"Ding—"
The sound of a text message came from Lin Chen's phone.
He took out his phone and looked. It was a text message from the bank; the five thousand yuan for the translation had already arrived.
They're quite efficient.
Lin Chen murmured to himself.
If the other party said there was something wrong with his translation, he'd have to argue with them properly.
"Xiaoxi, you play by yourself for a bit."
"Daddy has something to do."
Lin Chen touched Lin Xiaoxi's head and smiled.
"Okay, Dad will go then."
Lin Xiaoxi said obediently.
Lin Chen went to the study and turned on the computer.
He logged into his email and opened the reply he received.
"Long-term cooperation?"
Lin Chen murmured.
He wasn't very interested in long-term cooperation; the money he could earn was limited. Even if he earned a few thousand a day, it would only be a little over a hundred thousand a month.
That might be a lot for ordinary people, but he had the System. Earning just over a hundred thousand a month? That was a joke.
He made more than that just running transport using the System space.
Still, using this to make a little money in the short term was fine. Not counting Xu Mengyao's sixty thousand, he only had about thirty thousand himself.
—He'd spent several thousand on things after the move.
Thirty thousand would last him a while if he were the only one spending it, but it wouldn't last long with Lin Xiaoxi to support.
Yesterday's trip to the amusement park had already cost a lot.
He paid rent monthly, which came to fifteen thousand a month.
"Hello."
Lin Chen quickly added the other person on WeChat.
"Hello, Big Boss, your translations are fast and excellent. We often have some urgent and high-quality jobs here, and the price will be higher than normal. Are you interested in cooperating, Big Boss?"
Yao Bin, the general manager of the translation company, replied on the phone.
"I just want to earn some pocket money for the short term. You can send the tasks to me. I'll take them if I think they're suitable."
Lin Chen replied.
"Okay."
Yao Bin felt a little regretful.
But Big Bosses have their own personalities; he couldn't force it. Even if the Big Boss didn't take orders from him, they could still take them from others.
"Boss, I have three orders here."
"See if any of them interest you."
Yao Bin quickly sent Lin Chen three high-difficulty manuscripts.
They weren't quite capable of handling these orders themselves, and posting them online to find someone was too difficult. The prices were too low, so no one would take them, and the quality couldn't be guaranteed either.
"The prices are a bit low. Increase them all by ten percent. If that's okay, I'll take all three orders."
Lin Chen replied after reviewing them.
Yao Bin was taken aback: "Can you handle all three?"
"No problem."
Soon, Yao Bin agreed to Lin Chen's increased price.
After a 10% increase, the three orders totaled 21,000 yuan. Lin Chen estimated it would take about ten hours in total.
Lin Xiaoxi needed a nap, which would take an hour or two at noon, and then more than three hours in the evening. They could finish it in two days.
Two days passed in the blink of an eye.
During these two days, Lin Chen gained only one new skill.
Singing.
This skill appeared while teaching Lin Xiaoxi nursery rhymes.
"Ding—"
A text message arrived from the bank.
His translation had been accepted, and he'd earned twenty-one thousand. Adding the five thousand from before, he'd made twenty-six thousand in just over a dozen hours.
Lin Chen felt it: knowledge truly was power!
He used to work hard for a whole month and only make a few thousand.
"Xiaoxi, you didn't read that correctly just now. Daddy will read it to you again—"
Lin Chen glanced at the text message and continued to teach Lin Xiaoxi English.
Soon, a System voice rang out in Lin Chen's mind: "Host, your French has reached the proficient standard."
A faint smile appeared on Lin Chen's face.
Another foreign language down.
Easy peasy.
"System, German next."
Lin Chen instructed in his mind; he had the freedom to choose.
"Understood, Host."
"You will continue to teach Lin Xiaoxi foreign languages, which will improve your German proficiency."
The System responded.
"Dong dong!"
Shen Qing arrived outside the apartment where Lin Chen used to live.
She knocked for a while, but no one answered.
"Are you looking for Lin Chen, miss?"
A woman walked down from the upstairs apartment and asked.
Shen Qing quickly replied, "Yes, I'm looking for Lin Chen."
The woman sized up Shen Qing: "Are you Lin Xiaoxi's mother? Xiaoxi is very cute, you parents have to take responsibility."
Shen Qing: "..."
"You've misunderstood, ma'am. Xiaoxi is my best friend's daughter."
The woman looked a little embarrassed. "Oh, I see. Lin Chen doesn't live here anymore. I don't know where he moved."
"Thank you, ma'am."
Shen Qing hurried downstairs and left.
"Beep beep!"
Shen Qing dialed Xu Mengyao's phone number.
Xu Mengyao often traveled abroad, so Shen Qing had long ago activated international calling.
"Shen Qing, what's up?"
Xu Mengyao asked nervously.
She knew that Shen Qing was going to check on Lin Chen today.
She was worried that Lin Xiaoxi wasn't doing well.
"Mengyao, Lin Chen moved, didn't he tell you?"
Shen Qing asked.
Xu Mengyao: "No. I told him not to contact me unless it was important, and he hasn't called. I'll call him and ask, and then I'll tell you."
"Okay."
After hanging up, Xu Mengyao dialed Lin Chen's number.
"Hello?"
Lin Chen answered the phone.
He already knew the number belonged to Xu Mengyao.
Xu Mengyao: "Lin Chen, where did you move? A friend of mine went to see Xiaoxi, but found out you'd moved."
Lin Chen said, "Purple Garden Estate, Building 5, unit 2001. Don't worry, Xiaoxi is my daughter, I won't mistreat her."
"Did you get a paternity test?" Xu Mengyao asked.
"No, Xiaoxi and I look very alike, and I believe you wouldn't lie about something like this. With your conditions, you could find a bunch of guys to take over in a heartbeat."
Lin Chen said, "You talk to Xiaoxi."
He turned on the speakerphone and handed the phone to Lin Xiaoxi.
He then went to the bathroom on his own.
"Xiaoxi, how have you been feeling these past few days with Dad? Do you want to keep living with him?" Xu Mengyao asked.
Lin Xiaoxi said happily, "Of course, I do! Mom, let me tell you, Dad is amazing. He's a superhero."
"Oh? What's so amazing about Dad?"
Lin Xiaoxi held the phone and said, "Dad is amazing at everything. He teaches me to sing, draw, write, and he tells me stories, too."
"Daddy knows lots and lots of stories."
"Mommy, when are you coming back? Xiaoxi misses you so much."
Xu Mengyao said, "Mommy won't be back for another week."
Lin Xiaoxi's grandmother's surgery was relatively successful, but she was still in the hospital.
After chatting with Lin Xiaoxi for a while, Xu Mengyao hung up the phone.
She told Shen Qing Lin Chen's new address.
"Shen Qing, when you get to Purple Garden Estate later, go to Lin Chen's place and take a few photos to send to me later,"
Xu Mengyao instructed.
"Understood."
Purple Garden Estate wasn't far, and Shen Qing arrived quickly by car.
After registering as a visitor, Shen Qing entered the estate.
This place is quite nice.
Shen Qing thought to herself.
She'd checked online, and Purple Garden Estate's property prices weren't cheap.
"Ding-dong—"
Shen Qing rang the doorbell outside door 2001 of Building 5.