Chapter 13: Do you know why the poor stay poor?

After seeing his girlfriend off, Chen Fan bought the groceries and returned home.

That night the house was unusually lively; besides his grandmother, who had come home early, Third Uncle… who had not been back for years… also returned with his family.

“Third Uncle, Third Aunt, what brings you here?”

Third Uncle was Grandmother’s youngest son, named Chen Xuewu, and he had been lazy and idle since childhood and had learned nothing useful, though he was the only one who was handsome.

It was precisely because of his good looks that, while working away in his youth, he had successfully married into Third Aunt Hu Xiaomei’s family.

Hu Minghao was their son.

Chen Fan was also well aware of their true reason for coming back, which was to trick him into selling the house.

Third Aunt acted very warm and showed no sign of having been out of touch for years, and she pulled a gift box from behind her.

“We came back to see you; I can’t believe, Chen Fan, how much you’ve grown!”

“Do you remember when Auntie used to hold you as a child, when you were all filthy… um… adorably dazed and kept clamoring for persimmon cakes?”

“This time I even specially brought you one!”

“Oh.”

Chen Fan looked at the hypocritical Third Aunt and suddenly lost interest in keeping up the pretense.

He remembered that incident from his childhood very clearly.

It had been a rainy day, and because he had accidentally dirtied Third Aunt’s clothes, he was kicked straight into a mud pit.

Later, to avoid being seen by others, they reluctantly helped him to his feet while feigning disdain.

The persimmon cake they gave him had been the leftover that Hu Minghao had refused.

“Why are you such an ill-mannered child? Can’t you even say thank you?”

Third Uncle was very displeased with Chen Fan’s attitude and launched into a scolding.

Before Chen Fan could say anything, Grandmother’s smile faded and she said, “Old Third, you’ve been away for so many years, and now you come back and scold my grandson?”

Third Uncle hastily forced a smile and said, “Mom, you misunderstand me; I’m just helping Second Brother give the child a little discipline.”

“My grandson is very well-behaved; he doesn’t need to be disciplined!”

“Yes, yes, yes.”

Third Uncle and Third Aunt nodded repeatedly, but they were inwardly displeased.

Chen Fan was the grandson; did that mean their son did not count?

Although Hu Minghao had only ever come here once before, today when he arrived he only called out “Grandmother” at first and then buried his head in his game.

Chen Fan couldn’t be bothered to argue; after telling Grandmother he would go make dinner, he turned and went into the kitchen.

If it had been other relatives, they would have prepared a big meal that night to entertain them.

There was no need to be so polite with Third Uncle’s family.

Chen Fan quickly threw together a few home-style dishes, and dinner was ready.

Third Uncle and the others were very dismissive at first, but for the sake of their plan they suppressed it and started to eat, even forcing their sulky son to do the same.

But after only a few bites, their expressions changed.

It tasted far better than the food at their home, and Hu Minghao quickly dropped his reluctance and began to gobble it down.

It was unexpectedly delicious!

While they ate, Third Aunt didn’t forget to cozy up and asked Chen Fan with concern, “Chen Fan, you took the college entrance exam this year, right? What score did you get and what choices did you list as your preferences?”

“My Minghao is here today; if there’s anything you don’t understand, you can ask him.”

At the remark, Hu Minghao couldn’t help but lift his chin; he thought that while his rustic cousin might be decent at cooking, academically he certainly could not compare.

Grandmother was a little taken aback and gestured for Chen Fan to explain his situation.

Chen Fan shook his head; the application choices had already been filled in, so pretending to be helpful would be useless.

But since Third Aunt wanted to know, Chen Fan did not hide it and said calmly, “I applied to Donghai University.”

“What? Chen Fan, do you know how many points are needed to apply to Donghai University?”

Third Uncle and his family of three were all startled; their neighbor’s son had applied to Donghai University, and they knew it was a 211 key university.

If Hu Minghao couldn’t get in, how could Chen Fan!

Grandmother grew even more flustered and anxiously said, “My dear Fan has always been among the school’s top students; the teacher used to say he could get into a 985 university… so is Donghai University even more prestigious than a 985 school?”

They were speechless.

Third Uncle and his wife were left unable to speak, and Hu Minghao quickly lowered his haughty head.

So it seemed Chen Fan must have underperformed on the exams to have applied to Donghai University?

After not dwelling on that cringeworthy topic and making small talk for a while, Third Uncle finally got to the real reason for his visit.

“Mom, besides coming to see you, I also brought back a rare opportunity to get rich…”

“I’m an old woman and I don’t have the money, Old Third… don’t even think about it.”

Grandmother cut him off without listening; in years past the family had been cheated by Third Uncle several times under various pretexts, and she no longer trusted those tricks.

Third Uncle had come prepared and slowly explained that the project could at least double their money, and that not only his family but many fellow townspeople and relatives would invest.

“Mom, we’re family; even if I’m a screw-up, I’m not the kind to harm my family, am I?”

“But I really don’t have any money…”

Grandmother was a little swayed by the pitch, but the 20,000 yuan she had was reserved for Chen Fan’s schooling and could not be risked.

Third Uncle and Third Aunt had been waiting for that very answer, and with their true colors showing they said, “Mom, opportunities like this don’t come twice; this might be our one chance in life to turn things around.”

“Anyway, Chen Fan has finished high school; I think we might as well sell this house and use the money to invest, right?”

To their surprise, the expected scene of Grandmother and Chen Fan getting angry did not occur.

Grandmother only looked at Chen Fan and said, “my dear Fan is already planning to sell the house and buy property in Modou, so you should ask him whether he agrees.”

Pfft!

Third Uncle and Third Aunt couldn’t help laughing aloud; did Chen Fan really think he knew Modou’s housing prices well enough to buy there?

Even if this house could be sold for 300,000 yuan, in Modou that would only buy a one-bedroom in a godforsaken location.

No sane person would make such a decision.

But this only helped their persuasion, and Third Aunt earnestly said:

“Chen Fan, you might not realize it in a small town, but Modou’s housing prices have surged this year because of the World Expo, so it’s not a good time to buy a house.”

“You should give us the money to invest, and after two years when we’ve made a profit the prices might have fallen.”

“Wouldn’t that be perfect?”

“I don’t believe in free lunches; if there’s such a great get-rich opportunity, why doesn’t Third Uncle sell his own house to invest?”

“I’d sell mine too, but unfortunately my father-in-law absolutely refuses to agree.”

There was silence.

Chen Fan was resigned, and he felt relieved that the father-in-law was still sensible; otherwise in a month that family would be left on the streets.

By now Third Uncle and Third Aunt had long been blinded by temptation, and after several failed attempts to persuade Chen Fan they gradually lost patience.

“Chen Fan, do you know why poor people stay poor all their lives? They don’t seize opportunities when they come!”

“What’s the point of getting into Donghai University? He’ll still spend his life working for others!”

“You needn’t worry, Third Uncle and Third Aunt; I have my own plans.”

“Your so-called plan is worthless; you’ll be the one regretting it!”

Third Aunt was so furious her chest hurt; she grabbed her son and left.

As it happened, she didn’t want to wash dishes or live in such a shabby room, so she took the opportunity to slip away.

Giving up was out of the question.

If they could land an investment, they’d get several tens of thousands in commission, and once they got his eldest uncle to come over and persuade him tomorrow they didn’t believe that little Chen Fan wouldn’t be swayed.

Third Uncle saw his wife and son slip away and also found a worried-sounding excuse to leave.

If he didn’t leave, what if the old mother came asking him for support in her old age?