Chapter 37

Old Lady Zhong turned her head and saw Old Man Zhong, which startled her so much that she almost bumped into the door. Annoyed, she lightly patted the old man and signaled him to be quiet and eavesdrop. On the other side, Wu Di exaggeratedly recounted the story of Chang Linlin and Zhong Qi, making Zhong Qing chuckle in secret:

"These two, a few days ago Zhong Qi said that Old Man Yang’s granddaughter would pinch Wu Di whenever she saw him. Now, Wu Di is gossiping about Zhong Qi. It seems tying them together was indeed a wise move."

"Mom has been busy these past few days, trying to arrange things for Zhong Qi. If he can be with Linlin, the three families can unite, and Old Ou won’t just be a minister; he could reach even higher positions. Moreover, from what Little Wu said, it seems Linlin took the initiative. Great!"

Zhong Qing glanced at Wu Di and said contentedly:

"That’s more like it. I’ll let you off this time, but remember to report frequently and keep me updated!"

"Yessir!"

The old lady quickly pulled the old man back, and just as they closed the door, they heard Wu Di’s footsteps going down the stairs. Soon, Zhong Qing sneaked into his mother’s room, and after a brief discussion, the old lady made the final decision!

"Let Li Yu send Wu Di home, and keep Zhong Qi here! Tomorrow, go and bring Linlin over, and ask her properly. If she’s interested, I and your father will make the decision. Xiao Si will have to agree, whether he likes it or not!"

After dinner, Wu Di proposed to go stay with Headmaster Lu, planning to return the next evening. The old lady only gave him a half-day leave, asking him to bring Headmaster Lu and his wife for lunch the next day. Zhong Qi also wanted to go, but the old lady kept him and gave him a tough task: to go into the mountains early the next morning and bring Chang Linlin over to play for the day.

Zhong Qi happily agreed; anything was better than being grounded! The poor guy didn’t even know he had been betrayed by his brother!

Wu Di excitedly took Ou DouDou straight to the sanatorium, determined to push through one more day and set off early the next morning, hoping to be home by the afternoon. He had no idea what the old lady meant by having him back for lunch, as Zhong Qing had already sold him out!

The next noon, the whole family gathered, and Yang Yanzi behaved very ladylike. Wu Di was glad she didn’t cause trouble and wouldn’t provoke her. However, even a novice like Wu Di could see through Chang Linlin’s intentions, let alone the old lady and Zhong Qing, who had been tipped off?

They sent Zhong Qing to accompany the two girls shopping, with Zhong Qi as the assistant, and then gave Wu Di a long leave.

Wu Di, along with the helper Li Yu sent by the old man, went on a big shopping spree, filling the Land Rover’s trunk and back seats to the brim. As a result, he got scolded for not leaving space for the old lady’s gifts. In the end, he had to leave half the car’s contents behind to fit everything the old lady had prepared, including over a dozen cases of Maotai and Wuliangye. Just as Wu Di was about to protest, the old lady silenced him with a single sentence:

"Can you buy these with your money? Boy, I’m letting you off this time, but when you come back, I’ll confiscate your little savings."

Wu Di slunk back to his room upstairs, his mind full of thoughts about transferring his assets. Women, he thought, really couldn’t be trusted. He didn’t realize he had wronged Zhong Qing, as all this was what the old lady had overheard.

Zhong Qi was left behind, while Wu Di and Li Yu drove home. Zhong Qi still didn’t know what had gone wrong, but Wu Di, in a bind, just wanted to get away first and didn’t care about his fate.

Before going to bed, Wu Di said goodbye to his family one by one. At three in the morning, he quietly took Li Yu and set off for home.

They drove around the Fifth Ring Road, then onto the Jingzhu Expressway, and finally the Xupingnan Expressway. By eleven in the morning, Zhong Qi had returned to his home, which he hadn’t visited for nearly half a year.

Wu Di parked the car downstairs and rushed up the stairs, shouting:

"Mom, open the door!"

"It’s early, I haven’t even started cooking yet."

It was his sister Wu Dan who opened the door, but it was his mother who spoke.

There were no emotional embraces or enthusiastic welcomes, just a familiar and warm atmosphere. His father took his luggage and shook hands with Li Yu, and Wu Di smiled:

"I was afraid of driving alone, so Brother Li sent me a part of the way, and ended up bringing me all the way back."

"Good, good. We’ve prepared some fish your father caught and a chicken from your aunt. Try our green, pollution-free food. Wu Dan, come help!"

Wu Dan made a face at Wu Di, who pushed her into the kitchen. His father was busy entertaining Li Yu, and Wu Di added:

"Brother Li, let’s eat first, and talk about other things later."

The three of them chatted in the kitchen, while his father talked with Li Yu. Wu Di found everything both familiar and strange, knowing that he had changed so much in the past month.

"Xiao Di, what’s the deal with your godmother?"

