Rebirth: I have Monopoly System

Chapter 168: Chapter 168: A Smug Tang Chunmei

Wenfeng swallowed, uncertainly hazarding a guess, "A million?"

’It makes sense,’ he thought. ’The watches he gave us were three hundred thousand each, so of course he’d buy an even better one for himself.’

Wen Meng calmly replied, "That’s right! One million, seven hundred and fifty thousand, to be exact."

Wenfeng and Tang Chunmei were a bit numb. They always knew that compared to the truly wealthy, they were merely well-off.

But this was the first time they had felt the gap between them and the rich so viscerally.

"Meng Meng, I know Xiaowu won’t ask for them back, but we’re the elders here! We have to observe the proper etiquette."

After speaking, Tang Chunmei walked to the guest room door, knocked, and asked Wu Yun to come out for a moment.

Things went just as Wen Meng had expected. Wu Yun smiled and gave Tang Chunmei and Wenfeng a reason they couldn’t refuse. "Uncle, Auntie, please accept them. My company is on the right track now, so it’s only natural for me to buy you gifts."

Wu Yun’s tone shifted as he joked, "Uncle, Auntie, if you don’t accept them, I won’t dare visit Mianzhou again. I’d be afraid you think this son-in-law-to-be isn’t good enough!"

Wen Meng retorted irritably, "My mom would never accept a son-in-law who throws money around like you!"

SLAP!

Wen Meng reeled from a slap from Tang Chunmei. "Watch your mouth! When did I ever say I was dissatisfied?"

Tang Chunmei turned to Wu Yun, her stern expression instantly replaced by a beaming smile. "Oh, Xiaowu! Your uncle and I thank you! But you mustn’t buy us anything next time you visit! Don’t waste your money! You two will have plenty of things to spend it on in the future!"

As Tang Chunmei wiped the table, she noticed Wu Yun wanting to help and waved him off. "Go and get some rest. Your uncle and I are going out to play mahjong soon. I’ve invited some relatives over for hot pot tonight, and then your uncle and Meng Meng can drive you to the airport."

After Wu Yun and Wen Meng went to their respective rooms, Tang Chunmei quickly tidied up the kitchen, washed her hands twice with dish soap, and took off the Jade Bracelet on her left wrist. Only then did she carefully put on the watch.

’I’m going to wear this watch to mahjong later. Let’s see those old biddies who are always showing off get a good look at this!’

Tang Chunmei was like a child with a new toy, eager to show it off to her friends.

Wenfeng agreed, "Hmm, good idea!"

With that, he also took out his watch, put it on, and began glancing at his wrist from time to time.

...

THUD!

The front door closed, and a few seconds later, Wen Meng opened her bedroom door.

She peeked into the living room, and seeing no one, her slippers went *pitter-patter* as she padded over to the guest room across the hall.

"What are you doing?! I’ll scream, you know!" Wu Yun’s voice came from inside the guest room.

RIIIP! The sound of fabric tearing.

...

In a teahouse somewhere in Mianzhou City, the clatter of mahjong tiles could be heard from a private room.

"One Bam!"

"Kong!"

A middle-aged woman leaned forward to take the One Bam from across the table. She sat up straight, placed the tile with her others to form a Kong, then drew a new tile from the wall. Seeing it was a Dot tile—from the suit she wasn’t collecting—she tossed it out with a sigh of resignation.

"Five Dots!"

Tang Chunmei’s face lit up. She took the Five Dots and exclaimed excitedly, "Old Wang! A win off the Kong replacement! Haha! You just paid for my dinner tonight!"

They were playing for twenty yuan per win, so the payout from a Kong replacement was nowhere near enough to cover dinner. She was just throwing out some bait, waiting for them to bite.

Sure enough, Old Wang, the one who had just lost, wasn’t angry. Her curiosity was piqued by Tang Chunmei’s comment. The other two players also waited for the story as they continued playing.

"Old Tang, who’s the special guest tonight?" Usually, the group would go out for dinner together after mahjong.

But they hadn’t expected Tang Chunmei to announce right away that she had other dinner plans.

Tang Chunmei smiled. "It’s nothing, just that my Meng Meng brought her boyfriend home! Tonight, I’m taking my father and my older brother’s family out for hot pot."

"Two Bam! Pung! Whoa, Old Tang, I’m surprised! Where’s this son-in-law from? How old is he?" Old Wang knew Tang Chunmei’s personality; she was obsessed with keeping up appearances and would never show off about something that wasn’t a sure thing.

And considering how much Tang Chunmei’s family doted on their daughter, this relationship had to be serious.

"Yes, yes! Old Tang, what does your son-in-law’s family do?" asked Old Li, who was sitting to Tang Chunmei’s left, after drawing and discarding a tile.

Tang Chunmei took a sip of tea before answering unhurriedly, "The young man is from Jingyang, he went to the same school as Meng Meng. A little younger than her."

"Still in school? Then it’s still way too early! Self-draw!" Old Li’s finger slid across one of her concealed tiles, and she slammed it face-up on the table in front of her.

The players first settled the score for that hand before pushing the messy tiles into the central shuffling mechanism.

As they drew new tiles, Tang Chunmei patiently explained, "He may be a little younger, but the young man is very capable! He started his own company. He’s much more accomplished than my Wenfeng!"

Tang Chunmei waved her left wrist. "Look! This is what my son-in-law bought me. He bought one for Old Wen and Meng Meng, too."

The other three had long since noticed the shiny watch on Tang Chunmei’s wrist. The conspicuous Jade Bracelet she usually wore had been replaced by a watch.

Tang Chunmei also kept raising her hand to check the time, making it impossible not to notice.

The other woman, Old Liu, who had been quiet until now, claimed Old Wang’s discarded Nine Characters tile with a "Pung!" and said, "Old Tang, your son-in-law’s family must be incredibly well-off! Giving such an expensive watch just like that... My Old Jiang agonized for two or three months before finally buying that seventy or eighty thousand yuan ’Green Water Ghost’."

Seeing the other two looking at her, Old Liu explained, "It’s a Breguet watch. We went to the Breguet store when we were shopping in Rongcheng. Their entry-level men’s models are already in the same price range as a ’Green Water Ghost’."

Tang Chunmei was grateful for Old Liu’s divine assist. She remembered how Old Liu’s husband, Old Jiang, had bragged for ages in their social circle after buying his watch.

Old Wang was indeed an impatient one. "Old Tang, stop keeping us in suspense! Hurry up and tell us, how much did your watch cost!?"

Seeing the time was right, Tang Chunmei began to reel in her net. "This one is two hundred eighty-nine thousand! When I saw the receipt, Old Wen and I were shocked. We were almost too embarrassed to accept it! It’s just too expensive!"

The three women waited for the rest of the story, and sure enough, they heard her continue, "But my son-in-law insisted we take them. He said, ’I’ve already bought Meng Meng a house and a car, so what’s a little bit of pocket change like this?’"

Seeing Tang Chunmei’s smug, humblebragging expression, the three women’s eyes turned red with envy. They had all seen Wen Meng and knew that no man could resist her charms.

Old Liu had even once tried to set her own son up with Wen Meng to unite their families, but Wen Meng had turned him down, saying she wasn’t looking for a boyfriend and would think about it later.

Who would have thought she’d come back this time having already landed such a great catch.

Afterward, as they continued to play, the women listened to Tang Chunmei talk all about the three watches, the house, and the car.

For the rest of the afternoon, the private room was filled with Tang Chunmei’s joyous laughter.

"Old Tang! Ask your son-in-law if he has any brothers or sisters, will you?"

...