1979: My fiancée is a goddess

"Bang bang bang-"

"Hello, is anyone home? This is from the post office, there's mail for your family."

At nine o'clock in the morning, there was a knock on Cheng Kaiyan's door, and a loud, steady male voice came from outside.

Cheng Kaiyan put down the manuscript in her hand, got up and walked towards the door.

Upon opening the door, a middle-aged man in a light green uniform, wearing a postal cap, and carrying a mailbag stood at the entrance.

"Comrade, is this the correct address and person: Cheng Kaiyan, Room XX, 3rd Floor, XXX Building, Tuanjiehu, Chaoyang District, Beijing?"

"Yes, that's right, this is it."

Cheng Kaiyan nodded with a smile.

"This is your letter, please keep it safe."

The middle-aged postman responded with a hearty smile and handed over the letter. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Li Zhuang... I'm responsible for this area. You can ask me to send or deliver mail, but sometimes my son delivers it... I won't bother you any longer. I'll be going now."

"Okay, I understand. Take care, comrade."

Cheng Kaiyan saw the postman off, then turned around, closed the door, and went back inside.

"Who?"

Liu Xiaoli's gentle, soothing voice drifted from the kitchen.

"The postman delivers the mail."

Cheng Kaiyan returned to the sofa and casually asked, "How's your bread coming along?"

She probably felt bored because of the hot weather and the sun outside, and because she could only stay at home during the day.

On a whim, I suddenly had the idea to make bread.

The girl has been tinkering in the kitchen since yesterday, saying she's going to make bread for him.

He didn't see a single piece of bread, but he did have a pile of ruined dough.

In order not to waste it, they have already eaten two meals of this thing that is both bread and white bread.

If I still can't get it right, I'll probably have to eat it again for lunch.

"Ah? Almost there... I looked through Xingjie's cake-making steps. Bread and cake should be similar. Don't worry, it'll definitely turn out well this time!"

The girl's voice in the kitchen sounded a little guilty and insecure.

Are you sure cake and bread are the same thing?

Cheng Kaiyan questioned him with great suspicion.

"I've been eating bread since I was a child, it's all the same!"

Liu Xiaoli poked her head out of the kitchen, giving me a look that said, "You actually don't believe me?"

"Ha ha……"

Cheng Kaiyan smiled helplessly. What else could he do? He could only spoil his wife. "Okay, take your time. It's okay if you fail. I'll teach you something else to do later."

"Just wait!"

Comrade Xiaoli made a harsh statement, and then there was no sound from the kitchen.

Cheng Kaiyan shook her head and looked at the letter beside her. The familiar artistic English name appeared before her eyes.

It was indeed sent by Professor Ansel.

"Dear Cheng, our paper will be completed and submitted by the end of the month. The American and international academic communities are eagerly anticipating it. Our paper is about to change the entire field of children's literature... I think we can start celebrating now..."

Professor Ansel said a lot of exciting things, then changed the subject:
"I completely agree with your suggestion. I'll send you a copy of the paper at the end of the month, but the translation will have to be done by you, since my Chinese isn't quite up to par. Also, I think it would be best if our papers were published at the same time to ensure..."

"Finally, I must congratulate you on the amazing success of Submarine & Shepherd in the United States."

In the past month, it has graced the pages of numerous authoritative book review newspapers, setting a new sales record for a literary work in the United States with a staggering 550,000 copies sold in a single month! It has directly squeezed into the top ten of the national bestseller list!
Congratulations, my young and great writer! Future master of fairy tales!
I really hope you can come to America and see how popular you are now!

……

"Cheng, I suggest you write a letter to my nephew. He's worried about your royalties. Don't get me wrong, with me watching over him, he won't do anything foolish..."

One issue is the bank account. You know this is a huge sum of money—a whopping five hundred thousand dollars! It's impossible to send it to you by mail. You could send it if you wanted, but the money would pile up into a small mountain!
Oh my god, I just remembered you're about to become a millionaire!

Secondly, I suggest you increase the paperback royalty to 15%. You are already a great writer, and your value deserves this royalty!

You know what? My nephew has made a fortune because of you! Write to that rascal right now!

……

"Over 500,000 in sales, and 500,000 in royalties!"

After reading through the letters, I learned a lot of things I didn't know before.

Even though Cheng Kaiyan had already mentally prepared herself, she was still taken aback and her heart surged with excitement when she saw these two astonishing numbers.

With 550,000 copies sold, this sales figure puts him among the absolute top-tier authors in the United States!
Moreover, this is just the sales volume for a single month. Although the future sales growth rate will decrease as the popularity declines, if the timeline is extended, Cheng Kaiyan believes that by the end of the year, this number should be close to one million!

Millions sold!
This is Stephen King's level!
He has no doubt that he can do it; breaking the million mark is only a matter of time.

It's worth noting that the quality of "The Alchemist" and its appeal to Western readers are comparable to "The Little Prince."

Once published, the book quickly became a bestseller, winning over thirty major awards, being translated into more than seventy languages, and selling 65 million copies worldwide, earning it the reputation of being one of the literary miracles.

