Chapter 277: Just Take a Look

"Dad, this way!"

At the exit of the airport, Su Mingcheng took Zhu Li and shouted and waved when he saw Su Daqiang dragging his suitcase.

Hearing the movement and seeing the familiar face, Su Daqiang couldn't help but speed up his pace. When he reached the front, he didn't care about the suitcase and hugged his second son excitedly: "Mingcheng, Dad misses you..."

That expression, that tone, that action, was extremely aggrieved. It gave Zhu Li, who was behind, goosebumps all over, and she couldn't stop shivering. It was really fatal for the old shameless person to be greasy.

Su Mingcheng patted his father's back to comfort him: "Alright, alright, Dad. You're back, my brother won't support you, I will."

"Hey, didn't expect your brother to be unreliable..." Su Daqiang let go of his second son, listless: "I've been on a plane for more than ten hours, hungry and sleepy, let's go back, I have to rest."

Zhu Li stepped forward and said: "Dad, Mingcheng said you have been in the United States for a month, you must miss the food in your hometown, we have already booked a restaurant, and we are also holding a welcome party for you."

"Booked a restaurant?"

"It's the one you love to eat the most." Su Mingcheng took the conversation.

"Then let's go quickly, I'm about to starve to death. Mingcheng, Lili, to tell you the truth, I was just thinking about this."

Su Mingcheng pulled the suitcase: "Let's go, Dad. It will take another two hours to drive back from Shanghai. You can rest on the way. After eating, I will take you to steam a sauna, and then go back and sleep beautifully, okay."

"Okay, okay, it's still you, Mingcheng, your brother and Mingyu are unreliable..."

"Oh my, it's rare to hear you say a good word about me, let's go, Dad." Su Mingcheng couldn't laugh or cry, dragged the suitcase and took Su Daqiang out, got into the car, and returned to Gusu.

More than two hours later, in a restaurant in Gusu, Su Daqiang, who had been dozing for two hours in the car, was wolfing down his food.

"Mingcheng, Lili, you don't know, but the time I spent in America really wore your dad down. I didn't get to do anything there before I fell ill. America is quite nice, but seeing a doctor is just too expensive. I was just suffering from homesickness; I didn't even go to a hospital, but even a small clinic charged me several hundred dollars. That's one or two thousand yuan! I lost half my life just toughing it out."

"And, I haven't eaten anything decent over there, where is it as delicious as our home here, hey..."

Seeing his son and daughter-in-law staring at him, Su Daqiang sucked his fingers clean and sighed, telling the story. Using his most proficient way, distorting facts, adding oil and vinegar, describing his miserable situation as an old man. If a stranger heard it, these three brothers and sisters of the old Su family would have to be unfilial children who deserved to be cut a thousand times.

Hearing Su Daqiang say things more detailed than the phone calls before, although he knew it was exaggerated, Su Mingcheng still felt that Su Mingzhe didn't do his job well. After all, if these things hadn't happened, how could Su Daqiang say that, and how could he wolf down his food like that? He must have been mistreated. It was Su Mingzhe who didn't take care of him well. How did he have the face to call and scold him before?

"It's okay, Dad, I'm different from my brother, you just settle down at my place, Lili and I will definitely be filial to you."

Zhu Li followed up and promised: "Yes, Dad, you can rest assured at our place. Oh, by the way, Dad, a few days ago we deposited 15,000 into the card we gave you before, did you receive it?"

"Is that so?" Su Daqiang looked up at the two, his eyes turned: "I'm abroad, how can I see it, and this card is not in my name, what's the use of just knowing a password."

Zhu Li understood and smiled: "Dad, wait until you rest today, Mingcheng will take you to handle a bank card tomorrow and transfer all the money in. At that time, there will be mobile banking, and if there is a change in the balance, you will know on your mobile phone."

"That's great, let's do it." After finishing, Su Daqiang continued to lower his head and eat fiercely, smacking his lips, which was very fragrant.

Because they knew Su Daqiang was coming back, the two who had been having a poor appetite recently heard the movement and ate a lot more food...

