NOVEL NEXT Chapter 221 Farewell
In the next two days, besides spending intimate moments with Ge Qin, Li Jing stayed at home with his parents.
Since Li Weijun and his wife hadn't retired yet, they returned to work as the Spring Festival holiday came to an end.
Meanwhile, Zhou Li had originally planned to return to Tianhai with Li Jing, but because her unit asked her to go back early, she had to leave first.
Li Jing, having nothing to do, stayed at home for another week, bought a lot of new furniture for the house, hired housekeepers to clean the entire home, and finally decided to leave.
At the entrance of the residential area, Liu Mei, carrying a bag, jogged towards Li Jing's sports car: "Wait, wait, there's one more bag of stuff!"
"Ah! Just now you didn't pack it well, and now that our son is ready to go, you're bringing out more stuff."
Though Li Weijun complained, he took the bag from Liu Mei's hand and asked, "What's this?"
"The stuffed tofu I made earlier, I almost forgot about it."
Liu Mei quickly brushed her messy hair aside, then shouted to Li Jing in the car, "Son, open the trunk, I'll put the stuffed tofu in."
Seeing his mother bringing another bag over, Li Jing had no choice but to get out of the car again and open the already packed trunk, helplessly saying, "Mom, the car is full, I really don't need so many things."
"It's just one bag of stuffed tofu, find a gap and squeeze it in, it won't get in the way."
Liu Mei took the bag back from Li Weijun and skillfully squeezed it into the last available space in the trunk.
"See, it fits perfectly!"
After successfully squeezing in the stuffed tofu, Liu Mei clapped her hands in triumph, her face just breaking into a smile when suddenly she remembered something, and promptly said, "Oh, and there's fruit! I've washed apples and grapes for you to eat on the way home!
Wait a bit, I'll go get them right now…"
"Mom, really no need, the car can't hold anymore!"
Li Jing hurriedly grabbed her: "If I want to eat something, I'll just buy it at the service area, bringing too much is a hassle."
"Right, you bring one bag after another, it's endless, are you letting our son leave or not?"
Li Weijun chimed in to say a few words to Liu Mei, then waved to Li Jing, "Alright, alright, you better get on the road soon, you have a long drive ahead, don't waste time here."
Seeing that it was indeed hard to stuff more things into the car, Liu Mei gave up on getting the fruit and stepped forward to hold Li Jing's wrist, caringly advising, "Drive safely on the road, don't get into any disputes, and remember to call home if anything comes up."
"Got it, Mom, I'm already an adult."
Li Jing smiled, then got back into the car, waved, and said, "Dad, Mom, I'm leaving, take care of yourselves."
"Okay, go on, don't look back, keep your eyes forward."
"Let us know when you get to Tianhai!"
Li Weijun and Liu Mei stood by the roadside, watching Li Jing's sports car disappear at the end of the road, silently.
"He's gone, let's head back, no point standing here any longer."
Li Weijun glanced at Liu Mei, turned, and started walking back to the residential area: "Our son's grown up, we can't expect him to stay by our side forever."
Upon hearing this, Liu Mei, who was still energetic moments ago, seemed to slump a little after Li Jing left, slowly turned back, and said in a low, complex voice:
"Yes, our son has grown up and has his own life, he no longer needs us around."
Catching the sadness in her words, Li Weijun glanced sideways at her, then laughed: "Now you see who stays with you till the end?"
"It's me, your man. So you better treat me well, especially don't be too tight with my money…"
Hearing the word "money," Liu Mei seemed to think of something, her eyes brightened, and she immediately stared at him, extending her hand: "Hand it over."
Seeing this, Li Weijun's expression changed slightly, instinctively pulling his hands back: "Hand what over?"
"Don't play dumb, I've been with you for decades, I can tell what's on your mind with just a glance."
Liu Mei regained her spirit, frowning as she urged him: "Come on, hand it over!"
"What?" Li Weijun stepped back half a step: "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Still playing dumb?! Did our son give you a bank card?"
