It was already almost three in the afternoon by the time everyone finished, and they were all starving. But since they still had to go to Grandma’s house in the evening to celebrate her birthday, it wasn’t practical to prepare a big meal. So, Zhao Guihua took charge in the kitchen, Jiang Qingkui helped with the seasoning, and they all had a simple bowl of noodles to get by.
Watching old Zhou buy quite a bit of fish and meat, the opportunistic old Jiang hoped to mooch a meal but ended up with just a bowl of noodle soup. The poached egg offered some consolation, leaving him with mixed feelings.
Zhou Wang, tugging at his noodles, also felt a bit wistful.
With his current wealth, it had been a long time since he’d eaten such plain, simple food.
But since his mom made it, he savored every bite of that bowl of noodles, after all, parental love is priceless.
After helping his parents clean up the dishes, Zhou Wang pulled a bank card from his pocket and handed it to Zhao Guihua.
"There’s five million in there, the password is six ones. Consider it a down payment on your pension from your son. But Mom, don’t just save it and never spend it... Dad, you should supervise my mom in this regard."
Compared to other things, when it came to a direct gift of money, Zhao Guihua didn’t refuse. On the contrary, she felt quite relieved.
Her own thinking was that having such an amount saved here meant that if her son ever failed in business, there was a backup. She had no more worries.
Even though Zhou Dajun, smiling cheerfully, agreed with this, Zhao Guihua did not take it seriously.
After all, even if they truly spent freely, with the lifestyle the two of them were accustomed to, they wouldn’t actually spend that much...
"Alright, Mom, if there’s anything you and Dad need to bring, pack it up quickly. We need to get going."
Zhou Wang, checking the time on his watch, urged.
"It’s only an hour to your grandma’s house, and dinner’s not until seven, so why the rush?"
Zhou Dajun asked, puzzled.
Their hometown, Lu City, was a county under Jing City, only about fifty or sixty kilometers away in a straight line. Seeing as it was just approaching four o’clock, Zhou Dajun naturally felt there was no rush.
"We still need to buy a car for the family, and Sister Qingkui is going with me to Lu City. With only one car, it’d be a tight fit."
Zhou Wang winked at his dad.
Well, that was another offer Zhou Dajun couldn’t refuse...
Sure enough, Zhou Dajun was immediately interested, and Zhao Guihua also agreed since they were planning to buy a car anyway. With their son’s strong financial support, the budget could slightly increase.
Upon hearing about getting a car, Jiang Jiaxing joined in on the excitement, and soon a large group of them headed out the door.
As they left, there was a small incident. Perhaps due to the neighborhood busybody’s gossip, the community committee’s director also came by for a visit, likely to inquire about Zhou Wang’s situation.
However, her timing wasn’t right, so after some idle chitchat, she left slightly disappointed.
...
As for what car to buy, Zhou Dajun and Zhao Guihua found themselves uncertain with the expanded budget.
In the end, with encouragement from Jiang Jiaxing and the rare input from Zhao Guihua, they decided on a Mercedes.
Coincidentally, the Mercedes 4S dealership was also close to Zhou Wang’s home, so an hour later, sitting inside a brand-new 2024 white Mercedes GLC 43, old Zhou felt like he had reached the pinnacle of his life once again.
Though part of the GLC series, this AMG-branded coupe SUV was nearly 300,000 more expensive than Jiang Jiaxing’s standard GLC model, priced around 750,000.
Of course, Zhou Wang was capable of buying something even better, but his parents were not too keen. A car close to 800,000 was already way above their expectations, so Zhou Wang didn’t push.
Such matters largely revolved around the satisfaction of those involved; there was no need to be excessively demanding.
Initially, old Zhou was a bit interested in electric cars, influenced by recent strong marketing campaigns and a desire to support domestic brands.
But ultimately, due to Zhao Guihua’s single comment, "Mercedes is good," old Zhou changed his mind.
To this, accompanied by his son for a test drive, old Zhou stated, "Your mom doesn’t know a thing about cars, but she just wants to recognize a car logo. Driving it back feels prestigious, right? She’s worked her whole life, so of course, we should indulge her little bit of vanity..."
Zhou Wang instantly looked at Zhou Dajun in a new light. Who said older men don’t understand women?
They all understood.
It’s just that, often, what hinders most men from displaying romance is money...
And just as the vehicle delivery was completed and Zhou Wang was feeling emotional watching his parents’ joyful smiles, a prompt from the system came right on time.
Ding!
["Time isn’t the thief stealing your parents’ youth, you are."]
[Detected that the host has fulfilled his first filial duty to close family, triggering a hidden reward, obtaining a one-time item: "Ake’s Time Gift Package."]
["Ake’s Time Gift Package: A time assassin sneaked back to twenty-two years ago, heard your parents’ expectations of you on the night you were born, partially transformed these wishes into reality, and compressed them into a package for you."]
[Note: The package contains "Father’s Expectation" and "Mother’s Blessing."]
[They could give you nothing, yet gave you everything.]
...
Zhou Wang was slightly taken aback for a good moment. Seeing Jiang Qingkui still eagerly helping his parents take photos and record videos, he chuckled and shook his head, then without hesitation, clicked to open the package.
Ding!
[Host opened "Ake’s Time Gift Package," receiving dual rewards.]
[Reward—Father’s Expectation: Your father once hoped you would gain renown and become someone of social status, therefore the host receives: 100 million designated donation funds.]
[Reward—Mother’s Blessing: Your mother once hoped you would live a life of peace and health, therefore the host receives: "Magic City Jiahui International Hospital" 30% equity.]