"I suddenly had a premonition that my first major international literary award might just fall on this work."

Cheng Kaiyan looked down at the letter in her hand and suddenly had a strange intuition.

Thinking of this, his handsome, fair face flushed with excitement and anticipation, and his breathing became heavy.

"Whoosh..."

Cheng Kaiyan took a few deep breaths and finally calmed down a bit.

Next, we need to think about the $500,000 in royalties.

In this day and age, the average annual income in China is less than 300 yuan, while in the United States it is 10,000 US dollars.

Five hundred thousand US dollars is an absolutely enormous sum.

"How to deal with it?"

Cheng Kaiyan was a little unsure.

Depositing $500,000 directly into a domestic bank account would be a huge loss, especially considering there will definitely be more royalties to come.

Because of foreign exchange controls in China, people are forced to exchange their money for RMB, and the exchange rate is set very low.

It's not that the current RMB has the strength to be 1:1.5 or 1:2.8 with the US dollar.

This was mandated by the state, with the aim of concentrating as much of the domestic people's foreign exchange reserves as possible and using them to import heavy industrial machinery and advanced technologies.

It's easy to exchange US dollars for RMB, but when you want to use US dollars, it's harder than anything else. Otherwise, how could the exchange rate on the black market have skyrocketed to 1:7 or 1:8?

"...Sigh, let's stick to the old way, half and half."

After much deliberation, Cheng Kaiyan decided to keep only half of her royalties in China.

First, so as not to suffer too much loss; second, earning too much royalties openly is not actually a good thing for Cheng Kaiyan, so she has to keep some hidden.

"I haven't forgotten that by the middle of next year, there might be signs of a crackdown on JS pollution, and then there will be a crackdown on Y. Although these are not as big as the buzzing, these dusts of the times, if they really fall on individuals, will not end well."

Cheng Kaiyan crossed her arms and huddled on the sofa, her eyes filled with wariness and coldness.

If it were when he first arrived, he wouldn't have thought much of it, because he was just a person.

One person eats their fill and the whole family has nothing to worry about.

But things are different now. In this era, he already has deep-rooted ties: family, love, friendship...

Mother, Xiaoli, Aunt, Ruixue, Aunt, Sister Qiaoqiao...

He is now a prominent figure, seemingly glamorous and dazzling, but who knows how many people secretly see him as a thorn in their side?

Therefore, he could not afford to make any mistakes and had to find a way out to ensure that nothing went wrong.

"This charity gala came at just the right time."

Cheng Kaiyan smiled. As early as last year, he had the idea of ​​donating a large sum of money to the Chaoyang Welfare Home.

Moreover, he originally intended to donate money. Now he has suddenly earned a huge sum of royalties.

How much should we donate?
Cheng Kaiyan frowned deeply and fell into deep thought.

"Hehe... Kaiyan! Come and see, my bread is ready! Vegetable and red date bread! It smells so good and sweet! Come and see!"

Suddenly, a clear and melodious laugh rang out from the kitchen. Comrade Xiaoli called out excitedly from behind the frosted glass door.

"Sister Xiaoli..."

Cheng Kaiyan turned to look at the faintly visible figure in the kitchen, her eyes filled with tenderness and warmth as she thought about their future life and their future child.

He gradually formed a plan in his mind.

Once she had made up her mind, Cheng Kaiyan put all her scheming aside.

Instead, it's about returning to our original intentions, to contributing to the children in welfare homes and to the children of China with goodwill and love.

"Forget it, let's be generous and donate more to those poor children... The royalties I earn from children's literature... let's just consider it taken from children and used for children."

Cheng Kaiyan put the letter aside and put it away, then got up and walked to the kitchen, a gentle smile and a teasing expression on her face:

"Haha, really? I'll come over and try it right away! I don't believe you're so smart that you can make it yourself in a day or two without a recipe. Wouldn't that make you even better than a chef at a state banquet?"

"Hmph! You still don't believe me?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Xiaoli stomped her feet in anger and snorted, "What's so difficult about a mere little bread roll! I can even make a cake! Come and see what this is?"

This guy still doesn't believe it!

Didn't he know that his fiancée had been exceptionally intelligent and clever since childhood?
Being with him is such a bargain for him!
……

"How is it? Is it delicious?"

Liu Xiaoli quietly watched Cheng Kaiyan, who was standing in front of the steamer, tearing off a small piece of bread and stuffing it into her mouth. She asked softly, her face full of indifference and reserve.

"Hmm, not bad. It has the color of green vegetables, the rich aroma and sweetness of red dates, and the bread is quite crumbly."

Cheng Kaiyan opened the refrigerator, took out the kettle, swallowed the bread in her mouth with the cold tea, and praised, "As expected of Comrade Xiaoli, you are so skillful. It seems I underestimated you."

"Good to know. In this sweltering heat, I'm still in the kitchen making you delicious food. You should be so proud to have a boyfriend like me!"

Liu Xiaoli took a breath and proudly raised her slightly sweaty, snow-white nipples as she spoke.

"Of course I'm very proud."

