Around 6 o’clock in the evening, Xu Lin finally sent the two girls away.
With just the two of them here, Xu Lin felt immense pressure.
Especially since the CDs were placed on the table. Suddenly, he felt that bringing these things back was a mistake; he didn’t even care about them, as he had already seen them all.
Making money is still enjoyable. Once he imported the recorded videos into his laptop, he started editing. However, since he hasn’t received any professional training, he can only do simple edits.
Fortunately, the entire filming process was quite stable. There weren’t many unnecessary shots.
He didn’t expect class monitor Ji to have such a small talent.
Just because he was a bit nervous at the start of filming, his original plan to sing while cooking failed.
He had to add music in post-production, so he recorded a song himself and used it as background music in the video.
After a series of adjustments, about an hour later, the rough cut of the video was almost ready, albeit a bit longer, at 15 minutes.
“It’s good that it’s not the era of short videos yet. Most video websites still follow the model of long videos, so a dozen minutes is considered relatively normal.”“Xu Lin, it’s time for dinner. I bought your favorite today!”
“What?”
Upon hearing his dad call out, Xu Lin also put down his computer and went out. Seeing his dad come in with a big bag and his mom was also changing shoes at the door.
“Did you both come back together today?”
“We ran into each other downstairs. It’s your dad’s birthday today, so we thought we’d get something delicious.”
“Oh no, I forgot, it’s your birthday!” Xu Lin also slapped his forehead, realizing he had forgotten himself.
“You kid, what can you remember?” Xu Feng rolled his eyes at his son and handed over the bag he was holding.
Xu Lin took it and, upon closer inspection, found dark-colored larvae inside, realizing they were cicada larvae.
Stir-frying or deep-frying are both delicious, and they’re high in protein too, but some people just can’t handle it.
“Where did you get this? It’s not even summer anymore.”
“A colleague of mine raises these at home, and they’re more available in the summer. They had 20 pounds left in the fridge that they couldn’t sell, so some of us colleagues bought them.”
“Oh, after all that effort, you still bought it instead of receiving it as a gift!”
“I think you’re asking for a beating! Haven’t punched you in the last half year, looks like you’re feeling a bit uncomfortable.”
“Haha, Dad, how about I make you a stir-fried cicada as an apology?”
“Originally I wanted to ask you to do it, so as to let your mom take a break.”
“Alright! Is there anything else to do?”
“I also bought some large shrimp and some soybean sprouts.”
“Alright, let’s stir-fry some bean sprouts and boil some shrimps. Let’s keep it simple, okay?” Xu Lin glanced at his mother Li Yuan, who nodded in agreement.
“Call your girlfriends over for dinner.”
Before he reached the kitchen with the groceries, he heard Li Yuan’s words. But before he could reply, his father said:
“Let the three of us eat together. Next time when it’s your birthday, then you can invite them.”
“Old Xu, let’s just invite the three of them. Otherwise we won’t be able to fill the table.”
“Hey hey, Mom, Dad, it’s not that extreme. This table can seat 14 or 15 people.”
“Alright, you kid, behave yourself. Wife, can’t we all sit down together and have a chat?”
Xu Feng said again, and Xu Lin could tell that his old man had something to say.
“Okay, as you wish.” Li Yuan nodded when she saw her husband like this.
“Then I’ll cook.”
“We’re only three people, so make a little less.”
“Okay.”
Half an hour later, the family also sat down together, starting to enjoy dinner.
“Shall we two have a drink?”
“You know I don’t like drinking,” Xu Lin glanced at his dad, but with a snap, the bottle cap was already off.
“Well, I’ve already opened it,” Xu Feng chuckled, then poured a large glass for him.
“Speaking of which, Dad, do you have anything to talk to me about? You look like you’re bursting with things to say.”
“Let’s eat first, we can talk while we eat.”
With that, he picked up a shining golden cicada “Wow, delicious! My son’s cooking skills have improved a lot!”
