Chapter 44: Setting Out for Hangzhou

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It had been more than half a year since Su Chen had last returned home. Now that he was finally nearing home, even his footsteps up the stairs were unusually quick and light.

The moment he unlocked the door, his father, Su Weian, turned around and saw the son who had been away for so long. He hurried over, took Su Chen’s luggage from him, and said with a gentle smile, “You’re back, son! Did everything go smoothly on the way?”

Su Weian was fifty years old that year. Standing six feet tall, he had a dark, gaunt face that made him look somewhat older than his age.

Yet despite his ordinary appearance—so ordinary that he might disappear completely in a crowd—Su Weian had lived an exceptionally rich and eventful life.

He had been born into an ordinary farming household in Cang County, Ouh City.

When he was young, his family had been poor and there had been many mouths to feed. Including the elderly and the children, there were nine people in all—far more than the family could support. So at the age of fifteen, Su Weian had volunteered to leave home and make his way in the world, hoping to ease the burden on his family.

Perhaps it was precisely because he had ventured out at such a young age that he had developed a keen business instinct and remarkable courage early on.

In the strictest sense, he had been one of the earliest people in the country to develop a true awareness of the market.

He had resold approval documents and foreign-exchange quotas, contracted small coal mines in Shanxi, and drilled illicit oil wells in Shaanxi.

Su Weian had always been able to identify newly emerging business opportunities at the very first moment, then throw himself into them without hesitation or concern for the consequences.

Yet, looking back carefully, every commercial transformation in the country had ultimately been a contest between companies in which powerful figures had personally entered the arena.

There was an inevitability to the pattern—and an inherent unfairness woven into it from the beginning…

Forget it. There was no point talking about it. The more one said, the more it all turned into tears of bitterness. In any case, after a lifetime of toil and hardship, his father had still failed to save much money.

Even so, Su Chen held his father in the highest regard.

“Dad! I’m back!” Su Chen stepped forward and hugged Su Weian before changing into his slippers and entering the house. “Where’s Mom? I haven’t seen her.”

Hearing the commotion at the door, Lin Wenqing hurried out of the kitchen without even setting down her spatula. She wrapped Su Chen in a tight embrace, her face radiant with smiles.

“My son is home! You must be exhausted. Go wash your hands first. I’ll finish this last dish, and then we can eat!”

Lin Wenqing was not tall. Though the years had left their marks on her face, it was still easy to see that she must have been a beauty in her youth.

Su Chen’s striking appearance had been inherited largely from her.

“Mom, it’s been so long. I missed you so much!” Su Chen clung to Lin Wenqing and refused to let go, speaking in a slightly spoiled, childish tone.

“Enough, enough! I’m still holding the spatula. Don’t get it on your clothes—it’s terribly hard to wash out!” Lin Wenqing pushed him away and scolded him with a laugh. “You’ve barely come home and you’re already being a nuisance. Go wash your hands. It’s time to eat!”

Su Chen glanced at the dining table. Seven or eight dishes had already been laid out, including his favorites: sweet-and-sour spare ribs, chilled jellyfish with enoki mushrooms, and sweet-and-sour carp.

Seeing Su Chen swallow eagerly like a greedy cat, Su Weian could not help laughing. “Your mother knew you were coming home, so she got up early this morning and started cooking. Everything is something you like.”

“Mm-hmm!” Su Chen nodded, hurriedly washed his hands, and eagerly began to eat.

At the dinner table, the family ate and chatted together. The warmth and atmosphere that existed only at home filled Su Chen with an intense longing.

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Only then did Su Weian begin asking Su Chen about the donation incident.

After the matter had come to light, his parents had followed it closely from beginning to end. Their earlier silence had not been due to indifference, but because they were afraid that asking at the wrong time would add to their son’s psychological burden.

As parents, they understood Su Chen’s personality better than anyone. He was highly independent and fiercely proud. Faced with difficulties, he would rather bear everything himself than speak of it.

Besides, there was truly nothing they could do to help in this matter. It was better to pretend they knew nothing than to make their son worry about them and divide his attention.

Su Chen carefully explained the entire course of events to his parents. Su Weian and Lin Wenqing were both deeply astonished, though what they felt even more strongly was pride in their son.

Without realizing it, their son had grown into someone so outstanding.

