Time has reached the end of December.
On that day during hotpot chitchat, regarding the subject and type of the new game, Chen Ba didnāt make a decision.
Weāll talk about it after the New Year!
This year for Spring Festival, Chen Ba didnāt stay in Jiangning; instead, he drove on the highway, and with sparks flying and lightning all the way, he returned to his hometown.
The reason for driving instead of flying or taking a high-speed train was mainly for two reasons.
The first reason is that he had quite a lot of things. He prepared a big bag of gifts for Old Chen and bought some special New Year goods from Jiangning, which were hard to carry on a plane or high-speed train.
The second reason is that driving home would give Old Chen face. After all, Chen Ba was driving a Benz, which is undoubtedly the luxury car that everyone envies in a small village.
Even if Chen Ba guessed the little thoughts of his old father, he wouldnāt expose them.
For this reason, when he got off the highway, he didnāt drive home immediately but found a car wash to give his car a special cleaning.
Itās all about appearances!
Old Chen had dinner ready at home, but when he didnāt see his son arriving, he almost thought he had been delayed on the road and wouldnāt make it home today.
But in a blink, he saw the familyās silly deer driving at a "speed" of 5 km/h, rolling down the car window in the winter, playing loud music, and driving leisurely into the village.
"What a disgrace!"
Old Chen had never been so speechless in his life. He admitted that letting his son drive home indeed had a bit of showing-off intention.
But this is not how you show off! Rolling down the car window in such cold weather, playing music so loud, afraid the whole village wouldnāt know you were back?
"Haha, isnāt it just for fun!"
Even though he was scolded, Chen Ba could clearly see that despite Old Chenās disdainful words, he was actually quite happy inside.
Typical case of saying one thing and meaning another!
Some things are better left unsaid, like how every time Chen Ba sends money to Old Chen, he would firmly reject it.
Does it mean that if Old Chen doesnāt accept, Chen Ba will truly not give it?
Impossible!
Old Chen is happy inside, just unwilling to admit it. When he says itās wasted money and not to buy those flashy things next time, it doesnāt mean he doesnāt like them.
In the past two years, Chen Ba has made money, built a new house for the family, and sent Old Chen a substantial amount of retirement money, clearly improving the householdās living conditions.
Donāt know who spread the rumors.
Anyway, the whole village knows Chen Ba has made a fortune from entrepreneurship, even richer than the richest man in the county. No one knows exactly how much, just that itās more than he can spend in a lifetime...
This has also meant that, this year, Old Chen has seen more matchmakers than he has in his entire life.
There are quite a few matchmakers introducing potential partners for Chen Ba. As Old Chen puts it, Chen Ba is now the prime target of all young ladies in the surrounding areas.
"Oh, come on, where were they in the past few years when no one introduced me to anyone?"
Chen Ba doesnāt really care about this.
Heās clear about what these people are thinking. If they truly appreciated him, why didnāt they approach Old Chen a few years ago? Why only in the past two years?
"You have a point too with that..."
Old Chen isnāt a fool either; he understands the calculations of people in the village or neighboring villages. Therefore, he hasnāt agreed, always emphasizing that children should decide for themselves.
He just wants to tell Chen Ba to go out less after returning to the village, preferably not at all. Otherwise, heād enjoy attention akin to a giant panda, which would be quite bothersome.
"I understand."
Chen Ba doesnāt like going out anyway; heās a homebody. Heās just home to accompany Old Chen, saving him from the loneliness of having New Yearās Eve dinner alone.
Since itās inconvenient to go out, heāll just stay home. Luckily, thereās internet, a computer, and he can call Wang Kun and Dong for some multiplayer gaming.
"Hey, hey, hey?"
"Canāt hear you, speak louder!"
In the "Donāt Go Home: Marbles Storm" game, after adding Wang Kun and Dong as friends, Chen Ba asked in the team voice channel, "So, what mode do we play, buddies?"
"Classic mode!"
Wang Kunās microphone quality was poor, with crackling electrical noise that made Chen Baās scalp tingle.
"Okay, mode changed, but fix your microphone first..."
Wang Kun muted to adjust, leaving only Chen Ba and Yang Dong on the voice channel. After asking Dong how things were at home, Chen Ba turned to ask about the activity levels of "Donāt Leave After School."
"Not bad!"
While playing marbles, Yang Dong explained to Chen Ba, "Special praise to the game partner in Zone One, [Grilled Chicken Gwen]. Their operation activity proposal caused Zone Oneās active user count to surge by 147%."
"That many?"
Chen Ba was shocked.
A surge of 147% in active users is not a small number. Especially with an already large player base, such an increase is even more astonishing.
How did he manage that?
"Itās actually nothing. He was worried that during the Spring Festival, player enthusiasm for logging in wouldnāt be high, and the server wouldnāt be active enough. So, he proposed holding a Marble Spring Festival Gala in Zone One..."
"Huh?!"
Upon hearing this, Chen Ba was puzzled and asked, "What do you mean by Marble Spring Festival Gala? Is this gala even legit?"
"Just check the game announcement!" Yang Dong didnāt explain further, directly advising Chen Ba to look at the game announcement.
"Iām the game developer, wanting to understand the gameās operation situation, but I have to check the update announcement myself?"
Chen Ba was speechless.
However, Yang Dong was right. Since a player was given the authority, checking the update announcement is the most reliable way to understand the latest situation.
The update announcement for Zone One clearly stated, welcoming all players in Zone One to sign up to participate in the serverās Spring Festival Gala activity.