Family Gathering

It was past midnight by the time they finished replacing all the home appliances and kitchenware.

The beds in each bedroom still needed to be swapped out, but that would have to wait until the next day.

Spending the first night in their new villa, the excitement was palpable.

Song Yanxi plopped onto her brand-new bed, shifting left and right as if testing its firmness.

The night was dark, with only the soft glow of a warm nightlight illuminating the room.

Fresh out of the shower, she no longer carried the demeanor of a police officer. Instead, she cozied up to Chen Pingsheng, resting against him in a comfortable embrace.

"Honey, what time are your parents arriving tomorrow?"

"Around four or five in the afternoon."

Chen Pingsheng ran his fingers through her damp, silky hair. In the heat of summer, she was wearing a sheer silk nightgown—so thin it was almost translucent.

"Let's finish setting up the house in the morning, then we'll pick them up in the afternoon. The day after, we can have a family dinner."

It was a solid plan. The train station was quite a distance from their place, about a thirty-minute drive.

Knock, knock~

At this hour, there was only one possible visitor.

Little Chen An'an tiptoed into the room.

The new house was spacious and beautiful, a stark contrast to the cramped rental apartment she had grown up in. On her first night here, she was too excited to sleep.

So, naturally, she came looking for her parents.

Chen Pingsheng scooped her up into his arms. Time flew by so quickly—before he knew it, his little girl was almost six.

Now that life was more stable, he was thinking of discussing with Song Yanxi about having another child.

—

Dawn broke, the first light of morning creeping in.

Chen Pingsheng stretched lazily before getting to work. The beds needed to be replaced, and the tables and chairs had to be swapped out as well.

Busy but fulfilling, the kind of work that brought happiness.

By noon, all the beds were done, leaving only the tables and chairs.

After tallying up the expenses, he realized they had spent nearly 200,000 yuan just on new furniture over the past two days.

If he included the tree he bought for little An'an to plant in the backyard, the total climbed to nearly 300,000 yuan.

That's right—just the tree alone had cost 100,000 yuan.

It was specially chosen for the backyard, and An'an had insisted on performing a little "planting ceremony," carefully digging the soil and placing the tree herself.

By the time the tree matured, she would have grown up too.

At exactly 4 PM, his younger sister arrived at the Beijing train station with their parents.

Chen Pingsheng drove his Panamera to pick them up.

His sister, Chen Qi, was only twenty-one—nine years younger than him. After finishing high school, she had been working in Shacheng, holding a receptionist job at a professional beauty salon. The pay wasn't high, but she was frugal, managing to save a little over the years.

As for their parents—

His father, Chen Jianjun, had been running a business since the '90s, driving a tractor to sell watermelons in the summer and sugarcane in the winter.

Back in their hometown, this was considered a decent livelihood. But in Beijing? They were nothing more than countryside folks.

His mother, Peng Ying, had always helped out with small businesses. She had endured many hardships in her younger years, but now, seeing her son so successful, nothing could make her prouder.

"Bro, no one believed me when I told them you bought a Porsche!"

Chen Qi was ecstatic. She never imagined her own brother would be driving a Panamera.

"Just get your driver's license. Once you pass, I'll gift you a car."

"Seriously?" Chen Qi's eyes lit up.

"Of course. Now that you're here, don't leave. Stay in Beijing—your brother will take care of you."

Family was everything to him.

His parents were getting older, his two elder sisters had already married and didn't come this time. He only had this one little sister—how could he not look after her?

"Mom, Dad, you must be tired after traveling all day. Let's head home first. Tomorrow, I'll take you to visit the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square."

Chen Jianjun, nearly sixty now, had always dreamed of visiting Beijing ever since his grandfather's time.

It was only now that he could finally fulfill that wish.

"Aren't you running a fruit store? Let's check it out first."

"What's there to see?"

Since June, his second store on East Street had wrapped up its promotional campaign, while the other three stores had just launched theirs.

This month's earnings were bound to be impressive—how much he would make depended on the random profit multiplier.

"Your father is just worried and wants to see your stores for himself," Peng Ying said.

With that, Chen Pingsheng drove them to his second store on East Street—a 400-square-meter high-end fruit supermarket, something their hometown definitely didn't have.

Even in Shacheng, it would be one of the top-tier fruit stores.

His first store was about the same size. Only the third to fifth stores were slightly smaller, but not by much.

After all, those three stores had cost him a total of 1.6 million yuan to set up.

Though their locations weren't as prime as the second store, they were still better than most other fruit shops.

At the moment, his most visible investments were these five fruit supermarkets.

With steady operations, they could easily bring in three to four million yuan annually.

That meant his wife, Song Yanxi, could comfortably take home over two million.

That was more than enough to give her a good life.

Chen Jianjun and Peng Ying were amazed—who would have thought their son could grow his business so quickly in just a few years?

As long as these five stores remained, their future would be secure.

But the real shock came when they arrived home.

Upon hearing that the villa cost 15 million—and was paid in full—Chen Qi nearly jumped three meters in the air.

"What the hell?! Did you win the lottery or something? Teach your clueless little sister some tricks, will you?"

After an exhausting train ride, Chen Jianjun and Peng Ying stayed on the first floor to rest.

Chen Qi also had a room on the first floor—just enough space for everyone.

By the time Song Yanxi finished cooking, it was already 7 PM.

The old couple went straight to bed after dinner, but Chen Qi wanted to explore the neighborhood.

Song Yanxi took her and little An'an to a nearby shopping mall.

Aside from picking out two new outfits for Chen Qi, she also gifted her a Longines Elegant Collection watch—worth around 16,000 yuan.

She had never been this generous to her own younger sister, Song Wu, but she had no reservations when it came to Chen Qi.

Seeing her aunt receive gifts, little An'an naturally wanted one too.

After browsing around, she finally chose a giant stuffed toy.

"You already have enough stuffed animals to fill an entire room. Do you really need another one?" Song Yanxi teased.

An'an replied smartly, "Those are for hugging. This one is just for looking!"

Fine, she won.

The giant plushie cost nearly 1,000 yuan.

An'an giggled, satisfied.

Back home, Chen Pingsheng was playing Chinese chess with his father in the backyard.

Seeing them return, he said, "Yanxi, in a few days, help my sister practice driving. I'll take her to enroll in a driving school. Once she learns, I'll give her the Audi."

Driving tests in Beijing weren't as strict yet, and many places still allowed you to "buy" a license with some extra cash.

As for the Audi A4, he felt it was perfect for Chen Qi.

After all, it was only half a year old and looked brand new.

"Bro, you're too generous! I have money; you don't need to gift me a car! Look, sis-in-law even got me a Longines watch—how does it look?"

Chen Qi proudly showed off her new quartz watch.

"It looks great, but as a girl, you'll need a car, too."

Chen Pingsheng added, "Besides, you're at the age to start dating. Without a decent setup, people won't take you seriously."

He knew that struggle all too well.

For six years, his mother-in-law had never acknowledged him.

With just one little sister, how could he not spoil her?

"Bro, give me my sister-in-law's car. What does she need it for anyway?"

"Obviously, she'll be driving my Panamera."

Chen Pingsheng explained, "I still need to buy a bigger car for myself. Now that you guys are here, one car isn't enough—it's too inconvenient."

Song Yanxi loved her Porsche.

Ever since she got it, she barely drove her Audi A4 anymore.

Might as well give the Audi to them. Meanwhile, he was set on getting a seven-seater.

He had already narrowed down his choices—

A Range Rover, a BMW X7, or a Lincoln Navigator.

One of these would do. After all, a man should drive a big car.

It's all about making a statement.