ushernet Chapter 124: Sir,
Chapter 124: Sir,
Chapter 124: Sir,
A man and a woman.
Dating, living together.
Sharing meals and a home, but not a room.
Xu Wenbin almost believed it.
"When did you two have an argument?"
"We didn’t argue."
"Hmph."
Seeing Xu Qing refuse to admit it, Xu Wenbin didn’t press the matter. Still, a subtle feeling stirred within him.
To argue and yet calmly act as though nothing happened—sharing meals with them and hosting the elderly couple so amicably—it was... impressive.
It seemed serious.
Xu Qing had no idea what scenarios Xu Wenbin was imagining, but he could tell something was off about him.
"You two... are really like this?"
After a moment of silence, Xu Wenbin asked.
"What do you mean 'like this'? What’s wrong with it?" Xu Qing retorted.
"Your mom just told me that if you two get married, I should transfer this house to you. Then you can keep living here or sell it and buy a new one..." Xu Wenbin’s tone was calm, almost casual, but it made Xu Qing raise an eyebrow.
"Sure! When should we process the transfer?"
"...I vetoed it," Xu Wenbin added the latter part of the sentence, pushing up his glasses and meeting Xu Qing’s gaze. "I told her you can talk to me about it once you’ve found a stable job."
"I have a job now."
"Making videos for a few days to earn a couple hundred bucks counts as a job?" Xu Wenbin sneered.
At first, he thought the kid was earning quite a lot—making ten or eight of these a day and sitting at home sipping tea. But after learning more, he realized it wasn’t that simple. Someone had to watch those videos.
Nothing is easy, Xu Wenbin thought. More importantly, it wasn’t stable at all. One video might earn a few hundred bucks, but the next might hardly attract anyone.
"How long can you keep doing this? Do you expect to rely on it to get married? Sure, you’re doing fine now, spending little. But what about the future?"
"The future will take care of itself. What’s happening now doesn’t necessarily dictate what’s next..."
Xu Qing snorted. He already knew what Xu Wenbin was getting at. Mid-sentence, he suddenly stopped, eyeing Xu Wenbin. "How do you know one video can earn a few hundred?"
"I just know."
Xu Wenbin recalled the two accounts Xu Qing had blocked him from and sighed deeply.
"Can’t you learn from Haozi and the others? Stop staying at home tinkering with impractical things... Or be like Li Gaobo and open a shop. If you want to open one, I’ll help with some initial funding."
"How much?" Xu Qing asked.
"Depends on the shop. Do you want to open one?" Xu Wenbin’s eyes lit up.
As long as he stopped with those frivolous videos and did something practical, Xu Wenbin would support him wholeheartedly.
Xu Qing looked at Jiang He, who was looking back at him.
"I’m wrestling with a thought."
"What thought?" Jiang He asked.
"Whether to kiss your face or your hand next."
When you meet someone you truly like, you start to crave stability.
On the way home.
Zhou Suzhi noticed Xu Wenbin’s odd mood. Ever since they left, he hadn’t said a word, lost in thought.
"What did you and Qingzi talk about?"
"Nothing."
"Then what are you thinking?"
"I’m thinking..." Xu Wenbin gripped the steering wheel, driving slowly down the road. His emotions were mixed, and after some thought, he left the sentence unfinished.
"Times have changed."
Xu Qing had said so. He had said it while fiddling with that clean, patched-up straw shoe.
"Dad, you’ve got more experience, more life wisdom, but have you ever thought about how your life is unique?"
Xu Wenbin had never considered the question.
"Looking at the past and present, spanning millennia—forget that, let’s just focus on recent times—yours is undoubtedly unprecedented. Your generation’s era was colossal in scope. You say you’ve eaten more salt than I’ve eaten rice, and that’s true, more than true!
You and Grandpa, your two generations experienced changes in just a few decades that rival two centuries’ worth of transformation. From landlords being abolished, to communal dining with ration tickets, to collectively owned cattle in village barns, and then reform and opening up..."
Xu Qing spoke casually, but his words left Xu Wenbin speechless.
"In just a few decades, you’ve lived through the economic evolution of several centuries. From ration tickets to today’s world..."
"And now, here in the twenty-first century, you—a witness to history—are still clinging to outdated ideas, insisting that..."
"Happiness isn’t only about having enough food, wearing warm clothes, and holding a steady job. Everyone defines happiness differently."
"I get it. What I do is unstable, but I’m young. If I don’t try now, then when? Wait until retirement? When I’m an old man, hobbling with a cane, adapting to a younger generation’s era?"
"Staying at home doesn’t mean not creating value. The existence of these videos is the value."
"Your era was extraordinary, but this era is extraordinary too. They’re fundamentally incomparable. Have you ever thought about that?"
Thought about it?
Xu Wenbin remained silent.
"Times have changed..."
"What?" Zhou Suzhi looked at him.
"I’m thinking... times have changed."
"They changed long ago."