Xu Xiuwen drove his cousin, Ning Jiali, to town.
The town was much more bustling, with several large supermarkets.
Xu Xiuwen got out of the car and bought two bottles of water, giving one to Ning Jiali.
It had been a long time since Xu Xiuwen and Ning Jiali had seen each other, but to Ning Jiali, it felt like only a year had passed.
Even after a year, there was no sense of estrangement between them.
Ning Jiali excitedly chatted with Xu Xiuwen about various school anecdotes.
Xu Xiuwen wasn't particularly interested, but he didn't show any sign of boredom, smiling as he chatted with his cousin.
Ning Jiali also asked a lot about his university life.
Xu Xiuwen talked to her about the two freshman welcome parties at Jiaotong University and Jiangling College.
After he finished speaking, he noticed Ning Jiali had fallen very quiet.
Feeling puzzled, Xu Xiuwen then heard Ning Jiali softly ask, "Cousin, can you sing for me too? I really want to hear you sing, I've never heard it before."
"Singing?" Xu Xiuwen frowned slightly, thinking of refusing.
Ning Jiali immediately grabbed his hand and gently shook it, "Cousin, just sing once, please. I really want to hear you sing. You sing for your classmates at university, but not for me. You can't be so biased."
Xu Xiuwen was amused by her words.
"Not singing makes me biased?"
Ning Jiali nodded, "Yes, it's biased. How can you treat outsiders better than your own sister?"
Xu Xiuwen smiled wryly, "Alright, I'll sing, okay?"
"Hehe, cousin, you're the best." Ning Jiali's face lit up with a bright smile.
Xu Xiuwen thought for a moment and decided to sing "Why Not."
After all, this song had a relatively light rhythm and was suitable for acapella.
Xu Xiuwen cleared his throat and began to hum the tune.
Soon, Xu Xiuwen finished the entire song.
He didn't hear any praise, which puzzled him.
Turning his head, he saw his cousin with her hands cupped, eyes filled with little stars, looking like an adoring fan.
Xu Xiuwen waved his hand in front of her eyes, reminding her, "Wake up, did the song make you silly?"
Ning Jiali snapped back to reality, without feeling embarrassed.
She looked at Xu Xiuwen with admiration, "Cousin, you're amazing. This song is really good. Did you write it?"
Xu Xiuwen chuckled, "It's alright, just average. I wrote the song."
Hearing this, Ning Jiali admired him even more.
Afterwards, Xu Xiuwen drove Ning Jiali around the town for a bit, timing it just right to return home before lunch.
He parked the car in the empty space in front of the house.
Before Xu Xiuwen and Ning Jiali could get out of the car, a few younger cousins rushed out.
The eldest cousin was visiting again today.
Seeing Xu Xiuwen and Ning Jiali getting out of the car, his expression was a mix of envy and jealousy.
Xu Xiuwen and Ning Jiali were startled by the actions of their cousins.
Li Lei couldn't help but ask, "Lili, where did Xiuwen take you?"
Ning Jiali replied with a smile, "We just went for a drive."
Li Lei, feeling sour, said, "Xiuwen treats you really well."
At that moment, Xu Xiuwen's aunt came out with a big smile on her face, "Xiuwen, you came back just in time. Go wash up and get ready for lunch. I heard from your mom that you like scrambled eggs with tomatoes, so I made a dish. Try it and see how it tastes."
"Thank you, Auntie."
Although Xu Xiuwen didn't like these relatives much, he wouldn't get angry or show a bad attitude for no reason, embarrassing the elders.
In fact, he was quite easygoing.
As long as things weren't too excessive, even if someone scolded him a bit because they felt they had seniority, he usually wouldn't mind.
Entering the front room, he saw that his eldest aunt's family had come, and his uncle and aunt had also arrived.
Today was the day before New Year's Eve, and it was customary for the Ning family to gather and celebrate together two days before.
On New Year's Eve, except for Uncle's family and Ning Wanqiu, the rest of the family would go to their in-laws' homes for the new year, returning on the second day of the new year.
Most of the dishes for lunch were newly cooked, with only a few leftovers from yesterday, and the aroma was irresistible.
Especially the braised chicken cooked by Grandma, made from home-raised chickens fed with natural feed, the taste was incomparable to city-bought chickens.
During lunch, the uncles drank some wine, and even Xu Xiuwen's grandfather poured himself a glass.
Last night, the elders drank, but today at noon, Xu Xiuwen's uncle poured him a glass as well.
Xu Xiuwen didn't refuse.
Everyone started eating.
Compared to last night, lunch was much more harmonious.
Neither the eldest nor the second aunt dared to find reasons to mock Ning Wanqiu anymore.
On the contrary, the second and youngest aunts seemed to be trying to curry favor, speaking in a different tone altogether.
The eldest aunt, unable to put down her pride, remained silent the whole time.
At this moment, Youngest Aunt suddenly said, "Brother and sister-in-law, you left early last night, so there's something you definitely don't know."
Uncle and Aunt, who were eating, immediately looked at her with puzzled expressions.
Second Aunt Ning Wanlan immediately guessed what Ning Wanju was going to say and felt speechless, surprised that her younger sister had beaten her to it. She wondered why she had never noticed her being this proactive before.
Ning Wanju didn't keep them in suspense and said with a smile, "Our nephew is acting in a TV drama! He might become a big star in the future."
Uncle and Aunt still seemed confused and didn't quite understand what was going on.
Seeing this, Second Aunt took the initiative to explain, "The TV drama that aired on Jiangsu TV yesterday, Xiuwen was in it. He seems to be the male lead."
Now they understood.
Uncle, who was usually reticent, surprisingly said, "Xiuwen did a good job."
It wasn't easy to get a compliment from Uncle, who was typically taciturn.
Xu Xiuwen felt flattered.
He quickly said, "It was just luck, nothing much."
At this moment, Aunt suddenly interjected, "How much money can you make acting in a TV drama? Surely it's at least hundreds of thousands!"
The other elders at the table looked over curiously.
They knew Xu Xiuwen was acting but didn't know how much he earned from it, so they were very curious.
Ning Wanqiu said, "Oh, it's not that much."
Aunt, smiling, said, "Third Sister, don't be modest. Just tell us and satisfy our curiosity."
Ning Wanqiu hesitated.
Xu Xiuwen didn't want his mother to feel awkward, so he took the initiative to say, "Aunt, don't press my mom. Actually, this TV drama didn't make much money. I'm a newcomer, not a famous star. The pay is very low, just over three hundred thousand."
He felt it necessary to say something but not the whole truth.
He also knew that if he lied and said a number too small, they probably wouldn't believe it.
So Xu Xiuwen mentioned a figure of over three hundred thousand, which was neither too high nor too low.
After hearing "over three hundred thousand," the elders still gasped.
This amount might not be much for some city families, but for the siblings, it was a significant sum.
They knew that a house in the market town sold for less than ten thousand yuan, and many families in the village, with lots of members, often struggled to have enough to eat and wear.
Although the siblings were not at that level, they still lived very frugally.
As the saying goes, farming doesn't make much money, just enough to get by.