Generally speaking, Li Xiang’s house was on the west end of the village, on the outskirts. It wasn’t part of the "core area," so people didn’t usually come by to visit. It was a bit of a walk, and the elderly villagers found the trek tiring.

But today, several elderly villagers, both men and women, had come to visit together.

As the saying goes, people don’t visit without a reason. Granny Li Xiang was a little surprised. She quickly invited them to sit down and brought out roasted chestnuts, along with some melon seeds, candies, and small pastries Li Xiang had bought to serve her guests.

After some simple pleasantries and a bit of small talk, the elders revealed the purpose of their visit.

It turned out they wanted Granny Li Xiang to persuade her grandson to uphold the fine tradition of thrift and frugality passed down from their ancestors and to stop spending money so lavishly.

Even though it was Li Xiang’s money and not their own, as elders, they couldn’t just stand by and watch.

It was for Li Xiang’s own good.

"You need to have a good talk with Xiang Ya," said a silver-haired old man, who was from the same generation as Granny Li Xiang but a few years her senior. "He’s not a boy anymore. It’s time for him to start saving money for a wife."

Another woman, slightly younger, chimed in, "That’s right, Auntie. Li Xiang will need a lot of money when he gets married and has children. If he doesn’t save now, what will he do later? We’re just worried about him, so we came to offer some advice. Please don’t take it the wrong way, Auntie."

The others all chimed in one after another. Granny Li Xiang could only give a wry smile and spread her hands. "Xiang’Er is all grown up. He has his own ideas now. He might not listen to an old woman like me."

"Besides, he’s earning his own money. So I just let him be." Granny Li Xiang hesitated for a moment but couldn’t resist mentioning that Li Xiang had earned a little money selling mushrooms and nine-steamed, nine-sun-dried Solomon.

"What? He’s earned almost a hundred thousand? For real?"

The elders were stunned. ’Li Xiang was so quiet before,’ they thought, ’and now he’s already started selling things and making money?’

And this much, too?

They had all assumed that Li Xiang was just draining his savings, spending the money he’d accumulated from working in the city.

In reality, Li Xiang had had a miserable time in the big city. In two years of work, he hadn’t saved as much as he had in the two months since he’d been back.

The elders were old and didn’t really understand online sales. They only knew Li Xiang was fiddling with it, but they didn’t think he’d gotten it off the ground yet. After all, he’d only just started. How could he be successful so quickly?

"I see... Earning money is a good thing, but that’s all the more reason to be frugal. You can’t just spend as much as you earn. If you spend it all, how will you ever afford a wife?"

"We’re still trying to set him up, looking for a suitable match. If he can save a little more money, we’ll have more to boast about when we play matchmaker. We’d have more confidence."

Granny Li Xiang heard this and thought it made sense. She quickly smiled and said, "I’ll give him a good talking-to when he gets back. As for finding him a wife, I hope you all will continue to help and keep an eye out."

"Of course. Li Xiang went to college, after all. He should at least find someone who graduated from high school." 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"In my opinion, it doesn’t matter if she’s uneducated. The main thing is that she’s virtuous and good for childbearing," another elder suggested.

"I think Lei Laohu’s second daughter from Lei Family Gully is a good match. I can help set something up another day, let the young ones meet. Who knows, maybe it’ll be a perfect fit?"

Even with nine years of compulsory education nowadays, there were still many students who couldn’t keep up with their studies and chose to drop out. For example, there was one in their own village who attended the first few days of junior high and then refused to go back. She absolutely wouldn’t go, no matter what. Her family had no choice but to wait until she was a bit older and take her to a more developed region to find work.

"It’s still two or three months until the New Year. A lot of the girls haven’t come back yet, so we’ll probably have to wait on the matchmaking."

As they were all chatting back and forth, a very luxurious car suddenly pulled up slowly and stopped not far from the doorway.

A burly driver wearing sunglasses got out, opened the back door, and ushered out the boss inside.

The boss was a big man with a thick beard, decked out in jewelry. He was carrying a briefcase, looked to be in his early forties, and strode over with great purpose. He asked in a loud voice, "Excuse me, elders, is this Li Xiang’s house?"

Everyone was taken aback. ’Looking for Li Xiang?’

Granny Li Xiang quickly stood up and said, "This is his house, but he went to the back mountain to dig for bamboo shoots. He isn’t back yet."

"No problem, I can wait for him here. And you are, ma’am...?" The bearded man was surprisingly polite, despite his appearance and attire giving off a strong "keep away, strangers and riffraff" vibe.

"I’m his grandmother. What business do you have with him?" Granny Li Xiang asked.

"Ah, so you’re his grandmother! A pleasure to meet you! It’s nothing major. I sell coffee over in Yunnan Province. I have a large farm and just opened a new hotel. I happened to be in Rongcheng on a business trip, so I came to pay him a visit and talk about a potential advertising partnership."

"An advertising partnership?"

At these words, not only was the grandmother stunned, but the other village elders present also looked at each other in bewilderment.

"What kind of advertising? Li Xiang can do advertising?" one of the elders asked, puzzled.

The bearded man pulled out a pack of cigarettes, offering one to each of the old men present. He laughed heartily and said, "Of course he can. My friend Li Xiang is doing a great job with his short videos, and he has a considerable number of followers. Most importantly, I have a good feeling about him. I think he’s going to achieve great things in the future."

"Oh, I see."

"So what’s he advertising? How much does it pay?"

"He’ll just insert an ad into his short videos to introduce my coffee brand and my new resort hotel. The ads aren’t long, about a minute each. As for the fee, my friend Li Xiang and I agreed on it yesterday. Sixteen thousand for two videos."

"Sixteen thousand? That much?" The elders were stunned. At the same time, they felt a bit awkward. Just moments ago, they were saying Li Xiang was a spendthrift who didn’t know how to save. They were worried he’d burn through all his money and have nothing left.

When Granny Li Xiang said he’d earned nearly a hundred thousand, they hadn’t really believed her. They just thought she was bragging and exaggerating the numbers. But who would have thought? This man was here with sixteen thousand right off the bat!

It seemed that hundred thousand was real after all.

’Is it really that easy to make money? So spending that ten thousand on some short film wasn’t just him messing around? It was actually a worthwhile investment? He’s really doing serious work?’

’This new era... we old folks just can’t keep up anymore.’

"It’s not that much," the bearded man said with a smile. ’This is pocket change,’ he thought. ’I’ve got more than that in cash in my briefcase.’

Even though people usually used their phones for transfers these days, cash was still necessary in many situations. For example... giving gifts.

Besides, carrying a lot of cash and throwing down stacks of it at a crucial moment had a certain... swagger.

"Quick, quick, Auntie, hurry and get Li Xiang back here! Does he have his phone? Maybe I should give him a call!" one of the women said anxiously. A big boss was waiting right here! He needed to get back and talk business! What if the deal fell through?