Chapter 56: Chu Jinhui’s Wedding
At the Hongyan Restaurant—
“Anzhi, have you contacted Xiao Feng? He is coming, right?” Chu Linsheng asked nervously.
“Dad, you’ve asked that like three times already. Brother Feng said he’s coming.”
Chu Linsheng sighed. “I wonder what he’s been so busy with. He hasn’t shown up in so long.”
Chu Anzhi thought for a moment. “Brother Feng has a bit of money now—he’s probably starting a business.”
Chu Linsheng frowned. “Starting a business, huh… The Ji family’s son just graduated from college and didn’t want a regular job because it was too tiring. His parents gave him money to open a shop, but he’s been losing money every day. Now he wants to sell the business but can’t find a buyer. He’s stressed out of his mind.”
Chu Anzhi shook his head. These past few years, the job market hadn’t been great. A lot of graduates didn’t want to do physical labor, and families with some savings would fund franchises or shops. Malls everywhere looked prosperous, but turning a profit was tough.
Many people who opened shops ended up closing down and going back to regular jobs when they couldn’t sustain it.
Chu Anzhi looked at Chu Linsheng. “Dad, can’t you have a little more faith in my cousin? Maybe his business will take off.”
Chu Linsheng nodded. “You’re right.”
Then they spotted a Volkswagen pulling up in the distance.
“Brother Feng’s here!”
Chu Linsheng composed himself. “He finally showed up.” Honestly, he was a bit afraid Chu Feng wouldn’t come.
Chu Feng strolled over in casual clothes. Chu Linsheng looked at him, his eyes lighting up. “Brother Feng, you look really sharp today!”
Chu Feng smiled. “Do I? I just threw something on.”
He had picked up a bunch of clothes while shopping at the mall before. Most were still sitting in his wardrobe. Today, he just grabbed something at random.
Chu Linsheng looked him up and down. “Xiao Feng, this outfit looks like good quality. How much was it?”
“Can’t remember.”
“You have money now, but you should still be careful how you spend it,” Aunt Gu Jia reminded him.
Chu Feng nodded quickly. “Yes, yes, you’re right, Third Aunt.”
He agreed on the surface, but in his mind, he thought: No one gets rich by saving money. You have to earn more, not pinch pennies.
“Well, well, you finally decided to show your face,” Yan Ping said as she walked out.
“It’s my cousin’s wedding—of course I came.”
Yan Ping looked him up and down. “Winning the lottery really does change a person.”
Clothes make the man, as they say. Before, Chu Feng was always in cheap Taobao casual wear and looked unimpressive. But now, dressed in a nice suit, he looked quite sharp.
Chu Feng smiled. “Yep. When that much money suddenly falls into your lap, it’s a bit hard to adjust. But hey, I just got lucky. It’s not like I’m anything special compared to my cousin.”
Yan Ping felt irritated seeing him so smug, but with all the people around, she couldn’t say anything too harsh.
“Xiao Feng, you’re here,” Grandpa Chu Ding said calmly as he glanced at him.
Chu Feng smiled. “Hello, Grandpa.”
“Why haven’t you been home lately?”
Chu Feng said lazily, “I’ve been busy starting a business lately. Even though I won the lottery, I can’t just sit around and burn through it all.”
Chu Ding nodded. “As long as you understand. Winning the lottery is a one-time thing—you can’t count on it happening again. You still need to work steadily.”
Chu Feng nodded. “I know.”
He was actually quite grounded. That kind of lecture should really be directed at Chu Jinhui. He was the one seriously into lottery tickets—Chu Feng just got lucky once.
Chu Jinhui walked out and gave Chu Feng a slight nod.
“Good that you made it, cousin.”
Chu Feng smiled. “Of course I’d come to your wedding. Congratulations!”
Chu Jinhui nodded and replied mildly, “Thanks.”
Jinhui had lost quite a bit buying lottery tickets, so seeing Chu Feng made him a little uncomfortable—but he didn’t show it. After exchanging a few words, Chu Feng headed into the banquet Hawk.
“Mom, did Chu Feng really win 300,000 yuan?” someone asked.
Yan Ping nodded. “That’s what he told the Lin family.”
“I bet it’s more than that,” Chu Jinhui said.
Yan Ping looked at him. “What do you mean?”
“That outfit he’s wearing is a designer brand. Costs at least 50 or 60 grand.” Since it was his wedding, Yan Ping had given Jinhui some money to buy a suit. He had seen the one Chu Feng was wearing in the store but didn’t buy it because it was too expensive.
Jinhui felt Chu Feng was stealing his thunder.
What he didn’t know was that Chu Feng had no idea how expensive the outfit was. He had just grabbed something at random from his wardrobe, not realizing it was the priciest one.
The wedding venue was beautifully decorated. Many guests were already seated. Chu Anzhi looked around curiously.
“A lot of people showed up,” he said.
Chu Feng nodded. “Seems like it.” His uncle had clearly put in a lot of effort for the wedding—he even looked noticeably thinner.
“Xiao Feng! You’re here!”
Chu Feng nodded. “Yep.”
“I heard you won the lottery?”
“That’s right!”
A bunch of people came over to ask about his winnings. The idea of winning the lottery was fascinating to many, and Chu Feng was quickly surrounded.
