CHAPTER 126: CHAPTER 126: THE CHILD’S FUTURE

Hong Weimin was also a bit surprised, "That much? Did you calculate it wrong?"

Huang Yuezhen shook her head.

Hong Weimin laughed, "It’s from Wenjun. I keep goods for him, and always prepare good stuff for him in advance. He gives me some money every month, sometimes fifty or sixty, sometimes seventy or eighty, and a few times he gave a hundred, which is more than my salary. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have so much money."

Working in South Port, he occasionally needs to spend money, especially on social matters and living expenses. The fact that he can still save up to twelve hundred shows that Chen Wenjun gave him quite a lot.

Hong Weimin laughed with satisfaction.

Knowing the source of the money, Huang Yuezhen didn’t say anything more, she just told Hong Weimin about the money she and her son made from setting up a stall this month.

Hong Weimin was shocked, couldn’t laugh anymore, "Is setting up a stall so profitable? Maybe I should come back and do it too!"

Huang Yuezhen rolled her eyes at him and repeated Lin Qin’s words to him verbatim.

"What I mean is to leave the stall to the eldest, let him handle it, mom can help. When it makes money, he can split it with mom, and the second and third kids can help during the holidays to earn some pocket money.

Let’s work hard for a year. If it’s profitable, we’ll plan to buy land, build a house, and get the eldest married the year after next. The second one is still young, no rush. We continue to work, and maybe in the future, we can bring the kids to the city!"

Having seen the city’s prosperity, Huang Yuezhen naturally didn’t want to stay in the countryside forever. Even if not for herself, she had to consider her descendants.

Hong Weimin didn’t think too much about it, seeing Huang Yuezhen’s ambition, he immediately patted his chest to show his support.

The couple counted the money carefully and hid it away. Hong Weimin went out to help Lin E prepare some extra seafood dishes, while Huang Yuezhen went to take a bath and change clothes.

This year, because the family made money and because of the good things Hong Weimin and his wife brought back, Lin E allowed herself a rare indulgence.

The New Year’s Eve dinner was especially lavish.

In previous years, their New Year’s Eve dinner was just a bowl of stewed meat, a bowl of pickled vegetables, a pot of soy sauce water fish, and a pot of sweet potato rice. They would also kill a hen that didn’t lay eggs or a duck they had raised for years, but this wasn’t every year.

This year’s New Year’s Eve dinner had stewed meat that was fatty and lean pork belly, served on a plate, double the amount than in previous years. The soy sauce water fish was replaced with a plate of soy sauce water yellow croaker and a plate of stir-fried squid, both dishes made by Hong Weimin, and neither Lin E nor the three kids had ever tasted them before.

As soon as the two seafood dishes were served, the three kids were salivating from the aroma.

Apart from these three dishes, there was a plate of stir-fried mustard greens and a plate of braised ingredients including pig intestine, pig lung, and duck eggs.

This plate of braised ingredients was prepared by Lin E gritting her teeth, just to reward her hard-working son and daughter-in-law, with the three grandchildren enjoying the benefits.

The soup was old hen soup, with white radish, water chestnut, and some mushrooms added. The broth was rich with a hint of sweetness, very delicious.

The rice was proper plain rice, without any sweet potatoes mixed in.

This was the most lavish meal that the three kids and Lin E had ever eaten.

When the whole family sat around, Lin E smiled with her eyes curved, "Everyone worked hard this year. I hope our family stays healthy, safe, and smooth in the new year."

Hong Weimin added, "And make a fortune!"

"Yes, yes, yes..." Lin E couldn’t stop smiling.

Huang Yuezhen looked at the two younger ones and said seriously, "Your big brother works hard to earn money, you two must work hard in your studies. Xiao Er, mom doesn’t expect you to be amazing, but your second cousin is pregnant and still studying, planning to take the college entrance exam. You are at the right age to study, you should learn from your second cousin, be positive, and the same goes for you, sister.

Your parents and grandma hope someone in our family becomes academically successful, even if you can’t pass the college entrance exam, you should at least try, understood?"

Hong Shaorou nodded obediently, "Mom, I’ll work hard."

Huang Yuezhen smiled in satisfaction.

Hong Shaohua hung his head and said weakly, "I’ll try hard too... but I can’t promise I’ll pass, so don’t blame me when the time comes, mom, dad, grandma."

Lin E scolded, "You haven’t even tried hard yet, saying things like that is not okay! I say, if you put half the effort into studying that you put into playing, you definitely wouldn’t have your current grades."

"Did you hear that?" Huang Yuezhen scolded, staring sternly at Hong Shaohua.

Seeing his wife talking for so long and the second child still behaving the same, Hong Weimin immediately slapped a large bill on the table and smiled at the two younger ones, "Dad will be straightforward with you. Starting this year, keep every test paper carefully. If you get full marks, I’ll give you one of these, if you get over ninety, I’ll give you five bucks, over eighty, three bucks each time. Below eighty, nothing.

And if you fail...when we come back, for every failure, a spanking, let’s see how many you can take!"

Hong Shaohua and Hong Shaorou immediately straightened their posture, eyes widened, nodding furiously in fear.

The three adults were satisfied with this.

Lin E picked up her chopsticks, loudly announcing, "Let’s eat!"

The Hong family celebrated joyously over the New Year, and things were the same in Nanyu.

This year, Chen Wenjun and Lin Qin not only made a lot of money, but they also brought big changes to Nanyu. To celebrate the year’s harvest, Chen Wenjun especially bought a bunch of fireworks and firecrackers.

After the New Year’s Eve dinner, Lin Yi held the child and watched Ping’an and Yaya play with small fireworks against the glass window.

Lin Qin and Chen Wenjun were still sitting at the table, absentmindedly chatting while eating.

Chen Wenjun, having drunk a little, looked somewhat dazed. Glancing at the child in Lin Yi’s arms, he muttered, "You mentioned before that we can’t raise this child, do you still think so?"

Lin Qin nodded, with reluctance in her eyes, slowly lowering her eyelids, "I’ve been asking around about families looking to adopt, and to be honest, none of them were particularly satisfying. Just recently, my brother-in-law came over to deliver New Year’s gifts and mentioned, in passing, that he’s interested in adopting this child."

Chen Wenjun blinked in surprise, half sobered up, "What’s he thinking?"

Lin Qin smirked wryly, somewhat helpless, "What else could it be? He wants a daughter! He and my sister only have two sons, no daughters. Back when the family was poor and all living together with the Xu family’s three daughters, he didn’t have such thoughts.

After the family split, he fell out with the Xu family’s third sister, so even if he liked those nieces, he wouldn’t get close to them. Plus, he took care of this child for a few days after she was born, developing some affection. Now that he’s made money and the family’s conditions improved, he’s able to entertain such thoughts."

Hearing this, Chen Wenjun found it amusing, calling out to Yaya, who was outside playing with fireworks, "Yaya, come here!"

"Coming!" Yaya skipped over to Chen Wenjun.

Her beautifully styled bun adorned with exquisite accessories made her smile especially endearing.

Chen Wenjun scooped her into his arms and proudly said, "Isn’t it because we have such a sweet and outstanding daughter that he’s jealous?"

Xu Dahai always praised Ping’an and Yaya whenever he came over. Just a few days ago, he heard about it from Lin Yi.