At this moment, Jiang Hongye finally realized that the gap between the 1960s and the 1990s wasn’t just skin-deep.
A profound sense of helplessness and bewilderment washed over him.
It washed over everyone present, too.
The cigarette dangling from his lips dropped onto his clothes, only to be whisked away by the wind a moment later, vanishing into the snow and dying out in an instant.
He felt as if time itself had come to a standstill.
Only one thought occupied Jiang Hongye’s mind: Did Jiang Nian buy this Range Rover?
“Are you making this up?”
The words tumbled out of Jiang Hongye’s mouth before he could even think.
It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Jiang Nian.
It was just that, to him, this was simply too unbelievable.
Jiang Hongye loved cars, especially Range Rovers, and precisely because of that, he knew exactly how expensive this car was!
He hadn’t mistaken it—this was last year’s newest model, the 2011 Vogue Supercharged Edition!
A 5.0-liter turbocharged V8 engine—it cost at least three million yuan, conservatively!
Three million!
To Jiang Hongye, who had lived an honest, simple life his entire years—either working the land or toiling in a factory—
this was an unimaginable, astronomical sum!
Hearing this, Jiang Nian couldn’t help but chuckle: “Dad, that’s not a very nice thing to say. Why would I lie to you about something like this? The car just arrived today, and I’ve got the purchase certificate right inside. If you don’t believe me, I’ll go grab it for you.”
“No, no, that’s not necessary.”
Seeing Jiang Nian about to head to the car, Jiang Hongye quickly stopped him. The shock from all of this was already too much to handle—it was making it hard for him to breathe.
If Jiang Nian actually brought out the purchase certificate, Jiang Hongye felt he might just pass out from the sheer weight of it all.
Seeing his father like this, Jiang Nian didn’t push further.
His mother, on the other hand, didn’t understand all the fuss. She found it quite puzzling, so she looked at Jiang Hongye and asked quietly, “What’s wrong with you, dear? It’s just a car—why are you making such a big deal out of it?”
Those words gave Jiang Hongye an outlet for his pent-up feelings. He looked at his wife, his mouth twitching: “Just a car? Do you have any idea how expensive this car is?”
Jiang’s mother was unimpressed: “No matter how expensive it is, you don’t have to carry on like that.”
“Three million!”
“What?!”
Jiang’s mother let out a shriek—she nearly jumped right out of her skin: “How much did you say? Three million?!”
“Yes, and that’s the base price. If you add any extra features, it could easily be four or five million.”
“!!!”
At that, Jiang’s mother sucked in a sharp breath of cold air, her head spinning.
If her husband hadn’t been right there watching, quick as a flash, and grabbed her arm,
she would have hit the ground with a thump.
Her lips trembling, she stared at Jiang Nian in utter terror: “Ji-Jiang Nian, where did you get all that money?”
Jiang Nian shrugged nonchalantly: “From making movies, of course.”
“You can make that much from acting?”
“Of course—why else do you think so many people are dying to get into showbiz?”
At that, Jiang’s mother was speechless.
Because this was simply beyond her comprehension.
Meanwhile, Jiang Nian noticed the snow and wind picking up around them, so he said, “Alright, Mom, Dad, it’s freezing out here—no point hanging around outside. Let’s get inside. We’ve got a lot to do today—I bought quite a bit of stuff, and it’s all waiting for you to unbox.”
“Huh? Oh, right, right—inside, let’s get inside!”
His mother snapped out of it, nodding repeatedly, and quickly led Jiang Nian into the house.
Now, over at the doorway, although the heavy snow had kept Chubby Xiao from catching what Jiang Nian and his parents had been saying,
he still recognized Jiang Nian. And judging by the current scene—the convoy of cars, the people hauling boxes around the yard—chances were they were all hired by Jiang Nian!
“Holy crap!”
Chubby Xiao’s jaw dropped. He wondered if he was still dreaming.
At that moment, Jiang Nian spotted him too.
Facing this uncle who had always doted on him growing up—who had even gritted his teeth and lent his family twenty thousand yuan back in 2009 when everyone was scraping by—Jiang Nian dropped any pretense of airs and greeted him warmly: “Hey, Uncle Zhao, coming over for a visit?”
Chubby Xiao swallowed hard: “Y-yeah, Xiao Jiang, all these people are…”
“Oh, they’re just helpers I hired to move stuff in. After all, I haven’t been back in years, and now that I’m home, I figure I should stock the place up a bit. Come on, let’s head inside—if you all don’t go in, they won’t feel comfortable coming in either, right? And with this freezing weather, we can’t just leave them standing out there like idiots.”
