TYAM Chapter 65

Due to his substantial savings, Jiang Wang had become a VIP customer at banks in Hongcheng and Yuhan. During holidays, he received a steady stream of gifts and enjoyed personalized VIP services. Wherever he went to handle business, he was escorted straight to the VIP lounge.

In 2007, the macroeconomy hadn’t yet fully taken off, and there weren’t many major entrepreneurs. For the banks in medium and small cities like Hongcheng, Jiang Wang’s personal deposits, as well as the series of businesses under his name—including online shops and companies—were enough to rejuvenate several bank branches.

After buying several houses in Beijing, a majority of Jiang Wang’s deposit was gone. In less than ten minutes, his account manager called him and politely asked if he needed a loan.

Jiang Wang chuckled in amusement. He never thought that he would be this distinguished in someone’s eye one day. He exchanged a few pleasantries and politely declined the offer.

He had bigger plans in mind.

If one day his investments doubled across the board, he could fully entrust Buwang Education to Ji Linqiu and venture into new territories to conquer.

Once someone’s savings surpass seven figures, life begins to feel as unreal as an RPG game.  

It becomes so easy and effortless that all the hardship and bitterness of the past seem like illusions, and now is the moment they awaken from a dream.

Ji Linqiu, who used to overthink everything, had gradually adopted Jiang Wang’s decisive and efficient style after spending time with him. His decision-making speed had noticeably improved.

He purchased a property in Beijing and, after returning to Yuhan, chose another house with a garden on the ground floor in the Bailu district, about a ten-minute walk from his current home. It was a future option to bring his parents over for retirement.

The two originally arrived in the provincial capital on October 14, but they were so busy that they ended up spending the night at a random hotel and only returned home with their luggage on the 16th.

When they opened the door, they saw Peng Xingwang wearing a small apron and mopping the floor, sweating profusely.

Jiang Wang paused for two seconds and said, “I remember hiring a housekeeper, didn’t I?”

The boy looked like he’d been caught red-handed and quickly ducked toward the dining table. “I… my hobby is doing housework!”

Ji Linqiu could sense that Jiang Wang wasn’t too happy about this. He took the oversized mop, which was taller than Peng Xingwang, bent down, and thoroughly cleaned every corner by the refrigerator.

Jiang Wang seemed to realize something and also put down his briefcase to grab a cloth and wipe the table.

Peng Xingwang panicked and exclaimed, “That’s not what I meant—brothers, you should go rest!”

Somehow, this situation spiraled into all three of them cleaning the house together, making the rooms gradually tidy and bright, as if they were welcoming the New Year.

At first, Peng Xingwang felt anxious and guilty, thinking he’d done something wrong. But after following them for ten minutes, he unexpectedly felt a soft and warm sense of family.

The three of them were cleaning their home together.

Having a home felt so good. He loved sweeping the floor with his brothers.

The house was quite large, and there were weeds and moss in the yard that also needed clearing.

While Jiang Wang and Linqiu chatted about company matters, Jiang Wang glanced at Peng Xingwang, who was nearby, seemingly trying to join the conversation.

“How has school been for you these past few days?” he asked.

The boy blinked, then suddenly dropped the cloth and dashed to his room. A moment later, he returned like a little cannonball, holding several shiny chocolate wrappers.

Chocolate candy? 

Jiang Wang didn’t quite understand. “Do you like this brand? I’ll buy you a few boxes later.”

“These are rewards from Teacher Shao, right?” Ji Linqiu recalled. With a smile, he asked, “Did you solve all the Olympiad math problems she gave you?”

Peng Xingwang nodded proudly and carefully placed the wrappers into a notebook, treating them like preserved autumn leaves.

“I love doing Olympiad math problems now!”

Jiang Wang felt a surge of emotion.

‘That’s wonderful. In the future, I won’t be illiterate anymore.’ 

