Free Web NovelChapter 1312: Chapter 1301: Siblings
"Director, could you help me sell these pastries?" Ye Qiu asked, acting spoiled. After all, she was young and didn’t feel embarrassed at all.
"Me?" Mrs. Ye pointed at herself, "I don’t have a store or connections, how can I help you sell them?"
"We can give them out first. Every year, many people donate money and supplies to our orphanage, right? Let’s say these pastries are handmade gifts from us, and once they find them delicious, business will gradually come."
"This method isn’t bad; it also represents the sentiment of our orphanage, but..."
"I know Mrs. Ye, you’re worried I’d be too tired, but I’m really not. I love doing this, and if we earn some money, it could improve the living conditions of our orphanage, right?" Ye Qiu persuaded, striving to make it happen.
Ye Cheng pursed his lips and said, "Do you really love cooking?"
"Of course, it’s my favorite thing to do, big brother. Didn’t you praise my talent before?" Ye Qiu nodded hastily, "Moreover, you always handle the tough job of kneading the dough. I don’t find it hard at all, and I promise I’ll balance my studies and won’t let my grades drop, okay?"
Mrs. Ye smiled at them, "Then you must keep your promise. If your grades drop, we’ll stop this business venture."
"I promise they won’t." Ye Qiu raised three fingers and beamed at them.
In the evening, Duan Yunquan and Yu Zhijing also heard about Ye Qiu’s plan to start selling pastries. They felt sad yet helpless that they couldn’t assist her, and they were very curious about the delicious pastries described by their big brother, although they couldn’t taste them.
This realization made them more aware of their inadequacies, leading them to be more accepting of the work around them, working to adapt and strengthen themselves.
Yu Zhijing, now six and a half years old, still couldn’t write many characters. Her letters were half plain text, half pinyin, and sometimes included doodles.
She shared her recent experiences with everyone: Dad wants to take me to a family reality show, saying it’ll be filmed in the countryside. I’m not afraid of hardship, but I’ll make demands to Dad. They want me to follow their orders, but I don’t want to be too tired. My siblings are right, I should eat more, sleep more, and grow healthy. Then, when I grow up, I’ll be able to do things my way and return to find you.
Yu Zhijing’s happiness was apparent in her text. Everyone was thrilled she’s learned to resist, instead of letting her heartless parents exploit her.
Occasionally, Yu Zhijing couldn’t find time to contact them, but everyone could still see her updates on television. After Yu Shangnan and Liang Jin publicized her existence, she attracted a significant amount of attention and successfully rebranded her image.
Because Yu Zhijing was absolutely adorable, she quickly gained many fans, followed by numerous resources—whether it be reality shows or children’s commercials. All major brands were generous in their offers.
It can be said that now Yu Zhijing is a moving money-making machine. Naturally, these two wouldn’t miss out on this opportunity and constantly took her to attend various events. Initially, everyone worried she’d be overwhelmed, but after receiving letters from her saying she had learned to negotiate terms with her parents, and seeing her on TV not showing signs of unhappiness or exhaustion, their concerns eased.
Living in a predicament isn’t scary; what’s scary is having no one to turn to for help or support. In her past life, Yu Zhijing was too young and immature, constantly under control.
This time, she could reach out to her brothers and sisters, who always offered advice from behind the scenes. Yu Zhijing didn’t feel lonely at all; instead, she enjoyed this feeling, as if she was battling monsters with her siblings supporting her, and growing herself. She knew she’d be as awesome as her siblings one day.
Elsewhere, after settling into school, Duan Yunquan’s life wasn’t all smooth sailing. The hostility from his stepmother and her two children remained, and while at the Duan Family, the maids weren’t attentive to him, and he couldn’t express his grievances, because if he did, he’d be seen as ungrateful.
So he endured while also devising solutions. He didn’t share these matters with his big brother and sisters because he felt it wasn’t necessary, not wanting them to worry on his behalf.
His grandfather was getting old, only wanting occasional amusement. Unless there was a legitimate reason, issues like suspected bullying wouldn’t work.
He was still too weak to handle things alone; if not for being forced, and if these people weren’t disrupting his studies, Duan Yunquan wouldn’t bother with them at all.
After contemplating, he realized the only person in the family who might help was his nominal big brother, Duan Yunhai.
Duan Yunhai was the son of his father, Duan Minghui’s first wife, whom their grandfather highly regarded as the heir. Even Duan Minghui couldn’t shake his eldest son’s position since his late first wife had Duan Family shares that she assigned to her eldest son before passing away. Duan Minghui now only managed them.
Even though Duan Yunhai already held some of the Duan Family shares, the majority were still in the hands of the old man and Duan Minghui. Naturally, Lin Fei couldn’t be content with her son just watching. She held great ambitions for the Duan Family and didn’t want Duan Yunquan to share the family’s assets; nor did she hope Duan Yunhai would end up in power.
But as a stepmother, her position was sensitive. If she openly attempted anything against Duan Yunhai, controversy was likely, so Duan Yunhai could only maintain superficial harmony with his stepmother.
However, in recent years, Duan Minghui’s attitude had changed; he was biased more towards his wife and younger children, who accompanied him daily, than his distant eldest son. Therefore, Duan Yunquan didn’t believe Duan Yunhai lacked a sense of crisis.
Duan Yunquan had no interest in the family’s property battles but considered negotiating with Duan Yunhai for a peaceful life. There were things Duan Yunhai couldn’t act upon, but he could help, while Duan Yunhai would ensure he wasn’t troubled by Lin Fei and share a portion of property later.
He didn’t ask for much, and after Duan Yunhai pondered, he agreed readily and began to see his younger brother differently.
A child raised in an orphanage, only ten years old, having so much foresight surprised him. Even more surprising was his ability to maintain his true self after entering such an affluent family, merely wanting a stable learning environment and a negligible piece of property. The deal was made quickly, and Duan Yunhai even hired several private tutors to empower Duan Yunquan to assist him better.
