Reaching the age of thirty, my income randomly doubled

The last few days of June.

The urban village was no longer as bustling as it had been in the middle of the month, mainly because many people got paid on the 15th.

By the end of the month, the little monthly salary in their pockets was mostly spent.

The remaining days without money could only be quiet, honestly working in the factory, screwing bolts.

The Carefree Restaurant had, in the blink of an eye, been open for over ten days there.

Chen Pingsheng still acted like a carefree old chef, his daily work consisted of taking his daughter to work and then leaving after work.

He would also stroll around nearby in between.

After getting to know the local stall owners, even Chen An'an became quite fond of this lifestyle.

She no longer resisted, spending her days wandering around with her hands on her back.

At the end of June, the scorching sun blazed, and many shops would turn off their air conditioning in the afternoons when not many people were around.

He didn't, as there was no need to save money.

So quite a few people liked to come to his place to cool off.

This included Qiang, who didn't set up his stall until 3 p.m. and stayed till two or three in the morning.

Qiang clutched a newly bought iPhone X, a special edition launched by Apple to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the iPhone.

He was reluctant to buy one himself, but at his girlfriend's simple request, he hurried to purchase it.

"Master Chen, do you think she will be really happy if I give her this phone later?"

"Definitely not really happy."

Chen Pingsheng wore a chef's uniform, and people around here liked to call him Master Chen.

"You've spoiled her taste over these years. Isn't she a college graduate now? Didn't you tell her to live with you?"

"I told her, she wants to find a job in the city, so she's thinking about renting a place downtown."

Well, that excuse is invincible, and there are still people who believe it.

A rural girl who came to the city for college, still hasn't secured a job post-graduation, and rents a place in the center of Magic City.

Even the smallest studio starts at a couple of thousand.

Chen Pingsheng had advised Qiang, but Qiang didn't listen. Chen would not say more after that.

Chen An'an, however, held no such reserve and hopped up to scold, "Qiang, she's just an ordinary college graduate; you've supported her for so many years, she should definitely come and live with you after graduation!"

The world didn't understand him.

Qiang just smiled and didn't speak.

When he left, Chen An'an still wanted to chase after him to persuade him.

Chen Pingsheng's look stopped her in her tracks. No matter how outrageous, if they were willing, there was no reason to say too much.

After all, the stall owners here had been scolding him for two years, and he hadn't changed.

There was nothing more to say.

Soon, a customer came in.

It was that migrant worker's college student son, wearing thick glasses, his eyes lifeless.
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He was also holding a textbook on computer science.

His professional ability was actually quite good, but he was too reticent and always avoided eye contact when looking at people.

This gave off a feeling of extreme insecurity and lack of confidence.

What large corporation would want such a person? Let alone large corporations, even HR in ordinary small businesses would shake their heads at him.

Struggling to find a job, he hadn't even eaten breakfast or lunch.

He was just here to casually get a twelve-yuan egg fried rice.

Guo Shuai could only interact with a few familiar people nearby. Now, even his father's excitement had diminished.

If he couldn't find a job soon, his migrant worker father would probably be very bewildered.

Painstakingly raising a college graduate over dozens of years, how could it be so hard to find a decent job?

When he finished eating and left, Chen An'an came over to ask him, "Dad, is it very hard to find a job?"

"In school, it's about grades; out of school, it's about parents. Ordinary jobs are of course easy to find, like working in a factory screwing bolts. But to find a job that matches one's major and is also respectable, that's difficult."

Chen Pingsheng didn't bother, as there were too many such cases.

A monthly salary of three thousand definitely wouldn't attract migrant workers, but it could attract a whole bunch of college graduates.

Guo Shuai was already considering working in a factory.

Of course, he definitely wouldn't work in a nearby factory, fearing that his father would be disappointed if he saw.

The troubles of ordinary people are mostly about money.

It was only after Chen An'an came here that she realized just how extravagant her monthly allowance of several hundred thousand was.

