chsdbacks Page 48
Page 48
Chapter 85 Reciprocity
The roast goose from Guangdong is incredibly fatty and juicy, but it's undeniably delicious. Despite her small stature, Xia Mi is surprisingly hearty, chugging a whole bottle straight down the drain.
This prompted Lu Mingfei to start drinking directly from the bottle as well. If the girls were so generous, how could a boy like him drink a beverage?
After a few bottles of beer, Xia Mi said with lingering regret, "Sigh! After awakening my bloodline, my physical condition is too strong. I'm not even slightly drunk. It's like drinking nothing at all."
"Ah, yes, yes."
Lu Mingfei thought to himself that it was best not to drink; you wouldn't get drunk, but I would! And I don't have any bloodline stuff!
Xia Mi glanced at the two bottles of beer in front of Lu Mingfei and asked, "Boss, why aren't you drinking?"
Lu Mingfei calmly wiped the wine from the corner of his mouth with a tissue and said, "It's like I didn't drink anything at all. It feels better to drink an ice-cold Coke."
"Yeah! Boss, do you have any chilled Coke in your fridge?"
"some."
Iced cola, snacks, and the like were mainly bought by Lu Mingfei for Panpan.
Anyway, it's not like we're short of money. Kids like to drink beverages and eat snacks, that's perfectly normal. Lu Mingfei likes them now too.
A large bottle of ice-cold Coke was placed on the table. After drinking a glass of ice-cold Coke, Lu Mingfei finally felt better.
Xia Mi didn't talk about life when drinking alcohol, but she suddenly started wanting to talk about life when drinking cola.
"Boss Lu, when was the most troublesome time in your life?" Xia Mi asked Lu Mingfei.
“The most troublesome time…” Lu Mingfei pondered for a moment. Small troubles were not worth mentioning, and there didn’t seem to be many big troubles either.
Having been managed by the system for so long, he was no longer the type to wallow in self-pity. Looking back from where he was now, it was nothing more than a few hardships.
No, that's not right... Without a system falling from the sky, he would most likely still be sinking into it... Of course, it's not entirely his fault.
While suffering is not something to be celebrated, it is indeed a whetstone.
People are tempered in the world, just as knives are sharpened on stones. But some people are not suited for tempering; their inherent qualities are what they are, and no matter how much they are tempered, there is no future for them.
But he has it!
The fact that the system allows for maximum focused knowledge absorption doesn't mean he can't absorb anything on his own; it just means he's chosen to slack off. He didn't listen to a single lecture, yet he could still get into a second-tier university by simply flipping through the books. Those students who only went to third-tier universities or vocational colleges should worship him as a god…
Seeing that he remained silent for a long time, Xia Mi stretched out her slender hand and waved it in front of his eyes.
"What's wrong with the boss? Why isn't he saying anything? Is he drunk?"
“No, I was just thinking about what constitutes trouble. If you can't get over it, don't overthink it; if you can get through it, don't overthink it either.” Lu Mingfei looked at her and asked, “What is your trouble?”
Lu Mingfei spoke, but it seemed he didn't say anything at all. This evasive maneuver thwarted Xia Mi's attempt to peek into Norton's mind.
"My troubles, I have so many troubles," Xia Mi said with a sigh. "Because I want too much, but I have nothing. What can I do? I'm still a child! A child without parents."
Lu Mingfei learned his lesson and remained silent, because Xia Mi's rant was clearly not over yet.
“Sometimes I think about what the purpose of life is.” Xia Mi rested her elbow on the small table, one hand supporting her chin, the other on the table, looking at the moon in the sky. She said, “Life is only a few decades long. Fame and fortune are things that you can’t take with you when you die. Sometimes I think about what happens after you die.”
She didn't continue speaking, as if she was genuinely pondering what happens after death.
"...Only those who lack passion for anything find the world uninteresting..."
The system is analyzing Xia Mi's mental state, hoping she will share more of her inner thoughts so that a targeted strategy can be developed around this issue.
Lu Mingfei said, "It's not the wine that intoxicates, it's the person who gets drunk. That's exactly what you're like right now, isn't it?"
"Huh?" Xia Mi looked at Lu Mingfei, thought for a moment, and nodded.
Lu Mingfei said calmly, "Not all problems need to be solved. Thinking too much will only add to your troubles. If you can still feel happy when you receive the money, it proves that you don't need to think about the meaning of life yet."
He disagreed with the system; he didn't want to delve into questions about the meaning of life. He used to think life was boring and that he might as well die.
But isn't he still alive and kicking just like before?
Even if you manage to collect such information by going into depth, it's meaningless in ordinary times; it can only be used at specific times.
But in that state, a person has no interest in anything else and needs to sleep more; a good night's sleep will make them feel better.
"Yes, I was really happy to see the salary you gave me today, boss. It made me feel like my life was so meaningful."
Xia Mi became interested in this: "Boss, are you happy when you get the money?"
Lu Mingfei decided to dampen her spirits a bit, shaking his head and saying, "I don't know, I've never received a salary of 2 yuan. The lowest I ever received in royalties was 5 yuan in October, and this month I received 12 yuan."
Xia Mi, who had been poor for a long time but had suddenly become rich, froze for a moment, but she quickly smiled again: "Boss, you should earn more, otherwise what will we do if you don't have money to pay our wages?"
It's good if the boss can make money; it's when the boss can't make money that the employees should be worried.
Xia Mi glanced at her phone and said, "It'll be 12 in ten minutes. Boss, do you think anyone's going to set off fireworks?"
"Still want to gamble?" Lu Mingfei recalled the meal they had argued over before.
