章 8: Chapter 8: Visiting My Wife's Family
To be honest, Chen Pingsheng himself admitted that he had been a bit impulsive.
But there was a reason for everything. In the past few years, each time he visited his mother-in-law's house, he and Song Yanxi were subjected to disdain because of his unseemly job.
With only two days left until the New Year, he wanted to buy his wife a nice car to show those people.
Indeed, Chen Pingsheng was someone who could be relied on for life.
As for the rest, he would deal with it later.
Song Yanxi had gotten her driver's license a long time ago but rarely drove and was not very skilled, crawling along the road at a snail's pace of thirty yards.
Little An'an was even more excited than her, squirming nonstop in the back seat, her nearly fallen-out milk teeth gleaming in a constant smile.
She kept pulling on her dad's arm, asking questions like, what's this for, what does that do?
Can the big car play cartoons or something?
That definitely needed to be arranged. He planned to buy her a small iPad for the New Year.
"Husband, how come you have tens of thousands again?"
After adjusting for a bit and feeling less tense, Song Yanxi finally voiced the question that had been on her mind for a long time.
"Of course, I earned it by selling durians."
Chen Pingsheng said, "You wouldn't believe it. After I spent one hundred ninety thousand stocking up, a blizzard hit the next day. Durians couldn't be imported so their prices naturally skyrocketed. I just took that opportunity to earn a bit more."
Song Yanxi had no reason to doubt him. Naturally, she was happy that her husband could make money.
"If you spent all the money on the car, what about the house?"
"We don't need to rush that. An'an won't start first grade until after next June."
Chen Pingsheng, holding Little An'an, said, "I was thinking, since we are going to buy a house, let's buy a bigger one. Next year, once my income is more stable, we could maybe have another child."
Thinking of having another child?
Song Yanxi had no objections to that. If the household could afford it, having only one child was indeed too few.
Previously, she had not dared to consider this, but now it could certainly be contemplated more seriously.
When they got home, his childhood friend Young Marshal had specifically bought a string of large firecrackers.
He even tied a red ribbon to the new car and set off a relentless burst of fireworks.
Of course, red envelopes were a must as well.
If this had been in the countryside, buying an Audi A4L outright would definitely have been big news.
Yet in the Capital City, it was nothing special.
Chen Pingsheng planned to sort out the house situation within the next three months, as durians would not sell as well after the New Year.
He also needed to think about other sources of income.
...
The day before New Year's Eve.
Song Wu was still busy meeting up with classmates.
She was only two years younger than Song Yanxi. Unlike her older sister who was raised by their grandparents, her upbringing was different.
She had been brought back to the Capital City when she was in middle school.
Living with her parents in the Capital City for a long time, she naturally developed a sense of superiority.
Her family was at most considered middle class in the Capital City.
Her mother was a true local of the Capital City, but her father was not.
Support from the older generation allowed her parents to settle and make a home in the vast Capital City.
Their apartment was not big: a three-bedroom hall totaling one hundred twenty square meters.
If you discounted the shared spaces, it was just about one hundred square meters.
Song Wu's disdain for her brother-in-law, a foreigner, was mainly due to the ingrained sense of superiority typical of people from the Capital City.
In their eyes, foreigners were inherently inferior.
Moreover, her brother-in-law's job was such an embarrassment—to think that if she became a famous star and people found out her brother-in-law sold durians on the street, it would be a blot on her reputation.
That's why she had been pushing her sister to get a divorce.
"Hey... Little Wu, you should take a look at your sister's Moments."
"What's there to see in her Moments? Either she's showing off her husband or showing off Little An'an."
Song Wu felt her sister was utterly provincial from living in the countryside too long, which had fostered those earthy habits.
Not at all like her.
She'd show off high-end restaurants or afternoon tea.
"Your sister bought a car."
Mr. Song quite liked Chen Pingsheng, but unfortunately, his opinions hardly mattered in their home.
The family status was all controlled by Mrs. Song of the Capital City family.
