Chapter 197: Reunion at East Lake Villa

Morning.

Chen Feng woke up to the rustling sound of rain outside the window. The woman who had been sleeping beside him was already gone. However, he could smell the aroma of fried eggs coming from downstairs. He figured the woman was downstairs making breakfast for him.

He picked up his phone from the bedside table and saw that it was a little after eight in the morning. He rolled out of bed.

After washing up, he first went downstairs to have breakfast with Sun Xiaorui. Then, the two of them sat on the sofa in the living room, chatting about their New Year experiences.

Sun Xiaorui didn’t mention the several times she had wanted to go to his hometown but was rejected. She only talked about some interesting things she had encountered during the New Year in her hometown, as well as her family matters.

Her father’s condition was now basically stable. Besides not being able to move around very conveniently and needing a wheelchair for assistance, his speech was still quite clear, and his mind was fine. But considering that her mother’s health was not very good either, they still had their relative at home as a nanny.

Basically, her father’s pension was enough to pay for the nanny and daily household expenses.

However, this meant that her younger brother’s university expenses would have to be borne by her, his older sister.

And her younger brother was sensible enough to say that he would work part-time and try to be as self-sufficient as possible.

Because of these circumstances, she wanted to find a part-time job in Xiuzhou to increase her income, just in case.

In fact, her current monthly “salary” of fifty thousand was really not low. It was more than enough to support her brother’s education and her family’s expenses.

But she was also thinking of opening a clothing store in Xiuzhou. Plus, with the lesson from her father’s situation, she also wanted to save more money for any unexpected needs at home.

Chen Feng hadn’t expected Sun Xiaorui to really have the idea of finding a job. He said with some helplessness, “I thought you had given up the idea of finding a job after I talked to you last time, but I didn’t expect you to still want to find one. How about this, I’ll keep my word. I’ll give you an extra ten thousand in salary, consider it an extra reward for cooking, doing laundry, cleaning, and other things for me.”

“These are things I should do. If you give me more money, I’ll feel strange. I told you last time, the main reason I want to find a job is because I get bored at home alone sometimes. You said we’d continue to travel around the country, but we can’t travel all year round, right? Two or three months of travel a year is enough. The rest of the time, we still have to live here in Xiuzhou. It’s just that considering I have to take care of your daily life, I plan to find a part-time job, preferably one with flexible working hours.”

“Then why don’t you write web novels with Mengting? The working hours are quite flexible. And it won’t interfere with you taking care of my life.”

“How would I know how to write web novels? And I don’t want to stay at home all day. I want to go out and work.”

Hearing this, Chen Feng couldn’t help but say in an annoyed tone, “Then why don’t you just be a cleaner?”

Sun Xiaorui laughed, “That’s not impossible. Cleaners actually make good money.”

“Then go be a cleaner,” Chen Feng said with a straight face.

Sun Xiaorui giggled, her soft body pressing into his embrace. She said with bright eyes, “What do you think if I spend three or four hours a day working as a part-time salesperson? It’s like going back to my old profession. I’m familiar with this job, and at the same time, I want to use this job to further familiarize myself with the operating procedures of a clothing store.”

“You want to open a clothing store that much?” Chen Feng asked her, somewhat speechless.

“Of course,” Sun Xiaorui nodded affirmatively. “This has been my dream for many years.”

“Alright then.” Chen Feng was a little helpless, but in the end, he decided to help her. It didn’t make sense for him to provide selfless help to Lin Yujiao, who had been with him for less than a month, while constantly suppressing Sun Xiaorui.

Both were his women, and both wanted to open a clothing store. It could only be said that many women did make money in this line of work.

“Don’t I have a shop that’s been empty all this time? Why don’t you just tidy it up and open your clothing store there? You don’t have to be a salesperson anymore. You’ve been one for so long, what else don’t you know? Just be the lady boss.”

“Honey, you’re so good to me.” Sun Xiaorui was moved and tilted her face up to give Chen Feng a kiss, then continued, “But the clothing store I want to open is a branded one, not a generic one. The shop usually has to be in a large shopping mall or a bustling commercial area.”

“So, you’re looking down on my shop?” Chen Feng looked at her, speechless.

Sun Xiaorui smiled a little embarrassedly and said, “The location isn’t very suitable.”

Chen Feng said in an annoyed tone, “What’s with the brands? As long as it makes money, that’s all that matters. There’s no need to make it so high-end. I think a generic store probably makes more money than a branded one.”