After eating and drinking for a while, Su Daqiang suddenly said: "Hey, by the way, you call Mingyu, I'm back, I have to tell her anyway."

As soon as Su Mingcheng heard the three words "Su Mingyu," he took a deep breath impatiently and put down his chopsticks: "Dad, why are you mentioning her? Look at her, when has she ever treated herself as a member of the Su family? Look at her, does she recognize you? Especially last time in the hospital, look at her, and that surnamed Wang, they wish you would die early..."

"Su Mingcheng!" Zhu Li hurriedly hit Su Mingcheng: "Dad is fine now, look at what you're saying?"

"No, I'm not, Dad, I just mean that, I'm not cursing you." Su Mingcheng hurriedly explained: "Look at them, isn't it just having two stinky money, that tail wishes it could be tilted to the sky, what are they pretending to be."

Su Daqiang waved his hand: "Alright, Mingcheng, don't talk, Mingyu doesn't recognize me, it's indeed Dad's fault, but no matter what, she is my daughter, I can't not recognize her."

"No, Dad, she..."

"Don't talk, isn't it just a phone call, if you don't call, I will." Zhu Li was quite good to Su Daqiang, not even worse than her own parents. As she spoke, she picked up the phone on the table, turned to Su Mingyu's phone number, and hung up after less than three sentences.

Su Daqiang asked: "What did Mingyu say?"

"She said she knew."

"Done? Didn't say anything else?"

Zhu Li shook her head: "Didn't say."

Su Mingcheng slapped the table: "Dad, look at what I said, she didn't treat herself as a member of the Su family."

Su Daqiang sighed and continued to wolf down his food.

Zhu Li gave Su Mingcheng another hit: "Eat your food."

Although she didn't like Wang Yan, she felt in her heart that the old Su family, including herself, owed Su Mingyu, and she was reasonable. But Su Mingcheng didn't know what was going on, he exploded as soon as it was mentioned, and she couldn't understand why. She had said Su Mingcheng before, but every time it was unhappy, she didn't want to say it again, so that was it.

As for the problem of supporting Su Daqiang, it was definitely indisputable, and she had no complaints. After all, they spent the most money, and they also spent Su Mingyu's selling money. Su Mingzhe couldn't support him, so it could only be them.

After eating and drinking, Zhu Li took a taxi home, and Su Mingcheng took Su Daqiang to steam a sauna. After washing and scrubbing, after a comfortable time, the father and son sat in the lobby to relax.

Su Mingcheng bought water back, thoughtfully unscrewed the bottle cap, and handed it to his father who was closing his eyes and resting: "Come, Dad, steam for a long time, replenish some water."

Su Daqiang habitually started with an "Oh my" sigh: "It's still good at home, I haven't been so comfortable for a month in the United States." Saying this, he completely forgot about the food and attraction sharing of more than ten items a day in his circle of friends, forgot about the sixty-second voice messages sent one by one in the group of old colleagues...

"Stop sighing, Dad, you'll be in the country from now on, and you'll be comfortable every day."

Su Daqiang laughed: "Comfortable." After drinking water, he let out a satisfied breath and leaned back against the wall to close his eyes and rest.

After being silent for a while, Su Mingcheng smiled: "Dad, you have more than 200,000 in your hand now, what do you plan to do?"

"Hmm?" Su Daqiang opened his eyes that had just closed, sat up straight, widened his big eyes, and stared at Su Mingcheng: "This is Dad's coffin money, Mingcheng. You aren't thinking about Dad's money, right? If that's the case, Dad can't live anymore."

"No, Dad, how can I think about your money. Besides, I still owe you money, right?"

"Know it, you, hurry up and pay me back." Su Daqiang leaned back against the wall again to close his eyes and rest.

"Dad, it's like this, I think, your money is wasted in the bank."

Su Daqiang didn't even open his eyes, waved his hand and smiled: "Nonsense, can that money be wasted in the bank? Do you really think I'm old and confused."

