Restart life

Chapter 375 0362 [Spending Time with Family]

Chen Guiliang did not participate in the cultural activities in the afternoon.

He went to Bian Guanyue's house for lunch, then drove the car he borrowed from Lao Bian to Shuangliu to take Bian Guanyue to catch a flight.

Olympic volunteers in Beijing began arriving at their posts more than a month in advance. As the opening of the Olympics approached, more and more volunteers arrived, with Bian Guanyue being one of the last to arrive.

Chen Guiliang himself took a car back to his hometown to visit his family.

Especially the great-grandfather, who, barring any unforeseen circumstances, will pass away peacefully this winter.

In the winters of Sichuan and Chongqing, it's rare to see the sun. One day, the sun suddenly came out, and the ancestor asked her younger relatives to help her outside. They chatted and laughed while basking in the sun. She was in exceptionally good spirits.

Then she sat alone in the sun and dozed off, and never woke up again.

Yang Shuo drove Chen Guiliang to his cousin Feng Tao's computer shop.

Chen Guiliang said, "You should also go home and visit your family. I'll drive myself these next couple of days."

"Okay, be careful." Yang Shuo really wanted to go back.

Chen Guiliang said, "You can postpone buying a wedding house in Beijing until the second half of the year, when house prices will be lower. If you don't have enough for the down payment, just ask me for a loan. I won't charge interest, but you'll have to write an IOU. You can pay me back whenever you want."

Yang Shuo asked in surprise, "Will housing prices really fall in the second half of the year?"

"It's bound to drop, trust me. It's best to buy at the end of the year, since you're not getting married until next year anyway," Chen Guiliang said.

Yang Shuo didn't understand these things either, but he believed Chen Guiliang had all the connections: "Okay. Whenever you tell me to buy, I'll buy!"

The month the economic crisis broke out, Beijing's housing prices were affected, experiencing their first decline since 2005. By December, prices had fallen by more than 10% compared to the beginning of the year, with some properties in certain areas even dropping by 15%.

The more prices fall, the fewer people buy, and the number of housing transactions in Beijing has been halved.

Yang Shuo, working as Chen Guiliang's driver and bodyguard, really didn't need to worry about anything else. Not only would he benefit from buying a house, but if he had spare money in the future, he could also follow Chen Guiliang to make some small investments.

Yang Shuo parked the car in the open-air garage of the digital plaza and ran to the supermarket to buy gifts for his parents, while Chen Guiliang went straight upstairs to find his uncle.

It's called a digital plaza, but it's actually just one building, and two-thirds of the floors don't sell electronic products.

"Boss Feng, I want to buy a computer!" Chen Guiliang shouted from outside the shop.

Feng Tao was recommending computer configurations to a customer when he heard this. Without even looking up, he replied, "Wait a moment, it'll be right there. Please have a seat."

Chen Guiliang carefully examined the computer shop and found that it had expanded in size and was doing exceptionally well, with both employees busy at the time.

Feng Tao rambled on for ages, but the customer asked about the price without buying immediately. He vaguely jotted down some specifications and went to other shops to compare prices.

"Business is pretty good," Chen Guiliang said with a smile.

Feng Tao then noticed his nephew's arrival and exclaimed with delight, "When did you get back?"

Chen Guiliang said, "Just got back. Your shop is doing very well; you seem so busy you can't even leave."

Feng Tao sighed, "Don't even mention it. Since January, all computer parts have been getting cheaper, and the price drops just keep coming down. Last year, I was afraid the prices would go up, so I spent a lot of money to stock up on them. Damn it... it's heartbreaking to even think about it."

Chen Guiliang comforted him, saying, "You should look at it from a different perspective. With computer parts prices dropping across the board, more and more people will be buying computers. You'll make back the money you lost this year in a month or two."

"Sigh, I understand the logic, but I'm just really upset," Feng Tao sighed.

