Chapter 18

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"Wow, big brother is so amazing!" Zhou Chong jumped out of bed and realized that a delicate little girl was standing by his bed, clapping and jumping with joy at his agile movements. The little white dog in her arms, however, was barking in fear, its eyes full of dread as it looked at Zhou Chong.

When Zhou Chong saw the little girl clearly, he relaxed, saying helplessly, "Du'er, why are you here so early in the morning again?"

"Big brother, you're such a lazybones! Du'er has already had breakfast, but you haven't even woken up yet. Sister and I came to wake you up!" Du'er patted the little white dog in her arms, her pure, innocent eyes blinking, making her look especially adorable.

"Oh, Zhuo'er is here too? Why haven't I seen her? And why is this little white dog in your arms?" Zhou Chong looked around and found that Zhuo'er wasn't in the room. He started to get dressed while asking casually.

"Sister is reading outside. The little dog was in big brother's yard. When I came in, it followed me and even licked my hand. It's so much fun! It was licking you to wake you up just now!" Du'er said with a天真可爱的 tone, clearly very fond of the little white dog.

"Reading? What is she reading?" Zhou Chong was surprised, wiping his face with his sleeve. He wasn't too surprised that Du'er liked the little white dog; little girls always liked fluffy things. However, he was a bit repulsed by the idea of being licked by a dog. Who knew what it had licked before?

"Those on the table that big brother left!" Du'er pointed to the small table by Zhou Chong's bed. Only then did Zhou Chong notice that the manuscript he had written yesterday was gone, leaving only a stack of blank paper.

"Big brother, where did this little white dog come from? Can you give it to me?" Du'er suddenly asked, her tone pleading, her face showing a beguiling smile.

"Give it to you?" Zhou Chong looked at the plump little white dog, feeling a bit hesitant. In his eyes, it was a good pot of dog meat. The little white dog, sensing Zhou Chong's desire, whimpered and hid in Du'er's arms, only its little tail wagging desperately to please him. Unfortunately, its efforts didn't move Zhou Chong's heart, a food lover.

A delicious and nourishing pot of dog meat made Zhou Chong ignore the dog's pitiful state. But when he met Du'er's pleading eyes, his heart softened, and he finally agreed, "Alright, I'll give the dog to you. You must feed it well and keep it fat, don't let it get skinny!"

If it gets skinny, it won't be as tasty! Zhou Chong added in his mind. Children's interests change quickly. If Du'er ever stopped liking the little white dog, it would still be his. Thinking of this, Zhou Chong chuckled, scaring the little white dog so much that it buried its head in Du'er's arms, trembling all over, too afraid to look at Zhou Chong.

"Okay, thank you, big brother! I'll make sure the little dog grows as fat as a pig!" The innocent little girl nodded seriously, her face showing a pure smile, making Zhou Chong feel a bit guilty for deceiving a child.

Zhou Chong dressed quickly and then led Du'er out of the room. He realized it was a sunny day, and there was no wind at all. The warm sunlight dispelled the winter chill, making the air feel warm.

Stepping out of the room, Zhou Chong stretched and moved his limbs. He was in the habit of morning exercise, usually practicing some boxing and running a few laps in the yard to maintain his strength. These were good habits from his previous life. Unfortunately, he had been too tired last night and slept in, so he had to skip his morning exercise for the day.

"Big brother, big brother, look at sister!" Just as Zhou Chong was stretching, the little girl tugged at his sleeve, pointing mysteriously to the eaves. When Zhou Chong followed her finger, he was stunned.

In the warm sunlight, the elegant and refined Zhuo'er sat on a small stool, her elbows resting on her knees, holding a manuscript in her hands. Her head was slightly lowered as she read intently, a captivating smile on her lips. A lock of hair fell over her forehead, gilded by the sunlight, creating a picturesque scene, like a classical painting of a lady.

Seeing such a beautiful scene, Zhou Chong felt a moment of dizziness, completely captivated. He wondered who the lucky man would be to marry such a beautiful and refined sister. He also regretted not having a camera to capture this moment and share it online, which would surely drive many otakus crazy.

