Chapter 141: Please Pull Your Skirt Down a Little

Suding Cai was the second eldest in the family; above him was an elder sister who had fallen ill and passed away in early childhood. The person entering the building now was his younger sister, Su Mu’s aunt.

She had just turned thirty this year and had married a few years ago, moving to San Francisco. Life there was relatively content. She had returned to Chinatown during the New Year to visit their parents and had already heard the news of Su Mu’s sudden fortune.

Both the aunt and her husband were honest, straightforward people.

A few years back, when Su Mu’s grandmother was gravely ill, they had taken out their life savings and sent it to Los Angeles to help with her medical expenses.

According to traditional Chinese customs, the saying goes, “A daughter married out is like water poured away.” It was rare for the husband’s family to expend all their savings to assist the mother-in-law with treatment.

Unfortunately, the doctors had said the money wouldn’t help. In the end, Old Su was reluctant to use their funds. This experience deepened his respect for his son-in-law’s character, often remarking that his daughter had married well.

Wealth was secondary; finding a good family was paramount. Su Mu’s aunt’s household was of modest means—not wealthy enough to save much, but never wanting for food or drink. They owned a house in the suburbs of San Francisco.

At the end of last year, a developer had set eyes on the land near their home, planning to build a golf course. They deemed the old houses unsightly and decided to demolish them all. The developer compensated generously, and during the New Year, the aunt mentioned they were looking for a new place.

One lived in Los Angeles, the other in San Francisco. Though both were in California, the journey between was seven hours by road. In recent years, they rarely visited each other except during festivals and holidays.

At that moment, seeing Li Ping’an come and go again, Su Mu impatiently asked, “What now? I’m not going to help you borrow a Ferrari.”

“No, your aunt is here!” Li Ping’an replied.

“Huh!?”

…

His cousin, named Kiki, had always been fond of sticking close to Su Mu since childhood.

Life in America was stressful, and many families chose to have only one or two children. Some, seeking personal indulgence, didn't have any. Su Mu’s mother was an only child, so the family had few relatives.

Su Mu hurried out of his office and indeed saw his aunt with his cousin, both looking around as if searching for someone. Kiki spotted him and exclaimed excitedly, “Cousin!”

Then she ran over, and Su Mu bent down to embrace her. Smiling, he greeted, “Aunt! What brings you here?”

“We’re heading to your place, just passing by. Kiki wanted to see you, so we’ll stay a little while before continuing on,” his aunt smiled as she explained. Despite the years, there was no sign of aging on her face; her features were quite pretty. Su Mu did not resemble his father, Suding Cai, but bore a striking resemblance to his aunt—both inherited their grandmother’s fine facial features and well-defined contours.

Before she married, the aunt had lived at home in Los Angeles’ Chinatown and often helped care for Su Mu. She would spend her pocket money on delicious treats and drinks, and their relationship was as close as siblings.

Su Mu happily said, “Why the rush? I was planning to visit you in San Francisco after my exams. I just learned to drive but don’t dare go far yet. Why don’t you stay here overnight and leave tomorrow?”

He pinched his cousin’s smooth cheek, the little girl was endearing and curiously asked in Chinese, “Cousin, is this your company?”

Most of their peers spoke English, but family often spoke Chinese. Chinese children usually understood both languages, though only conversationally. Few, like Su Mu, studied it formally.

He crouched down and said, “Yes, quite big, isn’t it? Wait, I’ll take you to buy some yummy food and toys!”

His aunt was touring the rather empty-looking company. The receptionist kept answering phones and providing customers with detailed product information. She praised, “You’re doing really well. No wonder you can afford a house in Beverly Hills. Is it really that profitable?”

“Ha! A house like that can be earned in just one month’s income!”

Though cautious about their neighbors in Chinatown, Su Mu was very close to his aunt, boasting as if showing off to his own parents. He continued, “Did you see the white convertible Porsche 911 downstairs when you came? I just lent it to Li Ping’an; otherwise, I could’ve taken you for a spin!”

Then he patted Kiki’s head with a laughing tone, “When you grow up and learn to drive, I’ll give you one.”

His cousin was too young and shook her head adorably: “I want a Barbie doll, not a car.”

Su Mu laughed heartily.

********************

Driving Li Ping’an’s red Mustang, he took the mother and daughter around, buying Barbie dolls and ice cream.

They had a simple lunch. His aunt didn’t plan to stay overnight; soon she was back on the road in her pickup truck. As she said before, it was just a visit on the way to somewhere else.

Living in San Francisco, they had plenty of chances to see each other, so Su Mu didn’t insist and returned to his office to continue studying.

The company was both busy and idle. Recently, Penguin Corporation was on track, and there was no shortage of buyers for their computers. Blake had nothing to do and had come to bother Su Mu twice, refusing to leave.

Blake held no defenses against Su Mu. He even caught a glimpse of the white beneath Su Mu’s short skirt—a stark black-and-white contrast no one could miss.

Choking on a sudden cough from the unexpected breathlessness, it was an enormous shock to Su Mu, who had little worldly experience. Hesitating whether to warn him, he overheard Blake say, “Leon, I think we should spend some money on market research.”

“What!?”

“…It won’t cost much. We really need to understand the market size. It’s very helpful for running the business!”

Hearing Su Mu’s surprised tone, Blake assumed he was reluctant to spend and added, “Penguin Corporation lacks long-term planning. Eventually, the market will saturate. If you don’t plan to lay off staff, we need to figure out what roles these people can take.”

“The papers keep saying personal computers and the internet are the future, but we have no idea how many people actually want to buy computers. There’s one in the office, but I think it’s just a decoration—ugly and in the way.”

Su Mu glanced again briefly but quickly looked away. “Perfect timing. Hopefully, you didn’t break it. You can wipe it down and sell it, just tell customers it’s been lightly used and offer a slight discount.”

“I think you misunderstood. The internet and personal computers might be useful in the future. Judging by current progress, processor speeds double roughly every six months. It’s hard to imagine what it will become.”

“As for now… it’s essentially a useless product. Honestly, I’m curious how so many were sold, thanks to the media hype. Soon, there will be a flood of second-hand personal computers, and customers will realize they wasted their money. So, assembly and production can wait.”

“That’s quite ironic. I thought you didn’t know what you were selling, but it seems you’ve thought it through.”

Blake lowered his head to read a magazine, oblivious to Su Mu’s unease, and continued, “I get your point. I don’t know how many years it will take for the internet to become practical. Maybe we should switch to selling pizza. The Pizza Hut downstairs is booming.”

Avoiding looking at Blake, Su Mu finally couldn’t hold back and said, “It should develop quickly, right? Um… it’s been nice chatting, but could you please pull your skirt down a bit? I don’t want to look, but it’s quite easy to see…”