Li Yuan, not being much of a fan of meats other than pork, beef, and lamb, seeing her husband’s expression, also tried to pick up a piece with her chopsticks.
“How’s it going?”
“Not bad, no strange smell at all…”
“There wasn’t any smell to begin with. When I was young, I used to go out at night with kids from the village. Four or five of us would share a flashlight, and we’d wander around for over three hours.”
“We could catch dozens of them in one night, then go to someone’s house and fry them all together! Once they’re cooked, sprinkle some salt and just gnaw on them, the taste was really delicious!”
“But by the time we were in junior high, there weren’t many people catching wild ones anymore; artificial breeding was predominant.”
“So, that’s a joy you youngsters can’t experience. When we were in junior high, after school, some girls were willing to join in. Whenever there was any movement, the girls would just snuggle into the boys’ arms…”
After taking a few sips of wine, Xu Feng, feeling a bit excited, started to speak. But before he could finish, he felt his wife’s gaze and quickly stopped.
“It’s about childhood matters, I didn’t stop you from talking,” she said.
“Okay, okay, let’s talk about serious matters. Xu Lin, your mother doesn’t care about you. But as your father, I have to talk to you seriously!”
Xu Lin also sat up straight, realizing that it was probably another question about his female friends.
“Alright, go on.”
“Your mother thinks it’s a good thing that you have many girls around you, and she’s talked to them and thinks their personalities are nice, and of course, they’re all pretty.”
The latter part is the key, right?
Grandmother, maternal grandmother, and mother are all into looks; being good-looking can significantly increase your score.
“Moreover, as you said, you won’t be dating before the college entrance examination, so your mother wants them to have more contact with you, so you’ll have some options in the future.”
“But in my opinion, as your father, you are still young, and there are too many beautiful girls you can’t control, and men are most prone to losing themselves.”
“Once you develop feelings for a girl, you’ll find all of them appealing, irresistible even, despite whatever hardships you’ve faced. Not to mention you, a young man.”
Listening to his father’s words, Xu Lin nodded frequently. After all, besides nodding, what else could he say? And what his father said was indeed not wrong.
However, Xu Lin had already set his sights on his ambitious goal of conquering the twelve Chinese zodiac signs. He couldn’t just give up halfway. He could only deceive his father and keep the truth to himself.
“I’m not asking you to suddenly distance yourself from Miss Chu and others. I’m just suggesting more surface-level communication rather than deep, emotional connections.”
“I know, but you guys are being too serious. And they haven’t said anything about liking me. This is not to put money on your own face.”
“You kid, don’t play dumb. Aside from whether there’s anyone else, with just Chu Qingchan and Ji Yun, you can’t say you haven’t noticed it, right?”
“Yes.”
“So, take me seriously, don’t treat it like a game. Your decisions and your words have an impact on others.”
“Yes.”
“Don’t be too frivolous. If you truly like someone, choose that person. Don’t listen to your mom, picking and choosing like that!”
“If you’ve got a girl, you should know how to let go of another, give her freedom! Of course, maintain a friendly relationship, don’t make things awkward with your words.”
“Yes.”
“Also, personally, I support girls like Ji Yun. It’s not because I think lightly of Chu Qingchan. It’s just that the gap between our two families is too great and I’m afraid it would put too much pressure on you.”
“Yes, Dad. I know you care about me.”
“It’s okay if you marry into their family, but I’m afraid that since you’ve been lazy since you were young and not good at socializing, when you’re there, doing this and that, you won’t be able to handle it.”
“Hehe, Dad still understands me.”
“Okay, let’s continue eating. There are still some things I want to talk to you about slowly.”
“Okay.”
Xu Lin nodded, then his phone rang. He picked it up and glanced at it, realizing it was a WeChat message from his mother nearby.
He opened it and couldn’t help but chuckle wryly. These parents of his…
‘Don’t listen to your dad, let’s talk tonight!’
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