Although he had already explained it on the phone, his mother clearly wanted to hear it again in person. However, Wu Di still kept the details about the Zhong and Ou families hidden, only telling her that he had found someone’s child, and the story he and Li Yu had rehearsed on the way.

As they were talking, his father called Wu Dan from downstairs to help move things. It turned out that Li Yu couldn’t resist his father’s persistence and had to use moving things as an excuse.

It took several trips to move everything. Many of the factory workers greeted Wu Di’s father, who was beaming with joy.

Wu Di hadn’t told his family about his wealth or his new car, so when his father mentioned that his son’s car was worth over a million (information from his sister), and seeing the room full of Wuliangye and Maotai, he couldn’t help but question Wu Di in front of Li Yu.

Wu Di replied:

"Actually, I’m a bit confused myself. I bought a brick inkstone to give to a client, but before I could give it, it broke. Do you know what happened?"

Wu Dan, a good listener, asked:

"What happened? Did a genie appear?"

"You’ve grown, you can even make up stories now? The brick inkstone was hollowed out and contained a painting. Can you guess how much it’s worth?"

"Tell me, you little brat, you’re making me anxious."

Wu Di made a three-finger gesture:

"Thirty million! So I got rich."

Everyone at the table gasped in unison. After a moment, Wu Di’s mother hit him with a chopstick and scolded:

"You’ve grown, you’re fooling your mother! A factory this big only makes a few million a year. A painting worth thirty million? Made of gold?"

"Don’t interrupt. How much would gold be worth? What painting? Have you heard of it?"

His father remained calm:

"A landscape by Shi Tao, indeed worth thirty million. Later, I learned about antiques and quit my job."

"You better not get scammed!"

"Mom, the money has already been paid, who’s scamming who?"

"No, hand over the money. Look at you, a bit of money and you start showing off. Buying such an expensive car and so much alcohol, who can afford it?"

"That’s all from my godmother, okay?"

Mothers everywhere are the same, always wanting to confiscate their sons’ money.

After lunch, Li Yu headed straight for the train station, his task being to ensure Wu Di’s safe return. Wu Di didn’t try to keep him, agreeing to have a drink when he returned to the capital, and saw him off. When he came back, he found that all the things had been put in their places, and his parents and sister were sitting solemnly, ready to interrogate him.

The afternoon passed in idle chatter. His mother’s backache was gone, his father didn’t take his afternoon nap, and his sister stopped doing her homework. The whole family was immersed in the news of Wu Di’s wealth, afraid it might turn into a dream.

After dinner, Wu Di, as usual, called out his two childhood friends, the fatter one named Zhu Ziming and the thinner one named Pang Kuan. Together, they were known as "Wu Fatpig on the Street" because their favorite pastime was walking the streets bare-chested with a bottle of beer in hand.

The three had been classmates since elementary school. After junior high, Pang Kuan’s grades were poor, and he didn’t get into the county high school. He ended up at a mediocre university studying finance and returned to the factory as an accountant.

The state-owned factory had gone bankrupt, defaulting on its bank debts, and then through buyouts, layoffs, and early retirements, reduced its workforce to about a thousand people. Pang Kuan now worked as an accountant in the new factory, handling cash and approving expenses, living a relatively comfortable life, though his salary was only a little over a thousand yuan, and he often received small gifts.

Zhu Ziming had been Wu Di’s classmate from elementary school to high school, studying mechanical engineering in college. However, he wasn’t suited for it and left the factory after half a year, switching to the fast-moving consumer goods industry, selling Pepsi. His income was much higher than that of his peers in the factory.

The three met as usual and started walking the streets. After taking a sip of beer, Pang Kuan asked Wu Di:

"Is that Land Rover downstairs yours?"

"Borrowed!"

"Come on, who would lend a new Land Rover to you? Get one for me too."

"Sure, here’s the key, take it and drive."

"Are you robbing a bank? I heard your mom say you weren’t making money in the capital and were planning to bring you back to find a girlfriend!"

"Ha, I got lucky with antiques and made some money."

"What do you mean, got lucky?"

"Someone sold me something they didn’t recognize at a low price, and I sold it at a high price, making a profit."

"How much?"

Wu Di smiled and held up one finger:

"One million?"

Zhu Ziming, being more conservative, said:

"Come on, making one million and buying a car worth over a million, it must be ten million, right?"

Pang Kuan, being in finance, had seen big money. Wu Di laughed:

"Exactly!"

"Ten million, how much is ten million? I feel a bit dizzy."

"Dizzy? Have another two bottles, and you won’t be dizzy. Let’s switch to Carlsberg, this Yu Du beer isn’t good."

"Look at you, go to my place and get a case of Maotai!"

"Are you serious? I don’t want Aunt Wu to kick me out!"

"Let this guy bring it down, and we’ll take it away."

"Are you drunk? Avoiding Aunt Wu, you’re just asking for trouble."

"What do you suggest?"

"Let him buy a new one! Are you stupid?"

"Right, I need to spend money on girls too."

"Exactly, take the car and go after the girls! Get two, one to hold and one to look at!"

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