Rebirth: Growing Up Together

Gao Manman squatted down and touched Xu Cheng's head. "Little boy, how old are you?"

Being so close to the beautiful aunt, Xu Cheng seemed a little embarrassed.

"Six years old."

"He's only 6 years old and he can already do math?" Gao Manman was surprised. "He's the same age as my daughter. He's such a smart kid. What's his name?"

"Xu Cheng."

Hearing the name, Gao Manman's gentle eyes suddenly became strange, and the corners of her mouth slightly raised, more like a hint of playfulness than a smile.

"Oh, you are Xu Cheng..."

Chapter 6 What to play house

Wind blows and rain washes, the city is full of flowers.

As spring turns to grain rain, the temperature gradually rises, the cuckoos cry at night, the peonies bloom, and the sky is like a piece of blue emerald with excellent water content, rippling with a touch of warmth.

Today is Lin Wanzhou's birthday. She had reminded Xu Cheng countless times in the morning and made promises with Xu Cheng hundreds of times, asking him to celebrate her birthday with her.

In fact, the two families lived in the same community, in the publishing house's staff quarters near the government kindergarten. It was not until that afternoon that Xu Cheng found out that Director Gao was Lin Wanzhou's mother. No wonder she felt familiar with her.

He was carrying a small box and strolling around the publishing house's staff compound, kicking the Xuri Shengkong bottles on the ground from time to time.

Thoughts wander.

Four days have passed since I last met Gao Manman.

If the original timeline had been followed, the news of my mother's promotion would have been forgotten without any follow-up. Xu Cheng originally wanted to try to find a way to change everything.

But after meeting Gao Manman last time, things unexpectedly developed in a smooth direction. Maybe she helped in the middle. That night, He Ying received a call from her unit leader, informing her to prepare a sales plan for the region for the next quarter. The subtext was to see how capable she was.

This was the beginning of happiness for the family, but also the source of pain for He Ying. Her mother, who was used to slacking off, had her hair falling out these days in preparation for the plan.

In this regard, Xu Cheng said: Keep working hard! You are so young, and your children are so young, if you don't work hard now, when will you? You should work hard on the 996 internal competition, and you must not just lie down.

Of course, in order to help He Ying stand out, Xu Cheng, the little pillar of the family, had to think of some ways.

He did have some ideas about the sales plan, but it was too scary for a six-year-old to tell his mother directly, so he had to come up with a plan to hint at it...

The first link of the plan is here with Lin Wanzhou.

He found the door according to the address Lin Wanzhou told him and knocked. The door opened quickly, and behind the door was Gao Manman, who was wearing casual clothes.

"Hello, Auntie." Xu Cheng greeted her obediently with an innocent look on his face.

"Oh, it's Xiao Xucheng, come in quickly."

Xu Cheng walked in, changed into a pair of frog slippers that children wore, and looked around. Although they were in the same residential complex, Lin Wanzhou's house was larger than his own and the decoration was more elegant. The mahogany floor was a rare design in this era.

"Slow, slow, slow, slow, Cheng!", a familiar voice rang in my ears.

Lin Wanzhou, wearing a light pink dress, excitedly ran out from a bedroom deep in the corridor, hugged Xu Cheng's arm and pulled him up.

"Xu Cheng, look at what I did!"

Lin Wanzhou showed off the paper cranes he had just learned to make in front of Xu Cheng. The paper cranes were made of red cardboard, and eyes were carefully drawn on their heads with colored pens.

Girls may have some talent for handicrafts. Lin Wanzhou folded the paper cranes very skillfully. Xu Cheng praised her and then handed the paper box in his hand to Lin Wanzhou.

"Lin Wanzhou, happy birthday. Here, this is for you."

Lin Wanzhou was very happy to receive the gift. She quickly opened it, revealing the small gift Xu Cheng had carefully made inside the box. It was two paper cups with a red sweater thread in the middle. Anyone who had played science experiments in elementary school would know this.

Paper cup phone.

For Xu Cheng, who has little financial resources, this is the most thoughtful gift he can prepare.

Xu Cheng handed a cup to Lin Wanzhou and took the other one himself. "As long as you talk to this cup, I can hear you on the other end."

"really?"

"Just try it."

Lin Wanzhou held a cup in her two small hands, not knowing what to say, so Xu Cheng had to demonstrate to her first: "Waibi Babu."

Lin Wanzhou heard Xu Cheng talking on the other end and her face turned red with excitement: "Wow! I can really hear it, so magical! Thank you Xu Cheng, I love this gift so much!"

Xu Cheng also felt happy. He could give gifts as he pleased without having to follow the three obediences and four virtues of a man. This purity was so comfortable.

