and houses—are they really interchangeable?

After chatting a bit more, Ruan Cha remembered she had schoolwork to do, waved goodbye, and returned to her room. Once she was out of sight, Wei Jiao turned to Ruan Zhengfei, her eyes shining with excitement.

“Fei Fei! I’ve come up with a brilliant idea!”

Ruan Zhengfei’s face also lit up with enthusiasm. “Jiao Jiao, I’ve got a brilliant idea too!”

The two of them exchanged a glance, and decades of tacit understanding sprang to life. One after the other, they tidied the documents on the bed into the cabinet and spoke in unison, “Let’s rest for tonight and talk tomorrow!”

---

Back in her room after leaving her parents, Ruan Cha glanced at the textbooks on her desk and thought about the tragic ending her family faced in the book. A sense of guilt and unease welled up in her chest.

Her parents clearly had substantial wealth and could have led an idle life, yet they were constantly planning and striving for the future, working tirelessly from dawn to dusk. In her previous life, they might have suffered their fate because of her.

Shaking her head, Ruan Cha resolved to make the most of her time studying. It wasn’t enough to let the system handle Virus X; she also needed to strike decisively and target Yu Zheng’s mental defenses, ensuring he had no chance to harm her family.

With this determination, the contents of her textbooks no longer felt overwhelming. For the first time in her life, she wished the night would stretch on a little longer, giving her more time to learn.

System 1128 watched this transformation with a heavy heart. A motivated and studious young person stood right before its eyes, yet it couldn’t even bind with her. QAQ.

---

Unlike the liveliness of the Ruan family, the Fu family ancestral home felt cold and quiet.

The Fu family’s lineage spanned hundreds of years, and during tumultuous times, they had expanded overseas. Now, the family’s branches were scattered across the globe.

Thanks to the foresight and boldness of Fu Chen’s grandfather, Fu Chen’s branch had risen to become the most unshakable presence among the various family factions.

But no matter how vast the family’s influence, the ancestral home now had only two permanent residents: Fu Chen and his father.

Fu Chen’s father frowned as he listened to his son, feeling as though even the tea in his hand had turned bitter. “Son, what’s this? You’re not interested in the family’s diamond mines? Diamonds too heavy for you to handle?”

Earlier that evening, when Fu Chen returned home, his father had casually joked, asking when he planned to formally propose to Ruan Cha at the Liang family’s house.

Fu Chen’s father had fully expected to receive no response. To his surprise, not only did Fu Chen respond, but he even mentioned earning a few mines as part of the dowry?!

A few mines?

Mines?!

Fu Chen’s father closed the lid of his teacup and looked at his impeccably upright son, who even sat ramrod straight at home. “You already have, what, six—no, eight companies under your name? Didn’t you spend half a day negotiating with me last time to transfer most of your shares to compensate the Ruan family? That alone is worth billions annually, isn’t it?”

The Fu family’s ventures in internet technology, automobiles, and real estate were either industry leaders or top competitors. Fu Chen’s father himself had been a regular on the billionaire lists for years.

He never thought he’d end up having such a superficial conversation about wealth with his son in their own home.

In truth, he didn’t mind giving as much as needed to the Ruan family. Knowing Ruan Zhengfei’s personality, he figured the man wouldn’t even care about the money. What bothered him was being underestimated by his son!

His decades of hard work—dismissed like this?

Fu Chen replied, “Yes, but Ruan Cha’s family didn’t take it. As for the mines, her family owns mountains—four or five of them.”

Fu Chen’s father was incredulous. “A single diamond mine doesn’t compare to four or five mountains?”

Fu Chen said flatly, “Can I use the mines Grandpa excavated as a dowry?”

Fu Chen’s father: “…”

He felt a pang of subtle insult.

Taking a sip of his now-bitter tea, he suppressed his feelings and remarked wryly, “Son, it’s true that your dad didn’t excavate any mines back then, but when I confessed to your mom in high school, she accepted on the same day. You—”

“Before you graduate college, can you at least land an internship?”

Fu Chen: “…”

The father and son locked gazes, sparks flying between their eyes. The next moment, they both turned away in icy silence.

—Bound by blood, why hurt each other?