Chapter 29: World One [29] Part 1

Going out into the wild for a camping picnic in spring was a good choice. The benefits of bringing a tent were also obvious—not only could you lie down freely and relax, but you could also block most prying eyes.

They said they were going camping in the wild, but the place they decided on wasn’t truly a remote wilderness, just the outskirts far from the urban area.

The vast lawn wasn’t just occupied by Jing Ke and Shang Siyu. There were many other couples like them, or families of three bringing their children to experience life’s little pleasures.

Having arrived early enough, the two picked a very good spot. Upon discovering there were barbecue facilities available for rent nearby, they quickly stuffed the non-perishable food into their stomachs and decided to try open-air barbecue.

The place renting out the grills sold a very complete range of items. As long as you had yourself and money, all other necessary equipment, ingredients, and seasonings could be purchased right there.

Jing Ke and Shang Siyu couldn’t eat too much, so they got one portion of each ingredient that looked fresh and experienced an open-air charcoal barbecue.

“This squid tentacle seems to be cooked. Come on, try the taste.” Shang Siyu used a small brush to apply an appropriate amount of barbecue sauce, blew on it, and then brought the skewer towards Jing Ke’s mouth.

Jing Ke carefully bit it with her teeth, breathing out as she brought it into her mouth. “So hot! The taste is pretty good, the seasoning is just right, texture is bouncy and springy, and very fragrant.”

Jing Ke couldn’t help but fan her hand towards her mouth, somehow managing to breathe out a puff of misty, hot air in weather over ten degrees Celsius.

“Eat slower if it’s hot, you could blow on it some more,” Shang Siyu put down the skewer and handed over a bottle of Soda with the cap already unscrewed.

“Hot food tastes better. It’s just a little hot.” Jing Ke was stubborn, quickly gulping down a mouthful of Soda to rapidly cool her mouth.

“Ah, you.” Shang Siyu shook her head helplessly. She learned her lesson, placing the freshly-grilled skewers on a plate for a few minutes before handing them to Jing Ke.

After this very leisurely camping barbecue, Jing Ke seemed to have had a door to a new world opened for her, and she suddenly became enthusiastic about camping.

Back home, the TV channel she watched switched from educational science news to documentaries similar to Wilderness Survival. She also learned the phrase “protein content three times that of beef”—a quote long turned into an internet meme.

Unlike Shang Siyu, who needed to go to the company five days a week, Jing Ke was the kind of boss who only needed to go one day a week.

During the rest of the time, Jing Ke generally revolved around Shang Siyu, commuting to and from work and eating meals with her.

To prevent any rumors from springing up inside New Life Technology about the first and second shareholders vying for power, Jing Ke rarely formally intervened in important matters. She usually served as a Consultant, offering Shang Siyu suggestions.

So, when accompanying Shang Siyu to the company, Jing Ke would sit beside her reading various materials, much more leisurely than Shang Siyu.

However, what Jing Ke used to read were relatively professional subjects. But after returning from camping, the books became compendiums of flora and fauna, terrain distribution, and guides on how to live in the wild.

Once again hearing Jing Ke seriously analyze the nutritional content of a meal, Shang Siyu, in order to prevent Jing Ke from becoming overly obsessed with wilderness survival, chose to assign her the task of choosing a new house.

“Whether it’s camping or… wilderness survival, go ahead and research it if you like. But before that, I have a very important task to assign to you,” Shang Siyu said with a severe expression.

“What’s the task?” Jing Ke subconsciously sat up straight, leaning slightly forward to ensure she could hear Shang Siyu clearly.

“New Life Technology is on the right track now,” Shang Siyu said. “Whether for specific customers or general customers, our product sales are very good. In less than three years, the money we invested will be fully recovered and we’ll enter the profit phase.”

Jing Ke nodded. “I know this. If we can establish partnerships with medical institutions, that time can be shortened even further.”

“Yes. New Life Technology has taken root in River City, so we can also settle down stably in River City,” Shang Siyu continued.

“Although I’ve already purchased the apartment we’re living in, I’m still not quite satisfied with some of the interior layouts. So I’ve decided to buy a new house and start the design and renovation from its unfinished Shell.”

“I have to go to work every day, so the matters of buying a new house and how to design its renovation… I’ll have to entrust them to you.” As Shang Siyu spoke, she held Jing Ke’s hand, her tone very serious.

“Jing Ke, this task is yours alone. You can definitely find a suitable new house within two months, right?”

Jing Ke looked at Shang Siyu slightly bewildered, tilting her head in confusion. “Does finding a house need two months? We’re not short of money.”

Shang Siyu: “…” Right. She’d forgotten about Jing Ke’s freakish memory and analytical abilities again.

“Good houses take time to negotiate. We might not be short on money, but we shouldn’t be a sucker either,” Shang Siyu emphasized.

“Alright, I understand. Little Yu, tell me your requirements for the new house. I’ll spend a few days organizing the data and then filter through them,” Jing Ke nodded, accepting the task.