“Yeah, right—come in, come in, quick!”
Chubby Xiao hurriedly answered, then stepped aside to let Jiang’s parents and Jiang Nian enter first before following behind.
Stepping inside.
The warm, toasty air mixed with the smell of coal smoke and that indescribable scent of an old house washed over them.
Jiang Nian couldn’t help but take a few deep breaths. He rubbed his hands together, looking around the house he’d lived in for over a decade—so familiar yet so strange—and sighed: “After all these years, it really hasn’t changed a bit.”
Then he turned to the people who had followed him in: “Just put the stuff on the floor.”
“Okay.”
They nodded and stacked the boxes off to the side.
Hearing that, Jiang’s mother finally remembered the boxes and couldn’t help asking, “Nian’er, what did you buy? Why are there so many?”
Jiang Nian waved a hand: “Oh, nothing special—just some everyday stuff. Clothes, cigarettes, liquor, cosmetics, therapy devices, skincare products—a little bit of everything. You’ll see when you open them up.”
His tone was completely casual.
As if these were all just little trinkets.
His mother nodded but couldn’t help chiding him: “You know, buying stuff when you come home is fine, but why’d you buy cosmetics? Who are they for—your dad or me?”
Jiang Nian smiled: “They’re for you, of course. I mean, my mom’s so good-looking—how can you not have some makeup to show that off? Go ahead, open them up and see if you like them.”
“You and your sweet talk.”
His mother shot him a mock glare, but the smile on her face never faded.
After all, what woman wouldn’t want to become even more beautiful?
So she shuffled back into the room to look for scissors.
Seeing that, Jiang Nian was taken aback.
He didn’t recall his mom’s legs being this unsteady before he’d left.
Then he looked at Jiang Hongye and noticed that his hand kept moving to his lower back, rubbing it constantly.
Jiang Nian sensed something was off and quickly scanned the room.
Sure enough, it didn’t take long before he spotted all kinds of medicines stacked inside the cabinet.
Jiang Nian narrowed his eyes.
Just then, his mother found the scissors and came back out.
Because Jiang Nian had specifically instructed Zhang Linyu to pack everything in plain boxes,
from the outside, there was no way to tell what was inside each box.
This was one of Jiang Nian’s little tricks—he wanted his parents to experience the joy of unboxing mystery gifts.
And since Jiang Nian had acted so casual about everything, his parents figured the stuff in the boxes probably wasn’t all that expensive.
So they randomly picked a box and opened it.
Immediately, several reddish-brown square boxes wrapped in bubble foam padding came into view.
Seeing this, the older couple froze.
“This is…”
“Holy crap, Moutai?!”
Chubby Xiao glanced over from the side and immediately changed expression, exclaiming in surprise!
Jiang Nian laughed: “Oh, Uncle Zhao, you’ve got a good eye—recognized it right away?”
Chubby Xiao ignored Jiang Nian’s teasing and quickly stepped closer: “One… three… seven… nine? Nine bottles?”
“Where would that be? There are still a few more boxes over here.” Jiang Nian reminded him.
“???” Chubby Xiao was utterly stunned: “Xiao Jiang, did you rob the entire Moutai town?!”
“Ha! You caught me. Dad, Mom, shut the door—Uncle Zhao’s not leaving today.” Jiang Nian joked.
“Cut the crap. No, seriously—how much did all this cost?”
“Not that much. About… five hundred thousand? Since my dad’s a drinker, I got him a little extra. Oh, and Uncle Zhao, take a few bottles home too—otherwise, I’m afraid you’ll turn me in for robbing Moutai town tomorrow.”
“Screw you—do you really think your Uncle Zhao is that kind of person?”
“Hard to say.”
“Hmm?” Chubby Xiao raised an eyebrow.
Jiang Nian quickly corrected himself: “No, no, of course not—my Uncle Zhao would never do something like that.”
But then Chubby Xiao said in a low, meaningful tone: “That’s hard to say.”
Jiang Nian: “?! Potter, are you using my own spells against me?!”
While Jiang Nian and Chubby Xiao were bantering back and forth,
Jiang’s parents had gradually finished opening the other boxes.
At first, they were still in shock.
But as time went on,
they became numb.
Not just because there was so much stuff in the boxes.
More importantly, among all these things, there were plenty of items whose names they couldn’t even pronounce!
