Chapter 66: Young and Promising
Li Wei clicked “Save,” closed the over 10,000-word mid-year report, stretched, and patted his stomach.
He was hungry.
Going into the kitchen, he opened the fridge—only two or three green peppers were left. He’d finished the eggs yesterday, so even making a simple stir-fried egg with green peppers wasn’t an option.
Looking outside, the sun was blazing. He hadn’t bought a car yet and didn’t feel like going to the supermarket under the scorching sun.
He remembered a neighbor once mentioning that the Lantu Supermarket offered drone delivery. So he pulled out his phone, downloaded the Lantu Supermarket app, and ordered a 30-pound bag of rice, two pounds of eggs, two pounds of pork belly, one pound of ginger, three potatoes, and two types of leafy greens. Then he placed the order.
It was his first time shopping through the Lantu Supermarket app, so he remained skeptical of what his neighbor had said—“Lantu’s delivery is lightning fast.”
Back in the kitchen, he rinsed some rice to cook and prepped the ginger, garlic, and scallions he would use later.
His phone dinged—a system notification from the Lantu Supermarket app: “Delivery drone arriving in ten seconds.”
By the time he walked to the door, he heard a knock. Opening it, he saw the drone steadily hovering in the air, suspending a fairly large cardboard box sealed tightly with tape.
At the same time, a sweet mechanical voice came from the drone:
“Your order from Lantu Supermarket has arrived. Please confirm receipt!”
Li Wei took the box, checked the contents, confirmed everything was correct, and tapped “Confirm” on the app.
After watching the drone fly away, he sent a message in the company group chat:
“Everyone, if you get the chance, you should move into Dream Home! Seriously, highly recommended! Rent is cheap, the environment is beautiful—and shopping is ridiculously convenient! The Lantu Supermarket here delivers via drone. I bought nearly 40 pounds of stuff, and it arrived in under five minutes!”
Li Wei wasn’t the only one recommending Lantu Supermarket to friends and coworkers.
Lantu Supermarket’s sales revenue was climbing rapidly every single day.
When Mu Lantu’s interview aired on the Imperial Capital Television Station and made it to the trending list, Lantu Supermarket’s fame skyrocketed—it instantly became the leading supermarket in all of Dream Home.
Mu Lantu sent a screenshot of the interview video and the trending topic to Mu Zhenzhen.
After watching it, Zhenzhen was filled with an overwhelming sense of pride. That’s my little brother. Without her even realizing, he had grown into someone so impressive.
There were two women browsing clothes in her store, but Zhenzhen couldn’t concentrate. She quickly handed them off to the accessory shop owner next door, didn’t bother grabbing an umbrella, forgot that driving would be faster, and—with her phone gripped tightly—ran under the blazing sun toward their parents’ supermarket.
“Zhenzhen, wait—” the accessory shop owner reached out but stopped, speechless. Zhenzhen hadn’t even told her the price of the clothes those two customers were interested in.
There was air conditioning in the store, so the two customers weren’t in a hurry to leave.
One joked with the shop owner, “Judging by how excited she was, maybe she won the lottery!”
The other said, “Probably not. I heard a bit from the video she was watching—something about an interview with someone named Mu Lantu. Apparently, the LEGO competition he organized was really meaningful, and his Lantu Supermarket earned over ten million in profits within just two months…”
“Ah!” The shop owner covered her mouth in shock. “Mu Lantu? He’s the younger brother of the woman who owns this clothing store! That’s amazing—where can I watch the interview?”
At the time, Mu Zhenguo was helping a customer load goods onto a tricycle.
He Cuifang was there too. So much had happened recently that she hadn’t had the heart to play cards these past few days. She was now taking inventory.
Mu Zhenguo noticed his daughter running up, drenched in sweat. He was worried something bad had happened, but then saw her joyful expression and calmed down. After sending the customer off, he asked, “Why are you here at this hour?”
Zhenzhen grabbed a bottle of ice water from the fridge, downed half of it in one go, then unlocked her phone and handed it over.
“Our Lantu made it onto the Imperial Capital’s TV channel!”
As soon as He Cuifang heard her youngest son’s name, she stopped what she was doing and rushed over with Mu Zhenguo to watch.
The video started with Mu Lantu sitting across from a young, elegant female reporter. His hair was styled, he appeared to be wearing light makeup, and his refined facial features stood out even more. He wore a gray suit, a luxury watch, and spotless black leather shoes—he looked just like the successful elites they saw on TV dramas, if not more distinguished.
Mu Zhenguo and He Cuifang were flushed with excitement. Their eyes widened, glistening with tears.
Was this really their son?
They had so many questions but couldn’t bear to look away. Their eyes were locked on the screen.
