Super Rich: Starting the game by going back ten years to buy Bitcoin

When Li Yichen parked the car at the entrance of the alley, it was already dark.

The alley was narrow, lined with old-style residential buildings on both sides, their walls peeling and electrical wires tangling overhead. The streetlights weren't on yet, with only a few shops emitting a dim, yellowish glow.

Xue Shanshan got out of the car and stood at the alley entrance, looking inside.

"Brother Li, this is it."

She turned around, a slightly embarrassed smile on her face.

"The environment might be... a bit poor, please don't mind."

Li Yichen locked the car and walked to her side.

"fine."

As he spoke, he lifted his foot and walked into the alley.

Xue Shanshan quickly followed.

The alley wasn't deep, about fifty meters long. The ground was cement, with cracks in some places, and moss grew in the cracks. The air was filled with the smells of various foods—the fumes of stir-frying, the cumin of grilling skewers, and the bone broth of boiling noodles.

Halfway there, Xue Shanshan stopped in front of a stall.

The stall was tiny, just a makeshift cart made from a tricycle, with a stove and cutting board mounted on it. Next to the cart were three small square tables and a few plastic stools.

The stall owner was an elderly man in his sixties with gray hair, wearing an apron, and chopping vegetables on the cutting board.

Hearing footsteps, the old man looked up.

Upon seeing Xue Shanshan, a smile immediately spread across his face, his wrinkles crinkling together.

"Little Xue."

His voice was a little hoarse, but very loud.

"here we go again?"

"Uncle Wang."

Xue Shanshan walked over with a smile.

"I'm bringing my friends over today to try your cooking."

Uncle Wang then noticed Li Yichen behind Xue Shanshan.

He looked him up and down a few times, his eyes narrowing into slits with a smile.

"Little Xue, is this your boyfriend?"

Xue Shanshan's face flushed red instantly.

"Uncle Wang, don't talk nonsense!"

Her voice rose, tinged with panic.

"He is my colleague; we work at the same company."

"A colleague..."

Uncle Wang drawled out his words and glanced at Li Yichen again.

"Fine, colleagues it is."

He turned around, picked up a rag from the car, and wiped one of the tables.

"Sit down, sit down."

Li Yichen didn't say anything, walked over and sat down on the plastic stool.

The stool was low, and he was tall, so he couldn't stretch his legs out properly when he sat down.

Xue Shanshan sat down opposite him, rubbing her hands together under the table.

"Brother Li, this place... is it alright?"

"Good."

Li Yichen said.

He was telling the truth.

He used to frequent these street stalls. Back then, when he was poor, a bowl of noodles with an egg was a meal.

Later, when he had money, he came less often.

After wiping the table, Uncle Wang draped the rag over the handlebars of his bicycle.

"Little Xue, what are we having for dinner today?"

Xue Shanshan looked at Li Yichen.

"Brother Li, the fried noodles with soybean paste here are especially delicious, do you want to try them?"

Li Yichen thought about it.

"OK."

"Then two bowls of noodles with soybean paste."

Xue Shanshan turned to Uncle Wang and said.

"One big and one small, with extra fried pork sauce."

"Okay!"

Uncle Wang responded and turned to get to work.

He took two lumps of dough from a box under the car and threw them into the boiling pot. He then scooped out some fried pork with soybean paste from another pot—it had been prepared in advance, glistening with oil, and the diced pork was a perfect mix of lean and fat.

Xue Shanshan watched Uncle Wang's retreating figure, then turned back, her face still slightly flushed.

"Brother Li, you said it was my treat, but I brought you to a place like this..."

She paused.

"After we finish our noodles, shall we go somewhere else to get something better to eat?"

"Need not."

Li Yichen waved his hand.

"I used to eat at these roadside stalls all the time, they were pretty good."

"real?"

"real."

Xue Shanshan stared at him for two seconds, making sure he wasn't just being polite, before she breathed a sigh of relief.

She rested her elbows on the table, supporting her chin.

"Actually, Uncle Wang's noodles are especially delicious, I come here every week."

