Chapter Twenty: The Wealthy Man

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Zhou Yongtai couldn’t help but feel uneasy, wondering if the butterfly effect of his ten lottery tickets had caused his grandfather to miss out on winning. Feeling this way, he touched the three hundred Singapore dollars in his pocket and immediately thought of taking a bus north to Woodlands.

The owner of the wonton shop had mentioned that Woodlands, being close to Johor Bahru in Malaysia, not only had cheap rent but also offered groceries and daily necessities at prices lower than those in the eastern and southern parts of the city. The financially strained Zhou couple had moved there.

Aida comforted him, “With that strange woman tagging along, we shouldn’t go to Woodlands right now. Besides, your grandparents just moved today—they must be overwhelmed. How about this: if that woman is still around in a couple of days, I’ll distract her, and you can go alone…”

After hearing Aida’s suggestion to first take on odd jobs to earn some money and then send money by taking pictures of Peranakan dishes, Zhou Yongtai found it reasonable.

Since his grandparents were not yet homeless, going a couple of days later would still be timely.

“Aida, when you say odd jobs, you don’t mean being a model for Mr. Luo’s portrait paintings, do you?”

“That’s a job for the evening. During the day, like now, we could go to the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre. According to the poster I saw yesterday, the International Robotics Conference starts tomorrow there. The exhibitors will definitely need people to hand out flyers. Those temporary jobs, paid daily, we can try blending in with the student part-timers. If we charge less, the smaller vendors will be willing to hire us.”

Compared to Aida, Zhou Yongtai felt that though he was flesh and blood, he seemed like an idiot.

“Aida, you’re more adapted to human society than humans themselves.”

“Thanks, from binge-watching dramas. I appreciate you humans don’t just make sci-fi films. I enjoy urban dramas.”

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By now it was nearly noon, and Zhou Yongtai was hungry.

Since Quail Road was a Peranakan cultural community, Peranakan restaurants were naturally abundant.

Zhou Yongtai really wanted to try some Peranakan cuisine, but after browsing menus outside several restaurants, he found them too expensive.

He had to save money to support his grandparents.

So, he finally chose an Indian eatery at the corner where he could have curry dipped prata with egg for just three Singapore dollars.

Not far from them, at a row of tables along the food court street, a woman dressed in gray-black with sunglasses ordered a cup of kopi.

“Man eats normally, woman neither eats nor drinks,” she messaged her boss.

...

Five miles away, at Marina Bay.

From the penthouse apartment of the Emerald Garden, the grand vistas of the Sands Hotel, Singapore Flyer, and further beyond, the Malacca Strait port, were all laid out clearly.

Of course, the exhibition hall hosting the World Robotics Conference was also in full view.

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This location was in Singapore’s District 1, a favored address for the wealthy, just like the villas and luxury apartments in Districts 9, 10, and 11.

At this moment, if Aida were also in this living room, seeing the man standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, she might exclaim like a human drama fan: “Wow, the domineering CEO finally has a face!”

Well, although the wrinkles on his face were somewhat numerous.

After all, middle-aged men, before reaching “heartthrob” status, had to settle for “uncle charm.”

“Dad, you have to get the platform to ban this account right now!”

A girl decked out in logos from head to toe, looking like a walking courier box, stormed into the living room clutching a tablet and barked orders at the man, puffing with frustration.

Like a stressed pufferfish.

“What’s wrong? Are you in an online argument again?” the middle-aged man asked calmly.

“I’m the top donator, you know! I’ve given over a million this year! How can the streamer be chatting so warmly with that female writer!”