The female reporter asked,
“Mr. Mu, can you tell us why you decided to launch the Wisdom Cup LEGO competition? From what I understand, by this high school competition alone, you’ve invested over 50 million yuan into LEGO tournaments. Do you think it’s worth it?”
Mu Lantu smiled gently, listened attentively, and patiently waited for her to finish before replying calmly:
“I’ve always believed in a saying—‘When poor, focus on personal integrity; when prosperous, help the world.’ I started the LEGO competition simply because I love LEGO. But later, I began to think…”
Mu Zhenguo felt that sentence carried a lot of weight. He whispered to Zhenzhen, “What does that mean?”
Zhenzhen paused the video.
“It means, if someone is poor, they should focus on taking care of themselves. But if they become successful, they should try to help others within their means. Dad, Lantu is really amazing—we should be proud of him.”
Mu Zhenguo nodded and continued watching.
“I want to make my hobby meaningful. I hope to leave something behind for people who love or are interested in LEGO—anything, as long as it’s of value to them. That’s the meaning behind organizing the Wisdom LEGO competition.”
The reporter added:
“Mr. Mu, you’re not only the founder of the Wisdom Cup LEGO Competition but also the owner of Lantu Supermarket in Dream Home. And it’s the only large supermarket in Dream Home with drone delivery service. I understand that you just graduated from college this year, at only twenty-two years old. You’ve already achieved so much—truly young and promising! Can you share the secret to your success and offer some advice to recent graduates who may still feel lost?”
The interview was nearly five minutes long.
Watching their son speak confidently and articulately, Mu Zhenguo and He Cuifang could no longer hold back their tears.
“Amazing, amazing…”
Zhenzhen didn’t press them further. She wanted them to reflect on whether they were ready to accept this outstanding son back into their lives.
She knew they hadn’t contacted Lantu recently, and he hadn’t reached out either. But every few days, he would ask about their health through her. Whenever he sent her a message, she always passed it on to her parents.
After a long silence, Mu Zhenguo awkwardly asked, “Can I… get that video on my phone?”
Zhenzhen smiled, guessing he wanted to show off to others.
“I’ll send it to your messaging app—just tap the link to watch. Later I’ll show you the trending list too. Little bro even made it onto the hot searches!”
Mu Zhenguo didn’t really understand what trending searches were, but it sounded like a good thing.
Zhenzhen opened Weibo and showed them—Mu Lantu’s name was third on the trending list. The headline was simple and clear: “Young and Promising Mu Lantu.”
She said, “Dad, see that number at the end? That’s how many people now know that our Lantu is amazing!”
Mu Zhenguo’s eyes widened. “That’s… over 80 million people?!”
“Exactly!”
He Cuifang had been dazed until now. Finally snapping out of it, she gasped,
“Old man, Zhenzhen, did you hear? Lantu’s supermarket earned over ten million in profit! Our Lantu is a millionaire now?”
Mu Zhenguo nodded repeatedly. He had heard. He tried to light a cigarette, but his hand was shaking so much that the cigarette fell to the ground.
Zhenzhen clutched her chest.
“I heard too—my heart almost jumped out of my chest!”
After a pause, she asked,
“Do you want to call little bro to congratulate him?”
Mu Zhenguo fidgeted. “Not now… He must be busy during the day. Let’s call tonight.”
“That’s thoughtful of you, Dad.” Zhenzhen added warmly, “Yesterday, Lantu told me he didn’t know when you two would be free—he wanted to invite you to Dream Home. He was afraid you were still mad at him, so he didn’t dare send a message himself. The house was fully renovated last week. And now that you both have more free time…”
He Cuifang wanted to go but looked toward Mu Zhenguo.
He mumbled, “Not yet. Let’s wait until your mom and I both get our driver’s licenses.”
Zhenzhen figured he just couldn’t swallow his pride, so she didn’t push it.
“It’s up to you.”
Meanwhile, Mu Lantu was in his supermarket with Xu Huazhang.
Xu Jingwen and Zhang Manting had also come to check it out.
Across from the supermarket was a vast, free parking lot—just this feature alone made local residents thrilled. No more struggling to find parking like on Aquablue Star. Here, you just parked wherever you liked. Every space was wide, even new drivers could park easily.
The supermarket service was also top-notch—guests were truly treated like royalty.
For example:
Parents or grandparents who couldn’t shop easily while watching young kids could leave them in a safe in-store play area.
Moms with tween boys who didn’t want their sons going into the women’s restroom could have a male employee escort them to the men’s room.
Nursing mothers could use a private breastfeeding room, so they didn’t have to feed in public.
Older customers who couldn’t read or didn’t know how to pay could receive help from patient staff.
The supermarket was enormous. If customers didn’t want to walk, they could use wide-path electric shopping carts that carried both people and goods.
