Chapter 123 - 122: Love is the Greatest Motivation

Chapter 123: Chapter 122: Love is the Greatest Motivation

The three of them strolled back to the residential complex and saw Jiang Wende’s taxi parked downstairs. It seemed the old couple had also just gotten home not long ago.

They went upstairs, and just as the group reached the front door, his mom called.

"Where are you?"

"We’re already home. Hanging up," Jiang Xia said as he took out his keys to open the door, his light laughter filling the house.

Seeing the two adults and one younger girl standing outside, Xia Shanshan paused for a moment before her face immediately broke into a smile.

"Oh, you’re all back? Quick, come in, come in. You don’t have to take off your shoes."

"Hello, Aunt Xia. Hello, Uncle Jiang."

"Hello, Teacher Xia. Hello, Uncle Jiang."

The two sisters greeted them politely.

Jiang Wende immediately got up to pour water, also taking the chilled fruit from the fridge and placing it on the table.

"Hello, Yanwan. Hello, Xiao Man. Xiao Man, how did your exam go today?" Xia Shanshan asked.

"Teacher Xia always said you shouldn’t be too arrogant. Pride hinders progress. So, naturally, I only did so-so," Lin Xiaoman said with a proud look on her face.

"That’s not what you were saying earlier." Jiang Xia ruffled her hair playfully. ’Such proud humility... she’s really something else.’

His young sister-in-law stuck out her tongue playfully. "Brother Jiang Xia, you’re so silly. A student has to be humble in front of their teacher."

At that, the whole family burst into laughter.

"Well, I’m going to get dinner started. You all can relax for a while."

"Mom, this is for you." Jiang Xia handed her a bag. He had bought some cold side dishes on the way home and had also picked up a large bottle of Nutrient Express.

"Auntie, let me help you," Lin Yanwan said, following her mother-in-law into the kitchen.

"No, no, that’s alright. The kitchen is messy, and you’re wearing white. Be careful, or you’ll get oil all over you. You kids just go have fun."

Without taking no for an answer, Xia Shanshan pushed her out of the kitchen. ’How could I let my daughter-in-law-to-be do chores?’

Resigned, Lin Yanwan could only return to the living room to watch TV with Jiang Xia and his father. However, it wasn’t long before that guy was dragged away by Xiao Man to play something.

"Yanwan, where are your parents? Why didn’t they come?" Jiang Wende suddenly asked.

"My dad’s still on a business trip, and my mom is at work. They’re pretty busy lately, so they couldn’t come over for lunch," Lin Yanwan replied.

"Busy is good. If you’re busy, you have business, and you’re making money. Business is tough for everyone these days. By the way, I heard from Jiang Xia that your family is in the toy business, is that right?"

"Mhm, yes, that’s right. We’re over in the industrial park."

Jiang Wende nodded. "There’s a large wholesale market around there, with a lot of factories clustered together. The flow of people is quite high. I drive down that road a dozen times a day. Who knows, I might have even given your parents a ride."

Lin Yanwan gave a wry smile. ’A high flow of people doesn’t necessarily mean good business. More companies of the same type also means greater competition. In a sluggish economy, a company’s survival comes down to its own foundations—how deep its pockets are, and whether it has enough cash to burn.’

"What’s your father’s name?"

"Uncle Jiang, my dad’s name is Lin Gaoyuan. He used to be a carpenter and only started making toys later on."

Jiang Wende chuckled. "Toys back in the old days were all made of wood, so you could say he’s sticking to his roots. Asking me to drive is fine, but I don’t know the first thing about doing anything else."

"Hey, hey, hey! Stop, stop!"

Xia Shanshan walked out of the kitchen with a spatula, looking at Jiang Wende with displeasure. "Old Jiang, there you go with your old habits again, aren’t you? Yanwan finally comes over to visit, and the second she sits down you start asking all these questions. What are you doing, taking a census?"

He froze for a second, then quickly apologized. "I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Sigh, it’s an occupational hazard. After driving for so long, I just like to chat with my passengers. Yanwan, please don’t take it to heart."

"It’s alright, Uncle. It’s not something that can’t be discussed."

Lin Yanwan gently shook her head. In her memory, her father-in-law was just a simple, honest taxi driver. After disaster struck both their families, he had often helped take care of hers.

"Yanwan, don’t listen to your Uncle Jiang’s nonsense. You two young people go have some fun. Do you want to go online? The computer is in the study."

"It’s okay, Aunt Xia." She shook her head. "I... I’d still like to help you cook. I’ll wear an apron!"

"Hmm... alright, then. Let’s go. We two, mother and daughter, will go cook together and let these two grown men stay out here and shoot the breeze."

Hearing her mother-in-law refer to them as "mother and daughter" made Lin Yanwan blush slightly.

Jiang Wende took an awkward, tactical sip of water. For some reason, the name Lin Gaoyuan sounded a little familiar, as if he’d heard it somewhere before, but he couldn’t quite place it at the moment.

After all, having driven a taxi for so many years, he had met quite a few well-known local business owners. Perhaps they really had met.

Since they got home rather late, Xia Shanshan didn’t have time to prepare any elaborate dishes, so she simply took out the induction cooker to make hot pot.

She chopped all the ingredients and poured everyone a drink. All in all, lunch was ready in just over half an hour.

"Come, let’s have a toast to celebrate our dear Lin Xiaoman’s great success on her final exams!" Xia Shanshan said with a smile, raising her glass.

"See, Xiao Man? You get the special treatment. When your sister and I got into Tsinghua, my mom didn’t even celebrate for us like this," Jiang Xia said, clinking his glass against his young sister-in-law’s.

Xia Shanshan laughed and chided him, "You little brat, what’s the rush? We can talk about it once your acceptance letter arrives. It’s not like your celebration feast is going to run away, is it?"

"Teacher Xia, I wanted to ask... during the class meeting, you said that if we do well on the final exams, we won’t have any summer homework. Does that offer still stand?" Xiao Man asked tentatively.

"Of course it does. But the prerequisite is that you have to do well, you know."

"Hmph, hmph, hmph. That’s no problem for Xiao Man! Go away, summer homework! Go away, summer homework!"

"Xiao Man, what happened to being humble?" Jiang Xia teased.

"Brother Jiang Xia, you’re so silly. Teacher Xia said this is called being confident!" Xiao Man said with a serious expression.

Lin Yanwan smiled and gently tapped her sister on the head. "You have an answer for everything, don’t you? You little imp. Hurry up and eat."

"Hahaha, Xiao Man is absolutely right! The silliest one here is your Brother Jiang Xia. If your sister hadn’t been supervising him every day, the best he could have hoped for in his life was a second-tier university; how could he have gotten such a high score? Therefore..."

Xia Shanshan cleared her throat. "I propose that we all raise a glass to Yanwan as well—to our greatest hero!"

"To the hero!"

"Thank you, Yanwan!"

Taking a small sip of her milk-based drink, Lin Yanwan’s cheeks flushed. She loved this kind of family atmosphere.

"Boss Lady Lin, since when did me getting into Tsinghua become your accomplishment?" Jiang Xia whispered, nudging her with his leg.

"It always was."

She huffed lightly. ’Even though I never supervised his studies, would he dare say he wasn’t working that hard for me?’

’Love is the greatest motivation. So, rounding up, of course the credit is all mine.’

...