"Brother-in-law, don't worry, I'll have Baoguo bring your parents over for dinner later."
"In the afternoon, you take Xiao Yi home. I'll have Baoguo drive you there. Whether you want to stay at my place or your own tonight is up to you. The rooms and bedding are all ready."
Chen Yang certainly had no complaints about his brother-in-law. If it weren't for his eldest sister and younger sister's family helping him in his previous life, he wouldn't have been able to go abroad, let alone return and become immensely wealthy.
Putting that aside, just based on his brother-in-law's sincere love and affection for his eldest sister, he had to take good care of him.
"Yangzi, we'll do as you say. My parents' cooking for dinner is fine."
"However, regarding accommodation, we'll stay at my place tonight. Your parents will probably need you to arrange for them, Yangzi. My home is too small. If it weren't for you, my sister and I would have slept on the floor." Su Dan Novel Network
Li Zhengpeng didn't feel embarrassed at all. He only had a two-bedroom apartment, located in an alley, with the kitchen in the hallway and shared bathroom. The environment was naturally incomparable to Chen Yang's place.
But as a son, even dogs don't look down on their impoverished homes. He would never abandon his own home to stay at his brother-in-law's, as that would be improper.
His parents also looked forward to seeing their grandson, so he naturally had to consider their feelings.
Chen Yang's second floor had been re-floored with wood. The weather wasn't cold yet, so Chen Juan and Shen Xue let the two little ones, Li Yi and Chen Peng, play on the floor.
Although Li Yi wasn't yet proficient at walking, he could crawl around quickly.
Chen Peng was a little younger and could only watch his cousin crawl around him with effort, while he himself could only manage a few shaky crawls.
"Pengpeng wants to crawl with his brother too. Little darling, your brother can almost walk. You need to put in some effort too and learn to walk quickly."
The two little ones played together quite amusingly, their chubby little hands occasionally pinching each other's cheeks. Sometimes they would engage in encrypted conversations in baby talk, which greatly amused Chen Yang and the others.
"Mom and Dad, you can rest. Zhang Ma's son is a chef at Laifu Lou. I've specifically invited him to cook a grand meal for you. Forget about your own cooking skills."
As soon as Chen Yang finished speaking, Chen Liming and Qin Lifen's faces fell. Qin Lifen's cooking was not good; this was a universally acknowledged but unspoken fact in the Chen family.
"You talk too much, kid. If it's not good, you still ate until you were this old. What were you doing before?"
Chen Liming glared at Chen Yang. Although they were family, he couldn't expose his wife's shortcomings like that. Even though the cooking was indeed a bit unpalatable, no one in the family had ever gone hungry.
Chen Yang shrugged. He didn't have many reservations when he was with his parents; he said whatever came to mind, without any burden, treating it as a joke.
As the family chatted, Lei Baoguo soon arrived with Li Zhengpeng's parents.
When Li Zhengyang and Lou Xiaohui entered Chen Yang's home, their eyes lit up. Such a large courtyard, filled with flowers and plants, and a sun-drenched open space.
Inside, there was a three-story villa, with each floor more than twice the size of their own home.
As native Shanghainese, they knew very well how difficult it was to build such a building in Shanghai.
At this moment, their perception of their daughter-in-law's younger brother reached a new level. No wonder their son always said his brother-in-law was capable. How could he not be capable?
Initially, they had looked down on their son for finding a partner from outside the province. But after seeing Chen Yang's generous gift-giving in Jinling for the first time, they had begun to show more respect to their daughter-in-law.
After their grandson was born, they became even more pleased with their daughter-in-law. Now, seeing how capable their daughter-in-law's brother was, the couple finally felt relieved.
Fortunately, they had always been polite and had not caused any trouble for their daughter-in-law since their son and daughter-in-law got married. Otherwise, why would she treat them with such respect, invite them to such a fine house for a meal, and even send a car to pick them up?
"In-laws, please come in, please come in."
As soon as Chen Liming and Qin Lifen heard the car, they immediately went downstairs to greet them. Seeing their warmth, Li Zhengyang and Lou Xiaohui also hurried forward to exchange pleasantries.
"Thank you, thank you. You even sent a car to pick us up from so far away. We would have come on our own if we had known."
As they chatted, the couple entered the house and continued to admire the villa. It was so spacious; it could probably accommodate ten or eight more people without feeling crowded.
"Uncle, Aunt, please come in. Zhang Ma, get the dishes ready!"
Chen Yang was also very enthusiastic. He didn't know much about past events, but in this life, his brother-in-law's parents had treated his elder sister well. For his brother-in-law's sake, he had to respect the elders.
"This is the best your family has! You won't find many places on the Bund that can compare to your home!"
Lou Xiaohui couldn't help but praise. Chen Yang didn't say much, just smiled faintly, and quickly ushered them inside to sit and prepare tea.
Fortunately, as the couple caught sight of their grandson, they immediately forgot about everything else and held Li Yi in their arms.
The affection of grandparents was the same everywhere. Lou Xiaohui kept calling him "my darling."
Not long after, Zhang Ma brought a series of Shanghainese dishes to the table: rich braised pork, tender but not mushy eight-treasure duck, fried shrimp, braised pork with green vegetables...
This was truly a lavish spread.
"Yangzi, there are too many dishes."
"There are only a few of us, how can we finish all this?"
Li Zhengpeng looked at the famous Shanghainese dishes and thought that if he were to prepare such a meal, it would cost him several months' salary.
"Exactly, exactly. Little Yi's uncle, you're being too extravagant. We can't possibly eat this much. We haven't had such a luxurious meal even during the New Year."
Lou Xiaohui was also being polite, but as she smelled the aroma of the dishes, she couldn't help but swallow. Just the meal itself would likely cost her and her husband several months' salary. How could they afford such a feast? Who would eat like this?
"It's alright. Our two families are rarely gathered together. Let's savor these dishes that we don't get to eat often."
"Uncle, Aunt, Mom, Dad, elder sister, brother-in-law, don't just stand there, please take some food."
Chen Yang urged everyone to eat while pouring wine for his father and Li Zhengyang. His brother-in-law Li Zhengpeng wasn't left out either. Shen Xue was also busy pouring drinks for the women.
They each took a bottle of soda from a glass bottle and poured it into glasses.
"Come, let's raise our glasses to celebrate our reunion today."
"I hope in the future, we can all gather more often."
Chen Liming understood his son's intention. This was his son's home, and he was the elder host. The opening remarks naturally had to be made by him.
"In-law, well said. We miss our grandson dearly. If we weren't still working, we would truly want to go to Jinling and help you raise him."
Li Zhengyang also spoke. What he said was true; in this life, the couple indeed doted on this grandson.