The digital watch carelessly worn on her hand represented a lifetime of savings these people could never achieve.

Dad said he had a dream of a carefree life, but the truth was he never easily spent money.

It had been almost half a month now, and he had not spent a penny.

Anyone who could make him spend could easily jump social classes.

Having the ability but not misusing it, is also a way of sticking to one's principles, in a sense.

Chen An'an kept daydreaming incessantly.

By five in the afternoon, Dad started cooking again.

The folks in the urban village had yet to realize that the legendary big boss of Tengying Group was quietly making a living as a fry cook here.

And yes, they did have their troubles here.

That was the assistant manager, Jiang Peiyao, whose beauty was so overwhelming that people came in droves to woo her.

One wore a Rolex from Guangdong's West Station and slicked his hair back to show off his unique swagger.

Others tried to be funny, and some showed off their charm in front of her.

The most amusing was the Ghost Rider kid who, upon mounting his motorcycle, became the coolest guy on this street.

Chen An'an laughed heartily, feeling like all these people were clowning around; Peiyao was out of their league.

Jiang Peiyao felt awkward; she attracted admirers wherever she went, and there was nothing she could do about it.

"An'an, stop laughing, you're making me feel embarrassed,"

"I won't laugh, I won't," said Chen An'an, unable to hold back her snickers. The little fart kid beside her imitated her by putting hands on hips and giggling as well.

Jiang Peiyao ignored her and continued welcoming guests, and also cleaned up the table that had just been vacated.

Soon, Li Qian arrived.

She was still well-dressed; it seems she even had a day off today, bringing two friends here to dine.

One of them looked disgusted, clearly unimpressed with the environment of the urban village.

Chen An'an had a good impression of her and briskly greeted, "Qian, what would you all like to eat today?"

"An'an, just make two of your dad's best Hunan dishes,"

"Okay, do you want any alcohol today?"

"No booze today, I still haven't finished the bottle you gave me last time,"

"Gotcha, then it's braised carp and stir-fried pork with chili peppers,"

Zhang Qian was quite simple; she wasn't too picky about food.

It was only because of her colleagues at work that she paid more attention to how she dressed.

"Tengying Group has just bought over a thousand acres of commercial-residential land here at Golden Mountain, planning to invest more than twenty billion in building a high-end ecological community for employees. Our leaders have had meetings for three days because they all want to snatch a part of that design contract; he's really dreaming big this time,"

"Who in the circle doesn't know that Zhang Sitong, the proposer of Tengying's Future Forest City project, is closely connected to Tengying Group? Competing with her is like dreaming during the day,"

Recently, Zhang Sitong has been very popular in Magic City's design circles; she used to be just like Zhang Qian.

God knows how she got connected with Tengying; she rose spectacularly and now her peers can hardly see her shadow.

Zhang Qian would be lying if she said she wasn't envious, but everyone has their own opportunities in life.

Who can really tell?

"I've secretly learned that the wife of Tengying Group's boss is nine months pregnant and is expected to deliver in August. When she gives birth, we might as well go and scrub floors and do laundry for her,"

"You wish! With her status, even if you wanted to serve her, you'd have to wait ten years,"

Everyone reluctantly complained on the surface about Zhang Sitong always scheming, a real villain.

Yet secretly, everyone wanted to be her.

Unfortunately, there was no way for them.

Over the years, Tengying has been growing bigger and bigger in Magic City, definitely among the top private enterprises in investment.

Outsiders might not know, but how could those of us working in the CBD office centers be unaware?

If one could get on board with Tengying, not to mention soaring straight to the skies, it would definitely be taking flight.

"Here comes the fish."

Chen An'an served up a plate of fish and placed it on their table.

The presentation was okay, and it tasted quite good overall.

It couldn't compare to the top chefs at home, but in the amateur league, her dad's cooking skills were still pretty solid.