"What kind of car can she buy?"
Song Wu was unconcerned. When she clicked to open the photo, it turned out to be the small Audi she liked.
She sat up with a slap.
"Strange, this couldn't be my sister using someone else's car to take the photo, right?"
"You think your sister is like you?"
Mr. Song said irritably, "Pingsheng is so hardworking; he had saved enough money to buy a car long ago. There's nothing strange about him buying an Audi A4 now."
"Then he surely must have made a down payment of twenty to thirty percent."
Song Wu was indifferent. She had too many classmates who drove luxury cars; a small Audi A4 was nothing for her to envy.
Once she became a big star, shooting one movie could earn her several small Audis.
"Your sister will be home soon. Tone down your attitude and be polite to your brother-in-law; they don't have it easy either."
Mr. Song advised kindly.
Song Wu curled her lip and didn't listen. A street vendor selling durians hardly deserved her respect.
The main issue was that it was embarrassing to mention him; she found it hard even to speak about it.
The family prepared the tableware and the dishes for the New Year, ready to welcome it together the next day.
This time, Chen Pingsheng brought many gifts: two red packs of Beijing Cigarettes and a pair of Flying Fairy Moutai Liquor.
Plus two big durians. He had brought his family over at eight in the morning.
Mr. Song had already prepared a full table of reunion dinner.
"Pingsheng, why did you bring so many gifts again?"
The two families actually weren't far apart, but Chen Pingsheng never visited unless it was New Year or festivals because his sisters-in-law, along with Mrs. Song, had never looked at him properly.
Only Mr. Song truly treated him as a son-in-law.
"They're just little gifts, not worth much."
He wasn't one for social niceties, not given to saying too much polite chitchat.
Mr. Song gestured for him to sit next to him. Mrs. Song rolled her eyes at him as soon as he walked in.
She went off to chat with her daughter.
"Sister, I heard you bought a car. How much was the down payment?"
Song Wu had been taken care of by her sister growing up in the countryside, but she had changed after moving to the Capital.
"What down payment? Your brother-in-law paid in full."
No matter when or where, Song Yanxi always spoke in favor of her husband.
Song Wu frowned slightly, completely disbelieving, "He could pay in full for an Audi?"
"What's so surprising about that? Your brother-in-law's income is not low."
If it weren't for the New Year, Song Wu would have certainly insisted that he wasn't really her brother-in-law.
Deep down, she had never acknowledged him as such.
"Daughter, you haven't lied to mom, right? Did he really pay in full to help you buy it?"
Paying in full and buying in installments make a big difference, and Mrs. Song couldn't help but confirm.
"Mom hasn't lied; Dad really bought it in full."
Little An'an pouted her small mouth as she replied. Though she was young, she also knew to speak in favor of her father.
Mrs. Song huffed, "After being with him for so many years, he finally did something worthwhile. But now that you've spent all your money on the car, what about a house? You can't always rent in the Capital, can you?"
"Of course not."
Song Yanxi disliked coming home precisely because her sister and Mrs. Song were too unfriendly to Chen Pingsheng.
No matter what he did, he was still looked down upon by them.
This time she simply laid it all out: "Mom, I know you've always looked down on Pingsheng. But you've seen him over the years since he came to the Capital, has he ever been lazy? Never, right?"
"For someone his age to be out on his own, not relying on parents, and supporting a family while buying a house and a car, that's already quite difficult."
"Now he's bought me a car, and you still look at him with prejudice. You're just worried that he can't afford a house in the Capital. Even if we can only rent forever, our life won't be that bad, will it? After all, your daughter still has hundreds of thousands in her bank account."
"All this is because Pingsheng has worked himself to the bone to earn it outside. What more do you want from him?"
As she spoke, tears began to fall again.
It wasn't anything else, just a feeling of being wronged, of not being understood by her family.
"Don't cry, Mom."
Little An'an was very well-behaved and immediately handed her a tissue.
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