dkrc Chapter 445 Dream
Chapter 445 Dream
On her way home, Lu Ran called Zhou Mingzhe.
The phone was answered after ringing only half an hour. Zhou Mingzhe's voice came through the receiver: "How did it go? Did you see them?"
"I saw him. It's done."
"It's done? So fast?" Zhou Mingzhe's tone was clearly surprised. "You were only there for a little over an hour, and they agreed right away?"
"We agreed. But on one condition: the government must take a 10% stake. They won't participate in operations or interfere with decision-making; they'll just hold shares. In exchange, they'll smooth out all the procedures for our overseas expansion, including content review, data compliance, and rating standards—giving us the green light all the way."
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone.
Then Zhou Mingzhe's voice rang out, his tone much calmer than before: "Ten percent, no involvement in management—that sounds like a good deal. You're the boss, you can decide for yourself."
"I've already agreed. Please prepare the company's information and project introduction materials, and send them to the Ministry of Culture. Director Zhou will handle the specific arrangements; we just need to cooperate as required."
Zhou Mingzhe hummed in agreement, then asked, "Aren't you really heartbroken? Ten percent of the shares, given away just like that."
Lu Ran smiled slightly: "It hurts. But I have to give it to them. Do you think I could handle all those procedures myself? Just for PEGI classification, I have to go to several countries, and each country has different standards. Germany is incredibly strict, France is ridiculously lenient, and the UK is stuck in the middle. Dealing with those three companies took me half a year. Now someone says, 'I'll take care of it for you, you give me 10%,' why wouldn't I take it?"
"I'm relieved to hear that. I thought you'd been fooled."
Do I look like someone who would be easily fooled?
"It's hard to say. You can be quite frightening when you get impulsive."
Lu Ran was too lazy to argue with him. He gave a few more instructions about the preparation of the materials and then hung up the phone.
He leaned back in the taxi, watching the street scene outside the window recede frame by frame.
Traffic in Shanghai wasn't too congested in the afternoon. The driver was driving at a moderate pace, with a radio playing in the car. It was a music channel playing an old song.
It was almost five o'clock when he got home.
As soon as I opened the door, the aroma of food wafted towards me.
It smelled like braised pork, but not like the kind he had smelled before. The soy sauce flavor wasn't as strong, but the caramelized sugar aroma was more pronounced.
Priscilla Chan poked her head out of the kitchen, wearing a floral apron around her waist and holding a spatula in her hand.
"You're back? Go wash your hands, dinner's ready in a minute. Old Shen brought two bottles of wine, saying he'd have a couple of drinks with you tonight. I told him you're taking care of Yuege lately, so you can't drink, and he said, 'Then let's have tea.'"
Lu Ran changed her shoes, put her bag on the entryway cabinet, and walked into the living room.
Shen Yuege was leaning back on the sofa, holding a glass of warm water in her hand, with a thin blanket covering her knees.
She saw Lu Ran enter and looked him up and down: "Have you finished discussing things?"
"The talk is over."
Judging from your expression, it seems the deal has been reached.
"It's done. Now it's just a matter of going through the formalities."
Shen Yuege nodded and didn't ask any further questions.
She has now learned not to interrupt Lu Ran when he is talking about serious matters, and he will tell her when he is willing to.
This habit was gradually formed over the past few months. At first, she would ask all sorts of questions, but later she found that it was useless. Lu Ran had his own rhythm in doing things, and she only needed to stay by his side.
Lu Ran washed his hands and sat down at the dining table.
Priscilla Chan brought a plate of food out of the kitchen and placed it in the middle of the table.
It's a plate of braised pork belly, with a bright red color and the sauce reduced just right. The fatty parts are slightly trembling, while the lean parts have clear texture.
There were also two small dishes and a bowl of clear soup on the side.
Lu Ran picked up his chopsticks, took a piece of meat, put it in his mouth, chewed it a couple of times, and paused for a moment.
