Chapter 1782: Family: From Opposition to Support 2

"If you have any trouble, don't try to tough it out alone. Call home and tell Mom. Mom will do her best to help you with whatever she can. Don't forget, you are not alone; our whole family is your strong support."

After Shi Youxuan finished talking with Zirui, his grandparents called him away separately.

I don't know what's going on today; it's all so monotonous!

His grandparents were much more sentimental than his father; they mainly couldn't bear to see their grandson go to such a harsh place.

This time is different from when he went to Country A. Going to Country A was for school; although he was away from home for a year, he wouldn't suffer much.

But now he is going to be a local official in a notoriously impoverished mountain area, and their own child has already suffered there before, so the old couple couldn't rest easy no matter what.

Grandma is clear-headed now; she held Zirui's hand, very reluctant to let go, and just kept crying.

While crying, she complained: "Everything is fine at home, why go out and suffer like that?"

"Be a good grandson and listen to me. Just stay home and help your father manage the company. The whole family together, safe and sound—how wonderful that would be..."

Zirui smiled and said nothing.

If he were going to change his mind, he would have done so long ago.

Now his father doesn't even try to persuade him to come home to manage the company because he knows his determination, but his grandparents don't know, and even if they did, they couldn't possibly understand.

This is the generation gap!

After a good cry, the old couple took out a bank card and handed it to their grandson: "Zirui, among the children in the family, you are the one in the most difficulty right now. This is all our money, we're giving it to you. Keep it quiet and don't tell anyone, so others don't get upset..."

Old people are all like this; they are more partial to the child who is struggling the most.

It's not necessarily that they love them the most, but they worry about them the most.

"I don't want it. Please put the card away."

Zirui coaxed them: "Second Brother said there's nowhere to spend money in that place. If you give me money and I can't spend it, it would be a real loss if I lost it."

"In case someone finds out I have money on me and tricks me into donating it, then I'll have nothing left..."

He still had ways to coax his grandparents; the old couple believed him implicitly and took the card back.

Although they took it back, they said to Zirui: "We don't worry about any of the other children in the family, but we worry about you now. We, the old couple, will keep this card for you; it will all be yours in the future."

He didn't offer much explanation; his grandparents' thinking was set in stone and not easy to change, so he didn't waste his breath.

At dinner, Zichen cooked personally, making a table full of dishes Zirui liked.

The whole family had a reunion dinner, and he was to set off the next day.

Shi Ran asked in confusion: "Why so rushed? Wouldn't it be better to prepare at home for two days before leaving?"

She also wanted to do something for her younger brother.

Zirui, this younger brother, had been the most worry-free one since he was little. He was more worry-free than any of his other brothers; as the eldest sister, if she didn't do something, she felt she was letting him down.

Zirui said: "It's better for me to go early so I can get familiar with the environment and start my work. But I will be away from home for a long time again; Grandma... I'll have to leave her to you all."

He didn't worry about anyone else, only Grandma.

Every time Grandma had an episode, she could only calm down when she saw him. He was afraid that if he left, others wouldn't be able to handle it.

Yueyue was small but precocious, and spoke her mind directly.

"Third Brother, don't worry. Our grandma is very smart. She doesn't need you specifically; Grandma is just pretending, wanting to let..."

The little one covered her mouth with both hands because she received a threatening look from her mother.

The whole family saw through it but didn't say it; they didn't need this little girl to expose it.

Zirui felt his eyes moisten. Only then did he realize belatedly that Grandma's favorite grandson was actually Zihan, and the reason she always grabbed his hand and mistook him for someone else was because of this.

Grandma's painstaking efforts were exposed at the dinner table.

That night, Zirui stayed at home.

The brothers squeezed into one room and barely slept all night.

Litian tried his best to describe the situation in Phoenix Town and Phoenix Village without any subjective bias, even repeating it several times.

Zirui held a small notebook, taking notes as he listened, and would occasionally ask a few questions.

If there were any omissions, Zichen and Zihan would supplement them from the side!

With the brothers working in unison, the notebook was filled with dense notes.

Early morning.

The brothers left early while the rest of the family was still asleep.

A single suitcase contained a few clothes, and the rest were books.

Zirui said he didn't need many things; if his clothes weren't enough, he could buy them at the market. If others could wear clothes from street stalls, he, Sheng Zirui, could wear them too.

The brothers were reluctant to part, but they were mostly worried.

Zirui told everyone not to worry, flashing the small notebook in his hand: "With this, I'll be invincible throughout Phoenix Town. You all can rest easy."

The plane took off, and the brothers all looked very heavy-hearted.

Especially Litian.

How similar was Zirui's confident and high-spirited appearance to his own when he first chose to go to Phoenix Town?

But he had returned in disgrace.

He was very worried that Zirui would end up like him, but deep down, he also hoped Zirui would be different from him.

"It won't be, it won't be the same. He is smarter than me, he will definitely be great, yes, great..." He accidentally let his inner thoughts slip out.

"Second Brother, what are you muttering about?" Zihan asked.

Zichen pushed him: "Why are you so nosy? Mind your own business. If your second brother wants to mutter, let him mutter. Why ask?"

So he stopped asking, but he also had his own ideas.

He said to his eldest and second brothers: "What if I secretly help Zirui..."

Before he could finish, he was told to stop: "Shut up, don't even think about it."

"Don't help; it would be better if you didn't. The more you help, the more trouble you cause."

The plane landed.

Zirui walked off the plane; despite having already researched the environment here, he was still shocked by the desolation of this place!

It lived up to its reputation; it really is a famous poverty-stricken area.

Everywhere is synonymous with desolation and barrenness.

He has traveled to many places and been to many airports, but he had never seen an airport with a dirt runway.

If it rained, wouldn't it become a muddy mess?

Zirui was overthinking it; it is arid and rarely rains here, so even if it did rain, it would dry up before it could turn into mud.

Walking out of the airport, it was just as his second brother had said.

There wasn't a single proper vehicle among those soliciting business outside.

Small three-wheeled trucks used for hauling cargo, motorized rickshaws—they were all like that.

A young man with a local accent walked over enthusiastically: "Where are you headed, brother? Take my vehicle; my price is fair, I guarantee I won't overcharge you."

That was what he said, but seeing that Zirui looked fair and clean, he had already concluded that this was someone from the city; if he charged an extra hundred or eighty, he figured the man wouldn't even haggle.

"I'm going to Phoenix Village in Phoenix Town, how much?"

"Phoenix Village, huh... the road over there isn't easy to travel; how about this, two hundred and fifty, flat rate, how's that? You're just one person; if there were more people, you wouldn't get away with less than five hundred."

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