My wronged aunt is trying to rewrite her life. (7th update, mwah...)
As soon as the car pulled into the residential area and came to a stop downstairs, Song Yuan came down, opened the back seat, unbuckled his seatbelt, and carried the sleeping Tian Tian out of the car.
“I knew right away that you two would be back around this time, so I changed my shifts earlier. You must be exhausted from driving all that way, right? Go home and rest. Don’t worry about the stuff in the car, I’ll make a couple of trips and move it up there.”
Chen Xia had been driving intently the whole way and was indeed a little tired, so she took her small bag and went upstairs with him.
Song Yuan put Tian Tian back in the small bedroom, then ran back and forth several times to bring all the things from the car up.
"Your eldest and second eldest sisters are so kind, bringing you so many nice things!"
Chen Xia smiled and changed the subject. Some of those things were indeed given to her by her eldest and second eldest sisters, but most of them she took from her spatial storage when she stopped at a service area on the way and when no one else and Tian Tian were looking.
Take free-range chickens for example. Her older sister gave her two, and she released those two live chickens directly into her space. She then took out five slaughtered, fatter, and more tender free-range chickens from the warehouse.
The eggs were also replaced with those from the space, and the quantity increased from two trays to five. The sausages and cured meat were the same, enough for their family of three to eat for a whole year.
In addition, she also stuffed in a 20-pound bag of flour, a 50-pound bag of rice, and a large jug of peanut oil.
The result of taking out too many things is that the refrigerator can't hold them all, and at the current temperature, the food definitely won't last overnight if left outside.
Eggs, sausages, and cured meat were fine, but they couldn't finish the slaughtered free-range chicken. Chen Xia had already thought of this.
"Don't your battalion commander and instructor live in our community? This is a free-range chicken raised by our hometown. The stew tastes much better than the yellow-feathered chickens we usually buy."
Give them an extra one, and don't forget the deputy captain and the branch committee members either. That way, one for each family, and we'll keep the last one for ourselves—it'll be just right.
Song Yuan leaned in and kissed her: "You didn't already have this planned out, did you?"
Chen Xia laughed and said, "I just happened to be going back to my hometown. Don't worry, I gave my older sister some money. If it were just one or two chickens, we could eat them, but bringing five chickens would cost several hundred yuan."
Bringing just a chicken wouldn't look good. Let's divide the sausages and cured meat among ourselves and give some to each household. We can deliver them as part of a visit later.
As Chen Xia spoke, she found a few tote bags and packed the packaged chicken, sausages, and cured meats into them, which fit perfectly.
In the afternoon, Chen Xia started stewing the chicken early. The chicken raised in the space was incredibly fragrant when stewed.
Song Yuan made several trips and delivered the items to the recipients. When he returned, he was followed by two college classmates who lived downstairs and worked at the Public Security Bureau. They were tempted by the delicious food, and since their wives weren't home, they came over to freeload.
Chen Xia handed the newly awakened Tian Tian to Song Yuan, asking him to invite his two old classmates to have some dried fruit in the living room first. She then went into the kitchen and stir-fried garlic sprouts with cured pork, snow peas with cured sausage, and dry-pot cauliflower.
I sliced up some braised beef, made cold pig's ear salad, and fried some peanuts from the refrigerator.
Six dishes were served with stewed chicken. Song Yuan and the other two had big appetites, so Chen Xia tried to make the portions as large as possible when cooking, using the largest plate she had at home.
Since there wasn't enough steamed rice, I heated up some steamed buns from the refrigerator and then made a sweet soup with rice wine, glutinous rice balls, and egg drop.
Their dining table was piled high, and in the end, they devoured all the dishes, steamed buns, and soup.
They don't drink on weekdays, especially Song Yuan's two college classmates. They work in the criminal investigation team and need to be on the go at any time if there is a case. Drinking could very likely cause them to make mistakes.
Some of the families that Song Yuan sent the chicken to stewed it directly, while others froze it in the refrigerator and only stir-fried sausages or cured meat.
But no matter what they ate, it all tasted incredibly good. They'd finish every last bite of a dish of vegetables or chicken and still want more. The next day at work, they were exceptionally friendly towards Song Yuan.
