57: Chapter 57 Returning to Southern Beijing, Making Dad Look Good

After being delayed at the service area for nearly half an hour, it was already five in the afternoon by the time Qin Yi drove off the highway.

During that time, Qin Yi's mother, Wu Xiuhua, had been waiting anxiously and gave him a call. She had originally thought he was coming back by train and hadn't expected him to be driving.

Upon learning the exact time her son would arrive home, Wu Xiuhua's heart welled up with joy. She immediately turned to busy herself with dinner, nimbly chopping vegetables and stewing meat.

Qin Jianye had drunk a few extra glasses at noon out of happiness. Perhaps it was the morning's labor in the workshop that had left him exceptionally exhausted, or perhaps it was the knowledge that his son had made money and the family's situation would soon improve that put his mind at ease; he ended up sleeping until nearly five o'clock.

Seeing him sleeping so soundly, Wu Xiuhua couldn't bear to disturb him. Over the past six months, it was rare for Qin Jianye to have such a peaceful time to get a good night's rest.

When he woke up, Qin Jianye's first glance was at his phone. Realizing it was almost five, he sat up abruptly, a trace of anxiety flashing in his eyes as he hurriedly pushed the door open and went out.

He saw Wu Xiuhua busily working away in the kitchen, the pots and pans clattering out a cheerful melody.

He couldn't help but complain, "Wife, it's almost five. Why didn't you wake me up!" As he spoke, he took a few quick steps, wanting to help.

Wu Xiuhua lifted the pot lid, and the aroma of chicken soup wafted out. She replied with a smile, "Why would I wake you? You don't know how to cook anyway. It's been so long, it's rare for you to get some proper rest at home." Her words were full of tenderness and understanding.

Qin Jianye stepped forward and began helping to clear the cutting board, a surge of inexplicable emotion rising in his heart. "Wife, thank you. You've worked hard during this time too," he said, his eyes filled with gratitude.

Wu Xiuhua turned to look at Qin Jianye. Seeing his dead-serious, touched expression, she burst out laughing, the crow's feet at the corners of her eyes crinkling with mirth. "Oh, stop it. We're an old married couple, what's there to thank? We're a team. Our son is coming back, and we're both happy."

"Hehe, you're right. Oh, by the way, it's almost five. Why isn't our son back yet? What time is his train? Should I go pick him up?" Qin Jianye asked somewhat urgently.

"Oh, I called him. Our son said he's driving back and should be home around five-thirty," Wu Xiuhua replied, her hands never stopping their work.

"Driving? He bought another car?" Qin Jianye was a bit surprised and a little curious.

Wu Xiuhua shook her head and continued her work. "I didn't ask. He was driving, so I didn't want to distract him. We'll find out when he gets back. Our son can make money now, so buying a car is no big deal." Her tone, however, was brimming with pride.

Qin Jianye also nodded with a look of gratification, his eyes shining. "True. If I have to say what the most successful thing I've done in my life is, it's raising a good son. Look, when the family business had problems, our son even sold his car to help pay the debts. If it were those rich second-generation kids who only know how to enjoy themselves, they might have just stayed away and never come back."

"Tsk, look at you being all smug. Was he raised by you? You were busy with business all day long, when did you ever have time for him? Isn't it all because I educated him well?" Wu Xiuhua teased, but her eyes were full of smiles.

"Uh, right, right, right. My lady wife is right. It's all because my lady wife is skilled in parenting. Our Qin Family owes my lady wife many thanks," Qin Jianye said, even making an exaggerated cupped-hand gesture of thanks.

"Alright, stop being silly. If you're really that bored, go to the village entrance to welcome our son. I don't know what kind of car he's driving, but I doubt he can drive it into our small alley," Wu Xiuhua instructed, unable to hide the joy on her face.

"Alright, I'm going to welcome our son right now!" Qin Jianye said, immediately putting down his work and stepping out of the house impatiently.

...

Full of anticipation, Qin Jianye stepped out of his home, passed through the somewhat narrow alley, and before long, arrived at the village's main road with a light step.

By the corners of the walls and under the shade of trees along the main road, groups of elderly men and women sat idly, enjoying the tranquility of the setting sun's afterglow.

As soon as Qin Jianye appeared, they all cast curious glances his way, wondering why he was here at this time. Didn't he usually only come home after dark?

Among them were the few elderly men who had been playing chess with Yan Lishi at the bridge earlier that day.

At this moment, the old man who had played chess with Yan Lishi that morning spoke up first, asking with a mix of banter and concern, "Hey, that's rare. Old Qin, you didn't go to work this afternoon?"

