The world of film and television begins in the ideal city

Chapter 41 Chinese New Year

On Lunar New Year's Eve, the last day of the year, the streets and alleys of Shanghai were already filled with a strong festive atmosphere.

On the evening of New Year's Eve, Lin Chen and his family of three drove together to Wang Mingyu's detached villa in the suburbs. The courtyard was clean and elegant. Although the winter plants had lost their green, they were decorated with bright red lanterns and festive couplets, making it very warm.

Upon receiving Lin Chen's message, Wang Mingyu, along with his wife Wu Li and son Wang Ze, waited at the door in advance.

Wang Ze is still in college this year. He has a sunny and cheerful personality, without the arrogance of a rich second generation. He is studious, easy-going, and usually close to Lin Chen.

As soon as the car came to a stop, Lin Chen and his two companions got out and saw Wang Mingyu's family coming to greet them.

"Happy New Year, sister, brother-in-law, and Xiaochen."

"Everyone, come inside quickly, it's windy outside," Wu Li warmly invited everyone inside.

Wang Ze also stepped forward and politely greeted, "Brother Lin Chen, Happy New Year to Aunt and Uncle." He then eagerly accepted the gift that Lin Chen took out of the trunk.

"Wang Ze has grown taller and is becoming more mature and sensible," Lin Chen's father praised with a smile.

Lin's mother went to the kitchen to help Wu Li prepare dinner, while the others sat on the sofa in the living room chatting.

"As I've gotten older, I've come to realize that how much money I make and how big my career is are secondary. What's more precious than anything is that my family is safe and healthy, and we can sit together and have a peaceful New Year's Eve dinner," Wang Mingyu sighed.

Wang Ze sat to the side, holding fruit, and interjected with a smile: "Dad, you've finally come to your senses now. My mom used to advise you to reduce your social engagements, but you always said you had no choice. This year, you're much more relaxed than in previous years."

"Now that you're all grown up, you're starting to lecture your dad?" Wang Mingyu glared at his son.

Looking at the harmonious and lively scene, Lin Chen's father said happily, "Your dad is right, Zeze. The most precious thing in life is to be content with what you have. If you can't even have a peaceful New Year after a lifetime of hard work, then living is too tiring."

After chatting for a short while, Lin's mother came out and called Lin Chen and Wang Ze to the kitchen to serve the dishes. The two families then sat around the round table for a warm New Year's Eve dinner.

After finishing their meal and cleaning up, everyone set up the mahjong table and started playing again.

Lin Chen's mother sat behind him watching the game; his opponent was his aunt, Wu Li. Lin Chen's mother gave Wu Li a wink. Wu Li played a card and said with a smile:

"It's so sad not to have a matching pair!"

Lin Chen was speechless. Here we go again. He never thought that even after transmigrating, he couldn't escape the fate of being pressured to get married.

Wang Ze, standing to the side, lowered his head, secretly suppressing a laugh, while glancing at Lin Chen's slightly helpless expression out of the corner of his eye. He knew perfectly well that once the elders brought up this topic, it would be unstoppable and would not end easily anytime soon.

Sure enough, sure enough, as soon as Wu Li finished speaking, Lin's mother took the lead, and Wang Mingyu and Lin Chen's father also chimed in. The group took turns speaking, one after another.

However, Lin Chen remained unmoved regardless of the winds blowing from any direction. The others had no choice but to give up.

The time for a joyful gathering always passes too quickly, and soon it was midnight, and the new year was about to begin.

Wang Mingyu raised his glass, smiling warmly: "Come, let's have a family toast to say goodbye to the old year and welcome the new. May everyone have a peaceful and prosperous year, good health, and all your wishes fulfilled."

Everyone raised their glasses in unison, the glasses clinking gently together, producing a crisp and pleasant sound.

Su Xiao's hometown is not far from Shanghai. Although it is a small city, it is well-developed with good infrastructure and convenient transportation. It only takes her a little over two hours to get home by car.

After a short rest in the car, they arrived. Seeing her long-missed hometown, Su Xiao immediately perked up; at that moment, she couldn't wait to go home. She hailed a taxi and arrived home in no time.

She rang the doorbell, and soon Su's father came to open the door. He saw it was his daughter.

"Xiaoxiao, you're back! Come in quickly, you must be exhausted from the journey."

He happily opened the door, took the luggage Su Xiao was carrying, and loudly announced to Su's mother that her daughter was back, heading towards the kitchen.