For a long time, Chen Xia didn't pay attention to what the two small systems had sold to China, until that night when Song Yuan came back, picked Chen Xia up, and tossed him around in his arms.
Chen Xia was startled and quickly hugged his neck: "What's wrong with you? Did you win the lottery today?"
Song Yuan chuckled and showed Chen Xia how he looked different from before.
After examining her closely, Chen Xia frowned and said, "Why do I feel like you've gotten a few years younger? Did you take some kind of magic pill?"
Song Yuan picked her up and kissed her hard, then whispered, "Pretty much. The company suddenly started administering basic gene-enhancing drugs today."
We were all shocked. When did the country develop gene therapy drugs? But we were police officers, and obeying orders was our duty. Although we had our doubts, we took them anyway.
The medicine was about the size of an oral liquid. After drinking it, I felt a burning sensation spreading from my lower abdomen to my limbs and bones, and I felt like my whole body was on fire.
It was hot and painful, but the pain was bearable. After five minutes, I felt light all over and extremely hungry.
I suppose there was a reason why the leaders told us to take the medication at noon. We all rushed to the cafeteria, and by 11 a.m., all the food was ready.
I ate two bowls of rice in one go—not plates, but the kind of bowls we use at home to hold washed vegetables, two full bowls. When I entered the cafeteria, I was quite puzzled; we used to eat from plates, why were they using bowls this time?
But I was so hungry at the time that I didn't pay attention to those details; I just felt like I could eat a whole cow. I ate two more bowls that afternoon, and now I'm actually hungry again!
Chen Xia breathed a sigh of relief and patted his shoulder: "Since the country dares to let you take this medicine, it proves that the medicine is safe, otherwise everything would be in chaos. Put me down, I'll go make you some food."
I steamed extra rice at noon today. I was planning to stir-fry it for breakfast tomorrow, but I'll make you some fried rice for now.
"Hey, do you think this might be one of those gene-evolution serums from novels? In those novels, after taking the potion, you become stronger and more powerful. Have you become stronger yet?"
Song Yuan nodded: "It's that kind of gene evolution fluid, otherwise why would I be able to hold you like a little chick! In our brigade, my strength has increased the most, and now I can easily lift things weighing about 600 pounds."
They both weigh around 500 pounds, and I have more stamina, honey. You'll experience it for yourself tonight and you'll see how strong your husband is.
Chen Xia pinched his cheek: "Your skin is getting thicker and thicker. The military should have taken it before you, right? Have all the police taken the drug? Will it be rolled out nationwide?"
"It will definitely start with the military. I heard that some special units have already taken intermediate gene-enhancing drugs and become superhumans who can lift thousands of kilograms."
Then there are the police officers nationwide, but widespread adoption is reportedly not planned for the time being. The main reason is that increased strength would pose a greater threat to society. Most importantly, they eat too much.
Gene therapy can boost a person's physical fitness by two to three times, which also means that the body needs to take in a lot of energy.
And the source of our energy intake is food. That means a person's food intake is several times that of before.
China's food supply is already insufficient to meet its own needs, requiring annual imports. If everyone becomes a big eater, the food shortage will undoubtedly worsen.
If it were only the military, police, and fire departments, that would be one thing, but if ordinary people also ate like this, wouldn't they be completely wiped out?
Chen Xia nodded, agreeing that things should be done step by step. Knowing that he had a large appetite now, Chen Xia poured all the leftover rice from the rice cooker into a bowl.
I fried ten eggs, chopped five sausages, prepared a small bowl of chopped green onions, and took out a bag of peeled shrimp to make him a super deluxe version of fried rice.
After stir-frying, I poured most of the food into a small bowl, filling it to the brim. I also heated two cartons of stored milk for him in a small saucepan. He ate it all up, and even after patting his belly, he still seemed a little unsatisfied.
After drinking a enamel mug of warm milk, I finally felt less empty. Chen Xia took out the cookies and cakes she had baked yesterday from the cupboard: "If you're still hungry, have some more."
He really finished both packets. Chen Xia shook his head. It's true that we can't blindly popularize gene therapy among the whole population. If the whole country could eat like that, it really wouldn't be able to handle it.
