"Wan'er, do you need me to take you home first?"
In the car, Su Yi checked the time, thinking his cousin and the others should be arriving soon, and couldn't help but say,
"Little Yi Ge still has to go to the train station to pick someone up."
Chu Wan sat in the back seat, feeling the refreshing cool breeze blowing in from outside the car window, and smiled,
"No need, wherever Little Yi Ge goes, I'll go."
"Alright."
Su Yi smiled and reminded her,
"Close the window a bit more, the autumn wind is quite cool."
"Mm."
Chu Wan gently nodded, obediently rolled up the window a bit, paused, and asked,
"Is the person Little Yi Ge is going to pick up your friend?"
Su Yi smiled and replied,
"Not a friend, a relative."
As he spoke, he told Chu Wan about his cousin and the relatives from his hometown whom Chu Wan had not met or known.
"Little Yi Ge's family is really kind."
Hearing Su Yi talk about how his relatives from his hometown had helped him in the past, Chu Wan praised them.
In her memory, after her mother, paternal grandparents, and maternal grandparents passed away, she had little contact with her relatives, and her father never mentioned them.
This made her quite unfamiliar with her family relatives.
Of course, relatives with whom one never interacts are not much different from strangers.
"They... truly are very good people."
Many familiar figures flashed through Su Yi's mind.
After a moment of thought, he said,
"Wan'er, when your eyes are cured, I'll take you back to our hometown in Yuzhou to see the Yangtze River, the hills, the majestic mountains, and the red leaves falling all over the mountains under the autumn sunset... Some scenery, Little Yi Ge can't describe it to you; you have to see it and feel it for yourself."
"Mm, alright!"
Chu Wan happily looked forward to the future.
Before, she felt it didn't matter that she couldn't see, because she had long been accustomed to darkness.
But now...
The beautiful things she yearned for in her heart were growing.
She began to hope her eyes would recover, to truly see the light of this world, and all the beautiful things she longed for in her heart.
She wanted to see what Little Yi Ge looked like, and also wanted to see the place where she lived.
She wanted to see the long river sunset and the solitary smoke in the desert from poems, and also all the beautiful scenery Little Yi Ge described to her.
The two chatted on and on.
Before they knew it, more than half an hour had passed.
Seeing that he was not far from Hongqiao Railway Station, Su Yi called his cousin and asked him to wait at the exit of the station.
Immediately after, his car drove into the designated pickup point for private vehicles at the train station.
From a distance, he saw his cousin and his cousin's wife, carrying large bags of luggage, waiting nervously and anxiously.
They were both carrying huge army-green cloth bags on their backs, holding a plastic bucket filled with various items in their hands, and only wearing thin shirts.
His cousin was very tall.
But he still tried hard to stand in front of everyone waiting, carefully watching every passing car, afraid that Su Yi wouldn't find him.
His cousin's wife stayed close to him.
The army-green cloth bag on her slender shoulders pressed down, making her back slightly bent.
Even so, her eyes closely followed her cousin's gaze, observing the passing vehicles with him.
Su Yi stopped the car in front of them, rolled down the window, and called out.
Su Jiah-hao heard the voice, looked around blankly, and it took a while before he dared to believe that the owner of the luxury car in front of him was his cousin, Su Yi.
"Just throw everything in the trunk."
Su Yi said, then quickly opened the trunk and got out to help.
"Why did you bring so much stuff?"
Su Yi saw that their luggage even included pots, bowls, and plates, and couldn't help but ask.
Su Jiah-hao replied somewhat sheepishly,
"These things will be useful once we get to Modu. I thought it would be a waste to throw them away there, so I brought them all."
"Cousin, this is your sister-in-law."
Su Jiah-hao introduced the girl next to him.
He and Tang Xiaoling had only been dating for a little over half a year, so he subconsciously assumed Su Yi wouldn't know Tang Xiaoling.
"Sister-in-law, hello!"
Su Yi smiled and extended his hand.
Tang Xiaoling looked at Su Yi's outstretched hand, nervously wiped her hand on her clothes, then shook Su Yi's hand briefly and softly said,
"Hello."
"Get in the car,"
Su Yi called out after putting all their belongings in the trunk.
Su Jiah-hao and Tang Xiaoling nodded.
But then, when Su Jiah-hao subconsciously opened the back passenger door and saw Chu Wan in the car, he suddenly froze.
"Wan'er, come sit in the front."
Su Yi quickly got back into the driver's seat and said, starting the car at the same time.
This lane couldn't be stopped in for long; in the short two or three minutes he spent helping with the luggage, cars behind them were already backed up and honking impatiently.
Chu Wan gently 'mm-hmmed' and gave Su Jiah-hao a bright smile.
Then, she moved from the back seat to the front passenger seat.
Su Jiah-hao and Tang Xiaoling quietly watched Chu Wan, both with surprised expressions on their faces.
