Chapter 271 - 203: Didn’t Mean It

The entire family stared intently at Shen Meng. She had truly become their golden girl—she was just too good at making money.

Jia Ru asked, finding it a bit hard to believe, "Shen Meng, is what your cousin said true?"

Wu Min looked at Shen Meng as well. She even found herself hoping it wasn’t true; otherwise, she would feel completely useless next to Shen Meng.

Shen Meng shook her head. "It wasn’t 82,000—"

They weren’t too disappointed. In fact, they were relieved. ’Making money isn’t that easy, after all,’ they thought. Wu Min, on the other hand, immediately brightened up and asked, "Ah, was it because it was too much, so they lowered the commission rate? Your boss isn’t very generous, is he? But that’s only natural. No one would let an employee take home that much money all at once."

The others were thinking the exact same thing. But Shen Meng immediately added, "It was 205,000. I hosted this livestream myself, so the streamer’s 3% commission is also mine, for a total of 5%."

Everyone froze as if a paralysis charm had been cast on them, staring blankly at Shen Meng. She had never told a lie in her life, so no one doubted her words. Still, they couldn’t wrap their heads around it. What kind of Immortal work could possibly bring in over 200,000 a month? And that wasn’t even counting the other livestream scheduled for next week, or her income from the regular daily streams.

Wu Min picked up the plate of sweet and sour pork ribs and stood up. Jia Lian asked, "What are you doing now, you crazy girl?"

"I’m going to eat outside. I’m leaving. This is too much for my ego."

Jia Ru had cooked those sweet and sour pork ribs especially for her. Holding her bowl of rice and the plate of ribs, she squatted in the doorway with her back to everyone.

"That girl is always so dramatic. Let’s just ignore her." Jia Lian shook her head, exasperated. ’And she wonders why I dote on Meng Meng. Just look at how outstanding Meng Meng is.’

Shen Ming was deeply gratified. He even felt the urge to go find Old Tang right away and tell him that his daughter, through her own abilities and legitimate livestream sales, could earn over 200,000 a month. Money earned through hard work was money you could spend with peace of mind.

It was a truly unexpected windfall. It took Jia Ru a long while to compose herself before she advised, "Meng Meng, now that you have money, don’t spend it recklessly. If Xiaoyang turns out to be a good man, you two will eventually need to buy a house when you get married. We’ll have to contribute our share; we can’t put all the pressure on his family."

Shen Meng’s face instantly turned red, and she let out a hum as quiet as a mosquito’s buzz. Shen Ming took one look at her and knew. ’My daughter,’ he thought, ’is truly, deeply in love.’

After dinner, Shen Meng stayed to chat with Jia Lian and Jia Ru. Shen Ming broke open a carton of premium cigarettes. Knowing his daughter’s income, he decided he wouldn’t be selling off his high-end cigarettes and Moutai liquor anymore. This, in a way, was an unexpected bonus from Shen Meng’s success.

As he stepped out the front door, he happened to see Old Tang enjoying the cool air under the shade of a tree by the courtyard gate. He walked over and offered him one of his premium cigarettes.

"What’s this? Meng Meng came home and brought you the good stuff to smoke?"

Old Tang knew that Shen Ming usually only smoked cigarettes that cost 10 yuan a pack. Now that he was smoking a premium brand, he figured Shen Meng must have brought them for him today.

"Yep. The kid’s all grown up and capable now. An old guy like me gets to bask in her glory a little."

He understood immediately. ’So Old Shen is here to show off his outstanding daughter,’ he thought. He shook his head and said, "Old Shen, your Meng Meng is a real beauty, so you have every right to be proud. But when it comes to making money, you can’t rely on a girl. It’s still up to the men to be the breadwinners. Take my Binbin, for example. He makes over a hundred thousand a month. If he were working a regular, honest job, he wouldn’t make that in a year."

He had a point. Even if you earned 10,000 a month, you still had to cover living expenses. You definitely wouldn’t be able to save 100,000 in a year.

So the difference between a monthly income of 100,000 and 10,000 isn’t just a factor of ten. Assuming monthly living expenses are 8,000, someone earning 10,000 a month can only save 2,000. But someone earning 100,000 a month can save 92,000. That’s a 46-fold difference in savings.

Shen Ming smiled mysteriously. "Old Tang, you can’t look at it that way. As the Chairman said—women hold up half the sky."

Old Tang shook his head. "Ultimately, this world is run by men, and men have more avenues for making money. My Binbin, for instance, earns over a hundred thousand a month. Have you ever seen a girl who can pull in a hundred thousand a month?"

Shen Ming grinned as if he’d been waiting for that very line. He slowly blew a smoke ring. "My Meng Meng does. She makes over 200,000 a month."

Old Tang froze. If he didn’t know Old Shen was an honest man, he would have thought he was bullshitting. He glanced at the beautiful Mercedes C-Class parked nearby. "Isn’t that car one of your relatives’? Don’t tell me it’s—"

Shen Ming nodded. "It’s Shen Meng’s."

He didn’t mention it was a gift from Shen Meng’s boyfriend. For one, he had never met the young man and didn’t know what he was like. For another, he was afraid of starting rumors that might tarnish his daughter’s reputation. The reason he told Old Tang about his daughter’s income was partly to show her off, and partly to provide a plausible explanation for the car.

Old Tang learned more about Shen Meng’s current job, discovering that she was also a streamer, and one who sold brand-name clothing at that. He had to admit defeat. On his way home, he was still thinking, ’If Binbin wants to win that girl’s heart, he needs to work even harder. The way things are now, he’s not doing as well as Shen Meng. There’s no way she’d be interested in him.’

When he entered the house, he saw Tang Bin had changed his clothes and was slicking his hair back until it shone, striking a few confident poses in the mirror. Old Tang asked, "Are you going out?"

Tang Bin grunted in acknowledgment. "I’m going to drop by Shen Meng’s place in a bit."

The moment Old Tang heard this, the wind went out of his sails. "What for? Don’t go. That girl, Shen Meng, she’s livestreaming and selling brand-name clothing now. Makes over 200,000 a month. Where you’re at right now, she probably wouldn’t give you the time of day."