Old Man Zhou slowly walked back.
He wasn’t short of money, and neither was Grandmother Zhou.
But how could Old Man Zhou refuse filial gifts from the younger generation?
“This is too much – how much is Zhou Cheng’s monthly salary anyway!”
Moreover, Zhou Cheng was on a mission. Even if Xia Xiaolan had met him in Shenzhen, could he have given her so much cash? Old Man Zhou immediately realized that Zhou Cheng, though not yet married, had entrusted his savings to Xia Xiaolan’s management.
Grandmother Zhou glared at her husband, “I’m happy to have this money. Even if I don’t spend it, it’s still a filial gift from my grandson.”
She wouldn’t want to spend the money; when Zhou Cheng got married, Grandmother Zhou would want to give her eldest grandson even more.
The meaning was different – if Zhou Cheng thought to give his grandparents a filial gift, it proved her eldest grandson was filial. If it was Xia Xiaolan’s idea, it proved her grandson had good judgment in choosing a filial partner.
Either way, Grandmother Zhou was happy.
The first was expected, but the second was particularly precious. Why would someone else’s daughter show such filial respect to her and the old man? It proved the girl was good-hearted and loved her grandson enough to extend that love to his family!
This red envelope contained more than what Grandmother Zhou had given Xia Xiaolan. Grandmother Zhou knew Xia Xiaolan was doing business, but she must have spent quite a bit buying the house earlier, and she wasn’t sure if Xiaolan had enough working capital.
Grandmother Zhou secretly checked her bankbook. She received a monthly pension, and in recent years, since all her children were doing well and didn’t need her support – instead giving her money during festivals – Grandmother Zhou had accumulated some private savings.
She now wanted to secretly give this money to Xia Xiaolan, without letting the others know.
Old Man Zhou saw her furtively looking at her bankbook and knew what she was thinking.
Not playing favorites?
That was impossible.
Just as fingers aren’t all the same length, even the most rational person couldn’t treat everyone exactly equally.
Old Man Zhou turned a blind eye but reminded her, fearing she might go too far:
“You still have other granddaughters and grandchildren. Don’t empty your savings. Look at Zhou Yi – she’s grown up and could marry anytime. As her grandmother, shouldn’t you prepare something for her?”
Grandmother Zhou’s hand holding the bankbook paused, and after thinking, she put two notes back.
Including the old man, they truly found Zhou Yi disappointing, but how could they completely ignore her?
Zhou Cheng was their grandson, and Zhou Yi was their granddaughter. Though Zhou Yi’s personality and abilities were lacking, making her career unremarkable, she often came to keep the elderly couple company. It would be false to say they had no feelings for her.
…
Xia Xiaolan didn’t know that Grandmother Zhou had almost given her all their savings.
Of course, even if offered, she wouldn’t have accepted.
It wasn’t about the amount – elderly people needed some private savings to feel secure. Grandmother Yu now felt particularly secure because the Ji family had “returned” 80,000 yuan to her, and she could ask Xia Xiaolan to help find her son; 80,000 yuan could be exchanged for quite a few dollars.
After Kang Wei’s house was renovated, this was Xia Xiaolan’s first visit.
The house was kept extremely well, clean, and tidy. Kang Wei had returned home from the hospital on the third day of the lunar new year to recuperate. When Xia Xiaolan visited him, he complained he was going crazy: “Even if I just turn over, my mom makes a huge fuss. She even feeds me meals – I didn’t hurt my hands, is this really necessary?”
Whether necessary or not, why was he complaining while grinning from ear to ear?
Xia Xiaolan couldn’t bear to look directly at him. Comrade Kang Wei had probably experienced delayed maternal love, and now he was completely elated.
“Recovering well? That’s good. You need to get better quickly; the business in Shenzhen can’t do without you.”
Kang Wei had shaved his head bald, still wearing bandages, but his spirits were good.
It takes a hundred days for tendons and bones to heal; with his head injury, he needed at least two to three months of recovery. Xia Xiaolan chatted with him for a while and was relieved to see his thinking wasn’t affected.
The brain is the body’s most delicate organ; even minor damage could have lasting effects.
The better Kang Wei recovered, the happier Xia Xiaolan felt.
Kang Wei was quite happy too. On his discharge day, he talked with his Second Uncle Kang Lianming:
“My second uncle suggested we open a branch store in Beijing, saying he could ensure we wouldn’t worry about customers or funding… I refused.”
Kang Wei seemed quite embarrassed mentioning this – what if Xia Xiaolan had wanted him to accept? Who wouldn’t want to make more money easily? With his second uncle’s help, they could avoid a lot of hard work!
Kang Wei refused not because he was at odds with Kang Lianming. Though their misunderstanding was cleared up, they couldn’t immediately become close; overcoming estrangement took time. Kang Wei also wanted to prove his second uncle wrong – that besides idling away, he could accomplish things on his own.
“Sister-in-law, you’re not upset with me, are you?”
“Why would I be upset? You made the right choice. If you had wanted to accept Second Uncle Kang’s help, that would have worried me!”
Then Xia Xiaolan would have had to worry about how to prevent the business from becoming too entangled with high officials.
Kang Wei was doing well in Shenzhen. Xia Xiaolan wasn’t completely abandoning the Beijing market, but the building materials store’s expansion needed proper planning, following market economic principles rather than artificial acceleration.
Seeing that Xia Xiaolan wasn’t forcing anything, Kang Wei was very happy. His Brother Chengzi had good judgment; his sister-in-law was broad-minded and easy to get along with.
Xia Xiaolan had chosen a good time; Shao Guangrong came to visit every day at this hour. Though Kang Wei’s injury was serious, Shao Guangrong only learned about it after Kang Wei was transferred back to Beijing. Even with Kang Wei lying in the hospital bed, it didn’t stop Shao Guangrong from scolding:
“Sister-in-law, he didn’t treat me as a brother!”
The dividends Kang Wei brought back from Shenzhen included 10,000 yuan repaid to him, and Shao Guangrong had planned to keep the rest for himself. Now with Kang Wei injured, Shao Guangrong put it all in red envelopes. Whether Kang Wei had money was one thing; whether Shao Guangrong gave was another.
Shao Guangrong also feared Kang Wei might have been knocked silly, so he came to chat with him every day.
What else could he do? There was a TV in Kang Wei’s room, but TV stations didn’t broadcast 24 hours a day back then.
When Xia Xiaolan asked about Shao Guangrong’s studies, he immediately became dispirited:
“It’s hard, really hard.”
Though he had sworn to become a top student, in practice, he found it wasn’t so easy. Shao Guangrong found high school knowledge difficult and particularly admired Xia Xiaolan, who not only got into Tsinghua University but ranked third nationally – how incredibly impressive was that?
Xia Xiaolan wanted to tell Shao Guangrong not to force himself – some people were suited for studying, others for different things. As for herself? She previously had no choice. In her past life, what could she do without studying hard? Dropping out early to work had never been in Xia Xiaolan’s considerations.
Chen Xiliang wondered why Xia Xiaolan could resist the temptation of filming “Dream of the Red Chamber,” but for her, it simply wasn’t part of her life plan – what was there to choose between?
A good classic TV series – she could just watch it on television, why did she need to get involved?
Not only was Xia Xiaolan uninterested, but she also feared she might ruin a classic. Letting professionals do professional work had always been her principle.
Xie Yun knocked and entered, “Thank you all for visiting Kang Wei. Everyone stay for dinner tonight – I’ll cook myself, though please excuse my poor cooking skills.”