Gao Manman brought a plate of fruit, took a look at Xu Cheng's small gift, and said in surprise: "Wow, is this a gift from Xu Cheng? Little Xu Cheng is amazing!"

Xu Cheng scratched his head embarrassedly, but he felt very happy in his heart. He must be a very smart child in Gao Manman's heart.

Yes, that must be the case. Because I admired me, I thought He Ying’s education was very successful, and then I affirmed He Ying’s ability. I admired her and was willing to help in the process...

String together!

The lunch was very sumptuous, and it was considered the most luxurious meal Xu Cheng had ever had since his rebirth. But until the end, Xu Cheng did not see Lin Wanzhou's father. I heard that he was too busy with work and could not make it back.

The child was full after just a few bites of food. Lin Wanzhou simply couldn't let go of the gift Xu Cheng gave her and had to hold it in her hand while eating.

After dinner, Gao Manman went to wash the dishes, while Xu Cheng and Lin Wanzhou sat on the sofa and watched Teletubbies. This might be a bit childish for Lin Wanzhou, but it was just right for Xu Cheng, who watched it with great interest.

"Xu Cheng~ Let's play house. I'll be the mother and you'll be the baby..." Lin Wanzhou pulled Xu Cheng's arm. She usually watched TV alone at home and was tired of it.

Xu Cheng suddenly had an idea and put the plan into practice.

"What's the point of playing house...we've played company."

Lin Wanzhou's big eyes were filled with confusion.

"Passing the company? What is that?"

"Running a company is just like playing house. I'll be the boss and you'll be the investor."

Lin Wanzhou had never played this kind of game before, and found it very novel. He immediately agreed, "Okay, okay, we played the company game! Xu Cheng, Xu Cheng, what's the name of your company?"

"It's called Qiangsheng Group."

"It doesn't sound good~"

"The name is not important. We need to be pragmatic when starting a company. Our company needs funds now. How much money do you have as an investor?"

"I have fifty bucks!"

"You have fifty, plus my nine and a half, fifty-nine and a half is about right. So, now I have a startup project, you give me your fifty, I'll count it as your seed round investment of fifty, and I'll run it for a bit, then I'll give you dividends."

Lin Wanzhou counted on her fingers, looking confused. She didn't quite understand. It was clearly fifty yuan from her own piggy bank, but how could it become his just by Xu Cheng's lips?

She vaguely felt that this game of passing the company was not that fun...

Seeing that Lin Wanzhou was a little hesitant, Xu Cheng continued to instigate: "Ahem, Lin Wanzhou, we are good friends, so I brought you here to make money... for fun. Other kids want to play with me, but I don't give them the opportunity."

Lin Wanzhou nodded hesitantly, "Okay, then I'll give you the money." After that, he trotted to his bedroom, opened the butt of the piggy bank, took out the savings inside, and gave it to Xu Cheng. Xu Cheng counted it and found that there was exactly fifty yuan.

"Okay, now you have invested fifty dollars, and our Qiangsheng Group's valuation is one hundred dollars, so now you have taken away fifty percent of Qiangsheng Group's shares."

Lin Wanzhou had a confused look on his face. Although he didn't understand what Xu Cheng was talking about, he felt that it seemed very powerful and interesting.

"Hmm~Xu Cheng, what should we do next?"

"Next, we are going to go shopping..."

Chapter 7: The Endless Bond

They had to go out for purchasing, and after getting Gao Manman's approval in the name of going out for fun, Xu Cheng took Lin Wanzhou out.

Whether it was "going to the company" or going out to play with the kids, Lin Wanzhou found it very novel. She jumped for joy, holding the paper cup phone given by Xu Cheng in her hand.

Children take their favorite things with them wherever they go.

"Lin Wanzhou, do you often mention my name in front of your mother?"

Xu Cheng asked curiously, remembering Gao Manman's playful look in front of the cooked food stall that day. It was obvious that she had heard of my name a long time ago.

I think it has something to do with Lin Wanzhou. This girl likes me so much, she must have mentioned me a lot at home.

Thinking about it more, it's possible that she would say something like she would marry me when she grows up. Well, this must be the reason why Gao Manman paid attention to me.

"No." To Xu Cheng's surprise, Lin Wanzhou denied it directly, "My mother asked about it herself."

"Hmm? What did she ask?"

"Hmm... let me think... right! She asked me the name of the kid who was criticized by his parents for wetting his pants after school that day, and I told her your name."

Xu Cheng's face turned red, and she almost wanted to find a hole in the ground to crawl into. This dark history really could not be avoided!

Lin Wanzhou stared at Xu Cheng with clear eyes, "Xu Cheng, why are you silent?"

"I've blocked you. Let's contact each other by sending a message in a bottle later."