"Think about it, Dad, your food and drink are provided by Lili and me, and you have nowhere to spend money, isn't that money in the bank a pile of waste paper?" Su Mingzhe said: "That money is in the bank, it gives interest, but how much is that? Besides, why does the bank give you interest? Isn't it lending your money to other people who need money? Compared to it, the little interest they give you is negligible, a drop in the bucket. What is this called, Dad? This is called investment."

Seeing Su Daqiang didn't move, Su Mingcheng continued to fool: "What is investment, Dad? Investment is money making money, the little interest the bank gives, three melons and two dates, are not worth mentioning. I'll give you an analogy, Dad, just an analogy. Now, our company's Manager Zhou has set up a factory, she herself, the operation is not enough money, and she doesn't want to bear the risk alone. What to do? Have to find someone to invest, have to crowd-fund."

"In fact, this matter has no big risk. We, we invest this money in her factory. Then we are shareholders, shareholders are bosses, and then wait for dividends. Return the capital in one year, make money in two years, and we will always have dividends in the future. And as time goes by, doesn't the factory have to develop? If it develops, the money divided will be more, so our dividends are increasing year by year."

"Suppose, Dad, I mean suppose. Suppose you invest your 200,000 in Manager Zhou's factory. In one year, your 200,000 will come back. Then the first year is 200,000, the second year will only be more, 200,000, 300,000. At that time, you will eat and drink spicy food, want to sweat, want to eat big meals. And at that time, we don't need to support you, you can buy a luxury house, drive a luxury car, find seven or eight nannies, change one a day, not repeating in a week. Dad, think about it, think about it carefully, what kind of life is that..."

When he heard "buy a luxury house," Su Daqiang opened his eyes. After listening to the whole thing, he pondered it himself, felt that his second son was still empty, didn't respond, but got up: "Let's go, it's not early, let's go back. Now that I'm relaxed, my sleepiness is coming up, I have to sleep well..." As he spoke, he got up slowly and left.

After beeping for a long time and doing useless work, Su Mingcheng didn't give up, got up and followed: "Dad, I didn't lie to you, this is a good thing of money making money."

Su Mingcheng was still the same as in the original drama, he went out with that Manager Zhou and saw that factory. He saw several people working together, and on the way, Manager Zhou also expressed that she trusted him, so she took him there. He felt that this was a steady profit without loss, and took the initiative to mention that he wanted to join in. So it was still the same as in the original drama, he had to raise 300,000. He felt that this was God taking care of him, after all, this kind of picking up money was not something ordinary people could see.

He had been studying for a while, after all, 300,000 was not a small amount, and he couldn't take it just because he wanted to. Recently, that Manager Zhou called every day to urge him, but he still had no place to borrow money. Originally, he was studying selling the car these two days, but today his father came back, he knew how much money his father had, as long as he persuaded him to pay, wouldn't the remaining 80,000 be easy to solve?

So he naturally wouldn't give up this hope, a bitter and earnest persuasion, setting facts and reasoning, drawing a big cake, a general fooling. But unfortunately, Su Daqiang didn't pay attention to him at all along the way...

The next day, Zhu Li took Su Daqiang to handle a bank card, and transferred the money in the original card to the new card, and taught him how to use mobile banking. As for why it wasn't Su Mingcheng who accompanied him, because Su Daqiang said in front of Zhu Li that Su Mingcheng was thinking about his money. That made Su Mingcheng angry...

Wang Yan, Su Mingyu, and Wang Lin, the family of three, returned to Gusu, rested at home for an afternoon, and then the three went to a restaurant booked in advance to eat. Because they had been running around outside for a month, Su Mingyu and the little girl wanted to eat Gusu's local dishes, and this time they went to a private kitchen with good reviews.

Looking at the little girl who turned grief and anger into appetite, Wang Yan rubbed her little head: "Eat slowly, no one is grabbing with you, still angry?"

"Hmph." Wang Lin patted away her father's comfort with oily hands and ignored him.

"Linlin, it's not that Daddy is talking about you, you are a bit unreasonable." Wang Yan said while eating: "When you went out to play, you didn't have a share, Mom still wanted you to go to school. As a result, now that you're back, you don't recognize your dad?"

