With their wine and food satisfied, Chu Wanchen helped her mother clean up the housework.
Then, she took out the “spoils of war” brought back from Shanghai one by one.
She had bought several sets of clothes for the two elderly folk, ranging from summer wear to winter wear. The two elders lived frugally, so if she just handed them the clothes, they would be reluctant to wear them.
This time, Chu Wanchen decided to secretly throw away the elders’ old clothes and replace them entirely with the new clothes she had bought.
Next, she took out the ginseng, sea cucumber, and bird’s nest purchased from the supplement shop.
Although she had eradicated the deep-seated ailments on the elders’ bodies using the Physique Enhancement Elixir today, consuming supplements would never do any harm.
In fact, Chu Wanchen’s grandma had bought supplements in the past. But because they had no money back then, what she actually bought was farmed sea cucumber disguised under the name of wild sea cucumber, along with artificially cultivated one-year-old small ginseng.
Now, seeing the two of them bring back so many nutritional products from a single trip to Shanghai that looked far from cheap, Grandma felt a deep pang of heartache for the money spent and hurriedly asked if they could return the items.
Shao Wenxin could only comfort her own mother, lying to her that these things were not expensive at all. Furthermore, they had already brought them back from Shanghai, so they couldn’t possibly fly back to Shanghai just to return them.
Only then did Grandma accept them with a pained expression.
Afterward, Chu Wanchen took out the fine wine and premium tea bought for Grandpa. Although the two elders still felt pained over the money, they accepted them anyway.
What else could they do besides accepting them? They couldn’t really go back to Shanghai to return them.
Looking at the large and small bags brought back by her daughter that piled up across the entire room, Grandma said helplessly, “You are way too much of a spendthrift. Buying so many things, how much money must that have cost?”
Shao Wenxin did not dare to answer and quickly shifted the topic, “Mom, have you and Dad packed your luggage? We are going out for a trip in the next couple of days.”
“What preparation? What you said on the phone that day was vague and unclear. Suddenly saying you wanted to take the two of us on a trip, your dad and I thought you were just joking.”
Hearing her mother say this, Shao Wenxin could only explain, “Haven’t I retired now? Plus, Erbao (Chu Wanchen’s nickname, given by Grandpa) is on summer vacation right now, so I wanted to take the two of you out to play. Don’t you like going out to play the most?”
Chu Wanchen’s grandma did not like being cooped up at home; she liked socializing and going out.
Grandpa was the exact opposite; he liked staying at home and disliked socializing.
The old couple was just like what people nowadays referred to as an ‘introvert’ and an ‘extrovert.’ Having adjusted to each other over several decades, they were able to adapt to each other’s living habits.
As soon as Grandma heard that it was to take Erbao out to play, she immediately agreed.
The elderly couple doted on Chu Wanchen the most. Within the scope of their abilities, the two of them would pour out everything they had to give Chu Wanchen the best.
Shao Wenxin knew that as long as she used her daughter as the reason, the old couple would definitely not refuse.
“Dad, Mom. It’s already mid-July now, and Erbao will be starting school before long. Let’s pack up as quickly as possible. Leaving early will allow us to play for a few more days.”
“Got it, got it. No need for your nagging. We two old folks will just bring a few pieces of clothing and leave; we can go at any time.”
Fine, seeing Grandma’s temperament—which was even more impatient than her own mother’s—one could tell exactly where her mother’s impatient streak was inherited from.
“That’s fine then, I’ll book tomorrow’s plane tickets.”
Hearing Shao Wenxin’s words, Grandma hurriedly interrupted, “Didn’t you say we are going to Dian City to play? It’s so close, why take a plane? It’s better to save that money to buy two more pieces of clothing for Erbao.”
Hearing that Grandma wanted to save the plane ticket money to buy clothes for her, Chu Wanchen was deeply moved. She followed up to persuade her, “Grandma, haven’t you never ridden a plane before? Let’s take a plane this time to experience it.”
Hearing her granddaughter’s words, the old lady’s tone softened, “Since Erbao has said so, then let’s go by plane. Let’s also ride this contraption.”
Seeing the old lady agree, Shao Wenxin immediately chimed in, “Then I’ll book the tickets for tomorrow morning. You and Dad pack up tonight, and Erbao and I will come over to pick you up at 8:30 tomorrow morning.”