“Well done, son! You really are my boy. Your mother is so proud of you!” Lin Wenqing said admiringly, her face glowing with pride.

Su Weian was relatively calm. After pondering for a moment, he said, “Although public opinion about you is fairly positive right now, you did go a little too far with this matter.

“A lot of people like you now, but there are just as many who envy you—some may even resent you. So for the time being, you should keep a lower profile and avoid drawing too much attention. Don’t give anyone the chance to find something they can use against you.”

Su Chen nodded earnestly. “Don’t worry, Dad. I understand.”

In fact, this was also why Su Chen had not streamed for the past two weeks. He wanted to let the heat surrounding the incident cool down a little before capitalizing on the wave of attention.

Otherwise, he risked being overwhelmed by the sheer size of the traffic and ultimately suffering a disastrous backlash.

Over the following days, Su Chen would go out to attend engagements or meet up with friends when he had things to do. When he had nothing planned, he simply stayed home, rested, and spent time with his parents. The comfort of it all was impossible to describe.

The villagers and neighbors soon heard that Su Chen had returned, and one after another they came by to visit and make themselves known.

Whenever they caught sight of Su Chen, they would shower him with extravagant praise and endless flattery. Compliments poured from their mouths as though they cost nothing, and Su Chen became the child everyone else’s parents wished they had.

Yet Su Chen felt no impatience toward these elders. He patiently sat with them and answered all their questions.

It was not because he wanted their approval or recognition.

He simply wanted to bring honor to his parents.

And that was also the reason he had made time to return home this time.

It was much like the answer Su Chen had once given on his alternate account on the short-video platform.

If one day you became successful, what would be the first thing you wanted to do?

Su Chen’s answer had been:

Wipe the envy from his mother’s face, then straighten his father’s back.

Perhaps the thought was a little shallow. Perhaps it was somewhat childish. But it was the truest desire in Su Chen’s heart.

There was, after all, a fundamental difference between an obscure small-time streamer and a major internet celebrity with widespread fame.

Pleasant days always passed especially quickly. Before he knew it, the day he had planned to return to Hangzhou had arrived.

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Lin Wenqing held Su Chen’s hand and spoke with reluctance and concern. “Achen, take good care of yourself in Hangzhou. Don’t work too hard. You can never earn all the money in the world, but your health is the most important thing!”

Su Chen smiled and nodded. “I know, Mom. Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of myself.”

Su Weian glanced at Lin Wenqing from the side and said quietly, “Achen, take advantage of this opportunity and earn as much as you can while you still have the chance. Opportunities like this are rare.

“Don’t be afraid of hard work. You have some fame now, but who knows? Maybe you won’t be able to earn like this in the future…”

Su Chen fell silent.

After a moment, he nodded. “I know, Dad. In any case, I’ll say the same thing as always: as long as the work doesn’t kill me, I’ll work myself to death. Right?”

In truth, he knew that his father was right.

He might be famous now, and money might come easily, but who could say what the future held? It was better to live in the present.

How many internet celebrities had believed they could remain popular forever, only to discover that they had merely been a passing breeze—here one moment and gone the next?

Of course, Su Chen also knew perfectly well that he was different from those celebrities.

With the system in his possession, his fame would only continue to grow. He would never fade into obscurity.

Before leaving, Su Chen slipped a bank card into Su Weian’s hand. It contained the one hundred thousand yuan he had saved during this period.

“Dad, there’s one hundred thousand yuan on this card. Keep it, but don’t let Mom know.

“Buy whatever you need. Don’t be so frugal. If it runs out, I’ll send you more.

“And don’t work too hard, either. You should know that your health is more important than money…”

He did not want his mother to know, not because he was guarding the money from her, but because he knew that if he gave it directly to her, she would certainly refuse to accept it.

Rather than waste time passing it back and forth, it was better to leave it with his father for emergencies.

Besides, Su Chen knew that his parents could not bear to sit idle. Forcing them to retire and spend the rest of their lives doing nothing might not necessarily be good for them.

What he wanted was for them to understand that no matter what difficulties they encountered, he was now capable of helping them.

He had grown up.

After saying goodbye to his parents, Su Chen once again boarded the high-speed train bound for Hangzhou.

But this time, the uncertainty in his heart was gone. He had finally become firm in his resolve.

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