While Song Yuan went to the bathroom to shower, Chen Xia pulled the two little systems over: "What exactly did you two sell? How come you even sold gene serums?"
The system handed her a list detailing all the items that had been sold.
Chen Xia stared blankly, then exclaimed, "Wait, didn't you two say you'd try not to interfere with the development of the small world? Why didn't you think about that when you were selling these things? Tell me, how much money did you two make?"
The numbers reported by the system almost made Chen Xia faint: "We'll leave after we finish the mission, what do we need so much money for?"
The little system pointed to its fingers: "Stockpiling, the two of us have spent most of our money on stockpiling."
You probably didn't notice, but I also bought a lot of high-quality jade stones, which I buried near the stream.
Chen Xia sighed: "Alright, you two should restrain yourselves. Be careful when selling certain weapons."
"By the way, extend the trading period; just refresh the items every six months. We've already sold them so much; let them study it first. Trying to do too much at once will only lead to problems."
By the time Tian Tian started first grade, Chen Xia had made an astonishing five million yuan in the stock market. That day, while Song Yuan was off work, the family of three went to look at houses.
Their first stop was a residential building near Chen Xia's school, developed a couple of years ago. It was an existing building, with one apartment per floor, three bedrooms, two living rooms, and over 160 square meters.
The main reason I chose this apartment is because all three bedrooms face south and receive plenty of sunlight. There's also a private elevator entrance, so I don't have to worry about neighbor disputes.
Most importantly, it's just across the street from Chen Xia's school's south gate. She and Tian Tian can simply walk to school and work from now on.
It's a bit far from the main road, offering a quiet oasis amidst the hustle and bustle. The community has good landscaping, and although the property prices are a bit high, the buildings are spaced far apart, resulting in good natural light.
The community has good security; you need to swipe a card to enter and exit the community, the building, and the elevator, and you can go straight from your door to your home. There's a community security checkpoint right next door, so the safety level is top-notch, and it's even closer to Song Yuan's workplace.
They now live in an old residential area without an underground garage or designated parking spaces, so their cars are basically parked haphazardly downstairs.
Because Song Yuan was on duty and returned late, he had to park his car outside the residential area.
The new residential complex here has underground parking garages, and when they bought the house, they bought two parking spaces directly.
The garage not only has a dedicated charging area for electric vehicles, but the developer has also equipped each parking space with an electric vehicle charging station.
This is a low-density residential area, mainly consisting of nine-story garden apartments. Since the apartments started selling two years ago, there aren't many new properties left for them to choose from. The apartment they finally settled on was perfect in every way, except for one thing: it was on the top floor.
Chen Xia didn't really care; she had a renovation robot that could handle the renovation perfectly, no matter which floor it was.
Song Yuan hesitated. He often heard his colleagues complain that buying a top-floor apartment was prone to leaks, was hot in the summer and cold in the winter, and had extremely high energy consumption.
But the salesperson's enticing words, promising a free attic and a large terrace, convinced me that I'd made the purchase without fully understanding what was going on.
Actually, there are many advantages to buying now. First, the house price has dropped a lot. Second, these houses are all fully furnished. If you buy now, the smell of the house will have dissipated for a long time, and you can move in directly.
Chen Xia and his family weren't in a hurry to move in. The developer's so-called "luxury" renovation was just so-so, and they had to make many changes themselves.
This is something only Chen Xia can handle, because with the holiday approaching, Song Yuan will be busy again.
Song Yuan was busy working overtime and would not return home until very late every day. It was even common for him to stay overnight at the traffic police brigade.
His busy schedule, ironically, provided Chen Xia with great convenience. She had Ling Yi use professional tools to inspect the materials, and all substandard renovation materials were removed.
The result was that 50% of the work was substandard, so they decided to just reinstall everything, since they had a renovation robot that could quickly demolish or reinstall anything.
The original style was basically preserved, and the renovation was carried out again. After that, various formaldehyde removal methods were used, although there was almost none, but Song Yuan didn't know that, so the necessary procedures still had to be followed.
They resort to various methods, such as buying green plants and various formaldehyde-removing gadgets, and so on. They also use high-temperature fumigation and ventilation.
After a busy six months, we finally moved into our new house just in time for winter. By then, Tian Tian was already a first-grade elementary school student.
