Chapter 66 Pretending to be rich when you're not is a feeling of being cared for and loved...
Upstairs, Chen Ruifeng's family was having a family dinner. Li Jianzhi brought his wife and their chubby son, Da Bao, to celebrate. Although his little chubby son was still not successful in losing weight, taking the kid out to eat was definitely worth it.
Chen Ruifeng organized a very lavish event this time, preparing a lot of cigarettes and alcohol. Pork was expensive in this era, but cigarettes and alcohol were expensive in any era. A bottle of Moutai only costs a few yuan now, which is actually cheap compared to wages.
Li Jianzhi doesn't smoke. Many people smoke to relieve anxiety and stress, but he rarely feels anxious or stressed. However, he might light up a cigarette when dealing with social situations.
People in the military usually drink a little alcohol, but the younger generation drinks less and less. Military gatherings have been replaced with drinks like Coke, Sprite, and coconut juice.
"Comrade Li, you and Xiao Qin are here. You sit here, and Xiao Qin and the child can sit over there."
Qin Xiangxiang sat down with her son, Xiaopang, and started picking and choosing what to eat. Meanwhile, Zhao Yangyang acted generously and politely, offering sugar cakes to the women and children. Zhou Lu also came over with her child, dressed appropriately and with a sweet smile, praising Zhao Yangyang incessantly in front of outsiders.
"Yangyang's new family member upstairs is really something else. She's obviously a thrifty person. Let's all wish Comrade Chen and Comrade Zhao a prosperous future."
"Good, may it be prosperous and thriving!"
The food at Chen Ruifeng's house was pretty good. They invited a woman from the compound to cook, and the couple also cooked a few dishes. The braised pork knuckle was especially good, but the portion was small and it was all gone.
Qin Xiangxiang had a poor appetite, finding the food in front of her oily and fishy. Coupled with her pregnancy, she couldn't eat much. Little Fatty next to her, on the other hand, buried his head in his food and ate heartily.
This is a little giant mouse that fell into the rice bin and started eating it as soon as it arrived at the family compound.
"Comrade Qin eats very elegantly."
"Eat more to nourish your body while you're pregnant."
The head of the intelligence department, Sister Gao, sat to the side, sipping rice wine. Wherever there was excitement, Sister Gao was there. She glanced at Zhao Yangyang, then at Qin Xiangxiang, and noticed Zhao Yangyang chatting enthusiastically with Zhou Lu for a few moments. She wondered: Had they borrowed it?
Chen Ruifeng had drunk a little wine, and his cheeks were already flushed. He subtly rolled up his sleeve, revealing an imported Omega watch underneath, and waved it in front of everyone.
"This is the watch I bought before. Yangyang also has a new watch. The two watches are different sizes and look very well matched. I hope that our relationship can be like the watches on our wrists, with the hour and minute hands accompanying each other forever."
"good!"
The crowd who came to join in the fun and eat joined in with a cheer.
"This watch looks unusual; it must be an imported one."
"Oh my, you don't know, this costs several hundred, and it's a top-quality product."
"This requires exchanging foreign exchange certificates with someone, which is quite troublesome, and it's almost seven hundred."
"Wow, Xiao Chen is really capable. This watch can be passed down as a family heirloom."
"This couple has face. In this day and age, a man's watch is a symbol of his status."
Many men envy Chen Ruifeng's imported watch; watches and cars are things that men dream of.
Chen Ruifeng smiled and said, "I shouldn't have been in such a hurry. I should have saved up more. A top-of-the-line Rolex only costs a little over nine hundred, and I was still two hundred short. I couldn't wait any longer, so I bought this Omega."
"That's enough, that's enough, they're all good stuff."
"An extra two hundred yuan is equivalent to two months' salary."
Li Jianzhi sat here eating, feeling deeply moved. He felt that each era's dinner party had its own theme and characteristics. Now it's watches, in the future it's cars, houses and stocks, and then it's children's school district housing and extracurricular classes.
How were your child's middle school entrance exam results? How were your child's college entrance exam results? Where did your child go after graduation? Did they pass the civil service exam? Have they found a partner? Have they bought a house? Have they had children?
Men are just as competitive as women; on the contrary, men are more enthusiastic about comparing and competing than women, as male hormones naturally make them more aggressive and combative.
Men's comparisons and boasting are often more direct: whether they have been promoted, how many connections they have, how much face their boss gives them, how much power they have in the workplace, and other things like cars, houses, and of course, the money, status, and ability of their wives and fathers-in-law. Marrying a leader's daughter is very prestigious.
