Chapter 24 Family Reunion

Lu City, Linnan County, Qingpu Town.

This was a small town with a total population of only over 20,000 people.

Chen Feng’s hometown was here. His ancestors were farmers, and in this generation, there were two brothers in the family.

His older brother, Chen Rui, started working after graduating from junior high school. He had been a chef’s apprentice, a taxi driver, and a businessman. Later, he got married and had children, becoming a truck driver with his own small truck, helping people transport goods.

His sister-in-law, Li Guihong, was his older brother’s junior high school classmate. She worked in a small factory in the town and was also very diligent.

The two of them didn’t earn much money, but it was enough to provide for their small family.

As for Chen Feng’s parents, they opened a small shop at home and helped take care of their eldest son’s children.

Chen Rui had two children in a row, both daughters.

Fortunately, the idea of valuing boys over girls was not so serious now, and the whole family doted on these two little treasures.

Including Chen Feng, most of the gifts he brought back this time were for these two little nieces.

When he got home, it was almost five o’clock in the afternoon. At this time, the two little ones had already come home from kindergarten. The older one, six years old, was called Xiaoyu, and the younger one, four years old, was called Xiaoxue.

When Chen Feng got out of the taxi, he saw them playing at the entrance of the small shop.

“Xiaoyu, Xiaoxue.”

Chen Feng called out to them.

As a result, the two little ones looked at him with surprise, not recognizing him.

This was understandable. The last time they met was during the National Day holiday a year ago, and they had only seen him a few times during video calls with their parents, so it was normal that they didn’t remember him, their uncle.

“I’m your second uncle, have you forgotten?”

As Chen Feng said this, the two little ones finally reacted. Especially the older one, Xiaoyu, seemed to have finally remembered. She quickly ran up with a warm smile and called out “Second Uncle,” which made Chen Feng overjoyed. He couldn’t help but pick her up.

Xiaoxue was a little younger and just stood there dumbfounded, not coming up to greet him.

Of course, Chen Feng didn’t mind. He took the initiative to go over and pick up Xiaoxue as well, one on each side.

“Second Uncle brought you a lot of gifts this time. If you call me Second Uncle, I’ll give you the gifts.”

Chen Feng said to the obviously somewhat introverted Xiaoxue.

Xiaoyu immediately happily called out “Second Uncle,” “Second Uncle.” Xiaoxue glanced at the large package behind Chen Feng and finally called out sweetly, “Second Uncle.” Chen Feng happily replied, “Yes,” then put them down, went over to pick up the large package, and said, “Alright, let’s go inside. I’ll give you your gifts.”

The two little nieces immediately followed behind Chen Feng with smiles on their faces.

There was no one in the small shop now, and business was as usual. On their street, which was less than two hundred meters long, there were four small shops.

“Mom, I’m back!” Chen Feng shouted towards the back room on the first floor.

His family’s three-story house on the street had the small shop in the front room on the first floor facing the street, and the back room was the kitchen and dining room. Chen Feng heard the sound of cooking from there.

Sure enough, his mother Zhao Xiaolan’s voice came from behind, “I know, wait a minute. The food is almost ready. Call your brother and tell him to come back for dinner as soon as he finishes this delivery.”

“Okay,” Chen Feng agreed and called his brother.

His brother was on his way back.

After finishing the call, the two little ones in front of him were looking at him eagerly. Chen Feng quickly opened the large package and gave them their gifts.

Barbie dolls, bubble cameras, small teddy bears, magic kaleidoscopes, electronic magic wands, and so on, all in pairs. The two little ones were so happy that their faces were beaming with smiles and they cheered.

“Why did you buy them so many things?”

Zhao Xiaolan came over and complained for a while, but seeing her two granddaughters happy, she didn’t say much more.

Not long after, his sister-in-law, Li Guihong, also came over. Chen Feng also brought her a gift, a set of cosmetics, which inevitably led to a round of polite remarks.

Then, his older brother, Chen Rui, and his father, Chen Dayong, came back together. His father sometimes worked as a porter with the truck to earn money.

Although they were a little upset about Chen Feng’s divorce, the family was considered reunited.

Chen Rui pulled Chen Feng, and the two brothers drank a lot of wine together. In the end, both brothers were a little drunk, and Chen Feng didn’t even know how he got back to his room.