Wang Lin tilted her head and thought it was indeed the case, but she didn't want to come back, feeling a bit aggrieved: "I don't want to go to kindergarten."

"Aren't your friends waiting for you at kindergarten? Did you forget your friends after playing for a month? And you and Mom bought so many souvenirs and mailed them back, isn't it to share with your friends?"

Seeing the little one loosen up, Wang Yan launched a fatal blow: "And, when you go to school, share your experiences of this month with your friends, they will definitely envy you. At that time, you will be the most popular child in kindergarten."

Everyone is vain. Although children don't have many concepts, they know one thing, that is "I have it and you don't," which is great. Wang Yan of course didn't encourage children to show off and be vain, but in some respects, this is indeed the motivation to urge children to grow, which is beneficial to growth. Of course, it might hurt other children's little friends on the way to the child's growth. But there is no way, this is the disparity of the world. What's more, he, Wang Yan, was the one who envied others since he was a child, so of course he didn't want his child to be the one in the corner.

Of course, even with such generous conditions, it might just make Wang Lin envy others less, but she will still envy other children, which is also no way. There is always someone better than you, not only in material aspects. And from a child's perspective, it is always strange, who knows which nerve is wrong, maybe they envy others for pooping faster than them...

Hearing her father say this, Wang Lin didn't even eat, thinking seriously for a long time, and then tentatively asked: "Really?"

"Of course, when has Daddy ever lied to you? Other children will definitely envy you, and they will definitely want to be friends with you. But the only point is that your story must be told well."

"Telling stories is my specialty." Wang Lin stiffened her little neck and said proudly, ignoring Wang Yan and Su Mingyu on the side, and continued to eat, eating more fragrantly.

This specialty is also as it should be, otherwise Wang Yan's work as a Chinese teacher would be meaningless. Looking at the little one like that, I guess she is thinking about how to tell it, so she can show off to her little friends tomorrow.

Su Mingyu was quite unconvinced by Wang Yan's own good person, shifting the contradiction and saying she didn't let the child go out to play. However, it was educating the child, so she reluctantly recognized it.

Rolling her eyes, just as she was about to speak, the phone by her hand rang. Holding back her words, she picked it up and took a look, it was a video call from Wu Fei on WeChat, so she wiped her mouth with paper and answered it.

"Hi, sister-in-law, hello, Mimi. Come quickly, Linlin, say hello to Mimi." Su Mingyu greeted the opposite side happily.

The little girl listened, poked her head, went over to say hello, and then continued to eat. She was very busy, still thinking about how to show off... sharing her experiences with her little friends.

Hearing this greeting, how could Wang Yan not know that the caller was Wu Fei? This came at just the right time.

Wu Fei's voice came from the mobile phone: "Where are you playing, didn't disturb you, right?"

"What disturbance, just eating." Su Mingyu smiled: "This video of yours came just in time, we just returned to Gusu."

"I just thought you shouldn't be outside at this point."

Su Mingyu put the

Su Mingyu propped her phone up on the table and chatted idly with Wu Fei while eating, while Wang Yan watched the little girl on the side.

It's the same old saying: once you've lived together for a long time, there isn't much left to say. Wang Yan isn't a talkative person, and although he is a master of conversation, there's really no need for that with his wife and children; he just says what needs to be said. After all, it's not like the early days anymore; now they are living their lives, going through the days. Even if the only sound at the dinner table is the clinking of bowls and chopsticks, there is no awkwardness of "fearing the sudden silence." Most importantly, it's fine occasionally, but if he were made to chatter all day long, he would find it annoying too. Especially with a woman he has already won over and who has been by his side for many years.

Although he, Wang Mou, is a scumbag, he isn't the type to abandon the old for the new. After all, after so many years, there are quite a few who have been with him for decades, and many whom he has sent away. It's just that it's inevitable that the sense of novelty is gone, and there's no real drive left.

From the distant past, Ip Man's wife said it very well: when a couple is together, silence can be better than words. If there's nothing to say, don't say it; endless forced conversation is actually more damaging to the relationship and detrimental to the harmony of the couple and the family.