"what?"

Amid the noise, Xu Cheng brought Lin Wanzhou to the gate of the community. Seeing that Xu Cheng wanted to go out, Lin Wanzhou tugged at the corner of Xu Cheng's clothes in fear and said softly, "Xu Cheng... Mom doesn't let us go out to play..."

Xu Cheng nodded, "Yes, she doesn't let us go out to play, but we are going out to do business! We are not going against your mother's wishes, right? This is not a conflict, right?"

Lin Wanzhou tilted his head back and thought about it. He felt as if something was wrong, yet it also seemed as if there was nothing wrong at all.

Xu Cheng leaned close to Lin Wanzhou's ear and whispered, "Don't you want to play with the company anymore? Aren't you curious about what's on the other side of the sea?"

Lin Wanzhou was startled, "We are going to the beach?"

“It’s a metaphor.”

"What is a metaphor?"

"Don't you know what a metaphor is?" Looking at Lin Wanzhou's confused face, Xu Cheng suddenly became impatient. The child was really troublesome, like a burden. He couldn't understand what was said and couldn't follow the joke.

"Forget it, forget it. Don't follow me. I'll go shopping by myself. You go home first and tell your mother that I'm going home by myself."

Ignoring Lin Wanzhou's pitiful expression, Xu Cheng turned around and walked out of the community gate, leaving Lin Wanzhou standing there alone.

After taking a few steps, he staggered and felt someone pulling at the corner of his clothes. He turned around and saw that it was Lin Wanzhou who was pulling him.

"Didn't I tell you to go home?"

The breeze was neither fast nor slow, and Lin Wanzhou's small hands held the corner of Xu Cheng's clothes tightly.

"But... Mom said it's very dangerous outside... There are a lot of bad people... What if Xu Cheng gets into danger? I have to protect Xu Cheng..."

Xu Cheng was stunned for a long time and coughed twice, "Then you have to follow me well."

“Yeah.” Lin Wanzhou smiled happily. Her two dimples seemed to blend in with all the colors around them, spreading brilliantly at the corners of her mouth.

Xu Cheng's destination was Jinghai Wholesale Market, which was not too far from the family compound. It might only take an adult about ten minutes to get there, but according to his estimation, it would take two children half an hour to walk there.

The afternoon sun was gentle but not hot, and the warm breeze unique to spring lingered around the two children.

"Xu Cheng, Xu Cheng, how long will it take? Tell me a story." Lin Wanzhou's little hand was still tightly grasping the corner of Xu Cheng's clothes, and the paper cup phone that Xu Cheng gave her was hanging around her neck.

In the past, when Xu Cheng was bored in kindergarten, he would chat with Lin Wanzhou and tell her some stories suitable for children, such as the little pig in Langlang Mountain and the puppy with a chainsaw on his head, which were light-hearted and interesting fairy tales.

"Then let me tell you a story about a little duck lining up." Xu Cheng held his hands behind his head. "Once upon a time, there was a little duck lining up. He wanted to align with the duck in front of him, but he couldn't align no matter what he did. He kept muttering: "Can't align duck, can't align."

Lin Wanzhou stared at Xu Cheng with confused eyes, which made Xu Cheng feel embarrassed. "Ahem, why are you looking at me... Do you understand?"

Lin Wanzhou nodded gently and said "hmm". Her clear eyes were filled with smiles. The corners of her mouth curved like a crescent moon. She looked very happy. She put her hands behind her back and hopped forward. The two paper cups of the paper cup phone also jumped in the air as she jumped.

"It's okay~"

The two of them walked through alleys and intersections together. All the experiences were new and first-time for Lin Wanzhou. Along the way, she would suddenly squat down to look at the pretty flowers on the roadside, or go over to touch the orange cat napping under a stone bench.

The closer they got to the wholesale market, the more people there were. Lin Wanzhou looked at the red light on the sidewalk that was about to turn green, and the steel torrent whistling on the road, his face serious as if facing a great enemy.

Xu Cheng noticed her expression, "What's wrong with you?"

Lin Wanzhou explained hesitantly, "I walked too slowly. If I hadn't walked past, I would have been hit by the big car..."

Xu Cheng thought for a moment and said, "Then hold my hand and let's rush across the road in one go!"

"Oh!"

Lin Wanzhou held Xu Cheng's hand tightly. The warmth from Xu Cheng on her palm made her feel much more at ease.

The moment the red light turned green, Xu Cheng pulled her little hand and rushed across the zebra crossing. Both children were running out of breath. Lin Wanzhou's forehead was soaked with sweat, and a few strands of hair stuck to her forehead, but she was very happy.

With Xu Cheng around, crossing the road doesn’t seem so scary anymore.