Du'er, finding her sister's focused reading amusing, ran over with the dog and shouted, "Sister!"

"Ah!" Zhuo'er, completely absorbed in the grand opening of *Journey to the West*, screamed and jumped up from her stool. When she saw Du'er grinning mischievously, she reached out to pinch her ear.

Du'er, however, dodged skillfully, laughing and hiding behind Zhou Chong. Zhuo'er, not to be outdone, ran over and started playing with Du'er around Zhou Chong, their laughter filling the yard.

After a while, the two girls finally stopped, both out of breath and with rosy cheeks, looking incredibly cute.

Zhuo'er, finally catching her breath, suddenly remembered the manuscript and asked Zhou Chong eagerly, "Brother, is this the novel you wrote?"

"Yes, I wrote it last night. I plan to have Manager Xu practice it and then preach it outside. Once it gains popularity, book merchants will come to seek the book, and I can earn some money. With this money, we can improve our living conditions and even invest to revive some of our family's business!" Zhou Chong said confidently. With the knowledge from his past life, making a fortune would be a piece of cake once he had the initial capital.

Zhuo'er, who had always admired her brother's talent for writing such a wonderful novel, felt a bit disheartened when she heard Zhou Chong's plan to sell the manuscript. Her eyes became moist, and she tried to speak several times but only managed a forced smile, "Brother, with your great talent, using it to write such popular novels is really a waste!"

Zhou Chong, lost in his fantasies of making money, didn't notice Zhuo'er's expression. He said nonchalantly, "There's no such thing as a waste. True talent is what can make the people around you happy!"

Zhuo'er couldn't fully accept Zhou Chong's pragmatic thinking. In her eyes, her brother had always been a genius, becoming a scholar at fourteen, a rare feat in the entire Ming Dynasty. He had the potential to become a top scholar. However, after the family's decline, his personality changed, and he seemed less interested in the imperial exams and reading, focusing instead on providing a comfortable life for them. This deeply moved Zhuo'er, but deep down, she felt that his approach was somewhat short-sighted.

Zhou Chong, unaware of Zhuo'er's thoughts, wouldn't have cared even if he knew. After all, his scholar status was fake, and he probably couldn't even pass a regular exam at the prefectural school. So, making money was the most practical thing now.

"Zhuo'er, what do you think of the opening of *Journey to the West* I wrote? Is it engaging enough?" Although Zhou Chong knew the status of *Journey to the West* in classical literature, he wasn't a Ming Dynasty person and had no confidence in it, so he wanted to hear Zhuo'er's opinion.

Seeing Zhou Chong's rare nervous expression, Zhuo'er smiled and said, "Brother, with your talent, even the Four Books and Five Classics are no challenge, let alone a mere novel. The *Journey to the West* stories circulating in the market are nothing compared to your version!"

Hearing Zhuo'er's positive feedback, Zhou Chong's nervousness vanished, and he laughed confidently, "Ha! As the saying goes, there's always a way out. I will definitely make our Zhou family the wealthiest in Songjiang, and even the wealthiest in the Ming Dynasty. Then, I'll marry you and Du'er off in grand style, making those who look down on us regret it!"

Hearing Zhou Chong mention marriage again, Zhuo'er blushed, but this time she had more confidence in her brother. The innocent Du'er, hearing about marriage, pouted and said, "Du'er doesn't want to marry anyone. If I have to, I'll only marry big brother!"

Du'er's innocent words made Zhou Chong and Zhuo'er laugh, but Du'er herself was confused, her big eyes full of questions and innocence. Finally, Zhou Chong bent down and patted Du'er's head, smiling, "Alright, I'll wait for you to grow up, but you must eat well to grow faster!"

"Okay, Du'er will listen to big brother and eat well!" The innocent Du'er nodded obediently. Then, she seemed to remember something and said to the little white dog in her arms, "Doggy, you must eat well too. When you grow up, we'll marry big brother together!"

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