"Xiaotao, keep your brother and sister company."

After exchanging a few words, Qin Guoliang and the others went to the back.

"Brother Xiaotao."

Seeing Qin Xiaotao, Qin Fengyu called out.

Qin Xiaotao nodded slightly, barely managing to squeeze out a smile, and then stood silently to the side without saying a word.

Seeing that Qin Xiaotao didn't seem like he wanted to talk, the usually talkative Qin Fengyu didn't know what to say either.

After a while, more people arrived—it was Qin Yun's elder sister and her family.

"Uncle!"

As soon as he entered the house, little nephew Li Jun shouted loudly.

Qin Yun picked up Li Jun and handed him some candy he had prepared earlier. He looked at Li Yihang and Qin Xuan and called out with a smile, "Brother-in-law, Sister."

"Yun." Li Yihang nodded with a smile.

He looked at Qin Yun, unable to hide a trace of amazement.

He was quite familiar with Qin Yun's situation. In a short amount of time, Qin Yun had opened three stores, and each one was doing exceptionally well.

Qin Yun seemed to be a natural at business. While others struggled to attract customers and many closed down shortly after opening, Qin Yun's stores were like cash machines, with customers flocking to them just for him.

"Yun, don't give Li Jun candy. His teeth are already decaying." Qin Xuan quickly said as she looked at the candy Qin Yun had taken out.

However, there was a smile on her face. She had been busy these last two months and had recently brought back more than ten thousand yuan in salary.

Previously, her in-laws were not very pleased with her and would comment on trivial matters. She bore it silently, as it was just a few words and she could pretend not to hear them.

But it did bother her a little. She thought this life would continue for a long time, but now her in-laws no longer said anything and focused on taking care of Li Jun.

She worked at her brother's clothing store, and her salary had been ten thousand. With the opening of a shoe store, she had additional responsibilities, and Qin Yun raised her salary again in July.

She and Li Yihang had discussed buying a house in the city once they saved up enough money, with Li Jun's name on the title.

Now that there was no financial pressure and she could do work she enjoyed, she was very content.

It was all thanks to her brother. Qin Xuan felt grateful to have a brother like him.

As time passed, about half an hour later, Qin Yun's aunt, Qin Dongmei, arrived, driving a Volkswagen.

Qin Yun had two aunts, but the elder one had moved to Beiping and couldn't come back just for Qin Yun's college entrance celebration.

When she arrived, Aunt Qin Dongmei praised Qin Yun endlessly.

Her face was weather-beaten, showing the common fatigue of a rural woman, indicating her life was also quite tight.

As for Qin Yun's uncle, he was a sturdy, dark-skinned man, with average looks but obviously an honest person.

Their marital relationship was very good. Uncle Sun Qiang had a really good temper and never argued with Qin Dongmei, even when she scolded him, he just smiled.

Around eleven o'clock, Qin Guodong and his brothers went to the senior area to pick up Qin Yun's grandparents.

They were very proud of Qin Yun, holding his hand and not letting go.

By now, everyone had arrived, except for Zhao Mei's maternal uncle's family, who had various things going on and didn't come.

"Come, Yun, have a drink with your college student aunt." At the table, Aunt Feng Lan said with a smile.

Qin Yun quickly stood up, having already toasted all the elders earlier.

"Now that you've gotten into college, your parents are probably hoping you'll bring a girlfriend back from there."

"Haha." As soon as the words fell, laughter burst out around the table.

Aunt Qin Dongmei laughed and said, "Our Yun is capable and good-looking. Bringing home a girlfriend should be easy."

After a few words, Qin Dongmei asked about her eldest brother's son, Qin Xiaotao, asking if he had a girlfriend or when he was planning to get married.

She lived in a remote part of the city and rarely went home, only calling Qin Guoliang, Qin Guodong, and the others every few months.

It's fine if relatives live nearby, as they can visit often and maintain their bond.

But if they're far apart, with little contact, each family has its own matters, and phone calls alone can't sustain relationships—it's unavoidable.

Most contacts are for big occasions like weddings, where everyone gathers to eat and drink, appearing very close, but afterward, they seem like strangers again.

So she wasn't very familiar with Qin Xiaotao's situation.

Upon hearing this, Qin Guoliang sighed, and Qin Xiaotao hung his head, silent.

At thirty, with not even a girlfriend, much less marriage prospects, he's a subject of gossip in the countryside.

Qin Guoliang and Zhang Pandi kept their heads down when going out, walking quickly, fearing anyone would ask about their child's marriage.

Realizing she had misspoken, Qin Dongmei felt embarrassed and didn't know what to say.

However, Aunt Feng Lan responded quickly, smiling, "Brother, Sister-in-law, there's no need to rush this. Xiaotao isn't unattractive; it's just that the right person hasn't come along yet. I know a family whose son was thirty-three when he got married last year, and now they have a big bouncing boy."

After a few words, she seamlessly changed the subject, turning to Qin Dongmei, "Dongmei, how have you been? Still working at the clothing factory?"

"Not anymore." Qin Dongmei shook her head and talked about her situation.

She used to work at a clothing factory, but two months ago, the factory couldn't pay wages anymore, so they stopped working gradually.

To this day, they still haven't received some of their wages, and she's switched jobs now.

"It's tough to do business these days," everyone sighed.

Society is developing rapidly, but the gap between the rich and the poor is widening. The rich get richer; if you have ten million in the bank, the annual interest alone is nearly two hundred thousand, and keeping it for several years would yield even more.

How many people can earn that much in one year?

Moreover, many industries are now monopolized. Every aspect of life is influenced by big enterprises, opportunities are dwindling, and making big money is increasingly difficult.

Everyone sighed, exchanged a few more words, and returned to the main topic.

After the meal, they stayed for a while and began to leave one after another.

Watching his elder sister's family and his uncle's family drive away, Qin Yun said to Qin Guodong, "Dad, you should find some time to go to driving school and get a license, then buy a car."

"Yun, your old dad is too old to be driving," Qin Guodong seemed a bit tempted but shook his head anyway.

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