Chapter 95 - 94: Oppressive and Materialistic Relatives

Hanhai Province, Linlan City.

Wang Chao stood at the main gate of his family home. He looked at the gate before him—not exactly magnificent, but certainly grander than that of an ordinary family—and a trace of melancholy appeared on his face.

"Sigh..."

A sigh escaped his lips.

To be honest, Wang Chao didn’t like coming home, whether it was for school breaks or after starting his own business.

He always stayed far away from home.

He would avoid coming back for holidays if he could, trying his best to steer clear of his family and relatives.

As for the reason...

"What’s wrong? Still standing out here? It’s already dark. Go on in and get some rest."

Suddenly, a voice sounded from behind Wang Chao. He turned to see a man dressed in a sharp suit, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, his hair neatly combed.

"Big Brother..."

Wang Chao replied in a small voice. The man was his older brother, his biological brother.

"It’s time for dinner. Let’s go inside."

His big brother, Wang Yu, smiled and ruffled his hair before pushing the door open.

Inside the door were their relatives.

The Wang Family wasn’t just a single household, but a minor gentry family, a clan.

Not huge, but not exactly small either.

Decades ago, the Eastern Country had cracked down hard on these gentry families, especially the wealthy landowners. But the problem was...

...clans couldn’t be permanently eradicated in one fell swoop. They only needed a few decades to redevelop.

The Wang Family was one that had managed to rise up a bit in the past few decades. With the exception of a few individuals, they were only slightly wealthier than the average person; their social class hadn’t changed.

As for whether there were any century-old clans, the true gentry families...

There were. Around the time of the first National Day decades ago, some gentry families made donations so vast they could be considered as wealthy as a nation.

During the most difficult times, they knew what needed to be done. They lent the government sums of money so immense they were unimaginable, and that’s how they survived, though they never showed their faces publicly.

In fact, even up to Xu Huo’s previous life, these people still held IOUs issued in the Eastern Country’s name, which they never cashed in.

"Xiao Hu, that Xiao Hu is so impressive now! He went abroad to make his fortune, and I hear he even opened a restaurant. He’s earning... what are those things called? Dollars?"

"Xiao Hu’s third sister is impressive too! Last year she got an acceptance letter from that top school, Shuimu University..."

"What about Xiao Jian? Why haven’t I seen Xiao Jian?"

"Xiao Jian is busy. At the media company he joined, I heard his supervisor got canned, so the boss is planning to promote him..."

"..."

A swarm of voices burst forth, buzzing in everyone’s ears.

CREAK~

Hearing the door creak, the gaggle of busybody aunts in the living room, who were cracking melon seeds, froze and turned to look at the two silhouettes at the entrance.

"Xiao Yu? Whoa, it’s been so long! You’ve gotten so big!"

"Tsk, I heard Xiao Yu got promoted to manager or something? Must have gotten a raise... Does your mom know how much you make a month?"

"What a fine young man, so sharp. You can tell he’s got a bright future!"

"..."

Instantly, the gaggle of old men and women turned their conversation toward Wang Yu.

The topics were very pragmatic: nothing but money and careers.

They didn’t even ask about his love life!

This was precisely why Wang Chao didn’t want to come home. His relatives were incredibly snobbish. The only thing they ever talked about was money, and the only thing they ever competed over was who was more successful.

The successful ones would be put on a pedestal, while everyone else was busy making snide remarks.

But it was a different story for the unsuccessful ones. It was as if they had committed some grave sin. The moment they were seen, they’d be openly criticized, insulted right to their faces!

Wang Chao ducked his head, preparing to make a run for it.

He had a lot of relatives, so naturally, there were many successful ones, like his sister who became a PhD and his younger brother who was first in his grade.

And his big brother, for example, a company manager with a monthly salary of over ten thousand.

The awkward part was, he didn’t fit into that picture at all...

"Hey, where do you think you’re running off to!?"

Just as he was about to slip away, Wang Chao was grabbed by his own mother and dragged out into the open.

Mrs. Wang looked thoroughly displeased, her hands on her hips.

"Are you just going to leave without saying hello to your aunts!?"

Wang Chao flinched and could only go around greeting his relatives one by one.

And because of that...

...a few relatives immediately found their target.

"Xiao Chao, it’s been so long since you graduated. How much money are you making?"

"Do you have a job? If not, you want your auntie to ask your brother to find a position for you?"

"Your third brother passed the civil service exam, you know. There’s nothing he can’t solve..."

"Tsk, Xiao Chao, you still haven’t found a job, have you? Listen to me, at your age..."

A barrage of voices assaulted him.

Not only did Mrs. Wang not defend him, she even chimed in and agreed with them.

This finally made Wang Chao lose his temper.

"I have made money!"

He mumbled, "Ten thousand! I made over ten thousand in two months!"

’That much!?’

The relatives beside him frowned, a hint of jealousy welling up inside them, but their faces showed expressions of concern, as if they were only looking out for him.

"What kind of job is it? To make that much money!?"

"Let me tell you, it’s okay to not have money, but you can’t go down a crooked path!"

"Exactly. People who do shady things are no good..."

"You can’t go astray!"

’What kind of job?’

Wang Chao wanted to explain, but he couldn’t. He was at a loss for words.

’The origin of this money... How could he possibly explain it in a way a normal person could understand?’

"Alright, alright. My little brother has his own ambitions. What do you all know?"

Wang Yu suddenly spoke up. He placed his briefcase on the sofa and waved his hand to disperse the crowd.