‘If this kid goes to college and even pursues graduate school, I can vicariously experience it too. Fantastic.’

After showing off, Peng Xingwang put his things away and squatted down to pull weeds again.  

After a while, he suddenly said, “My teacher said something strange to me yesterday.”

“Hm?”

The boy tried hard to mimic the tone and stammered, “Qi niao mao?”

“Brother, what does ‘qi niao mao’ mean?”

“It means ‘Have you eaten?’”

“Oh,” Peng Xingwang responded, then remembered another phrase. “My teacher also said I’m ‘ling xing’. What does that mean?”

Ji Linqiu couldn’t help but laugh, holding his forehead.  

“She’s complementing your neatness and good looks.” 

The boy was still confused.

Jiang Wang decided to give an impromptu Yuhan dialect lesson, explaining while he cleaned the windows of the greenhouse.

Having spent many years in the provincial capital, Jiang Wang’s accent was authentic, making his teaching straightforward and easy to follow.

Yuhan, with its long-standing dock culture, had a local accent that carried a somewhat coarse, rugged vibe. At first, it sounded a bit fierce, but after hearing it more, it exuded the hearty feeling of brothers feasting and drinking together. While its tone and pronunciation were entirely different from the soft Wu dialect, it was equally endearing in its way.

Interestingly, while Jiang Wang was teaching, Ji Linqiu would occasionally chime in with additional explanations.  

Although not a native of Yuhan, Ji Linqiu had an excellent knack for languages, quickly picking up local accents wherever he stayed.  

Hearing a cultured person speak in dialect was truly amusing.  

Jiang Wang casually raised an eyebrow and said with a cocky drawl, “What kind of show are you putting on?” His tone was brash and flamboyant.  

But when Ji Linqiu, ever the gentleman, softly asked, “Why didn’t you study well?” there was a contradictory mix of sharpness and warmth that made it feel especially genuine.[mfn]These two exchanges were written in Yuhan dialect. I’m not proficient in any Chinese dialect whatsoever, so I won’t bother to try explaining the details. Sorry about that.[/mfn]  

The three of them spent an entire afternoon doing housework, and the Yuhan dialect lesson continued throughout, leaving the kid with a half-baked understanding of the local lingo.  

While rinsing the mop in the bathroom, Jiang Wang seemed a little worried.  

“Do you think he’ll get isolated at school, only learning half of it?”  

“That’s the point,” Ji Linqiu chuckled. “If you teach him everything, how will his classmates get a chance to teach him?”  

Jiang Wang instantly understood and wholeheartedly agreed.  

Everyone knew Xingxing was a kid from a small town, and they were happy to include him in their group.  

Teaching him just enough but not too much would encourage him to chat more with his peers.  

The doorbell rang a few times—it seemed like a delivery person had arrived.  

Jiang Wang gestured for the kid to go watch TV and rest, while he went to open the door.  

To his surprise, standing at the door was Qiu Mo, the regional manager of Yuhan for Swift Express.  

“Long time no see, Boss Jiang,” she said with a smile, handing over a gift box and bowing slightly. “Do you have time for a chat?”  

Jiang Wang had been out of the courier business for quite some time.  

He had initially made his start with Swift Express[mfn]I just realized I translated “Swift Express” into full English while keeping “Buwang” in romanized pinyin. Sorry about that. If I change the style, Swift Express would be “Sufang Express”, while Buwang would be “Unforgettable/Unforgotten/Don’t Forget” (depending on the context). I didn’t translate Buwang since the beginning because the Wang in Buwang and Jiang Wang are the same. It means “to forget”.[/mfn] and even attended their awards ceremony at headquarters last year. But due to his personal entrepreneurial ventures, he eventually handed over his two courier stations to trusted friends and resigned from his role.  

Still, thanks to several collaborations, Jiang Wang had developed a good rapport with many Swift Express employees across the province and beyond.  

