Sweet slice-of-life love story: Wife, Let's love again
Chapter 223 - 219: Everything is Developing for the Better

Chapter 223: Chapter 219: Everything is Developing for the Better

The Mandarin Duck hotpot on the table bubbled and churned, with white steam rising and meatballs and duck intestines floating in the red and white broths.

Empty beer bottles were scattered on one side of the private room, aside from the three shots of baijiu that Sun Wen initially downed as a self-punishment, the other three had been drinking beer, and the half bottle of baijiu under the table hadn’t been touched since.

"It’s the girl I mentioned last time when Yu Fei got married, the one who can crush walnuts with her bare hands..." Xiao Yu gestured with a pinching motion, "Seriously, she’s strong. I nearly couldn’t beat her in arm wrestling..."

Qin Guanglin interjected, "I think it wasn’t nearly, you really didn’t beat her."

"No worries, it’s not embarrassing, she’s trained," Sun Wen nodded.

"..."

Xiao Yu was so annoyed, "Stop making snide remarks, you guys definitely couldn’t beat her either!"

"Eh?"

Qin Guanglin and Sun Wen exchanged a look and laughed together, "She’s not my girlfriend, why would I need to arm wrestle her?"

"Didn’t you say you wanted to keep your distance? How come you’ve suddenly become a couple?" Sun Wen pulled out a cigarette and tossed it to Xiao Yu, "Face-slapping came rather quickly, didn’t it?"

Xiao Yu caught the cigarette, tapped it on the table twice, then put it in his mouth. He didn’t hurry to light it, twirling the lighter between his fingers, sighed, "Sometimes, fate just arrives..."

Sun Wen tapped on the table to cut him off, "Cut the crap, get to the point, how did you hook up?"

"It rained, she didn’t have an umbrella, I did, I lent it to her, she returned it, invited me for a meal, and I reciprocated."

With gestures from the outside then back to himself, Xiao Yu succinctly finished recounting the events, "Back and forth like that, we got familiar, then I realized... she can be pretty cute sometimes."

"Has she beaten you up?" Qin Guanglin leaned in eagerly to ask.

"How could that be?!" Xiao Yu almost jumped up, "Me, a grown man, being..."

"You can’t beat her," Sun Wen chuckled, "Whether you fight or not is all up to her."

"..."

"Actually, that’s pretty good, you don’t have to fight like he does all the time." Qin Guanglin gestured towards Sun Wen with his eyes, comforting, "When you need to argue, just let her hit you, and the anger will be gone; you can’t really start a fight. Thinking about it that way, isn’t it pretty good?"

"I’m not arguing now, we rarely fight," Sun Wen retorted, picking up the glass in front of him and tapping it lightly on the table, "Come on, let’s have one, congratulations to Boss Xiao for successfully escaping singledom and losing the fragrance of a single dog."

"We really should congratulate... Boss Xiao, remember to stock up on some external medicines at home." Qin Guanglin lifted his glass toward Xiao Yu with a nod of his chin, "You can throw out your household walnut crackers now."

Xiao Yu looked disdainfully at the two who were delighting in his misfortune, snorted, clinked glasses with them, and downed the drink in his glass, "I think you’re just jealous. Fighting and all... As a man, how could I possibly lay a hand on a woman, impossible."

He shook his empty glass and lifted his hand, swirling the lit cigarette at his fingertips, "See, I drink as usual, smoke as usual, what’s the big deal? No big deal, just spitting out some sunflower seed shells—Alright, enough about me, Wen, didn’t you start some sort of studio? How’s that going?"

"Just starting, how could it be anything else, it’s busy, of course."

Sun Wen shook his head, "I’m so busy I don’t even have time to argue with my girlfriend."

It wasn’t a particularly glorious matter, and Sun Wen wouldn’t go around bragging about it. Qin Guanglin wasn’t much of a gossip, having only mentioned it to He Fang, and Xiao Yu wasn’t quite clear on the intricacies, only knowing that Sun Wen had quietly become a small boss. He clicked his tongue in admiration, "Who would’ve thought, you’ve been so silent about it, you’re the real Boss Sun... Hey, where did you get the money to start this company? Win the lottery?"

"What company, it’s just a shabby studio, it doesn’t cost that much."

Sun Wen stretched out his hand and pointed outside, saying, "I rented a three-bedroom apartment over in South City. It’s over two thousand a month, and all the computer and printer equipment is second-hand. It all totaled over ten thousand. I’ve given up my own place and now live in the studio, working day and night... When things look up, I’ll take you to see it. If you want in, just come over and join in."

"Is there any social insurance and housing fund? What about benefits? If it’s low, count me out," Xiao Yu joked.

"Nothing at all, just a share of the profits. Once you get your cut, you can buy those yourself... no social insurance and housing fund. Wait another couple of months and see how things are. If it goes well, I’ll register a company. Otherwise, taxes will take a huge bite out of me."

