In June, Hangzhou city's temperature can reach over 30 degrees Celsius, which is actually not very suitable for sightseeing.
Boating on West Lake, Tan Jincheng felt he was almost getting sunstroke, but Zhang Suzhi and Tan Jinyue were in high spirits.
Perhaps staying home all day had been too stifling.
"Mom, when Jinyue is older and goes to kindergarten, you and Dad can travel across the country together."
Zhang Suzhi gave Tan Jinyue, who was curiously looking around, a doting glance and said,
"How can we travel across the country when she's in kindergarten? At least we have to wait until she's in college."
"When would that be? Kindergarten is good enough. By then, Dad will be in his early 50s, and you two can go play anywhere. Jinyue can eat and dress herself, so she can be left with me to take care of."
"You take care? Look at how many days you've stayed at home in the past two months since I arrived. And you say you'll take care of her."
Tan Jincheng thought about it, and it seemed to be true.
Yes, his current self was not his past self; he no longer had so much time to stay at home and take care of children.
"That's true, it really seems we'll have to wait until she's a bit older. But it's fine, by the time she's almost in college, you two will only be in your early 60s, which is just right."
Then he laughed to himself as he spoke.
When Tan Jinyue was talking about college, it was already 2022.
At that time, their family of three sent her to school, and her classmates thought her parents were her grandparents, and Tan Jincheng was her father.
A father in his 60s was indeed different from other parents.
At first glance, it really felt like three generations.
For three days, they visited West Lake, Lingyin Temple, the museum, and the aquarium.
Tan Jincheng went to all the places he could think of that were suitable for bringing a child.
Because Hangzhou was more than 10 years different from his memory, some small details were still a bit off.
However, Hangzhou was still a culinary desert as always; this hadn't changed.
There is a saying that often, the more places with good food, the more suffering people endure.
Thinking about it carefully, it seems to make some sense.
If there wasn't a lack of food, who would try different ways to turn something as unpalatable as Houttuynia cordata into various delicacies?
On the 11th, Sunday afternoon, Tan Jincheng's family returned home.
Zhang Suzhi didn't forget to pick out a gift for Gu Qingqing, buying a necklace and also two outfits she never dared to imagine buying before.
T-shirts priced at 5,000 yuan each—such a concept was unimaginable to her previously.
Zhang Suzhi paid for them herself.
Tan Jincheng observed her from the side; she felt a bit pained when paying, but was able to accept it.
This made Tan Jincheng quite relieved.
His mother, after all, had been a state-owned enterprise worker, so her mindset was easier to change compared to typical rural women.
With a few years of subtle influence, her values and consumption habits should be able to keep up with his wealth.
Tan Jincheng himself had little interest in spending money on shopping, buying this and that.
In his previous life, he was also a person who had seen the world, not some nouveau riche.
This was also one of the reasons he dared to brag in front of the media; he had already enjoyed himself.
Compared to this kind of spending, investing tens of millions here and throwing a hundred million to build a factory there was more exciting.
However, this did not prevent Tan Jincheng from encouraging his parents to enjoy themselves.
They made money, so what's wrong with parents and elders living a better life?
"What did you buy? I don't see you buying anything. Weren't you also going to prepare a gift?"
His son seemed to have no desire to buy things, so Zhang Suzhi couldn't help but ask curiously.
Tan Jincheng smiled, "I bought it early, it's at home, not as expensive as yours."
Two outfits plus a necklace, and the necklace was the cheapest one.
Wasn't that exaggerated?
But it was good that his mother was willing to spend money.
She should have a seven-figure sum in her bank card, right?
"What did you buy?"
"A phone, a few thousand yuan, the same brand as the one I'm using now."
Tan Jincheng was still using the V3 that Zhang Xupeng gave him, while Gu Qingqing was still using the Nokia her father bought her when she was a freshman.
Motorola had just released an upgraded version of the V3 this year, the V3i, which had significant improvements in features but was half the price.
The biggest feature of the V3 was its stunning design.
The V3i lacked that stunning quality.
At a price of three to four thousand yuan, it wasn't particularly expensive in 2006.
He remembered the V3i advertisement was featured in Jay Chou's "Compendium of Materia Medica" MV.
On a side note, Jay Chou's new album release date has been set for September 5th this year.
Jay Chou, the new endorser, is truly professional, agreeing to participate in three commercial events three months before the album release.
There were many phones more expensive than the V3i and with better features, but the V3 and V3i could barely be considered a couple's set.
Girls like things with a sense of ritual.
Apple phones, please come out quickly.
