Chapter 5: The Big Starter Pack

“Where is your orphanage? I’ll go take a look first,” Zhao Guojiang said, clearly intrigued.

Spending too much time alone at home had left him feeling especially empty and bored.

If what this young lady said about the orphanage was true, and if he really had full control over the kitchen, then he was genuinely tempted to give it a try.

“If you’re not too busy, Master Zhao, I can take you there right now.”

“My car’s parked outside. What do you think?”

“No rush. Just send me the address. I’ll head over this afternoon,” Master Zhao replied.

Since he was planning to go out for a job interview anyway, he figured he should at least tidy himself up first.

“Alright, let’s add each other on WeChat. I’ll send you the location shortly.”

“Okay.”

After returning to the orphanage, Lu Qingqiang took a quick tour of the kitchen, then called over Aunt Liu and the driver, Xiao Zhang.

“Aunt Liu, I noticed we’re running low on groceries. Could you go buy some more?”

“The orphanage used to have really poor living conditions, and the kids are all a bit malnourished.”

“Pick good quality vegetables and meat.”

“Master Zhang, please drive Aunt Liu there,” Lu Qingqiang added.

“Got it, don’t worry, Miss Lu.”

“Understood, Miss Lu.”

Once the two had left, Lu Qingqiang began communicating with the system in her mind.

“Xiao Yi, if I’m not mistaken, you haven’t given me a newbie gift pack yet, have you?”

“In other novels, the system always gives the host a starter pack.”

“Don’t worry, Host. If others have it, I won’t let my host go without~”

“The reason I didn’t give it to you right away was because I was waiting for the perfect moment~”

“And now, the time has come.”

“Ding! Newbie gift pack delivered. Host, please check your inventory~”

Lu Qingqiang mentally clicked to receive it.

The contents of the gift pack instantly appeared before her eyes.

“System Investment Card*Duration: 900 days.”

“Choose one of three skills: Makeup, Driving, Singing.”

“One copy of the Vegetable Growing Manual, and one Animal Husbandry Guide.”

“Host’s skin clarity +1.”

After reading it, Lu Qingqiang was stunned: “!!!”

As expected of a big gift pack—so much stuff! She was in love with it!

The so-called System Investment Card meant the system would exploit bugs in this small world to continuously invest money from the card over the next 900 days.

Money would generate more money.

In other words, she didn’t have to lift a finger and would still receive a steady stream of funds.

As for the initial capital, aside from the five million her father gave her, she also had 800,000 yuan in pocket money her mother had secretly slipped her.

That was more than enough to get started.

Of the three skills, Lu Qingqiang chose driving.

It was the one she wanted most out of the options.

As for vegetable growing and animal husbandry, she’d done plenty of that back in the countryside and had learned quite a bit already.

Still, learning more to refine her skills could only help, not hurt.

And the last item, which would enhance her appearance, naturally piqued her interest.

After all, what girl doesn’t want to look beautiful?

But wait. The “perfect moment” the system mentioned—could it be that if she had received all this from the start, she might have refused to return to the Lu Family and refused to play out the “real vs fake daughter” plotline?

Just as Lu Qingqiang was pondering this, her phone rang again.

This time, it was Madam Lu calling—her nominal mother, Qin Qin.

“Qingqing, I was thinking of coming over to see you. Would now be a good time?”

“Mom, I have an interview this afternoon. I’m a bit busy.”

“I see. No worries, go take care of that first.”

Though Madam Lu responded calmly, a trace of disappointment welled up in her heart. Still, she hid it well.

“But, if you don’t mind, you’re welcome to come keep me company.”

“Of course!” Madam Lu’s disappointment vanished in an instant.

“Then be careful on the road. I’ll meet you at the entrance when you arrive.”

“Okay.”

After hanging up, Madam Lu’s face softened with warmth.

Ever since she found out that her biological daughter had been mistakenly switched at birth and had suffered so much in the countryside, Madam Lu had spent many sleepless nights in sorrow.

They had already investigated everything about Lu Qingqiang’s past.

The Lu family was very poor, and life had been extremely hard.

When Lu Fangyuan was three years old, a single dress she wore casually was worth more than the Lu family’s entire annual expenses.

Just thinking about her own daughter wearing rags and eating whatever scraps she could find made Madam Lu’s heart ache as if it had been carved out.

But no matter what, what happened back then had been a complete accident.

Lu Fangyuan was innocent.

Besides, her parents were already gone.

To send her back now felt too cruel, and Madam Lu couldn’t bring herself to do it.

After much deliberation, they decided to continue raising Lu Fangyuan.

After all, the Lu Family was wealthy. Raising one more daughter—or even ten more—wouldn’t be a problem.

Still, no matter what, Madam Lu had made up her mind to focus more of her attention on Lu Qingqiang from now on.

Her biological daughter, Qingqing, was so thin and frail, so pitiful and helpless.

She should have lived freely and boldly, without a care in the world.

But instead…

Thankfully, even though the Lu family was poor, they had treated Qingqing well.

Their lives were clearly in dire straits, yet they still gritted their teeth and supported her through college.

It was said that in Peach Blossom Village, many girls were forced into engagements and marriage right after high school.

For that alone, they would make time to visit Peach Blossom Village and offer incense to Qingqing’s adoptive parents.

