The Boss is Reborn with his Little Fairy

Gradually, their life began to get back on track. During the day, Wen Ke’an studied at home, and in the afternoons, after the sunset, she would go out with her father to set up a stall.

Getting a good spot at the night market was not easy, so they decided to stick to the same spot they had used for their first stall. In just a few short days, they had gained some repeat customers, and business was thriving every evening. They would sell out all their braised snacks in about an hour.

“Grandma, this is a portion of duck wings reserved for you. We’re done selling for today and are getting ready to go home,” Wen Ke’an said as she handed the prepared duck wings to the neighboring grandma who had brought bracelets.

The grandma was very kind and had been helping them before. Since she didn’t have much to give them, Wen Ke’an often gave her some well-selected and delicious duck wings.

“Thank you,” the elderly grandma smiled as she accepted the offering. “My grandson had the duck wings you gave me the other day and he said they tasted really good. I was thinking of buying some today, but I noticed you two were quite busy, so I didn’t want to disturb you.”

“Grandma, if you want to have some next time, just let me know in advance, and I’ll set aside some of the plump ones for you,” Wen Ke’an said warmly.

These days, business was doing well, and every night after returning home, Wen Qiangguo would tally up the accounts. They were earning around six to seven hundred dollars almost every day.

Since Wen Qiangguo was the only one running the business, he couldn’t do much each day. However, earning this much already made him quite content. At this rate, they could clear all their debts within a few months.

Wen Ke’an’s manuscripts also passed the initial review smoothly, and now they were in the final review stage. If it passed the final review, there would be additional income from the manuscript. If it didn’t pass, the website would still give some subsidies based on the article’s click rate.

Currently, short stories are trending, making it easier to get them published. But a few years from now, this industry would gradually become more competitive, and making money wouldn’t be as easy. In her past life, she had submitted manuscripts to magazines, but that was seven or eight years from now, when the competition was fierce, and getting an article published in a magazine was particularly difficult.

As the days got hotter, Wen Ke’an prepared some iced tea at home to sell. Although it wasn’t a large amount, when combined with the duck wings, it sold out quickly.

Now, many people knew that there was a delicious duck wings stall at the night market. Sometimes, even before Wen Qiangguo set up the stall, there were customers already waiting in line.

With the increasing number of people queuing up, they sold out quickly every night, with all their items gone in just about half an hour. 

One evening, as they were preparing to head home after selling out, Wen Ke’an noticed someone in dark clothing lurking in a corner nearby, observing them. The person wore a hat and a mask, making it difficult to see their face. Wen Ke’an had seen this person several times before, and their mysterious behavior raised her suspicions.

She approached Wen Qiangguo and whispered, “Dad, there’s someone in black clothes ahead, always watching us.”

Wen Qiangguo looked in the direction she pointed, “Who? I didn’t see anyone.”

Wen Ke’an looked up, but the furtive person had disappeared, and she had no idea where they had gone.

“The person didn’t seem tall, a bit chubby, and looked like a woman,” Wen Ke’an said.

This person made Wen Ke’an cautious, but after observing for a few more days, she never saw the black-clothed woman again.

One night, just before nine o’clock, Wen Ke’an and her father had just returned home when a guest arrived. Wen Ke’an recognized her; it was her aunt from her uncle’s family, whom she hadn’t seen in a long time.

Wen Ke’an had a bad impression of her aunt. Her relationship with her second uncle was quite good, he knew about their family’s difficulties and had quietly helped them many times, lending them a substantial amount of money. In her previous life, when they were going through their most difficult times, this aunt had asked for money, and not only that, she demanded it with interest, claiming that the extra money was all accumulated interest. This matter caused a big commotion, and in the end, Wen Qiangguo had no choice but to involve the police before the situation was finally resolved through mediation.

Now that this person had come, Wen Ke’an couldn’t help but feel that this aunt didn’t have any good intentions.

“Aunt,” Wen Ke’an politely greeted her aunt and then sat on the sofa behind, not returning to her own room.

Liu Qing knew that Li Yueyue had come this time to ask for money, and she didn’t want Wen Ke’an to get involved in such matters. So, while pouring water, she quietly walked over to Wen Ke’an and whispered, “An-An, why don’t you go back to your room for now?”

“It’s a bit hot in the room. I’ll stay here and enjoy the fan for a while before going back,” Wen Ke’an replied.

Seeing that Wen Ke’an didn’t want to leave, Liu Qing didn’t insist further.

Li Yueyue’s eyes flickered as she glanced at Liu Qing and then turned to Wen Qiangguo on the side. She went straight to the point, saying, “Younger brother and sister, our family is also in a bit of a tight spot these days. About the money your family borrowed…”

The atmosphere became tense, and Wen Qiangguo and Liu Qing exchanged a glance before carefully responding, “These days, I’ve earned some money, and we can repay you twenty thousand now. As for the remaining few thousand, can we return it to you next month?”

In total, Wen Qiangguo borrowed twenty-four thousand from his brother. Their family indeed didn’t have much money left, and the twenty thousand they were offering was the earnings Wen Qiangguo had made from the stall these days.

Upon hearing this, Li Yueyue, who had a faint smile on her face earlier, instantly looked cold. She remained silent for a while, making the atmosphere in the living room even more awkward.

After a long pause, Li Yueyue took a sip of tea and looked at Wen Qiangguo, saying, “This amount is not too much. I heard that your business in selling braised meals at the night market is doing well. How about you share your recipe with me, and I won’t ask for the four thousand?”

Wen Qiangguo hadn’t expected that Li Yueyue would come for their braised snack recipe, and his smile finally faded from his face.

Wen Ke’an remained silent, silently observing Li Yueyue. Li Yueyue was already in her forties, slightly plump, and not very tall. From Wen Ke’an’s observations, she was almost certain that the secretive woman in black clothes she noticed earlier was indeed Li Yueyue.

Li Yueyue used to run a successful catering business, but over the years, she had stuck to traditional dishes without making any changes, and her business declined day by day. A few months ago, she had just closed her shop. Apparently, she didn’t expect their family to start selling braised snacks, and the business was doing well, which made her jealous.

In the quiet living room, Wen Ke’an suddenly stood up and firmly stated, “We won’t sell this recipe.”

Setting aside the fact that four thousand yuan was nowhere near enough to buy the recipe, Wen Ke’an simply didn’t trust Li Yueyue’s intentions. If they were to give her the recipe, she would probably cause some trouble.

After living for so many years in the previous life, Wen Ke’an had come to understand one thing: in this world, apart from your closest family like parents and spouse, no one wished to see you prosper too much.

“You little brat!” Since their facades were already crumbling, Li Yueyue dropped her pretense. She had not come to negotiate this time and took an aggressive tone, “Fine then, if you won’t give me the recipe, pay back the money! Every penny of the four thousand yuan!”

“Sister-in-law,” Liu Qing awkwardly smiled. She didn’t want to escalate the situation too much at this point, “The child doesn’t understand these matters. Don’t take it to heart.”

Li Yueyue sneered, “Well, I’ll say it again: either pay back the money or give me the recipe. Don’t treat everyone as living Buddhas. I worked hard for this money. If you can’t pay today, I’ll call the police!”