A Brand-New Car

Three days had passed since the Little New Year.

At home, Chen Pingsheng turned on the speakers and started doing a hip-shaking dance with little An'an.

An'an's dancing was downright terrible—completely unlike him, who was naturally gifted in the art of public square dancing.

Over the past few days, he had made a huge profit from the 300-plus boxes of durians he had stockpiled.

Without his golden finger, he would never have dared to take such a gamble before.

But now, things were different. The Random Multiplier gave him the courage to take risks.

[Ding! Host's cumulative income over the past seven days: 92,000. Would you like to activate the Random Multiplier?]

Only recently had he discovered that his golden finger could stack income over time—it was calculated cumulatively.

Small amounts of money no longer satisfied him. From now on, he planned to accumulate income over a week before activating the multiplier.

"Activate."

Two golden dice appeared once again. Even if he rolled the lowest 2x multiplier, it would still be enough for a down payment on a house.

Of course, Chen Pingsheng couldn't help but dream—if he hit the max 10x multiplier, he could pay for the house in full.

The first die landed on 2—not great.

The second die wobbled near 5 but ultimately landed on 1—the lowest possible roll.

[Congratulations! You have received a 3x Random Multiplier.]

[Ding! 276,000 has been deposited into your Alipay account. New balance: 276,500.]

Tsk… even with bad luck, he still got rich overnight.

Technically, his durians could have earned him even more, but he had given a discount to some of the folks in his moving-out group chat.

These were the people who had supported him unconditionally from the start, so he had sold to them at a price 100 lower per box than the market rate.

Overall, everyone who followed him had made good money.

Even the lowest earners had pocketed over 20,000—enough for a comfortable New Year.

That evening, Chen Pingsheng took An'an to pick up her mother from work. Today was her last day before the New Year holiday—a 10-day break, with the company's annual party scheduled for after the Lantern Festival.

Song Yanxi came out with her colleague, Du Juan. Both women wore happy smiles, relieved that their vacation had finally begun.

"Yanxi, your husband is always so punctual."

Song Yanxi chuckled. "I keep telling him he doesn't have to pick me up, but he never listens."

"Oh, stop showing off."

Du Juan enjoyed spending time with Song Yanxi—not only was she easygoing, but she was also a genuinely considerate person.

"You two have been married for years now, and both of you make good money. Why haven't you bought a car yet? Riding a motorbike in this weather—you don't want An'an catching a cold, do you?"

The little one was bundled up tightly, yet still had a runny nose.

It wasn't that they had never considered buying a car, but Song Yanxi had always prioritized purchasing a house first.

But today? That concern no longer existed. His pockets were full—buying a practical car wouldn't be a problem at all.

"I…" Song Yanxi barely got a word out before Chen Pingsheng interrupted. "Of course we're getting one! Any recommendations? I was just thinking about buying a new car for Yanxi."

When Song Yanxi married him, he had neither a house nor a car—not even a single cent of bride price.

In fact, her family had even chipped in 98,000 as dowry.

Now that he had the means, he had to treat his wife better.

Du Juan teased, "That depends on your budget. If you want to spoil your wife a little, a BMW 1 Series or a Mercedes-Benz A-Class in the 200,000 range would be solid choices."

"If you want to spoil her a lot, go for a BMW 220i Convertible in the 300,000 range—absolutely stunning. But if you're willing to go all out and spend 400,000, the Audi A4L is the top pick."

Of course, she was just joking—she knew their financial situation well.

At most, they'd be looking at a practical family car in the 100,000 range.

But as Chen Pingsheng thought about it… if he was going to buy his wife a car, why not go all out?

After all, Yanxi had been by his side for so many years—she had never truly enjoyed the finer things in life.

"Alright, let's go check out the Audi."

"You're seriously considering spending 400,000 on an A4L? I was just joking!"

"No worries, we're just taking a look. Doesn't mean we have to buy it."

That's what he said, but deep down, he had already made up his mind.

Buying a house could wait—now that he had the ability to make serious money, he wouldn't settle for anything small.

When the time came, he'd go for at least a 200-square-meter home.

Like they always say, money makes the man bolder.

Things he never dared to dream of before? Now, they were within reach.

Ditching the motorbike, they rode in Du Juan's car to the Audi dealership.

Song Yanxi really thought he was just window-shopping. Meanwhile, Du Juan found herself falling for the A4L—too bad it was beyond her budget.

The salesperson served them tea and provided a detailed introduction, explaining that there were holiday discounts.

With all the promotions factored in, the 1.8T Automatic Comfort Edition could be had for around 320,000.

Chen Pingsheng urged his wife to try sitting in the car. Feeling a little shy, she hesitated, but the salesperson had already opened the door for her.

Gingerly, she took a seat, as if afraid of damaging something.

Once she was settled, Chen Pingsheng casually asked, "Do you have any available stock?"

"We do, but only one white unit left."

"White, huh? That works."

Bargaining hard, Chen Pingsheng squeezed out every possible discount. In the end, besides getting the lowest price, he also secured three free maintenance services, two barrels of engine oil, and a full car window tint package.

By the time Song Yanxi realized he was actually buying it, he had already swiped 270,000.

The remaining 50,000? That was on her.

She was still in shock—when did he get so much money?!

Now wasn't the time to question it, though. The car was short 50,000, and she had to pay the rest.

With the Audi A4L in hand, their household savings were down to about 360,000.

Song Yanxi felt like she was dreaming—their lives had changed too quickly.

Even Du Juan was stunned. So this was the same guy who had been picking up his wife on a scooter all this time?

A man in his late twenties just dropped full cash on an Audi A4L like it was nothing.

What they didn't know was that couples like Chen Pingsheng and Song Yanxi always had savings.

When you had no family support and had to rely entirely on yourselves, spending habits naturally became cautious.

Over time, it gave people the impression that they were poor.

Who could've guessed? The joke was on them.

Of course, Du Juan wasn't like Yang Dan—she didn't feel any jealousy. She was just… deeply impressed.

"Chen, my guy, turns out you weren't broke—just stingy!"

Song Yanxi smiled. "My husband has always been great at making money. You guys just never respected his profession."

"Hey, don't lump me in! If anyone looked down on him, it was Yang Dan."

Du Juan grinned. "You should totally drive this Audi right up to her. I'd love to see what she has to say now. Honestly, I've always thought your husband was great—at least he truly cares about you."

For the first time, Song Yanxi felt proud.

No one would ever belittle her husband again.

No one would ever mock him for being a mere durian vendor.

"Hey, how about a few photos for social media?"

With Du Juan's encouragement, they took a family portrait in front of their very first car.

December 28, 2012.

The Chen family proudly welcomes their new Audi A4L.