Chapter 24: You Know This Too!

"Goodbye, brother."
"Goodbye! Goodbye, sisters! Be good and listen to your teacher, okay?"
"Got it! And you need to listen to brother too."
Little Xia'er pinched Qiu'er's chubby cheeks, shook her short hair, and ran into the school.
"Hmph! Mean second sister, always pinching my cheeks!"
"Mmm~ Sister~ don't pinch Dong'er!"
Qiu'er: (x_x;)
Watching the two little ones play and squabble, Yang Qing shook his head with a smile and scooped them both up, setting them in the cart.
"Sit tight now, we're heading out."
"Let's go!"
When Yang Qing arrived at May Day Snack Street, the foodies' joy arrived with him.
"Line up! Buy pancakes!"
Qiu'er had honorably lost her post as little cashier, but the unwilling girl quickly found a new job—maintaining order!
Of course, she didn't dare run too far; her range was strictly within three meters of Yang Qing's stall.
"Wow, what an adorable little girl!"
"Her baby voice is so sweet and cute."
"Haha... it's our little Captain Qiu'er, keeping order again. Oh, look, your money dropped!"
"My money! Where is it?"
The diners burst out in good-natured laughter.
Qiu'er: →_→
Hmph! A bunch of big meanies!
Pinching her cheeks, patting her little bottom, and now even tricking her!
Wicked! All of you are so wicked!
I'm not being captain anymore!
She went off proud and came back dejected; in just a few minutes, little Qiu'er had experienced the ups and downs of life.
"Back already?"
Yang Qing, not stopping his pancake-making, glanced at the crestfallen Qiu'er and smiled, "Go eat breakfast with Dong'er. When you're done, call Sister Ke'er. You remember what to say, right?"
"I do!"
Qiu'er nodded her little head happily. "Invite Sister Ke'er to come eat with us!"
"That's right, off you go."
"Okay! Sister Ke'er will be so happy!"
Indeed, if Wang Ke'er received Qiu'er's invitation, she would be very happy, because at this moment, she was facing a career crisis.
"Ke'er, you should go back to streaming Little Boss selling pancakes!"
"Yeah, Ke'er, forget singing, go stream with the little cuties, I miss Qiu'er."
"Exactly! Nowadays, cuteness rules! Just look, in just over a day, your followers dropped so much! You're about to fall below four million!"
"..."
Wang Ke'er was live that morning, but her stream was not going well.
Her follower count kept dropping—from five million at the peak to just over 4.1 million, and soon it would fall below four.
"I... I..."
She was flustered.
Who would want to return to the bottom after reaching the top?
She had quickly gained five million followers by streaming Yang Qing selling pancakes and the sensational SJJ incident.
She had confidently believed her singing would keep those fans, but reality had slapped her hard.
Yet now, to have her stream Yang Qing and the little cuties again—she couldn't get past that hurdle in her heart.
She already saw Yang Qing and the children as good friends.
Yang Qing sold pancakes to make a living, to give Qiu'er and the other orphans a better life.
To use her friends' daily life or privacy to further her own goals—she just couldn't do it.
"Maybe I should just stream singing and dancing," Wang Ke'er said, full of longing.
"Singing and dancing? Sure, try it! Ke'er, want to give us a segment?"

"Yes! Do a segment! Got a whip?"
"!!! The one upstairs, do you even know what singing and dancing means?"
"Of course! Whip cracks, candles lit, lips moving—isn't that singing and dancing?"
"..."
The car to kindergarten had taken a wrong turn; everyone in the stream felt like their faces were run over by a tire.
Wang Ke'er was speechless, but she knew these veteran viewers were her true fans.
"Hey! Answer the phone! It's your little cutie!"
Suddenly, a unique ringtone sounded. Wang Ke'er grabbed her phone irritably, but her face immediately lit up with joy.
Caller ID: Qingqing!
"Hello..."
"Hi~ Is this Sister Ke'er? It's Qiu'er!"
Wang Ke'er was amused by the sweet little voice, "Yes, I'm Sister Ke'er. Did our little Qiu'er miss her sister?"
"Hehe... no I didn't."
Wang Ke'er: Ծ‸Ծ
No love, absolutely no love left. The person she missed didn't miss her back—what was the point anymore?
Wang Ke'er was so annoyed she couldn't speak, but little Qiu'er on the other end just babbled on and on.
"Hey~ Sister, are you there? Why aren't you saying anything? Qiu'er has said so much, say something too!"
Wang Ke'er, powerless: "You don't miss me, so I don't feel like talking."
"Hehe... Qiu'er was tricking you! I missed you so much! And my brother agreed to invite you over for lunch this afternoon. Will you come?"
Wang Ke'er: (*'▽'*)♪ "Of course I will!"
"Hehe..."
...
Time, like a ditch, slips away as you squeeze it.
