Reaching the age of thirty, my income randomly doubled

Grandpa's house is a two-story building.

It was built over his entire lifetime.

Second uncle, third uncle, and the youngest aunt still live there.

In the countryside, as everyone knows, although having many people is lively, it also often leads to fiery arguments over the tiniest, most trivial matters.

Take, for instance, the households of the second uncle and the third uncle.

They used to share a kitchen, and there were endless quarrels throughout the year over who should buy the groceries and oil.

Eventually, the third uncle simply started his own stove, and his family ate separately.

"You eat separately if you want," they'd say, but seeing that the third uncle's family was still eating from Grandpa and Grandma's provisions, the third auntie immediately transformed into a warrior of justice, a level-ten Onmyoji.

She would often crack sunflower seeds while throwing around her mocking and sarcastic comments.

Occasionally it worked, and the third uncle would buy his own groceries, but more often than not, they still relied on Grandpa and Grandma's.

The situation with the youngest aunt was similar; she married and then divorced.

Without a proper job, she would just sell fresh vegetables on the street every day, and by not contributing to food expenses, she managed to save quite a bit over the year.

Of course, she also had her share of the third auntie's passive-aggressive remarks.

The third uncle himself was honest and upright, but his wife, the third auntie, was not.

She was quite formidable.

Since their family started cooking separately, she couldn't stand seeing the third uncle and the youngest aunt's family still living off the old folks.

In that regard, she wasn't wrong.

After all, Grandpa and Grandma were both over seventy—how much earning power could they have?

They just relied on that one-acre fish pond and a few vegetable patches for income, plus they farmed some land.

If you said the third auntie was standing up for Grandpa and Grandma, that wouldn't be true.

She simply embodied the type that if she couldn't have it, no one else should.

To put it plainly, it's the "I might not take advantage, but neither should you" mentality.

If you take advantage and I don't, it feels like losing billions.

With many relatives living together, naturally, there are many conflicts.

On the day of Little New Year, since the eldest grandson had returned,

Grandpa and Grandma started the stove early, rushing to have a big table ready by eight o'clock.

Four hotpots and eight dishes—it symbolizes "prosperity every month."

Speaking of which, because of these four hotpots, the two sons and the daughter had a fierce argument.

Mainly, none of them wanted to buy the expensive stuff.

By seven-thirty, the third uncle started calling everyone to eat.

Pingsheng's family had already woken up, and seeing a new large car in his house, even without much knowledge,

he recognized the BMW.

He rushed off to find his eldest sister-in-law, Peng Ying, and upon learning that the car was just brought home by Pingsheng, he was incredibly impressed.

He quickly ran back home.

First he told his wife, the third auntie, then notified the second uncle and the youngest aunt, and the whole family hurried over to see the spectacle.

In the countryside, when someone buys a new car, relatives are expected to give red envelopes, ranging from a few tens to a thousand, depending on one's willingness.

The third uncle thought about giving one or two hundred, considering Pingsheng didn't lack money—it would just be a gesture.

For good fortune.

The third auntie scolded him, "Do you really have a pig's brain? It's because they don't lack money that we should give a big one—quickly take out 1,200."

"But..." the third uncle hesitated, only to be glared at by the third auntie.

"It's an investment."

Alright then, the honest and straightforward third uncle was once again subdued by the third auntie's glare.

He obediently prepared 1,200.

The second uncle gave 680, believing he was the most generous and silently smug about it.

After all, he knew the third uncle's character very well; it would be good if he could even give 120.

It was unlikely that he would give more than himself.

As for the youngest aunt, neither brother discussed it with her, so she straightforwardly gave 168.

"Prosperous all the way."

By the time it was nearing dinner, Chang Fu and his family also returned, since it was Little New Year after all; they couldn't stay out too late.

And then they brought back the white X6.

A group of relatives were collectively stunned. Pingsheng explained, "The black one is for my dad, and the white one is for my mom."

This was getting complicated.

Giving red packets for new cars was a village custom.

But whether two cars meant giving two packets, the village customs hadn't specified.

No one had ever encountered such a thing before.

Still, it was shocking.

Worthy of someone returning from the Capital City, to spend lavishly on two big BMWs at once.

Not only did it have a huge impact among the relatives, but it also spread quickly throughout the entire village.

It was much more impressive than Chang Fu bringing back his Geely.

After all, with two big BMWs bought nonchalantly, even the least savvy person would know the Chen Family had struck it rich outside.

The third auntie clenched her teeth and gave another large red envelope.

The second uncle and the youngest aunt also followed suit.

During the meal, which was supposed to be reserved for the official Chinese New Year, the younger generation, including their parents, would formally give Grandpa and Grandma red envelopes.

When they were younger, Grandpa and Grandma handed out red packets, but now they were both over seventy.

They relied on their sons and daughters for support in old age.

Pingsheng took ten stacks from his bag, obviously unable to fit into an ordinary red packet.

"Grandpa, this is for you."

Ten stacks meant one hundred thousand. In the past, the second uncle, the third uncle, and even his father would give two thousand.

There was never a direct contribution of one hundred thousand like this.

Grandpa was healthy and had only one hobby of playing cards at the convenience store.

Often, he would be embarrassed by an empty pocket—something which really shouldn't happen at his age.

So Pingsheng decided, from now on, he would give one hundred thousand every year.

If he gave any more, chances are the third auntie would figure out a way to snatch it.

For all sorts of reasons, like Chen Fan needing money for marriage or to visit a big hospital.

The justifications were always the same.

Living off one's parents definitely didn't depend on age, it just depended on whether the seniors had money.

Grandpa and Grandma didn't want to accept it, saying their grandson didn't have it easy earning money outside.

But it was Peng Ying who convinced them to keep it, for she had already heard from her daughter-in-law; they truly didn't lack money now that they were in the Capital City.