“That’s right!” Xia Mi nodded: “Let’s bet on a meal.”
"Well……"
Lu Mingfei didn't speak immediately; the system also indicated a 50/50 chance.
While New Year's Eve isn't a popular holiday, it's definitely much more likely to happen on a regular day.
However, the focus of the system analysis is not here, but rather: [...regardless of winning or losing, we'll all have a meal together...]
Looking at Xia Mi's face, Lu Mingfei said, "I bet she isn't."
"Then I'll bet I have it."
Xia Mi tore open a package of beef jerky and looked at the night sky.
Lu Mingfei picked up his phone and pressed a few buttons.
Ten minutes later, as the two searched, a lone firework rose and exploded. The sound and range were not large, but they could still see the light.
Lu Mingfei muttered to himself, "Why did nobody seem to set off any fireworks last New Year's Day?"
Xia Mi immediately jumped up excitedly: "Yay! I won! Boss, you owe me a meal."
That solitary firework seemed to be a signal, and more fireworks rose one after another. Although there were still some scattered ones, they made it less lonely.
……
After setting off fireworks by the roadside, Mai clapped her hands and asked Su Enxi, "Don't you Chinese only set off fireworks during the Lunar New Year?"
"New Year's Day is still a holiday, don't look down on the Gregorian New Year. At least give working people a day off." Su Enxi replied to Lu Mingfei with an OK text message.
Chapter 86 with Xia Mi
No matter how beautiful the night is, dawn will eventually break. Lu Mingfei and Xia Mi got up quite late on New Year's Day, so they didn't have to rush to catch a plane or train.
One reason is that they can ride on Su Enxi's private jet, and another reason is that they are not far from Shanghai.
The luxurious private jet surprised Xia Mi. There were no rows of seats as she had imagined; instead, there were large sofas, large tables, large coffee tables, and even private rooms for resting...
The flight attendants, with their impeccable makeup, greeted them with smiles.
Seeing Lu Mingfei's completely expressionless face, Xia Mi asked, "Why aren't you surprised at all? Boss, have you sat here before?"
"First time flying." The system said calmly, "You've never flown before? Beijing is quite far from here."
"How could I bear to fly?" Xia Mi slumped down on the luxurious and comfortable sofa and said, "Taking a green train for half a day can save me hundreds of yuan. What do I do to earn that much money? Even money-making in competitions isn't something I can do every day."
Oh, right, um…
Seeing the smiling flight attendant approaching, she hesitated for a moment about how to address her, then said, "Excuse me, does Sister Su have Romanée-Conti on the plane? If not, a bottle of '82 Lafite will do. Give me one, and put it on my boss Lu's tab."
The flight attendant nodded in agreement: "Yes, what kind of wine glass would you like?"
"Really?"
Xia Mi was somewhat shocked and turned to ask Lu Mingfei, "Who is this Sister Su? I went through all the trouble of finding this expensive wine online, and she just put it on the plane?"
"She is the highest-earning employee under her boss, making tens of millions of dollars a day as easily as playing around."
The system tried its best to rule out the possibility of Su Enxi and Lu Mingfei, so as not to let Xia Mi have any wild thoughts.
Fortunately, Xia Mi didn't ask what her boss was like, given that he had such a high-earning employee...
"Ms. Su does indeed keep a considerable selection of collectible wines on the plane," the flight attendant said with a smile. "Ms. Xia, what kind of wine glass would you like?"
"Never mind, give me a glass of water to calm my nerves first." After calming down, Xia Mi, like a curious child, looked around the plane, observing everything...
"We took a taxi from the East Gate after we got off the plane, but it was very expensive. Those taxi drivers love to overcharge passengers, especially those coming from the airport..."
As they landed at Shanghai Airport, Xia Mi was still painstakingly explaining her Shanghai travel guide to Lu Mingfei.
"A car has been arranged to pick us up." Lu Mingfei didn't dare mention to Xia Mi that this was another generous donation from President Su.
President Su has a profound impact on his life, and Xia Mi will definitely become suspicious.
He himself lacked the system's absolute composure and rationality, and dared not judge people with prejudice. Based on the system's analysis that everyone is the same, he naturally didn't want Xia Mi to view Su Enxi with prejudice… that would be too terrible, after all…
Xia Mi was taken aback: "Huh? Oh, so you've already made all the arrangements, Boss Lu?"
"It's just some daily life arrangements." Lu Mingfei pondered Xia Mi's words for a moment, then quickly changed the subject, saying, "But what you just said gave me an idea for starting a business."
"Startup inspiration?"
Because they had discussed this topic before, Xia Mi immediately became interested and, as expected, asked, "What inspiration?"
Did you pay attention to the iPhone 2G that Apple released in the US last year?
The system is actually quite interested in emerging technology sectors.
Instead of fighting in the red ocean, why not try your luck in the blue ocean? Who knows, a few dollars' worth of PPT might just be enough to unlock a project worth hundreds of billions?
Even a crane wouldn't dare to pry it like that, but the system does.
“I know,” Xia Mi nodded. “Some boys even childishly brag to me that it’s American-made.”
"That's not the point."
Lu Mingfei said, "Don't you think that phone is amazing and convenient? If it becomes even smarter and more comprehensive in a few years, could it serve as half a computer? Could you make the pricing transparent by ordering a ride through your phone?"
After all, online, the distance between people has shrunk, so bus drivers don't have to wait for passengers anymore...
In order to prevent Xia Mi from paying too much attention to Su Enxi, Lu Mingfei really racked his brains and remembered the time he wrote a StarCraft strategy guide and sold it online.
Then Xia Mi's spirits lifted, and the system quickly began its analysis...