"What do you an ’inauspicious’? People can’t get by without trust, you know~"
"Sa thing, isn’t it~"
"You two over there, hurry up, the school bus is about to get downstairs."
Xu Li, wearing an apron, called out to the father and daughter at the door with a charming laugh.
Jiang Tao and Little Cotton Padded Jacket fooled around for a bit, then got up and changed into the clean clothes Xu Li had left by the bedside.
The five of them sat around the dining table, and it didn’t feel cramped at all—if anything, it just made things cozier.
After breakfast, Xu Li walked Jiang Xue downstairs to catch the school bus.
Jiang Wen and Tian Xiaoi weren’t in a hurry to go out today.
The two of them looked over at Jiang Tao, eyes a little conflicted, wearing the classic "want to say sothing but holding back" expression.
Jiang Tao picked up on what his parents were thinking, and asked with a grin:
"What’s up, Mom, Dad? Is sothing on your mind?"
The two exchanged a glance, and Mom spoke up as the family representative:
"Tao, your dad and I have stayed in Beijing for quite a while, you know, pretty much seen all the sights there are to see."
"So now, the New Year’s over and all—we’re thinking it’s about ti to head ho and get back to real life."
"For regular folks like us, you can’t just play around every day—don’t you think?"
Truth be told, Jiang Tao really understood where his parents were coming from.
After all, they weren’t like the retirees here in Beijing.
Those folks don’t have to lift a finger all month and still get seven, eight thousand—sotis ten thousand or more—in retirent money. They can take it easy and enjoy old age without any worries.
His parents, if they don’t work for a month, their inco is a flat zero.
Plus, they’re just past fifty, not even sixty yet—not really at retirent age.
They still worry about putting aside a little more for their own old-age care.
When they really can’t work anymore, hopefully they won’t trouble their kids too much.
"Mom, Dad, if you ask , you should stay in Beijing a little longer."
"You’ve been working hard for nearly sixty years—take this as a little vacation for yourselves."
"Here’s an idea: wait until Qingming Festival—when Xiao Xue and the kids are on holiday, I’ll drive you all back together."
This was mostly Jiang Tao buying ti, to be honest.
According to intel from Brother Tongzi, Old Sun’s days were numbered.
Truth is, he just wanted his folks to spend more ti with Old Sun—to keep him company for the rest of his days.
But stuff like that, you can’t just say outright.
"Qingming Festival? That’s still more than a month away!"
As soon as Mom heard this tiline, she was at a loss.
"It’s just a month, though—it’ll fly by! Blink and it’s gone."
"How about this, Mom: I’ll send you so money, so you and Dad can go out and have fun without worrying about expenses."
"Just focus on eating well, drinking well, playing well—don’t think about anything else."
"If you spend it all, just let know and I’ll send more."
"You and Dad worked so hard your whole lives—now’s the ti to enjoy yourselves."
Jiang Tao cracked a joke as he spoke, pulled his phone out of his pocket, found Mom’s WeChat, and sent her 50,000 yuan on the spot.
"No need, no need! Why’re you giving us money! Your dad and I have plenty! If you’re short, we can lend you so!"
"Fifty thousand! Are you nuts! If Lili finds out about this..."
Tian Xiaoi saw the transfer pop up on her phone and gasped, then snuck a guilty glance at the doorway.
Jiang Tao just laughed it off: "It’s nothing, Mom—our house is my domain, and Lili isn’t that petty."
"All these years, I’ve never really done anything for you and Dad—just a little token from your son."
"Didn’t you give ten thousand yuan at New Year’s? Most of that’s still left."
"That’s a separate matter—this is different."
"Tao, kiddo—the way you’ve turned out, makes all the mothering worth it."
Tian Xiaoi looked at her son’s fresh, sincere smile, her eyes filling with tears.
Dad Jiang Wen had been sitting quietly by the side all along, not saying a word, but he had plenty going on in his head.
Just look at this son—so filial, so capable!
Jiang Tianming, that rascal, will just have to envy us from now on!
If the old folks back in the village heard our boy just handed us fifty grand for pocket money, wouldn’t a few of them just die of envy?
"Guess I’ll head out now—Mom, Dad, you two keep living it up. I’ll take you back ho at Qingming."
Jiang Tao finished speaking, turned around and got set to leave—he had a lot to take care of today.
Mom smiled warmly and said: "Go on, do your thing, don’t worry about us."
Once Xu Li ca back from dropping off Jiang Xue, Jiang Tao gave her a quick greeting and a loving hug, then humd a little tune as he headed out to catch the elevator downstairs.
Jiang Tao’s mood today was downright sunny—three high-value pieces of info all at once, it’s like the clouds cleared after the rain.
In the elevator on the way down, he happened to bump into the stone-faced guy from unit 1602.
He’d been neighbors with this guy for almost half a month now, run into him a few tis going up and down.
But every ti, the dude’s just got this frosty look—’keep your distance, stranger’ all over his face.
Jiang Tao couldn’t be bothered to force a greeting.
In big cities, it’s pretty common to have neighbors you barely know after decades.
This kind of pointless socializing—whether you do it or not really doesn’t matter.
Once downstairs, Jiang Tao got in his car but didn’t rush to drive off.
First he rolled down the window, lit a cigarette, and pulled out his phone to call Third Brother.
Brrrr——
The phone rang less than five seconds before soone picked up. On the other end, Jiang Bing’s voice sounded all out of steam.
"Hey, Second Bro, calling this early—what’s up? You’d better have good news, or sothing big’s gone down."
Jiang Tao joked back: "Third, why do you sound so wiped out today?"
"Who’s wiped out? You are! I’m fine, full of energy—can run up five flights without breaking a sweat!"
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