As for Wu Fei chatting with Su Mingyu whenever she has nothing to do, Wang Yan reckons it's mostly because she has no one else. After all, having been abroad for so many years, her friends back home are basically gone, and even if they were still there, they wouldn't have much in common. As for relatives and friends, the world is basically the same everywhere; it's either gossip or borrowing money, and she has even less to say to them. As for those classmates and such abroad, they are either doing better than her or are too busy.

She just wants to find someone to talk to now, without the pretense of social niceties. Under these circumstances, Su Mingyu—who knows the inside story, counts as a relative, is sensible and understanding, and is both involved and yet detached—has become the best person to vent to and chat with.

After a bout of laughter, Su Mingyu smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, what I told you last time—anyway, you don't have much going on, so why don't you come over here and stay for a few days? It's not good to just stay at home all the time; it's a good chance for you to relax. Besides, Linlin has long wanted to play with Mimi. You bring her over, and we can go around Gusu together. You've been abroad for so many years and haven't visited Gusu much; take the child and have a good time. You just came back late; if you had come back earlier, we could have gone out together for this whole month."

"Thank you, Mingyu. I think I'll pass. It's exhausting to bring the child, and it would be a bother for you all. It's not right."

Su Mingyu shook her head: "What bother? Linlin wants to see Mimi, right? Linlin, come here and say a few words to Mimi, persuade her."

The little girl was busy stuffing her face. Wang Yan had tried wiping her face symbolically twice with no effect and gave up. At this moment, she was a mess, her face pressed right up against the screen: "Mimi, do you want to come over and play with me?"

Mimi was a few months younger than Wang Lin and not as extroverted by comparison. She nodded and said softly, "I want to, but if Mom doesn't go, there's nothing I can do."

"Oh, as long as you want to come, it's fine." Wang Lin frowned, pondered for a moment with an "hmm," and then had a flash of inspiration: "Let me tell you, Mimi, if your aunt doesn't agree, just cry. Cry as hard as you can."

Su Mingyu hurriedly reached out to poke the little girl's head and pushed her aside: "Wang Lin, how can you teach Mimi like that? Wang Yan, keep her in check."

"Mimi, you cry, okay? It'll definitely work." The little girl, pushed aside, didn't forget to keep instructing. She wasn't afraid of her mother being angry; instead, she made a face, "bleh bleh bleh," and turned to bury her oily face in her father's chest, seeking protection.

Wang Yan hurriedly reached out to grab the little girl's face, wiped it with a wet wipe in disgust, and then gave her a symbolic spanking on the bottom as punishment for her bad idea.

As for Wang Lin's words, he was left between laughter and tears. When he teaches his child, of course, it's not that he satisfies her just because she cries and makes demands. But sometimes she cries for reasonable requests, so very rarely she gets what she wants. Thus, based on a child's shallow experience, she likely thinks crying is the key, even though it only worked a very few times.

Plus, children nowadays are knowledgeable and have progressive thoughts; she probably had some sort of seminar at kindergarten where they discussed such situations. With a plan in mind, she came up with this terrible idea... Of course, let her cry if she wants; occasionally letting out a few wails is good exercise for a child's lung function.

Looking at the little girl who felt no shame but rather pride, Wang Yan shook his head with a chuckle: "Linlin, you can even give Mimi advice now. Dad knows that your crying in the past was all intentional. So, you'd better think about what you're going to do in the future."

Wang Lin was unhappy. To her, this was truly a massive problem... She was even busier now; on one hand, she had to think about how to share her experiences with her little friends tomorrow, and on the other, she had to think about how to act cute and throw tantrums to get her father to agree. So tiring.

And Mimi on the other side, upon hearing Wang Lin's words, had her eyes light up and immediately turned to look at Wu Fei...

Su Mingyu was also left between laughter and tears: "Sister-in-law, just come, it'll save Mimi from crying."

"Let me think about it." As she spoke, Wu Fei noticed the child starting to pout and hurriedly said: "Mingyu, we've been talking for so long, I've delayed your meal. I won't bother you anymore, goodbye."