Qiu Mo’s appearance and attire exuded the quintessential professionalism of a career woman. Her steady, confident steps in high heels mirrored her straightforward and resolute conversational style.  

After some polite small talk, they got straight to the point—she was hoping to bring him back on board as an external consultant to help with the company’s expansion planning.  

“The speed at which business volumes are growing… has completely exceeded our expectations.”

“To be honest, we used to worry about not having enough orders, now we’re worried about not being able to handle them all.”  

In recent years, the number of online shops had grown explosively, fueled by competitive pricing.  

At the same time, as major companies launched official websites, online orders skyrocketed, creating an urgent need for reliable logistics companies.  

“These past few months, we’ve been recruiting like crazy. The trainers are so overworked their voices are practically gone,” Qiu Mo said, pressing her temple with one finger and speaking in a low voice. “But I’m more concerned about the efficiency of order fulfillment during Christmas and the Lunar New Year.”  

Shopping activity would spike during Christmas, and the period from New Year’s Day to the end of Spring Festival would bring an extended peak. Yet this was precisely when transportation and logistics were most strained.  

Despite countless meetings, no final plan had been settled yet.  

Eventually, Qiu Mo decided to personally recruit capable allies to help out.  

“We’ll calculate salaries and commissions at 150% of the HR department’s rates. Additionally, it’s a 14-month pay structure per year. Attendance is not mandatory, except for certain meetings. What do you think?”  

She had long heard of Jiang Wang’s reputation and found him to be an excellent fit during previous encounters. Her tone carried the camaraderie of someone recruiting a trusted ally.  

Jiang Wang took the envelope containing the contract, smiling as he said, “I need to think about this and can’t give you an answer right away.”  

“But,” he paused for two seconds, speaking calmly, “sometimes the problem isn’t your plan.”  

“It’s that your system can’t keep up with the business volume.”  

As a friend, even such a simple hint was enough to give her clarity.  

Qiu Mo’s eyes lit up, her fighting spirit reignited.  

“You mean we should prioritize reforming the order entry and dispatch system, right?”  

“That makes sense. There’s also the vehicle scheduling process, the coordination with air freight…” She muttered a few quick notes to herself before standing up and bowing deeply again. “Thank you so much! Please do consider it further.”  

After seeing Qiu Mo off, Jiang Wang closed the door and sat in the living room, peeling an orange while mulling things over.  

Ji Linqiu finished his tasks, walked over, and caught a slice in his mouth. The juicy fragrance filled the air.  

“What do you think?” 

“I think the salary is secondary,” Ji Linqiu said slowly. “You don’t lack wages, but you do lack a share in their company.”  

Jiang Wang nodded with a faint smile.  

It was indeed worth renegotiating.  

The two adults didn’t avoid discussing anything in front of the kid, even when Qiu Mo had been there talking business.  

Jiang Wang glanced over and noticed Peng Xingwang wasn’t watching TV but quietly observing them instead.  

He laughed. “What’s on your mind right now?”  

“I’m thinking…” Peng Xingwang scratched his head. “Are there really so many choices?” 

Both adults looked at him.  

“A long time ago, I thought I would live my whole life in Hongcheng,” the boy said, looking puzzled. “I saw other adults living like they were following a straight, routine-filled path. Everyone must follow the path, straight forward on it.” 

“But Brother Wang, not only do you take a few steps east and then a few steps west,” he continued, sneaking a glance at Ji Linqiu, “you even dragged Teacher Ji off his path to stray with you. And you don’t care what anyone else thinks.”  

Jiang Wang laughed. “So what do you think feels the most comfortable?”  

“I don’t know, maybe the answer is really pro-fou-nd,” the boy said seriously. “But I can see that you both are so full of energy and incredibly happy.”  

‘When I grow up, I definitely want to be an adult like you two.’

T/L: Also! Peng Xingwang talks like a kid, so if you found his speech awkward, it’s by design. He doesn’t know that many complicated vocab yet.