Chapter Nineteen: The Plan Begins

Page 1/3

Nan Li’s words left Zhou Chen utterly astonished. She had never been one to care much about money, yet now she spoke like this?

“Li Li, how did you suddenly come up with such an idea?”

Nan Li replied, “Today, Tian Yulan’s provocation really upset me. But after thinking it over, I realized that if Huanhuan’s studies continue like this, she certainly won’t get into a good university in the future. If we want to help her, we either have to push her harder to study or create better family conditions for her.”

“If our conditions are good enough, we won’t have to pressure Huanhuan too much. Even if she doesn’t excel academically, at least she won’t be living worse than others.”

Zhou Chen was genuinely surprised. Nan Li had always taken a laid-back approach to their child’s education, but now she was beginning to realize the problem. Yet, instead of urging Huanhuan to work harder, she looked inward, thinking of improving their own circumstances.

Her indulgence toward their child was just as strong as his own had ever been.

There was one thing he fully agreed with—improving their family’s situation and earning more money.

“So, what exactly do you mean?”

Nan Li asked, “I want to know, this Bitcoin you mentioned, is it really a guaranteed profit, no loss?”

Zhou Chen answered, “I can’t guarantee completely, but within a few months, there should be some profit. By my estimation, it could even double.”

“Are you confident?”

“More than ninety percent.”

Nan Li was decisive. “Then let’s do as you say. With this month’s salary, we have over five hundred thousand saved. We’ll keep a few tens of thousands for daily expenses and give you the remaining five hundred thousand to invest.”

“Whoa!”

Zhou Chen took a deep breath. Nan Li’s turnaround was shocking. He had begged before with no success, and now, before he had even said a word, she was ready to put their savings on the line.

“Li Li, are you sure?”

“Absolutely sure. Whether our family prospers from now on depends on you.”

According to Zhou Chen’s calculations, investing all the money could bring back at least two to three million, which equated to three or four years of their salaries—even if they lived frugally.

Moved by Nan Li’s trust, Zhou Chen pulled her into a warm embrace.

“Wife, don’t worry. In no more than three months, I promise to give you a tremendous surprise.”

Not only the Bitcoin, but his novel was about to launch soon. The data looked promising, and if he updated consistently over the next two or three months, earning tens or hundreds of thousands should be achievable.

“You’re all sweaty.”

Nan Li struggled to push him away, but Zhou Chen held her tighter.

“I don’t mind. Come on, let’s take a couple’s bath together.”

“Ew, who wants to take a couple’s bath with you?”

“You don’t get a choice.”

Amid Nan Li’s protests, Zhou Chen scooped her up in his arms and headed to the bathroom. Soon, the bathroom was filled with warmth and affection.

Page 2/3

In the blink of an eye, more than ten days passed.

During this time, Zhou Chen’s novel finally launched. After he released a whopping thirty thousand words on the first day, the initial subscriptions soared to twelve thousand. With a daily update of twenty thousand words afterward, by the end of just over ten days, the average subscriptions surpassed twenty thousand, and the growth continued steadily along with numerous recommendations.

Thanks to his prolific updates, within just over ten days, he had cracked the top twenty sales on the QiYue Novel Network. It was safe to say the novel was starting to become a sensation.

Originally, Zhou Chen conservatively estimated he could earn about a hundred thousand in the first month, but at this pace, even before a full month passed, sales would be impressive.

Based on the plot he knew, writing over three million words would not be a problem. Moving forward, he could either continue the storyline himself or abandon it. He was still contemplating which path to take.

Apart from writing, Zhou Chen was also busy with his job. Recently, he met an important figure from the story — a remarkable person indeed.

Fang Yuanyang, the CEO of Saima Group.

Just like in the TV series, Fang Yuanyang came to their design institute and specifically requested Zhou Chen to design a landmark corporate headquarters for Saima Group.

Saima Group was a renowned corporation in Jiangzhou City, with assets reaching over tens of billions.

Zhou Chen found it strange. Such a large company’s CEO could hire any top designer but chose him, even though his institute was far from the best in Jiangzhou.

However, after hearing Fang Yuanyang’s unusual demands, he understood why.

Having inherited Xia Junshan’s memories, after more than a month of study, Zhou Chen had a solid grasp of architectural design. He immediately realized how bizarre Fang Yuanyang’s requests were and understood why Xia Junshan never wanted to design a corporate headquarters for him in the story.

To keep such a big client, the institute director constantly begged Zhou Chen to design according to Fang Yuanyang’s ideas.

Zhou Chen did not want to offend such a powerful business tycoon, but Fang Yuanyang arrived with an arrogant attitude and was quite rude in his demands. This left Zhou Chen somewhat displeased. So, he neither agreed nor flatly refused but decided to stall.

Whether this project would fall through or not didn’t bother Zhou Chen. If it succeeded, great; if not, no big loss. After all, Fang Yuanyang was a seasoned businessman unlikely to hold a grudge over something small.

