Everything I bought on online shopping platforms was genuine.

In the Jiangning villa district, after hanging up the phone that evening, Ms. Cheng couldn't stop smiling. Liu Zhengyuan, who was eating at the table next to her, couldn't help but ask curiously, "What's wrong, wife? Why are you smiling so happily?"

"It's nothing. My daughter just called and said she's doing well over there. She's gotten to know Xiao Mo's mom very well, and she even said she's going to send Xiao Mo to live with us, and move to another house."

"They even said that when their daughters get married, our family will get a daughter-in-law, hahaha," Ms. Cheng said, covering her mouth and laughing.

Clearly, her daughter had made a little joke during their phone call, which Ms. Cheng found quite amusing.

Upon hearing this, Liu Zhengyuan chuckled and said, "That won't do. My daughter is a treasure; I can't trade her for even a little bit!"

A little cotton-padded jacket is a little cotton-padded jacket. In Liu Zhengyuan's eyes, this is his precious gem, his most treasured possession.

Hearing this, Ms. Cheng rolled her eyes and said, "You just like your little cotton-padded jacket, don't you? If you don't want it, I will. I love my son. If I hadn't been too busy when I was young and focused on my career, I would have had another one long ago. Even if I can't have a son, I can have a little girl. Then the two children will have each other for company."

If we had a son, Xiao'e wouldn't be so tired. Look at Yuanyuan from Old Yuan's family, how happy she is!

Clearly, Ms. Cheng knew all too well how hard it was for a woman to work in the business world. Although Liu Ruyan never said anything and had been outstanding since childhood, her exhaustion was undeniable.

“What’s so great about that brat? I still think my daughter is better. We’ll work for a few more years, and when we get old, we can just retire and hand the company over to our daughter. If she wants to take over, she can. If she doesn’t want to work, we can just sell the company and enjoy life with the money.”

"It's a straight and broad road, whether you choose to attack or retreat. My daughter is no less capable than my son!" Liu Zhengyuan said, pursing his lips.

In previous years, he did have some obsession with his son, but ever since Liu Ruyan graduated and started taking over the family company, he suddenly realized that if his son was a spendthrift, his daughter was better, especially since his daughter was so capable.

Compared to the eldest son of the Yuan family, he's worlds apart.

"What kind of talk is that? There's an old saying that goes, 'A young man won't eat idle food for ten years.' That's only because conditions are better now. Back in our rural days when we were young, if a family didn't have a son, they would be bullied in the village."

When I was a child, there was a widow in our village. Her husband had died, and she raised five boys on her own. For the first few years, she was really bullied.

At the time, the village chief's family saw that she was an orphan and a widow, and thought she was easy to bully. They occupied her land and even poured water on her house in the dead of winter. The woman was driven to desperation, so she discussed it with her son and, in front of everyone, proposed that her eldest son and the village chief's only son exchange for one of their children.
Guess what? The very next day, the village chief's son had his head cracked open. If someone hadn't intervened, the village chief's family line would have ended.

Then the village chief's family didn't even dare to ask for medical expenses. They even asked someone to mediate and ended up paying some money in return before the matter was settled.

Later, when her five sons grew up, they were all very powerful in the village. Before I married you, some township officials came to persuade me, fearing that her family had become a criminal gang!

Although none of them became extremely wealthy or powerful later on, they all got married and started families. How could sons be useless? Sons are incredibly useful.

Let me put it this way: if we had a son, believe it or not, half the number of people wanting to marry into our family would decrease.

A few years ago, wasn't there this guy who owned an electric scooter and wanted to go on a blind date with our daughter? He even said he could let his son marry into our family. What a joke! His family's meager wealth doesn't even qualify!

"That piece of trash dares to scheme against us? He's blind as a bat! But he only dares to have such thoughts because we have an only daughter. Tell me, how is a son useless?!"

Ms. Cheng raised her chin and spoke earnestly.

Although her family's business is now very large and they are well-known enterprises in Jiangning City, to be honest, over the years she has seen quite a few people who have tried to take advantage of her family because they only have one daughter.

Moreover, both husband and wife started from scratch and grew up in the countryside when they were young, so they know all too well some shady things.

Upon hearing this, Liu Zhengyuan couldn't help but smile and shake his head: "Alright, alright, my wife is right. How about we have another one?"

"Get lost! How old am I? Don't cause me any trouble. I was just saying it casually, and you actually took it seriously."

Besides, once Xiao'e gets married, I'll get a son for free. Other people's sons have to eat for a few years, but our son won't have to eat for a year. He can take over the family business as soon as he arrives.

"Don't say I'm too old to have children. Even if I were still young, I wouldn't want to have any more. It would be fine if I had a good child, but if I had a spendthrift son, our family might fall into ruin before we even have a chance to close our eyes!" Ms. Cheng waved her hand and spat.

Obviously, it's much better to have a ready-made son-in-law who is excellent in every way than to have a biological son who is a spendthrift at such an advanced age.

Ms. Cheng was able to analyze the pros and cons.