"Why does it sound like some pyramid scheme, all crammed into that apartment?" Qin Guanglin frowned slightly. He had always thought that what Sun Wen was doing was unreliable, and hearing this didn’t help.

"What are you talking about? It’s just me living there. The two rooms are empty, might as well use them. The others still go home after work as usual. We are a small business, trying to save where we can to earn more... What’s the use of flamboyant office buildings when you’re short on cash?"

While speaking, Sun Wen leaned forward a bit and lowered his voice, "It looks very promising at the moment. We’re in the era of traffic, you know what traffic is, right? My girlfriend’s company specializes in this. No matter how bad the art is, as long as there’s enough traffic, somebody will buy in. It’s like that "Soldier King" thing that’s full of crap every day. Crappy? Yes. Does it make money? It does! Chen Rui’s approach might be good but doesn’t attract an audience. Unless you’re at the top in the industry, you really can’t compete with what traffic can build, nowhere close." He gestured with his hands, "It’s all looking good right now, I want to try it first. Once I have experience, I was thinking about you, I..."

"No," Qin Guanglin interrupted, "Don’t count me in, didn’t I just say? Don’t call me."

"Eh, all right, all right. What about you, Xiao Yu?" Sun Wen nodded and turned to Xiao Yu, really wanting to bring a few buddies in on making money.

Riding the waves, even pigs could fly, and now he had found the wave. Catching the last bus, whether gliding or hopping along, as long as he could fill his pockets, he would be winning.

"I don’t understand any of this stuff you’re talking about. I should just stick with my company, freeloading and freelancing. Maybe next year I’ll switch jobs, get a raise, and I’ll be happy," Xiao Yu said with a grin, politely refusing. He preferred stability and didn’t want to mess with things he didn’t understand.

"Tsk, you guys..."

Sun Wen shook his head, picked up a bottle of liquor, poured himself a glass, drank it down, and sighed, "All this talk is empty. When I actually make the money and take you guys to the Capital Restaurant across the street for a meal, you’ll change your minds."

Just starting out, penniless and unconvincing, but when he was rolling in cash, he didn’t believe the two would still refuse.

"Sure, I’ll wait for you," Xiao Yu laughed. He had never been to Capital Restaurant; it was too expensive for him.

Sun Wen leaned back in his chair and lit a cigarette, gazed at the boiling water in the pot, lost in thought for a moment, then straightened up and looked at Qin Guanglin, "By the way Lin, do you use Weixun?"

"I see a lot of people using it, but I don’t. What about it?"

"The painter in my studio, Tian Ze, he writes tips on painting techniques on that public account thing on Weixun when he’s free. Makes an extra one or two thousand a month." Sun Wen took out his phone and tapped it a few times, "I’ve been researching for a while. This could very well compete with Weibo in the future—this is what I’m talking about, traffic. It’s not popular yet. You should claim a spot early and build up some popularity. Just mess with it in your free time. Aren’t you more skilled than that guy?"

"Are you only thinking about ways to make money all day long?" Qin Guanglin glanced at the phone handed to him, which displayed a simple article on basic sketching techniques. After considering for a moment, he felt it might be interesting, "Isn’t this like running an online training class? How do you make money?"

"Once you have enough fans, the money will come naturally. You don’t charge the fans, but it’s all about traffic... sigh, it’s hard to explain it to an artsy person like you. My girlfriend does this professionally, I get it." Sun Wen didn’t feel like explaining, "Penguin hasn’t pushed hard yet. This thing is just starting. Once they focus on it, with their user base... Tsk."

"Alright, I’ll take a look when I have time." Qin Guanglin was somewhat intrigued. Tian Ze was the painter Sun Wen had poached from the company. Writing such simple stuff to make a thousand, if it was easy to handle, might indeed be worth it.

Previously, having enough money was sufficient, but now money was the foundation for his and Teacher He’s happiness. If he could earn an extra dime, he wouldn’t want to earn any less.

"All this talk about making money during a meal, Boss Sun is really starting to act like a boss," Xiao Yu said, rubbing his index and middle fingers together and nodding at Sun Wen, "smoke, throw me one."

"The smoke, sure, ’smoke’, whatever the hell that is." Sun Wen cursed jokingly and threw a cigarette at him, "It’s all compelled by necessity; even in my dreams, I’m thinking of ways to make money."

"What about your girlfriend? You’re living in the studio, she doesn’t mind?"

"Just starting out the business, she understands being busy, hasn’t complained once. Hehe... We’ve been not living together anyway, so no big deal. Once things stabilize, I’ll take her home to meet my parents."

Sun Wen looked up at the lights above; the corners of his eyes softened involuntarily, and he let out a gentle breath.

Everything was moving in a good direction.