Showing off a watch now is similar to men showing off their cars some time from now.
Many veterans give up job placements in government institutions and choose to receive a one-time resettlement allowance of over a million yuan. Many of them immediately go and buy a car worth six or seven hundred thousand yuan to enjoy themselves.
This also illustrates how important items like watches and cars, which represent status and prestige, are to men.
If Chen Ruifeng's imported Omega watch is kept for fifty years, it will probably still be worth ten or twenty thousand yuan, which could be considered a form of value preservation, though not much.
Other antique jadeite appreciates in value even faster.
"Li Jianzhi, what kind of watch are you wearing right now?"
Li Jianzhi: "It's just an ordinary watch."
“Your family isn’t burdened with heavy expenses, and your wife is well-off, so why don’t you buy a Swiss watch? A watch is a man’s status symbol.”
Chen Ruifeng took off his imported watch and casually tossed it to Li Jianzhi, saying, "Take a look at the workmanship and see for yourself whether it's worth it."
Li Jianzhi took it and reluctantly glanced at it. He didn't think much of watches at this time of year. Master Hu had plenty of watches, including several worth over a million. Besides, he had no interest in collecting old objects.
"Hmm, not bad."
Qin Xiangxiang was holding a bowl and chopsticks when she heard her husband's voice not far away. She saw him holding the imported watch that belonged to the "male lead" and felt a pang of heartache for her dead husband. Sure enough, he was being flaunted by the male lead.
Even without the female lead Lin Xiuqin, the male lead Chen Ruifeng is still the male lead, and he is meant to make the female supporting character's husband envious and jealous.
Qin Xiangxiang saw Li Jianzhi return the watch to Chen Ruifeng with a blank expression. Although he did not show any sign of being hurt, the scene still stung Qin Xiangxiang's eyes.
She already had little appetite, and now her appetite was even worse.
The chubby boy beside him continued to eat heartily, the young child showing no signs of unease.
After finishing their meal, they ate very cleanly this time. All the pork was gone, and there was nothing left. However, there was a lot of cigarettes and alcohol left. Chen Ruifeng had bought a lot of cigarettes and alcohol, and when they left, he pretended to be generous and handed out all the loose cigarettes. Many men had a cigarette tucked behind their ears. Li Jianzhi said that his wife was pregnant and he didn't smoke, but he was forced to eat two cigarettes.
Li Jianzhi went over and helped Qin Xiangxiang downstairs to go home. The little fat boy grabbed a handful of candy, eating and taking some as he slowly followed behind his parents.
Qin Xiangxiang felt that the man beside her was going too far. She wasn't even showing yet, but he was supporting her like this, as if she were a fragile doll. Even if she was pregnant, she shouldn't be treated so delicately.
"Xiangxiang, is the food not to your liking? I see you're eating very little." Li Jianzhi was also secretly observing his wife, Xiangxiang. He always felt sorry for her because she ate so little, especially since she was pregnant and had a poor appetite. He was really afraid that she was being mistreated.
Qin Xiangxiang said, "It looks a bit greasy. I want to eat fresh fruits and vegetables, and I want to eat soup."
"I'd like to have some mung bean soup."
"Okay, I'll go cook."
Little Fatty went back to his room to secretly eat candy. Qin Xiangxiang stood at the kitchen door, watching the man in front of her wash mung beans and cook soup in a pressure cooker. He looked so serious and composed, showing no sign of sadness or heartache.
"This time, I want the mung beans to be a little firmer."
Li Jianzhi nodded, glanced at his watch, and kept an eye on the time and the fire. "Go sit down and rest for a while. I'll keep an eye on the fire."
Qin Xiangxiang didn't leave. She whispered, "Li Jianzhi, do you want to buy an imported watch?"
Li Jianzhi looked slightly puzzled.
Are you secretly envious of Chen Ruifeng's watch?
Li Jianzhi was speechless: "...I'm not envious."
Qin Xiangxiang thought it sounded so sour, and that he was still trying to be tough and being stubborn.
"I'm telling you beforehand, after I buy the piano, the family will save up another thousand yuan to buy you a watch."
Li Jianzhi was a little confused; why was his wife always thinking about buying watches?
Spending a thousand yuan to buy an imported watch these days? Isn't that a bit out of touch with reality? You might as well go collect some junk and antiques.
"Don't buy me a watch, your piano is the most important thing."
Qin Xiangxiang snorted. This little drama queen couldn't stand her husband being bullied. She was very vengeful and petty. "I don't like that Chen Ruifeng at all. After we buy the watch, you have to go and show off to him."
