Chapter 17: Inspiration Drawn from Instant Noodles

"Did you go buy crispy noodles again?" As soon as Leng Zhiwen's door closed, her mother's irritable voice rang out once more, quickly followed by a wailing commotion.

Huang He glanced over to see Leng Zhiting being scolded, while her mother clutched two packs of crispy noodles in her hand.

"What happened?" Huang He asked, puzzled.

"Big sister must've spent money on Little Raccoon crispy noodles again!" said Leng Zhiyuan, who was watching cartoons, her voice childish and innocent. "She’s been buying crispy noodles every day lately, even using her lunch money. Mom’s so mad she could explode."

"Little Raccoon crispy noodles? What a nostalgic name!" Hearing that familiar yet distant name, Huang He sighed again. So this really is 2001—everything feels so reminiscent.

"Brother-in-law, are you going to buy me QQ or not?" Leng Zhimeng was still pestering him incessantly.

"I’ll buy it, I’ll buy it, alright?" Huang He, clearly worn down by Leng Zhimeng’s insistence, could only nod helplessly.

"Ah, you’re really going to buy it?" This time, Leng Zhimeng was taken aback. She hadn't actually meant for him to buy QQ; she was just teasing her brother-in-law to lighten the pressure before her college entrance exams. Of course she knew QQ cost at least five million—how could he buy it just because she asked?

"This brother-in-law is definitely just brushing me off," Leng Zhimeng quickly realized. He was just annoyed by her pestering and replied offhandedly. As if he’d really buy it.

So she said, "Alright then, brother-in-law, why don’t you take me to Shenzhen in a few days? I remember QQ’s company is there—we can go and buy QQ together!"

"No," Huang He shook his head. Leng Zhimeng was just about to expose him, but he continued, "You’ve only got two weeks until the college entrance exam. Now’s not the time to run around. After your exams, I’ll take you to Shenzhen to buy QQ." Huang He spoke with utmost seriousness.

He certainly meant to buy QQ—it would be foolish not to. The only problem was, the first round of blind box profits hadn’t come in yet, and Huang He had no money on hand. Going to Shenzhen now would be pointless.

In the end, Huang He was just… poor.

As he was lamenting this, his mother-in-law called out again, and everyone gathered at the dining table at lightning speed. The table was already laden with more than a dozen dishes: chicken, duck, fish, meat—everything Huang He was supposed to love… except, that was the other Huang He’s taste. The current Huang He found, aside from some vegetables, braised chicken, and stir-fried pork with chilies, he didn't care for any of the dishes!

So, naturally, Huang He seated himself closest to the stir-fried pork with chilies. The other sisters-in-law took their places as well, except for Leng Zhiwen, who remained in her room. Her mother called her a few times to no avail, and finally could only shake her head in resignation. "That child—raising her has been a waste."

"As if anyone asked you to," came an indignant voice. Leng Zhiwen emerged from her room, having changed from her tracksuit into a neat set of casual clothes, the faint scent of shampoo lingering around her. She’d obviously showered right after returning, no wonder she was late.

"Zhiwen, did you work up a sweat again today?" Leng Zhiruo asked curiously.

"None of your business," Zhiwen shot her sister a glare, while Zhiruo just smiled awkwardly.

"Come on, let’s eat!" Huang He was about to dig into the stir-fried pork when, suddenly, someone dropped a dark, unidentifiable piece into his bowl.

"What is this?" Huang He hesitated, staring at the foreign object.

"Knife-sliced pig kidney—it’s your favorite! What, a couple weeks away from home and you can’t even recognize your beloved pig kidney anymore?" his mother-in-law teased with a smile.

"Uh… I’m just really tired," Huang He answered, his face betraying his inner discomfort. He had a habit—he never ate animal organs. Now, with a glistening pig kidney staring up at him from his bowl, he had a strong urge to dump out the entire bowl.

But he couldn’t. She’d just said it was his favorite, and if he dumped it, would he still be the same Huang He as before?

So, reluctantly, he stared at the kidney, unsure how to proceed.

"Good boy, go on and eat! Or is my cooking so bad today you won’t even touch your favorite?" his mother-in-law said, sounding a little hurt. Huang He could only resign himself, shut his eyes, grit his teeth, and pop the kidney into his mouth.

His plan was to chew a couple times then spit it out in the bathroom. But the moment the kidney touched his tongue, a surprisingly rich texture and flavor blossomed in his mouth. By the time he came to his senses, he’d already swallowed it.

Damn, who would’ve thought this thing would taste so good?

Seeing him eat the kidney, his mother-in-law nodded in satisfaction, then turned her fire on Leng Zhiting, whose cheeks were streaked with tears. "Remember this—if you ever waste money on that scammy junk again, I’ll throw you out. You’re no daughter of mine!"

"It’s not scammy junk, it’s a Water Margin Hero Card! Some of those cards are really valuable. Today I pulled a Striped Tiger Lin Chong, and a classmate offered me ten yuan for it!" Zhiting protested.

"Nonsense. Spending fifty cents for a silly card is foolish enough, but who’d pay ten yuan for one? Are there really people that dumb in the world?" her mother retorted, annoyed.

"Mom, actually, Lin Chong really can sell for ten yuan," Huang He couldn’t help but chime in. "Some cards in the Water Margin Hero series are really rare—like Lin Chong. People are willing to pay to complete all 108 cards."

"Ten yuan for Lin Chong is actually cheap. If you meet a collector, thirty’s not uncommon. And if you draw the rarest, Song Jiang, that one can fetch over three hundred yuan!" Huang He explained, clearly an expert on the subject.

No wonder—when he was in middle school in his last life, he’d spent over a thousand yuan in three years collecting those cards, every cent scraped together from his own allowance. Talking about it now only brought back tears.

"Xiao He, don’t try to cover for your sister-in-law. Even a pair of leather shoes is hard to sell for three hundred; how could a scrap of paper go for that much?" his mother-in-law scoffed. Huang He could only shake his head—such was the generational gap; there was nothing to be done.

Wait… Huang He’s eyes lit up. If a single card could sell for three hundred, why couldn’t a pair of shoes sell for three thousand?

Suddenly, countless ideas burst forth in his mind. He’d found his solution.