Chapter 82 – Marrying into the Right Family

“Bitcoin? Why are you asking about that?” Once he came back to his senses, Cao Shujie looked baffled.

Cao Zhen shot him a sideways glance. “Just curious. Any of you know about it? If I hadn’t come across that news article, I wouldn’t even know something this wild existed.”

As he spoke, Cao Zhen picked up his glass, took a sip, then shook his head dramatically and said to the others, “Brothers, guess how much this thing cost at the start of the year?”

“Hell if I know what the damn thing even is, how am I supposed to guess?” Cao Shulun snorted.

The others hadn’t heard of it either. As for Cao Shujie, in his previous life he hadn’t paid much attention to Bitcoin. He didn’t know the exact prices from this year, but he did know it should still be dirt cheap right now.

Not finding anyone to play along, Cao Zhen wasn’t having much fun. He clamped the five fingers of his right hand together and said, “According to the news, one was just 1 US dollar at the start of the year, about 7 RMB.”

He paused for effect, took a dramatic breath, then continued, “But last month, it skyrocketed to 198 a piece at its peak!”

“Holy shit!” Cao Fei’s eyes bulged. He tried counting on his fingers, but couldn’t manage the math.

Cao Shuyang whipped out his phone calculator and did the numbers, then looked like he’d seen a ghost. “That’s a jump of more than twenty-eight times! No way, that for real?”

Cao Zhen nodded like a hammer pounding nails. “Of course it’s real! The news covered it, why would they make it up?”

After mocking Cao Shuyang’s ignorance, Cao Zhen went on, “Bet you didn’t know—just in the past few days it’s already plunged back below 100, and by the looks of it, it’s still falling!”

“Wild swings like that… this is even crazier than the stock market.” Cao Zhen wore a spooked expression as he said it.

“You wouldn’t believe the mess online. So many people bought in when it was high, and now they’re crying bloody murder. Some lost so badly they couldn’t bear it anymore—some even jumped!”

A thought popped up in Cao Shujie’s mind: *That cheap?*

But seeing the shifting look on Cao Zhen’s face, he suspected something and quickly asked, “Cao Zhen, don’t tell me you bought some?”

“Buy my ass! That thing reeks of voodoo. I can’t even figure out stocks, you think I’d mess with that?” Cao Zhen shook his head emphatically.

“I’ve got it figured out—us ordinary folks, it’s better to just make money honestly, save a little. If we earn more, we can spend more. If we earn less, we spend less. Simple.”

He then raised his glass toward Cao Shujie. “Shujie, say what you want, but we all gotta admit—you’re doing the best out of all of us these days. If we want to eat good and drink well from now on, we’ll have to crash at your place.”

“It’s nothing, you can come anytime.” Cao Shujie clinked glasses with them. “Brothers, come on—another round!”

The six of them downed half a cup each in a few gulps.

Tomorrow was the weekend. Except for Cao Shuyang, who had a highway night shift to cover, none of them had work, so there was no rush to head back to Pingyuan County Town. That just meant they could drink even more freely.

In the end, the six of them polished off an entire crate of baijiu. Their alcohol tolerance was spot-on, though they barely touched the meat dishes.

Wang Yuelan had prepared clean plastic bags long beforehand. When the guys left, each got a bag of fish and a bag of cooked lamb to bring home for their families.

After cleaning up the aftermath of the feast, she glanced at the large basin still full of lamb and fish, and the fridge packed with uncooked meat, and fretted aloud.

“Linlin, why don’t you tell your mom that once Shujie sobers up, he can take her some lamb and fish?” Wang Yuelan said to her daughter-in-law.

Cheng Xiaolin’s heart warmed. Ever since marrying into this family, her mother-in-law had treated her wonderfully. Often she thought all the luck of her life had been spent on this marriage.

“Mom, no need. It’s not even worth the gas money,” she said with a smile.

But Wang Yuelan shook her head. “Linlin, what are you saying? I’ll cover the gas. That’s settled!”

“Then how about we also send some to my younger uncle’s place?” Cheng Xiaolin suggested on her own.

Wang Yuelan thought of her brother and nodded. “That works too, but you’ll have to make another trip.”

“No problem. We’ll keep it in the fridge tonight and send it over tomorrow morning.”

…

Cao Shujie sobered up later that night. When his mother told him about the arrangements for the leftover lamb and fish, he didn’t object at all.

But when his wife wasn’t around, his mother nagged him. “Next time, buy less if you want to eat. You always buy so much and then can’t finish, and in a few days it just spoils.”

“Heh heh.” Cao Shujie pretended not to care. “Mom, you and Dad should eat more too.”

“How much can we eat, really?” Wang Yuelan shook her head. “Hurry and divide the rest before it goes to waste.”

The next day, Cao Shujie drove with his wife and child to Uncle Wang Jialiang’s. They dropped off more than three catties of lamb and two big fish. Despite his uncle and aunt protesting and demanding they stay for a meal, they excused themselves and drove on to Cheng Family Slope in Dayao Town, Anwu County.

“Daddy, where’s Grandma?” Mengmeng had been restless ever since she learned they were going to her grandmother’s house.

She couldn’t sit still in the car—sitting one moment, lying down the next, then wriggling into her mother’s arms, only to flop across her lap seconds later, buzzing like a little bee that never stopped.

“Mengmeng, we’re almost there. Sit still. If I hit the brakes, I’ll send you flying.” Cao Shujie warned casually.

Mengmeng didn’t get it, but Cheng Xiaolin did. She pulled her daughter close and stopped her from squirming around.

Cao Shujie drove into Dayao Town’s Cheng Family Slope and finally pulled up at his mother-in-law’s gate. Mengmeng was already pushing at her mom, eager to get the car door open.

“Mommy, where’s Grandma?” She jumped out and, not seeing anyone, muttered again.

Cheng Xiaolin pointed to the closed front gate. “Mengmeng, hurry and go knock.”

The little girl perked up and wiggled her way over, her chubby bottom swishing side to side as she waddled toward the gate.

Watching her run like a clumsy duckling made Cao Shujie chuckle—but Cheng Xiaolin scolded him. “Laugh at what? When you were little, you probably didn’t even look as good running as Mengmeng does now.”

“I didn’t say anything! Woman, do you *have* to snipe at me every chance you get?” Cao Shujie grumbled.

Inside, Li Xiaojuan was minding her grandson. At the sound of knocking, followed by a sweet voice shouting “Grandma!”, she instantly recognized her granddaughter’s voice. She scooped up the baby and rushed to open the door.

When she opened the door, she saw her daughter and son-in-law standing outside. Her son-in-law was carrying three bags—two filled with fish and one with meat. She couldn’t help but call out, “Shujie, you should keep this for yourselves! Why go out of your way to bring it here?”

“Mom, we just made a stew with lamb yesterday, and my mother-in-law insisted we bring some for you to try. If it weren’t for Shujie drinking with his friends last night, we would’ve come earlier,” Cheng Xiaolin said, her face glowing with sweetness and contentment.

Li Xiaojuan felt an immense sense of relief and satisfaction for her daughter. In the end, she really hadn’t married into the wrong family.

(End of this chapter)