7:00 p.m.
Lin Mo drove the rented car with his wife and child, setting out from their home towards Eastern New District Sha Town.
As soon as they started, his wife Jin Wen in the passenger seat couldn't wait to ask, "Honey, tell me the truth, why did you suddenly think of taking me and the child to a concert today?"
Lin Mo smiled faintly, proudly saying, "Didn't you say yesterday that if it suddenly started raining, we could sell raincoats at the concert and make some money?"
Huh?
Jin Wen was stunned for a moment before she recalled the conversation they had before falling asleep the previous night.
She looked up at the cloudless sky and frowned, "I was joking with you, and look at the weather, does it look like it's going to rain?"
"Isn't this nonsense?"
"Renting a car and wholesale buying raincoats, how much is this going to cost?"
"With that money, we could get a personal speech teacher for Xiaoxiao to help her perform better in her competition."
Lin Mo understood his wife's mood very well.
To be honest,
had it not been for the intelligence provided by the system, with today's weather, Lin Mo himself wouldn't believe it could suddenly rain tonight.
"Don't worry, trust my instinct," he assured.
"Besides, I've made an arrangement with the boss that, if we can't sell the raincoats, we can return them. It won't cost much."
Lin Mo looked at his daughter sitting in the back seat through the rearview mirror and asked, "Xiaoxiao, tell Mommy, would you rather go to the concert with Mommy and Daddy, or do you want to train your speech skills more?"
Without giving it much thought, Lin Xiaoxiao firmly replied, "Of course I want to go to the concert with Daddy and Mommy!"
At her age, as long as it wasn't for studies, even if you took her farming, she'd be over the moon.
Jin Wen huffed disdainfully and said, puffed up with anger, "You two just gang up on me then, I really want to see if it rains tonight! If it doesn't, you're going to cry!"
Lin Mo quirked an eyebrow and responded defiantly, "What if it does rain?"
Jin Wen, "If it rains, whatever you say goes!"
Lin Mo had a brainwave, "How about this, if it rains, you have to agree to a request of mine, deal?"
"What request?"
"I'll tell you when the time comes!"
"What if it doesn't rain?"
"If it doesn't rain… I… I'll have Lin Xiaoxiao wash your socks for a month."
"Dad... you're tricking me again!!!"
"What's the trick? You also want to go out and have fun, can't you take on a little risk?"
"Fine, I really want to see what kind of tricks you and your daughter can pull off!"
The car's Bluetooth was on, streaming soothing music; it seemed like the three of them had endless topics to talk about.
The once dull journey turned into one full of joy and laughter.
.....
About an hour later, the family arrived at the concert site.
Although the weather had started to cool down, there were a lot of people, and the atmosphere was very lively.
Looking into the distance,
The spectacular Disney castle, illuminated by colorful lights, shone with dazzling brilliance.
Lin Xiaoxiao, holding one hand of Lin Mo and the other of Jin Wen, happily hopped along as they walked, occasionally leaving the ground with both feet.
Gazing at the distant castle, she said with longing, "Daddy, can you take me to play at Disney amusement park?"
The cost of Disney is actually not that high,
If you purchase their discounted tickets on Xianyu, 300 something yuan would be enough.
But the hidden costs were too high.
First, the park prohibits bringing in outside food, and the prices inside are very expensive, even the cheapest grilled sausages cost 38 yuan each.
Plus, you can't see everything in one day, which leads to the issue of lodging and staying overnight.
On top of that, add the loss of income for not working two days, and it all adds up to a number that, for their family, is very hard to part with.
If it had been in the past, even if Lin Mo had the desire, he wouldn't have had the time to spare.
To earn more money, he hardly had any days off throughout the year.
Even when he wasn't working construction, he would go to a courier service point to work as a daily-paid loader.
Now, though, he had more confidence than before.
"Sure, next time we have a day off, I'll take you and Mom to Disney for fun," he said.
Hearing her husband agree so readily, Li Jinwen quickly added, "Hey, hey, hey, there's a condition. You have to get good grades on your final exams, then Mom and Dad will take you to play."
The smile on Lin Xiaoxiao's face hadn't fully bloomed before it wilted again.
"Wife, is it necessary to link everything to studying?"
"How can that not be the case? She's in third grade now, and in just two more years, she'll be moving up to junior high. What if her grades aren't good enough and no school wants her?"
"Besides, haven't we suffered enough from our own lack of education?"
"Do you want Xiaoxiao to continue living our lives?"
This was almost an unsolvable topic, and every time it came up, Lin Mo didn't know what to say.
Li Jinwen wasn't always this assertive; she used to be a naïve girl who yearned for romance.
They dated for two years and have been married for nearly ten.
Lin Mo watched the once shy and innocent girl become a housewife who haggled in the market, fought over every penny, and spent each coin with the utmost care.
If they could, who would choose to grow up?
Li Jinwen also wanted to be a princess who could be forever happy without worrying about the trivial matters of life.
But their living conditions didn't allow for that.
With that thought, Lin Mo smiled and said to Li Jinwen and Lin Xiaoxiao, "Today's a day for fun; let's not talk about these unhappy things."
"Let's go and relax together!"
After the ticket check, the family entered the main venue of the concert. Soon, they were swept up by the crowd's energy and started having a great time.
After nearly two hours of non-stop play, the worn-out trio finally found a spot in a rest area to sit down.
"Whew..."
Li Jinwen wiped the sweat from her face and glanced at the time before saying, "Honey, it's almost 10 o'clock. Should we head home?"
"Xiaoxiao has school tomorrow; let's not delay her classes."
Lin Mo also checked the time and saw it was 9:55 pm. If the Intelligence System was right, in about five minutes, it should start raining.
"There's no rush to go back, ah. Have you forgotten our main business here? We came to sell raincoats, remember?"
It was okay until he mentioned raincoats, but once he did, Li Jinwen's brow furrowed.
With a sigh of resignation, she said, "Husband... does this look like it's going to rain?"
"I've been checking the weather forecast over a dozen times on the way here, and it's constantly been clear skies."
"If we leave after the concert ends, we're definitely going to hit traffic!"
"I'm not criticising, but you could've discussed with me before buying the raincoats. This is such a waste of money!"
Indeed,
the night sky was still clear, not looking like it would rain at all.
Just as Lin Mo was about to say something, suddenly, a huge dark cloud drifted over, followed by a bolt of lightning that cut through the silent night sky.
A heavy rain seemed to be on the way.