"Hey, sister-in-law..." Before Su Mingyu could finish, the call on the other end had already been hung up. She had also seen the tears welling up in Mimi's eyes just now. She put down the phone, turned to look at the culprit who was currently frowning, and shook her head with amusement...

The next day, life returned to its normal track: those who go to work went to work, those who go to school went to school, and those who brag went hopping and skipping off to brag to others.

Su Daqiang was indeed tired from his long-distance journey and slept comfortably until past eight o'clock. By the time he came out, his son and daughter-in-law had long since gone to work, leaving breakfast on the table that they had bought that morning.

After Su Daqiang finished washing up, he went over to rummage through the simple white porridge, steamed buns, and small pickles that were still warm. He didn't complain and sat down at the table to make do with the meal.

While eating, Su Daqiang started pondering the matter of the house. Back in America, his eldest son had told him he wanted to buy a house, and the thought had been stuck in his mind ever since. Then, upon returning to China, his second son also told him something about investing in a luxury mansion. Whether it was an investment or not didn't matter, but the "luxury mansion" part had truly touched his heart.

After all this tossing and turning, if no one had mentioned it, it would have been one thing, but once the idea was out, it couldn't be stopped. Ever since he started thinking about the house, he felt uncomfortable staying at his son's place; his heart was restless, like a cat scratching at it, itching terribly. After all this, he couldn't count on his eldest son, his second son was eyeing his money, his daughter wouldn't acknowledge him, and he didn't want to return to the old house. Moving out to live on his own and finding a little nanny—that really was a good method...

After thinking it over and over, Su Daqiang finished his breakfast. He temporarily suppressed the thought and tidied up to go out for a stroll to aid digestion. "A hundred steps after a meal, live to ninety-nine." He didn't dare hope to live to ninety-nine, but wouldn't ninety-seven or ninety-eight be fine? He had to jump around for a few more years and live a good life.

He went out and strolled to a nearby lottery station to place a bet, chatted a few words with the lottery seller to cover up how he returned to China, and then left with a heavy heart to continue his stroll. When he left, he had been quite the show-off. Although he had long anticipated today's scene, when he was actually asked about it, he still felt embarrassed. What could he do if his son wasn't up to the task? But it was still better than a bunch of people who hadn't even left their own province a few times. No matter how long he stayed, he was still someone who had been abroad...

In recent years, the national real estate market has developed rapidly, with housing prices rising year after year, and the agency business that comes with it has naturally flourished. Various agency companies are clustered together. In first and second-tier cities with high housing prices, as long as it's not too remote, there is an agency near every residential complex. Some even have two or three. In any case, around a residential complex, within a radius of one kilometer, there are at least four, five, or six agency storefronts.

To repeat an old point, Gusu, as a top-tier city in the country, has had quite good development in the real world, and now with the rise of Long Teng locally, including its various top-tier internet and industrial giants clustered together, its ability to drive regional development is beyond doubt. The impact on the real estate market development is therefore self-evident. The average price is twenty thousand, and good locations in the city are generally thirty or forty thousand. So, it's easy to imagine how agencies are clustered there.

Su Daqiang hadn't walked for long before he stopped in front of an agency storefront with a green background and yellow stripes, looking neat and tidy. Usually, he wouldn't even look, but now that he had ideas in mind, he naturally paid attention. On the street-facing glass of this agency storefront, there were listings of nearby properties posted. Just a casual glance at those houses made Su Daqiang unable to move his feet.

After carefully peering at them with his slightly blurry eyes for a while, a young man in a uniform, wearing a tie and a name tag, stood beside Su Daqiang: "Sir, looking for a house?"

Su Daqiang subconsciously waved his hand: "I'm just looking around."

The agency youth smiled: "Sir, if you want to look, you can come inside. There are many properties in this area; what's posted is only a fraction. Let's go in, sit down, have a glass of water, and I'll introduce them to you!"

"Ah? No need, no need, I'm just strolling..." As he spoke, Su Daqiang's eyes couldn't help but keep glancing into the shop.

