Chapter 243 - 146: Old Chen: Your bride price is a bit much, isn’t it?

Chapter 243: Chapter 146: Old Chen: Your bride price is a bit much, isn’t it?

Chen Mo took a look around and realized the floor plans for the villas in this area were likely all the same.

Aside from a different interior design style, this villa was basically identical to his own.

"Old Chen, Shufang and Chen Mo are here."

Aunt Zhou called out into the house as she stepped inside.

Soon, a man in his early fifties emerged from the study.

Chen Mo glanced at him. The man was of average height, wore glasses, had a slight beer belly, and a full head of hair.

He also exuded the aura of an industrial entrepreneur, something that was easy to recognize with a bit of experience.

"Old classmate, I’ve brought you your son-in-law."

Aunt Li joked with Old Chen with a smile.

"Hahaha, if the two kids are truly fated to be, I’ll host a magnificent banquet at my home for you."

Old Chen was clearly very familiar with Aunt Li, and he bantered back with a laugh.

"Old Chen, this is Chen Mo. You two even share the same surname."

"Chen Mo, this is Shuwan’s father. You can just call him Uncle Chen."

Aunt Li introduced them to each other.

"Hello, Uncle Chen."

Chen Mo put on a professional smile and offered a polite greeting.

"Hello."

"You shouldn’t have. You didn’t need to bring anything."

"Xiaozhang, quickly, take the guests’ things."

Old Chen sized Chen Mo up for a few moments, then nodded at him with a placid expression.

Seeing the gifts Chen Mo and Aunt Li were carrying, he had the housekeeper take the items from their hands.

"Go upstairs and tell Shuwan to come down."

Old Chen then sent the housekeeper upstairs to get his daughter.

After all, the young man had come all the way to their home; it wouldn’t be right for her to stay upstairs the whole time.

Soon enough, Chen Shuwan came downstairs.

"Hello."

Chen Shuwan smiled and greeted Chen Mo as she came down.

The look she gave Chen Mo was deep and meaningful.

’She had a feeling that Chen Mo, just like her, had his own agenda.’

"Hello."

Chen Mo gave her a look of tacit understanding.

He wasn’t sure what Chen Shuwan’s goal was, but his own objective was crystal clear.

From the moment Chen Shuwan said she was very satisfied with him and liked him very much, and Chen Mo in turn claimed it was love at first sight and that the feeling was mutual, their unspoken agreement was perfectly clear to both of them.

"Let’s eat. Sit down, we can talk while we eat."

After helping the chef bring the dishes to the dining table, Aunt Zhou smiled and called for them to take their seats.

Old Chen and Aunt Zhou sat in the center, with Aunt Li seated next to Aunt Zhou.

Chen Shuwan sat beside Old Chen, and Chen Mo was seated next to Chen Shuwan.

Old Chen made a point of taking out a treasured bottle of red wine from his liquor cabinet.

The housekeeper poured a glass for everyone.

"Chen Mo came over today, so our preparations were a bit rushed. Please bear with us whether you like the food or not. Let’s have a toast."

Old Chen raised his wine glass and spoke courteously to Chen Mo.

"It’s already a magnificent spread."

Chen Mo wasn’t just being polite; the table was laden with a wide variety of dishes that looked, smelled, and surely tasted exquisite.

From the ingredients and plating to the aroma, it was without a doubt a sumptuous feast.

"Come, let’s toast."

Everyone stood up and clinked their glasses together.

"Alright, let’s dig in. We can chat as we eat."

After a sip of wine, dinner officially began.

At first, Old Chen, his wife, and Aunt Li did most of the talking, trying to give Chen Mo and Chen Shuwan a chance to chat privately.

However, seeing that the two of them—whether out of shyness or something else—weren’t interacting much,

Old Chen decided he had to take the initiative.

"Chen Mo, I heard from Shufang that you’re from Jiangcheng? It must not have been easy moving from there to Modu to build a career. And with no family support, the beginning must have been tough, right?"

Old Chen said this with an expression and tone that seemed to lament Chen Mo’s difficulties.

But Chen Mo could clearly detect a condescending, superior attitude beneath the surface.

He was implicitly and explicitly pointing out that Chen Mo was from out of town and had a poor family background.

"It actually wasn’t that difficult. I think there’s a greater sense of accomplishment in achieving what I have through my own efforts."

Chen Mo smiled and replied casually.

"Actually, didn’t we all have to struggle to get where we are? There’s no shame in admitting it."

Hearing his response, Aunt Zhou chimed in.

At first glance, her words seemed supportive, but one could tell she was implying Chen Mo was too proud to admit his hardships.

"How can you compare Chen Mo’s situation to ours back in the day? Besides, he’s only 23 and has already achieved so much. That’s outstanding."

Aunt Li seemed to have picked up on the hidden implications in the couple’s words and immediately spoke up in Chen Mo’s defense.

’Before he came, they had told me everything was great and that they were very satisfied with Chen Mo.’

’Why did their attitude change the moment he walked through the door?’

’This is putting me in a very awkward position.’

"Can you tell us about your journey? Including your family and upbringing?"

Old Chen thought for a moment before looking at Chen Mo and asking.

Children raised in different family backgrounds have different personalities.

He wanted to know what kind of family environment Chen Mo had grown up in.

"Well, that’s a long story."

Chen Mo paused in thought for a moment before beginning slowly.

"I was born at a very young age. The moment I came into this world, I was already someone’s grandson."

"When I was born, I didn’t have a single piece of clothing, and not one friend came to visit me. Less than a minute after my birth, I experienced the first violence of my life."

"A person in white clothes came up and slapped me right across the face. I burst into tears on the spot."

"Back then, I couldn’t walk; I had to crawl everywhere I wanted to go. But I persevered and lived on. Before I was one year old, I didn’t even know how to write the word ’hardship’."

"The years have been long and trying... The past is too painful to recall."

"Then I met Shuwan. It was like a ray of light piercing through the darkness. Only then did I realize that life could have warmth."

"It was love at first sight. I can’t live without her. I want to be with her!"