A smile bloomed on Qin Jianye's face. He shook his head slightly and replied, "I had a bit of wine at noon and slept all afternoon. I just woke up."

Hearing this, Yan Lishi, who was nearby, curled his lips into a mocking smile. He feigned surprise and said, "Oh, Old Qin, I told you to come to my place and drink Dream of the Blue, but you insisted on being polite. Could it be you have some good wine hidden at home?"

As he spoke, his eyes were full of disdain and mockery, as if he were enjoying the pleasure of exposing someone's 'secret'.

A wave of disgust rose in Qin Jianye's heart, but thinking that they were all from the same village and would see each other often, he suppressed his displeasure. Maintaining a surface level of peace, he smiled and said, "What good wine? It can't compare to Dream of the Blue. It's just seventy or eighty yuan liquor bought from the town."

But Yan Lishi refused to let it go and continued to taunt him. "Oh, seventy or eighty yuan liquor can make you drunk for a whole afternoon, so much that you didn't even go to your odd jobs? Old Qin, what great happy event have you encountered?"

Qin Jianye suppressed the anger in his heart, but a flash of determination crossed his eyes. He replied calmly, "Haha, what happy event could there be? My son is back from Modu, that's my greatest happy event. I'm going to the village entrance to meet him." Having said that, he ignored Yan Lishi's verbal attacks and walked forward.

But Yan Lishi was like a piece of stuck-on dog-skin plaster, speaking up again. "Hey, that's not right. Old Qin, how come I heard your son returned to Jingnan long ago and is delivering express packages and food in the city?"

As soon as those words came out, Qin Jianye's face instantly darkened. He glared at Yan Lishi, said no more, and simply quickened his pace, heading straight for the brick-and-stone bridge at the village entrance.

After Qin Jianye left, an old man sitting next to Yan Lishi tugged at his sleeve and scolded in a low voice, "Old Yan, are you just bored? Don't you know the principle of not hitting someone in the face and not bringing up their shortcomings? Didn't you see how bad Old Qin's expression was just now!"

Yan Lishi didn't care, a sneer hanging on his lips. "His expression was bad? I think it was from drinking fake wine! Seventy or eighty yuan liquor, my foot. I bet it was bulk liquor worth seven or eight yuan!" His words were full of contempt and disdain for Qin Jianye.

"Oh, Old Yan, it's not that I want to nag you, but you're always mocking Old Qin like this. Aren't you worried about the Qin Family making a comeback?" the old man beside him couldn't help but advise.

Hearing this, Yan Lishi snorted disdainfully. "Are you joking! Why would I be afraid of him? My son is a public official, he eats from the public pot and receives government grain. Besides, with the amount of money his family owes, let alone this life, they won't be able to pay it off in the next life. Making a comeback! Keep dreaming!"

The onlookers either shook their heads helplessly or gloated. Only Qin Jianye was inwardly disdainful, thinking to himself: Go ahead and laugh! When my son comes back, I'll see if you can still laugh!

...

Near five-thirty, a black Volkswagen Passat with a Nan A license plate turned on its blinker and slowly drove onto the brick-and-stone bridge.

Full of anticipation, Qin Jianye thought it was his son Qin Yi's car. He craned his neck, leaning forward slightly, his eyes sparkling with anxiety and hope as he looked inside the car.

However, when he realized the driver wasn't his son, a look of disappointment flashed across his face. He checked the time on his phone and muttered to himself unconsciously, "How is he not here yet..."

Just as he was about to turn around and sit back down on the stone bollard of the bridge, two crisp 'beep-beep' honks sounded, followed by his son's familiar and affectionate voice: "Dad, what are you doing here?"

Qin Jianye froze mid-sit. He looked up and saw that it was indeed his son, Qin Yi.

At this moment, Qin Yi was sitting in the driver's seat of a luxury car, the window completely rolled down, looking at his father with a face full of smiles.

Qin Jianye naturally recognized this car. A flash of disbelief crossed his eyes. He looked carefully at the all-black Spirit of Ecstasy statue standing on the hood, then at his son. After confirming it was him, he leaned toward the driver's side and asked curiously, "Son, it's really you. This car... is it yours?"

Qin Yi nodded with a smile and replied, "How is it? The car's not bad, right? Get in. Mom must be getting anxious waiting at home."

The smile on Qin Jianye's lips could no longer be suppressed. As he walked around the front of the car, he also noticed the Mo D 99999 license plate, and his heart skipped a beat.

After getting in the car, Qin Jianye hurriedly asked, "Son, tell Dad the truth, did you really buy this car?" His tone was full of disbelief.

