Chapter 60: Too Easy to Deal With, Little Fool

Chapter 60: Chapter 60: Too Easy to Deal With, Little Fool

KNOCK KNOCK.

A soft knock sounded on the door.

Nan Zhi instinctively raised a hand to cover Nan Yi’s ears.

Sure enough, the faint sound startled Nan Yi, and he whimpered, his brow furrowed.

Thanks to Nan Zhi’s quick reaction, Nan Yi didn’t truly wake up. He just rolled over and quickly fell back into a deep sleep.

Nan Zhi watched him for a moment to make sure he was still asleep, then got up to open the door.

Xu Li was standing outside. She lowered her voice.

"The cleaning ladies finished up and left. Aren’t you asleep?"

As she spoke, she looked past Nan Zhi and saw the small lump under the covers.

Xu Li immediately understood and silently made a "let’s talk outside" gesture to Nan Zhi.

Nan Zhi nodded and followed her out.

The two cleaners had been highly efficient. As far as Nan Zhi could see, the place looked brand new.

Even the withered, dehydrated plant in the corner had been removed and replaced with a new one.

Their luggage had also been unpacked and put away neatly.

The fluffy dog plushie Nan Zhi had given Nan Yi was resting obediently on the arm of the sofa.

One look told Nan Zhi that Xu Li must have helped as well.

"I’m sorry to have troubled you. Thank you."

"Not at all. It was nothing."

After her reply, Xu Li fell into a long silence.

Nan Zhi pulled her over to sit on the sofa.

"So, have you made up your mind?"

Xu Li gritted her teeth.

"I have. We’ll leave together!"

She paused, then added,

"But we can’t rush this. First, we have to wait until this variety show is finished filming. In the meantime, though, we can gather more evidence of the company’s contract violations..."

Xu Li laid out her plan step by step. Her thinking was perfectly clear.

As Nan Zhi listened, she thought, ’Such a talented manager. It’s a shame her skills have been wasted these past few years.’

But although she had her own plans, she didn’t rush to tell Xu Li, preferring to wait for a better opportunity.

When Xu Li had more or less finished and saw that Nan Zhi hadn’t responded, she asked,

"Do you have any other ideas?"

Nan Zhi shook her head.

"No, I trust you."

Xu Li breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, right, I just remembered something. A few food companies have recently expressed interest in working with you. I wanted to get your opinion."

Nan Zhi naturally assumed,

"As a spokesperson?"

She was just about to refuse.

But then she saw Xu Li’s conflicted expression.

"Well... not exactly. They want to buy your egg fried rice recipe."

Nan Zhi slowly raised an eyebrow.

"Hm?"

Xu Li’s mouth twitched.

"You think it’s a bit ridiculous too, right? I bet these companies are just trying to ride the wave of popularity from your fried rice stall!"

Nan Zhi mulled it over for a moment.

"It might be ridiculous, but it’s not out of the question."

As a world-renowned—not self-proclaimed—God of Cooking, how could Nan Zhi not have a few secret tricks up her sleeve?

She was short on cash recently, so it wouldn’t be right to refuse such a good opportunity.

Nan Zhi asked, "The appearance fee for the show won’t be paid out anytime soon, right?"

Xu Li confirmed, "Right. According to the contract, it’s paid in three installments. We’ve received the first one, but the second won’t come until filming is halfway done."

Only a top-tier star like Fu Chao could possibly get their entire fee before filming even started.

For someone of Nan Zhi’s status, getting paid in three installments was already a great deal.

So Nan Zhi accepted the offer.

"...But tell them I’m only selling the recipe. I won’t cooperate in any other way."

’Hilarious. Why would I ever promote my future competitors?’

Thinking she understood Nan Zhi’s intentions, Xu Li didn’t press the matter.

"Okay, I’ll go talk to them. Um, if you’re short on cash, I have some savings..."

Nan Zhi didn’t accept.

She wasn’t completely broke. She still had the tens of thousands of yuan she earned from the fried rice stall.

It was no small sum, and there was no way the production team could take it from her.

It also padded Nan Zhi’s personal savings, saving her from a financial crisis.

Xu Li let out a relieved breath.

"Well, just let me know if you need anything."

From now on, they were comrades on the same side, so their relationship was naturally closer than before.

「 」

After a night’s rest, a refreshed Nan Zhi and Nan Yi headed out.

Nan Zhi had already adapted to her change in status, remembering to put on a hat before leaving.

As a result, they weren’t recognized the entire time.

The mother and son went shopping and bought groceries, and they also picked up some home goods to decorate the apartment.

Why did Nan Yi feel the shack in the shantytown felt more like home?

Because that little house was transformed from a wreck into a cozy home bit by bit, through the work of Nan Zhi and Nan Yi’s own hands.

So, just as she had decorated the shack, Nan Zhi decided to do the same for this cold, impersonal rental apartment.

Both she and Nan Yi were exceptionally enthusiastic, shopping for the better part of the day without feeling tired.

She even nearly missed a call from Xu Li.

Xu Li was calling to say that she had spoken with the companies—

Out of the four, three were just as Xu Li had suspected. They weren’t interested in a serious partnership and were purely looking to cash in on the hype, so they backed out immediately after hearing Nan Zhi’s terms.

The one remaining company, however, was quite interested in Nan Zhi’s proposal and wanted to meet in person to discuss it.

Nan Zhi thought that was acceptable.

The owner of that company was a whirlwind of a person. As soon as they heard the news from Xu Li, they wanted to rush over to meet Nan Zhi and talk face-to-face.

After some thought, Nan Zhi agreed and set the location at a family-friendly café near her home.

The café’s biggest attraction was an indoor children’s playground that took up a full half of the space.

When they had left earlier, the two of them had passed by it, and Nan Zhi noticed Nan Yi’s gaze lingering on it for a long time.

This was perfect. She could handle her business and grant Nan Yi’s wish at the same time.

Nan Zhi and Nan Yi arrived at the café first.

She chose a corner table, ordered coffee and dessert, and then told Nan Yi he could go play.

Nan Yi straightened his back with effort.

"I don’t like to play! It’s too childish!"

The server who was pouring water fumbled, nearly spilling it everywhere!

"I’m so sorry!"

"It’s fine."

Nan Zhi waved her hand, feeling helpless with Nan Yi.

’Oh, Yiyi, you’d be much more convincing if you weren’t sneaking glances at the playground out of the corner of your eye!’

She suppressed a smile and said,

"But what should I do? Mommy really wants to watch you play."

The server’s movements paused, and they gave Nan Zhi an odd look, probably not used to seeing a mother lie to her child like that.

’Look how young that kid is, how could he possibly...’

Nan Yi said, "Fine."

His tone was full of resignation and indulgence, his face clearly saying, "There’s just no helping it with you."

The server was stunned. ’That actually worked?’

Nan Yi suppressed his delight, and though he didn’t skip, his steps were still light as he walked toward the playground.

There was an attendant there specifically to look after the children.

Before taking off his shoes to go in, Nan Yi didn’t forget to turn and wave at Nan Zhi.

Nan Zhi beamed and waved back.

The server said, "...Your son is so cute."

Nan Zhi’s smile deepened. "Right? I think so too."

’He’s so easy to handle, my little fool.’

Nan Zhi rested her chin on her hand and watched Nan Yi for a long time. Only after confirming he was playing happily did she look away.

Just then, Xu Li arrived with the owner of the small food company, a Mr. Yang, and the three of them officially began their meeting.