Meanwhile, in the southern part of the city, at Lin Mo's home, the family of four was having dinner at home that evening, with Old Lin enjoying a leisurely drink.

"How was it, Dad? Was work tiring today?" Lin Mo asked at the dinner table.

On the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, Comrade Lao Lin also started working.

Fortunately, I've been reassigned to a less demanding office job with long day shifts, so I don't have to stay up late anymore.

"What kind of work can you do on the first day? Just cleaning up, and the whole day will be over in no time."

"I've found that suddenly having so much free time after the job change isn't good either. I've been drinking tea all day, and I'm going to the bathroom more often. Our director keeps trying to come over and mooch some of my tea leaves, and I have to deal with him every day!" Although Comrade Lin was the most sentimental and complaining, the smile on his lips never left. "It's alright, Uncle. I have plenty of tea leaves. I'll get you some more when I get down," Liu Ruyan said from the side.

Upon hearing this, Lin Mo glanced at him and felt that Comrade Lao Liu's inventory might be in danger again.

"No need, no need, Uncle, this tea is enough. I haven't even drunk much of the tea you brought me. I just feel it's a waste to give them such good tea," Old Lin said with a smile.

"It's nothing special, but if you like it, that's fine," Liu Ruyan nodded.

What I was thinking was that I would take more tea next time I came.

"By the way, my cousin's son is getting married on the twelfth day of the first lunar month in Shuiquan Village. We should go there. Yanyan and I can go together. Do you think it's alright?" Mom suddenly said.

Upon hearing this, both father and son were taken aback. The woman in Shuiquan Village was his cousin, and his father was her cousin. Although they weren't blood relatives, they had a decent relationship, and now his cousin's family had bought a house in the city.

"Okay, we'll all go together then," Comrade Lin nodded.

Upon hearing this, Mom asked, "How much money should we give as a gift?"

"Following the crowd, it'll most likely be five hundred. I'll ask my older siblings and we'll know then," Old Lin said.

They ate and chatted casually about everyday matters at the dinner table, creating a harmonious atmosphere.

The next day, the ninth day of the Lunar New Year, Lin Mo yawned and sat up in bed, but there was no one beside him.

That's right, without a doubt, Liu Ruyan is out shopping with her mother again.

Since Su He left on the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, Liu Ruyan had nowhere to go. Her mother was worried that her future daughter-in-law would be bored, so she took her out to eat and shop all sorts of things.

How much money can you spend in a small county town? If he sees something beautiful, delicious, or fun, his mother just waves her hand and spends it all—that's how extravagant she is.

My son gave me a million yuan, if I don't spend it now, when will I?
Over the past two days, Liu Ruyan has become somewhat obsessed with bargaining. She no longer goes to shopping malls to buy clothes, but instead goes to department stores to bargain for 50 or 100 yuan.

Now, even when she goes to the market, she subconsciously haggles. In this respect, Lin Mo's mother is a master, leaving Liu Ruyan completely dumbfounded.

The dress was priced at 175, but his mother dared to bargain down to 30, and they finally settled on 45, which stunned Liu Ruyan.

Liu Ruyan suddenly realized that if her future mother-in-law were to work in purchasing at a company, she would definitely be an excellent candidate.

She shouldn't be a teacher; it's almost a waste of her talent.

Lin Mo got up, walked out of the bedroom, and glanced at the empty house. Sure enough, loneliness was his to bear.

Then, while using the restroom, I opened my phone and glanced at the shopping page.

[Spanish Ruby pistol; the same model used by Lao Ba (a character from a popular Chinese TV series), carrying this gun will definitely attract attention; ¥4.5]

[One box of Boli seaweed; ¥0.1]

[Buddha's Palm *10; Chen Meijia's style, the ultimate bet in the martial arts world. After purchasing, drink ten bottles of salt soda to receive ten chances to slap someone, regardless of age or gender. Slap as hard as you want, and the other party won't call the police. No compensation required. Note: No rings allowed, otherwise it's invalid: ¥9.21]

[A lighter that will never be lost; with this, you'll never have to worry about your buddies stealing your lighter again; ¥3.4]

Upon seeing this, Lin Mo's eyes widened in shock, and he even managed to snap his fingers while holding his poop.

"Holy crap, that's awesome! A chance for a legal duel?"

Without saying a word, he made the payment. These days, there aren't many opportunities to slap someone ten times for free.

Even Miss Yuan needs to make some preparations.

If he had possessed this skill earlier, he would have slapped her across the face and started a samurai duel when he was falsely accused of taking photos without permission. Why would he need Liu Ruyan and Chuanmei to come and support him?
Ultimately, it's just that it's inconvenient to take action in a society governed by the rule of law.

It's a pity that there are only 10 chances, so it's a consumable item and not a permanent skill. Otherwise, it would be incredibly powerful. He could fight whoever he wanted, and with his skills, he would be practically invincible.

Nevertheless, this thing is much more useful than some unimportant skills; sometimes, a slap can solve a lot of problems.

The prerequisite is simple: just 10 bottles of salt soda, no big deal.

(End of this chapter)