Chen Cheng smiled, "Thanks, brother-in-law."

It was a nice afternoon with a bright sun.

Several men from the Chen family, along with Chen Cheng's two cousins-in-law, Jiang Jianjun and Wen Yongfei, had moved their chairs to the gate of the courtyard to play cards, drink tea, and fish.

There was actually a terrace in the courtyard, a place for drinking tea and soaking up the sun.

They only moved to the courtyard gate to accommodate the two fishing enthusiasts, Chen Cheng and Chen Liang.

The one pouring the tea was Chen Li's second husband, Wen Yongfei.

Aunt Liu Rong was particularly satisfied with this good-tempered, "honest" man.

Chen Cheng could also see that this brother-in-law was indeed very attentive and proactive.

After the meal, he had taken the initiative to wash the dishes.

Chen Li's ex-husband had a tough personality and cared about "saving face," which clashed with Chen Li's own stubborn personality, accustomed as she was to being a teacher.

The two of them often argued, and later, he even hit Chen Li.

When Chen Zhong found out about this, he made the couple get a divorce.

Now that they had met someone with a good temper, Chen Zhong and his wife were one hundred percent satisfied with their new son-in-law.

Whether he was rich or handsome didn't matter; as long as his personality was good and he was a good person, that was enough.

Chen Li had the confidence to find an honest man.

Long before Chen Li got married, Chen Zhong and his wife had already bought her a house in the city.

In any case, the money saved from Chen Li and Chen Songtao's education was ultimately used on the siblings.

However, Wen Yongfei's situation wasn't actually bad; he worked as a manager at a securities firm.

When he married Chen Li last year, his family helped pool together a down payment and also bought them a new car.

Although this was a county-level city, housing prices were not cheap.

Cheaper ones were 12,000 to 13,000, improved ones were 18,000 to 19,000, and expensive ones went over 20,000.

The down payment for a house, plus the renovation, and then a car, basically added up to nearly a million.

"Big brother, have some tea." After serving Chen Cheng, he poured another cup and handed it to Chen Liang's side.

At this moment, Chen Cheng and Chen Liang each had a rod, ready to check if there was any "catch" in the ditch in front of the door.

"Hey, thanks." Chen Liang's face beamed with a bright smile.

In fact, both he and Chen Cheng were meeting Wen Yongfei for the first time.

"We're family, no need to be polite," Wen Yongfei said with an honest smile.

Chen Cheng's comment about him being proactive wasn't without reason.

Look, he didn't even attend to his own father-in-law first; he poured tea for Chen Cheng first.

It was clear he understood Chen Zhong's intention: from now on, this family would revolve around Chen Cheng.

After pouring tea for the two Chen brothers, Wen Yongfei finally handed a teacup to Chen Zhong, who was playing cards.

"Dad, have some tea."

"Oh." Chen Zhong was busy looking at his cards. Being older, his reactions were slow, and it was only after hearing him speak that he realized and took the teacup.

Afterwards, he pulled Wen Yongfei to sit in his seat and handed him the cards in his hand.

"Yongfei, you play. My brain can't keep up with the calculations."

Chen Zhong stood up, picked up the kettle, and poured tea for his son and his nephew-in-law, Jiang Jianjun.

Chen Cheng and Chen Liang sat there fishing while chatting.

The Chen family had already learned some news about Chen Cheng from Fang Sijin.

Seeing how Chen Cheng just sent someone back to renovate the old house, they could tell that Chen Cheng's business was very large and he was very busy.

"Did you go to America again a while ago?"

Chen Cheng nodded faintly. "Yeah, went over to discuss some matters."

"I remember you applied for school yourself when you went abroad to study?"

Chen Cheng knew exactly what he was getting at with a blink of an eye. "Are you thinking of sending the eldest out to study?"

Chen Liang laughed. "Yeah."

"That idiot, he's such a slacker, fails every exam, it's absolutely embarrassing."

