Who wants to take the civil service exam after being reborn?

Chapter 679 The "Favoritism" of the Grandmother
The atmosphere in the fisherman's courtyard was quite warm, but no matter how much we tried to persuade them, my grandparents just wouldn't go to Guangzhou.

They said they wanted to stay in their hometown and spend the Lunar New Year with their sons, which was to be expected.

"Suddenly..."

Not long after, the sound of a motorcycle suddenly came from outside, and Second Uncle Mao Hongtao had arrived.

He was carrying half a rabbit and a turtle—game meat—in his left hand and a bottle of local Five-Finger Peach Root Wine in his right. Before he even entered the house, his booming voice could be heard: "Chen Zhe, are you here? We'll have a couple of drinks at noon..."

Before he could finish speaking, his grandmother interrupted him with a scolding voice: "All you do is drink all day long. You think you're like me, studying and taking exams?"

Chen blushed, realizing that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, he would basically never be able to take exams again in his lifetime.

However, his name will likely appear frequently on economics exam papers.

My second uncle didn't take it seriously when my grandmother scolded him; he just sat down on a small stool in the main room with a smile.

My second uncle is about the same height as my eldest uncle, but he appears a bit more robust, probably because he often carries water.

He heard that he had argued with the Shi family again that morning, spat, and cursed a few times in Heyuan Hakka dialect.

"Mao Rui went to school?"

Grandpa asked slowly.

"He's gone. I took him there this morning."

The second uncle took out a cigarette, lit one for himself, gave one to his father and one to his eldest brother, and then deliberately threw one to Ma Haijun.

Mao Rui is the son of Chen Zhe's second uncle and also Chen Zhe's younger cousin. He is currently a high school sophomore.

My second uncle's family has a son and a daughter.

My daughter didn't get into university, but she followed her aunt Mao Xiaoqin's advice and went to a nursing school. I guess she can use her connections to become a nurse at a community clinic in the future.

My maternal uncle's family has two daughters and one son. The eldest daughter married out of Chaozhou, the second daughter is Mao Xintong, and the son dropped out of high school. After working outside for a few years, he simply came back and took charge of the Anju Real Estate Agency's store.

Real estate agents are doing very well; they're so busy they can barely keep their feet on the ground.

Therefore, in the entire Mao family, only Mao Rui remained as a "promising scholar".

In my memory, Mao Rui worked hard and, after a lot of unremitting efforts, finally got into Guangzhou University and became Wang Changhua's junior.

Wang Changhua's abilities and learning attitude speak for themselves; this only further demonstrates the vast difference in the quality of educational resources between the provincial capital and the county seat.

"Chen, I won't give you the cigarette."

Uncle grinned at Chen and said, "You're still a student, so don't smoke this stuff. Drinking a little is fine, but your mom won't let you. She fed you half a glass when you were in high school, and she even sent me a text message scolding me when she got to Guangzhou!"

Chen nodded with a smile, though he didn't actually remember any of these past events.

"Be careful lately, don't be distracted!"

Grandpa frowned and reminded him, "These days, you should pick Mao Rui up from school yourself."

Second Uncle paused for a moment, then said "Oh".

Chen's eyes flickered.

It turns out that the grandfather was still worried about his grandson's safety. Although the Shi family's words, "Be careful of your child," were most likely just a threat, what if they weren't?
Either the earthwork contractor or the foreman could easily make Mao Rui suffer.

Chen Zhe silently observed the old man's silence, worry, and even his struggle to back down.

"Second Uncle, you should also try to persuade Grandpa and Grandma."

At this moment, Chen said to Mao Hongtao, "Let them come with me to Guangzhou for the Spring Festival. I've already borrowed a car from my dad's workplace."

"Wow! Is your dad's company that rich now? They can afford a BMW X5 as an official car?"

My second uncle was quite surprised: "Speaking of this car, when I came over just now, I saw a Maybach with license plate number Yue A77777 parked in the parking lot, and a large group of people were gathered around it. The parking lot owner hadn't even had lunch and was just sitting there with a chair."

What are you doing standing there?

My eldest uncle is a bit old and not as sensitive to these things as my second uncle is to cars and license plates.

"That kind of car could not possibly be driven by an ordinary person?"

My second uncle explained confidently, "If it got scratched, would it still be able to drive through the parking lot? Let me tell you, if you rode that car around the city, even the county magistrate would have to buy you drinks..."

"Is it that exaggerated?"

The eldest uncle was skeptical.

Mao Xintong, who was carrying another plate of food, overheard her father and uncle talking and quickly glanced at Chen Zhe, only to see him just rubbing his nose and not saying a word.

So, on Mao Erjie's chubby face, there was a look of torment: "I know the answer, but I can't tell you."

"Uncle, Second Uncle, please try to persuade them."