"Just you wait. Maybe one day my little brother will make it big. He’s only 23, what’s the rush..."

"Make it big? By fiddling with that... that computer the size of a pager? What a ridiculous fantasy!"

A relative said with some dissatisfaction, "He should do something more practical."

"Uncle, that’s where you’re mistaken..."

Wang Yu made a gesture. With a grateful look on his face, Wang Chao quickly slipped away.

BANG!

Reaching the second floor, Wang Chao heaved a heavy sigh.

’This is what a snobbish family is like,’ he thought. ’There’s affection, but money is always placed one level above it.’

’Unfortunately, I have nothing.’

’All I have is that stupid notebook!’

’The business ideas I’ve been recording since I was a kid feel like a pile of useless paper.’

Pagers, meat products... Wang Chao felt it was all becoming more and more illusory. Just as his relatives said, it wasn’t very practical.

"Hey, my mom and the others were nagging you again, weren’t they?"

Suddenly, a voice came from the side. Wang Chao turned his head and saw his second uncle, Wang Hu.

He shared the same name as the captain, but they weren’t the same person.

"That’s just how they are. Just let their words go in one ear and out the other."

His uncle also came out and sat on the second-floor sofa, looking completely unconcerned.

Then, the two of them began to comfort Chao Zi, talking back and forth.

The older generation was obsessed with money, but their generation, the younger ones, got along quite well.

That, plus having a good big brother, was the only reason Wang Chao would reluctantly come home for the New Year.

"Alright, don’t take it too hard. Just eat, drink, and be merry."

That evening, before leaving, the other uncle said quietly to Wang Chao.

"Your Second Uncle went into butchering fish. It’s not a glamorous job, and he was criticized for it until they just got tired of criticizing."

Second Uncle Wang Hu grumbled in agreement.

"Okay, I won’t let it get to me!"

Wang Chao said, touched.

"That’s good."

He watched as the two of them got into a car and drove off into the distance.

"What’s wrong? Not going back inside?" Wang Yu looked back at his little brother.

Wang Chao was silent for a moment. His mind was still filled with the expressions on his relatives’ faces when he got home.

The more he thought about it, the more his chest tightened. His head felt swollen, and his breathing became heavy.

He took a sharp, stifled breath.

"Bro, I’m heading out for a bit."

"Hm?" Wang Yu was surprised but didn’t overthink it. "Alright, be back early."

...

...

"Hm. If you hadn’t said so, I never would have guessed. This place is right next to Linlan City. It’s almost like they’re merging into one big city."

"It’s a small county-level city, just piggybacking on the development. But this isn’t the city center, so who cares if it piggybacks."

「8:47 PM.」

Xu Huo stepped out of the police car. He looked at the scene before him and yawned.

Before him was a peacefully developing city. There were quite a few people on the streets, telephone poles lined the main road, and in the distance, he could see brightly lit skyscrapers.

Where was this?

The borderlands of Linlan City, and also another city proper: Zhaozhou City!

Xu Huo stood on the street, looking at the buildings on his left.

To his left was Linlan City. He glanced to his right—that was Zhaozhou City.

That’s right. The two places were connected, their developed areas undivided, like a single town that had been split in two.

This was actually quite common.

Take high-speed rail stations, for example.

In his previous life, many cities didn’t have high-speed rail stations in the early days. But if a neighboring city planned a line, they would try to piggyback off it.

How did they piggyback?

By building the station on the border where the two cities’ jurisdictions met!

Over time, residential buildings would spring up around it. From a bird’s-eye view, the two sides looked like a single village that had been divided.

"Zhaozhou City..."

Xu Huo smacked his lips but didn’t say much else.

He and Zhou Zheng, who was beside him, walked slowly toward their destination.

Zhaozhou City was a county-level city, not under the jurisdiction of Linlan City. Its development was slow, and the people living here could feel stifled.

And this was the place Wang Chao had chosen.

What is education?

It’s knowledge, it’s school, it’s the wild ambition to strive for a better future.

And in a small, stifling county-level city like this, the more repressed the environment, the more intense the desires of the people who burst forth from it!

’So for him to have chosen this place shows he has some sense.’

"Tsk, trying to compete with a school for business..."

The two of them stopped. Zhou Zheng looked up at the school in front of them, clicking his tongue in amazement.

This was an elementary school. It was already nighttime, so besides the security guard, there was no one else on campus.

"What are you two doing!?"

The old man in the security booth saw the two of them loitering in front of the school late at night instead of being at home. He stuck his head out, shone his flashlight in their faces, and demanded sternly.

"Call your dean or principal."

Zhou Zheng glanced at him, then looked away.

Before he came, he’d had Wang Hu contact Zhaozhou City, who then had their subordinates get in touch with the principal.

Thanks to Wang Chao.

The principal and dean of this elementary school, upon being contacted for the first time by someone of that level, had saved the private number to their phones.

After a long moment, the old guard let them pass, still suspicious.

"The power’s out inside. Be careful walking around."

The old man added, as a kind reminder.

"Got it."

Zhou Zheng replied and quickly walked inside.

’He had only come because he was curious about the intelligence from the Special Fifth Bureau and wanted to check out the situation for himself.’

’It wouldn’t take a whole day anyway.’

’However, when Wang Chao said he had chosen the field of education...’

’...that’s when he knew he had to come see for himself.’

At this thought, Xu Huo paused and looked up at the school before him.

’This... is an elementary school.’

’The students here are in first through sixth grade!’