Electronic Nezha

Chapter 11 Lie down
In modern life, people rarely encounter the conditions to say the word "master," and it's even harder to hear someone call you master. I don't play those weird simulation games, and there are no maid cafes in our fourth-tier city, so being called master is a first for me, even though the other party is just a bunch of bamboo sticks and an "old-fashioned" robot vacuum cleaner.

Then there was a knock on the door.

"Your supermarket delivery has arrived."

I sat there motionless, wanting to see how the bamboo pole man would handle the situation.

"Wait a moment." It calmly picked up a mop, stood to the side of the door, opened the door, hid behind the door, and dragged the mop back and forth in front of the door.

"Just leave it at the door, thank you."

From the delivery driver's perspective, the woman at home was cleaning, so he happily put a large bag of groceries inside the door and hurried downstairs.

"Master, besides sweet and sour pork, what else would you like to eat? You can order."

"You can decide what to do." I glanced through the bag; it contained various vegetables and meats, as well as some seasonings that I didn't have at home. Just looking at the variety filled me with anticipation.

"Okay, what time would you like to eat? Or would you like to eat with Number 0?"

"number 0?"

"Oh, that's your son."

"Let's go with Number 0... He'll probably get home around 7:15."

“Understood, then—” the light on its face said, “I’m sorry I can’t keep you company during this time before dinner, I need to recharge.”

"Uh, you charge yours." I remembered how busy it had been all noon, cooking noodles, washing pots, and chatting with me for ages, and I ended up running out of battery from talking so much.

"Thank you for understanding." It walked to the corner, first sitting on the ground with its legs stretched out, then supporting its head and slowly leaning back, finally lying flat with a thud, its head resting perfectly on the charging dock—robot vacuums usually charge on this kind of sloping dock, but since it had a body, it looked like a person lying there horizontally. People always say to lie down when you're tired, and it seemed to know this all too well. And it seemed to be really sleep-deprived; after lying down, I called it twice but it didn't respond.

Actually, I think I need to lie down for a while. My mind is a mess right now, like a bunch of QR codes. If they give me a brain CT scan, I might end up adding someone as a friend.

But then I thought, with me lying in the house and it lying in the living room, I was bound to be startled no matter who woke up first or last, so I walked towards the stall in a daze.

My family's fruit stall, which has been our livelihood for two generations, is located in a fairly large fruit wholesale market. Its official name is "Haoyunlai Fruit Wholesale Market," but locals don't call it that. They all refer to it as "opposite the cold storage."

The cold storage isn't actually a warehouse; it's a wholesale market mainly dealing in various meats and vegetables. It existed right after liberation, and it's busiest before 9:30 every morning. Hotels, restaurants, small vendors, and even street vendors all come here to buy goods. Trucks, vans, three-wheeled vehicles, and electric motorcycles create a chaotic scene, one after another. Elderly people, housewives, and other family members from nearby areas also gather here for the cheapest prices. It can be said to be the supply and distribution center for meat, eggs, and vegetables for half the city. Because of its great reputation, the "Good Luck" store just across the street has lost its original name. That's the downside of being too close to a landmark building. But if you say you're going to buy something across from the cold storage, they'll probably know you're going to buy fruit.

Compared to the extreme volatility of cold storage facilities, which "go crazy at the designated time and collapse afterward," the fruit wholesale market, though a bit quieter in the afternoon, is bustling with people all day. When I arrived at the stall, Old Wang had just sold two boxes of thin-skinned small watermelons to a family preparing for a banquet. Old Wang diligently helped them load the watermelons into their car, and after the customer paid, he gave them two passion fruits as a bonus: "Make some for your child to drink. Welcome to come again next time." The customer left happily.

Seeing me stroll over, Lao Wang and Li Ping quickly took a few steps to greet me, both with a lot of questions to ask. I took the opportunity to plop down on the chair by Li Ping's door, squinting at the sunlight: "It's so good that technology is so advanced, we can even eat watermelon in winter."

Li Ping was startled and whispered to Old Wang, "Has this guy been traumatized?"

Old Wang asked cautiously, "Fengzi, did you find out where Liu Zhenhua went this morning?"

