Chapter 70: Study Abroad

It’s rare to have an excuse and opportunity to gather everyone for a meal, and taking advantage of my uncle’s housewarming as a happy occasion, several relatives gathered at his new home. Even my aunt and uncle came with gifts, creating a relatively joyful atmosphere.

However, Chen Jia’s news came as a complete surprise.

My second uncle and second aunt looked confused, but my uncle and aunt, as well as my third uncle and aunt, had already started celebrating.

“Today is truly a double blessing! Studying abroad as an exchange student isn’t easy to apply for, right? Our children are doing well; just look!” My uncle happily gulped down a glass of white wine, clearly a bit tipsy. In his excitement, he didn’t notice that the reactions of my second uncle and second aunt were off.

“Jia Jia is doing great! Our family now has several college graduates, and now one is even going abroad for study. When are you leaving? We need to host another banquet for this. I’ll give you a big red envelope!”

My third uncle, also a bit drunk, chimed in happily, “Yes, yes, yes! It’s good that the kids are successful. I’ll also prepare a big red envelope.”

My uncle and aunt quickly noticed that my second uncle and second aunt’s expressions were off. They tried to stop the two drunk men, but they couldn’t manage it. The two brothers just kept chatting away, going through the academic achievements of all the kids in the family one by one.

Chen Jin sighed silently: I really can’t believe this.

Chen Jia didn’t expect her uncle to get drunk at such a critical moment. She felt quite guilty, especially as her parents’ gazes seemed to pierce right through her.

She discreetly poked Chen Jin and whispered, “Third sister, you have to help me!”

Chen Jin, who had just switched seats, calmly changed her position again.

At such a large dining table, it was impossible to accommodate someone who just wanted to focus on eating.

Because of Chen Jia’s explosive news, my second uncle and second aunt announced they would leave after dinner, promising to treat the family to a meal another day. My third cousin hadn’t drunk any alcohol, so my third aunt sent him to take my second uncle and his wife home.

“Third sister, are you going back to the small western-style building or to Hanlin Garden later?” my third aunt asked.

“Let’s go to Hanlin Garden.”

My uncle’s new home was located in Rose Garden, with three rooms set aside for the children. However, they weren’t allowed to stay there often since my uncle and aunt were busy with their work, finding the three of them a hassle.

Now that both my uncle and third uncle had moved to Rose Garden, Chen Jin had given up on the idea of selling the Hanlin Garden property. Living nearby would make it much more convenient for visits in the future. It was better to hold onto the Hanlin Garden house for now.

My second uncle was also somewhat interested in buying a place in Rose Garden.

Recently, housing reform policies had been gradually implemented, establishing a comprehensive housing fund system, raising public housing rent, allowing public housing to be sold, and various other policies that facilitated residents’ home purchases. This enhanced residents’ confidence and ability to buy homes, signaling that in the future, housing issues could no longer be solved solely by relying on the government, employers, or enterprises.

At the same time, obtaining land to build medium-to-high-end residential communities had become more difficult; approvals were hard to come by. My uncle’s company was currently involved in a suburban project in West District, in addition to taking on housing reform projects.

With the government’s macro-control of housing prices, houses originally classified as mid-range, like Xiuli (beautiful) Community, weren’t seeing price increases. Xiuli (beautiful) Community was still doing a bit better, as it was confirmed that the subway would pass through there, providing an advantage of convenient transportation, and its prices were slightly higher than at the same time last year. Prices had soared before the New Year but had since dropped.

Chen Jin decided to observe for a while; she felt that the government’s current control over real estate was quite strong, and she was unsure if buying a house in Shenzhen was a wise choice at this moment.

Even Aunt Kexin had returned from Shanghai. With the money she had borrowed from the bank, she had only bought two apartments in Shanghai to keep for future living, while spending the rest on houses in Beijing.

Thus, it wouldn’t be easy for my second uncle to switch to a house in the Rose Garden area. Although housing prices in high-end communities fluctuated little, selling the two apartments in Xiuli (beautiful) Community wasn’t as easy now. Even if the houses in both Xiuli (beautiful) Community and Jinxiu (Splendid) Community were sold, it wouldn’t be enough to buy a house in Rose Garden.