In a blink, the sun was already high, and Yang Qing, having used all his ingredients and made the last pancake, looked apologetically at the disappointed customers:
"That's all for pancakes today. And for the next week, I won't be setting up my stall—sorry."
"What! You're not coming for a whole week? Are you kidding?"
"Yeah! You've captured our stomachs, and now you just say you won't come? Irresponsible man!"
Yang Qing: !!!
Ma'am, if your husband heard you, what would he think?
"Ahem..."
A bit embarrassed, he explained helplessly to the crowd, "I really don't have time. For the next week, I'll be renovating my shop."
He pointed to the corner of the street, "The shop is right over there. Please give me a week. After that, we'll open—and there will be a surprise!"
A diner groaned, "A surprise? What kind?"
Yang Qing smiled mysteriously, "The surprise is... a secret!"
The diners: ...
Aren't you afraid of getting beaten up for being so cheeky?
Out there, the eaters are always at the mercy of the cook. The crowd dispersed, and Yang Qing packed up and took the two little ones home.
After an hour, having made soup dumplings for the little ones' lunch, he headed to Bai's house with the girls in tow.
"Auntie Bai! Here, try this! My brother made soup dumplings—so delicious!"
"Oh my, thank you, little darling Qiu'er! Come inside, quick!"
Auntie Bai scooped up Dong'er and led Qiu'er inside. Bai Zhijun, meanwhile, cast a resentful look at Yang Qing, "Can't you make an extra portion next time? Afraid I'll eat you out of house and home?"
"Haha..."
Yang Qing laughed. "There'll be plenty in the future. Come on, let's go to the building materials market."
"Let's go, though I don't get why you're in such a hurry. Opening in a week with a big surprise—what surprise?"
"Heh... that's a secret."
Bai Zhijun: ...
What kind of person are you, always playing at secrets! Sheesh!
They hopped on the electric tricycle and set off. When they arrived at the building materials market, Bai Zhijun parked and they started browsing.
"There's a design firm up ahead—let's take a look."
They'd been to several places without satisfaction, and Bai Zhijun was feeling deflated.
Yang Qing nodded, "Alright. If none of these fit, let's go with the very first one we discussed prices with."
"Fine!"
"Design! What kind of nonsense is this? Are you messing with me?"
"It's not nonsense! Why do you say my design doesn't work? Tell me..."
Just as the two entered the design studio, they heard a heated argument. Turning, they saw two men glaring at each other, eyes wide.
A woman sat quietly nearby, her face hidden by a baseball cap and oversized sunglasses, but her figure was graceful and elegant.
Seeing this, Yang Qing and Bai Zhijun relaxed, watching with interest and listening in.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a design blueprint was flung by the young man and landed at Yang Qing's feet.
"Uh... Brother Bai, take a look at this blueprint."
Bai Zhijun: "...Me? Me, look at this? I do renovations, not design!"
Yang Qing: ...
Well, no need for a fake, the truth is out!
With the blueprint in hand, Yang Qing intended to study and compare, but one look and his face darkened.
What is there to study or verify!
This piece of work was nowhere near on par with a "system product"!
"What is this even supposed to be?"
Unable to hold back, Yang Qing blurted out.
At once, the argument shifted focus.
"What did you say? Do you know anything about design?"
The quarrelsome man instantly rounded on Yang Qing, eyes blazing.
Yang Qing realized his slip and quickly apologized, "Heh... Sorry, slip of the tongue. We'll just go, you carry on."
"A slip! I think you did it on purpose! A couple of bumpkins, dirtying my floor! Get out, now!" The man pressed on, relentless.
Yang Qing's face turned cold. "Heh, calling your design 'something' is already too kind—it's not even worth dog crap!"
"What did you say! If you dare—"
"What, hard of hearing? Let me say it again for you!"
Ignoring the man's roar, Yang Qing interrupted coldly, "Air, dispersed by wind, stopped by water; to gather and not scatter, to move and have boundaries—that is feng shui.
Since ancient times, in China, house renovations have followed the principles of feng shui: harmony within and without, so that residents feel comfortable, not just physically but also in their hearts!"
At these somewhat esoteric yet professional words, everyone in the room turned to look at him.
"So then, what's wrong with this design? Hmph! Anyone can talk big!" the man retorted, unwilling to concede.
Yang Qing sneered, "Look here—putting a bathroom in this spot, and right across from it is... And here..."
He went on, point by point, listing the flaws and mistakes in the blueprint. The audience was left dumbfounded, gazing at him in silence as he performed.
"In the end... never mind, not worth the effort."
By the end, seeing the man pale and trembling, Yang Qing lost interest.
"Let's go, Brother Bai."
"Oh, right."
Bai Zhijun snapped out of his shock and followed Yang Qing out of the shop.
"You... you know about this stuff too?"
Once outside, Bai Zhijun couldn't help asking, his voice tinged with awe.
Yang Qing scratched his head sheepishly.
"Heh... Just a little bit."
Bai Zhijun: ...