Sun Xiaorui explained, “That also depends on the brand. If it’s a famous brand like Nike or Adidas, it will definitely make more money than a generic store. Of course, I plan to open a branded women’s clothing store, taking the high-end route. It would be more suitable to set up the shop in a large shopping mall.”

Chen Feng didn’t want to argue with her and said directly, “Then I’m not getting involved. You can open it in a shopping mall when you’ve saved up enough money yourself.”

Sun Xiaorui gave a cunning smile and said, “You can invest in me. You can be the major shareholder, and I can be a minor shareholder. I can guarantee it will definitely be profitable.”

“I’m not that easy to fool. Opening a shop to make money is too tiring and too slow. If you believe me, you can trade stocks with me. I’ll take you to the moon. Not to mention anything else, how about a profit of at least twenty to thirty percent in one or two months? Are you willing?”

As someone close to Chen Feng, Sun Xiaorui certainly knew that he had made a lot of money from stock trading. Hearing this, she was tempted and quickly asked, “Can you guarantee a profit of twenty to thirty percent on every investment?”

Chen Feng smiled confidently and said, “Of course. If you believe me, give me the money now, and I guarantee you a minimum profit of 20% per month.”

“Alright.” Sun Xiaorui first agreed, then said cautiously, “I’ll give you the one hundred thousand I’ve saved up first. Next month, you guarantee me one hundred and twenty thousand, and any extra profit will be your reward. Is that okay?”

“You only saved one hundred thousand?” Chen Feng expressed his disbelief.

Sun Xiaorui said coquettishly, “I only have a total of over two hundred thousand in savings now. I’ll take out one hundred thousand to test the waters first. It’s not that I don’t trust you, but the stock market is very risky, so I have to be more cautious. Don’t you think so?”

Chen Feng was speechless, but since he had decided to help her, he nodded, “Alright, as long as you’re happy. Whenever you give me the money, I’ll start counting.”

This time, Sun Xiaorui was very quick. She immediately picked up her phone and said, “I’ll transfer it to you now.”

Chen Feng wasn’t polite either. Not long after, he received the 100,000 she transferred and said with a smile, “It’s only because it’s you. Otherwise, I really wouldn’t play with you.”

Sun Xiaorui also smiled and said, “Although I’m very willing to believe in your stock trading ability, my reason tells me that there’s no such thing as a sure-win business in the world, let alone stock trading. However, since you’re willing to guarantee me a minimum monthly return of 20%, I’m definitely happy. Thank you, my dear.”

After saying that, Sun Xiaorui gave him another kiss.

Chen Feng just smiled, not really caring about her playful words.

After chatting for a while, Chen Feng started to exercise. Although it was raining outside, there was a treadmill at home, and he could also do other indoor exercises.

After being diagnosed with a terminal illness, Chen Feng had become more and more concerned about his health.

Most people are like this, but in a situation similar to Chen Feng’s, no matter how much most people cherish their bodies and pay attention to health and fitness, it’s all in vain.

More than half an hour later, after finishing his exercise, he went upstairs to take a shower, change his clothes, and then Chen Feng began to absorb the energy from the paintings and calligraphy.

Another hour or so passed like this.

When he came downstairs, Sun Xiaorui was video-chatting with Wu Mengting and Lin Wan, talking idly.

The three women had become very good friends because they had traveled around the country together and had also done live broadcasts together.

They had already arranged to have lunch together at the East Lake villa today.

Chen Feng came over and sat down next to Sun Xiaorui without any hesitation, then greeted Wu Mengting and Lin Wan in the video.

Lin Wan responded, but Wu Mengting pretended not to see him and continued to talk to Sun Xiaorui. Then, the three women arranged to go to a large supermarket a few kilometers away to buy groceries.

Chen Feng was too lazy to go. He just very generously transferred sixty thousand yuan to Sun Xiaorui, which was for her salary for the next month, as well as for groceries and other daily household expenses.

Sun Xiaorui went out happily.

Chen Feng finally had time to go back to his room, turn on his computer, open the stock trading software, and check the recent stock market situation.

As expected, the stock he had bought before, Huiji Eye Drops, was still rising in price, almost reaching 50. When he bought it, it was 15. It had already risen by more than three times.

For ordinary retail investors without any inside information, they would definitely not be able to resist selling after the stock price had risen so much, or at least they would be hesitating whether to sell every day.

But Chen Feng was very calm. This was the first time he had seriously opened the stock trading software to check this stock since he bought it.

Undoubtedly, this was another “demon stock.” It had risen by more than three times in less than two months, and it looked like it would continue to rise.