Now that it’s known that Chen Jia has plans to study abroad… Even though they didn’t express much tonight, based on Chen Jin’s understanding of her second uncle and aunt, they would definitely compromise with Chen Jia.

However, having been kept in the dark by Chen Jia for so long, they wouldn’t be the first to know. Now her second uncle and aunt would surely be angry and would probably criticize Chen Jia when they got home.

Ignoring Chen Jia’s pleading gaze for help, Chen Jin pulled Zhuang Yao over to the sofa to chat after they left.

Last time, she had directly sent her second cousin to his destination, and as soon as he got out of the car, he started the engine and drove away. After that, fearing he would hold it against her, she hadn’t contacted him at all. Then school started, and she got so busy that she completely forgot about her second cousin and Zhuang Yao.

Now that they had met again, she had to ask what happened afterward. Judging by the current situation, it seemed these two had definitely reconciled.

Zhuang Yao glanced at Chen Yongxin at the dining table and said, “There’s nothing much to say. Considering that he really recognized his mistakes, I’ll forgive him this once. If there’s a next time, he can go marry his ex. It’s not like I don’t have anyone else pursuing me.”

Chen Jin nodded in agreement, “Exactly! Zhuang Yao, you’re pretty, come from a good family, and you’re involved in managing the family business. If he goes out to dinner with his ex, you can do the same!”

“… Now that you mention it, I feel like I’m losing out. I don’t even have an ex.”

“If my second brother keeps being foolish, you’ll have one soon enough.”

Chen Yongxin came over with two drinks, his teeth clenched in irritation. He casually handed one drink to his nephew Junjun and kept one to give to Zhuang Yao.

Chen Jin frowned and looked up at him, “Since you’re being so helpful, couldn’t you also grab a drink for me?”

“Get it yourself.”

Chen Jin huffed. Now that he didn’t need her, he was acting tough. Next time he came to her for “consultation” about his emotional troubles, she would either mock him or strategize against him!

In the Meteorological Bureau’s housing complex, many people were chatting and enjoying the cool evening air at the stone tables downstairs. When they saw Chen Jia’s family of three return, everyone greeted them warmly.

“Section Chief Chen, out for dinner? Why are you back so late?”

Everyone in the Meteorological Bureau’s housing complex knew that Section Chief Chen’s family had experienced a demolition in their hometown last year. It was said that his brothers would receive several million in compensation, while he would receive significantly less, though still in the hundreds of thousands along with several houses. Section Chief Chen’s family had suddenly transformed from an average middle-class family in the complex to a wealthy one.

While everyone else was still waiting for their housing allocations, his family already owned several houses, which made many envious. Some people turned their eyes toward Chen Jia. Section Chief Chen and his wife only had this one daughter.

When Chen Jia was born, the country had just started discussing family planning, but there were no clear policies in place, so most people still chose to have more children.

Only Chen Wenhua and Liu Juan had decided to have just one child. Even though they had a daughter, they spoiled her immensely. So in the Meteorological Bureau’s housing complex, it could be said that Chen Jia enjoyed better conditions than anyone else, even compared to boys.

The houses and savings accumulated by Chen Wenhua and Liu Juan would surely be left for Chen Jia in the end. Whoever married her wouldn’t have to worry about housing, and with her in-laws working at the same unit, their retirement pension wouldn’t be small either. There were many benefits to be had.

In the past year, Chen Wenhua and Liu Juan had not been short on experiencing the “enthusiasm” of their neighbors and former colleagues. However, they could clearly see that these people were insincere; they must be crazy to let their only daughter find a man and get married so early.

If it weren’t for the fact that marrying a son-in-law who moved in with them might bring in a wolf in sheep’s clothing, they would have considered having Chen Jia find a husband to move in instead.

“Hey, Jia Jia, our family Haining said she wants to play with you. Come to our house tomorrow!”

Chen Jia didn’t respond. If she went to Haining’s house, she wouldn’t be seeing Haining but her brother instead.

After greeting the neighbors in the housing complex, Chen Wenhua quickened his pace to return home. Liu Juan also had no desire to deal with the neighbors; she shot Chen Jia a glare and urged her to hurry back.

