Zhao Jie's "I want one!" rang out with such force that even the newly awakened kittens in Chen Lin's arms jumped.
Chen Lin watched Zhao Jie's two-hundred-plus-pound frame tremble with excitement. He looked just like a brown bear that had discovered a priceless treasure.
With a mischievous grin, he pointed toward Zhao Jie while addressing one of the tabby kittens in his arms.
"Little guy, go over to Jie!"
The kitten tilted its furry head, seemingly trying to understand the command.
A moment later, it hopped lightly off Chen Lin's lap, padded gracefully straight up to Zhao Jie, sat down, and looked up at him.
"Meow."
"Holy shit! That's incredible!"
Zhao Jie's eyes went as wide as saucers. He crouched down carefully and reached out with a huge hand to pet the kitten.
This cat was way too smart!
It was practically understanding human speech!
He couldn't stop petting it. The little creature narrowed its eyes in pleasure, a rumbling purr rising from its throat.
"Linzi, can I take this one home?" Zhao Jie's face brimmed with hope. He looked ready to get down on his knees and beg.
Chen Lin leaned back in his chair with a smile and crossed his legs. "If it's willing to go with you, I've got no objections!"
"You said it! No taking it back!" Zhao Jie was overjoyed.
He scooped the kitten into his hands and turned to leave.
But the docile kitten in his hands seemed to understand their conversation, and its fur instantly bristled.
The gentle pet suddenly began struggling violently, its four little paws scratching wildly at his enormous hands.
"Ow!"
Pain shot through the back of Zhao Jie's hand, and he instinctively loosened his grip.
The kitten shot away in a streak of tabby-colored lightning, landed precisely in Chen Lin's arms, and burrowed beneath the hem of his T-shirt, leaving only its little rump sticking out and trembling.
"Hahaha!"
At the sight, Chen Lin rocked with laughter, nearly laughing himself to tears.
Zhao Jie stood there holding up his hand, several red scratches marking its back, his face full of wounded resentment.
This cat... really seemed to understand human speech.
He felt that Chen Lin had changed since coming back this time.
He was still the same outgoing, cheerful best friend who loved goofing around, but there was something different about him now-an indescribable composure and confidence.
Zhao Jie returned to his chair, poured himself some tea, and grew serious.
"You called me not long ago and said your numbers were great, your year-end bonus might double last year's, and you might even get promoted to team leader next year. Why did you suddenly quit?"
Chen Lin took a sip of tea and smiled. "Jie, do you really want me to keep slaving away in Magic City that badly?"
Zhao Jie ignored the joke and said seriously, "Linzi, we're brothers. If you're in trouble, don't shoulder it alone. I'm not some big shot, but if you ask, I can manage anything up to five hundred thousand!"
Looking at the earnest expression on Zhao Jie's chubby face, Chen Lin felt warmth spread through his chest.
A person didn't need many friends in life.
One or two who would do everything they could to help when you were down and out were enough.
After a brief silence, he decided to tell Zhao Jie the truth.
"I've mentioned our department supervisor, Wang Lei, before. The guy who was always making life difficult for me."
Zhao Jie's expression darkened. Of course he remembered.
"He leaked a major client's information, which led to a malicious short-selling attack on the client's US stocks. His thirty-million-yuan stock account is now worthless."
"And the most disgusting part? He tampered with my computer and pinned the whole thing on me!"
Bam!
Zhao Jie slammed his palm onto the table, splashing tea out of the cups.
"That bastard! How could he be so vicious?" His face flushed with fury, and veins bulged in his neck. "That's fucking illegal! Call the police!"
Chen Lin gave a quiet laugh and shook his head. "The stock market's a battlefield. People will use any means necessary. He made the evidence airtight, so calling the police wouldn't help. That client's blaming me for the entire thirty-million loss now. If I hadn't packed up and run, was I supposed to wait for someone to dump me in the Huangpu River?"
Zhao Jie paced back and forth, swearing nonstop.
Watching him worry so fiercely on his behalf, Chen Lin felt the last trace of gloom in his heart disperse.
"But I guess it turned out to be a blessing in disguise."
"What do you mean?" Zhao Jie stopped pacing.
Chen Lin launched into the story he had already prepared. "When I fled Magic City, I didn't come straight home. I went to Guangdong first to clear my head. I wandered into a jade market, saw a crowd gambling on rough stones, and went over to join the fun."
"Lately, Douyin kept showing me videos of this Burmese jade dealer called Old Wang. Watching his videos, I felt like I'd picked up a few things, so I figured I'd try my luck."
He took a sip of tea to wet his throat, then continued spinning his tale.
"So I spent eight thousand yuan on the stone that looked best to me. And guess what? I hit the jackpot when they cut it open!"
