The old lady went out, and she was annoying to look at, and even more annoying to listen to. Maybe she should just plant a couple of rows of spinach and scallions outside instead.

She still needed to ask Yongzi and Lanzi if buying a car was okay for them. Don't let society change again; being denounced would be terrible.

Sun Pangzi sighed with deep emotion, "With an elder like this reminding me, it's hard for me to take a single wrong step. I haven't done much, and she's already warned me against being locked in a cow shed."

Cheng Ying replied, "If you put it that way, those who walked the wrong path were short one mother figure looking out for them."

Sun Pangzi chuckled, "I knew it. If I had a mom like that around, I wouldn't have to work for you now, Uncle. I’d be doing much better than you."

Well, she supposed that comment was meant as praise for his own grandmother.

Cheng Ying said, "Uncle, the peach blossoms in the nursery behind us have bloomed. When will you take Auntie over to spend a day? You can't just focus on making money and forget about Auntie."

Sun Pangzi responded, "Speaking of which, Yingzi, I'll bring a few people over to visit later. Many people have their eyes on your nursery, but they don't have the connections to bother you. These are all my childhood friends; just give me some face."

Cheng Ying beamed, "If it were anyone else, maybe not, Uncle, but you? This is practically our own nursery. If you want to bring people, just come. Besides, I planted my nursery in such a conspicuous place partly to attract attention, to serve as an advertisement. I don't have your connections; the nursery sales for the first couple of years relied entirely on them."

Sun Pangzi praised, "My great niece is sharp!"

Cheng Ying waved it off, "You don't need to flatter me, Uncle. I know exactly what my capabilities are. I'm heading off to school now; you just wait for the car."

After hearing Cheng Ying, Sun Pangzi immediately expanded his list from childhood friends to general friends.

Advertising? Was there anything better than this?

Three months later, the old lady saw Sun Pangzi bringing groups of people over every day. Watching them eat and drink pained her heart so much that she just hoped these gaudy flowers would wither quickly so this agonizing spectacle would end.

Cheng Ying and the others noticed the old lady constantly frowning while staring at the backyard. As the peach blossoms slowly faded, the lines on the old lady’s brow eased little by little. Cheng Ying thought, it’s not that she dislikes the flowers, is it?

When Sun Pangzi’s new car finally arrived, he spent every day taking his wife out for a spin.

How steady his reliable 'dry aunt' could tolerate that!

Of course, Sun Pangzi’s advertising campaign had mostly run its course. Seeing her home finally quiet down, the old lady felt like setting off firecrackers to celebrate. Every day she urged Cheng Ying, "Hurry up and sell those saplings in the backyard!"

Cheng Ying teased, "You don't care for peach trees then, Grandma? Don't worry, they don't bear fruit, they just bloom."

The old lady insisted, "Sell them for me quickly, even if it's cheap. Looking at them upsets me."

Cheng Ying asked, "What's wrong with you, Grandma? Did you suddenly fall in love with last year's crabapple blossoms? Or maybe later..."

The old lady cut her off sharply, "Stop right there. I don't want any more blooming things."

Cheng Ying looked troubled. "You have to tell me the reason, Grandma." She had never heard that the old lady suffered from pollen allergies.

The old lady glanced outside to ensure only the three of them—herself, Cheng Ying, and Chi Wu—were present, then confided in her granddaughter, "It's not the flowers that upset me, but ever since they bloomed, your Uncle has been causing such a ruckus. Can any great fortune withstand this kind of turmoil? Oh, my heart aches! If he were my own son, I’d smack him! And your Auntie doesn't say a word either, so I can't say anything."

Cheng Ying soothed, "Grandma, Uncle Gan is building connections; money can't buy that."

The old lady declared, "I don't care. Just make sure nothing blooms in the back next year. I’m truly scared; seeing it makes me worry about the money. Earning money isn't easy, you know."