When Tian Tian first started first grade, she was quite excited, finally able to go to the same school as her mother, but her joy quickly faded.
In kindergarten, they basically don't learn subjects like pinyin or math.
What do they do every day? When they arrive in the morning, they first put their clothes, water bottles, and other belongings neatly in a designated spot. Then they choose a small toy and play with it by themselves or with their friends.
Once most of the students have arrived, the teachers will conduct a morning health check on the children.
The morning health check ended around nine o'clock, and it was time for morning exercises. We lined up, holding onto the clothes of the child in front of us, to go downstairs.
Their morning exercise time is usually one hour, which includes fitness exercises, radio calisthenics, and free time.
Then there will be two short classes, each lasting 20-30 minutes. In between, there will be breaks to queue for water, use the restroom, etc.
I ate lunch, took a nap, and slept until 2:30 pm when I woke up and lined up to go out for outdoor activities with the teacher.
I played until almost four o'clock, then went back to the classroom, washed my hands, ate some snacks and drank milk, and waited for my parents to pick me up.
Actually, kindergartens used to teach pinyin and math, but later relevant policies were introduced that prohibited teaching primary school curriculum content in advance, so that was discontinued.
What's the situation now? The older children aren't learning pinyin or math, even though Chen Xia teaches them and Tian Tian is doing very well. However, she writes slowly, and the amount of homework in first grade is significantly more difficult than in kindergarten.
Four classes in the morning and three in the afternoon; the child has to obediently return to the classroom as soon as the bell rings. After sitting for so long, Chen Xia felt that the light in the child's eyes had disappeared.
After a long day of classes, she didn't want to play with any toys when she got home. She just lay down on the sofa and mumbled, "I'm so tired, Mom. I want to go back to kindergarten."
Chen Xia realized this wouldn't do, so he started giving her all sorts of brain-boosting and physical-improving supplements, regardless of whether it involved cheating or whether it would be counterproductive.
After dinner, I made her exercise and gave her some health-boosting pills.
A week passed like this, and the little guy was full of energy every day. After school, he would throw his schoolbag in the office and run off to call his friends.
If you want to get someone to come home, you have to search the whole campus for them; they absolutely won't come back unless they're hungry.
After figuring out the pattern, Chen Xia made an appointment with her: after school, Chen Xia would go home first to cook, while she would play with the older boys and girls on campus.
After Chen Xia finishes cooking, she'll come find her, and the two of them will go home together. To let her have more fun, she's signed her up for roller skating and balance bike lessons on Sunday.
Now Tian Tian has truly let loose. Chen Xia originally thought she would raise a little lady, but now it seems the style has gone astray.
Although she still loved classical dance, she couldn't concentrate on painting. Later, after hearing from her classmates that learning to ride horses was interesting, she told Chen Xia that she didn't want to learn painting anymore and wanted to learn to ride horses instead.
By asking the parent, Chen Xia found the horse farm where the child learned to ride horses. Children this age start by being exposed to miniature horses.
Because of their young age, they don't learn riding skills, but rather how to communicate with horses, brush them, and tidy up their harnesses, among many other things.
The instructors at the horse farm talked a lot, about cultivating this ability and that ability in children. After a two-lesson trial, Chen Xia enrolled her.
All I can say is that it's really expensive. Putting aside the rider's equipment, the quality of this is slightly different from the average one.
The club fees and tuition are really expensive. A 45-minute class costs around 700 yuan. And that's because they live in a small city. In first- or second-tier cities, each class would cost around 1500 yuan.
Thinking back to their past life, their royal palace kept dozens of horses, and each of the quadruplets had three or four, or even more, horses. How much would that cost in today's terms?
Good heavens, no wonder Mingrui's two-year salary of 20,000 taels of silver wasn't enough to live on. The little system once calculated for her that, based on the purchasing power at the time, 20,000 taels of silver was equivalent to about 9 million RMB.
A family of six with a farm and shops, who don't need to buy food, cloth, or other such things, can live on 9 million a year. That's quite extravagant.
With increased activity levels, Tian Tian's appetite has also grown day by day. Especially after she grew taller, her long arms and legs made Chen Xia, with her short legs, extremely envious.
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