Chapter 162: The Eccentric Little Uncle and the Doting Mother

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, the whole family got up relatively late.

Xiaoyu and Xiaoxue, the two youngest members of the family, wished their uncle Chen Feng and their granduncle who was staying at home a happy new year, saying auspicious words like “Gong Xi Fa Cai, Hong Bao Na Lai” (Congratulations and be prosperous, give me a red envelope).

Chen Feng was well-prepared. He directly took out two red envelopes from his coat pocket and handed them to his two little nieces, each with one thousand yuan as lucky money.

“Thank you, uncle!”

The two little girls now understood the benefits of money. They happily came over and each gave him a kiss on the cheek.

When it was their granduncle’s turn, this granduncle was very proactive. Before the two little girls could say any auspicious words, he immediately took out two prepared red envelopes and handed one to each of them.

Then, under the guidance of their mother, they shouted “Thank you, granduncle” together.

However, afterwards, his sister-in-law, Li Guihong, opened the red envelopes and saw that each was only one hundred yuan. She couldn’t help but secretly pout.

He hadn’t given their daughters lucky money for several years. Now he finally gave it once, but it was only one hundred yuan, which was definitely too little.

After lunch, the entire Chen family, plus Zhao Guozhong, this little uncle, went to their great uncle’s house to pay a New Year’s visit.

This was a tradition that Chen Feng’s family had started when he was a child. Every first day of the Lunar New Year, they would go to their great uncle’s house to pay a New Year’s visit, along with their little uncle who was not yet divorced at the time.

Later, their great uncle passed away, but their family’s tradition did not change, because their great aunt was still alive, as well as their great uncle’s son and daughter.

So, every first day of the Lunar New Year, they still went to their great uncle’s house to pay a New Year’s visit.

This might be the so-called “heaven and earth are big, but the uncle is the biggest” in the folk. According to traditional folk customs, among all relatives, the uncle’s status was generally the highest.

When he was a child, it was very troublesome to go to his uncle’s house because of the inconvenient transportation. He had to transfer twice by car, taking a big detour. The road for cycling was not good, and it was not convenient to bring children.

But more than ten years ago, after the roads on both sides were repaired, it became more convenient. It took about thirty or forty minutes to ride a bicycle, and a motorcycle was faster, taking only a dozen minutes. It was the same for driving a car.

This time, of course, they all drove there, one car for each of the two brothers.

At this time, little uncle Zhao Guozhong knew that each of the two brothers had a car, and he couldn’t help but be very surprised and envious.

He sat in Chen Feng’s car, in the passenger seat, and said to Chen Feng with a smile, “Ah Feng, how about you lend me this car for a few days?”

“Not good,” Chen Feng directly refused. “I have use for this car these few days.”

Zhao Guozhong’s eyes rolled, and he said with a smile, “Then lend it to me in a few days when you’re not using it.”

“Can you drive?” Chen Feng asked unhappily.

“Look at what you’re saying,” Zhao Guozhong glared and said, “I’ve had my driver’s license for several years. I also have a car in the northeast, but it’s too far to drive here. I’m going to find a few friends to connect with in a few days. There are women. It’s convenient to have a car when I go out, and it’s also good for my face.”

Chen Feng said perfunctorily, “We’ll see.”

Zhao Guozhong immediately turned his head and said to Zhao Xiaolan in the back seat, “Sister, I’m going to see a woman in a few days. A friend of mine introduced her. She runs a beauty salon and has a son in college. You can ask Ah Feng to lend me his car then.”

Zhao Xiaolan immediately asked with concern, “How is that woman? How long has she been divorced? Where is she from?”

“This woman is not bad. I’ve seen her picture and chatted with her on WeChat once. She’s forty-five, but she looks like she’s in her thirties. After all, she runs a beauty salon and knows how to dress up and take care of herself. She’s not divorced. Her husband died in a car accident a few years ago. She runs a beauty salon in our town, and she’s from Lishui Town.”

“Sounds not bad. Then go and see her. Ah Feng, you can let your uncle drive your car then.”

Chen Feng was speechless for a while.

“Ah Feng, did you hear what your mother said?” Zhao Guozhong asked smugly.

After Chen Feng rolled his eyes at him, he said, “This car of mine is only about 200,000 yuan, which is a bit shabby. I think you might as well rent a BMW or Mercedes, or an Audi. Your success rate in blind dates will definitely increase a lot then.”

Zhao Guozhong’s eyes lit up, and he said with a smile, “You kid have a good head. But renting a car is not cheap, right? I’m not familiar with it, and I don’t know where to rent one. Why don’t you help your uncle rent one?”

“Alright. I’ll take you there then.”

“I mean, you help me rent one. I don’t know how, so I won’t go.”

“Then give me your ID card, driver’s license, and a thousand yuan. I’ll help you with the procedures.”

“It’s so troublesome. I’d rather drive your car.”