"Dad, Happy New Year!" Su Xiao hugged her father, handed him her luggage, and went inside. The moment she stepped through the door, the familiar scent enveloped her, and the long-lost warmth instantly warmed her, making Su Xiao feel exceptionally at ease. All the grievances, pain, and hardships she had endured during the year of traveling and working away from home vanished in that instant.

Hearing the noise, Su's mother rushed out of the kitchen, still holding a cleaver. Su Xiao ran to her mother and gave her a big hug.

"Watch out, Xiaoxiao, knife...knife, watch out for the knife in my hand! This girl, how come she's getting more and more impulsive as she gets older?"

Su Xiao playfully kissed her mother.

Putting down the kitchen knife, she carefully looked Su Xiao up and down, her gaze falling on her daughter's slightly thin face and slender shoulders. Her brows furrowed slightly, and her eyes were filled with unconcealed heartache and pity.

Su's mother quickly stepped forward, gently stroking her daughter's arm and cheek, her tone tender yet tinged with a hint of reproachful concern: "You've been working hard in Shanghai this past year, and you look like you've lost a lot of weight. I've told you so many times, no matter how busy or hard work is, you must eat on time, have regular meals, and don't always stay up late working overtime or just eat whatever's available. Work is important, but good health is the foundation for a lifetime."

Su Xiao felt a warmth in her heart, pulled her mother to sit down, and smiled sweetly: "Mom, don't worry, I've been eating well. I just use my brain a lot more often. You know, I've always looked thin and am in very good health, without any problems at all."

"Alright, go wash up quickly, dinner will be served soon!"

A short while later, Su Xiao came out after washing up. The dining table was already full of delicious dishes, all of which were Su Xiao's favorites.

Her mother busied herself putting food into her bowl, and while she was busy, she kept nagging with concern: "I see you've lost even more weight, and your face is even smaller than before. Do you not eat properly because you work overtime every day? Working in the city is stressful. No matter how busy you are, you must eat on time. Health is the most important thing. Money can be earned slowly. If you ruin your health, nothing else matters."

Su Xiao smiled, no longer hiding anything. She took out her phone, opened the balance page, and leaned close to her parents, her tone cheerful and tinged with a hint of pride:

"Dad, Mom, I have good news for you. I received a year-end bonus of 150,000 yuan!" The mother was stunned and couldn't believe it. She quickly leaned closer to take a closer look. "So much?" "150,000 yuan?" The mother was stunned and couldn't believe it. She quickly leaned closer to take a closer look.

"So much?" The father's eyes were also full of surprise. He nodded repeatedly, his tone gratified: "Good, good! That's wonderful! To receive such a high year-end bonus is enough to show how well you've done this year and how much your boss recognizes you. I knew my daughter was hardworking and capable, and that she would get ahead sooner or later."

"I'm currently working in the headquarters task force. The merger has been progressing smoothly lately. I'm valued by my superiors, and my colleagues cooperate well. I was selected as an outstanding employee of the group. That's why my year-end bonus is so good." Su Xiao's eyes were bright, and her tone was light. "Looking back now, all the grievances and hardships I suffered before seem insignificant."

The mother was both happy and heartbroken. She gently patted the back of her hand and said, "No matter how much money I have, I'm not greedy. I just wish you to be safe and healthy, and not have to live such a hard life. It's not easy for a girl to work hard outside. Don't always have to bear everything alone. If you feel wronged, tell your family. Your family will always be your way out."

"I know, Mom."

The cold war with Zhang Xiaobei wasn't over yet, and Wu Hongmei went back to her hometown alone for the Spring Festival. Her hometown was a remote mountain town in the southwest, with very convenient transportation, so she set off two days in advance. After changing buses several times, she finally arrived home the day before New Year's Eve.

Upon arriving home, there were no hugs, no warm greetings, just a simple hello. Her parents immediately began ordering her around, asking her to do this and that.

On New Year's Eve, the house was still a cramped and old house, filled with the smell of cooking oil and New Year's goods, without any warmth of family reunion.

Cleaning the house, washing doors and windows, preparing for the New Year, doing laundry and cooking, tidying up – all the big and small tasks, inside and out, fell on her shoulders. She was busy from dawn till dusk, without a moment's rest.

Even though she tried her best, was considerate in everything, and made every effort to accommodate her parents, she never received their love, understanding, recognition, or praise in return. Instead, she was met with their indifference and unconditional favoritism.

