Uncle and Nephew Talk

"Bro, are you trying to go broke?"

It was eight or nine in the morning. Li Xian was still dreaming about getting ahead in his career when a phone call woke him up. It was from his little cousin, Li Tian. Judging by her excitement, she'd received the phone he'd sent out yesterday.

What kind of delivery service was that efficient? He'd mailed it yesterday afternoon, and it had arrived this morning.

Li Xian rubbed his eyes and yawned. "Your brother's doing just fine. Yaaawn..."

"Bro, you're still sleeping? Seriously, look at the time! Don't you have work?"

"Why do you care..." Li Xian woke up a little more and propped his pillow up behind him. "Do you like the phone I bought you?"

"Like it? I love it!" At the mention of the phone, Li Tian forgot all about everything else and exclaimed, "Bro, you have no idea. I've wanted an iPhone forever, but it's so expensive, and Dad wouldn't buy me one."

Oh, for crying out loud!

Her sudden shout made his ears ring.

Li Xian turned his head and said helplessly, "You're old enough to know better. Don't startle me like that... Glad you like it. I was worried you wouldn't get used to the new system."

"I will, I will. I've used my classmates' phones all the time—Wait, Dad, don't take my phone..." Li Tian's voice grew fainter. A moment later, a deep voice came from the other end.

"Xianzi!"

It was Li Xian's uncle, Li Guoqiang.

Hearing his uncle's voice, Li Xian perked up. "Hey, Uncle!"

"I'm telling you, don't spoil Tian Tian all the time. Why'd you buy her such a nice phone? How much did it cost? Tell me and I'll transfer the money to you," his uncle grumbled over the phone.

"No, no... Uncle, Tian Tian just finished her college entrance exams. I'd already promised to get her a present, and since I was replacing my own phone, I picked one up for her too." Li Xian had been dreading this sort of thing. Once he had money, he couldn't even spend a little on his family. He continued, "Besides, I'm making money now. It's only right to buy my little sister something."

"How much money have you even made?" His uncle's voice rose. "You should be using it to find someone and get married. You're twenty-five already! When I was your age, Yan Yan was three."

"Uh... Uncle, can we not talk about that? I'm really not in a hurry." Li Xian felt helpless. The moment marriage came up, he was at a loss.

"You're... still not in a hurry?"

"My dear uncle!" Li Xian hurriedly cut him off and returned to the earlier topic. "Didn't I just say I'm making money? I really have made quite a bit. There's no need to rush into finding a wife. I'll take my time choosing, and when I find someone I like, I'll bring her home for you and Auntie to meet. How's that?"

"Mm, your aunt definitely needs to give her approval." His uncle paused, then continued, "How much could you be making? I know what your job was like. A few thousand a month at most..."

"Heh... Uncle, I'm not doing phone sales anymore." Li Xian delivered the explanation he'd prepared in advance. "It's a long story. A couple of years ago, some classmates and I made a few investments. They've been doing pretty well lately, and now we're planning to start a business together."

"Investments? What kind? Don't try to fool me. You're not doing anything illegal, are you?"

"Of course not!" Li Xian said with a wry smile. "You know what I'm like, don't you?"

"Dad, Bro's a grown man. He knows right from wrong. Stop worrying so much," Li Tian said, speaking up for Li Xian after listening quietly.

"Stay out of this for a minute..." his uncle said impatiently, then continued, "I won't pry too much into how you made your money or how much you've made, and I'm not expecting anything from you. But you're an adult now. You need to know what you should and shouldn't do. Of course, your uncle trusts you."

"Right, don't worry. I know what I'm doing. It's hard to explain over the phone. Why don't you and Auntie come visit Bin City when you have time? I'll tell you all about it. Or I could come home..."

"Heh, no need to go to all that trouble. We're family; you don't have to explain everything. Your money is your money. Your aunt and I have no right to ask about it.

"But you need to learn to save. It's not easy to make money these days. I know you don't want to come back and would rather stay in Bin City. Housing prices there are so high now, so if you have money, go ahead and buy a place. If you're short, tell me and I'll help you out. I can't give you a fortune, but I can scrape together a hundred or two hundred thousand."

"Uncle... I..." Li Xian choked up a little, unsure what to say.

He wanted to tell his uncle that he'd struck it rich—really rich, with more money than he could ever spend. But he was afraid that if he told him, it would scare his uncle and aunt half to death.