The agency youth wasn't so stupid as to not understand that he was interested. Without another word, he pulled Su Daqiang inside: "Looking doesn't cost money. It doesn't matter if you don't buy; I can practice my business skills, just consider it helping me out."

A customer on duty—even if he didn't look like he could make the final decision, there was an opportunity, so he wouldn't let it pass. After the agency youth poured him a glass of water, he started matching houses to needs while also building rapport.

When Su Daqiang heard it didn't cost money, what else was there to say? He immediately expressed his little ideas: he wanted two or three bedrooms, a good location, convenient living, move-in ready, a new building, an elevator, and a good view. Finally, the agent selected a few houses and offered to take him to see them in person. This was definitely fine, and Su Daqiang readily agreed. For one, he could learn about the situation, and for another, he could consider it a stroll.

They ended up looking at five houses. Because they weren't in the same place and they had to run around, it was noon by the time they finished. Su Daqiang was uncharacteristically generous and offered to treat the agent to noodles, though the final bill was, of course, paid by the agent...

After adding the agent on WeChat and leaving his phone number, Su Daqiang watched him walk away, pondering in his mind as he slowly walked back.

You don't know until you look, and once you look, it's truly good. He thought every one of them was quite good and quite suitable for him to live in. Especially the three-bedroom ones: one room for him, one room for the little nanny, and one room turned into a study. When he had nothing to do, he could write, paint, and read at home. Oh my, that would truly be delightful.

But these houses, while good in every way, had one flaw: they were expensive. Of the ones he looked at, the cheapest was three million. And the large three-bedroom apartment of over a hundred square meters that he liked the most cost over four million. He only had two hundred thousand in his hands; it was truly an astronomical figure, hard to manage...

Thinking this way, Su Daqiang walked along, feeling melancholy, pondering all the way how he could get some money...

Wang Yan flapped his little wings, making things that shouldn't have happened happen, and things that should have happened not happen, but the butterfly effect is just a chain reaction brought about by a small event; it's not fantasy. What is truly magical is fate.

It is destined that some people will eventually meet. Even if they don't meet today, they will meet tomorrow. If not tomorrow, then the day after, or the day after that; in any case, they will meet.

Walking toward Su Daqiang was an old man wearing a duck-billed cap, glasses on his nose, and a stylish casual wool suit. His pace was vigorous, and his body was healthy. When he passed Su Daqiang, he glanced at him inadvertently, and then they were about to drift apart. But suddenly, he remembered that the person he had just seen seemed to be an acquaintance. He immediately turned around to follow the distracted Su Daqiang, looked at him from the side to identify him, and confirmed it was indeed someone he knew.

The old man immediately patted Su Daqiang on the shoulder: "Hey, what are you thinking about?"

Su Daqiang was just pondering how to get money when he was suddenly patted, giving him a direct jolt: "Ouch." It scared the passerby next to him three meters away; he almost died on the spot.

After calming his pounding little heart, Su Daqiang looked at the old man in front of him unhappily: "Who are you?"

The old man took off his glasses with a smile: "Don't recognize me?"

"Oh my~" Su Daqiang recognized him and, after thinking for a moment, called out his name: "Old Nie, haha." As he spoke, he stepped forward to hug him, muttering: "You really gave me a scare. You're dressed like a young man; if you hadn't taken off your glasses, I really wouldn't have recognized you."

The two ended the hug and stood to the side so as not to block the way. Su Daqiang smiled: "Old Nie, it's been a while since we last met."

"Hasn't it? Let's see, it must have been... over a year, right?" After saying this, Old Nie fell silent and looked at the smiling Su Daqiang: "I heard that your wife passed away quite suddenly?"

Su Daqiang also fell silent, as if painful memories had struck. He patted Old Nie's arm, sighing before speaking: "It's fine, she didn't suffer when she left..."

Of course, this topic wouldn't continue. Old Nie had just asked casually; at their age, the passing of peers always makes them think of themselves, often lamenting that their days are numbered.

"Where are you going?"

"Hi, I was just looking at some houses with an agent over there, and I'm walking back."