Liu Mei grabbed his sleeve and snorted coldly, "Are you trying to pocket it yourself? Are you crazy for such a large sum of money?!"
"Did our son tell you about this too?!" Exposed, Li Weijun's expression changed.
"A full two million, do you plan to secretly spend it all by yourself?!"
Liu Mei glared at him: "This is our son's money, give me the card, I'll save it and return it to him later!"
"Save it up?? This money is for us to spend, not to be put in the bank, don't you get it?!"
Just after speaking, Li Weijun saw her face darken, recognizing the precursor to her outburst, quickly felt tense inside, and hurriedly conceded:
"Alright, alright, we'll save it, but can we leave out fifty thousand for everyday expenses, is that okay?"
Facing Liu Mei's sharp gaze, Li Weijun's expression changed again, his eyes darted as he took another step back: "Fifty thousand is too much, how about twenty, twenty thousand?"
Seeing her still not speaking, Li Weijun extended a finger: "Ten thousand, no less, we now have money, we can't continue to live poorly, should we keep suffering?"
With these words, Liu Mei withdrew her aggressive stance, frowned, pondered for a moment, then said: "Our salaries are more than enough for living in Lian City.
If you want a better quality of life, I'll give you an extra two thousand each month, which is twenty-four thousand a year, coming from this card, how about it?"
"Only twenty-four thousand a year?"
Seeing the two million shrink nearly a hundredfold, just as Li Weijun was about to refute, he heard Liu Mei coldly say:
"Think twenty-four thousand is too much? Then make it twelve thousand…"
"No, no, no, twenty-four thousand, twenty-four thousand, it's enough."
Before she finished speaking, Li Weijun immediately compromised, agreeing to her proposal.
Although Liu Mei appeared stingy, in reality, the old couple's spending habits had long been settled.
If Li Weijun were to get too much money at once, it might actually cause trouble.
For Li Weijun, an extra two thousand in expenses each month could significantly enhance his current lifestyle.
He used to save two thousand out of a monthly salary of four thousand after covering living expenses.
Now not only did he not have to save from his salary, he also had an extra two thousand.
For Li Weijun, this meant an effective increase of four thousand in his monthly living expenses.
Thinking of this, he couldn't suppress the upward curve of his mouth, already contemplating how he could afford to upgrade his usual brands of cigarettes and alcohol.
Grrr...
At this moment, a Volkswagen came to a swift stop beside the returning couple.
Seeing the young and pretty woman in the car, Liu Mei was surprised: "Ge Qin? What brings you here?"
"Auntie, where's Li Jing?"
Seeing the couple already heading back, Ge Qin anxiously asked: "Li Jing's already left?"
"Yes, just left a few minutes ago, headed towards the highway entrance to Lian City South Station."
"The highway entrance?"
Hearing this, Ge Qin's expression changed slightly, she quickly thanked them, and sped off.
Seeing this, Liu Mei frowned suspiciously: "When did this girl Ge Qin become so close to our son, even coming over specially to see him?"
"Your son takes after me, charming and handsome, it's only natural to have women interested in him, isn't it?"
Li Weijun crossed his arms behind him, saying proudly: "Back in the day, I had plenty of women chasing after me…"
"Oh? Didn't you say before that I was the first woman you ever liked?" Liu Mei squinted at him.
Li Weijun's expression changed as he sensed the dangerous vibe emanating from her, and immediately nodded: "Yes, having many women chase me didn't mean I liked them, I had my eyes set on you."
"Ha, lying without shame, I bet back then no one else fancied you, that's why I chose you."
"Nonsense, back then I was even the first university student in our village, people lining up to introduce their daughters to me almost broke our doorstep!"
"A college diploma also counts as a university student?"
"What, aren't college students still university students? I think you just don't understand!"
"I might not understand, but at least I have self-awareness, unlike you who's so full of yourself."
"Full of myself? I…"
And so, the old couple habitually started to squabble again.
Though they bickered without sparing words, they always walked side by side, slowly returning to their own little home.