Why?

"It's cheap."

Xue Shanshan spoke as if it were perfectly reasonable.

"A big bowl for only twelve yuan, and they give you a lot of meat. You can't find this price anywhere else."

Li Yichen did not respond.

He looked at Xue Shanshan.

The girl wasn't wearing a ponytail today; her hair was down, draped over her shoulders. The streetlights shone from the side, casting a small shadow on her face.

Their eyes are very bright.

"And Uncle Wang is a really good person."

Xue Shanshan continued.

"Once I forgot to bring my money, and he said I could pay him next time. Later when I went to return the money, he insisted on giving me an extra egg."

She said this and then laughed.

"Who does business like that?"

Li Yichen smiled too.

"It's pretty good."

Just then, Uncle Wang brought over two bowls of noodles.

The large bowl was placed in front of Li Yichen, and the small bowl was placed in front of Xue Shanshan.

The bowl was a large, coarse porcelain bowl with a slightly chipped rim. It was filled to the brim with noodles, piled high with fried pork sauce, and sprinkled with chopped green onions and cilantro.

Steaming hot.

The fragrance wafted straight into my nose.

"Eat it while it's hot."

After Uncle Wang finished speaking, he went back to the back of the cart and continued working.

Xue Shanshan picked up her chopsticks and stirred the contents of the bowl.

"Brother Li, eat quickly, it won't taste good when it gets cold."

After she finished speaking, she picked up a piece of noodles with her chopsticks, blew on it, and put it in her mouth.

His cheeks puffed out as he chewed rapidly.

Li Yichen also picked up his chopsticks.

He first looked into the bowl.

The noodles were hand-rolled, uneven in thickness, but looked very chewy. The fried pork with soybean paste was glistening with oil, mixed with the red color of the fermented soybean paste.

Then he saw cilantro.

Green, finely chopped, sprinkled on top.

Li Yichen stopped moving.

He stared at the cilantro for two seconds.

Then I put down my chopsticks and started picking them out one by one.

Xue Shanshan was engrossed in eating her noodles when she heard the noise and looked up.

She paused for a moment when she saw Li Yichen picking out cilantro.

"Brother Li, don't you eat cilantro?"

"Um."

Li Yichen didn't even look up, and continued picking.

Xue Shanshan quickly put down her chopsticks.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know..."

"fine."

Li Yichen said.

"It's my fault for not telling you beforehand."

"How about we ask Uncle Wang to cook another bowl?"

"Need not."

Li Yichen shook his head.

"Just pick them out, don't waste them."

He continued speaking without stopping his hands.

The cilantro was chopped too finely and mixed in with the noodles and meat, making it difficult to pick out. He picked it out carefully, but slowly.

Xue Shanshan looked at it for a few seconds.

Suddenly, she stood up and reached out to place Li Yichen's bowl in front of her.

"Let me help you choose."

Li Yichen looked up at her.

"No need, I can do it myself..."

"You're taking too long to choose."

Xue Shanshan interrupted him and picked up her own chopsticks.

"I have a good eye and I can pick things out quickly."

As she spoke, she lowered her head and began to carefully select the cilantro.

The movements were very careful.

The tips of chopsticks rummaged between the noodles and meat, picking out every single green leaf fragment and placing it on the table.

Li Yichen looked at her.

Xue Shanshan was very focused on choosing.

His brows were slightly furrowed, his lips were pursed, and his eyes were fixed on the bowl, unblinking.

The light from the streetlamp shone from her side, casting the shadow of her eyelashes onto her cheek.

She wasn't wearing makeup today; her skin was very clean, and you could see fine downy hairs.

The tip of my nose is still a little red.

Li Yichen glanced at it for a few seconds.

Then he looked away.

He didn't say anything more, just sat there waiting for Xue Shanshan to finish choosing.

The alley was very quiet.

The only sounds were Uncle Wang chopping vegetables behind the cart and the distant noise of traffic.

About two minutes later.

Xue Shanshan raised her head.

"alright."

