How can I justify myself as a Magnate if I don't indulge myself?

Lunchtime arrived.

All the villagers in the yard had gone back to their own homes.

Gu Jianguo, limping, placed the dishes on the table, first shouted upstairs for Gu Heng, and then stood at the backdoor, tirelessly calling out to Xu Hong, who was still boasting to a few villagers...

"Alright, alright, we’ll chat later, my other half is calling me for lunch."

Hearing Gu Jianguo’s voice, Xu Hong said to several middle-aged women, with a smile spreading across her face...

"Sister Hong is so lucky, married to a good man, she usually doesn’t even have to cook, and now her son is so promising! Unlike me, I see no silver lining in my days!"

"You’re telling me, if only my life could be half as good as Xu Hong’s, I’d wake up laughing even in my sleep!"

As flattery filled the air, Xu Hong, humming the tune "Good Days," walked briskly towards the house, leaving behind envious gazes.

.....

At the dining table.

Xu Hong served Gu Heng, who had just sat down, a piece of chicken leg, then asked with a smile, "Son, was what you discussed with that designer real or not? Are you really going to tear down our old house and rebuild it?"

Mouth full with food, Gu Heng mumbled a reply: "Yeah."

"Really costing over two million?"

Hearing the figure, Gu Jianhua, who had been quietly eating, joined the conversation: "Over two million! Your son just told me, over two million is just for the main structure! Including decoration, it’ll cost five to six million!"

"What? Five to six million!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Hong quickly put down her cutlery, her gaze urgently fixed on Gu Heng.

"Really?"

"Really."

Gu Heng hadn’t grasped the seriousness of the issue, and as he was about to pick another piece of chicken, his chopsticks were swiftly snatched by Xu Hong...

"Are you insane! Spending five to six million to build a house, are you building a palace? To be an emperor in it?!"

Not expecting his mother’s strong reaction, Gu Heng could only meekly retrieve the chopsticks from her hand, resignedly smiling, "It’s all to make you live more comfortably, and to give you something to boast about."

These words really resonated with Xu Hong...

Perhaps Gu Jianguo didn’t care much for appearances, but Xu Hong did...

This was evident from the way Xu Hong behaved after Gu Heng came home...

Having been married to Gu Jianguo for so many years, Xu Hong hadn’t many days of comfort. Now that living conditions had improved, seeing others building new houses and buying cars, she might not have spoken out, but she was nearly green with envy...

Thanks to Gu Heng’s success, these past days had really given Xu Hong some face, turning those barely familiar faces on the street into ones that would stop to greet her, even those who had conflicts with her in the past would rather avoid her...

This sense of triumph and dignity that straightened her spine kept her face smiling since Gu Heng had returned...

Thinking about this, Xu Hong hesitated, "How about we build a cheaper one? Spend only a few hundred thousand, and I’ll just tell your dad we spent over two million, what do you think?

As long as we don’t spill the beans, who else would know how much our house cost?"

"Five to six million, that’s a lot of money! Your dad and I haven’t saved that much money our whole lives, spending so much on a house, just thinking about it makes me reluctant.

Why not save that money and buy a nicer house outside? Everyone says buying a house in the big city is an investment, you can still sell it if you run out of money.

A house in our hometown, if built, can’t be sold! Total loss!"

Watching his mother’s meticulous calculations, Gu Heng shook his head and said, "Don’t worry about a house outside, didn’t I tell you over the phone, I’ve already bought a house in Hang City for over ten million. When we find the time, I’ll bring you and dad over to see it!"

Previously, Xu Hong doubted Gu Heng’s house purchase because she didn’t believe in her son’s ability.

Now that Gu Heng brought it up again, Xu Hong’s eyes were filled with unwavering trust.

"It’s good you bought a house..."

As she spoke, she seemed to remember something, and Xu Hong’s anger flared up again.

"Now you’ve bought a car and a house! When are you going to get married?! Right now, your dad and I can still help you with the kids, but in a few years, we’ll be too old to manage!"

As soon as the conversation barely drifted, the topic switched back to urging marriage, Gu Heng rapidly sped up his eating, while also giving his dad a desperate look for help...

Seeing his son’s predicament, Gu Jianguo braved Xu Hong’s rising anger and said, "Let’s eat quickly, after this we have a meeting at the village committee hall."

Sure enough, Xu Hong’s anger immediately directed at Gu Jianguo.

"The moment marriage comes up, you father and son are just alike!

The son sidesteps me! The father only knows how to play nice, making it seem like I’m the only bad person here! Marry or don’t marry! Ultimately if there’s no descendants, it won’t be Xu who suffers, but you, Gu Jianguo!"

Xu Hong grew more invested and aggrieved the more she spoke...

But seeing the father and son just keeping their heads down and eating quietly, not backtalking, her anger dissolved after a while, and she picked up her chopsticks again, asking Gu Jianguo, "What meeting are they holding at the village committee again?"

"What else could it be, our village’s ancestral hall has collapsed halfway, they’ve been talking about repairing it for years, and the fundraising has been going on for years with no end in sight. Unless there’s a surprise, today’s meeting is probably still about this."

"These people, all year long they brag about how much money they make, and now when it’s time to donate for the ancestral hall, they all shy away, each more poverty-stricken than the last! They make a fortune yet disown their ancestors! Their homes are built fabulously, but the tablets of our ancestors are nearly crushed by collapsing structures!"