He had no choice but to repeat the same story over and over—how he’d spent 2 yuan on a whim and hit the jackpot.
“Such amazing luck!” People sighed with admiration all around.
“Oh, it’s just pocket change,” Chu Feng said humbly. “My cousin here has a bright future—he’ll probably earn more than that in no time.”
“Still, winning is winning. That’s luck.”
Chu Feng laughed. “Right? I didn’t expect my luck would suddenly turn like that.”
“Did you buy that car with your winnings?” someone asked.
Chu Feng nodded. “Yeah.”
Chu Ding watched Chu Feng chatting so enthusiastically with the other relatives and interjected, “Xiao Feng, you finally hit the jackpot—don’t just spend recklessly. You should let your uncle help you invest, so you have something to fall back on later.”
Chu Feng thought to himself, This old man’s really losing his grip. Can’t my uncle invest his own money?
If he handed his winnings over, it’d be like tossing a meat bun at a dog—never to be seen again. Chu Feng replied lazily, “Grandpa, money is meant to be spent. As the saying goes, enjoy life while you can—you have to know how to live.”
Chu Ding frowned. “Nonsense! What, you want to blow through it all and end up with nothing to eat?”
A few relatives at the table quickly tried to calm him down. “Come on, Grandpa, don’t get upset. The ceremony’s about to start.”
The wedding company’s host on stage was passionately recounting the bride and groom’s love story. If it weren’t for the host’s narration, Chu Feng wouldn’t have known their relationship was apparently so sweet and romantic.
Chu Anzhi leaned over to Chu Feng and said, “Brother Feng, the wedding company they hired cost thirty grand.”
Chu Feng responded with an “Oh.” Romance sure doesn’t come cheap. “Well, thirty thousand isn’t too bad.”
Anzhi rolled his eyes. “Not too bad? The banquet alone cost over two hundred thousand.”
Chu Feng shook his head, silently sighing—getting married these days was no easy feat. There were so many new trends. Back in the day, weddings weren’t this complicated. But he figured they’d recover some of the cost through gift money.
Anzhi rested his face in his hands. “I wonder when we’ll get to eat.” Some cold dishes were already on the table, but no chopsticks had been provided—so they couldn’t eat even if they wanted to.
Since they’d paid so much for the wedding company, of course the hosts had to talk more. Otherwise, it would feel like a waste.
Chu Feng wasn’t interested in all the games and riddles the host was organizing. He just wanted to know when they’d start eating—and he figured a lot of others felt the same.
“When are they giving out chopsticks already?” Anzhi sighed. “I didn’t eat much lunch just to save room for this dinner.”
Chu Feng rolled his eyes. This cousin of mine… still like a kid even at his age. Couldn’t he see the hosts were making the bride and groom’s parents give their speeches?
Once the chopsticks were out, everyone would be too busy eating to pay attention. It’d be super awkward for the parents giving speeches.
All in all, Chu Jinhui’s wedding was quite the spectacle. After the banquet, the guests gradually began to leave, and Chu Feng followed the crowd out.
As he stepped out of the venue, a strange sense of loneliness suddenly came over him.
He didn’t know why—everything had been lively inside, but now he just felt… empty.
“Brother Feng, are you heading home?” Anzhi asked.
Chu Feng shook his head. “No, not yet.”
He frowned slightly. This trip back had been packed—with the store opening and the wedding—but he still hadn’t prepared the materials he needed to bring to the other world. He needed to get organized.
Anzhi looked at him, hesitated, then asked, “Brother Feng… did you buy a house?”
Chu Feng glanced at Chu Anzhi, thinking to himself: Was I being that obvious?
Seeing Chu Feng’s reaction, Chu Anzhi asked curiously, “Is it a small apartment? For one person, a small place should be enough. Or is it a large one? It must be a large one, right? If you’re going to buy a house, better go big and get it over with.”
Chu Feng just smiled. “You should head home now.”
“It’s definitely a large one. Brother Feng, did you win more than just one million, huh?” Anzhi asked.
Chu Feng simply smiled without answering.
“It definitely is,” Anzhi said confidently.
Chu Feng waved his hand. “Go on, don’t keep your parents waiting.”
After leaving the wedding venue, Chu Feng returned to his villa.
Back at the villa, he stared thoughtfully at a small generator. He had ordered it before his last trip to Crescent Village—it had just arrived yesterday.
Until now, most of what Chu Feng brought to Crescent Village had been food and clothing. Thanks to his dedicated efforts, the villagers were now basically all dressed in Earth-made clothes.
Lately, since the villagers had seen more and more new things, their interest in candy and chips had started to fade.
Chu Feng figured it was time to bring different supplies. He decided he would bring a mountain motorcycle next. Not long ago, he had hired villagers to build a road connecting the village to the castle construction site. With the new road, travel between the two locations became much easier—and now, he could even ride across another world in style.
So Chu Feng reduced the amount of snacks he carried and brought more vegetable seeds and electrical appliances instead.
With a flash of white light, Chu Feng appeared in front of Illya’s house.
He was able to bring more and more items with each visit. Last time, he’d brought so much that Illya’s house couldn’t fit everything, so he’d changed his teleportation location.
What is he gonna use to fuel all those electric appliances? Especially the generator, which is loud, pollutive and burns through fuel… Will he keep bringing fuel from earth? ??