Chen Feng rolled his eyes at him again and didn’t answer.

In the verbal confrontation between the two, neither of them gained any advantage.

As for lending the car to his little uncle, he was definitely not willing. It wasn’t that he was stingy, but he knew that his little uncle was unreliable. Lending him the car would just be asking for trouble, right? He wasn’t that stupid.

As for his mother, Chen Feng had ways to deal with her then.

More than ten minutes later, they arrived at their great uncle’s house. His aunt and her two children, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, and their children were all there. It was very lively.

Chen Feng’s older cousin was thirty-six years old this year and had a son. His older cousin was thirty-eight years old and had a daughter and a son.

Now that Chen Feng’s whole family was here, plus a little uncle, it was even more lively.

After presenting the New Year’s gifts, the two families chatted for a while. It was mainly his mother and his great aunt talking, then his older brother and his older cousin talking. Chen Feng chatted with his older cousin’s husband for a while.

Then, the elders of both sides gave lucky money to the grandchildren. It wasn’t much for each child, just two or three hundred yuan, just for good luck.

After chatting for a while, his little uncle suggested gambling, and he would be the dealer.

Except for Chen Feng and Chen Dayong, Chen Rui, his older cousin, and his older cousin’s husband all responded positively.

Then the gambling began. Chen Dayong finally joined in after his brother-in-law’s repeated invitations.

Zhao Guozhong also persuaded Chen Feng, but Chen Feng directly took out his phone and pretended to make a call and went out.

This gambling session lasted for more than two hours. In the end, Chen Dayong lost more than two thousand, Chen Rui lost more than one thousand, and Zhao Guozhong won more than five thousand. Taking advantage of his great aunt calling everyone to have some snacks, he happily stopped the gambling.

Chen Dayong and his son were both a little depressed, but it was not good to say to continue gambling.

After eating the snacks and chatting for a while, the Chen family declined the invitation of their great aunt to stay for dinner and went home. Little uncle Zhao Guozhong also continued to follow them back.

In fact, his own house was not far from his great uncle’s house, but it was just a two-story old house with a history of more than twenty years. It had not been properly decorated inside. He hadn’t lived there for several years, so it seemed he was too lazy to go back and clean it up and then move in.

“Ah Feng, I’ll take you out to have some fun tonight.”
Zhao Guozhong was still sitting in the passenger seat. Because he had won money in the afternoon, he looked very spirited.

“What fun?” Zhao Xiaolan scolded unceremoniously. “You’re so old. Just stay at home. Ah Feng is going to his aunt’s house to pay a New Year’s visit early tomorrow morning. You don’t have to go out and find your bad friends. When you were in trouble back then, did any of them help you?”

Zhao Guozhong said with some embarrassment, “Sister, it’s been so long. I’m rarely back. I definitely have to gather with a few friends.”

“What’s there to gather about? Listen to me, just stay at my house. I’ll help you find a good woman in a few days and find one for you.”

“Didn’t I tell you before? That one who runs a beauty salon is very good. I’m chatting with her now. You don’t have to bother looking for me.”

“You haven’t even met her yet, and you think she’s suitable? She runs a beauty salon. Can she really take a fancy to you? I think it’s better to find you an honest and decent one, preferably one who can go to the northeast with you to do business.”

“Ahem, this, I might not go to the northeast. A fallen leaf returns to its roots. I want to find some business to do here in my hometown. Sister, brother-in-law, do you have any good connections?”

Zhao Xiaolan and Chen Dayong looked at each other. Chen Feng said, “Little uncle, I remember you still have two acres of land, right? I think you might as well use these two acres of land, fence them up and plant some trees, and then raise some chickens and ducks to lay eggs. You also know how expensive free-range eggs are now. This will definitely make money. In addition, when those trees grow up in a few years, they can also be sold for money.”

Zhao Guozhong said unhappily, “You’re making fun of me. How can I raise chickens and ducks?”

“It shouldn’t be difficult, right? You’re from a farming family after all. If you don’t know how, you can ask my dad to teach you. I plan to let my dad do this this year.”

Chen Dayong also said, “This is a good idea. Planting trees, raising some chickens and ducks, it’s not very tiring, it’s very easy.”

Hearing this, Zhao Guozhong couldn’t help but roll his eyes. Although he was from a farming family, because he was the youngest in the family, he had basically never done any farm work since he was a child.

“Sister, I heard that the car wash shop run by Ah Rui’s two brothers has very good business. Why don’t I learn from them and open one? Just open it in our town. What do you think?”

Zhao Guozhong didn’t hide it anymore and directly stated his plan.

In fact, the reason why he came to his second sister’s house on New Year’s Eve was because he had heard from a friend that Chen Feng’s two brothers had opened a car wash shop and were making a lot of money.

Hearing his words, Chen Feng immediately understood. His little uncle was waiting for this.

To open a car beauty shop, the initial investment was tens of thousands. His little uncle definitely didn’t have that much capital.

