Chapter 3 — Three Houses for My Cousin, I Took My Mother Abroad to Live a Worthy Life

Ten minutes later. Chu Man texted back:

"Youngest aunt, 50,000 yuan is fine. It's really urgent."

I answered for my mother:

“It's really inconvenient, sorry.”

After that, Chu Man did not text anymore. Mom sat on the sofa, a bit uneasy.

“Are we doing a little too much love?”

"Mom, do you remember five years ago? When you were hospitalized for appendicitis."

"Mom was in the hospital for three days. Did auntie ever come to visit her?"

Mother did not speak.

"What about cousin? Should I make a phone call?"

Mother bowed her head.

"At that time, I only had 3,000 yuan in me, and the surgery cost was 8,000 yuan. I called my eldest aunt to borrow 5,000 yuan. Do you know how she responded?"

“Mom remembers…”

“She said: ‘My family has been having a hard time lately, so you should try asking someone else.’”

I smiled faintly.

“5,000 yuan.”

"She has two houses, so she told me to ask someone else."

My mother's eyes were red again.

“After that, I had to collect that 5,000 yuan by selling my laptop.”

"That laptop was the money I saved up for four years of college to buy, to learn programming."

Mom clutched the corner of the sofa cushion.

“So mom, it's not like I'm in love.”

“They broke up first.”

That night, mother went to bed very early. I sat alone on the balcony, watching the light from the distant lighthouse sweep across the sea over and over again. The phone screen lit up again. Eldest aunt's WeChat message.

"Dao Dao, your cousin texted your youngest aunt, right? You two live so well abroad, help your family a little. I know you sold the company, just help a little."

I stared at that message for a long time. She already knows about me selling the company. Trieu Bang said. It turned out that the phone call the other day was not to borrow money. It's to check out my situation. I type. In the end, just answer in four words:

“Eldest aunt, good night.”

In early April, Luc Dien called me again.

“Tham Dao, you're in the news.”

"Shenzhen Commercial Newspaper. The headline is: 'Daoguang Shen Dao Technology Company founder sells company for 120,000,000 yuan, 9X generation female businesswoman's startup legend ends.'"

I immediately sat up straight.

"I'm not sure. Maybe the acquiring company's side spread the news. Now I'm a prominent figure in the industry. There are quite a few investors looking for me, wanting to make an appointment with me to discuss a new project."

“No see.”

"Are you sure? Sequoia people called personally..."

"No see. Right now I just want to live quietly."

I hung up. A bad premonition suddenly arose in my heart. That afternoon, my eldest aunt's phone call came.

"Dao Dao! More than a hundred million yuan?! Did you really sell the company for more than a hundred million yuan?!"

It was a tone I had never heard from her. Both jarring and urgent. Carrying excitement that cannot be hidden.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier! It turns out you opened a technology company in Shenzhen? More than a hundred million yuan, Dao Dao! Why didn't you tell your family?"

“120,000,000 yuan, not more than a hundred million.”

The other end of the line immediately went silent.

“Eldest aunt, is there anything else?”

“So... what kind of house is your house abroad?”

“Just a normal house.”

"Dao Dao, I wanted to tell you about the three houses before... actually, I already talked it over for you. It's just that your grandmother insisted..."

“Auntie Yes, I'm cooking. Let's talk another day."

I hung up. Standing still, looking at the sky outside the window. Dark clouds are coming from the sea. Mom came out of the bedroom.

“Who called?”

“Just a promotional phone call.”

The phone still kept vibrating. Chu Man sent a series of long messages.

“Dao Dao!!! I just read the news!!! You're so good!!! 120,000,000 yuan!!! Oh my God!!! Why don't you tell everyone!!! If I told you sooner, grandma would definitely..."

I see these words:

“If I told you sooner, grandma would definitely…”

Then exit WeChat. If I had told her earlier, my grandmother would definitely not have given me that house alone. So the problem from beginning to end was never the house. It's whether I'm worth it or not. In their eyes, only when I am attached to money do I have value. I switched my phone to silent mode. The news quickly spread. The grandmother's side also knew about it. One morning in mid-April, my mother received a phone call from her grandmother. This time she didn't look at me and picked up the phone directly. Grandma's voice rang out from the other end of the line. Mom didn't turn on the speakerphone, but the house was very quiet, I could still hear it clearly.

“Tu Lan, did Dao Dao really sell the company for over a hundred million yuan?”

“Why didn't you tell me sooner?”

Mom was silent for a while.

“Mom, Dao Dao's matter is for her to decide for herself.”

“Then why didn't she call her mother? Mom is his grandmother.”

I came from the living room.

“Mom, give me the phone.”

Mom gave me the phone.

“Grandma.”

“Dao Dao!”

Grandmother's voice immediately changed one hundred and eighty degrees, unusually enthusiastic.

“You're really good! Grandma knew right away! Since I was little, I've been smart, my grandmother always said..."

“Grandma, is your health still good?”

“Still good, still good. It's just that my knee hurt a bit last month. When will you come back? Grandma misses me very much. As for the previous houses, grandma wants to tell you that she will think again..."

“Grandma, your family has already given it to her cousin, there's no need to think again.”

“But the name hasn't been changed yet...”

“Grandma, I'm cooking. Please remember to take care of your health."

I hung up. Mom stood next to me, not saying a word. I gave the phone back to her.

“Mom, if grandma ever mentions the house again in the future, just say I'm busy.”

“Dao Dao...”

“You don't have to miss me.”

“You only see 120,000,000 yuan.”

Mom opened her lips as if to refute. But in the end, he said nothing. Because she also knows I'm right. That afternoon, I went to the supermarket to buy food. On the way I received a call from Hangzhou.