I couldn't take it anymore; when I went home for Chinese New Year, the family genealogy book ha

"Are you...really going to tell me?"

Hearing her son's serious tone, Wang Xiuying's heart jumped into her throat.

She subconsciously turned around and glanced at the open kitchen door, as if it held some enormous secret.

"Just wait!"

Wang Xiuying suddenly stood up, walked over quickly, and slammed the wooden door to the kitchen shut with a creak, even locking it from the inside.

They looked so nervous; anyone who didn't know better would think they were about to conduct some kind of underground transaction.

Jiang Jianjun, who was examining the authenticity of the two bottles of Moutai in the main room, had obviously heard the commotion in the kitchen.

He walked in wearing his brand-new Arc'teryx jacket, his face serious, and he no longer fiddled with his pipe.

"What's wrong?"

Seeing this scene, Jiang Jianjun also became nervous.

"Chen'er said he wants to tell us the truth."

Wang Xiuying lowered her voice and spoke mysteriously.

Soon, the family of three sat around the brand-new mahogany eight-immortal table in the main room.

On the table, there were still uneaten sunflower seeds and peanuts.

Above, a dazzling crystal chandelier illuminated the room as bright as day.

On the wall, the huge 98-inch Sony TV was silently playing a festive and lively Chinese New Year video.

But the atmosphere inside the room was so serious, it was as if a secret meeting was being held to decide the future of the family.

Jiang Jianjun and Wang Xiuying sat upright, their eyes fixed intently on Jiang Chen's face.

"Dad, Mom."

Jiang Chen was both amused and exasperated by the elderly couple's display of force.

He took out his phone, unlocked the screen, but didn't rush to open the bank app as they expected.

You have to eat one bite at a time, and you have to act one step at a time.

To get them to accept a fact that is far beyond their comprehension, there must be sufficient groundwork laid.

"Actually, what I told you about 'outstanding employees' before is true."

Jiang Chen's gaze swept over his parents' tense faces, and he slowly spoke.

"But there's one thing I didn't say completely."

"Didn't you say everything?!"

Jiang Jianjun's heart clenched, his body leaned forward instinctively, and his voice tightened.

"What do you mean? Does this mean I... have to pay the company back?!"

This is what he is most worried about.

He was afraid that his son was just using the company's money to show off, and that after the New Year, he would have to pay it all back, and the family would be back to square one, which would be a huge loss of face.

"no."

Jiang Chen noticed his father's worry, smiled and shook his head, his tone relaxed.

"What I'm trying to say is that nowadays, large companies, especially internet companies like ours, in order to retain their core talent, offer an even more impressive reward in addition to paying you a monthly salary and giving you a year-end bonus."

He paused deliberately, whetting the appetite of the elderly couple.

"It's called an 'option'."

"Options? What's that? Is it something you eat?"

Wang Xiuying looked bewildered; this word was even harder for her to understand than English.

Jiang Chen patiently explained, "It's not food, Mom. You can think of it as company shares. The company gave me a small portion of shares as a reward. With this, it's like I'm a small shareholder, a mini-boss, in the company."

"The young boss?"

Jiang Jianjun and Wang Xiuying exchanged a glance; they could understand the word.

Jiang Chen nodded heavily and began the "script" he had already rehearsed countless times in his mind.

"Our company has developed very rapidly in the past few years. Some time ago, we went public in the United States... well, in a very prestigious place."

"Going public?"

Jiang Jianjun's eyes lit up; he recognized the word!

They show it on TV every day: some company goes public and the boss becomes the richest man, and the employees all get millions!

"Yes! Going public!"

Jiang Chen continued to spout nonsense with a straight face.

"Once the company goes public, it becomes more valuable, and the shares I hold, which are the 'options,' also suddenly become very valuable."

"Then, in order to reward my outstanding contributions over the years and to make me more willing to work for the company in the future, the company made a special exception and allowed me to sell my shares in advance and convert them into cash."

"So, the money in my account isn't a bonus; it's the money I got from selling my company shares!"

This half-truth, half-lies, half-fact story was a perfect fit for parents who had spent their entire lives toiling in the fields!

"Listing," "shares," and "options"—these were terms they had only heard about on television news, terms that sounded incredibly high-end and could make people rich overnight.

Hearing it from their own son's mouth at this moment not only perfectly explained the source of this huge sum of money, but also gave them a magical sense of pride!

My son is amazing!

"Then...then..."

Wang Xiuying was so excited that her lips were trembling. She gripped the edge of the table tightly, and her fingernails turned white.

"So...so how much did your...shares actually lose?"

She tried her best to mentally prepare herself.

Judging from the way her son spent money, she guessed it must have been at least several hundred thousand.

Now that she heard such an impressive word as "going public," she mustered her courage and doubled her expectations.

One million?

No, no, no, that's the absolute maximum! Five hundred thousand! It must be five hundred thousand!

Thinking of that number, Wang Xiuying felt her heart was about to jump out of her throat!

Jiang Chen looked at his mother's expression, which was a mixture of anticipation and nervousness, a mixture of wanting to know and fearing to know, and his smile deepened.

He didn't say anything more.

Silently, in front of her parents, she slowly tapped the golden icon on her phone—the China Construction Bank app—with a dragon printed on it.

Fingerprint verification successful.

Without the slightest hesitation, he clicked the most sensitive and stimulating button.

[Display Balance]

Then, he placed the phone flat in the center of the mahogany table.

With slender fingers, a gentle push.

On the screen, the soft white light shone quietly, appearing before the elderly couple's eyes.