So where would the money come from? Of course, it would still fall on his two good older sisters, especially his second sister who doted on him more, and even his two nephews.

Chen Dayong and Zhao Xiaolan were not stupid. Hearing Zhao Guozhong say this, they of course also understood the cause and effect.

Zhao Xiaolan was disappointed and sighed, “The capital for their two brothers to open this shop was more than 400,000. Can you afford it?”

Zhao Guozhong smiled awkwardly, “I want to partner with my two nephews. I’ll invest 100,000.”

Hearing this, Zhao Xiaolan was a little surprised, “You can afford 100,000?”

Zhao Guozhong quickly said, “My money is all tied up in a batch of export goods now. It will take a few months to get the payment back. I want to borrow 100,000 from you and my older sister to tide me over, open the car wash shop first, and then I’ll pay you back with interest as soon as I get the payment back.”

Chen Feng couldn’t help but chuckle twice. How thick-skinned must one be to say such words.

A few years ago, he had already borrowed 50,000 from his two older sisters. Now he wanted to borrow again, and with such a lame excuse.

“Little uncle, my mother said it costs more than 400,000 to open such a shop. Even if you borrow another 100,000 from my mother and my great aunt, there’s still a gap of more than 300,000. My brother and I don’t have that much money now.”

“Ah Feng, I’m your uncle, your own family. Why are you crying poor to me? Who doesn’t know that the car wash shop run by you and your brother is making a lot of money? You earn at least several thousand a day. I also heard that you have connections in government agencies and have driven the other two car wash shops out of business, so that no one dares to open a car wash shop in Qingpu Town anymore.”

“This is hearsay. How can we have such great ability?” Chen Feng immediately denied. “And the shop doesn’t earn several thousand a day. At most, it’s one or two thousand.”

“One or two thousand is not a small amount. Ah Feng, I’m your uncle. You and your brother must help me.”

Chen Feng was speechless.

Zhao Xiaolan pondered for a moment and said, “Let’s discuss this matter again. The two brothers don’t have that much money to open another shop.”

“If you don’t have it on hand, you can get a loan. You can use the car and house as collateral, or you can use the shop as collateral. It’s easy to get a loan of 300,000.”

Chen Feng was speechless again.

“Let’s talk about it when we get back. We’ll discuss it again.”

Hearing his mother’s words, Chen Feng was really impressed. This was clearly the rhythm of a doting brother.

“Alright, then we’ll discuss it when we get back.”

After saying this, Zhao Guozhong sighed and played the emotional card, “Sister, I’ll be forty-eight after the New Year. I’m about to turn fifty. If I don’t have a career, I’ll really be a bachelor for the rest of my life. I don’t care about being a bachelor myself, but I’m afraid that when I die, I won’t be able to face my parents.”

Hearing him mention his deceased parents, and then thinking of their last words asking her to take care of her younger brother, Zhao Xiaolan’s eyes immediately turned red.

Chen Feng was also really impressed with his little uncle. He quickly said, “Alright, alright. Why are you bringing up grandpa and grandma? We can discuss the matter of opening a shop and then decide.”

Originally, Chen Feng really didn’t like his little uncle, but who let him have a good sister, and this good sister was his own mother.

In order to prevent his mother from worrying about his little uncle, this younger brother, and feeling sad, Chen Feng, as a son, could only think of a way to let his little uncle settle down.

“Haha, good nephew, I knew you wouldn’t not help. It’s not in vain that I let you ride me like a horse back then.”

Chen Feng couldn’t help but roll his eyes. He had indeed ridden him like a horse when he was a child, but it was really boring for him to mention it from time to time.

When they got home and got out of the car, Zhao Guozhong immediately went to Chen Rui to talk about partnering to open a shop. Chen Rui’s face immediately looked constipated.

When the family returned to the house, Zhao Xiaolan said to the two brothers that if they could help with this matter, they should try their best. She also said that since this car wash shop was so profitable, they could indeed open a second one. If they didn’t have enough money, she could provide some financial support to the two brothers.

This meaning was already very obvious. She felt that it was very reliable to let her younger brother partner with her two sons to open a car wash shop, and she wanted her two sons to bring her younger brother to make money together.

Chen Rui and Chen Feng were both extremely filial. Could they raise objections? No.

With Zhao Xiaolan, this older sister, backing him up, a matter that originally seemed very difficult was about to be settled so smoothly.

However, although Chen Feng was filial, he was not that stupid. He directly said to his little uncle, “Little uncle, since my mother has said so, it’s not good for us to refuse. But business is business. We have to agree on the conditions before we partner.”

Zhao Guozhong smiled and nodded, “Of course, you say.”

Chen Feng said seriously, “First of all, as the major shareholders, we, the two brothers, will arrange the shop manager; secondly, you cannot interfere with the shop’s business activities. To put it simply, you just have to wait for the dividends.”