Chen Guiliang said, "Come with me to the hospital for a full check-up tomorrow morning. You should get one done too."

Feng Tao complained, "Rich people just value their lives. Last time you went back to your hometown, you dragged me to get a full checkup, and now you want another one?"

Chen Guiliang thought to himself: You died of stomach cancer. Who knows when it will flare up again? I can only take you for a check-up every few days.

Feng Tao took out his phone: "I'll call Chunhong and ask her to bring the child to eat out with us. I can't leave here; I need to come back as soon as I finish dinner."

"Business is so good?" Chen Guiliang was somewhat surprised.

My uncle's computer shop used to be closed at night, only getting more customers on weekends.

They're open every night now, which means there are a lot of people who need computers.

Feng Tao laughed and said, "Your aunt is becoming more and more like a boss lady. She sends her child to kindergarten in the morning, then comes to the shop to greet customers, do the accounting and collect money, and go downstairs to buy food. In the evening, she has to pick up her child from school. She's busier than me all day long."

People and things have changed.

In another timeline, my aunt was idle at home all day, and before long she fell in love with someone online, met him in person, and had an affair.

My uncle has now moved to a bigger shop, and it's a husband-and-wife business now run solely by him. My aunt comes to the shop every day to work; she's probably too busy to chat online.

Several tens of minutes later, Aunt Lin Chunhong appeared with her child, carrying boxed lunches packed for the employees.

“Do you remember your cousin? We met during the last Chinese New Year,” Lin Chunhong said to her son.

The younger cousin wasn't shy at all and took the initiative to chat with Chen Guiliang: "Cousin, do you watch children's programs?"

Chen Guiliang laughed and said, "I'm watching Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf. What about you?"

"Cousin, you're so childish! You only watch Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf in kindergarten, and I'm already in the middle class!"

My little cousin didn't hold back in expressing his contempt for Chen Guiliang. Suddenly, he pulled a yo-yo out of his pocket and, imitating the pose from TV, shouted out the lines: "I'm watching 'Blazing Teens' right now. Let's embrace the challenge, without regrets!"

This live-action children's drama really touched on Chen Guiliang's blind spots in cognition.

He hasn't watched a single episode.

Chen Guiliang took out his phone to record a video: "There's more."

My little cousin changed his pose, held his yo-yo high, and shouted with all his might: "Never give up! Jianghai team, you will win!"

Chen Guiliang finished recording with a smile and saved it, planning to take it out when his younger cousin goes to high school.

This little cousin was very important to Chen Guiliang. After all, before his rebirth, his little cousin had been adopted by Chen Guiliang's parents and was no different from his own brother.

The aunt handed the packed lunches to the two employees, asking them to watch the shop. Knowing Chen Guiliang was there, the two employees, if they weren't busy with other tasks, would probably have already come over to chat with him.

Feng Tao picked up his son and took his wife and Chen Guiliang downstairs to eat at a restaurant.

Chen Guiliang asked, "What happened to your former apprentice?"

Feng Tao said, "I graduated a long time ago. Young people can't stay in small places, so last year I went to Shenzhen to try my luck. They're quite sensible, calling me every month. Now these two shop assistants are also my apprentices, learning the skills while working."

The group found a restaurant near the digital plaza.

While ordering food, Lin Chunhong said proudly, "Last year we made a net profit of over 300,000 yuan. A net profit!"

Feng Tao was somewhat embarrassed: "Don't try to show off your skills in front of Master Guan's door."

Chen Guiliang said, "A net profit of over 300,000 yuan is impressive."

Feng Tao explained, "Actually, in a small place like Longdu, a net profit of 100,000 yuan a year is pretty good if you operate normally. Many people know that I am your cousin and that I used to hang out with Brother Gang, so my computer shop is somewhat well-known. Last year, two newly opened internet cafes asked me to help them select computers. The profit margin for these internet cafe orders is very thin, but the advantage lies in high volume and low margin."

“That’s good,” Chen Guiliang said.