Shen Yuege, sitting opposite him and picking up her chopsticks, noticed his strange expression and immediately became alert: "What's wrong? Is it too salty?"
"It's not salty." Lu Ran chewed again, swallowed, and looked at Shen Yuege. "It's sweet. How did you make sweet braised pork?"
Shen Yuege's chopsticks froze in mid-air, her expression a little bewildered.
She turned to look at Priscilla Chan.
Priscilla Chan was carrying a bowl of rice out of the kitchen when she saw her daughter looking at her. She casually said, "The sweet kind tastes better. I deliberately put in several pieces of rock sugar. People in Shanghai always add sugar when making braised pork; the savory kind you usually make isn't authentic."
"Mom, I'm from Shanghai, okay?" Shen Yuege's voice rose half a tone.
"You're from Shanghai, but you learned your cooking methods online. Those online recipes are all from the north, and they're savory. Authentic Shanghai-style braised pork is supposed to be sweet."
Shen Yuege opened her mouth, wanting to refute, but she realized that she had never actually eaten authentic Shanghai-style braised pork.
She did indeed find the recipes online, but she didn't pay attention to who wrote them.
Priscilla Chan has been cooking for over thirty years, and if she says it's authentic, then it's authentic.
Lu Ran picked up another piece of meat and put it in his mouth. This time he chewed it more slowly and savored it carefully.
The sweetness of rock sugar and the saltiness of soy sauce blend together in the mouth, which is indeed different from the previous version.
It's hard to say which one tastes better; they're just two different styles.
"It's alright," he said. "I can even eat the sweet ones."
Shen Yuege glared at him: "What do you mean 'still edible'? Say it again, it's my mom's cooking!"
Lu Ran realized she had misspoke and quickly corrected herself: "It's delicious. Sweet ones are delicious too. I love them all. Your cooking is delicious, and Mom's cooking is delicious too. Anyway, I've never thought braised pork was bad."
Shen Yuege was taken aback by his survival instincts. She wanted to say something but didn't. She lowered her head, picked up a piece of meat, put it in her bowl, took a bite, paused for two seconds, and then said, "It is indeed a bit sweet."
Priscilla Chan sat down opposite her, served herself a bowl of rice, and said slowly, "What's wrong with dessert? Dessert makes rice more palatable. Yuege, you grew up in Shanghai, why are you frowning over sweet braised pork? When you were little, you loved your grandma's sweet and sour pork ribs, which were much sweeter than this."
Shen Yuege fell silent.
She had eaten sweet and sour pork ribs at her grandmother's house many years ago, and had long forgotten what it tasted like.
But she knew she couldn't win against Priscilla Chan; she had no chance of winning at this dinner.
A family of four sat around the dining table eating.
Shen Zhiwei did bring two bottles of wine, but Chen Huixian turned them down with the question, "Yuege is pregnant, and you want Xiao Lu to drink with you?"
Shen Zhiwei didn't argue; he poured himself a small half-cup and sat there slowly drinking it.
While eating, Lu Ran briefly recounted his meeting with Zhou Deming that day.
He didn't go into too much detail, only saying that the procedural issues had been basically resolved and the other party had agreed to help smooth things over.
After listening, Shen Zhiwei nodded and said that the people in the Ministry of Culture were reliable and efficient, much faster than getting approvals from private companies.
Priscilla Chan didn't understand the technical terms, but she understood one thing—Lu Ran's game could be sold overseas.
She asked, "So you can make money from foreigners?" Lu Ran said yes, and Chen Huixian nodded in satisfaction, picking up a piece of braised pork for him.
After dinner, Lu Ran went to wash the dishes. Shen Yuege wanted to help, but Chen Huixian pressed her down on the sofa and wouldn't let her move.
Priscilla Chan said that you are now a key protected person, and that Lu Ran can handle the dishwashing.
Shen Yuege said, "You weren't like this before. You used to want me to do anything."