The old lady readily agreed.
Chu Wanchen and Shao Wenxin had just returned from Shanghai, so they also needed to go home and tidy up a bit.
Without delaying any further at the moment, after bidding farewell to the two elders, the two of them carried their luggage and returned home.
“We will also change this house after returning from Dian City. We’ll buy one near your school.”
The house the mother and daughter were currently living in was the wedding house from when Father Chu and Mother Chu got married—an old house several decades old.
The building had no elevator, and the layout was also irrational. The two bedrooms faced the sun, while the living room was enclosed in the middle by the bedrooms and the kitchen, leaving it with absolutely no natural lighting.
Even during the day, the lights in the living room had to be turned on; otherwise, it would be pitch black.
There was no washing machine at home, nor was there a water heater. Both of them could only take baths at Grandma’s house.
The sole advantage of this house was that it was very close to Chu Wanchen’s primary school and junior high school; it only required a 5-minute walk to reach the schools.
But now, even this sole advantage was about to disappear. Chu Wanchen’s high school was a dozen kilometers away from home. The school was built in the city center, and dormitories were tightly limited, so priority could only be given to children coming from other regions to study.
Local students like Chu Wanchen could only commute daily.
One had to know that the Experimental High School’s morning self-study started at exactly seven o’clock. If she lived here, Chu Wanchen would have to wake up at 5:30 and catch the earliest public bus to school just to ensure she wouldn’t be late.
Even if the family bought a car later on and could drive her back and forth, they would still have to set off after 6:00 every day.
For the sake of her future sleep, Chu Wanchen also fully agreed with buying a house near the school.
But all of this was a matter for later. Right now, the most main thing was to prepare for tomorrow’s trip.
Taking Grandma and Grandpa far away from home for the first time made Chu Wanchen extremely excited.
Having just returned from Shanghai, the two of them did not need to organize much luggage.
They took out the redundant items to travel light, as any missing items could be bought locally.
After finishing packing, Chu Wanchen began selecting hotels.
Chu Wanchen had always been very independent. When the two of them got along, it was instead Shao Wenxin who was like a child; whenever they encountered matters that required making a decision, it was always Chu Wanchen who decided.
Therefore, Shao Wenxin was also very at ease letting Chu Wanchen plan their itinerary.
The next day, early morning.
Chu Wanchen checked in as usual, but today the system did not directly grant a reward like it usually did.
“Check-in successful. It is detected that the host’s check-ins have reached a full week. The system will undergo an upgrade, and today’s check-in reward will be issued after the upgrade is completed.”
Chu Wanchen did not expect that the system could upgrade, and she did not know how long the system upgrade would take.
Although she was very puzzled by the question of the system upgrade, she still had things to do today and could only wait until she was free to study it slowly.
“Mom, the system is upgrading today. The check-in reward will be issued after the upgrade is completed. Let’s go to Grandma’s house first.”
Hearing this, Shao Wenxin could only comply.
The mother and daughter checked once more to confirm that no belongings were left behind, then set off for Grandma’s house.
By the time they arrived at Grandma’s house, the two elders had long since packed and prepared, and they had even prepared breakfast for the mother and daughter.
“Wenxin, what time is the plane ticket you bought for?”
“Dad, it’s still early. No need to worry. Someone will come to pick us up in a little while; we won’t be delayed.”
Shao Wenxin naturally couldn’t say what time the plane was. The entire aircraft belonged to them, so they could fly whenever they wanted to fly.
Of course, this could absolutely not be told to her own parents.
After finishing breakfast, they waited for just a short while before the personnel from China Aviation arrived—it was still the driver from yesterday.
As usual today, he helped the group carry their luggage into the car, and then drove them toward the direction of the airport.
It was the first time the two elderly folk had come to an airport, so naturally, everything they looked at was novel.
Chu Wanchen didn’t rush them either, letting the two elders look around as they pleased.
They weren’t pressed for time anyway; Grandma and Grandpa could look for as long as they wanted.
Seeing a crowd of people lining up for check-in and security screening, the old man and old lady couldn’t help but want to go line up as well.
Involuntarily going to line up upon seeing a queue was probably carved into the genes of Chinese people.
Chu Wanchen and Shao Wenxin hurriedly pulled the two elders back and went to the VIP lounge.