Some timid buyers would definitely not be able to hold on at this point. Most would choose to sell, but Chen Feng wanted to hold on for a while longer.

In addition, he looked at his bank balance. So, he randomly chose another stock and bought 10,000 shares, spending over nine million.

This stock was called Baofeng Technology. It had just been listed for more than five months. In the first three months, the stock price had been rising steadily. The issue price was over eight yuan, and it had risen to over ten yuan at its highest. But in the past two months, the stock price had been falling steadily, down to over nine yuan.

Looking at this trend, this stock probably wouldn’t have much of a future.

But since he had chosen it by chance, Chen Feng didn’t hesitate to buy it. He believed in his luck now.

It took him about ten minutes to finish his serious business of stock trading. Then he continued to sit at his desk, reading the news on his computer and browsing some forums he hadn’t been to in a long time.

Time passed without him noticing, until Sun Xiaorui sent him a WeChat message, asking him to go to the East Lake villa for dinner.

Chen Feng had renewed the lease for the East Lake villa for another two months around the New Year. Even though it had been vacant for almost a month during the New Year, Chen Feng was still very generous about it, and it was also to give the landlord a good impression.

Because he really planned to buy this villa, but he just didn’t have that much cash on hand at the moment.

However, in a month at most, after he cashed out from the stock market, he would have enough money to buy this villa.

When he arrived at the East Lake villa, he could smell the aroma of food wafting from the courtyard gate.

Wu Mengting and Sun Xiaorui’s cooking skills were excellent. Both of them were in charge of cooking a few dishes for lunch.

Chen Feng directly took out his key and opened the gate, then walked through the courtyard to the villa entrance.

The villa door was open. Lin Wan was sitting on the sofa with her legs crossed, watching TV and eating sunflower seeds. In the kitchen, Sun Xiaorui and Wu Mengting were busy together.

On the dining table in the dining room, there were already five or six steaming dishes.

“You’re here! Boss, please sit down. Do you want some sunflower seeds? I brought them from my hometown. They’re freshly roasted, clean and hygienic, and very delicious.”

Seeing Chen Feng come in, Lin Wan quickly uncrossed her long legs, stood up from the sofa, and greeted him enthusiastically.

Chen Feng wasn’t polite either. He went over and grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds from the plastic bag on the coffee table. While eating them, he teased, “You really have a blessed life. They’re busy in and out, while you’re comfortably watching TV and eating sunflower seeds here.”

Lin Wan was already used to Chen Feng’s attitude and tone. She wasn’t embarrassed and said with a smile, “You’re right, Boss. This is all thanks to you and Little Sweetie. Otherwise, how could I live in such a villa and eat ready-made meals every day?”

After saying that, she added with a fawning expression, “Boss, I heard you hired Little Sweetie as your personal assistant to help with business matters. Why don’t you hire me as an assistant too? I don’t want a high salary, just eight thousand a month is enough. And like Little Sweetie, room and board included. What do you think?”

“Aren’t you doing well as a streamer? Why do you want to be my assistant? Besides, can you cook?”

“What does being a personal assistant have to do with cooking?” Lin Wan asked with confusion.

“I not only have her help me with my business matters, but also some of my daily trivial matters, including cooking, laundry, and cleaning. Of course, I won’t have her do these things unless it’s necessary. More importantly, I trust Tingting very much, which is why I hired her as my assistant. And you, do you think I should trust you very much and then hand over my wallet to you to manage?”

Chen Feng’s last sentence was really a bit hurtful. No matter how thick-skinned Lin Wan was, she couldn’t bring herself to say that he should trust her and hand over his wallet to her to manage.

They had known each other for several months, especially after traveling around the country together for a month or two, spending every day together. They knew each other well. Who didn’t know who?

“Alright. I’m indeed not as trustworthy as Little Sweetie. But I’m your friend, right? See if you have any suitable side jobs for me to earn some extra money.”

“Are you short on money?” Chen Feng asked.

Lin Wan nodded, “Of course. Who isn’t short on money these days? Except for rich people like you, of course.”

“Then you can be a cleaner at my house. Come once a week to do a thorough cleaning of the whole villa. Three hundred yuan each time. Do you want the job?”

“Go to hell!”

Lin Wan got up and left in a huff. In the past, she might have continued to argue with Chen Feng, but now she was living in the villa he rented at a low price, so she felt guilty and lacked confidence. She couldn’t be so aggressive with him.

Seeing Lin Wan leave in a huff, Chen Feng was very pleased, and a smile appeared on his face. Every time he saw her freeloading, he felt unhappy and always wanted to annoy her to feel better.

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