Chapter 23: Flourishing and Thriving

South Li eagerly awaited the twelfth day. As soon as she arrived at class, she immediately called Zhou Chen to ask if the payment for her manuscript had been credited.

Indeed, QiYue, being a major website, sent out the payment early in the morning.

When Zhou Chen sent South Li the notification of the received payment, she immediately started a video call, excitedly sharing her joy with him as if she had earned the money herself.

Because the manuscript payment had come through, the whole family went out for a lavish dinner that evening, even canceling Huanhuan’s tutoring session.

That night, Zhou Chen and South Li lay together in bed, embracing.

“Honey, maybe we should forget about buying the bag and invest the money in Bitcoin instead. Didn’t you say it could still make us some money for a while?”

Upon learning that Zhou Chen’s manuscript fee was over 400,000 yuan, South Li voiced her desire. She had her eye on a Fendi handbag, but its price was steep, so she had never dared to buy it.

After the salary was credited, Zhou Chen transferred over a hundred thousand yuan to South Li without hesitation. Previously, spending that much on a bag was unthinkable for him.

But things were different now. Although the amount was still considerable, he had found a way to make money and possessed the ability to grow his wealth, so he no longer begrudged spending that sum.

Fulfilling his wife’s wishes was also a way to demonstrate his capability as her husband.

However, looking at the credited amount, South Li suddenly felt reluctant to spend it all. It wasn’t that she didn’t want the bag; rather, she wanted to use the money to make even more.

Hearing this, Zhou Chen’s expression grew serious.

“Lili, money is never-ending. When it’s time to spend, we should spend. But you’re becoming a bit greedy. You have to understand that investments don’t guarantee profits. I’m confident about Bitcoin because I’ve studied it and made a judgment, but not all investments are that easy.”

“What I want to say is, after Bitcoin, I won’t invest in stocks or other financial products anymore. Not just me—you shouldn’t either.”

Surprised by Zhou Chen’s seriousness, South Li asked, “You mean never again?”

In the past two months, she had been greatly inspired. The money Zhou Chen made in such a short time was already equivalent to their combined yearly salaries.

Such a quick way to make money naturally stirred new thoughts in her. If there was an easier way to earn, why not use it?

“Yes, never again. Although we’re making money now, you should know how many people lose everything on stocks and other financial products every year—losing their families, even resorting to suicide. There are too many such cases. I don’t want us to end up that way.”

Perhaps Zhou Chen didn’t have as high an education as South Li or as much experience, but he had one strength: he recognized his own limits. He simply didn’t understand finance.

His current ability to make money was due to his knowledge of Bitcoin and catching the right timing.

This was just a method to make quick money. After earning from Bitcoin, he planned to exit swiftly and never touch it again.

He wouldn’t invest anymore himself, nor did he want South Li to get involved.

South Li, being smart, realized she had gotten carried away after Zhou Chen's reminder.

“But if we don’t do this, just relying on our salaries won’t be enough to improve our living standards.”

Before, their combined monthly income of sixty to seventy thousand yuan was satisfying.

But now, to upgrade their lifestyle, that amount was far from sufficient.

Zhou Chen had long considered this. Working for others might improve life beyond mere subsistence, but it would never make them wealthy.

“That’s right. Just working won’t do. I’ve thought about it. I’ll keep writing novels for now. After we make one more wave of profit from Bitcoin, plus my manuscript fees, in two to three months, we should be able to save up around ten million yuan.”

“I’m thinking about using that money to start our own business. With over ten million yuan, there are many possibilities.”

Working for themselves had always been Zhou Chen’s dream. Even after coming to this world, he never gave up on it. His hard work was always aimed at reaching this goal.

“Starting a business, honey, do you want to run your own company?”

South Li broke free from Zhou Chen’s embrace. “Being your own boss is great, but honey, we’ve never done business before. If you want to start one, do you have a plan?”

Without the memories of Xia Junshan, Zhou Chen indeed had no clear direction. But now it was different; he had several ideas in mind.

“I do have a direction, but I need to think it through carefully. Once I figure it out, I’ll tell you right away.”

“Honey, I believe in you. You can definitely do it.”

In just two months, South Li had developed an almost mystical confidence in Zhou Chen.

During this time, her husband had clearly changed—more decisive, more confident, and more loving. So if Zhou Chen wanted to do something reasonable, she would never oppose it.

“So…”

Zhou Chen put away his serious expression and smiled. “Wife, it’s just a bag. If you like it, just buy it. Don’t hesitate. Just remember, your husband will make even more money in the future to buy you more and better bags. From now on, I’ll focus on earning and providing, and you just focus on being beautiful.”

“Hmph, men’s words can’t be trusted. I’m already thirty-seven. How can I still be beautiful?” South Li pretended to be angry.

Zhou Chen pulled her into his arms, looking at her earnestly. “Lili, no matter how old you are, in my heart, you will always be the most beautiful and the one I love the most in this world…”

“Ugh, that’s so cheesy.”

South Li felt a tingling warmth in her heart and hugged Zhou Chen tighter.

In a recent exam, Huanhuan had made good progress. Although only average, she had improved by twenty ranks compared to the midterm.

More importantly, all three subjects showed improvement, especially math. The difficulty was about the same, but last time she scored just over forty, and this time it was eighty.

The homeroom teacher, Mr. Zhang, even called South Li personally to praise Huanhuan, which made her very happy.

Since Huanhuan started elementary school, this was the first time a teacher had proactively called to commend her daughter’s progress.

After less than a month of tutoring, such improvement made both Zhou Chen and South Li very satisfied with Chen Xiaoqin’s teaching, and they began discussing payment.

Because Zhong Yi introduced Chen Xiaoqin and she was from the same hometown as Zhou Chen, their home was always prepared with tea, snacks, and fruit when she came. On weekends, they would even invite her to stay for meals.

Though small gestures, these touched Chen Xiaoqin deeply, so when discussing the price, she intentionally offered a low rate.

Chen Xiaoqin was honest, and Zhou Chen was not stingy. Finally, they agreed on 300 yuan per hour.

In a large city like Jiangzhou, this price was neither low nor high. Huanhuan had two hours of tutoring daily, meaning Chen Xiaoqin earned at least 600 yuan a day. Adding weekends and accounting for days off, she could easily make over ten thousand yuan a month.

For a college student not yet graduated, this was an excellent income, making Chen Xiaoqin even more grateful.

Zhou Chen thought nothing of it. Everyone benefits: she invested time and energy, Huanhuan improved academically, and paying her was only fair.

Their family was steadily moving toward a better future, which was what made Zhou Chen happiest of all.