Chen Jia dawdled as she entered the house. She saw her dad already seated on the sofa, exuding an intimidating air, as if waiting to interrogate her. As soon as she moved in front of the coffee table, her mom went to close the door, then sat down next to her dad.

“I’m giving you three minutes to come up with a reasonable excuse. Otherwise, you…” Chen Wenhua was about to say, “Otherwise, you’ll be in for a beating,” but considering that she was already twenty, disciplining her with a stick like when she was younger wasn’t going to fly anymore. He hesitated for a moment.

Chen Jia knew what her dad wanted to say, so she quickly straightened her posture and sincerely admitted her mistake, saying she shouldn’t have kept such a big thing from her parents. Then she continued, “The main reason is that I wasn’t sure I could apply for this study abroad program. The list of successful applicants was only announced yesterday, and I just got to my uncle’s house from school in the afternoon. Now it’s just an approved application; I won’t start the exchange until the summer vacation of my junior year…”

Stealing a quick glance at her parents’ expressions, she noticed they weren’t as harsh as before, which meant there was still hope.

Chen Jia continued, “After graduation, I was also worried that I wouldn’t be able to adapt to studying abroad, so when I saw that the school had this exchange program, I applied for it. Who knew I would be so lucky and actually get accepted?”

She continued to sneak peeks.

Claiming it was good luck was pure nonsense.

To even be eligible to submit an application, students were required to maintain excellent grades during their studies. She had been putting in a lot of effort this semester, fearful of slacking off during her junior year. They also had to have a good command of a foreign language. Thanks to her mom, who enrolled her in English interest classes after hearing other mothers in the housing complex bragging about their children’s various classes, she had managed to keep up with her foreign language skills. Everyone had said that mastering a foreign language would be very useful in the future, so her mom had insisted she attend.

By the time Chen Wenhua was on his way back home, he had calmed down by a quarter. Now, hearing her “defend” herself, he felt another quarter of his anger dissipate. However, he was still mad.

“Why have you never talked to us about wanting to study abroad?” Chen Wenhua continued to maintain a stern expression. “Did you deliberately wait until everyone was around to say it? Afraid we would disagree, thinking your uncle and the others would support you? Do you think we are such old-fashioned people that we would stop you from going abroad to study?”

Chen Jia initially wanted to brush things off with a playful smile, but after hearing what her dad said, she began reflecting on her actions and realized she had indeed gone too far. Her parents had always treated her so well, yet she had been guarding herself against them, too afraid to share her plans.

The more she thought about it, the more she felt like she had been terrible. How could she not trust her own parents like this?

Liu Juan was ready to join in and scold Chen Jia alongside her husband, but when she saw her daughter blinking back tears, on the verge of crying but holding it in, she couldn’t bring herself to say anything harsh.

She opened her mouth, but in the end, decided to let her husband play the bad guy. So, she put on a stern face and kept quiet.

For a while, no one spoke. Then, noticing that Chen Wenhua had gone silent, Liu Juan discreetly tugged at his pant leg and gave him a look: You need to talk to your daughter properly!

Chen Wenhua shot her a look back: Why don’t you say something? You always make me be the bad guy!

“I’m sorry, Mom and Dad. I know I was wrong,” Chen Jia blurted out, feeling anxious in the heavy silence. She was starting to believe her parents were really angry this time, so angry that they didn’t even want to talk to her.

“Tell me, are you afraid we won’t agree to let you study abroad, or are you worried we won’t be willing to spend the money? How much does this exchange program cost?”

Chen Jia shrunk her neck, “I’m afraid of both. The exchange program is a bit expensive. The school subsidizes half, but we have to cover the rest ourselves.” Her voice lowered, “For a year of exchange, the tuition and living expenses that we’d have to pay would be around seventy thousand…”

“Oh.” Chen Wenhua only gave a single word in response, but to Chen Jia, it felt like a bomb, making her even more anxious. She had no idea what her parents were thinking.

In truth, her grades weren’t top of the class, but even with the school covering half the costs, seventy thousand was still a huge amount for most students. She had thought about it—if her parents didn’t support her, she would probably have to ask her third sister to lend her the money.