As for Lu Fangyuan…

Madam Lu felt she needed to have a proper talk with her.

~~~~~~

That afternoon, when Madam Lu arrived at the orphanage, Zhao Guojiang had yet to show up for his interview.

Lu Qingqiang was surrounded by the children, reading stories to them.

Her voice was calm and steady, tinged with emotion, making it very pleasant to listen to.

“Alright, that’s it for today’s story. Now it’s free time for everyone!”

“Mama Lu, who’s that? She’s so pretty!” Taozi looked toward Madam Lu in the distance and whispered.

“That’s my mom. She came to visit me and all of you,” Lu Qingqiang explained.

“Ohhh, Mama Lu’s mom… should we call her Grandma Lu?”

“But Mama Lu’s mom looks so young. She doesn’t look like a grandma at all!”

“It’s alright, you can just call me Grandma Lu,” Madam Lu walked over with a gentle tone.

“Hello, Grandma Lu~” the children all chimed in unison.

“Aww, what sweet kids.”

“Qingqing, I brought new clothes and blankets for everyone, along with some daily necessities.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

“Alright, little ones, what do you say to Grandma Lu?” Lu Qingqiang smiled.

“Thank you, Grandma Lu! You’re so beautiful and kind, hehe~”

“You little darlings, you’re just too cute!”

“Okay, go play now. I’m going to talk with my mom for a bit.”

“Okay!”

Once the children ran off, Lu Qingqiang got up to pour Madam Lu a glass of water, then sat down beside her.

The atmosphere instantly turned a bit awkward.

Madam Lu clearly had a lot she wanted to say.

But now that the moment had come, she didn’t know where to begin.

She was nervous. She was scared.

She was terrified that if she said the wrong thing, she might upset Qingqing.

“Qingqing, looking closely, you’re actually very beautiful. If you paid a little more attention to your appearance, you’d look even better.”

After staring at Lu Qingqiang for a moment, Madam Lu finally spoke.

But as soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted them and wanted to cover her lips.

Would saying that make Qingqing think back to her difficult and painful past?

Would it make her feel like, even though she was a real heiress, she had ended up like this?

“No, Qingqing, what I mean is, how about I take you to a beauty salon for some skincare?”

“You’re still young. With a little care, you’ll look stunning.”

“I didn’t mean to criticize you. I just thought…”

The more she tried to explain, the more flustered Madam Lu became.

“Mom, you don’t have to tiptoe around me.”

“What happened in the past was an accident. No one wanted it to turn out that way.”

“And now, you’ve found me and started treating me well.”

“Honestly, I’m pretty happy with how things are now.”

“You supported my idea to start an orphanage, and that means a lot to me.”

“As a girl, I like good-looking people too.”

“It’s just that, in the past, life was hard. I didn’t have the time to take care of my appearance.”

“But now, if I can spare the time, of course I’m willing to make a change.”

Lu Qingqiang glanced at herself in the mirror.

The reflection staring back at her was far from ugly.

Her bone structure was beautiful, and her facial features were well-balanced.

She stood at 1.67 meters tall, giving her a tall and slender appearance.

She was just a bit tanned, a bit too thin, and her hair was dry and yellowish.

But that was fine. As long as she didn’t feel inferior, with proper exercise and nutrition, she could recover.

Besides, she had the system, her golden cheat.

“Alright, let me know when you’re free. I’ll take you to a beauty salon.”

“But Qingqing, look… how about I go with you to the hospital for a full check-up sometime?”

“You’ve had a tough time all these years. A thorough examination will help us know where your body needs support.”

“Sure.”

“Mom, that reminds me. When I have time, I should take the kids from the orphanage for check-ups too.”

“And Xiao Hui’s illness—I want to ask the doctors if there’s any way to cure it.”

Xiao Hui was a sick child from the orphanage, also an abandoned baby.

He was a little over four years old now, born with a heart condition and a cleft lip.

Most likely, his family feared the medical expenses and left him at the orphanage gate years ago.

It was Director Wu who found him, took him in, and cared for him with unwavering dedication.

She had looked after him ever since.

“Alright, I’ll handle that.”

“When the time comes, just go to the hospital our family invested in for the check-ups.”

“By the way, Qingqing, I want to buy a car for the orphanage.”

“Once you have a car, you can have Xiao Zhang take the kids out for trips when there’s time.”

“Thank you, Mom,” Lu Qingqiang quickly said.

She definitely wasn’t going to refuse something this good.

Madam Lu really was a kind person.

“…No, no need to thank me,” Madam Lu waved her hand quickly.

Look, this was her Qingqing.

Ahhh, her Qingqing was truly so kind and so adorable.

She only offered to buy a car, and Qingqing was already this happy.

If she kept doing things that pleased her, surely before long, Qingqing would grow closer and closer to her, right?

Yes, that settled it. The car had to be the best and most expensive one.

“Hello, I’m here for the interview.” Just then, Master Zhao’s voice came from outside.

Translator’s Notes

– WeChat: WeChat is a Chinese multi-purpose messaging, social media, and mobile payment app developed by Tencent. It is widely used in China for communication and various online services.

– Xiao Hui: ‘Xiao Hui’ is a common Chinese given name, where ‘Xiao’ is often used as a term of endearment meaning ‘little’ or ‘young’.