Watching his two uncles go further and further away, Chen sighed and brought the topic back.

"They won't go!"

The second uncle waved his hand dismissively, while advising his nephew, "Don't make a fuss. Just let them live with us in the countryside. They'll have enough to eat and drink, won't they?" "Yes."

The eldest uncle also said, "Your maternal grandparents are used to living with us; going to Guangzhou would only cause them trouble."

"That……"

Chen paused for a moment, then tentatively said, "Are you going too? I remember you have a car, Uncle, right? You can bring all the relatives here and go to Guangzhou for the New Year together."

"……what?"

The two uncles looked at each other, thinking the suggestion was a complete fantasy, but their nephew looked very serious.

"Your house is too small to accommodate everyone."

My second uncle said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

"There will definitely be a place to stay when you get there."

Chen gave the same unequivocal assurance, and then called over Mao's second sister to ask, "Mr. Mao, will your family and your second uncle's family have nowhere to stay in Guangzhou?"

Upon hearing "General Manager Mao," Mao Xintong knew that their relationship was no longer that of "siblings," but rather that of "superior and subordinate."

"There must be!"

Mao Xintong immediately said, "Dad, there are plenty of places for you to stay, you can even stay in a hotel if you want. Guangzhou is much more lively than our hometown during the Spring Festival, there are flower markets and lion dance troupes everywhere. If you don't want to go, I'll take my mom with me."

The eldest uncle scratched his head, wondering if he had misunderstood something. Why was Mao Xintong so eager to help him when Chen asked a casual question?

"...That's not quite appropriate."

However, my uncle still didn't agree.

He couldn't find any excuse to object, but he also couldn't find many reasons to agree. He could only say, "If they all go, there will be no one at home to watch over the house. Won't the Shi family take over the entire fishpond?"

"Too."

Chen nodded slightly, seemingly lost in thought.

"That……"

Mao Erjie leaned slightly forward and quietly asked Chen Zhe, "Do you want to have lunch now?"

Chen glanced at her and said strangely, "Second sister, why are you asking me? Ask Grandpa and the others."

Upon hearing that the title "Second Sister" had been reinstated, Mao Xintong knew that the "superior-subordinate relationship" had ended and had now switched to a "sibling relationship."

"Chen, hurry up and wash your hands. Brother Ma, come and eat too. Grandpa, stop smoking. Dad, go wash the dishes again..."

Mao Erjie immediately straightened up and loudly directed everyone to do their work.

The lunch included fish and shrimp from the lake, as well as stuffed tofu, salt-baked chicken, and braised pork with preserved vegetables, all common dishes in Heyuan.

However, he still couldn't convince his grandparents to go to Guangzhou. Chen wasn't in a hurry. After finishing his meal, he stretched and said, "I'm going to take a walk by the lake to digest my food."

"You're a young man, you should be using up your energy, why are you digesting food?"

My second uncle pursed his lips and happily sucked on a chicken foot.

He didn't eat a single bite of the salt-baked chicken. Only after Chen finished gnawing on the chicken leg and left some tough chicken feet did his second uncle pick them up and eat them.

Chen Zhe naturally understood everything, but he didn't really want to digest his food.

After Chen left with Ma Haijun, Grandma came out of the house carrying an iron box.

She sat on the stool, opened the box, and took out a small bag wrapped in old cloth.

Grandpa didn't say anything, he just puffed on his pipe.

"Chen didn't come to celebrate the New Year last year, so don't forget to give him lucky money this year, you all have to give him some too!"

Grandma glared at her two sons, then licked her lips and slowly peeled back the layers of soft cloth, revealing the red old man's head underneath.

Unlike when it was first withdrawn from the bank, it wasn't neatly arranged; instead, it was wrinkled and crumpled, and some corners might even have a fishy smell.

“People always say I’m biased, that I treat my grandson better than my foreign grandson.”

Grandma's rough, withered fingers pulled out one red banknote after another, while she kept nagging, "Your family is well-off, aren't you? You and Chen Peisong are both permanent employees, supported by the government. If your family were poor, would I not help you out..."

Grandma originally drew six cards.

This was the ceiling for New Year's money given to children in rural areas in 2009.

Before closing the cloth bag, Grandma hesitated for a moment, then suddenly pulled out four more 100-yuan bills, only this time cursing even more fiercely:
"I'll give you 1000 this time, let's see how you say I'm being biased then? Sometimes you even hold a grudge against me, and last year you deliberately didn't come back, so don't ever come back again..."

Mao Erjie stood at the door, feeling a lump in her throat. Grandma seemed to be scolding her aunt, but actually she was missing her aunt.

She had originally planned to say that Chen didn't lack the money.

But think about it, not all "money" is the same.

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(I'll write another chapter tonight, it'll probably be very late, but whatever.)
(End of this chapter)