Actually, when Chen Wenhua heard “around seventy thousand,” he secretly sighed in relief.

Some kids in the housing complex had gone abroad in the past couple of years, and their families said it cost over two hundred thousand a year for tuition and living expenses. Compared to that, seventy thousand seemed like a much smaller amount. The family could tighten their belts, maybe even take out a loan from the bank using the property deed, and they’d still be able to afford it. Or they could borrow from relatives, or worst case, sell one of their properties to scrape together the money.

But the kid probably didn’t understand any of that. After all, ever since she was little, her parents had taken care of everything for her, and she didn’t have a sense for the household’s finances. They had mentioned before that the family was in a deficit because they still had to pay off the mortgage on their Xiuli (beautiful) Community, and the building in Qiaoxi Village had also been built using borrowed money.

The total rent from all the rental properties they owned, combined with the couple’s salaries, amounted to over four thousand yuan per month. While this income made them quite well-off compared to others in the residential compound, they still had debts to repay each month. In particular, the money to build the building in Qiaoxi Village was borrowed from the eldest brother and his wife. Since the brother and sister-in-law were generous enough to lend them the money, they couldn’t delay repayment. Each month, they set aside enough for household expenses and emergencies, and the remaining money, aside from paying the mortgage on the two apartments in Xiuli (beautiful) Community, went toward repaying the eldest brother and his wife.

Even though the family was currently in debt, seventy thousand yuan was really not a big deal for them.

It was only Chen Jia, who had a limited understanding of the family’s financial situation, who thought that the seventy thousand yuan for the overseas exchange program was a huge deal.

Although Chen Wenhua’s anger had mostly subsided, he didn’t show it and decided to let Chen Jia stay anxious for a few more days.

“I’ll go and talk to your advisor about your exchange program. Once we have a clear understanding of the situation, we’ll talk to you about going abroad,” he said.

Chen Jia quickly nodded obediently and waited for her parents to say more. But after a long time, neither of them spoke. So, she slowly scooted over and squeezed herself between them.

Looking to the left at her father’s stern face, and to the right at her mother’s equally stern expression, she quietly slipped her arms through theirs and said softly, “Mom, Dad, I really know I was wrong. If I make another mistake, you can break my legs, and I promise I won’t say a word!”

Liu Juan had just calmed down, but when she heard this, she couldn’t hold back and smacked her daughter twice, gritting her teeth as she said, “You little brat, how dare you even think about a ‘next time’?! Are you trying to drive your father and me to death?”

Chen Wenhua cooperatively grunted in agreement.

Chen Jia immediately changed her tone and admitted her mistake, “There won’t be a next time! Absolutely not! From now on, if I have anything major, I’ll definitely tell you and Dad first. No more acting without telling you! I swear!”

Chen Wenhua and Liu Juan exchanged a glance, then quickly looked away, giving a faint “hmm.”

“Now, tell us what you’re thinking. You’ve never mentioned wanting to study abroad before… Did Wu Sheng’s constant bragging about how great it is overseas brainwash you?”

“No way! I looked into it myself, thought about it carefully, and only then did I decide I wanted to study abroad.”

“Then explain how you’ve thought it through.”

Sensing the softening in her parents’ tone, Chen Jia completely relaxed. She leaned lazily on her mother and honestly explained how the idea had come to her and why she thought an exchange program abroad would be beneficial.

Chen Jin spent the night at Hanlin Garden. Last night, she had arranged with her third aunt to go to her place for lunch today. The main reason was to talk to her cousin about the current situation at Sifang Travel Agency.

Her cousin had mentioned that after October, they would distribute dividends for the first time and then expand their workforce and equip vehicles, which meant increasing investment. Everyone had to contribute proportionally. If Chen Jin didn’t invest more, her 25% share would be diluted.

She wasn’t in a hurry to return to the small villa tomorrow and could still stroll around the West District.

Since March this year, the government had introduced the “Big and Small Weeks” rest schedule. NTU only started implementing it this semester. Chen Jin had been busy overseeing the students’ military training, so her rest days followed the students’ schedule. She hadn’t fully grasped the impact of this new system until this weekend, when she realized how wonderful it was to have two full days off!