Priscilla Chan said that the past is the past, and the present is the present. Now that you have a child in your belly, you can do whatever you want.
Shen Yuege felt helpless about this double standard, but there was nothing she could do.
She leaned back on the sofa, watching Lu Ran's back as he washed dishes in the kitchen, then glanced at Chen Huixian next to her, who was watching TV with a teacup in her hand, and suddenly found the scene quite interesting.
She used to think that after getting married, their life together would end, and all that would be left was time to live.
Now she realizes she was wrong. Life after marriage is indeed different from when she was dating, but it has its own unique flavor.
Just like today's braised pork, it's not salty, it's sweet.
It's different, but it's still edible. It's actually quite delicious.
The night outside the window in Shanghai had completely darkened.
The streetlights downstairs were on, and people occasionally walked by on the road.
A police siren sounded in the distance for a while, then disappeared.
Summer is approaching, and it's getting dark later and later, but the air is much cooler after dark than during the day.
Lu Ran came out of the kitchen after washing the dishes, sat down next to Shen Yuege, and took out his phone to check the work group.
Zhou Mingzhe has already sent a message in the group saying that the coordination with the Ministry of Culture has been arranged and that the relevant departments should prepare the materials.
Old Wang replied with "Received," and Zhao Yiming replied with an emoji—a panda head making an OK sign with its hand outstretched.
The atmosphere in the group seemed good; everyone's reaction to the news was much calmer than he had expected.
He put down his phone, leaned back on the sofa, and glanced at Shen Yuege.
Shen Yuege was watching TV. It was a variety show where several people were playing games on stage and laughing so hard they were doubled over.
She had a smile on her lips, but it didn't seem like she was laughing at what was on TV. It was the kind of smile that she didn't even know she was laughing at, just a natural curve on her face when she was in a good mood.
"Are we having braised pork again tomorrow?" Lu Ran asked.
Shen Yuege turned her head and glanced at him: "Haven't you had enough yet?"
"I haven't had enough. Something sweet is fine too. I'll eat anything you make."
Shen Yuege smiled and patted his shoulder lightly. "Then I'll have Mom teach me how to make it tomorrow. I want to learn the authentic Shanghai way."
"Don't bother learning anymore, just let Mom do it."
"No. I have to learn. That way, you'll remember it was me who made it when you eat it later."
Lu Ran did not refute it further.
He knew that once Shen Yuege made a decision, it was hard to change it, just like her decision to sing, to open a studio, and to marry him.
She thought everything through before doing anything; there was no impulsive element involved.
She appears easygoing on the surface, but she actually has a strong sense of right and wrong; she knows better than anyone what she should and shouldn't do.
In the kitchen, Chen Huixian was cleaning the stove, and the faucet was running.
Shen Zhiwei was making tea next to the coffee table, and the teacup made a crisp sound as it hit the table.
The TV in the living room was playing the ending theme of a variety show, and a group of people stood together waving goodbye.
These sounds blended together, creating the sound of an ordinary summer night.
Lu Ran leaned back on the sofa, listening to these sounds, and felt that life was going pretty well.
Sakura Games and EA are gone, the overseas expansion is settled, her family is all around her, and Shen Yuege's belly is growing bigger every day.
Things are moving in a positive direction, not very fast, but he can see the changes.
He silenced his phone, turned over, lay on his side, and rested his head on his arm.
Shen Yuege's voice drifted over from the side: "Are you sleepy?"
"A little. I've been running around all day, so I'm a bit tired."
"Go upstairs to sleep. Don't lie here."
"I'll lie down for a bit and then go up. You go ahead and check."
Shen Yuege said "oh" and turned the TV volume down a little.
Lu Ran closed her eyes, listening to the indistinct voices on TV, the sound of the tap stopping in the kitchen, and the sound of Shen Zhiwei pouring tea. She quickly fell asleep.
Lu Ran had a dream in which he seemed to have lost Shen Yuege, or even everything else.
...