Qin Yi continued driving forward and replied with a smile, "How could this be fake? I definitely bought it."

"Then... then what's with the license plate? Five nines... that license plate alone must cost several million, right?" Qin Jianye's voice trembled slightly, clearly shaken by this sudden news.

"Dad, your eyesight is pretty good. It was about four million," Qin Yi said nonchalantly, as if four million was just a small amount to him.

"Four... four million... This car is a cullinan, right? It must be at least eight or nine million? Son, tell me the truth, exactly how much money did you make?" Qin Jianye's voice was already shaking; he was clearly overwhelmed by this massive surprise.

"Haha, Dad, let's talk about this after we get back," Qin Yi replied with a smile.

"Oh, right, right. We'll tell your mom after we get back and give her a surprise too!" As Qin Jianye spoke, his tone suddenly shifted, and he added with some concern, "Your car is too big, it might be hard to park in a bit."

"It's fine. You can trust my driving skills," Qin Yi responded confidently. Was he joking? He had God-level Driving Skill at his disposal. How could parking a car be difficult for him?

While they were talking, the car had already approached the entrance of the alley.

However, the group of idle people who had been gathered earlier were now surrounding that brand-new black Passat, doing who-knows-what, and blocking the only main road in the village.

Qin Yi had no choice but to honk the horn, and only then did the crowd turn around.

When they saw another car with a Modu license plate arriving, they were all startled.

Naturally, they didn't recognize a rolls-royce cullinan, but they did recognize the license plate number. Five nines—this plate looked incredibly domineering at first glance!

The crowd began to speculate whose house such a domineering license plate was heading to.

Seeing the crowd's dazed expressions, Qin Yi had no choice but to lean his head out of the window and nod slightly to them, signaling for them to move aside.

At this moment, Qin Jianye also rolled down his window, unable to hide the smile on his face. He cupped his hands and laughed to the crowd, "Sorry, everyone. My son is back. Could everyone please make way..."

When the crowd saw that the person sitting in the passenger seat was actually Qin Jianye, they were all dumbfounded. Their eyes sparkled with shock or envy, as if they were seeing something impossible.

"Old—Old Qin, this is your son? My, he's quite the talent. As expected of a top student from Modu University," the old man who had scolded Yan Lishi earlier was the first to react. He stepped forward two paces and complimented Qin Jianye with a face full of smiles.

A middle-aged woman watching from the side also seemed to snap out of it. Her eyes darted around, and she too hurried forward to flatter him. "Oh, Old Qin, I've long heard that your son is not only handsome but also clever and a good student. Seeing him now, he truly lives up to his reputation!"

As the woman spoke, her gaze shifted to Qin Yi, and she asked with a smile, "Xiao Yi, I'm your Third Aunt, I live right in front of your house. Xiao Yi, have you graduated? Do you have a girlfriend? To be honest, your Third Aunt has a daughter who's both pretty and has a good figure. She just turned twenty this year. How about we set a time for you two to meet?"

Qin Yi was speechless and thought to himself: Who are you, lady? Do I even know you? And you're already trying to introduce your daughter to me...

However, before Qin Yi could reply, another woman nearby wasn't having it and immediately stepped forward to cut her down. "Hey, didn't you just say you were going to introduce your daughter to Old Yan's son? Old Yan's son is right here, and you've already changed your mind?"

The woman who called herself Qin Yi's Third Aunt looked at the dark-faced Yan Lishi, gave a sheepish smile, and said without blushing or skipping a beat, "Hehe, Old Yan, my apologies. Marriage is a matter of fate and first impressions. Little Yan is quite good, but the moment I saw Little Qin, I felt he was the right fit for my eyes. Isn't there an old saying? The more a mother-in-law looks at her son-in-law, the more she likes him!"

Seeing how thick-skinned this woman was, the previous woman couldn't help but mock her, "Oh, what, only your family has a daughter? Doesn't mine too? My daughter's looks and figure aren't any worse than yours! And 'Third Aunt'? I didn't see you trying to claim kinship with Old Qin before!"

"Hey, how can you talk like that? Your daughter? Oh, how do you have the nerve to say that? How old is she? Twenty-five, twenty-six? She's already an old maid, and you still have the nerve to bring her up!" that Third Aunt said with a look of disdain.

"What old maid! A wife three years older is like a gold brick! Don't you understand!" the woman argued back, refusing to back down.

"Oh, a wife three years older is a gold brick? Then a wife thirty years older must be a whole kingdom! Look at him, does Little Qin need to rely on your daughter for a gold brick? That's just hilarious," the Third Aunt rolled her eyes at the woman and sneered.

...