The last time Shao Xi had published a book, because it had become very popular, it had been listed as a best-selling book. Foreign publishers had also asked about it and were interested in translating and publishing it in their own country. Shao Xi was afraid that the translation wouldn’t be good enough and had to check it himself. He also learned foreign languages for this purpose.

  Shao Xi was a student, so he still needed to go to school. Because of all this, Shao Xi was really busy.

  He had quite a lot of thoughts about his busy schedule. He even wrote an article, saying that his time had been stolen by the old granny who sunbathed at the village entrance all day long.

  The old granny was advanced in age and lived a muddled life. Every day, all she did was sunbathe and eat, always wondering why the day hadn’t passed yet.

  The old granny’s day passed slowly, in long intervals, and the sky never seemed to turn dark. On the other hand, Shao Xi’s time was never enough. Therefore, he suspected that his time was different from the old granny’s or had been stolen by the old granny.

  When Shao Xi handed the first draft to Mu Jingzhe, he even discussed it seriously with her. “If it wasn’t stolen, then my time has been sped up. The old granny has 48 hours a day, while my day only has 12 hours.”

  “I think my days have sped up too.” Mu Jingzhe deeply shared the same sentiment.

  “So there must be a Time Thief, right?” Shao Xi pondered it. “I want to find a way to deal with the Time Thief.”

  “What kind of way?” Mu Jingzhe asked.

  “Let me think about it. I’ll tell you when I’ve thought it through.” Shao Xi left with his notebook, looking deep in thought.

  Shao Qihai had been listening outside for a while. Seeing them discussing it so seriously, although he had seen it often, he still felt a little dazed.

  Shao Qihai felt that he understood his son, Shao Xi, very well at times. Sometimes, this child knew a lot and was very sharp. Sometimes, he felt that he was very naive. From time to time, thoughts that would never have occurred to him would pop up in Shao Xi’s head.

  He was often stunned and felt unable to keep up with his son’s thoughts, so he always ended up looking for Mu Jingzhe.

  “Do you really think Shao Xi is right?” Shao Qihai couldn’t help but ask Mu Jingzhe.

  “Although it goes against our understanding, I think it makes sense. I also think that my time has been sped up or stolen. Otherwise, why do I feel like the days are passing too quickly?”

  \r \r \r

  Shao Qihai: “…”

  Alright.

  The last method Shao Xi had found to deal with Time Thieves, such as growing ten arms, wasn’t very practical in reality but was entirely possible in his literary world.

  In the end, his article was published. The main theme of the article was that everyone should treasure their time and arrange their time in such a way that it improved their efficiency.

  When Shao Dong and the others read Shao Xi’s essay, they could empathize with him. After reading it, they even expressed their views, but this time, they asked Shao Xi to express himself in verbal form and not in written form.

  Shao Dong: “I’ve carefully observed my time. It wasn’t stolen.”

  Little Bei sighed. “If only I could steal time. That way, I could go to school and film at the same time.”

  Shao Nan said, “Me too. If I could also steal time, I’d use all the stolen time to read. This way, I could have more time to experiment and play.”

  Shao Nan still loved to read and study the most. Now that there were two more professors, Mu Jingzhe increasingly felt that he couldn’t understand the books they sent. Mathematics, physics, and chemistry seemed really unfamiliar to her.

  In order to facilitate Shao Nan’s learning process and experiments, she even specifically created a small experimental lab for him. Usually, Shao Nan would lock the door, saying that he was afraid that someone would break in and get in danger.

  The two professors seemed to be competing with each other. More and more books were sent over, and the professors were also getting increasingly attentive. From time to time, the professor from the University of Law would also join in and send some books over.

  Every time Mu Jingzhe looked at Shao Nan’s little head, she was very puzzled. How could such a small brain contain so much knowledge?

  Shao Dong was even more aggressive. After going to the capital and then to Ocean City, he suddenly said that he wanted to acquire a factory that produced refrigerators. The factory had only been established a short while ago and had advanced technology and equipment imported from overseas. The owner had wanted to do something big with it, but due to a financial problem, he had been unable to continue.

  Shao Dong had very sharp business acumen. Considering the current situation, he was very optimistic about this industry, so he said that he wanted to acquire it.

  “If I add the money I made from the beverage factory and the scavenging business, I have enough money for the acquisition.”

  Initially, Shao Dong had wanted to buy a car for Mu Jingzhe with his younger siblings. However, after gaining some car knowledge, he felt that they weren’t good enough. In addition, Mu Jingzhe hadn’t gotten her driver’s license yet, so he felt that he could use the money for this investment first.

  When he earned more money in the future, he would then buy a car for Mommy. When that time came, he would buy an even better one for her.

  Shao Dong was ambitious. Not only did he want to produce refrigerators in the future, but he also wanted to produce television sets and washing machines. Although he had only taken the first step, he could already see the third step.

  “Mommy, what do you think of my plan? If you think it’s feasible, you can invest in it too. That way, I can take an even bigger step. Uncle said that he has faith in me. At first, he was planning to look into buying a house in the city, but he’s not buying one for the time being. He’s investing in me.”

  Mu Jingzhe immediately nodded. “I’ll chip in too. Your uncle made the right choice.”

  As for the house, it was very difficult to buy it now, for commodity housing[1] had yet to become a thing. Many houses in the city had been passed down from their ancestors or allocated by their work unit[2]. In other words, they belonged to the state.

  Mu Han didn’t have a partner either, so he wasn’t in a hurry to buy a house. He might as well wait a little longer to invest in a good commodity house.

  When the time came, Mu Jingzhe would also be investing. As someone who had been reborn or had transmigrated into a novel, if she didn’t buy property, she’d be struck by lightning. If she didn’t buy a house, she would be too embarrassed to say that she was a transmigrator. However, there was no hurry now.

  If she stayed by Shao Dong’s side, she could earn money alongside him and support him at the same time. Of course she had to do it with him.

  “Okay.” Shao Dong looked at Mu Jingzhe’s expression and straightened his chest. “Mommy, don’t worry. I’ll work hard to earn money. I won’t let you lose money.”

  “I believe you. But don’t stress yourself out.”

  Shao Dong turned around and saw Shao Qihai looking at him. “Little Dong, you know that Daddy actually has some spare money. If you think it’s okay, I’ll also…”

  “I know. But Dad, you should keep your money for now, in case our family needs it for an emergency. When I find a new business, I’ll definitely ask you to invest so we can earn money together.” What Shao Dong said was true. He felt that they had to leave some money at home as backup for emergencies, such as the last time he had been blackmailed.

  Pfft, pfft, pfft. Their family wouldn’t experience such a thing. However, it was only right for them to take precautions.

  Of course, more importantly, just like before, he would be cooperating with Uncle[3] on this business. In addition, his mother would invest in it, which meant that this business belonged to his mother’s side of the family. Regardless of whether he earned money or not, it would be better not to implicate his father.

  Though Mu Jingzhe and Shao Qihai had yet to get a divorce for the time being, they weren’t like ordinary married couples. The future was still uncertain. Considering the long term, Shao Dong felt that it’d be better for them to keep their assets separate. For example, now, both of them were in charge of their own money and they also spent their own money when it came to expenses.

  Although his father tried his best to buy things to support the family, his mother also spent quite a lot each time.

  It could be said that Shao Dong had read the situation very clearly.

  [1] The term ‘commodity housing’ was coined to describe commercial housing as opposed to old-style welfare housing

  [2] a place of employment in China

  [3] Mu Teng