They had never seen such a beautiful girl in real life.
Chu Wan's beauty, and her ethereal, clear temperament, were immediately apparent.
Before she met Su Yi, although Chu's father was very caring towards his daughter, he wouldn't meticulously style and dress Chu Wan, nor would he specially coordinate her outfits, much less buy her various designer clothes, skirt suits, and skincare products.
But now, with Su Yi's financial support, and Aunt Liu's careful care and styling.
Chu Wan's naturally excellent foundation was fully displayed.
Moreover, she was sixteen years old, her body changing every day, like a rosebud about to bloom, becoming more and more breathtakingly beautiful.
Especially Tang Xiaoling, when she saw Chu Wan.
A clear feeling of inferiority immediately arose in her heart.
"Cousin, aren't you going to introduce your sister-in-law to me and your sister-in-law?"
Su Jiah-hao jokingly said as the car left the train station and he recovered his senses.
He hadn't expected that after not seeing each other for over half a year, his cousin had found such a beautiful girlfriend.
However, after thinking about it carefully, he also found it logical.
After all, his cousin could afford a luxury car worth over a million; it was only right for him to find a girlfriend as beautiful as a celebrity.
Moreover, the shock Chu Wan brought him was truly far less than the shock this Porsche Cayenne brought him.
Because at the factory where he used to work, even their boss hadn't driven such a luxurious car.
This showed that...
his cousin was doing much better in Modu than he had expected.
"Cousin, I think you misunderstood."
Su Yi smiled when he heard Su Jiah-hao call Chu Wan "sister-in-law," and explained,
"Wan'er is my younger sister."
As he spoke, he briefly introduced Chu Wan's identity and background.
After listening, Su Jiah-hao's eyes clearly filled with pity for Chu Wan, and he sighed softly, saying,
"Alas, in this world... misfortune always targets the ill-fated!"
Tang Xiaoling also sighed softly in her heart when she heard about Chu Wan's background and experiences.
She had just been envying everything about Chu Wan.
She had thought Chu Wan must be the happiest person and the luckiest angel in the world, not only possessing beauty that ordinary people dreamed of, but also having such good family conditions.
Any casual item she wore was worth half a year's, or even several years', worth of her salary.
But she never expected...
that the girl she thought was happy was also an unfortunate soul.
"Hardship will always pass, and the future will always get better,"
Su Yi said with a smile.
"My parents went to Yanjing for a trip and haven't returned yet. For the next few days, you and sister-in-law can stay at my place. Later, once we find a suitable apartment, I'll help you move your luggage there. As for finding work... I have an idea I'd like to discuss with my cousin and sister-in-law. We can talk about it properly once we get home."
"Alright, no problem,"
Su Jiah-hao said.
He knew his cousin was capable, so he completely trusted whatever Su Yi said.
"Jiah-hao, look quickly, Modu is really so prosperous."
As Su Yi's car drove over the overpass and entered the core area of Modu, Tang Xiaoling looked at the countless skyscrapers outside the car, as well as the flashing billboards around, and her eyes filled with clear yearning and longing.
Su Jiah-hao followed his girlfriend's gaze and was also amazed by Modu's prosperity.
"If sister-in-law likes it here, then just let cousin buy an apartment here in the future,"
Su Yi said with a smile.
"Then, sister-in-law can shop in these places every day."
"Houses in Modu... must be very expensive, right?"
Tang Xiaoling asked.
Su Yi replied,
"In this area, it's currently around seventy to eighty thousand per square meter."
"Seventy to eighty thousand per square meter?"
Tang Xiaoling exclaimed,
"My goodness, my cousin's and my combined salaries, even if we didn't eat or drink for a year, would only be enough to buy one square meter of housing. Even if we didn't eat or drink for our entire lives, the money saved wouldn't be enough to buy a house here. Alas... actually, it's enough just to look at it here. For people like us, houses here are not something we should aspire to."
Both she and Su Jiah-hao only had high school diplomas.
Six or seven years in society had long made them realize the reality.
They understood the real class disparity that existed in this society, and also the vast wealth gap between people.
She wouldn't be like those girls fresh out of school, still dreaming of marrying into a wealthy family or accidentally meeting some rich second-generation heir.
She just wanted to use her own hands to make her life better, little by little.
It wasn't that she willingly chose an ordinary life; it was because, limited by her education, abilities, experience, family background... and other factors, she could only choose an ordinary life, working with her own hands on a factory assembly line, earning every penny through hard labor, and saving every cent by living frugally.
Then, she would spend that money on what truly mattered, on the 'edge of the blade'.
"That's right, it's enough just to see it here,"
His cousin Su Jiah-hao also said with a smile.
"This way, my sister-in-law and I can say we've experienced a big city. As for buying a house..."
Su Jiah-hao stopped speaking, not continuing further.
Currently, he had no job, and he didn't even know how he would live in the future.
How could he possibly consider buying a house?
