During dinner, Li Jinqiu remained silent and looked unhappy.

Chen Fan looked at his father, who had a helpless expression on his face.

It was obvious that my mother was still sad about what happened during the day.

Chen Fan smiled and said, "Mom, are you still thinking about what happened during the day?"

Li Jinqiu raised his head, glanced at his grandfather and shook his head.

"Nothing."

"Mom, do you think what you did during the day was a bit too much?"

Li Jinqiu shook his head quickly.

"No. How could that be?"

"You are my son, you will support me no matter what I do. It's just..."

"It's just a little bit... Oh, I don't know what to say."

Li Jinqiu put down his chopsticks and sighed.

"I just didn't expect them to go so far. We are all brothers and sisters from the same mother, but why do they have to go so far?"

"They said their family was in financial difficulty and needed money, so they asked me and your father to borrow money. We agreed and lent them the money."

"They never paid back the money they lent them, and they were too embarrassed to ask for it back."

"Who would have thought that they would become more and more powerful. Over the past few years, each family has lent out tens of thousands of yuan. Of course, we have money now, and we don't have to ask them to pay it back immediately... But I didn't expect them to make such a request today."

"In the end, we didn't agree, but it was as if our family had done something unforgivable."

"How can this be called a family? This is treating us like enemies."

Chen Jianye said, "It's good that you can figure it out. A little gratitude is a lot of hatred. They just take our help for granted."

"If we suddenly don't meet their expectations one day, they will point fingers at us and scold us."

"What my son did today is not supported. Since they are going too far, why not just go straight to the point and make things clear."

"If they don't show any gratitude, then it's okay to not have them as relatives."

Li Jinqiu sighed: "I understand what my son did, and I support it. But... I feel sorry for my second sister, she is such a good person."

"Since we were little, my second sister has had the best relationship with me and loves me the most. When we got married, the whole family opposed it, except my second sister."

"And Tongtong, what a good child. Just now when we were having dinner, I saw them sitting here with their heads down and not saying a word. I felt bad."

"For so many years, their family has been in great difficulty..."

Chen Fan smiled.

"Mom, don't worry. I've already talked to my third cousin."

"After the Chinese New Year, I will let her work in the company."

The old couple looked up in surprise.

"Have you... have you told your cousin?"

"When did you say that?"

"When I went downstairs to smoke at noon, my cousin was still alone in the neighborhood, so I told her about it."

"Mom, don't worry. We remember who is kind to us. Let my cousin join the company and we will arrange a job for her. Then my second aunt won't have to worry so much."

A glimmer of surprise flashed across Li Jinqiu's eyes, and then worry appeared on his face.

"This... didn't you say that the company's rules prohibit nepotism?"

Chen Fan smiled and said, "This is a special case. Besides, the boss has the final say."

"You kid... I'm sorry for wronging you."

Li Jinqiu pulled his son's hand somewhat awkwardly and patted him gently.

Chen Fan just smiled and shook his head to indicate that it was okay.

He had already let it go.

One cannot escape from the ways of the world as long as one lives.

Besides, rules are dead, but people are alive.

As long as my mother is happy and healthy, it doesn't matter if I arrange for a relative to join the company.

Chen Jianye asked with some concern.

"If you arrange for your third cousin to join the company, and your uncle and aunt know about this... they will go crazy."

Chen Fan smiled and said, "Don't worry. I've already told my cousin. Ask her to keep it a secret."

"Besides, even if they knew, what can they do? The company belongs to you, whoever you want can join. If they don't accept it, they have to keep it to themselves."

"Let's not talk about that. Let's talk about something happy."

Chen Fan changed the subject directly and pulled his mother's hand to talk.

"I have something to announce. Next year, I and Ruochu are going to get married."

"real?"

Now, my parents couldn't sit still any longer.

He didn't think about what happened just now, just stared at Chen Fan and asked excitedly.

"Is it settled this time? It won't be changed again?"

Chen Fan shook his head: "No change. Next year."

"I will marry your daughter-in-law next year."

"Oh. Great."

Li Jinqiu's mood improved instantly.

"This is a big deal. We must prepare in advance."

"What about the wedding date? Have you decided on it?"

Chen Fan smiled and said, "Ruochu said that you guys can choose a day."

Li Jinqiu immediately slapped his thigh and said, "Then after the Chinese New Year, I'll take your birthday cards and ask someone to pick a good date."

Chen Fan nodded: "You don't have to pick a particularly good time and day. Getting married is a troublesome thing. It's best to choose a sunny day with neither too hot nor too cold weather. This way everyone can relax."

"You. You haven't even married yet, but you've already chosen one."

"There are so many things to prepare for a wedding. I have to write down everything tomorrow and then prepare them one by one..."

Seeing that the old couple couldn't even take care of their meals, they gathered together and started chattering about the things they needed to prepare for the wedding.

Chen Fan was very satisfied with his own wit.

The next day, Li Jinqiu told his in-laws that his two children were going to get married next year.

Now it was good. Before the Chinese New Year, the two families had a meal together and then started discussing marriage.

Chen Fan and Su Ruchu sat aside and just focused on eating. They looked at the four elders who were discussing excitedly and smiled at each other.

For both families, nothing was more exciting this year than the news suddenly announced by the two children.

Even the Chinese New Year is not as exciting as this news.

As for Chen Fan, as he grew older, he no longer had any interest in celebrating the Chinese New Year.

When I was a child, Chinese New Year meant new clothes to wear, dumplings, candies to eat, and firecrackers to set off.

But now, Chen Fan has lost interest in all this.

However, on New Year's Eve, Chen Fan suddenly had an idea. He drove his car and called his little cousin from his fourth uncle's family to buy a trunk full of fireworks.

On the night of New Year's Eve, a group of elders were preparing the New Year's Eve dinner upstairs, while Chen Fan, his cousin, and his younger cousin were setting off fireworks downstairs.

They lined up the fireworks in a row, counted down from three to one, and lit them all at once.

The fireworks shot up into the night sky and then exploded, instantly becoming the most lively scene in the entire area.

All the children in the neighborhood came over excitedly to watch.

After all, these days, there are still not many people who dare to set off fireworks so extravagantly.

Looking at the kids in the neighborhood jumping and dancing happily, Chen Fan rarely smiled.

This was a regret he made up for his childhood self.

Before the fireworks were over, Chen Fan called everyone back upstairs to have the New Year's Eve dinner.

As soon as I entered the house, the familiar voice of the host of the CCTV Spring Festival Gala program came from the TV in the living room.

"Ruofan Group wishes all the people in the country a happy family reunion!"