Chapter 12: A Day Out with the Little Rich Girl

After shooing Guo Zihang away, Jiang Qin left the beef noodle shop, headed to Jizhou City Library, picked up his financial backer—the little rich girl—and brought her to the small goods market.

Feng Nanshu was dressed today in a floral sundress that radiated an ethereal charm, a black crossbody bag slung diagonally across her shoulder, and brown leather shoes paired with lace-trimmed ankle socks peeking out just a bit. She exuded pure teenage vibes.

From the perspective of a 38-year-old greasy soul, the verdict was simple: so tender you could practically squeeze water out of her.

She strolled along the narrow walkway, her clear, bright eyes darting around, brimming with curiosity about the goods on the stalls.

This small goods market was pretty famous around Chengnan High School. It mostly sold knockoffs—cheap prices, wide variety.

Students were genuinely broke.

Especially the day students, eating at home morning and night, barely had any pocket money.

So come weekends, they'd flock here in groups of three or five, though what they bought was usually flashy but useless junk.

Feng Nanshu had probably overheard classmates chatting about this place at school, which was why she'd specifically asked to check it out.

"Why do they have so many car keys?"

"Uh… those are actually lighters."

"Does a 'Pretty Girl License' require a test? I want to get one."

"It's fake, totally meaningless. If you want it, just buy it—one yuan each."

"Jiang Qin, I'm thirsty. I want a Sprite."

"You're looking at the wrong thing. That's its cousin, Thunder Sprite."

"This underwear's split right down the middle—why are they still selling it?"

"Uh, you're still young. Adult stuff—don't ask."

Three minutes later, Feng Nanshu stopped in front of a shop at the corner, her feet refusing to budge.

In front of her was a Hello Kitty rocking car, flashing lights and chirping, "Come play, little friends!"

She turned her head, staring silently at Jiang Qin, her cool gaze flickering with a hint of determination that left him dumbfounded.

"You're not seriously wanting to ride that, are you?"

"Miss, listen to me first—this thing's for kids under eight."

"You're eighteen. If you ride this, you'll die of embarrassment on the spot."

Jiang Qin tried to talk her out of it. Sure, the toy lit up, moved, and even sang, but unless you were wearing split-bottom pants, you had no business on it.

Three minutes later, a sweet melody drifted from the shop's entrance.

What do you call Daddy's daddy? Daddy's daddy is Grandpa…

A breathtakingly beautiful girl sat atop it, her expression cool and detached, but a spark of delight danced in her eyes.

Jiang Qin, jingling the change he'd gotten from the shop, couldn't help but chuckle. He leaned against the doorframe with his shoulder, quietly watching her.

He'd once glimpsed a laminated schedule in Feng Nanshu's bag—mornings for piano and violin, noon for ballet and judo, evenings for news and finance reports. Only in the afternoons did this girl get a breather at the library.

The little rich girl probably didn't have much of a childhood…

That's why she had no friends, didn't know how to socialize, turned socially anxious, and got mistaken for aloof.

Jiang Qin smiled, letting it go, and pulled the contract from his bag.

He now held four demolition properties of varying sizes, costing a total of 2.73 million from the card.

Jizhou's old district renovation payout plan hadn't been announced yet, and he hadn't seen it in his past life, but based on his third uncle's payout in Lianqiao, Fenghuali's compensation should hit a 1:2.8 ratio. Xingfu and Hongyun Communities, being farther out, would likely max at 1:2.1.

Rongcheng's situation was unclear, but he guessed around 1:2.4.

Jizhou wasn't Beijing or Shenzhen—getting rich overnight from demolition was a pipe dream. These ratios were already decent. What more could you ask for?

Take Qianba Village on the North Second Ring—by 2018, it was slated for demolition too, but the payout was only 1:1.3.

What did that prove?

Demolition was like love—timing was everything.

Once the payout hit, Jiang Qin would repay Feng Nanshu's loan. After that, he'd likely have one or two million left, plus four properties.

He could opt for cash instead of houses, but cashing out wouldn't hit market value. The best move was to sell them himself later—though it'd depend on the relocation housing's location. If it was a future hot spot, he'd keep them.

While waiting for the payout, Jiang Qin had no plans to sit idle.

He'd withdraw another 270,000 to start a small business.

Buying demolition properties was speculative, but real entrepreneurship was different. To get into the mindset fast, he needed to master the commercial game.

So, he'd use that 270,000 as seed money, dabble in something small in Jizhou—a warm-up for the real deal.

Lost in thought, the music beside him cut off.

The rocking time was up.

But Feng Nanshu lingered on the Hello Kitty, eyes still glimmering with unsatisfied glee.

Jiang Qin sighed with a helpless grin, fished a coin from his pocket, and pressed it into her palm.

"Come ride with me." She pointed at the other machine nearby.

"Me? A grown man, a fierce warrior, an unrivaled stud—no way…"

Three minutes later, a duet of What do you call Daddy's daddy? echoed from the shop's entrance.

Jiang Qin sat in a cockpit way too small for him, rocking along with the Hello Kitty, his face lighting up with surprise.

This thing…

It was actually pretty damn fun!

After rocking for ages, the two manic Kitty cats finally stilled. The shop owner emerged, brows furrowed, eyes blazing with murder.

Kids weigh how much?

You, a hulking guy, weigh how much?

Don't you have any self-awareness, damn it!

But Jiang Qin didn't catch the owner's glare. He reached into his jeans, pulling out the beat-up Nokia his dad had handed down.

While rocking, he'd felt something buzzing. Flipping it open, he saw it was a QQ message alert—the 2008 mobile QQ chime, retro as hell.

"Jiang Bro, guess where the class reunion's at!"

"Fine, no suspense—it's at Chengzhongcheng too. How's that for a coincidence?"

"Qin Ziang booked a class banquet at the Longwei Hotel nearby. I'm heading there now—gonna eat that dumbass broke today!"

"Oh, and aren't you around Chengzhongcheng too? I'll find you after we're done, and we'll head home together!"

Guo Zihang's avatar was some long-haired guy in sunglasses, slapped with an Abao filter—peak non-mainstream.

Jiang Qin couldn't wrap his head around it. Guo was short, fat, and dark—why pick a scrawny chicken of a guy for his profile pic?

WTF am I doing…

Damn, this nine-key keyboard was a nightmare!

Jiang Qin hit the end call button, back to the home screen, too lazy to reply.

"Little rich girl, where to next?"

"To eat junk food!"

Feng Nanshu stretched out her hand, her delicate, jade-like fingers pointing at the snack shop ahead, her eyes twinkling like stars.