"Dreams are still necessary. What if... they accidentally come true?"
Su Yi said with a smile.
"Cousin, you don't need to be modest. As long as you want to stay, you can establish roots in this city."
As they spoke, Su Yi's car had already driven into the community's underground parking garage.
He parked the car in a parking space.
Su Yi helped his cousin and his cousin's wife with some of the luggage, and holding Chu Wan's hand, returned home.
When Su Jiah-hao and Tang Xiaoling entered the house his cousin had bought, saw the exquisite interior decoration throughout, and through the floor-to-ceiling windows, gazed at the Huangpu River nearby and The Bund scenery under the setting sun's glow, the immense shock they felt internally was simply beyond words.
Moreover, when the two discovered that the house Su Yi bought was actually larger than their house back home.
And when they found out that Su Yi's home actually had two live-in nannies.
The impact on their hearts was even like a raging storm.
Before this, they had never seen what a rich person's mansion looked like, but at this moment... they finally experienced it firsthand.
"Cousin, how much did you spend to buy this house?"
After finishing their tour of the mansion his cousin bought, filled with shock, Su Jiah-hao couldn't help but ask curiously.
Su Yi smiled and said,
"Around 50 million, I suppose!"
"50... million!"
Su Jiah-hao almost sat down in shock when he heard that number.
Tang Xiaoling also widened her eyes in shock when she heard the number '50 million'.
Let alone 50 million, even 500,000 was already an astronomical figure for them.
They simply couldn't imagine how much money 50 million truly was; they only knew that based on their usual factory wages, even if they worked for eight lifetimes, they wouldn't earn that much.
"My goodness! How could you earn so much money?"
Su Jiah-hao said in disbelief.
From the moment he saw Su Yi driving a Porsche Cayenne, he had been guessing how much his cousin had earned during his year and a half of working hard in Modu after graduation.
He originally thought Su Yi had earned at least several million.
But now...
Even the house he lived in was worth 50 million; he truly couldn't imagine how much money he had actually earned.
Su Yi chuckled softly and said,
"It's alright, I haven't earned much, just enough to spend. Modu is full of hidden talents; the little money I've earned... it's nothing compared to those truly wealthy people."
"Alas... Cousin, do you know what my biggest regret is right now?"
Seeing Su Yi's currently enviable life, Su Jiah-hao sighed softly and said.
Su Yi asked doubtfully,
"What is your biggest regret, Cousin?"
"Regretting not studying hard when I was in school,"
Su Jiah-hao said.
"Now, after working for all these years, I truly understand the real gap between people like us and outstanding students from prestigious schools like you, cousin. Unfortunately... there's no such thing as regret medicine in this world."
He envied Su Yi, but he wasn't jealous.
Because he knew that this was the result of Su Yi's own struggles, relying on his abilities, insight, and courage.
Limited by his ability, education, and knowledge, even if he were given the same opportunities, he couldn't achieve what Su Yi had.
In other words, after years of being beaten down by society, he had already begun to resign himself to his fate, believing that he might spend his entire life as a diligent worker on an assembly line.
"It's alright, as long as you're willing to learn, it's never too late,"
Su Yi said with a smile, patting his cousin's shoulder.
"Oh, by the way, cousin, you mentioned earlier that you wanted to discuss something with me and your sister-in-law..."
Su Jiah-hao asked Su Yi,
"What is it?"
Su Yi pulled his cousin to sit on the sofa in the living room and had Aunt Liu brew a good cup of tea for everyone before saying,
"I plan to open an investment company in Modu, and I'm currently short-staffed. I was hoping you and sister-in-law could stay and help me."
"Cousin, you know that my sister-in-law and I only have high school diplomas. Forget about investing; we don't even understand computers,"
Su Jiah-hao said.
"What can we do to help you? Modu has so many elite talents; any few you recruit would be ten times better than my sister-in-law and me."
He knew Su Yi wanted to help him.
But he knew that what his cousin was doing was a field he didn't understand at all.
He couldn't help, so he couldn't agree.
Su Yi said,
"Not everyone in a company is a technical personnel for the main business. Administrative, logistics, security, purchasing, reception, assistants... these are all non-technical roles, yet indispensable.
I know, cousin, you and sister-in-law don't understand technology, but you can handle ordinary logistics work, right?
For example, during the initial renovation of the company, someone is needed to oversee it, and someone is needed to help purchase some things. These tasks... cousin and sister-in-law, you should be able to handle them, right?"
"These... wouldn't be a problem,"
Su Jiah-hao said.
"Also... cousin, you can drive, right?"
Su Yi said,
"If you're willing, you can also drive for me."
Su Yi planned to arrange his cousin's wife into the company's future logistics department, gradually training her to become the company's chief internal housekeeper.
As for his cousin...
he wanted to keep his cousin by his side first, let him learn more, and then make further arrangements in the future.
(End of this chapter)
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