I chuckled. Their minds were still stuck on the fact that Liu Zhenhua skipped a morning of class, while I had already accepted the premise that my son was a future super AI. My house is currently filled with a bunch of bamboo poles—bamboo poles for now—but when I come home in the evening, I can enjoy a delicious bowl of sweet and sour pork. Having gone through all this, my feelings can't be described as extreme highs and lows, but they all seem to be related. Liu Zhenhua will be saving all of humanity in another 15 years, and I'll be gone in 75 years, so this matter isn't that important to me anymore.

The important thing is that Liu Zhenhua will "learn to study" in the following years, successfully get into the No. 1 High School in the city, and then choose between Tsinghua University and Peking University to become a promising young scientist. I asked him, and he said that if he gets into that wind tunnel laboratory he mentioned, a million-dollar annual salary is not a dream.

Have you noticed that I, as the father, am basically not mentioned here? In the traditional Chinese mindset, parents live for their offspring. Those who can afford it plan their children's future, while those who can't must at least save money to buy them a house. Every time a baby boy is born, the man of the house is jokingly told that he's already "in debt for 200 million (we live in a small city)." I've always had that as my goal. But when your son tells you that he's planned out his entire future and that he won't make any mistakes, how should I put it? Suddenly, life seems to have no purpose.

So, I, a middle-aged man who has lost my balance, am now lying back in the chair, completely flattened, both physically and mentally.

Just then, someone came to the stall and asked the price: "How much are the apples?"

I said lazily, "Take a few to eat, it's free."

Li Ping calmly said, "Brother, this is my stall."

I pointed casually: "Take it from that stall."

The man gave me a look as if I were crazy and walked away. The two people next to me exchanged a glance, and Old Wang jumped up first: "Don't be like that, Fengzi! If you can't cross it, I can!"

I casually said, "I'll give you a raise."

A complex expression, unsure whether to be pleased or surprised, flashed across Old Wang's face. He fiddled with his trouser crease and stammered, "Wait... what's my salary for a first-level position?"

"Raise it by 200 first!" Money is useless to me, that's me!

Li Ping glared at Lao Wang and said to me, "Lao Liu, what's wrong with Zhenhua? Is there something you can't tell us?"

Old Wang belatedly asked, "You're not going to give up on training Liu Zhenhua, are you?"

I said to Li Ping, "I'll waive one month's rent for you this year."

Money is useless x2.

Yes, the stall that Li Ping is using is also mine.

Across from the cold storage, there are two stalls, the fruits of two generations of the Liu family's hard work, and also my financial foundation. That's why I'm not so anxious about Liu Zhenhua's grades. In the worst-case scenario, if he doesn't even get into the Fifth Middle School, he can still inherit my fruit stall. If business is good, he can live a comfortable life. If business is bad, at least I'll have a stall to collect rent, which guarantees a stable income. Unless the world ends, people will always need to eat fruit.

Now, nothing matters anymore.

Li Ping was stunned for a moment, then became really anxious: "What exactly happened? Can you give me a straight answer?"

"It's nothing serious. He's just going through a rebellious phase. He wandered around the streets all morning, and I didn't hit or scold him. He went to class normally in the afternoon."

"Really?" they both said in unison.

"Really." My heart warmed. "What you just said still stands."

Li Ping said, "Don't you need a ten-minute cooling-off period?"

Old Wang said, "Why are you giving him so much time? I think one minute is enough—you see, a minute is over in the time it takes to talk."

I said, "Alright, there's a one-month cooling-off period for divorce, and everyone got divorced by then."

Li Ping said speechlessly, "Why are you bringing this up?"

Old Wang said, "Looking at it this way, being single is better."

Li Ping said, "Those who are rich are called single, but someone like you is just a bachelor."

Old Wang wasn't annoyed: "Don't tease me. Back when I was in school, I had plenty of girls who liked me. I received seven or eight love letters every month."

Li Ping said, "I was the school beauty when I was in school."

I rubbed my hands together and said, "It's my turn—I'll give you both a big one!"

The two men stared at me with hostility, but after a long pause, I realized I didn't even have any material to brag about. I couldn't say anything related to Liu Zhenhua, and it wasn't really bragging anyway. He was just an ordinary, unremarkable teenager destined to save all of humanity, and his father was just an ordinary, unremarkable father.

"Didn't I just give you two money?"

Old Wang stared in disbelief and said, "So you—"

Li Ping quickly came up with a clever idea: "This is the truth, not bragging, but we both admit that yours is the best of the day."

Old Wang finally realized what was going on: "That's right! Boss Liu is awesome!"

Money talks.

(End of this chapter)