Li Jianzhi smiled at this moment. He finally understood what his good wife was thinking. She was worried about him and thought he had been "showed off" by Chen Ruifeng.
There wasn't even a tiny bit.
His wife felt sorry for him—realizing this, Li Jianzhi felt like he had tasted the sweetest honey. It felt so good to have someone care about you and love you.
"No need to wait until I buy a watch. Once I buy my wife a piano, I'll go and brag to her. I'll brag that I bought my wife a piano, and we'll save up to buy you an even more expensive and better piano."
Qin Xiangxiang blushed as he coaxed her, thinking that this rascal was too good at sweet-talking. But she decided to save a little more money, as she wanted to buy some things for Li Jianzhi.
Buy him a better Rolex!
But it costs over nine hundred.
Just thinking about this number makes Xianyu feel dizzy.
Since things have come to this, let's eat first.
“Li Jianzhi, you must tell me if you are feeling down. I’m afraid you’ll be secretly jealous and shed tears on the warship. That would be so pitiful.”
Li Jianzhi: "..."
You can feel wronged and upset in front of me.
Li Jianzhi helplessly held his sweet and soft wife in his arms. No matter how he tried to coax her, he couldn't get over the watch issue. His wife insisted that he envied others for having imported watches. What was he envious of? He was so annoyed.
However, seeing that Qin Xiangxiang seemed to be making plans for the young couple to save some money to buy him an imported watch, he felt a sweet warmth in his heart.
Qin Xiangxiang sighed. She found that being frugal was too difficult for her. If she were Zhuang Xiaoman, she could probably save up enough for a watch in no time. But she was Qin Xiangxiang, who was lazy and loved to eat.
She earns 110 yuan a month, and even if she doesn't eat or drink, it would take her eight or nine months to save up enough to buy the best imported watch.
Or, after you get pregnant and give birth, could you find a job that's easier?
Qin Xiangxiang and her husband were planning to buy a cell phone and a piano, while Chen Ruifeng and his wife had finished preparing a home-warming dinner and were counting their small bills in the house. They found only pennies and couldn't find a single large bill.
Chen Ruifeng: "?!"
Zhao Yangyang: "!!"
The couple suddenly realized that besides the few coins in front of them, all they had left were cigarettes and alcohol, and not even much leftover food. But cigarettes and alcohol couldn't be eaten as a meal.
You just hosted a home-cooking dinner and then resold the leftover cigarettes and alcohol—how shameful is that?
If you've just held a grand banquet, and people find out you don't have a single penny in your pocket, you'll be laughed at for trying to save face.
Chen Ruifeng: "You really have nothing left?"
Zhao Yangyang: "Is that all you have? You're not lying to me?"
The couple both thought the other would at least leave some money, but when the time came to check the accounts, it turned out that this was all they had.
Chen Ruifeng: "Then you should find a way to get the money you lent to Zhou Lu back."
“I just lent it out and I want it back? I can’t afford to lose face like that.” Zhao Yangyang retorted, her neck stiff. “We just treated people to drinks and you’re already saying you have no money? Wouldn’t that be even more embarrassing in front of your comrades? They’d say you’re putting on a show.”
Chen Ruifeng: "Then what should we do? Zhao Yangyang, it's mainly your problem. If you don't get the money back, what will you eat in the future? Why don't you leave yourself a way out?"
"We're out of food."
"I can still eat at the mess hall, but what about you? The main problem is that you've run out of money for food." He's newly married and wouldn't be eating at the mess hall every day, so some busybodies will definitely come and ask him why.
Zhao Yangyang's face darkened. "You're my man, you figure something out!"
“Since you refuse to ask Zhou Lu for money, then let’s both suffer.” Chen Ruifeng counted the small bills in his hand and calculated the food expenses. He thought about it and realized that he could manage. So he said, “Yangyang, go back and tell them that you want to grow vegetables and raise chickens. Tidy up the vegetable garden and go to the production team to get a new brood of chicks.”
“I heard them say that new family members can get eight chicks. There are two of us in my family, so we have two quotas for hens.”
Zhao Yangyang retorted angrily, "Are you stupid? Growing vegetables and raising chickens now? You'd have already received your salary before the vegetables even grow."
“I’m not stupid, listen to me, this is so I won’t be laughed at.” Chen Ruifeng whispered, “Just say you’re going to raise chickens, then go buy rice bran and cornmeal, and then… just make do with what you have.”
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