Shang Siyu spoke the words she’d prepared long ago. “If possible, I’d like to buy a Small Villa. During summer and winter breaks, Mom can come stay for a while. We can also use it for gatherings with friends normally.”

“The yard could be bigger. We can use it for barbecues usually. You could also test out your camping gear in the yard, accumulate some experience first.”

Jing Ke wore a thoughtful expression. “Okay. A villa that’s not too large in area, but the yard needs to be as big as possible.”

“Does it need a swimming pool? Should we plant some flowers and plants normally?” Jing Ke asked.

“A swimming pool? I never learned to swim, and I probably wouldn’t use it much normally,” Shang Siyu said, tapping her chin lightly with her finger, thinking. “Planting something is a good idea though. Not limited to just flowers and plants, we could also plant some vegetables.”

“When the time comes, let’s plant a tree together. Many couples do this after getting together,” Jing Ke added at the right moment. “Let’s plant a loquat tree.”

“We don’t have to plant just one. We can plant two—one loquat, one tangerine,” Shang Siyu said. “I actually quite like eating tangerines.”

Originally, Shang Siyu just wanted to divert Jing Ke’s attention so she wouldn’t get too obsessed with camping. But as they talked, Shang Siyu’s anticipation for the new home became fully charged.

“When the time comes, we’ll design the house renovation together, include everything we want,” Shang Siyu couldn’t help but look forward to a beautiful future. “It’d be best to also have a small screening room, so we can lie down and watch movies.”

Jing Ke nodded. “Okay. I’ll start collecting related data tomorrow for filtering and selection.”

Choosing a house wasn’t too difficult for Jing Ke. Her information processing ability was excellent. While possessing a perfect memory, she could also perform analysis and summarization.

But Jing Ke still encountered quite a few problems when choosing a house. The foremost issue was the sheer amount of inaccurate information online at night.

Sellers, wanting to raise the value of their properties, had embellished their descriptions countless times when introducing the houses.

Though they didn’t tell huge lies, the house’s current condition, lighting situation, and the reliability of the community property management were all prettified to some extent.

This forced Jing Ke to swallow back the words she’d once said—that finding a house with money would only take a few days.

In the end, Jing Ke and Shang Siyu, going to physically inspect two places per week, managed to choose the villa just before summer arrived.

The villa’s total land area was over eight hundred square meters, with three floors above ground and one Basement floor. The house itself occupied about four hundred square meters, leaving over four hundred square meters as the villa’s yard.

The original owner had planned to buy it for retirement living, but some unforeseen circumstances caused the owner to settle down and start a new family in another city.

Because the original owner hadn’t yet started any renovation, the villa’s state was almost identical to when it was handed over—barely qualifying as a rough Shell. With simple treatment, renovation could begin.

The villa’s geographic location wasn’t in the city center, but not in the outskirts either. It was considered the outer urban area, not too far from New Life Technology’s headquarters or factory—whichever destination, one could arrive within half an hour.

The original owner was also fair, not quoting an inflated price, just adding a portion onto the original cost, asking for twenty million.

Although Jing Ke had been fooled by many flashy descriptions, this had also given her extremely clear insight into River City’s housing prices. She directly slashed one million two hundred thousand off, offering eighteen million eight hundred thousand.

The villa’s original owner hesitated somewhat, but hearing the buyers could pay within a week, they steeled their resolve and agreed, selling off this villa that had been idle for nearly five years.

And just as Jing Ke and Shang Siyu happily acquired their new home, the interrogation concerning Xue Fan had also finally concluded, reaching the stage of a closed trial.

The two hadn’t deliberately sought to follow Xue Fan’s fate, but Xue Fan had been implicated in official Corruption and Bribery. He was directly made into a typical case by Secretary Lou. After combined punishment for multiple crimes, he was sentenced to a death sentence with a two-year reprieve—harsher even than what Jing Ke had previously estimated.

Xue Fan naturally refused to accept this and wanted to appeal. However, everyone was clear: unless he himself had been wrongly accused, an appeal would result in the original sentence being upheld ninety-nine percent of the time. And as for that remaining one percent… naturally, that meant a harsher sentence.

“Cheers! This is the first anniversary of when we met,” said Shang Siyu, who didn’t normally like drinking, taking the rare initiative to open a bottle of red wine. She had also prepared hot pot, which Jing Ke loved to eat.

“Cheers,” Jing Ke raised her glass with a smile.

The crisp clinking sound of glass rang out. Both tilted their heads back and each took a sip.

Red wine with hot pot seemed somewhat incongruous. But there were no such strict rules when eating at home; being happy was the most important thing.

“Jing Ke, I’m so lucky to have met you. You changed my life.” After half a glass of wine, a flush appeared on Shang Siyu’s face.

It was true that Shang Siyu’s face showed the effects of alcohol easily, but her tolerance wasn’t so poor that half a glass would knock her over.

“Me too, very lucky to have made a deal with you.” Jing Ke didn’t flush from drinking; the light blush on her cheeks was just from the steam rising from the hot pot.

“If I remember correctly, the birthday on your ID Card is also today. Happy birthday to you,” Shang Siyu said, pulling out a gift box as if by magic.