I'm back in 1990

Chapter 571: Feeling Better Again

The New Year's Eve dinner was taken care of by the family's nannies, which completely freed up Zeng Lijuan, Zheng Aiying, and their aunt. Now they only need to enjoy their grandchildren. Several families gathered together to celebrate the New Year, which was not only lively for the adults, but also for the children.

Because he wasn't very familiar with the other children, Maowa always clung to Fan Yingrong's side, watching with envy as his cousin Liujin led Huang Ruiying, Huang Zemian, Yu Chengping, and Yue Xiaoyong around, either blasting fish with firecrackers or playing hide-and-seek.

Tang Ruixuan was more mature than most. Although she didn't join in the roughhousing, she could see Maowa's eagerness to participate, so she stepped forward and said to him, "Come on! Let's go play!"

Fan Yingrong was overjoyed and quickly nudged her son, "Little Maowa, go play with your sister!"

It seems that friendships are easier to build between children. Maowa immediately grabbed Tang Ruixuan's outstretched hand and followed her.

Meanwhile, the grandmother was carefully teaching Wang Deyi how to play mahjong, while Zeng Lijuan and his aunt Qian Jiazhen played with him.

"Professor Wang, with your pair of sevens, if your opponent plays a pair of sevens, you can have a head-to-head match."

Grandma patiently taught Wang Deyi what it meant to be ready to win, what it meant to win, how to draw the tiles, and how to play them!

Wang Deyi was originally exceptionally intelligent. Although he was old and his memory had declined somewhat, his mind was still very active. He quickly learned to play mahjong, and once he started, he couldn't stop and became addicted!

With the newbie protection period added on, he won like crazy. It's true what they say, "Teach your apprentice and you'll starve yourself." Wang Deyi won against three different teams, with piles of change in front of him, and he was laughing so happily!

Grandma's face turned green from losing, but luckily her aunt noticed something was wrong and quickly smoothed things over. She gave her sister-in-law, Zeng Lijuan, a wink, and Grandma won a few more rounds, which made the old lady feel much better.

Actually, what Grandma cared about wasn't losing money, but rather that she had been completely humiliated by a novice. Wang Deyi, who had never had much emotional intelligence, was only focused on having fun and completely failed to notice his beloved student's grandmother's expression.

Over there, the chess game between Lao Yu and his grandson Huang Zeji was in progress. Lao Huang watched as his grandson Huang Zeji forced Lao Yu's pieces into a corner and couldn't help but laugh heartily.

He couldn't resist teasing Old Yu: "So this is what they call 'braising tofu in brine'—one thing can subdue another, right? It's not working out now, is it? You can't even beat your own grandson, can you?"

Old Yu scoffed dismissively, "Hmph! You're not even as good as me. At least I could hold my own against Xiao Dong for a while, but you, the old general was checkmated in just a few rounds, and you still have the nerve to talk about me?"

Despite winning the game, Huang Zeji showed no sign of joy. Instead, he shook his head with a mature air and sighed, "It's pointless!"

Huang Zeji's behavior made the two old men exchange bewildered glances. Old Huang quickly asked, "What's wrong?"

Old Yu guessed what his grandson was thinking: "What else could it be? Isn't it obvious what my grandson means? He's lonely because he's invincible. The two of us old guys are no match for him anymore, and he finds playing chess with us boring."

Upon hearing this, Old Huang realized it seemed to be true. Doting on his grandson, he discussed it with Old Yu, saying, "How about we find a tutor for Xiaodong after the New Year?"

Old Yu stroked the stubble on his chin, thought for a moment, and then said, "I think it's a good idea! But if we're going to find one, we need to find a master."

This was exactly what Lao Huang wanted to hear. In his view, his grandson was one in a million, so naturally he should be guided by the best chess master.

"Then we'll take care of this when we get back to Shanghai!" That's how the two old men decided.

Before the New Year's Eve dinner began, and with her son Maowa being looked after, Fan Yingrong took Huang Erhe for a stroll in the garden. She did this with a purpose.

"Erhe, I just inquired about it. Your eldest brother's son, Huang Zemian, and your younger brother's sons, Huang Zeji and Huang Ruiying, both attend the best kindergartens in Shanghai. Look at the kindergarten our little Maowa attends! It's a district-run kindergarten right at our doorstep, and they're all just grandchildren. The difference is too big, isn't it?"

Huang Erhe felt a headache coming on. This woman was going to cause trouble again. Couldn't she just stay quiet for a moment?

However, he still advised, "Sending children to kindergarten is something that can be done by spending some money. We can handle it ourselves. If all else fails, we can send them to the kindergarten affiliated with our workplace."

Fan Yingrong was displeased upon hearing Huang Erhe's words: "You make it sound so easy, spending a little money? There are clearly ways to save money, but you insist on spending it. Do you think you can earn 100,000 or 200,000 a month? And I will definitely not let my kid go to that lousy kindergarten at your workplace. A bunch of old ladies taking care of the children, what can they teach my kid?"

Huang Erhe retorted, "It's not like our family is short of money. My mom gave us money before, my brother gave us money later, and there are the annual dividends from those stocks. Even if we didn't work, we wouldn't have spent it all in a year. How much would it cost to send someone to a good kindergarten? Is it really necessary to spend so much money?"

Fan Yingrong, however, had her own opinion: "Whether we have a lot of money or a little depends on who we compare ourselves to. Compared to my parents and my brother and sister-in-law, we are indeed much better off than them. But compared to your brother, we are far behind. And compared to your younger brother, we are worlds apart."

Huang Erhe was getting annoyed: "Is there any point in what you're saying? Do you really think of that? Comparing yourself to my brother? Do you think we can make money like him? Have some self-awareness, okay?"

Fan Yingrong was furious when she heard that Huang Erhe dared to go against her: "Are you deaf to what I'm saying? What I mean is, if your brother could put in a good word for us, we wouldn't have to pay this money. I'm trying to save money for our family, you spendthrift!"

Huang Erhe still disagreed with Fan Yingrong's approach: "I advise you to give up. You haven't forgotten what my brother told me back then, have you? We can handle this kind of thing ourselves, so let's not bother him, okay?"

Fan Yingrong looked at Huang Erhe with disdain: "Look at your pathetic self. Yes, your brother did make some kind of agreement with you, but that doesn't apply to this matter. Are our requests excessive? Is it too much to ask him to help transfer his nephew to a good kindergarten?"

Huang Erhe was overwhelmed by Fan Yingrong's aggressive demeanor, mainly because Fan Yingrong used Maowa as an excuse, leaving Huang Erhe powerless to resist. After all, he knew that a good environment would be of the greatest help to his son.

In Fan Yingrong's view, her mother-in-law's initiative to invite them to Suzhou for the New Year showed that her mother-in-law still cared about them. This was a rare opportunity to ease tensions. Besides, it was a good chance to test her brother-in-law Huang Xiaochuan about Maowa going to kindergarten. If he agreed, things would be much easier in the future.

Judging from the two days since she arrived, things seem to be going well! The Huang Zengyu family and the other two families haven't distanced themselves from her, which makes Fan Yingrong feel good again.

"I'm Back in 1990" ranks highly in the Cola Novels readers' poll for best urban novel!