Besides making money, Zhou Chen’s greatest concern was Xia Huanhuan’s academic performance. The midterm exams had just ended a few days ago.

He clearly sensed that after the exams, Huanhuan’s mood was low. She must have realized her results were disappointing.

This made Zhou Chen realize it was time to urge Huanhuan to study harder. But before that, not only did Huanhuan need to recognize the issue herself, Nan Li also had to grasp the seriousness of the problem. Only then could his plan proceed smoothly.

On Wednesday, a message was sent in Huanhuan’s class group announcing a parent-teacher meeting on Friday afternoon, urging all parents to attend.

Knowing her exam results might not be good, Huanhuan begged Zhou Chen to attend in her place. Then on Thursday, Nan Li said she was free Friday afternoon and could go to the meeting.

This suited Zhou Chen perfectly. Having Nan Li attend would help her understand just how far behind Huanhuan was compared to other students.

On Friday, Nan Li returned home in a bad mood. After Huanhuan and Chaochao had fallen asleep, she pulled Zhou Chen into the living room and started grilling meat.

“Honey, do you think maybe we’ve been too irresponsible with our child? You didn’t see it today—Huanhuan only scored a little over forty in math. Her Chinese and English are just average. Overall, she’s near the bottom of the class. Luckily, the class doesn’t publicly share scores and rankings, or else…”

This wasn’t Nan Li’s first parent meeting for Huanhuan but the first time she felt embarrassed because of such a drastic decline.

“In the past, even if we didn’t care much about grades, Huanhuan was at least in the middle of the class. Now she’s almost at the bottom. It really hurts my heart.”

Zhou Chen served some grilled meat onto Nan Li’s plate and said, “You might not have noticed, but I realized some time ago that Huanhuan wasn’t focused on her studies. She often reads comics while doing homework and barely studies during weekends. It’s no wonder her grades are slipping.”

Nan Li immediately said, “If you noticed, why didn’t you say anything? If you had told her, she wouldn’t have done so badly this time.”

Page 3/3

Zhou Chen replied, “It’s not that I didn’t say anything, I was waiting—for the exam results. Before the results came out, do you think Huanhuan’s personality would let her listen? She has to realize the problem herself before she can accept what we say.”

Nan Li looked at Zhou Chen in astonishment. “I didn’t expect you to strategize about our daughter.”

“What do you mean by strategize? I call it targeted treatment.”

“So, what do you think we should do next? Even if my expectations aren’t high, she can’t be at the bottom of the class.”

Zhou Chen’s heart leapt. The moment had come; after waiting so long, it was finally time to get to the point.

“I’ve thought about it seriously. To improve her grades, the school lessons alone won’t be enough. You know, in Huanhuan’s class, over half the students attend extra tutoring. So, I think we should either enroll her in a tutoring class or hire a private tutor.”

Nan Li frowned.

“Honey, we promised to let the child enjoy a happy childhood. If she goes to tutoring classes, not only will her time be taken up, but both of us will have to accompany her. I’m busy lately, and you have to write your novel and take care of Chaochao. We really don’t have the extra energy to take her to tutoring.”

Although Huanhuan had never attended tutoring, Nan Li knew how it worked. Someone had to pick her up and bring her home.

Since Nan Li had recently become acting director, her time was unpredictable and often hectic. Zhou Chen was busy writing and managing Chaochao. Neither could realistically take her every day.

Zhou Chen said, “You’re right. Tutoring classes would exhaust both the child and us. We can’t keep relying on Mom to help. So, I think one-on-one private tutoring at home is the best solution.”

“One-on-one tutoring at home sounds good, but isn’t it expensive?”

“Of course it’s not cheap. They charge by the hour—some a few hundred, others thousands. I’ve researched a lot and looked at many teachers. Such private tutors are rare. Most are college students. The well-known teachers either run their own tutoring centers or work at educational institutions. So, money isn’t the biggest problem; finding a qualified teacher is the real challenge.”

Nan Li admired Zhou Chen’s thoroughness and felt a pang of guilt.

“Honey, suddenly I feel like I’m the irresponsible parent compared to you.”

Zhou Chen pulled Nan Li close. “What are you saying? We’re a team. If I’m responsible, that means you are too.”

“Honey, have you thought of a plan yet?”

“Not found the right tutor yet, but I have a direction. You know Huanhuan’s math teacher, Zhong Yi? He’s from my hometown and went to the same school as me. He works in education. Tomorrow’s the weekend; I plan to invite him and Teacher Zhang for dinner and ask if they can recommend a good tutor.”

Nan Li’s eyes lit up. “Exactly! They’re definitely more professional than us. Honey, you’re so smart—I admire you so much.”

“Any rewards for me tonight?”

“What kind of reward?”

“I want something more exciting.”

“Ew, what are you always thinking about?”

“Of course, you…”