The “Big and Small Weeks” policy was meant to transition into a full two-day weekend system over the course of a year, meaning that by March next year, every weekend would be two days off!

She was already looking forward to March next year and decided that from now on, she would pray every day at work: NTU must keep up with national policies and implement the two-day weekend as soon as possible!

The fridge at home often lost power, but there was still some food stored, just in case she suddenly decided to stay over and had nothing to eat.

But after checking the pantry, Chen Jin decided to go out and find a breakfast spot instead.

Had she known she would run into Zhang Leye and that woman from before, she would have gone down a few minutes later.

Apparently, the woman still remembered how Chen Jin had pulled her hair during the fight last time, and now, when she saw her in the neighborhood, she kept glaring at her. Chen Jin wasn’t one to back down, so she glared right back: “I pulled your hair, but you scratched me too!”

Zhang Leye used to tag along with her aunt to Qiaodong Village, always acting honest and simple, smiling whenever he saw Chen Jin and her family. But during the ugly divorce, he showed his disdain for the Chen family. Now, he felt awkward seeing her and even wanted to come over to greet her?

Noticing his intention, Chen Jin quickly picked up the pace and left the neighborhood. Running into those two so early in the morning was enough bad luck already—who wanted to exchange pleasantries?

After walking a bit further, Chen Jin looked back and noticed that Zhang Leye and the woman seemed to be giving each other the cold shoulder.

They had followed him to Hanlin Garden, which was still the Zhang family’s base. Their marriage was pretty much set in stone, right? Heh, looks like Zhang Bai and Zhang Xue, that pair of siblings, would have plenty to fuss about.

Chen Jin hadn’t driven out, so after eating breakfast at a shop just outside the neighborhood, she walked to Rose Garden.

A small park was being built between the two communities. It was close to Nanjiang River, where they were currently constructing a ring road along the riverbanks. The entire city was under construction—either new high-rises were going up or old buildings were being torn down. With the subway construction, some roads were also blocked off. If you were driving, you’d either have to take a detour or brace yourself for traffic jams.

When Chen Jin arrived at Rose Garden, it was just after eight in the morning. The village chief, Chen Sangong, and the self-organized Tai Chi group of elderly folks were practicing Tai Chi in the community. A couple of other elders from the village were also out, playing chess with others.

The vibe here at Rose Garden felt more grounded.

“Morning, Chief.” Since the village chief had already spotted her, it wouldn’t be right not to go over and say hello. She also greeted Chen Sangong with a quick “Good morning.”

The village chief was busy with Tai Chi, so they didn’t chat much. He simply said, “Later, bring Yongfei along and come to my house for lunch.”

Chen Jin smiled and agreed, saying she’d go with her cousin later.

She guessed that the village chief probably wanted to talk to them about the travel agency. Usually, she and her cousin were hard to find—one was busy at the school, and the other was always leading tours. Even their own family had a hard time getting hold of them, let alone outsiders.

“Old Chen, is that a young person from your village?”

A young person from Qiaodong Village couldn’t be just any ordinary young person. With the village undergoing redevelopment, they’d surely get a fair share of the family’s assets. Don’t underestimate these old men—they may seem retired, but they’d love to act as matchmakers. Whenever they saw a young person in the neighborhood, they would want to dig up their entire family history and try to introduce them to someone.

They could afford to live in Rose Garden, but it wasn’t just about what other people had—it was more about keeping themselves occupied. The elderly ladies in the neighborhood didn’t always have as much information as these old men did. Sometimes, while out fishing for a morning or an afternoon, they’d end up chatting and finding out all sorts of things.

“Yes, the first college student from our village.” Chen Guangman knew these old men too well and said directly, “She’s a college professor now. The kid is really smart, has her own opinions, and doesn’t care for arranged introductions.”

“You never know. A few days ago, my niece was the same way—said she wasn’t interested at all before the date, but the next day, she went and got the marriage certificate.”

Chen Guangman waved his hand, “That’s different. Our village’s Third Sister is sharp. No man can fool her.”