Chapter 36: Grandpa
Right after finishing talks with the renovation company, Chu Feng got a call from his second aunt, Shen Yuying.
Chu Feng had always had a good relationship with his second uncle’s family and kept in touch often.
When he first started working, they had helped him a lot, so he held them in high regard.
When he picked up the call, he learned that tomorrow was his grandfather Lin Shumin’s 80th birthday.
They were just an ordinary family, so there was no need for a big celebration—but for an elder, turning 80 is still a major milestone.
Chu Feng frowned slightly as he suddenly realized he’d been so caught up traveling back and forth between worlds that he hadn’t visited his grandfather in a while.
Back when his mother passed away, his grandfather had wanted to help pay his tuition. But Chu Feng refused—he didn’t want the old man, who’d worked so hard to earn money, to worry about him too. Back then, Chu Feng had been uncertain about the future and somewhat resistant to school.
Chu Feng drove over to his grandfather Lin Shumin’s place.
“Xiao Feng, you’re here!” Grandpa Lin’s mood lifted when he saw him.
“Grandpa, how have you been?”
“I’m doing well.” Grandpa Lin glanced at Chu Feng’s car, looking a bit concerned. “I heard you bought a car. Is this the one?”
Chu Feng nodded. “Yeah.”
Grandpa Lin sighed and said, “You’re not that young anymore. Don’t waste money recklessly. Are you short on cash? I heard your car was bought on a loan.”
Chu Feng looked at Grandpa Lin and said, “Don’t worry, Grandpa. I’m not short on money—I even brought you a gift.”
He opened the trunk and took out the wine and fruit from inside.
Grandpa Lin gave him a helpless glance. “It’s fine that you came, why bring gifts? You’re not exactly rolling in money.”
Chu Feng smiled and said, “Don’t worry, Grandpa. I’ve got money.”
Grandpa Lin replied gruffly, “You trying to fool me? Isn’t that car on a loan? Where did you get the money?”
Chu Feng smiled again. “Actually, I bought a lottery ticket a few days ago—and won 300,000 yuan.”
He had originally planned to say a million, but figured that might be too much. If Grandpa got too excited and fainted, that wouldn’t be good.
Grandpa Lin’s eyes widened and he stammered, “Three hundred thousand? Are you serious?”
Chu Feng smiled. “Of course. Otherwise, do you think I’d dare buy such an expensive car?”
“If you won 300,000, you should be thinking about getting married, not wasting money.”
Chu Feng: “…” Old folks really do think that getting married is the only goal in life.
“Grandpa, 300,000 isn’t enough to get married.”
“Even so, you still need to marry!” Grandpa Lin sighed, then changed tone. “Girls these days want both a house and a car. Back in my day, if someone could give a pig as a dowry, that was already amazing. Now, the bride price is 200,000 or 300,000 like it’s nothing—what are they all thinking?”
Chu Feng: “…” Times have changed, Grandpa.
“If only marriage today still just cost a pig,” Grandpa Lin muttered.
Chu Feng: “…” What’s Grandpa thinking about now? “Grandpa, did something happen?”
“Your cousin went on a blind date recently,” Grandpa Lin said.
“How did it go?”
His cousin Lin Zhihao wasn’t very bright, had only gone to a technical college, and after graduating didn’t get a great job—pretty similar to how Chu Feng used to be.
Grandpa Lin sighed. “A few days ago, he gave the girl a necklace worth 3,000 yuan. The next day, she broke up with him. He’s been in a bad mood ever since.”
Chu Feng: “…” 3,000 yuan might not be a lot to some, but for his cousin, that’s a full month’s salary.
“Apparently the girl thought the necklace was too thin and embarrassing to wear.” Grandpa Lin sighed again.
Chu Feng: “…”
“His mom told him to ask for it back, but your cousin refused.”
Chu Feng sighed inwardly. It’s a tricky situation—asking for it back makes you look stingy, but if you don’t, it feels like you’ve been scammed.
“Ah, getting married these days is so hard.” Grandpa Lin shook his head in worry.
Chu Feng: “…”
Grandpa Lin looked at Chu Feng and said, “Actually, your cousin’s case isn’t the worst. Do you remember Jiang Ming?”
Chu Feng nodded. “Yeah. What about him?”
Grandpa Lin shook his head and sighed. “His parents spent 280,000 yuan on a bride price to marry him off. But the woman turned out to be a disaster—always hanging out at bars, never coming home, had a terrible temper. Their relationship was always rocky. Every time she got angry, she’d go back to her parents’ house. They finally got divorced recently, and the two families are on very bad terms.”
Chu Feng asked curiously, “How did the divorce happen?”
Grandpa Lin shook his head and sighed deeply. “It was a mess. She had a child—but it wasn’t Jiang Ming’s.”
Chu Feng took a deep breath. “If it turned out like that, Jiang Ming’s parents must be furious, right?” That’s basically marriage fraud.