Cheng Ying thought to herself, I’m not the Goddess of Flowers. Even if I can’t control how fast they bloom, she can order me around. I truly might not be able to handle this.

She then pulled out the ledger. "Look at this, Grandma. You only see the money going out. But look at all these saplings ordered this month—how much is that? Can you compare the two? The trees planted on our old mountain property the last two years—Uncle has managed to sell off nearly half of them recently thanks to all this. Don't worry, Grandma. Uncle Gan is capable."

The old lady waved her hand dismissively. "I don't understand it, and I don't want to. I just get upset seeing the spending. As long as we aren't squandering it, fine. Do whatever you want. Oh, can that scene of profligacy stay far away from me from now on? It gives me the jitters; my blood pressure is high."

Chi Wu covered his mouth, whispering, "Grandma, you said they're earning more money, but why do they have to spend it all on eating and drinking? I think they are just showing off."

The old lady praised, "Our Wu Zi is sensible."

Then, following Chi Wu’s lead, she instructed, "Don't learn from them. None of them live a peaceful life. I finally understand now. It's a good thing I still have you here with Yingzi."

Cheng Ying had no idea what she had done to displease the old lady so much, becoming like an unloved child for no apparent reason.

After Cheng Ying’s solid wood furniture company was established, Cheng Ying truly became the big boss.

However, the person registered was not Cheng Ying, as she was under the legal age.

When Chi Wu relocated his household registration back then, his age had been conveniently raised by two years.

So, Cheng Ying's status as 'boss' was strictly behind the scenes; Chi Wu was the officially registered owner on the license. Cheng Ying had no choice but to accept it, as she lacked such a convenient loophole.

The old lady had said that once Cheng Ying reached the legal age—though Cheng Ying interpreted this as when Yingzi grew up—the house name should be transferred back to her, to avoid trouble after she was gone.

Cheng Ying disliked hearing this. Her grandmother was perfectly healthy; why mention such things? Cheng Ying suspected that Sun Pangzi had been taking the old lady to see too many plays lately, making her overly sentimental.

But with Sun Pangzi around, Cheng Ying could genuinely afford to be a hands-off manager. Even Chi Wu’s medicinal herb business for the summer break was spearheaded by Sun Pangzi, since the college entrance exams were next year, and Cheng Ying and the others didn't get a summer break at all. Chi Wu was stretched too thin.

In July, Cheng Ying took leave from her teachers. Aside from returning home for the Qingming Festival, Cheng Ying basically waited for the New Year. She couldn't help it; the school clamped down hard on the final year high school students.

Still, students were given a day off for New Year's Day. On that day, Cheng Ying watched the students having a blast, but she couldn't bring herself to join in. It felt like watching someone else's world—a completely different state of mind. Cheng Ying figured it was a lingering effect of her rebirth, perhaps not fully integrated yet.

However, it didn't stop her from watching Chi Wu get confessed to by crowds of girls. Perhaps influenced by the Hong Kong and Taiwan pop songs and TV dramas, these kids had become much bolder in just half a year. Fewer students asked Chi Wu to "progress together"; instead, they were indirectly asking where he planned to go to university. More girls were inviting him to the small woods outside.

Cheng Ying thought this was genuine progress.

Chi Wu remained impassive, aloof, and cool. The only benefit was that the student Qingfang had already gone to university, so she had fewer chances to show off Chi Wu on campus as hers. But at home, he remained possessive as ever.

Cheng Ying felt that a child she raised herself shouldn't be interested in girls like that. She decided not to argue with him; kids could chase after whomever they liked, as long as her own child wasn't losing anything. Cheng Ying’s thinking here was quite unfair.

