“Huang Li, oh Huang Li, do you think that giving your son and daughter food and drink and not letting them do chores means they’re enjoying life?” Lu Nan’s aunt sneered and then asked. 

Ms. Huang, who had been questioned all day, continued to nod. 

She nodded hesitantly, with a slight pause: “Isn’t it? To be fair, our family’s financial situation used to be quite good. Lu Nan grew up without having to lift a finger.” 

“Oh, so you think it’s still the 60s or 70s?” Lu Nan’s aunt continued with a sarcastic laugh. “Do you remember when Nan Nan was about four or five, she said she wanted to trade places with Jing Jing and be my daughter?” 

Ms. Huang didn’t remember: “Did that happen? The kids must have been joking.” 

“Do you remember how you used to leave Nan Nan with Mom? Every time you came to pick her up, she didn’t want to leave?” 

Mrs. Huang remembered: “At that time, Dad and Mom spoiled her, always giving her drinks and snacks. Of course, she preferred staying with them.” 

Lu Nan’s aunt chuckled coldly. “Well, you probably didn’t know that Nan Nan secretly told Mom she always went hungry when she was with you. You were so busy with your business, weren’t you? I remember both you and Xiao Lu had stomach problems. You thought it was responsible to keep Nan Nan with you, but didn’t think about how the irregular meals affected her. If it weren’t for Mom stepping in and cooking for you, I think Nan Nan would have become the third person in your family with a stomach problem.” 

“This…” Ms. Huang was at a loss for words. At the time, her mom, Lu Nan’s grandmother, had been cooking for them for two or three years, and Ms. Huang always thought it was out of motherly concern for her. 

“Also,” Lu Nan’s aunt continued with a sharp tone, “all these years, relatives and friends have praised you for knowing how to raise children, right? Saying Nan Nan and Yang Yang are well-behaved? Every time you hear that, you must feel proud, right?” 

This was something Ms. Huang was still very proud of to this day—her children’s education was never a worry for her. They had good habits and were always praised for being sensible and obedient by everyone who met them. 

Lu Nan’s aunt continued with a sarcastic laugh. “Do you know why Nan Nan stopped eating snacks later on?” 

Why? Wasn’t it because she ate too much during the years she stayed with her grandparents and got tired of it? 

Ms. Huang thought to herself. 

“She told Mom that she didn’t know what would get her scolded, so she just stopped eating snacks altogether.” 

Ms. Huang weakly tried to defend herself: “But eating too many snacks really isn’t good for the body. Look at your Jing Jing, she must have several cavities…” 

Lu Nan’s aunt, already frustrated with her sister, decided to be more direct: “True, Jing Jing, the older sister, is often less sensible than Nan Nan, the younger one, but at least Jing Jing can grab whatever she wants to eat at home and tell me if she wants to go out with her friends. But what about Nan Nan and Yang Yang? Have they ever invited their friends over to play? Have they ever gone to their friends’ homes?” 

No, they hadn’t. 

“Well-behaved children,” Lu Nan’s aunt sighed. “Are they really born that way? Of course, after reading books and watching TV these past two years, I understand a lot more. To be fair, you did teach Nan Nan well, but over all these years, Nan Nan hasn’t been as happy as Jing Jing in our family. Am I wrong?” 

Ms. Huang knew her older sister wasn’t wrong. 

Sometimes, she used her niece as a negative example to educate her daughter: Instant noodles and ham sausages are not nutritious and shouldn’t be eaten! Don’t go to your friends’ houses and cause trouble! Don’t waste money on outings, you’ll pick up bad habits, no going out! 

… 

At Grandma’s house, Lu Nan helped Grandma pack clothes, putting them into a bag while saying, “Grandma, tomorrow I’ll take you shopping for clothes.” 