She pushed the bowl back in front of Li Yichen.

The cilantro in the bowl had been picked clean, not a single sprig was left.

"Thanks."

Li Yichen said.

"Don't mention it."

Xue Shanshan smiled and picked up her bowl again.

She picked up a mouthful of noodles, about to put it in her mouth, when she suddenly remembered something and put the chopsticks down.

"Brother Li, are there any dietary restrictions you have? Like, onions, ginger, or garlic?"

"no."

"That's good."

Xue Shanshan breathed a sigh of relief and started eating her noodles again.

Li Yichen also picked up his chopsticks.

He picked up a mouthful of noodles with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth.

The noodles were very chewy and springy. The fried pork with soybean paste was perfectly seasoned and savory, rich but not greasy. The sauce coated every strand of noodle, making it very flavorful.

It's really delicious.

He took two bites and looked up at Xue Shanshan.

The girl was enjoying her meal.

A fine layer of sweat appeared on her forehead, but she didn't bother to wipe it away, focusing only on shoveling noodles into her mouth.

Their eating manners were hardly elegant.

But it's very real.

Li Yichen looked at it for a few seconds and then suddenly spoke.

"How's your dad doing lately?"

Xue Shanshan paused for a moment.

She looked up, with half a noodle still in her mouth.

I chewed it and swallowed it.

"good."

she says.

"I had dialysis last week, and the doctor said my vital signs are stable."

"Do you have enough money?"

"enough."

Xue Shanshan nodded.

"I received my salary last month, and with my previous savings, I can manage for a while longer."

She paused.

"And didn't the company just issue a notice? The housing subsidy has been increased to five thousand."

"Starting next month, I'll be able to earn an extra three thousand."

"The pressure will be less then."

Li Yichen hummed in agreement and didn't ask any more questions.

The two continued eating noodles.

Xue Shanshan ate quickly, finishing her bowl of noodles in no time. She even drank the soup, and let out a satisfied sigh as she put down the bowl.

I'm full.

Li Yichen had almost finished eating.

There was still a little left in his bowl, but he couldn't eat any more, so he put down his chopsticks.

Uncle Wang came over to collect the bowls.

"How does it taste?"

"tasty."

Li Yichen said.

"It's especially delicious."

Uncle Wang smiled, his wrinkles deepening.

"As long as it tastes good."

He collected the bowls and wiped the table.

"Xue girl, your friend is really honest."

Xue Shanshan also smiled.

"Of course, Brother Li is a really nice guy."

Uncle Wang glanced at Li Yichen, said nothing more, and went back to the back of the cart with the bowl.

Xue Shanshan took her wallet out of her bag.

"Uncle Wang, how much?"

"Two bowls of noodles, one large and one small, plus meat, totaling twenty-eight."

Xue Shanshan counted out three ten-yuan bills and handed them over.

"Keep the change, please."

"That won't work."

Uncle Wang took two coins out of his apron pocket and put them back into Xue Shanshan's hand.

"Whatever the amount, that's what it should be."

Xue Shanshan didn't insist and put the coins away.

She stood up.

"Brother Li, let's go."

Li Yichen also stood up.

The two said goodbye to Uncle Wang and turned to walk towards the alley entrance.

After taking a few steps, Xue Shanshan suddenly stopped.

She turned her head and looked at Li Yichen.

"Brother Li, thank you for today..."

"What are you thanking me for?"

"Thank you for being willing to eat at a place like this with me."

Xue Shanshan spoke very seriously.

"Thank you for... for comforting me in the stairwell."

Li Yichen looked at her.

The light from the streetlights shone down on her head, casting soft shadows on her face.

"It's nothing."

He said.

"If you need anything at the company in the future, just come to me and I'll help you solve it."

Xue Shanshan nodded.

"Um."

She turned around and continued walking forward.

His silhouette stretched long in the alley.

Li Yichen followed behind her.

The two walked out of the alley, one after the other.

The streetlights at the alley entrance came on at that moment.

A dim, yellowish light blanketed the ground.