The drive back to the village was handled by Chen Guangming, leaving Chen Pingjiang to keep Yan Yan company.
"This year, when the relatives heard we were coming back, they rushed back no matter how far away they were—all just to see you and meet Yan Yan."
As Xu Fangjuan spoke, she couldn't hide the pride and swagger on her face, brimming with a sense of holding her head high at long last.
"A mother's honor rises with her son's success"—this idiom powerfully described Xu Fangjuan's current status in the extended family.
When she was young, Chen Pingjiang's maternal grandparents favored boys over girls. Even when Xu Fangjuan married Chen Guangming, her own family hadn't thought much of the taciturn construction worker.
In the past, whenever she visited her parents' house, everyone was polite on the surface, but underneath, they would compare their children's studies and jobs, judging whose family was prospering and whose was just getting by.
Xu Fangjuan didn't have much of a relationship with Chen Pingjiang's youngest aunt either.
In recent years, however, the situation had completely turned around.
To say they fell over themselves to curry favor was an understatement; Xu Fangjuan had become the star of the family group chat.
Chen Pingjiang knew his mother had a sharp tongue but a heart of gold. He paid to buy a house for every family, and whenever someone needed help getting a job, he did his best to arrange it.
To be honest, Chen Pingjiang didn't interact much with these relatives; he did all this purely for his mother's sake.
As the village entrance came into view in the distance, Chen Pingjiang saw a bustling crowd gathered ahead.
Soon, someone quickly ushered the crowd aside and set off fireworks and firecrackers.
The booming sounds echoed continuously.
"Is that cousin over there? I've met him before,"
Yan Yan said in her crisp voice, pointing at the middle-aged man who was lighting the firecrackers.
"You have such a good memory, Yan Yan?"
Chen Pingjiang nodded as well.
"That's Xu Zhiyang. You met him at Zhongshan Villa."
Xu Zhiyang was the only son of his eldest uncle and the closest to Chen Pingjiang among his cousins.
A few years ago, Chen Pingjiang had placed him in Zhizhen Catering, where he was currently working as a low-level supervisor in the purchasing department, occasionally dropping by Zhongshan Villa to show his face.
Chen Guangming didn't stop and drove straight to the front of Chen Pingjiang's maternal grandfather's house.
Firecrackers went off nonstop along the way, and a red carpet had been laid out all the way from the village entrance—a grand reception indeed.
After getting out of the car, Chen Pingjiang waved at Xu Zhiyang. Xu Zhiyang trotted over hurriedly to offer a cigarette.
"Did you set all this up? It's way too flashy."
Seeing Chen Pingjiang frown, Xu Zhiyang quickly waved his hands.
"It wasn't me! It really wasn't me! It was all the elders' idea."
"Hello, Cousin,"
Yan Yan greeted.
"Ah, sister-in-law, please don't stand on ceremony!"
Xu Zhiyang hastily bowed and nodded when Yan Yan addressed him.
He was relatively close to Chen Pingjiang among the relatives, but nowhere near as close as Zhou Guanghan was.
The closer one got, the clearer Chen Pingjiang's social status and aura of immense wealth became, and the more intimidated one felt.
In everyday life, Xu Zhiyang called the shots within his domain at the group company.
However, he wasn't stupid. At most, he took minor perks and wouldn't dare reach for anything big; when others tried to curry favor with him, he merely dealt with them politely.
Seeing Chen Pingjiang warmly pat Zhou Guanghan, who had rushed over from the neighboring village, Xu Zhiyang felt a pang of envy.
How is it that our close relationship can't even match that of a distant relative?
As soon as the Chen family stepped out of the car, a chorus of noisy greetings erupted.
"Auntie, Uncle!"
"Fangjuan, Guangming!"
"..."
"Aiya, Pingjiang, is this Yan Yan? I saw her photo from your engagement back then, but she's even prettier in person!"
"Cousin-in-law! Cousin-in-law!"
Several of Chen Pingjiang's female cousins crowded around them.
"Girls, stop crowding around Pingjiang and let him take a seat at the table."
Eldest Uncle stepped in to clear the way and ushered Chen Pingjiang into the house.
At the traditional square dining table, the maternal grandparents sat in the seats of honor, followed by Chen Guangming and Chen Pingjiang. Only then came Eldest Uncle and Youngest Uncle, while the other uncles-in-law had to stand off to the side.
A single main hall held a kaleidoscope of human nature.
The younger female cousins pulled Yan Yan into the adjacent room to chat.