It will be easier to buy phones in the future, as they all look the same anyway.
——
June 15th, Thursday.
People's destinies vary.
Some celebrate their birthdays with countless affections, while others spend them alone.
Gu Qingqing, at the blossoming age of 19, spent every birthday at school.
When she was little, before their house was demolished, her parents were busy with their factory and rarely celebrated her birthday specifically.
After the demolition, she was already in high school, and with the heavy academic pressure, there was even less time to celebrate her birthday specifically.
However, she still received plenty of gifts, though only from her parents and a few close classmates.
This morning, she received a call from Tan Jincheng, saying he would come to her apartment near Yongcheng University tonight to celebrate her birthday, accompanied by his mother and sister.
"Uh, I thought you wouldn't have time. Yanan and the others already agreed to treat me to dinner today, what should I do?"
"Bring them along. Consider it getting to know the place. They haven't been to our apartment anyway."
"But with Auntie here, won't it be inconvenient?"
"What's inconvenient? They're all classmates, aren't they?"
"Alright then."
The morning call made her feel wonderful.
Someone specially celebrating her birthday, a family getting together lively—it felt truly good.
After class, Gu Qingqing, with Xu Manli and two other roommates, returned to the residential area with a feeling of apprehension.
Downstairs, Xu Manli, who was the most cheerful, still asked curiously,
"Hey, Tan boss's mom really came specifically to celebrate your birthday? And his sister came too? Is his sister, who's more than 10 years younger, very cute?"
"She's quite cute. He spoils his sister a lot, often taking her to work. Now, the people in their company are used to bringing some snacks to work, just in case the boss brings his sister someday,"
Gu Qingqing chuckled.
"That's really a strange operation, bringing a one or two-year-old child to work,"
Chen Yanan laughed.
Generally, factories don't welcome children because it can be unsafe.
"Not just that, he's been bringing his sister often recently. He's thinking that summer vacation is coming soon, and some parents and children are separated for long periods, so children grow up without their parents' company, which is bound to be a bit regrettable. He plans to open up a plot of land in a safe area of the factory to temporarily care for children."
Tan Jincheng saw this idea from a short video in his previous life, where some factories opened an area for employees' left-behind children to play, giving children a chance to reunite with their parents.
Tan Jincheng thought it was a good idea.
Aside from inputting grand moral concepts, doing this is also beneficial for the company itself.
It increases employee cohesion, and the expense won't be much more, as long as safety issues are resolved.
"Huh? I didn't expect Tan boss to be so caring. But with so many employees in their company, there must be quite a few children, right? Who will take care of them?"
Chen Yanan asked with some surprise.
"Their company is mainly composed of young employees, and not many grassroots employees are married, so there probably won't be many children. I'm not entirely sure about the specifics. As for care, they'll hire a few kindergarten teachers who are on vacation to work part-time, and open a separate children's cafeteria in the canteen. That should pretty much cover it."
"That's quite thoughtful. With more children, his sister can also play along. It's a great idea, but one still needs to have the financial capacity; ordinary factories don't have these conditions."
Xu Manli didn't care about that; she only cared about what delicious food Tan Jincheng's mother would make, and what gift she would give this future daughter-in-law.
Upstairs, she rang the doorbell.
The door was opened by Tan Jincheng and Tan Jinyue.
Tan Jinyue looked curiously at the people standing outside the door, but quickly recognized Gu Qingqing and cried out "Jie-jie!" before rushing into her arms.
Gu Qingqing quickly picked up Tan Jinyue and happily kissed her on the cheek.
Tan Jincheng smiled,
"Come in, everyone is welcome."
Dinner was not what Xu Manli had imagined.
It wasn't cooked by Zhang Suzhi.
Although the kitchen in this apartment had all the tools since they got it, they had never cooked there.
The refrigerator at home contained nothing but some instant food.
Tan Jincheng had ordered a table of dishes from a nearby hotel to be delivered.
At this moment, Zhang Suzhi was setting the dining table.
Gu Qingqing, holding Tan Jinyue, led her three roommates towards the dining room.
Hearing the movement, Zhang Suzhi smiled at the four of them,
"You're here? Come sit down quickly, we can eat now."
Then she turned to the three of them and said,
"It was a bit rushed, there are no dishes here, so we could only order a table from the restaurant. Next time you students have time to visit Beicang, I'll cook for you."
Chen Yanan and the others quickly said,
"It's fine, Auntie, this is already great."
"Then hurry up and sit down to eat, don't be shy, make yourselves at home."
(End of chapter)