“No need to buy, I have plenty. Your aunt and your mom have bought me a lot,” Grandma smiled, her wrinkles forming as she spoke, and then quietly said, “Our Nan Nan works so hard outside and has gotten thinner. I’m telling you, when you make money, buy more food and clothes for yourself. I’ve saved money here, I’ll buy you a gold bracelet in the future.” 

In their hometown, when a girl gets married, her family buys gold jewelry as dowry, and the gold bracelet Grandma mentioned was one of those. 

Thinking of her past life, where she had never been married, Grandma secretly said, “I’ve already bought you three gold bracelets. If you don’t find a husband soon, I’ll save up enough money for the fourth one.” 

Lu Nan couldn’t help but laugh as she rested her head on Grandma’s shoulder. 

They had lunch at Lu Nan’s aunt’s house since they were bringing Grandma to stay at her own house for a few days. Lu Nan decided to bring all the food from Grandma’s kitchen to Aunt’s house. 

During the meal, Ms. Huang was somewhat distracted. 

This was actually good for Lu Yang, who looked at the stir-fried celery on the table and thought, “Thank heavens. Mom didn’t force me and my sister to eat celery today! Usually, she would make us eat a few bites—don’t know who convinced her that celery is good. Well, lowering blood lipids has nothing to do with me and my sister for at least thirty or forty years!” 

They stayed at home for four days and three nights, and January 3rd was the last day of the New Year holiday. 

This time, Lu Nan first took Grandma home, then sent Lu Yang to school, and finally drove her mother back to Hailin City. 

On the way back, heavy snow started, and the highway entrance was closed. 

Lu Nan said helplessly, “We’ll have to take the national road.” 

The national road not only added more than 50 kilometers, but because of the weather and road conditions, the car couldn’t go fast. What was originally a three-hour trip turned into a five-hour journey. 

By the time they arrived in Hailin City, it was already dark. 

Lu Nan dropped her mother off at the entrance of her neighborhood. When Ms. Huang got out of the car, she muttered, “About work… it’s up to you.” 

Under the dim streetlights, the wrinkles at the corner of Ms. Huang’s eyes revealed her compromise and helplessness. 

Lu Nan followed her out of the car, helping her mother open the trunk. She smiled and said, “Thanks, Mom.” 

“Thanks for what?” Ms. Huang started to grab the suitcase, “Let me…” 

Then she saw her daughter take the suitcase out with one hand. 

Lu Nan lightly placed the suitcase on the ground, patted nonexistent dust off her hands, and said to her mother, “Thank you for understanding me and respecting my choices.” 

Her daughter’s overly sentimental words made Ms. Huang a little uncomfortable. She awkwardly pulled the suitcase handle and said, “A girl should not push too hard when going out of town. You must be very careful. Just remember, your brother and I don’t need you to earn money for the family.” 

“Okay.” 

“Go back soon, wash up, and rest early. You’ve been driving for so long, lucky you’re still young, your back can handle it…” Ms. Huang muttered, probably because sitting in the car had made her back hurt. 

Lu Nan stood there and said, “Mom.” 

“Hmm?” Ms. Huang turned back. 

“Tonight, I’ll sleep with you.” 

“Mm? I haven’t made the bed in my other room…” It was too sudden, just one thing after another. She muttered to herself, but Ms. Huang’s lips curved into a smile she didn’t even notice, “You should’ve said so earlier.” 

Lu Nan tapped her mother’s suitcase to the roadside, then said, “I’ll go find a parking spot. You wait for me here.” 

“I’ll take you. There are free parking spots right by the entrance of the neighborhood.” Ms. Huang gave directions and even guided her daughter’s reversing — although it seemed unnecessary, Lu Nan didn’t point it out. 

After parking, Lu Nan grabbed her bag and pulled the suitcase’s handle. “Let’s go.” 

“I’ll handle it myself…” Ms. Huang couldn’t snatch the suitcase from her daughter’s hands, so she grabbed the backpack from her daughter’s back instead. Upon feeling it, she was surprised. “Are you carrying stones in this bag?” 