Cheng Kaiyan took two steps closer, reached out and pulled the girl's slender and firm waist into his arms, and smiled gently.

"Hey! Don't hug me!"

The girl in his arms nudged him and explained, "It's so hot, my back is completely soaked."

Cheng Kaiyan raised her hand to stroke it, and found that the white dress was indeed soaked through with fine, fragrant sweat, glistening with a delicate sheen. With a pained expression, she released Liu Xiaoli.

Facing each other, Cheng Kaiyan patiently wiped the fine sweat from her face with his dry sleeve and said gently, "Go take a shower in a bit, and I'll cook lunch."

"Yeah."

Liu Xiaoli readily agreed, her eyes lighting up.

She has been cooking for several days now. Although Cheng Kaiyan has been helping, women tend to sweat a lot when cooking in the summer, so they need to wear an extra layer of clothing.

"It's better to be a man. In the summer, you can go shirtless and just wear shorts."

Thinking about this, Liu Xiaoli muttered to herself.

"Hehe, then I'll wear it like that in a bit, but you can't say I'm being indecent."

After drying the girl's face, Cheng Kaiyan pulled her out and sat her down on the sofa.

Across from me, a Bat brand fan was spinning loudly.

"Ah...it's finally cooler."

With the wind blowing in her face, Liu Xiaoli felt much more relaxed.

"Alright, don't catch a cold later. Dry yourself off before blowing on the air dryer. I'll go get you a towel."

Cheng Kaiyan tapped the girl's head with his fingers as she greedily enjoyed the cool breeze; the tapping sounded crisp.

"I'm perfectly healthy!"

Liu Xiaoli shook her head and said confidently.

"Yes, yes, you're made of iron. By the way, I have some great news to tell you."

Cheng Kaiyan joked, knowing that Liu Xiaoli was telling the truth. Her body was actually better than before, and she was keeping up with him more and more in bed.

"What's the good news?"

Liu Xiaoli asked curiously, "Is it related to the letter the postman just delivered?"

"so smart."

Cheng Kaiyan turned and went to the bathroom, took out a white towel, and handed it to her. "It's a letter from the United States. Professor Ansel's paper is almost finished, and then there's the royalties for 'Submarine and Shepherd.' Xiaoli, can you guess how much it is in total?"

"Um……"

Liu Xiaoli wiped the sweat from her brow with a towel, pondering, "That time the newspaper article mentioned 150,000 a week, that's 600,000 a month, it should be..."

At this point, the girl suddenly looked up, a strange light flashing in her beautiful eyes. She took a deep breath, her voice trembling slightly, and asked, word by word, "Is it really more than 500,000?"

"Hmm... half a million US dollars."

Cheng Kaiyan nodded with a light smile.

"Five hundred thousand... US dollars!"

Liu Xiaoli was also taken aback by this astonishing number. Her beautiful oval face showed a complex expression, a mixture of surprise, disbelief, pride, and a sense of accomplishment.

"Phew... us being together isn't a bargain for you, it's a bargain for me."

After a moment, the girl finally calmed down, her face flushed, and she sighed softly.

"You got off easy? That doesn't sound like something Xiaoli would say."

Cheng Kaiyan laughed and teased, "There's no sigh on this guy's face at all, it's all pride and smugness: 'And before you say that, could you let go of my hand? Don't hug me, it's hot.'"

"No! I'm not hot."

Hearing those extremely familiar words, Liu Xiaoli pouted, hugged the man in her arms tightly around the waist with both hands, and said indignantly, "Comrade Xiao Cheng, you can't escape now, you're mine!"

"Yes, yes, I'm yours, everything is yours."

Cheng Kaiyan was secretly overjoyed, silently enjoying the girl's tight arms and the alluring scent of gardenias around her. He slowly lowered his head and gently kissed her soft, rosy lips.

After a long while, the two separated to catch their breath.

Cheng Kaiyan took out a bank card from her wallet and handed it over. "Well, I plan to put this money into two bank cards. You can keep one of them, the HSBC card, and the password is your birthday."

"Why would you give it to me? I have money on hand, more than four thousand."

Liu Xiaoli shook her head; she hadn't even taken the card he gave her last time.

Lately, the family's expenses have been covered by the cash she has on hand, but for household use, it's not much at all. Every month, she and Cheng Kaiyan's combined salaries are more than enough to cover their expenses, and they still have to give some money to their mother from time to time.

"You're the head of the household, if you don't manage the household, who will? Aren't you afraid I'll give it to someone else?"

Cheng Kaiyan comforted her with a smile.

He didn't tell Zhao Ruixue that she also had a bank card, otherwise the consequences would have been terrifying beyond his imagination.

"you dare!!"

Liu Xiaoli raised her eyebrows and snatched the bank card from his hand.

The face that had just been blushing from the kiss suddenly turned as cold as ice.

"No, no, sister, please spare my life."

Cheng Kaiyan quickly pretended to be scared.

"Hahaha!"

Then, seeing how drastically different they looked at each other, they laughed until their stomachs hurt. (End of Chapter)