After being reborn, the school beauty's entire family knelt down to repent.

Chen Ming was unaware that Zhao's house, less than fifty meters away in the village, was being planned by Zhao Rou and her daughter to empty his house of all their belongings.

At this moment, he was squatting beside his own fishpond, looking at the calm water, deep in thought.

"Go away, you little brat, you're trying to ruin my fish again." A middle-aged man stepped out from behind Chen Ming and nudged him with his foot.

Chen Ming wasn't angry. He stood up and called out, "Dad."

This man was Chen Ming's father, Chen Yitian.

Chen Yitian rolled his eyes at Chen Ming, clearly annoyed.

"You used to be too lazy to even glance at my fishpond, what kind of tricks are you up to to please your little princess now?"

"What are you talking about, Dad? I'm thinking about business. Didn't you see the fish aren't even bubbling anymore?" Chen Ming scratched his head. He knew how ridiculous his previous actions had been, even Chen Yitian couldn't bear to look at him.

"You're not good at business. I think you're just trying to scam me out of a couple of fish to send to your little princess. Let me tell you, no way!" Chen Yitian didn't believe Chen Ming's words at all.

Chen Ming tentatively suggested, "How about this, Dad? You lease this fishpond to me, and we'll split the profits 30/70. If I lose money, I'll never ask you for pocket money again, okay?"

Chen Yitian was taken aback, his eyes filled with doubt as he looked at Chen Ming.

Chen Ming chuckled twice but offered no explanation.

Having been given a second chance at life, how could Chen Ming possibly focus solely on settling scores with Zhao Rou? Wouldn't it be better to make money and build a career?

During the golden age of reform and opening up, Chen Ming could think of no fewer than thirty ways to make a fortune every day.

If he hadn't been harmed by Zhao Rou and Yu Chuang in his previous life, with his abilities, he would have been worth billions sooner or later, let alone now.

Of course, one must take things one step at a time. Chen Ming plans to accumulate some initial capital first, and his own fishpond is a good option for now.

The fishpond is currently raising grass carp, which are about to reach maturity. We can start harvesting them and selling them at the market, and then release a new batch of fish fry.

But Chen Ming remembered that a sudden cold front would arrive soon, lasting for half a month, which would have a great impact on Heteng City.

At that time, many newly introduced fish fry in fish ponds died due to the low water temperature, and the price of fish in the market soared, almost catching up with that of pork.

Chen Ming decided to harvest the grass carp from the fishpond a month in advance, and then introduce crucian carp fry that are not sensitive to low temperatures. At that time, he would probably be the only local fishpond in Heteng City with fish to sell.

The price is entirely up to him.

"Dad, I remember that my second uncle has some crucian carp fry. Could you ask him for me? I'll take as many as he has. But I don't have any money right now. Can I buy them on credit?" Chen Ming asked tentatively.

Chen Yitian gave Chen Ming a sharp rebuke.

"You little brat, you ruined your dad and now you're ruining your second uncle's fish? His little bit of fish fry are all sent to surrounding cities. There are no crucian carp farmers here, so even grass carp have to be sold cheaply."

"That's why it's a market. If others don't have it, I have it; if others have it, I have it better. If you don't agree, then I can only think about how to pursue Zhao Rou."

"Hey, hey, hey! It's just a few fish fry! Here, take it!" Chen Yitian quickly stopped Chen Ming when he heard that Chen Ming wanted to go back and be a sycophant.

Chen Yitian disliked Zhao Rou's family and thought that if Chen Ming could focus his attention on messing with the fishpond, it would be a way to divert his attention.

It costs money to maintain the fishpond, but does winning Zhao Rou's favor not cost money at all?

It's better than spending all your time chasing after that little girl, right?

Thinking about it, Chen Yitian felt a little guilty, so he took out a ten-yuan note from his pocket, put it in Chen Ming's hand, and said earnestly.

“Son, it’s not that I’m reluctant to part with this fishpond, it’s just that there are so many girls in Heteng City, why are you in such a hurry to mess with that little girl from the Zhao family? She’s never even appreciated your advances.”

"If you really want to make something of yourself, consider this ten yuan a donation from me. But if you dare to spend this ten yuan on Zhao Rou, I'll break your legs!"

Chen Ming hadn't expected his old man to be so generous. Although ten yuan wasn't a lot, it wasn't something an ordinary family could just casually give out.

However, Chen Ming had no interest in the ten yuan; he decided to give it to Li Yu when he went to school the next day.

Li Yu needs the ten yuan more than Chen Ming does now. Chen Ming never wants to repeat the same mistakes, whether it's his fate or Li Yu's.

