Chapter 368: A Grand Affair for Tomb-Sweeping
Chapter 368: A Grand Affair for Tomb-Sweeping
After touring Lu Jiaxin's grand mansion with its five separate courtyards, Lu Er's wife understood why she didn't want the smaller house in the compound. The two were simply not comparable, and she couldn't blame Lu Jiaxin for not wanting to bother with the smaller house.
Lu Zhang said, "Mom, Aunt Jiaxin's mansion is almost as grand as the Prince Gong's Mansion."
The most composed of them all, Lu Da's wife replied, "The Prince Gong's Mansion belongs to the state, but this mansion is your aunt's private property."
After all, Lu Jiaxin had donated more than 20 million yuan. Compared to that amount of money, this mansion was nothing. She was puzzled as to how Lu Jiaxin could be so generous!
After the tour, Lu Er's wife asked in a low voice, "Sister-in-law, don't you think we should pay a visit to Ms. Gu? She came all this way, and it would be impolite not to pay our respects."
Lu Da's wife shook her head and said, "Jiaxin specifically asked us not to disturb Ms. Gu, so let's not go. And even if we wanted to pay a visit, we should bring some nourishing tonics with us. It wouldn't be polite to go empty-handed."
When Lu Jiaxin had asked them not to disturb Ms. Gu, Lu Da's wife had felt that something was amiss. But with the children around, she didn't want to ask questions. She would wait until they were alone to inquire further.
Seeing that Lu Da's wife didn't agree, Lu Er's wife dropped the subject. "It's been a while, so Jiaxin must have finished breakfast by now. Let's go find her. It's quite a distance to the suburbs, so the earlier we leave, the earlier we'll be back."
Lu Jiaxin was waiting in the main hall and waved them off as soon as she saw them.
At the front gate, they noticed a small car, a taxi, and a small truck parked outside. The cargo area of the truck was covered with a tarp, and several chairs were loaded inside.
There were just too many people. Lu Jia's family alone consisted of six members, and Lu Zong's family had also brought six, including himself, his wife, and Xiao Qiu, as well as Lu Shan and his two children. Lu Jie had also brought Qiangqiang and Xiaofeng, although his youngest son was only a few months old and couldn't join them.
With a total of 21 people, plus Lu Jiaxin's four companions, they would need six or seven cars to travel in the small sedans or taxis. This wasn't Hong Kong City, where a single phone call to a car rental company would immediately provide the required number of vehicles. Without prior arrangements, it was impossible to rent that many cars on short notice. Of course, they could ask around, but Lu Jiaxin didn't want to owe anyone a favor for such a minor matter.
Lu Jiaxin arranged for Lu Da's and Lu Er's wives to take Lu Shan's children in the taxi, with Lu Jia in the front seat. Lu Jie would ride in the small sedan with Qiangqiang and Xiaofeng, while she would sit in front. As for Lu Zong, Lu An, and the others, they would all ride in the back of the truck.
The group had originally planned to take the bus, which could get extremely crowded. Now, with the small truck, they could avoid the squeeze, and the tarp provided shelter from the wind and sun. Everyone was quite satisfied with this arrangement.
Lu Jie eyed the new sedan with envy and asked, "Jiaxin, did you buy this car? How much did it cost?"
"It cost 128,000 yuan," Lu Jiaxin replied. "Auntie will be staying in Sijiucheng for a while, and it's inconvenient without a car, so I had someone buy one for her."
She felt that with Auntie staying here for a month, not to mention Gu Xiuxiu, even Mei Gu and Hong Gu might not want to return to Hong Kong City. While Hong Kong City was prosperous and wealthy, the two older women rarely went out except to sell vegetables or for other necessary errands. They spent most of the year inside the villa, which, including the front and back yards, amounted to only about 600 square meters—a far cry from the spaciousness of this place.
Sijiucheng was different. Aside from the vast mansion, there were also numerous parks and ancient buildings nearby. On days when they didn't feel like going out, they could hire performers to come to the house. Huangmei opera, Beijing opera, Yue opera, storytelling, and other forms of entertainment were all available for a price. With the same amount of money, the quality of life in Sijiucheng could be significantly improved compared to Hong Kong City.
Lu Jie was surprised and asked, "Ms. Gu is staying in Sijiucheng for an extended period? Is she accustomed to life here?"
Lu Jiaxin didn't hide the truth from him. "Auntie has Alzheimer's disease. According to the local term, it's called 'old-age dementia.' The Hong Kong City villa is too small for her to move around in, so I brought her here because this place is much bigger."
Lu Jie was aware of Alzheimer's disease and the fact that those afflicted no longer recognized anyone and couldn't take care of themselves. He never would have imagined that Ms. Gu would suffer from such an illness, and he couldn't help but sigh.
Lu Jiaxin liked to sleep whenever she was in a car, waking up only when they reached their destination. This time was no exception, and she soon dozed off, leaning against the seat and closing her eyes. However, the road to the suburbs was bumpy, and she was jostled awake halfway through the journey.
The road became increasingly uneven, and Lu Jiaxin's backside began to ache from the constant jostling. Every time they came to sweep the tomb, it was the same. She grumbled, "I wonder when this road will be paved."
Lu Jie immediately picked up on her comment. "The project has already been approved. This road will be paved soon."
Lu Jiaxin hummed in acknowledgment and then asked, "How have you been lately? Is business going well?"
"It's going well," Lu Jie replied. "Home appliances are in high demand in Sijiucheng these days, so I've been dealing in that. I've saved up a sum of money now and plan to open a store here to sell home appliances."
Lu Jiaxin felt that he had matured a lot. From the 1980s to the mid-1990s, dealing in home appliances was almost a surefire way to make money. "Selling home appliances can be very profitable," she said. "But if you're going to sell them, you need to have a full range of products, including color TVs, black-and-white TVs, refrigerators, washing machines, and so on. Once you establish a good reputation, customers will flock to your store."
Lu Jie indicated that he could get his hands on refrigerators and washing machines from Hong Kong City, and customers generally preferred imported goods, believing them to be of better quality. However, Lu Jiaxin's idea wasn't wrong either. To be frank, the quality of foreign-made home appliances was indeed superior at that time.
Lu Jiaxin felt that he had gained enough experience in business dealings and didn't need her to offer much advice. Changing the subject, she asked, "You must have heard about Big Brother being reported to the authorities?"
"Yes, I know," Lu Jie replied. "That Xu guy is a real piece of work. Big Brother treated him like a brother, and he stabbed him in the back."
"I remember you used to have a lot of brothers back when you lived with the Yue family," Lu Jiaxin said. "At that time, you were at a disadvantage compared to them in many ways. But now that you've made a fortune and bought two mansions, as well as hired Auntie to do your laundry and cooking, the gap between you and them has widened considerably. Are you sure that none of them resent you or will take the opportunity to stab you in the back?"
She had once read a saying that summed up the complexity of human nature: "In brotherhood, they fear you when you're poor and fear you when you're rich."
Lu Jie couldn't guarantee that it wouldn't happen.
"I expected Big Brother's situation," Lu Jiaxin said. "I've already taken care of it. You should also be more careful and not let so-called brothers take advantage of you."
Lu Jie nodded. "I understand."
The weather was pleasant that day, and with Lu Jie driving, they arrived at the cemetery in just over an hour. Although Qingming Festival was no longer a holiday, there were still quite a few people at the cemetery. Seeing their large group, people couldn't help but whisper and wonder who they were. Such a big crowd—their family must be thriving!
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