"Looking at houses?" Old Nie thought for a moment and looked at Su Daqiang, puzzled: "I ran into Old He a while ago, didn't he say you went to America? How did you come back so soon?"

Su Daqiang's expression didn't change: "Where are you going? Do you have something to do?"

"I just finished eating over there and was thinking of strolling to the nearby park to soak up the sun. Why don't you tell me what's going on?"

"That's perfect, I don't have anything to do either. Let's go to the park and sit for a while, talk as we walk, talk as we walk." Su Daqiang followed Old Nie, strolling along the road: "I went to America before. After staying there for a while, I suffered from homesickness and couldn't adapt to the food and drink. Besides, they can legally carry guns there, and I wasn't used to staying there. It's not as good as our country here. Plus, my youngest son called me every day saying he missed me, so my eldest son bought me a ticket and sent me back."

"Oh, you're right. But it's not that dangerous. If you don't go near people, just stay at your son's place, nothing will happen. It's just that your homesickness was indeed hard to deal with, but your reaction was too strong; you didn't recover even after staying for so long, tsk tsk." Old Nie sighed and said: "But I've heard that your children are all very capable; you are truly blessed. Hey, by the way, Old Su, which city in America is your eldest son in?"

"San Francisco! I have quite a few photos of that place on my phone, all taken when my son drove me out to play. Let me show you." As he spoke, Su Daqiang took out his phone and fiddled with it.

"Old Su, you don't need to bother. I know San Francisco." Old Nie stopped him and laughed: "It has the Golden Gate Bridge, Lombard Street, and what else... Fisherman's Wharf..."

Su Daqiang felt a bit disdainful and waved his hand with a smile: "Stop right there, Old Nie, you make it sound like you've been there."

Old Nie also laughed, speaking proudly: "Of course I've been there. My daughter is in America. Last year, she took us on a road trip across America, and we've been to all the big cities."

Upon hearing this, Su Daqiang, who had tried to show off but failed, felt a bit awkward: "Ah, Xiaoping went to America?"

"Yes, she married an American husband, and the whole family is in New York, New York."

Old Nie emphasized it. He understood Su Daqiang's intention to show off, and of course, he couldn't indulge him. Isn't New York better than San Francisco?

People are all the same; when they are young, they compare everything—wives, children, jobs, lives, cars, and houses. When they get old, all they compare is their children. However, when they were young, they compared whose children studied better and whose children were more sensible; now, they compare whose children are more successful and who can let them, the elderly, enjoy their blessings.

Having crushed Su Daqiang, Old Nie didn't dwell on it and turned to the previous topic: "No, Old Su, why are you looking at houses? Are you going to buy one?"

"Hi, I just had nothing to do, so I strolled around with that agent." Su Daqiang smiled: "But I do have that thought. After all, living with my son always affects them, so I'm just asking around about the situation."

"That's not bad. After all, your children are capable; otherwise, with housing prices so high now, who could afford to buy?"

Su Daqiang smiled reservedly: "It hasn't reached that point yet. I just have this idea for now, just looking around, just looking around." He was well-versed in this; he hid a little bit for now, revealing a little bit of reality amidst his low profile.

Old Nie asked: "Hey, we've just been chatting, have you eaten lunch? If not, I'll keep you company for a bite?"

"I've eaten, I've eaten, I just had noodles with that agent. I was going to treat him, but he ended up paying. You say, I even got a free meal while looking at houses with someone, haha..."

Thanks to brother (Miao Sang) for the 400-coin tip to continue the support.

Thanks to brother (Mo Xue Yi Yun) for the 100-coin tip to continue the support.

Thanks to the five brothers (Fei Fei Fei Fei Lai Le) (Pang Da Yu) (Ye Ban Geng Yan Ban Gen) (Lan Si De Mu Tou Ren) (Di Guo Hai Jun Lu Zhan Dui) for continuing the support.

Daily thanks to the good brothers who voted for the monthly tickets for their support.

Thanks to all the brothers who voted for the recommendations for their support.

Thanks to the brothers who read silently for their support.