Moreover, according to Chen Ming's estimate, what he can earn this time is probably equivalent to the annual profit of his own garment factory.

The next morning, Chen Ming rode his bicycle to school as usual.

Chen Ming parked his bike in the bike shed, greeted Li Yu, and the two walked towards the school gate, intending to buy a meat bun for breakfast.

But as soon as he arrived at the school gate, he saw Zhao Rou.

At this moment, Zhao Rou had changed her usual pure and natural look and dressed up carefully. She wore a light gray dress and looked delicate and beautiful, like a pure lotus flower with a touch of pink, making her irresistible.

In addition to Zhao Rou and her best friend Xu Jing, Chen Ming also saw Yu Chuang.

Yu Chuang's family background is actually similar to Chen Ming's; both are relatively well-off. However, Chen Ming is not as shrewd as Yu Chuang. Yu Chuang can charm girls with just his words, while Chen Ming wants to win their hearts back.

Therefore, Yu Chuang was adored by everyone, spending no money while still being a dashing playboy, while Chen Ming was unbearably vulgar, a walking ATM in the eyes of girls.

Zhao Rou also saw Chen Ming, a slight smile appeared on her lips, and she deliberately took Yu Chuang's arm next to her.

"Oh dear, my legs are so sore from walking so much, could you massage them for me, Brother Yu?"

"Hey, Xiao Rou, you should have said so earlier! Your legs are as white as jade, you must have suffered a lot walking such a long way. Why didn't anyone give you a ride?" Yu Chuang was so happy that he immediately reached out and squatted down next to Zhao Rou to touch her legs.

Zhao Rou looked at Chen Ming defiantly, thinking to herself, "Is this still not enough to win him over?"

Li Yu frowned upon seeing the scene at the school gate, looking at Chen Ming with some concern.

But Chen Ming remained unmoved.

Li Yu was slightly surprised. Normally, Chen Ming would never have allowed Zhao Rou to be with other boys, let alone Yu Chuang making a move on her.

He'd have to charge over like a roused bull and send Yu Chuang flying.

As Chen Ming drew closer, Xu Jing understood immediately and quickly spoke in a sarcastic tone:

"Oh my, isn't this Young Master Chen? It's so fast to get to school with a bicycle. It's just a pity for our Zhao Rou. Yu Chuang is so chivalrous."

Yu Chuang smiled smugly, his voice rising two octaves: "You flatter me. My family taught me to be a gentleman from a young age. This is what I should do. Xiao Rou, does your leg still hurt?"

"Thanks to you, Brother Yu, I'm much better now. You're so good to me, always caring for me when I need you most." Zhao Rou smiled gently.

This back-and-forth was really unpleasant to listen to. Just as Li Yu was about to lash out, Chen Ming pulled him straight out of the school. When they passed by the three of them, he didn't even glance at them, let alone stop.

"Hurry up, Li Yu! Otherwise, all the big meat buns will be gone. I just got ten yuan from my dad yesterday, so I'll cover your breakfast for the rest of the month!"

Before Li Yu could say anything, Chen Ming had already dragged him away to buy breakfast, leaving the three of them bewildered in the wind.

Even Yu Chuang found it unbelievable.

Shouldn't Chen Ming have been furious and jumping around, only to be ridiculed by himself for being a nouveau riche who doesn't know how to be gentle?

What's the deal with them just leaving?

"Hmph, playing hard to get, trying to attract my attention with indifference, what a low-class trick," Zhao Rou said through gritted teeth.

Xu Jing nodded repeatedly.

"Exactly, did Chen Ming run errands for you every day before just pretending? Let's see how long he can keep up the act. That ten yuan he mentioned was just something he said to you on purpose."

Before they could exchange more than a few words, Chen Ming and Li Yu returned with large meat buns in their hands. As they walked and ate, Chen Ming suddenly stopped and looked at Zhao Rou and the others.

Zhao Rou felt secretly pleased; she knew Chen Ming was faking it.

Come on, beg for her forgiveness! Agree to her conditions! Whether it's a television, a bicycle, or a radio, there's no room for negotiation!

Even the ten yuan, Zhao Rou made Chen Ming hand over in full.

Give it to Li Yu? Does he even deserve it?

"Chen Ming, I knew it would be you..."

"The school doesn't allow skirts, idiots."

Chen Ming interrupted Zhao Rou directly, uttered a single sentence cleanly, and then left with Li Yu without looking back.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Rou immediately realized that the school did indeed have a rule against wearing skirts!

She either goes home and changes it now, or she gets a school-wide notice...