Zhao Jie stared at him, speechless. "Dude, are you telling me the plot of a novel?"
"Believe it or not, reality is often stranger than fiction!" Chen Lin chuckled.
The Myriad Worlds Garbage Transfer Station had already shown up. How was this remotely far-fetched?
Without further explanation, he pulled out his phone, opened the Huaxia Bank app, brought up the transfer record, and handed it over.
Zhao Jie took the phone skeptically.
When he saw the string of digits on the screen, his breathing stopped.
[Zhou Xiaofu Yicheng Branch transferred RMB 4,350,000.00 to you]
He blinked hard, thinking he had misread it.
No mistake. Four million three hundred and fifty thousand!
His fingers trembled as he opened the account details and checked the balance repeatedly. He even logged out and back in to make sure it wasn't some fake prank app.
Zhao Jie stared blankly for a full minute before handing the phone back to Chen Lin, disbelief written all over his face.
He opened his mouth, but no words came for a long while. Finally, he squeezed out a few.
"You filthy rich bastard... your luck is unreal!"
"Eight thousand yuan turned into jade worth over four million... come on! Take me to your ancestral graves right now! I've been learning all sorts of feng shui stuff on Douyin lately. I've got to bow down to that blessed spot!"
Chen Lin was utterly exasperated and hurriedly changed the subject. He had made the whole story up; any more questions would expose him.
"I can't work in finance anymore. My reputation's shot. Besides, I haven't really felt at home in Magic City these past two years. Being back here is much more comfortable. So from now on, I'll build something in my hometown!"
Zhao Jie finally recovered from the enormous shock.
He wholeheartedly supported Chen Lin's decision.
His best friend was back. At last, he had someone to drink and shoot the breeze with-and someone to go fishing with and catch absolutely nothing!
"Linzi, have you decided what you're going to do?" Zhao Jie asked seriously. "Yicheng might be a second-tier city, but its economy revolves around tourism. Wages in other industries are pretty mediocre. There's not much room to grow."
Chen Lin nodded. He knew what things were like back home.
Yicheng lay where the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River met. With mountains, rivers, and plains within its borders, it enjoyed an excellent natural environment. It had four 5A-rated tourist attractions alone, and as many as twenty-seven 4A-rated ones.
Over the past few days, he had been considering his next steps.
Now, a clear blueprint had taken shape in his mind.
"I'm planning to open a farm retreat," Chen Lin said confidently. "The kind that combines leisure, fishing, picking produce, and dining."
He ticked off the points on his fingers for Zhao Jie. "Five kilometers east of our Chen Family Village is the Jade Spring Mountain Scenic Area. It's a 4A attraction, with tourists streaming in every year. That's a huge advantage. Look at the so-called farm retreats around here. Aren't they just restaurants hiding behind the label? Nothing distinctive about them, and they charge outrageous prices."
Of course, he left out his greatest trump card.
Spirit spring water.
Whether he raised fish or grew vegetables, with that stuff, the quality and flavor would absolutely crush everything else on the market.
However, he still needed to verify the effects of diluted spirit spring water on plants before proceeding with his next plan. He had too little of it. If it wasn't as effective as he expected, he would be stuck.
Zhao Jie's eyes lit up as he listened.
"That could definitely work! There's real potential! You should lease that big reservoir at the entrance to your village too and turn it into a pay-to-fish pond. Then I'll come clean you out every day!"
Chen Lin looked at him wordlessly.
Did you have some monumental misunderstanding about your own fishing skills?
Just then, Chen Guofu's steady voice came from outside the courtyard gate.
"Lin, are you home?"
Chen Guofu walked in. He had heard from the villagers that Chen Lin had caught a black carp weighing over a hundred jin and had come specifically to see it.
The three went to the fishpond behind the house. The enormous black carp was floating lazily at the surface, enjoying itself. At the sight of their silhouettes, it flicked its tail and sent up a great splash.
Chen Guofu clicked his tongue in amazement. He had only ever seen a fish that big in the reservoir when he was young.
After seeing the fish, Chen Guofu took them both to his house for a meal.
That afternoon, Zhao Jie still had business to handle at his shop, so he left first in his beat-up Liuling.
Chen Lin went home for a nap. By the time he woke, it was almost dark.
He went behind the house and glanced at the fishpond out of habit.
Not far away, the enormous black carp floated lazily beside the aquatic plants.
Chen Lin looked away and turned to head back inside.
But after taking a single step, he froze.
His gaze locked onto the spot beside the water vat.
Yesterday, the rapeseed plant there had been half-dead, its leaves yellowing.
Now, it had shot up taller than a person!
And... it had already grown seed pods!
Even more unbelievably, those seed pods were as thick as a little finger...
Before you continue