For now, he could only let them gradually get used to the idea that he had money. Then he'd need to set up a business soon so he could better explain where it came from.

"I have enough money. Don't worry. I've already found a place and put down a deposit."

"That's good, that's good..."

"Uncle, don't you think it's time our family moved into a new house too? I think Europe City looks pretty nice. You and Auntie can take a look, and I'll pay for it. And your little restaurant could use an expansion too. I have plenty of money on hand," Li Xian said tentatively.

He'd already decided a couple of days ago to buy his family a house and help his uncle expand his business. Whether his uncle agreed or not, those were things he had to do. Bringing them up now was just a way of preparing him.

Hearing this, Li Guoqiang suddenly laughed. "Hahaha... You want to buy me a house too? All right, all right. It's enough that you're thinking of me. Keep what little money you have. Doing business these days is risky."

In his mind, Li Xian could have made at most a few hundred thousand. He was happy that Li Xian wanted to take care of him, but he didn't take the offer too seriously.

"Dad, give me back my phone."

"You little..."

"Hurry up! I haven't talked to Bro in ages."

"Fine, fine... Here you go. By the way, ask your brother how much the phone cost..."

The commotion on the other end went on for a while before it finally died down. Li Xian listened with a smile, imagining Li Tian giving their uncle a hard time.

He knew his two younger cousins inside and out. The older one, Li Yan, was quiet and a little more mature. The younger one, Li Tian, was lively and somewhat carefree. They had very different personalities, but they did have one thing in common: they were both excellent students.

Sometimes Li Xian wondered how he could be so much less intelligent than the rest of the Li family.

Maybe... all his intelligence had gone into his looks?

That was actually possible.

"Bro, I'm back." Tian Tian had won her phone back.

Li Xian felt as if he'd been rescued. "Little sis, I can't thank you enough."

"Hehehe... Did I make your scalp tingle?" Li Tian laughed happily, then mimicked her dad's voice. "Ahem... Xianzi, hurry up and buy a house, find someone, and get married!"

"Damn, are you asking for trouble?"

"Hahaha... All right, all right, I'll stop." Li Tian laughed so hard she almost choked. After catching her breath, she said, "Anyway, seriously, did you really make a lot of money?"

"Of course. Your brother's hit it big!"

"Whoa, how much? Tell me!"

"Well... basically..." Li Xian thought for a moment. "If you stacked it all up, it'd be taller than you. Focus on your studies and leave grown-up business to the grown-ups."

"Oh, fine. Keep your secrets... Bro, you haven't even asked how I did on my exams."

"Good grief, what's wrong with my memory? How did your college entrance exams go? Pretty well, I bet?"

"Hehehe... I estimated a score over 640. Not bad, right?"

"My poor heart... You should go tease Li Yan instead of doing it to me."

That really hit him where it hurt!

Having two brilliant younger sisters made Li Xian, a hopeless student, feel ashamed of himself.

He'd scored just over 430 on his college entrance exams. Li Tian had beaten him by more than two hundred points, and Li Yan had scored 615. They weren't leaving their big brother any room to save face.

"I'll tell her in a minute. Oh, Bro, you bought me such a nice phone. What about my sister...?"

"Don't worry, I'll treat you both equally. Do you think your brother doesn't know how to handle things?"

"Good... Hehe, I was afraid she'd get jealous and steal mine... Sorry you had to spend so much, Bro."

"It's nothing. Just study hard and bring glory to the Li family. By the way, which university are you planning to apply to? Dongda, like Yan Yan?"

"No~~ I'm planning to apply to Bin City University of Technology."

"Not bad. It's one of the most solid schools in the Northeast. Too bad Uncle won't let you go too far from home. With your scores, you could choose anywhere in Capital City or Magic City."

"It's fine. We don't want to go too far either. We might not be used to living outside the Northeast."

"Good. If you think that way... Hmm, want to come to Bin City for a visit? I'll show you around."

"Hmm~~~ Maybe after I submit my applications and the results come out."

"Sure. Just come straight over."

After chatting for a while, Li Xian hung up and glanced at his phone screen. His older sister, Li Yan, had sent him a VX message.

"Bro, I got the phone. Thank you! {smiley face}"

Li Xian shook his head gently. That really was just like his older sister. She kept all her gratitude to herself; even sending a smiley face was a rare show of emotion.

"Career line, career line... B, C, D, E... I'll go with a G." Muttering to himself, Li Xian squirmed out of bed and headed for the bathroom.