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Chapter 804: Chapter 337: The Temptation of Going Home
The issue of where to get dog food was urgent but not the most pressing matter; returning home was at the forefront.
Even after waking up comfortably in Harbin, it was only then that Su Huai suddenly felt that familiar sense of timidity as he approached his hometown.
After wandering outside for more than twenty years, he was finally going home...
Counting on his fingers, he ran the numbers: "I’ve got to buy this for my dad, that for my mom, six cousins, four other cousins, aunts and uncles..."
My goodness, you don’t realize until you start counting, and then it gives you quite the scare; there sure are a lot of relatives in the family.
But there’s something unique about his family—Su Aijun and Mo Hongjuan were both the youngest in their families, so the older generation had passed away when Su Huai was in middle school, leaving no direct relatives from his grandparents’ generation.
Su Huai’s eldest uncle was now 68, a full 21 years older than Su Aijun.
The age difference never affected the affection between the brothers, but it greatly impacted the relationship Su Huai had with his peers—it was hard to hang out and there wasn’t much contact.
From Su Huai’s perspective, he only had three and a half friends and relatives.
His fourth cousin Mo Jian, his seventh cousin Wang Yu, his little cousin Su Jin, and the half was his first cousin once removed Su Lifang.
As for the rest of his cousins, they were definitely better than classmates but not by much; don’t count on them when it really matters.
So sometimes Su Huai really admired the family clans in the South and couldn’t understand them.
How could they be so united?
How did they turn the nuisance of relatives into a strong bond?
It might depend on the person, or maybe it’s because Daqing relies on the oil fields, adopting a collectivist socialized mass production, relying more on organizational power for public affairs, and the small family units were scattered across different fronts.
Su Huai had no desire to lead everyone in some big venture; if help was needed, that’s no problem, but banding together for a united struggle wasn’t necessary.
Family businesses and managerial models each have their pros and cons; it’s not something you can clearly state in just a sentence or two, you have to see what suits you better.
Su Huai was suited to working alone. He even brushed off Gu who wanted to get involved, just that clear-headed.
Once the framework was set, Su Huai knew what gifts to bring home.
For his peers and younger relatives, a red envelope for each; for the elders, tobacco, liquor, tea, cosmetics, health products, a car for his father, and a set of super luxurious gold jewelry for his mother, all arranged!
He had just finished brushing his teeth when Tang Xian’er happened to knock on the door.
Right on the dot at 6:30, punctual.
"Mr. Su, what would you like for breakfast?" she asked with a friendly smile, not sycophantic, and very naturally, "Now that you’re back home, would you like to visit the morning market?"
Thoughtful and sensible!
"Sure, let’s go have a look."
While Su Huai was rinsing his mouth, she handed him her own towel: "I washed your towel, don’t use the hotel’s, use mine."
Su Huai gave his face one last pat, took the towel, and rubbed it all over his face haphazardly.
Had it been her ex, Tang the beauty would have turned her nose up by now, but now, she playfully chided him.
"Take it easy, such a handsome face, can’t you cherish it? The skin on your face is the most sensitive; don’t just rub it like that..."
The sweetness was off the charts, but Su Huai remained straightforward and natural.
"No need, I’ve got thick skin, it can handle a good rub."
"Hey, hey, your neck!" She made a motion to lift her hand, "Never mind, let me help you wipe it."
But Gou Huai just tossed the half-wet towel back to her with a grin: "Be proper, always trying to take advantage of me."
Tang Xian’er wasn’t upset, she gently folded the towel, humoring him: "Alright, alright, I’m reaching too high. Boss, shall we hurry up and get moving?"
Over the past half month of flying around, she had always been like this.
Never overstepping, but always initiating to break the ice, inching forward step by step.
By all accounts, getting rubbed up by a beauty scoring over 90 wasn’t a big deal; whether to progress further was still the man’s call, right?
But Su Huai just wouldn’t let her get to the main point.
With grown women, you can’t always go along with everything—big mistake.
Once she feels that "everything comes so easily," "you’re nothing special," then you’re in for trouble—she’ll become more demanding.
Therefore, it was crucial to establish boundaries early on, to draw a line there.
Some guys asked: What if those boundaries couldn’t be set?
Wear them down!
Wear down her patience and wear down your own eagerness.
This was cultivation, and there are no instant successes in cultivation; it’s all about making slow progress through painful self-restraint.
Thinking back on how I, Brother Huai... whoops, you, Brother Huai, were always top-notch, forget it, meeting adjourned!
Su Huai slipped on his down jacket, didn’t call Fu Yu or Chen Ru, just took Tang Xian’er and went strolling to the nearest morning market.
Morning markets in the Northeast are generally bleak in the deep winter, but Harbin is an exception, always bustling with tourists.
The market bustled with activity, full of the spirit of life, and as soon as Tang Xian’er entered, she became excited.
"Leader, it smells so good! What’s delicious here? Please recommend something!"
Su Huai was only craving some fried dough sticks dipped in soy milk. He sat down next to a stall, just watching her flit about buying this and that.
That’s how old men are, not even offering a smoke is the greatest respect for her.
Several guys nearby looked on enviously at him.
And there was a couple, with the guy occasionally glancing at Tang Xian’er, his eyes filled with shock, confusion, and a hint of resentment.
How unfair, right?
Soon enough, his girlfriend caught him in the act; the girl fiercely poked him, scolding: "Look, look, what are you staring at? Do you feel hard done by being with me?"