They had to go online and search just to figure out the brand!
“This…”
The older couple was dumbfounded.
Their feelings were incredibly complicated.
On one hand, they felt overwhelmed—as genuine country folk, they’d never used such luxurious things in their entire lives.
On the other hand, they also felt incredibly proud.
Because if Jiang Nian could afford all this, it meant he’d truly made something of himself out there—he’d succeeded!
But the changes Jiang Nian brought home didn’t stop there.
Not long after those movers left with their boxes,
several more vehicles pulled up in front of the house.
Except this time, they weren’t luxury cars—they were flatbed trucks.
And loaded on them was the furniture Jiang Nian had bought.
Watching these people busily moving things in and out,
for a moment, Jiang’s parents weren’t quite sure if this was even their home anymore.
And when they were all done, and they looked around again,
the house had undergone a complete transformation.
First and foremost was the washing machine that had always given Jiang’s mother trouble every winter—now replaced with the latest model on the market, packed with all sorts of functions.
Next was the refrigerator—the bulky old chest freezer had been swapped for a sleek, modern double-door model.
And then there were the mattresses.
Jiang Nian had bought the best ones available—not only could they automatically adjust to the most comfortable position based on how you slept, but they also came with massage and therapy features to relieve any aches and pains.
To put it bluntly, to make up for not coming home the past two years, Jiang Nian had gone all out.
But he didn’t regret it one bit.
Because seeing the surprise and delight on his parents’ faces made him feel like everything he’d done was worth it.
What was he working so hard to earn money for?
Wasn’t it so he and his parents could live a better life?
And if you’ve got money, why hoard it?
What’s the point of making money if you’re not going to spend it?
“Oh my god, Xiao Jiang… you—you’ve really made it big!”
Standing off to the side, watching Jiang Nian’s home go from a run-down old place to completely refreshed in just over an hour—fine liquor, cigarettes, and tea stacked in several boxes, designer clothes covering the beds, and even the furniture changed—Chubby Xiao was absolutely gobsmacked.
Hearing that, Jiang Nian couldn’t help but feel a little proud: “Of course—I’ve been out there for years. If I hadn’t made something of myself, that’d be a total waste!”
“Right, right, right!” Chubby Xiao nodded repeatedly, then smiled wryly: “I was actually talking smack about you to your parents earlier—saying you’d made it out there but still couldn’t be bothered to come home for a visit. Now it looks like I’ve been thoroughly slapped in the face!”
“Come on now—you’re my real uncle. It’s only natural for an elder to scold a kid, right? And what you said made sense—I really haven’t been back all these years. I deserved that. But if you still feel bad about it, how about you call me ‘uncle’ for a change? I mean, I’ve been calling you ‘uncle’ for over twenty years—it wouldn’t hurt for you to return the favor, would it?”
Jiang Nian said with a grin.
“Get lost, you little punk.”
Chubby Xiao cursed at him, but the smile on his face was even wider than before.
Because this was exactly how Jiang Nian had always acted around him growing up—no respect for seniority, saying whatever came to mind.
Earlier, when Jiang Nian had been so polite, Chubby Xiao had worried that they’d grown apart.
But now it was clear—that was all just a setup.
The kid had been building up to this all along!
So he grabbed Jiang Nian in a headlock: “I’m the same generation as your dad—if I call you ‘uncle,’ does that mean your dad has to call you ‘uncle’ too? You little brat—after all these years out there, the only thing that’s grown is your smart mouth. Come on, let’s go to my place. You like talking so much? Today, your uncle will have a good long chat with you!”
“Ah, no, no—I just got home today. I gotta spend time with my parents. Next time, okay? Next time.”
Jiang Nian quickly declined.
Hearing that, Chubby Xiao figured he had a point, so he didn’t push: “Alright, then you stay here and keep your folks company. I won’t bother you guys anymore—I’m heading out.”
Normally, Jiang’s mother would have tried to persuade him to stay, but this time she nodded without hesitation: “Yeah, you should head out.”
“Huh?” Chubby Xiao blinked.
Then he heard Jiang’s mother continue: “What do you mean ‘huh’? Go home and bring your wife and kids over right now. We’re having dinner here tonight—and you’re all sleeping over too. Honey, go tidy up the rooms right now. I’m going to kill a goose and a chicken—tonight, we drink until we drop!”
Chubby Xiao let out a helpless laugh: “Alright! Drink until we drop!”