Feng Tao remarked with emotion, "You probably don't know how famous you and Gang Ge are in Longdu City. Especially in the internet cafe industry, practically everyone knows you. Every time you two launch a new game, before it's even officially released, all the internet cafes in the city have it pre-installed."

Chen Guiliang said, "When I come back this time, I will donate 10 computers each to my junior high school, my high school, and the town, and one computer to the village. You will be in charge of matching them all."

“Okay,” Feng Tao said happily.

Lin Chunhong quickly poured wine: "Guiliang, let me toast you. Thank you for your patronage."

Chen Guiliang said, "You're being too polite. We're all family."

That evening, Uncle had dinner and went back to the shop, while Chen Guiliang drove back to his aunt and cousin's house.

"I'll check the news and see if I can get on TV," Chen Guiliang said.

My aunt made some inquiries and found out that he had become a torchbearer.

Chen Guiliang played with his younger cousin's yo-yo while watching TV.

He did appear on CCTV's "News Broadcast" again, but the camera only panned across him for less than a second. The main focus was on Olympic champion Zhang Shan and earthquake relief hero Lei Chulian.

However, the Sichuan News Network was quite accommodating, dedicating nearly ten minutes to the report. It included interviews with Chen Guiliang, Li Yuchun, Zhang Liangying, and others.

"Cousin, why are you on TV?" the younger cousin asked curiously.

Chen Guiliang laughed and said, "Studying hard will get you on TV."

"Oh." The little cousin seemed to understand but not quite, and continued playing with his yo-yo.

The following morning, Chen Guiliang, accompanied by his uncle and aunt, went to the hospital for a full-body checkup.

Then he bought a wheelchair and drove to find his great-grandmother.

The great-grandmother could actually walk with a cane, but she walked rather slowly. Firstly, she was very old, and secondly, she had bound feet.

Chen Guiliang drove into the village and saw her sitting under a tree enjoying the shade from afar, surrounded by many elderly intelligence personnel from the village.

"Grandfather!"

Chen Guiliang took out a folding wheelchair and pushed it over: "Look what I bought for you!"

The old woman grinned from ear to ear: "I'm not disabled, why would you buy this?"

The other elderly people all sighed that she was blessed.

Chen Guiliang said, "I'll push you around. You have trouble walking and haven't left the village in a long time."

"Alright, let's take a look around. This place is going to be demolished soon." The old ancestor stood up shakily and was helped into a wheelchair by Chen Guiliang.

This village is going to be demolished to build roads.

But there's really not much compensation for demolition, and farmers with a little money don't want to be relocated at all.

In particular, families who have built and luxuriously decorated houses may even lose money, contrary to the common belief that demolition will inevitably lead to sudden wealth.

Chen Guiliang slowly pushed the wheelchair out of the village, accompanying the old ancestor as he strolled around along the road.

The old ancestor said, "I won't live for many more days. You families can divide the demolition compensation among yourselves."

"No. Let them divide it; I won't get involved," Chen Guiliang said.

The old ancestor had no sons, only four daughters, and planned to give the demolition compensation to his daughters and sons-in-law to be divided equally.

Chen Guiliang's grandmother married the furthest away and didn't take care of her great-grandmother much, so she didn't get involved in this matter in her previous life and voluntarily gave up her share of the demolition compensation.

The other three families were also understanding; when they held the funeral for their ancestor, they only symbolically asked Chen Guiliang's family to contribute 1 yuan.

The old ancestor said, "I want to go to the city for a visit; I haven't been to the city in decades."

“I’ll drive you into the city,” Chen Guiliang said.

The old ancestor said again, "I want to go to the lantern park."

Chen Guiliang laughed and said, "I'll spend the whole day with you."

The old ancestor was overjoyed to hear this.

Chen Guiliang truly put aside everything else, didn't think about anything, and just strolled around with the old man.

Some things are more meaningful than making money.

(End of this chapter)