The remaining older members of the younger generation and the elders of each family remained in the main hall.
The grandparents looked at Chen Pingjiang with beaming smiles, while the other relatives looked at him with varying degrees of awe and reverence.
A few uncles-in-law who didn't interact with him often felt too embarrassed to strike up a conversation. Others stared at Chen Pingjiang with eyes full of curiosity.
On an occasion like this, no matter how little Chen Pingjiang wanted to talk, he had to hold down the fort for the Chen family.
If the center of attention remained silent, everyone would assume he was cold, distant, and putting on airs.
However, handling these situations was child's play for Chen Pingjiang.
First asking after their health, second asking about their jobs, third asking about their children's studies and careers.
He firmly held the upper hand in leading the conversation.
"Pingjiang, your cousin and sister-in-law want to contract Renren's cafeteria. What do you think?"
The speaker was Chen Pingjiang's eldest aunt.
Hearing this, Chen Pingjiang turned his gaze toward his eldest cousin Pang Zhichao and cousin-in-law Shi Yuxia, who were standing in the corner of the room.
Both lowered their heads simultaneously, too embarrassed to meet Chen Pingjiang's eyes.
"Eldest Aunt, forget about contracting the cafeteria. Have Cousin and his wife come find me later, and I'll make them franchisees for Miao Tea. It so happens that Miao Tea hasn't entered the Tongcheng market yet, so we can hand it over to them."
Pang Zhichao and Shi Yuxia lit up with joy and hurriedly voiced their thanks.
Miao Tea was currently the top milk tea brand in the country, outperforming competitors like 1 diandian and CoCo. As long as they opened a store, business was guaranteed to boom.
Chen Pingjiang wasn't a soft-hearted pushover who granted such lavish favors to just any relative who asked.
It was mainly because his eldest aunt's family was a special case.
In his past life, the two families lived close to each other and had interacted quite frequently.
Eldest Uncle-in-law had passed away early from esophageal cancer, and Eldest Aunt had suffered from lung cancer, leaving her with little ability to work.
His cousin Pang Zhichao's life had been even more ill-fated; at forty-five, he developed kidney cancer. Normally, kidney cancer was relatively treatable, but unfortunately, the location was bad and it was caught in the late stages.
After being hospitalized for surgery, he contracted COVID, and before long, he passed away, leaving behind a widow and an orphan.
In this life, he felt he should help where he could.
Thinking of this, Chen Pingjiang decided to ask his mother later to remind them frequently to get medical checkups.
Cancer hereditary factors weren't something to ignore.
Seeing how easy Chen Pingjiang was to talk to, another relative started to voice a request.
"Pingjiang!"
Unexpectedly, the grandfather spoke up:
"He's already helped you all enough. You all have hands and feet—know your limits."
With a single sentence, he quelled all the other voices.
......
For two consecutive days, Chen Pingjiang's family took Yan Yan first to Xu Fangjuan's maternal home and then to the Chen family's ancestral hometown to pay respects to their ancestors.
Only then was the full series of holiday obligations completed.
And this was already considered fast.
On the way back, Xu Fangjuan smiled broadly as she held Yan Yan's hand and whispered to her.
She was satisfied with both Ge Mengshi and Yan Yan as daughters-in-law; both were dear to her heart.
Watching this scene, Chen Pingjiang wondered to himself: What would my mom do if she found out about Zhang Xinyue?
"We're getting old. There will be fewer and fewer opportunities to come back in the future, and in a few years, we might not even be able to make the trip. Your position is special, and you're busy, so your visits back will grow even rarer. Your mom didn't say it out loud, but she was really happy that you accompanied her to her hometown this time."
Chen Guangming babbled on from the front passenger seat.
Chen Pingjiang was moved by his words and said,
"After the New Year festivities, take some time to go get a medical checkup with Mom."
"Huh? Why bring that up out of nowhere?"
"If I'm asking you to go, just go. You two don't have anything else to do anyway."
"Alright, we'll go!"
Chen Guangming felt touched by his son's concern.
In his previous life, Chen Guangming had already developed high blood pressure by now, and by 2015, he suffered a cerebral thrombosis and passed away shortly after.
Now, with his life trajectory altered, he didn't need to overwork or worry, living a relaxed life in much better health.
To some extent, Chen Pingjiang's success was changing the fates of those around him.
He felt this was the true meaning of his rebirth.
He couldn't just mind his own business and watch those closest to him follow their original, tragic life paths.
After returning to Dongjiang, Yan Yan wasn't in a hurry to go home because there was no one at her house anyway.
