While Others Were Falling in Love, She Was Busy Making Money

Hearing Su Chengyu's groan of pain, his mother, Shen Ying, hastily pushed open his bedroom door. "Chengyu, what's wrong?"

"Mom, I'm fine. I just bumped my wound a moment ago."

Though he claimed to be fine, the sweat on his forehead gave him away.

"It surely can't be as simple as just bumping the wound, right?" Shen Ying walked over to his side.

"Mom, I really am fine. Just let me rest for a moment." Su Chengyu refused to let his mother check his injury.

Seeing her son's persistence, Shen Ying said, "Very well, I'm off to work then. If anything happens, you must go to the hospital immediately."

"I know." Su Chengyu nodded hurriedly.

"Oh, right..."

Just as she reached the door, Shen Ying turned back to instruct him, "You might be the only one at home these next few days. Take good care of your great-grandfather."

"Definitely." Su Chengyu nodded.

Once his mother closed the bedroom door, Su Chengyu's expression turned a mixture of pain and inner conflict.

The pain was from his actual injury.

The conflict stemmed from the fact that his grandmother was clearly taking advantage of the youngest uncle's absence to conspire with family members in an attempt to undermine and marginalize him.

The reason his mother hadn't told him must be out of fear that he would leak the secret to his youngest uncle.

They were afraid the youngest uncle would return early and ruin their plans.

However...

Holding his abdomen, Su Chengyu walked out of the bedroom and made his way downstairs to the living room.

There he saw his great-grandfather, who had just finished breakfast, watching a live stream with great relish.

Although his great-grandfather was advanced in years and physically frail, his mind remained sharp.

If he, a member of the younger generation, could figure this out, how could his great-grandfather fail to see through it?

The only reason his great-grandfather was allowing his grandmother and mother to act so recklessly was because of his absolute trust in the youngest uncle, wasn't it?

Even he, Su Chengyu, refused to believe that the supreme ruler of Extraordinary Construction could be sidelined by others in just ten days of absence.

If his youngest uncle were truly of that caliber, how could his great-grandfather have ever felt at ease handing the Shen family over to him in the first place?

***

While listening to an old man introduce the ancient spring, Xu Zhaozhao stood in line behind the people fetching water.

By the time it was finally their turn, everyone else had already left.

It was the busy farming season, and people had plenty of agricultural work to attend to in their fields.

Those who came to the ancient spring for water in the early morning either went straight home if they weren't farming, or brought the water directly to the fields if they were, so they could take a refreshing sip of sweet spring water whenever they got tired.

Any water left over after the farm work was done would be brought back home.

Xu Zhaozhao first washed all four drinking water buckets thoroughly, then placed them beneath the spring spout to collect water.

As soon as the first two buckets were filled, she naturally handed them over to Shen Mu, asking him to carry the water back to the car.

Seeing Shen Mu effortlessly carrying two buckets of water back to the vehicle, the live stream chat burst into a flurry of activity.

[That bucket holds 18 liters, which is about 36 catties, and Shen Mu is carrying one in each hand without any effort at all!]

[Is this what they call "boyfriend energy"?]

[Speaking of which, it reminds me of that day at Aunt Fu's house when the camera panned away during his bath. The production team really doesn't know how to treat us!]

Just as the chat was focusing on Shen Mu's physique and strength, Xu Zhaozhao was seen emerging from the cave entrance, likewise carrying a bucket of water in each hand.

[Whoa! Did I praise Shen Mu a little too early just now?]

[Whether you were early or not, I definitely was.]

[My jaw is on the floor.]

[By the way, on the day the show started, did anyone notice the smooth muscle definition on her arms beneath that red spaghetti-strap dress?]

[I noticed a little bit, but I quickly looked at Shen Mu instead. Now I'm kind of regretting it... Xu Zhaozhao is totally slaying me!]

Compared to Shen Mu's ease in carrying two buckets, the viewers were even more astonished by Xu Zhaozhao's effortless display.

After all, she was a woman.

Due to physiological differences, women are naturally not as physically strong as men.

Especially female celebrities, who go out of their way to be as thin as possible just to look good on camera.

Although Xu Zhaozhao was merely a D-list celebrity, she was an actress nonetheless.

And no actress had zero demands regarding her own figure.

Yet Xu Zhaozhao managed to be both slender and strong, which indicated that she didn't achieve her thinness through starvation, but rather through strength training.

[Ahhh, Sun Yu's fitness routine suddenly loses its appeal. I want to see Xu Zhaozhao release a fitness tutorial!]

[What kind of all-around monster is Xu Zhaozhao anyway? Oh no, where is that dazzling white light coming from?]

After placing the mountain spring water into the car, Shen Mu returned to take the buckets from Xu Zhaozhao's hands.

Once everything was packed up, Xu Zhaozhao started the car and drove straight toward the market.

Upon reaching the market, Xu Zhaozhao parked the vehicle in a relatively crowded area and opened the trunk.

She instructed Shen Mu, "Watch the car here, I'll be right back..."

Shen Mu opened his mouth as if to say something, but Xu Zhaozhao had already walked away without looking back.

The sole cameraman hesitated for a brief second before immediately following behind her.

Xu Zhaozhao walked straight to a wholesale supermarket.

With her remaining thirty-something yuan, she bought a bottle of honey, a small rolling pin, and some disposable transparent milk tea cups.

Returning to the car with these items, she set them down and borrowed an unused table from a neighboring stall.

After unfolding the table, she tossed two vibrant green lemons into a disposable cup and began making simple hand-muddled lemon tea.

By now, the sun was high in the sky. The moment her lemon tea was displayed, a crowd of people quickly gathered around.

"Fresh lemon tea brewed with pristine water from the ancient spring! Three yuan a cup, five yuan for two! Try before you buy, if it doesn't taste good, it's free!"

With the sun beating down mercilessly, people at the market inevitably felt thirsty.

Hearing Xu Zhaozhao's calls, people immediately swarmed around her.

After taking a sip of the sweet and sour lemon tea, everyone's expressions instantly brightened.

"Not bad, not bad at all." The first person to finish drinking immediately pulled out a five-yuan bill and claimed a second cup.

Then came the second person, and the third.

No one bought just a single cup; everyone bought two.

After all, it was five yuan for two cups!

Besides, the water quality of the ancient spring was naturally crisp and sweet, and paired with lemon, it was truly thirst-quenching.

[This lemon tea actually looks really refreshing.]

[Sigh, I just went and ordered myself a cup of Mixue lemon tea.]

[Selling it like this, Xu Zhaozhao's thirty yuan will at least double. If she sells for another two days, she'll definitely have more money than what the production team provided!]

[Other people on a dating show are busy dating; Xu Zhaozhao is busy making a fortune.]

[I'm crying. If someone like me, who can't even tell the five grains apart and refuses to lift a finger, went on a dating show, wouldn't I just starve to death?]

[By the way, Xu Zhaozhao's technique for hand-muddling the lemons is so professional. Could it be she once played a role as a lemon tea vendor?]

[Definitely not.]

By the time the market cleared out, Xu Zhaozhao had completely used up her entire basket of lemons, leaving not a single one behind.

She sat casually in the trunk of the car, slowly counting the money in her hand.

Eighty-five yuan in total.

Subtracting the thirty-five yuan she had spent earlier, her net profit was fifty yuan.

As soon as she got the money, Xu Zhaozhao went straight to buy more food.

Even though she hadn't paid Shen Mu any labor wages, she still treated him to a hearty old duck soup.