Electronic Nezha

Chapter 145 This thing
The mother and son embraced and wept bitterly, tears streaming down their faces. So guess what the other person in the house was doing? Busy digging at the basement, of course. To make myself seem less superfluous, I poured myself two cups of water from the thermos. Hao Hao's family does have an old TV, but I can't just sit there watching TV while the two of them are crying, can I?
The two cried for a while longer. Seeing my "ashamed" appearance, Aunt Xu helped Hao Hao straighten his military uniform and forced a smile, saying, "I forgot we had guests."

Look, I've finally become the only guest in this house.

I said, "Aunt Xu, please stop picking up trash. This is a kind gesture from the child. Besides, you are now a military dependent. It would be bad if Hao Hao's comrades saw you picking up trash."

As I've grown up, the most valuable lesson I've learned is how to deal with older people. It's always best to set a high bar and try to influence the next generation; this approach is highly effective.

Sure enough, Aunt Xu hesitated for a moment and said, "Okay... but I can't quit my job."

I said, "Quit it. That's not a job; you're just doing menial work." Some people are already giving their all just to survive. A typical example is Aunt Xu. I think that a job, besides creating value, must also have meaning. The meaning Aunt Xu's job of washing dishes is simply to keep a mentally challenged person from freezing and starving. She's better off without that kind of job. If she were the president of a corporation, I certainly wouldn't say that…

Hao Hao said, "That's right! Mom, listen to Feng Ge. You don't have to do anything from now on. You can have all my salary."

Aunt Xu held Hao Hao's hand, her face full of affection: "You silly boy."

I started rummaging through my pockets. I decided to leave some money for Aunt Xu—she had planned such a wonderful future for me, and then she just left with a few words. Wasn't that just empty promises? However, I didn't have the 10,000 yuan I had prepared for Hao Hao with me. That thing wasn't light either. Who would carry a wad of cash with them every day just in case?

Just then, someone knocked on the door. I opened it and saw Shark. He poked his head in and said, "Did I disturb the mother and daughter's reunion?"

"You timed it perfectly, what are you doing here?"

Shark pulled out two wads of cash and said, "I just went to the bank to withdraw this. Old Ma was the one who thought of it. We should give the idiot some money." He stuffed the money into Hao Hao's hand and said, "For your mom to improve her life."

Hao Hao said gratefully, "Thank you, Brother Shark."

Before Hao Hao could give the money to Aunt Xu, Aunt Xu said repeatedly, "No need, I have money and I don't need it."

I took the money and stuffed it into Aunt Xu's hand: "What do you mean you don't need it? First, replace the furniture that needs replacing and install a drinking water system. What era are we living in that we still watch '18-inch color TVs'?"

After a brief shoving between us, Aunt Xu said, "Fine, I'll keep this money for Hao Hao."

I was taken aback and said, "Saving it won't work, you have to spend it." As I said this, I handed the money back to Hao Hao and said, "You keep it, find a chance to spend it all for your mother."

Aunt Xu panicked upon hearing this and reached for the money again: "Just give it to me, I'll spend it, okay?"

"I don't believe it. Let Hao Hao keep the money."

"I'll spend it, I definitely will!"

We started robbing the two stacks of money again, and Shark stared in disbelief: "Hey? Why are you robbing us now? We're the People's Army, should I care or not?"

Finally, Aunt Xu promised to replace the furniture first before I would give her the money.

Shark said, "Auntie, stop being so stingy. Your son's salary isn't low, and he even gets a settlement allowance—" Then he said to Hao Hao, "That money was a loan to you. You'll have to pay me back when you get your settlement allowance."

I teased him, saying, "You clearly said it was for Hao Hao when you came in."

The shark scratched its head and said, "No way, am I that strong?"

I laughed and said, "Anyway, you didn't mention the word 'borrow'."

The shark said, "It's no big deal, consider it my gift."

Hao Hao said, "Don't worry, Shark Bro, I'll definitely pay you back."

The shark waved its hand and said, "It doesn't matter. I don't have any hobbies that require spending money. I get subsidies for food, clothing, and housing. I don't need money."

I said to Aunt Xu, "Listen to that, what a great workplace."

Aunt Xu was so happy that her face turned red – not to mention her, even I wanted to get a job there after hearing that!
Aunt Xu took out a key and put it in Hao Hao's hand, saying, "Mom knows your job is special, so you don't need to worry about me. You still can't come back to this house in the future, but you need to have the key."

Hao Hao knew it was time to leave. He looked back every few steps, and just as he reached the door, he suddenly rushed to Aunt Xu and knelt down straight, shouting, "Mom, my life belongs to the country from now on. Take care of yourself!"

Aunt Xu said with a mixture of relief and sadness, "Good, good." Shark and I were both deeply moved by the scene before us.

The shark whispered, "Why is it so sentimental?"

I whispered back, "It was you who gave him the money."

"Well, Hao Hao is right, we all belong to the country—have you heard the saying, 'The handsome ones are all handed over to the country'?"

"Then how did someone like you manage to sneak in?"

"Brother Feng, since the mysterious chip isn't on you, you shouldn't talk like that, or you'll get beaten up."

Just then, Hao Hao caught up with us from behind, put his arm around Shark's shoulder and said, "Who wants to beat up Brother Feng?" His face was still wet with tears, but a new vitality was emanating from his body.

The shark chuckled and said, "I was just kidding."

Hao Hao suddenly said, "Thank you, sharks."

The shark patted him on the chest.

As we left the house, Dolphin rolled down the car window and said, "Let's go back to headquarters together. Sixth Master needs to hold a short meeting."

Just as Hao Hao was about to get in the car with me, Ma Chaoran got out of the dolphin car and jogged over to grab Hao Hao, saying, "Go to the car in the back."

I got into my car, and Ma Chaoran quickly sat in the passenger seat, looking around the car.

What are you doing, sneaking around like that?

Ma Chaoran chuckled at me and said, "I heard from Dolphin that your car is very special, so I came to experience it."

I started the car as usual, asking, "What's special?"

"Does your car... have self-driving capabilities?"

I immediately understood the crux of the problem—a person with no sense of direction, upon hearing that there is a car that can find its way and drive itself, would be overjoyed.
I deliberately teased him by not saying a word and taking over all the operations to get the car on the road myself.

"This is my first-generation electric car, and it doesn't have driver assistance features yet."

"I'm not talking about assisted driving, I'm talking about autonomous driving."

"Then there's no more!"

Ma Chaoran asked in confusion, "Huh, then why did the dolphin say that?" She patted the control panel and said, "This car even has a name, right? Xiao Wu, say something, Xiao Wu."

Without my instructions, Xiao Wu naturally ignored me, and didn't even turn on "assisted driving," which almost caused me to scrape my wheel rim on the curb as soon as I left the neighborhood. Relying on high-tech for so long has made my hands sweaty...

I said, "I can tell that you people are under a lot of pressure, so you like to joke around."

Seeing me frantically driving, Ma Chaoran thought for a moment and then suddenly said, "Old Liu, you're such a drama queen! If I hadn't eaten Yuan Yuan's buns before, I would almost have believed you!"

I laughed and let go of the steering wheel, saying, "Xiao Wu, the car is yours."

"Alright, bro, shall we go back to the cotton mill?"

Ma Chaoran was initially filled with disbelief, then her face lit up with boundless wonder. She exclaimed excitedly, "This thing really can talk! It even knows where we're going!"

Xiao Wu said quietly, "Well, I had a name just now, but now I'm just 'this thing'."

(End of this chapter)