When he woke up, it was already the next morning.

His original room, the back room on the second floor, had been laid out like this since he was in middle school, when their family had just moved in.

He went to the toilet to wash up and went downstairs to eat. It was already past nine in the morning, and everyone else in the family was already up.

“There’s hot sticky rice in the kitchen.”

Zhao Xiaolan, who was busy in the small shop, shouted to Chen Feng.

“I know,” Chen Feng also replied reflexively.

Similar scenes had happened countless times. He used to take it for granted and didn’t think much of it, but now that his time was short, he was suddenly very moved and his nose felt a little sour.

This was just a daily conversation that countless families had. Many people often ignored it, and even didn’t know how to cherish and be grateful for it. He used to be about the same.

It wasn’t until now that he was about to die that he suddenly realized that he hadn’t repaid his parents for raising him, and that he knew how much his parents had silently given him.

After eating the sticky rice personally cooked by his mother, with dried shrimp, chopped dried tofu, and minced meat, mixed with chopped green onions, and served with a bowl of seaweed and egg soup, it was truly the most delicious breakfast.

This kind of breakfast and taste could only be eaten at home, not outside.

After eating the remaining two bowls of sticky rice, Chen Feng suddenly had tears in his eyes.

He wiped the few tears from the corners of his eyes with a tissue, picked up his phone and called his older brother, Chen Rui, asking him to come back for lunch to discuss something.

Chen Rui readily agreed.

Chen Feng then went to the small shop to help sort the goods. During this time, he met a few familiar neighbors and inevitably exchanged some pleasantries.

Time quickly passed to noon.

Chen Rui and Chen Dayong came back together, and his sister-in-law, Li Guihong, also came home from the factory. The two little nieces were at kindergarten.

Everyone finished their meal first, and then the father and three sons drank beer.

Only then did Chen Feng speak, “Brother, didn’t you always want to open a car detailing shop? I plan to open one with you. I’ll provide the money and you’ll provide the labor. We’ll split the shares four to six.”

As Chen Feng said this, everyone was stunned.

Zhao Xiaolan was the first to ask, “Where did you get the money?”

Chen Feng had to say, “I won five hundred thousand in the lottery last time. This money is just sitting there, so I might as well invest it.”

“Really?” Chen Dayong, who rarely spoke, couldn’t help but widen his eyes. He was a veteran lottery player and had been buying lottery tickets for more than ten years, both sports lottery and welfare lottery, but the biggest prize he had ever won was 20 yuan.

“Really,” Chen Feng said frankly, “I plan to take out 300,000 to open the shop. Brother, do you think that’s enough?”

Chen Rui quickly said, “That’s definitely enough. We can open one on the national highway. The rent for a shop here is not expensive. The main costs are decoration, equipment, and materials. At most, 200,000 will be enough. But if we choose to join a franchise, there will be some franchise fees.”

“Do you think it’s better to join a franchise or go it alone?”

Chen Rui thought for a moment and said, “Each has its own advantages and disadvantages. Overall, it’s definitely better to join some big brands, as they are more formal.”

“Then let’s join a franchise. You pick a brand with a good reputation. It doesn’t matter if we spend all 500,000.”

Zhao Xiaolan frowned, “Xiaofeng, although you won this money, you can’t just spend it recklessly.”

Chen Feng smiled, “Don’t worry, Mom. This car detailing shop will definitely make money if we open it on the national highway. How many vehicles pass by on the national highway every day? And our town doesn’t even have a real car detailing shop, only an informal private car wash. Business is very good every day.”

Chen Rui added, “There are two now, both informal, but business is very good for both.”

“That’s it. Anyway, opening this shop will definitely not be a loss.”

“Alright. You two brothers can discuss it yourselves. But, even between brothers, accounts must be settled clearly. You have to sign a contract later. You can’t turn against each other for money and not even be brothers anymore,” Zhao Xiaolan said with a serious face.

“How is that possible?”

“How is that possible?”

The two brothers retorted in unison, with great tacit understanding.

Chen Feng smiled, “See, we brothers won’t fight over money. Don’t worry.”

Then, Chen Rui began to discuss with Chen Feng, and they finalized some details.

(End of Chapter)