The younger brother was curled up on the sofa playing on his phone and eating sunflower seeds, not helping at all. The parents sat to the side, their eyes only on their son, not even a word of concern for their daughter who was busy running around.

Despite being her own flesh and blood, she was born and raised in her younger brother's shadow, a situation she had lived in since childhood. Giving in, yielding, and sacrificing herself for her brother's sake had become ingrained in her upbringing, an inescapable fate.

The food was served, and the family sat down around the table. Wu Hongmei looked at the food in front of her, and then at how much her parents indulged her younger brother. She felt a lot of grievances, but she still held back and didn't say a word of complaint.

She put down her chopsticks, hesitated for a long time, and then spoke cautiously, her tone tinged with trepidation: "Mom, the money I have with you is what I've saved up over the past few years, the money I was going to use to buy a house with Xiaobei. Could you help me get it out? We plan to look at houses after the New Year."

Wu's mother paused, her eyes darting away, avoiding Wu Hongmei's gaze. She stammered, "Then...that money, I lent it to your aunt. Her family urgently needs the money and can't come up with it right now."

"You lent it to your aunt?" Wu Hongmei was stunned, and her heart immediately panicked. "Why didn't you tell me? That was my savings for a down payment! When can I pay it back?"

As soon as she finished speaking, her father walked into the house from outside. He had just sat down when he heard the conversation between the mother and daughter. He immediately waved his hand and said indifferently, not intending to hide anything at all: "What do you mean, Auntie? Don't lie. What's there to hide from my own daughter?"

Wu Hongmei suddenly looked at her father, her heart clenching instantly, a sense of foreboding washing over her.

The father spoke calmly, as if he were talking about something trivial: "We didn't lend that money to anyone else; we used it to buy a new house for your younger brother."

"What?"

Wu Hongmei froze on the spot, as if struck by lightning. Her face turned deathly pale, her lips trembled slightly, and she couldn't believe her ears. That was her hard-earned money, painstakingly saved every penny, the only hope she had after years of saving to buy a house and settle down with Zhang Xiaobei. How could it have been used to buy a house for her younger brother?

"That was the money I saved to buy a house. How could you use it without even consulting me?" Her voice trembled, and she managed to squeeze out a sentence with difficulty, tears welling up in her eyes.

"You're the older sister, isn't it your duty to help your younger brother buy a house?" Wu's mother said matter-of-factly, without the slightest bit of guilt. "Your brother needs a new house to get married, and our little bit of money isn't enough. If we don't use your money, whose will we use?"

The father echoed, his tone authoritative and unquestionable: "Once the house is bought, our whole family can move in. We're all family, why be so particular?"

Wu Hongmei felt a chill run through her body and trembled as she pressed on, "Whose name is on the property certificate?"

She still clung to a sliver of hope, however small, but her mother's next words shattered that hope completely.

"Of course we'll put your brother's name on it. It's a house we bought for his wedding. What would it look like to put someone else's name on it?"

"And what about me?"

Wu Hongmei finally couldn't hold back anymore, and tears instantly fell down her face, her voice choked with sobs.

"That's money I've saved up for years. I'm getting married, I'm buying a house, I want my own home! If the house is in my brother's name, then when I come back to this new house, I won't even have a room of my own, right?"

She turned to look at her younger brother, who was standing to the side with his head down, not saying a word, completely acquiescing to their parents' actions.

The mother's face immediately darkened, and she reprimanded him with displeasure: "You're a girl, already married, you belong to someone else's family. What do you need a room for? It's already a favor that you come back to stay for two days. How can you be so petty, so inconsiderate of your family, and so uncaring about your younger brother!"

"Am I petty?"

Wu Hongmei completely broke down, tears streaming down her face, her heart filled with despair and despair.

"I scrimp and save while I'm away, reluctant to buy clothes, reluctant to use good skincare products, and even careful with my meals. Do you think it's easy for me to save this little bit of money? All I want is to have my own home, is that wrong? You've only ever thought about my brother, never treated me like your own daughter, you've never considered me!"

"We raised you, it's only right that we use your money to buy a house for your younger brother!"

The father reprimanded him sternly, showing no remorse whatsoever.

One sentence completely crushed Wu Hongmei.

Looking at her biased and unreasonable parents, and her indifferent younger brother, she felt a chill run through her body, a coldness seeping from the depths of her heart. She had placed all her trust in her mother, entrusting her entire savings to her, only to have them misappropriated and sacrificed as if it were her due. She had suffered countless injustices outside, hoping to find some warmth at home, but this home was the place that hurt her the most.