Journey 1995:Non-Stop

Chapter 95 My Cousin's Invitation

"Grandma!" Yan Hui stood at the gate, panting heavily, and shouted loudly.

"Oh!" Grandma pushed open the door, her eyes narrowing into crescent moons. "You're back, Grandson! Come quick, come quick!"

"You're back!" Yan Hui adjusted his jacket, took two steps through the door, and led his grandmother into the house.

Grandma held Yan Hui's hand tightly, and without Yan Hui pulling her, she followed him into the house, walking along with her eldest grandson.

Seeing his grandfather at home, Yan Hui was even happier. Just like last year, he proudly showed off the things he had bought.

Grandma ignored all that stuff; she brought out some sweet potatoes that weren't completely cold and gave them to Yan Hui to eat, and also poured him a big bowl of water.

While eating, Yan Hui talked non-stop about his great achievements over the past year, and then took out all his money.

"So much?" After looking at it, Grandma pushed all the money to Yan Hui. "Keep it all. You'll definitely need it next year."

“Grandpa,” Yan Hui looked at his grandfather, whose figure appeared somewhat haggard in the dim light, “Grandpa, is there anything I can do to help? Shall we fix the house?”

"Building a house, huh?" Grandpa laughed heartily, leaning back in his chair and stroking his beard. "You've suffered out there, but this year is better than last year. What does that mean? It means you've found a way to make money! Keep going, keep going!"

“Yes, our house is quite nice,” Grandma’s smile never faded. She picked up the money Yan Hui had brought back, stacked it up, then held it in both hands, weighing it as if it were very heavy. “You are now just like your uncle was back then!”

"How can I compare to my uncle?" Although Yan Hui had met many wealthy people, he really didn't know how much money his uncle had.

Just talking about Fourth Uncle, his assets must be over a million, and Eldest Uncle is even richer than Fourth Uncle!
"How old are you?" Grandpa thought for a moment, about to say something, but then stopped himself.

"Yes, Ah Sun is already very good."

"Go and cook something for him," Grandpa said to Grandma.

"Okay, okay, I'll go right away."

"Grandma, no rush," Yan Hui pointed to the things he bought, "Look how much food I brought."

"Those aren't urgent, they're packaged, just wait." Grandma ignored Yan Hui's words and went to the kitchen on her own.

After Grandma passed away, Grandpa asked Yan Hui to put all the money away, and then listened to Yan Hui tell the story of the past year.

Grandpa seemed to really enjoy listening to Yan Hui's stories, rarely interrupting him from beginning to end, just listening silently.

People tend to reveal things when they talk too much. Yan Hui wanted to report good news and not bad news, but after talking so much, his grandfather still understood quite a lot.

Grandpa listened for a long time, then slowly reached out and touched Yan Hui's hand: "You did well."

"Grandpa..." For some reason, Yan Hui's eyes welled up with tears as soon as his grandfather finished speaking, and all the memories of the past year flashed before his eyes.

Is it bitter?

It's bitter.

Yan Hui grew up with his grandfather and didn't actually learn any business skills, as his grandfather wasn't a businessman.

What Yan Hui learned from his grandfather were only some principles of being a person and styles of doing things.

Grandpa once said that success requires enduring the hardships of time, and Yan Hui deeply agrees.

"Grandpa, you will encounter many different difficulties in the future, but don't be afraid," Grandpa instructed.

"I know, I'm not afraid." Yan Hui nodded vigorously.

"Okay." That was all Grandpa said.

...

This time when Yan Hui returned home, his state of mind was much more mature than the last time.

Among Yan Hui's close friends and relatives, his cousin was the first to return.

After my cousin got home, he made some inquiries and heard that Yan Hui had returned, so he immediately rode his motorcycle over to find him.

"You bought a motorcycle!" Yan Hui exclaimed, both surprised and delighted.

"No, I do have a motorcycle, but it's in Jianye. You know Jianye, right? The capital of Anhui Province!" My cousin proudly pointed to the motorcycle. "This is my second uncle's motorcycle, haha."

"Isn't Jianye the capital of Jiangsu Province?" Yan Hui's geography knowledge was pretty good...

"Huh? Ah! Yes! Almost!" My cousin laughed heartily.

"Where are you planning to go on your motorcycle? I'll go too!" Yan Hui didn't believe his cousin could crash his motorcycle.

"I came here specifically to find you. Wherever you want to go, I'll take you there."

"Let's go to town; there's nowhere else to go."

"Okay, let's go to town. Come on, get in the car."

There weren't many entertainment options in the town, only a few places to play, such as billiards. My cousin wasn't riding very fast, and he kept telling Yan Hui about his experiences in Jianye.

Jianye is the capital of Jiangsu Province and ranks third in the province's economy. At that time, its economic level was not as good as that of Fengtian. However, according to his cousin's description, Yan Hui felt that Jianye was very developed and had a lot of fun things to do.

My cousin told Yan Hui that in Jianye, many people don't play billiards, but many wealthy people love bowling.

It's said to be a lot of fun, and Yan Hui is very eager to try it.

What Yan Hui didn't know was that it wasn't that Jianye was more prosperous, but rather that the part his cousin had seen was more prosperous than Yan Hui's.

My cousin's business in Jianye wasn't very big; it mainly involved timber distribution. That is, when a train carload of timber arrived, my cousin and several partners would buy it and then resell it.

Although his cousin wasn't very rich, Yan Hui thought his cousin was very good at having fun, even more so than his fourth uncle and Shan Ge!

Of course, there's another possibility: maybe my fourth uncle and the others don't include me in their games...

Upon arriving in the town, instead of going straight to play pool, they first strolled around the small square. There were quite a few children there, but unfortunately, they didn't recognize any of them, so the cousin had nothing to show off with his motorcycle.

"Why are you all back so late? It's almost Chinese New Year, what are you all doing instead of coming home?" my cousin complained.

“That’s right, that’s right.” Yan Hui sat on the motorcycle, feeling proud.

The two found a place to eat something and chatted about their current situation.

“Brother, I’m preparing to leave Fengtian. I want to try my luck in the capital. My second brother is there.” Yan Hui briefly recounted his past in Fengtian.

"Second brother? The one who stole your wife? Why are you looking for him? Come with me! Jianye is a good place! I'm at the timber market, you know what I mean!" Upon hearing this, the cousin immediately called out to Yan Hui.

"Go with you?" Yan Hui had considered this option.

However, as mentioned before, my cousin's own business... is just so-so.

Yan Hui knew his cousin was richer than him, but in terms of cash, he probably didn't even have as much as his cousin...

“Although I’m not as powerful as your uncle, I’ve seen that he hasn’t taken good care of you during the years you’ve been in Fengtian! But it’s different for you to come to Jianye. I’m here, I have a place to stay and a place to eat. I’m right next to the timber market. With your brains, are you afraid you won’t make money?” Cousin continued to persuade, “Listen to me, after the New Year, let’s go together!”

"Well... I'll think about it..." Yan Hui was genuinely tempted.

He knows timber so well; now it seems Jianye is indeed a good fit for him.

(End of this chapter)