Chapter Five: The Greatest Problem

"Where is Chaochao?"

Nan Li shot Zhou Chen a sideways glance and asked with a hint of confusion. Every time she returned from work, Chaochao would be the first to greet her. She couldn't understand what was going on today—it had been quite a while, yet there hadn't been a single sound.

"He's in his room eating a lollipop. I suppose he's afraid you'll find out, so he didn't dare come out," Zhou Chen replied, showing no loyalty whatsoever and selling Chaochao out immediately.

"You’re the one spoiling them."

Nan Li wasn't actually angry. She didn't forbid Chaochao from having lollipops because she was strict, but because she feared he was too young to show restraint and would ruin his teeth. She didn't object to him having one occasionally. However, children have simple minds; he assumed that since Mom usually didn't allow it, she would certainly be furious if she caught him sneaking one, hence his decision to hide.

Zhou Chen said, "I'm not spoiling them. Chaochao is very sensible and obedient. When he asked me to buy lollipops, he didn't keep them all for himself—he brought one for Huanhuan, too."

Nan Li smiled, clearly satisfied with her son's actions. The reason they had decided to have a second child was so that Huanhuan would have a sibling and wouldn't feel lonely. Chaochao's arrival had brought much joy to their family. With a loving husband and a pair of obedient, adorable children, Nan Li felt she was truly happy.

"Have you cooked dinner?"

"Not yet."

Nan Li glanced at Zhou Chen. "I knew you were acting strange today. Forgetting to pick up Huanhuan is one thing, but you came home early and didn't even cook?"

Having grown up with a mother who was like a pampered princess—never lifting a finger to do chores—Nan Li had been the one to manage the household from a young age. She knew how to do everything, from laundry and cooking to mopping and cleaning. However, since her marriage, her husband's affection meant she rarely had to handle these tasks; the housework was either managed by a part-time cleaner or taken care of by her husband. She only cooked more often when visiting her mother, Zhao Na.

Especially after giving birth to Chaochao and getting a promotion, she became even busier. Aside from weekends, she had no time for chores on weekdays. Midday meals were taken at their respective workplaces, and the children ate at school, but evenings were different. The rule in their home was that whoever returned first cooked. Since Xia Junshan’s work hours were strictly nine-to-five with almost no overtime, he usually handled dinner. Because this was the established routine, Nan Li was surprised that Zhou Chen had returned early but hadn't started cooking.

Zhou Chen didn't know how to answer. Cook? He had absolutely no concept of how to do so. In the real world, when he worked, he ate in the cafeteria; if the food wasn't good, he’d just pay to eat out. At home, it went without saying: his mother wouldn't even let him step foot in the kitchen.

At most, his culinary expertise was limited to instant noodles—the kind that came in a cup. Yet, as the topic of cooking came up, various cooking memories involuntarily surfaced in his mind. But memories were just memories; he certainly couldn't put them into practice right away.

Zhou Chen quickly found an excuse. "I still have some issues with the blueprints that need fixing. I’m afraid you'll have to handle dinner tonight."

"Alright, I'll go cook. You go ahead and get to work."

It was just cooking, so Nan Li didn't say anything more. A marriage is built on mutual support; if her husband was busy, she, as his wife, would naturally step in.

"Oh, by the way, honey, what would you like to eat?"

"Anything is fine. Whatever you make, I'll eat."

With that, he practically fled into the study, quickly opening his laptop to put on a show of working hard.

"What's gotten into him? Is he that happy not to cook?" Nan Li looked puzzled, then took off her coat, walked into the kitchen, and put on an apron, starting to think about what to make for dinner.

Looking at the blueprints on his laptop, Zhou Chen found that, having inherited Xia Junshan’s memories, he could easily understand these architectural drawings, which he had never encountered before.

"If nothing else, these memories of Xia Junshan are a priceless treasure to me. It's like gaining the knowledge and expertise of a social elite out of thin air."

For Zhou Chen, this memory alone was a massive blessing. He was truly grateful to the system. To have such a benefit on his first time crossing over—he wondered if future journeys would be the same. If so, he could acquire an incredibly vast amount of knowledge just by traveling through a few more worlds.

After studying the blueprints for a while, Zhou Chen began to think about his mission: how could he get Xia Huanhuan to meet the standards for admission to Hanlin Middle School in less than a year and a half?

"It's tough."

Just thinking about it felt daunting. With Xia Huanhuan's personality, working hard for a moment was fine, but working hard for over a year was pure wishful thinking. Moreover, a child couldn't be pushed too hard—Yan Ziyou was the perfect example of that. He didn't want to force Huanhuan into that state just to complete a mission; she was his daughter, after all. Furthermore, relentless pressure to study could sometimes be counterproductive.

After much deliberation, he realized he couldn't teach her himself, and it was best to avoid cram schools like Ze Shu. Hiring a private tutor seemed like the best option. A professional, one-on-one tutor—ideally one who could come to their home—would be even better. But one-on-one home tutoring was charged by the hour, and it certainly wouldn't be cheap. And if he were to hire someone, it had to be a professional, authoritative expert; otherwise, hiring mediocre teachers wouldn't be of much use.

If they were going to do tutoring, they couldn't just focus on one subject, as the entrance exam wasn't about a single subject, but a comprehensive evaluation. Given that Huanhuan’s level in her class at Fanfan Primary School was average-to-low, she would need tutoring in Chinese, Mathematics, and English to reach the level required for Hanlin Middle School.

Calculating this, the cost of tutoring would be even higher. Over the long term, even for a high-earning couple like them, it would be a significant burden. Even though their combined monthly salary was in the tens of thousands, their expenses for food, daily life, and the children's education were not cheap. Plus, as a female executive, Nan Li needed to wear expensive jewelry and carry designer bags to maintain her image—all high-consumption items.

Thus, after working for so many years, the couple didn't have much in savings. If they had a lot of savings, they wouldn't have had to rely on Nan Li’s parents to help with the down payment for their house, as seen in the show.

Round and round he went, and the prerequisite turned out not to be the learning problem, but the money problem.

"Damn it, I thought that by crossing into this kind of family, I wouldn't have to worry about money. It seems I was too naive."

Zhou Chen felt a headache coming on. The issue of one child's education had circled back to money. It was too difficult!

To make more money, relying on his salary definitely wouldn't work; he had to earn extra income. But his job made it impossible to take on private work on the side, and Nan Li was already too busy to rely on her for that. At this point in time, what kind of side hustle could he do that wouldn't affect his primary job but could still generate income?

Stocks? Funds?

He had never bought them, never researched them, and understood nothing about them. He definitely couldn't touch those.

Shaking his head, Zhou Chen was about to think of other paths when he caught a glimpse of the time and date at the bottom of his laptop screen. His whole body jolted.

March 2019.

At this realization, Zhou Chen’s breathing quickened. He hurriedly opened a web browser and started searching. A few minutes later, he leaned back in his chair, his expression filled with joy.

He had found a way to make money.