Chen Cheng's mouth twitched. Chen Yixuan, that half-grown boy, was now impossible for anyone to control.

He spent every day glued to his phone playing games.

Chen Cheng thought for a moment. "Wait until he finishes high school. He has no sense of urgency right now; let's see after he gets through high school."

Chen Cheng didn't have children of his own, so he could only rely on his own experience.

Back then, he had been a poor student who made a comeback.

That kid, Chen Yixuan, was actually quite bright.

But ranking at the bottom in middle school meant he definitely didn't have as good a foundation as Chen Cheng had back then.

Still, he had to get through high school somehow.

Otherwise, if he were sent away before his values and worldview were formed, he would be completely ruined.

In Chen Cheng's opinion, it was best to consider studying abroad after graduating with a bachelor's degree.

Otherwise, it's easy to get brainwashed once abroad. After drinking a few days of "foreign ink," they forget who they are.

Chen Liang laughed at himself. "That idiot probably won't even get into high school."

Chen Cheng smiled faintly. "If he can't get into a public one, send him to a private one. Keep high school in the country; if you send him out during his rebellious phase, with no one to watch him, he could tear the sky down."

"Abroad, there's everything—pornography, gambling, and drugs—and the security isn't good. Teenagers are impulsive; if they run into trouble, they could easily lose their lives."

Chen Liang bringing this up was nothing more than wanting to ask for his help.

Although it was something he could easily solve, Chen Cheng couldn't bear that responsibility or the karma.

Chen Liang nodded faintly. "Yeah."

Chen Cheng smiled and dangled a carrot. "If he goes for graduate studies, I can find a professor for him to write a recommendation letter."

"If he studies computer science, finance, or economics, I can write one for him myself."

Chen Liang had clearly looked into this, or he wouldn't have brought it up to Chen Cheng.

Knowing the value of Chen Cheng's offer, he nodded with a beaming smile.

"Yeah, let's see if he has the capacity for it."

In reality, the couple had originally been quite laissez-faire; if they couldn't control him, they wouldn't. As long as he was healthy, chubby, and didn't break the law, that was fine too.

This idea had been suggested by Chen Cheng's Aunt after they returned a few days ago.

Many people from Nanyue go abroad to study.

After returning, knowing that Chen Cheng had connections in this area, they got the idea.

Chen Cheng tightened his down vest and reached out to scoop another ladle of bait into the ditch.

Why had there been no bites for so long?

At this moment, Xiao Ye, the leader of the kids, returned with several little brats.

"Bang!" A cannon-like sound went off, startling both Chen Cheng and Chen Liang.

Chen Liang looked in the direction of the sound and immediately spotted Chen Yixuan, who was holding a lighter, firecrackers, and other "criminal evidence."

He shouted at Chen Yixuan, "Chen Yixuan, get away from here!"

Chen Yixuan, who was just about to throw another one into the ditch, immediately pulled back his hand from the lighter.

Seeing this small action, the corners of Chen Cheng's mouth twitched. It looked like he had been on the receiving end of a good beating plenty of times at home.

Xiao Ye walked over, stood behind Chen Cheng, placed her hands on his shoulders, and asked softly with a smile at the corner of her mouth:

"Did you catch any fish?"

Chen Cheng: "..."

You really know how to ask.

Suddenly, Chen Cheng's eyes lit up; the float on the water moved.

Chen Cheng didn't rush to pull. He waited for the float to sink a few more marks before yanking the rod up.

"Oh, it's got quite some strength."

"Did you catch it?" Xiao Ye asked excitedly.

Judging by the feeling in his hand, it probably wasn't big. Chen Cheng added a little force, and the fish was pulled out of the water.

"It's a bream," Chen Liang's eyes brightened as well.

Chen Cheng chuckled, reeling in the line as he said, "Looks like the fish were upstream, and Chen Yixuan's cannon blast scared them down here."

Chen Liang glanced at his "good son" in the distance, who was looking at him blankly, and the corners of his mouth twitched too.