Grandpa Lin shook his head again. “What can they do? Her parents are just as irresponsible—spent everything they got. Even if you demand compensation, they’ve got nothing to give.”
Chu Feng: “…”
“What are young people even thinking these days?” Grandpa Lin shook his head again.
Chu Feng: “…” Marriage is risky—proceed with caution.
“Grandpa, that’s exactly why marriage shouldn’t be rushed. Look at Jiang Ming’s parents—they worked hard for years, and after the divorce, they’re back to square one.”
Divorce rates are high these days. Some couples only stay together not because they’re happy, but because they’ve invested too much already. Getting married again costs too much—so they just settle.
Grandpa Lin shook his head and sighed. “Forget it. You kids have your own paths. I won’t meddle anymore. But seriously, you really won 300,000?”
Chu Feng nodded. “Grandpa, why would I lie to you? But how’s Zhihao doing now?”
“He’s in a bad mood. He also lost his job,” Grandpa Lin said.
Chu Feng frowned. “What happened?”
Grandpa Lin shook his head and sighed. “A few days ago, your aunt pushed him to go out with that girl, so he asked for two days off—and then he got fired.”
Chu Feng: “…”
What a coincidence—I was just let go from the delivery company too.
Grandpa Lin shook his head. “You know your cousin—he’s not great at talking. I guess the company had been wanting to fire him for a while, and just used this as an excuse.”
Chu Feng frowned. His cousin Lin Zhihao was a decent guy—honest and good-looking. But when he was young, he got a high fever. Though he survived, it left him with a stutter. While that’s not a huge deal, in a family with little money, it becomes one.
“It’s okay, he can just find another job.”
Grandpa Lin sighed. “Finding a job isn’t that easy. If you land a good one, you can make hundreds of thousands a year. But if you don’t, you’ll struggle to even feed yourself.”
Chu Feng nodded, deeply moved. If he hadn’t suddenly gained the ability to travel between worlds, he’d still be working hard delivering packages.
“The old man Zhou who lives up the road—his grandson just passed the civil service exam. I heard he makes 200,000 yuan a year now. He’s always showing off his grandson to me.”
Chu Feng: “…” Kids compete on grades, young people on houses and cars, and old folks on whose grandchildren are more successful. Judging from Grandpa’s tone, he probably feels like he’s being outdone.
Looking at the old man, Chu Feng smiled and said, “Grandpa, don’t worry about that. Everything has a solution.”
Grandpa Lin shook his head and said, “You young people just don’t take anything seriously.”
Chu Feng: “…” With the pressure of life nowadays, if you took everything seriously, you’d probably drop dead from exhaustion.
“You haven’t told your uncle’s family about the lottery win, have you?” Grandpa Lin asked.
“Nope.”
Grandpa Lin nodded. “It’s best they don’t find out.”
Chu Feng nodded. “Don’t worry, Grandpa, I know how to keep things in check.” His aunt was probably busy planning Chu Jinhui’s wedding anyway. A poor guy like him shouldn’t be on her radar for now.
*
Chu Feng went to his second uncle’s house to find Lin Zhihao.
“Cousin.” Lin Zhihao looked a bit embarrassed when he saw Chu Feng.
Chu Feng looked at him and asked, “What are you doing? Running an online store?”
Lin Zhihao awkwardly replied, “No… no one’s buying.”
Chu Feng: “…” Everything depends on timing if you want to make money. A few years ago, online shopping was booming and a lot of people made serious profits, but times have changed. Still, online stores are a good fit for his cousin—he only needs to type and doesn’t have to speak, which suits him well.
Chu Feng thought to himself: he could open a physical store for his wood carvings, but maybe he could also open an online one.
His store was going to be high-end, with each carving costing tens of thousands. In a small town like this, there probably wouldn’t be many buyers. But online—there might be a pleasant surprise.
Shen Yuying walked in and said, “What are you two doing hiding in the room? We need to get going.”
Chu Feng nodded. “Alright, we’ll be right out.”
She looked at Lin Zhihao and sighed.
“Xiao Feng, I heard you won 300,000 in the lottery and quit your job?” Shen Yuying asked.
Chu Feng nodded. “Yeah.”
He rolled his eyes internally: Grandpa really can’t keep a secret—he literally just told me not to flaunt it, and now the news is out. But I can’t really blame him, it’s good news, after all—who could resist sharing it?
Lin Zhihao stared at Chu Feng, eyes wide. “Th… three hundred thousand?”
Chu Feng smiled. “Yeah. I just bought a 2 yuan lottery ticket and got lucky.”
Lin Zhihao’s round eyes stayed locked on Chu Feng.
Shen Yuying said, “That’s lucky! But don’t forget—winning the lottery is a one-time thing. You still need to work seriously. Your cousin lost his job too. You two should go job hunting together! People still need a stable job.”
Chu Feng smiled. “Yeah, yeah.”