Yan Liming and Li Yuhua were out visiting relatives and offering New Year greetings, away from Dongjiang.
So she stayed over at Chen Pingjiang's place.
Since they were engaged, sharing a room was no big deal.
However, during those few days, the entire Chen family walked on eggshells.
Xu Fangjuan and Chen Guangming both wanted to go see little Doubao, but with Yan Yan there, how could they dare step out?
They were even more terrified that Ge Bingyi and his wife might drop by.
It wasn't until the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, right before work resumed, that Yan Yan finally went home.
"Sigh, I was terrified these past few days, scared to death that what you called... what was it, a 'Shura field' would happen." Xu Fangjuan threw up her hands. "What kind of mess is this? It has to be resolved eventually; otherwise, the truth will come out sooner or later, and the longer it drags on, the more damage it'll cause."
Although the elderly couple weren't the perpetrators, they were accomplices in keeping the secret.
Chen Guangming, who hadn't smoked in a long time, lit up a rare cigarette.
"I agree with your mother. You can't hurt Yan Yan."
"I know. I'll handle it as soon as possible."
Originally, Chen Pingjiang had intended to bring up Zhang Xinyue, but seeing this reaction, how could he dare say a word?
Dragging out the situation with these women was indeed troublesome.
Right now, he was walking a tightrope.
It was only because Yan Yan wasn't clingy that he hadn't been exposed yet.
But the day would come when he could no longer hide it.
He had no idea how to solve it.
Fortunately, he had settled things on Ge Mengshi and Zhang Xinyue's side; the real problem was how to get Yan Yan to accept it.
"I'll just take it one step at a time."
......
On the first day back to work after the holiday, Chen Pingjiang carried a thick stack of red envelopes and distributed them among the executives of his various companies.
When he arrived at Renren, Guan Yifeng brought the new secretary over to meet him.
"Chairman Chen, this is Xu Rui, the new secretary the HR department scouted for you. He underwent a month of training in the secretarial department at the end of last year and has now been officially transferred here to gain practical experience."
Chen Pingjiang nodded.
"Xu Rui, right? Learn the ropes from Secretary Guan first, and we'll see how you perform."
Chen Pingjiang had reviewed Xu Rui's resume before and given his approval.
He had graduated from a top university, had a solid track record during his college years, and possessed a decent amount of work experience.
However, whether he would actually fit the role was something Chen Pingjiang would decide only after working with him directly.
After all, there were six or seven other people like him in the secretarial pool.
Wearing glasses, Xu Rui had a refined, scholarly look. He nodded somewhat awkwardly.
"Understood, President Chen."
Before long, Li Xi rushed into Chen Pingjiang's office.
"Chairman Chen, Alipay just updated its app version and launched a red envelope feature—and they're being remarkably generous."
Chen Pingjiang wasn't surprised by this at all.
Alipay had always been generous when it came to giving out red envelopes, pulling such promotions every now and then.
"Looks like their developers didn't even get to enjoy the New Year holiday, working overtime to churn it out in just a week—and they even managed to test it,"
Chen Pingjiang chuckled. Clearly, Old Ma was getting anxious.
"How should we respond?"
At Li Xi's question, Chen Pingjiang raised an eyebrow and pointed to the plaque hanging on his office door.
"I'm merely an advisor now. You are the Chairman of Renren. I should be asking you that question."
Li Xi offered an embarrassed smile.
"Habit, I guess."
"Then it's time to break that habit."
Chen Pingjiang was taking the opportunity to guide Li Xi.
Li Xi knitted his brows and slowly said,
"Personally, I don't think we need to respond for now."
"Elaborate."
"Our WeChat is centered on social networking with a massive user base. As long as people are using it, huge consumer spending will naturally follow. Even if users grab red envelopes on Alipay, won't they ultimately have to come back and use WeChat anyway?"
Chen Pingjiang smiled and nodded approvingly.
"Not a bad answer—that's pretty much the gist of it. Alipay is handing out red envelopes mainly to drive traffic and promote their offline channels and other products; binding bank cards is secondary for them. Our Spring Festival Gala red envelope campaign was designed specifically to drive card bindings. Our goals are different."
"Your task this year is heavy. Alipay will push hard, but you mustn't rush."
"Right now, Alipay red envelopes are showing signs of gaining traction, even taking over Moments."
"In that case, what are you waiting for? Shut down Alipay's sharing API. Remember, what Alipay lacks most is an interpersonal social graph—we must never let them get their hands on it."
(End of Chapter)