Lu Nan awkwardly scratched her nose. “Just the things I need daily.” 

Ms. Huang sighed. 

She knew, even though her daughter appeared relaxed and carefree, that her work must be exhausting. 

If Lu Nan knew what her mother was thinking, she would probably say, “That’s a beautiful misunderstanding.” 

Exhausting? Not at all. 

Quite the opposite, actually. 

Once inside the door, Ms. Huang didn’t bother with her suitcase and went straight to the cabinet to search for blankets. “This one’s too thin, right? Will you sleep with the air conditioner on tonight? No, no, once the air conditioner is on, your nose won’t handle it. Why don’t you take the blanket from my bed? It’s thicker…” 

Before Ms. Huang could finish speaking, Lu Nan stopped her hand from rummaging through the cabinets. “It’s just one night, no need to set it up. I’ll sleep with you.” 

“Oh? Oh… okay then.” Ms. Huang said, “I’ll just add another pillow.” 

Both mother and daughter knew, regarding Lu Nan’s work, they had already reached an understanding. 

That night, while Ms. Huang was reading at the desk, she handed Lu Nan a few sections she didn’t quite understand. 

Lu Nan nodded approvingly. “E-commerce is definitely the future trend, and cross-border platforms will definitely squeeze the profit margins of many trading companies. But Mom, the fact that you’re already thinking of registering and getting involved shows real foresight.” 

“You also think it’s worth trying, right?” Ms. Huang’s confidence grew a little more. 

“Of course,” Lu Nan nodded. “Look, these little items, they have a huge market overseas…” 

Lu Nan accessed a foreign shopping site, searched for earrings, scarves, and other small items. Mrs. Huang saw the prices, quickly calculated the exchange rate, roughly estimated the cost, and concluded: there’s a lot of profit. 

With her daughter’s support, Ms. Huang felt even better and slept with a soft snore that night. 

Lu Nan helplessly shook her head and quietly took out noise-canceling earplugs from her makeup bag and put them in. 

The next day, Ms. Huang woke her up at around six. Groggily, Lu Nan had breakfast, then drove toward the city. 

On the way back, she was in a great mood. 

She arrived at the dorm at 7:30, quietly closed the door, went upstairs, took a shower, and prepared for a nap. 

In the days when Manager Wang and Chen Xiao were away at headquarters for the year-end meeting, it was the perfect time for her to enjoy a little freedom. 

No morning meetings, no clocking in — but the work reports still had to be written, though not too seriously. 

The city managers attending the headquarters meeting had no time to read their subordinates’ reports anyway. Even though they were top dogs in their own cities, at headquarters they were nobodies. They had to sit obediently, notebooks in hand, recording everything about the meeting content and tone. 

Then, they’d start gathering intel on how other cities were doing in terms of payment collection; 

And maybe even speculate on which city managers might be transferred (promoted, demoted, voluntarily or involuntarily leaving), wondering if they’d stay in their current position or compete for a position as a city manager in another city. 

Some even aimed higher, wanting to compete for the position of provincial general manager. Those people were especially active—at every meal, they made sure to show their face in front of the regional leaders. 

In short, it was a mix of everything. 

Wang Xinglong had a clear understanding of himself. 

His education level wasn’t high, and he had reached his current position purely through years of working at the company. After the incident with Xiang Yunfeng, he realized even more clearly that he didn’t actually have the ability to firmly hold on to the provincial general director seat. So he didn’t aim too high—he just wanted to stay in Hailin City for another year. After all, it was better to stick with what he knew. 

However, despite his humble aspirations, Wang Xinglong found that he couldn’t stay low-key if he wanted to. 

The year-end meeting lasted three days. On the first day, after lunch, he received a message from Director Tong and was called to meet with the head of the sales company, President Xia. 

President Xia! 

This was President Xia! 

Could it be that President Xia has taken an interest in me?