Some girls did try to approach Cheng Ying as well, but they needed genuine courage. Anyone seeing their quiet, country-bumpkin classmate of nearly three years suddenly transform into a fierce bandit would need time to adjust mentally. Remember, when they first saw Shadow driving coolly, five out of six boys were interested and immediately wanted to pursue her. They asked around Chi Wu, trying to get information, but before they could find anything out, they discovered this woman wasn't just cool; she was violent too. A woman carrying a bag full of cash, openly confronting thugs—most boys would hesitate before approaching. Not everyone could handle that kind of pressure. So, Chi Wu didn't find his romantic rivals multiplying; everyone was weighing their chances, everyone was in an observation period.

Cheng Ying spent a rather detached New Year's Day with Chi Wu. When they returned home, good news followed good news. Just as Sun Pangzi was about to fully dedicate himself to Cheng Ying’s business, feeling only mild excitement even at the thought of a raise, news suddenly arrived that his wife was pregnant.

Sun Pangzi’s reaction was to bring his wife to Old Mrs. Cheng, then embrace the returning Chi Wu and Cheng Ying with such excitement and emotion that Chi Wu thought he was the one who was pregnant. Why the hugging? It’s just a baby. No need to brag, if he and Cheng Ying got married, getting pregnant would happen in minutes.

Chi Wu glanced at Cheng Ying, then blushed, having strayed into some faraway thoughts. He pushed Sun Pangzi away, his expression wooden and hilarious. "I’m not capable of carrying your child, Uncle. You’ve grabbed the wrong person."

Cheng Ying was stunned, mouth agape for a long time, unable to speak. Did he misstep into the base?

Sun Pangzi gushed, "Niece, you don't know how grateful I am to you! Meeting you was fate. From the day I met you, my life changed. You know, before, even though I had buddies, whenever they saw me, they’d say, 'Brother Sun, got anything good? Show us something new.' Now? Now, when my friends see me, they say, 'Brother Sun, my buddy has something fun, save some face for me sometime.' Look at this! What an achievement! Oh, my heart... I never thought I’d have hope in this life. I almost stopped wanting payment for working for you; from now on, Auntie and I will rely on you for retirement. How much money are you giving me? Even after Auntie and I are gone, it all goes to you anyway."

Cheng Ying felt even more exhausted. So, Sun Pangzi had actually considered not taking a salary? Did she need to thank him for thinking she was worth settling for?

Without waiting for a reply, Sun Pangzi continued excitedly, "But heaven just dropped a golden nugget on me! My head is spinning. I just thought that I’d never regret climbing over your family’s wall in my whole life. That was my turning point!"

Chi Wu's face turned completely dark. Luckily, there was the latter half of the speech; if he had only heard the first part, it sounded like a love confession. This is utterly infuriating.

Cheng Ying thought, Sun Pangzi is completely flustered, so overjoyed he's revealing his embarrassing history.

Chi Wu said stiffly, "Are you in the wrong place? Shouldn't you be saying these things to the pregnant Auntie?"

Sun Pangzi replied, "Your Auntie is only two months along; I can't disturb her. Don't cause trouble."

Cheng Ying realized they were treating them as emotional dumpsters.

Chi Wu was furious. Is there anyone who messes with people like this?

Cheng Ying said, "Uncle, thank you for thinking so highly of me. You really considered not taking a salary?"

Sun Pangzi quickly recovered, "Luckily, I only considered it! Niece, I’ll work even harder from now on! Remember to give me a raise, Niece! I have a child to support!"

Cheng Ying thought, Just keep going. The child isn't even born yet, and the father is already going crazy. How brutal.

Sun Pangzi was a man of action. Three days after learning his wife was pregnant, he drove to Cheng Ying's old county town—what a distance!—just to give the old doctor a silk banner. Sun Pangzi insisted this man was like an immortal; he could only offer respect, not vulgar gifts.

Heaven knows how the old doctor felt about receiving the banner. Saying he was like an immortal could easily lead to being labeled as superstitious down the road. The other side said he was a master of gynecology, when in fact, he didn't specialize in that area at all; he had only successfully treated two cases himself. The old doctor holding the two banners could only say it was destiny; it was destiny that they could have a child. RP.