The next day.
Jack steered an old cargo bike into the courtyard of Ethan's house with a loud creak.
Speaking of this old cargo bike, there was actually a whole story behind it. The paint on the frame had long since become mottled and chipped, and the chain always made this distinctive grinding sound when it turned.
This cargo bike was Jack's grandfather's former "old partner."
Back in the day, the old man would use it basically every day to sell the vegetables he grew. This cargo bike naturally became his grandpa's best mode of transportation for hauling produce, accompanying the old man through rain and shine, carrying fresh vegetables from his own garden through the hustle and bustle of the farmers' market.
As his grandfather gradually got older, he now only grew vegetables for his own consumption, so he no longer went to the market to sell them. The cargo bike naturally sat idle after that.
It wasn't until the past couple of days when Jack started selling handmade lemon tea and lemonade that he'd brought it back into service.
Jack burst into the kitchen carrying a bag full of insulated containers, the ice cubes inside colliding with each other and making crisp clinking sounds.
"Yo Ethan, I hit up like three different 7-Elevens to get this bag of ice."
As he spoke, he opened the refrigerator door and carefully stuffed the ice cubes inside.
"Combined with the batch your fridge made yesterday, I'm thinking all these cups of lemon tea today might not even be enough."
Ethan was brushing his teeth at the sink.
Hearing Jack's loud voice, he turned his head toward the kitchen. "You got up this early? Did you eat breakfast yet?"
"Nah!"
"I brought the ice over first. We prepped so many lemons yesterday afternoon, I'm gonna be hammering them all day today until my hands fall off."
"I'm exhausted, man. I did all those physics problems last night, and now I gotta pound all these lemons to make lemon tea. I'm completely done."
As he spoke, he rubbed his sore wrist with a pained expression.
Ethan gave him a thumbs-up gesture with his free hand.
"Let's eat breakfast first!"
"My mom made seafood congee this morning. Tons of shrimp and scallops—all your favorite stuff. Go demolish a few bowls so you'll have the energy to work later."
After saying that, he grinned. "You go eat first. The congee's in the kitchen—you know where everything is. I'm gonna go boil some hot water."
"Sounds good!"
For Jack, Ethan's house was even more familiar than his own home. From childhood until now, this had been his favorite playground. He was familiar with almost every corner.
Even the aroma of food wafting from the kitchen had long become a taste etched in his memory—after all, he probably couldn't even count the number of times he'd eaten here if he tried.
It was safe to say everything here was familiar territory.
When the two were kids.
During the holidays, almost every kid in the neighborhood had one of those classic Super Soaker water guns. If you didn't have one, you were basically too embarrassed to go out and play. Ethan and Jack were definitely the rowdiest type of kids.
There was this one time they'd accidentally broken a neighbor's window with a baseball. Jack didn't dare go home, afraid of getting his ass beat by his parents, so he'd often crash at Ethan's house and wait until the next day when things had blown over before heading back.
Moving to the living room.
Ethan filled a kettle with water and set it to boil.
In a bit, he'd use this hot water to brew tea, which would serve as the base for the handmade lemon tea.
Lemonade was relatively simple to make—just lemon with water and honey or simple syrup. But making handmade lemon tea was more complicated, and the lemons used for each were actually different varieties.
The lemons used in handmade lemon tea were made from Meyer lemons (also known as perfume lemons), which had a strong fragrance, thick skin, and were rich in volatile aromatic oils.
The lemons used in lemonade were Eureka lemons (regular yellow lemons), which were better suited for cold drinks.
The tea leaves needed to be steeped in advance. After cooling, you'd strain out the tea and put it in the fridge. You also needed to make simple syrup. Then you'd scrub the surface of the lemons with salt to remove the waxy coating, slice them up, remove the white pith and seeds, put them in a cup to "muddle" them, add the pre-made tea and syrup in the right proportions, seal the lid tight, and shake vigorously.
"Water's boiling. After you eat, steep the tea leaves. Then you wash the lemons and I'll make the syrup," Ethan said as he returned to the dining room and sat down with a bowl of seafood congee.
"Damn."
"I hate washing lemons the most."
"They always feel like they have this weird greasy layer on them."
Jack held a shrimp in his hand, complaining while he ate.
"Otherwise, you make the syrup and I'll wash the lemons." Ethan looked at him with a smirk.
"Nah, better not. I don't know how to make syrup. I'll probably make it all bitter or something. Forget it, you do it!" After hearing Ethan's suggestion, Jack immediately backed down.
This was the first time Ethan had tasted his mother's seafood congee since being reborn.
Today was the weekend.
His mom had made seafood congee—you know, usually their family only made seafood congee once a week.
Ethan felt a wave of emotion. If he hadn't been reborn, he would've probably spent the rest of his life alone and lonely.
As the porcelain spoon scooped up the thick congee, Ethan stared at the steam rising from the bowl, and his throat suddenly tightened. If it wasn't for the rebirth, then his father would have...
"Since I'm here, I might as well make the most of it. God gave me a chance to be reborn, so I definitely won't let those regrets happen again." Ethan thought silently to himself.
The sunlight from outside the window was filtering through the pothos plants on the balcony, creating dappled spots of light on the table.
This bowl of seafood congee carrying the scent of the ocean had now become the first milestone measuring his reborn years—in this world of everyday life, there was always some warmth worth cherishing for the rest of your life.
Jack was over there calculating how much money they could make today. "Yo Ethan! How long do you think it'll take us to sell all these cups today?"
Before Ethan could answer, he added excitedly, "I did the math. If we sell everything, not counting labor costs, we could profit like almost two grand!"
Ethan: "Two thousand? That's still kinda low!"
"???"
"What the hell!"
Jack nearly jumped out of his seat, his eyes widening as he stared at Ethan like he was looking at an alien. "Dude, do you even hear yourself right now?"
"Two thousand dollars a day, two grand! That's not two hundred bucks. You usually can't even pull out twenty dollars from your pockets, and you're saying two thousand is too little?"
As he spoke, he rolled his eyes in exasperation.
In reality, Ethan knew in his heart that two thousand dollars a day was actually a huge amount of money. When he'd first graduated in his previous life, his monthly salary had only been around two grand.
The reason he said it was too little was actually because, for the upcoming World Cup, he still didn't have nearly enough capital to work with.
Ethan didn't bother explaining to him. He didn't plan to tell his family about buying World Cup lottery tickets—and that included Jack, of course.
He wouldn't let Jack get involved with this stuff. He was afraid he'd drag Jack into this "world" and then he wouldn't be able to get out.
He knew his best friend's personality way too well. If Jack got hooked on "sports betting," he'd likely fall deep into it and not be able to escape. He didn't dare take that risk.
But Ethan had a plan in his heart. He would never screw over this close friend who he'd grown up with since they were in diapers. When the company got bigger in the future, there would naturally be better ways to take care of him—but now wasn't the time.
"Alright, quit your bitching. Time to get to work after we finish eating!"
"Today's gonna be rough!"
Jack grumbled, "No way, dude. You're treating me to McDonald's today."
There are 15 advance chapters ahead in my Patreon. If you are interested can check it out.
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