“Yunshu, I’ve heard all about it. Xiaoman caught the eye of a construction contractor. Tsk, tsk, how did our Xiaoman get so lucky? That’s Ye Xiaochen, the most famous construction contractor in our commune.”
“Xiaoman, talk to Boss Ye for us. Your second uncle and your uncle from the Zhou family are both sitting idle at home. Ask him to take them to the construction site to work. Even if they only do odd jobs or watch over the materials, that would be fine. As long as they can earn a little, it’s better than nothing.”
Lin Xiaoman was a little stunned when her second aunt and third aunt came to their house and immediately started asking her to find jobs for their husbands.
She had no idea how to respond.
After all, these were her mother’s sisters in law. Her eldest aunt was already thoroughly offended.
If she offended her second and third aunts too, her mother would have no reason to return to her family’s home.
Even though her mother’s family lived just across the river, if she offended all three of her aunts, that path would be cut off too.
So she could only look timidly at her mother, silently asking how she should answer.
“Second sister in law, nothing has even been settled yet. Who did you hear this from?”
Li Yunshu felt a little pleased with herself, but she was also slightly worried.
After all, until the man actually came to their home, nothing could be considered certain.
“Your eldest sister in law told us. She said that Rongrong was originally supposed to meet him, but Xiaoman was lucky…”
Actually, that wasn’t what the eldest sister in law had originally said. She had said that Xiaoman had shamelessly stolen Rongrong’s blind date.
The eldest aunt told everyone the same story.
To Li Yunshu’s second and third sisters-in-law, whether Xiaoman or Rongrong married a construction contractor made no difference. They were both their nieces.
The most important thing was that they could arrange for the men from their own families to work at Ye Xiaochen’s construction sites. They were relatives, after all, so surely Ye Xiaochen would look after them a little.
The idea of earning the most money while doing the easiest work sounded wonderful.
“The eldest sister in law?”
All right, so Huang Hongxia had been holding all that anger inside with nowhere to vent it, and she had found her sisters in law to complain to.
The original story definitely hadn’t been that Xiaoman was lucky. She had probably called Xiaoman shameless.
Hmph, it had to be that.
“Yes. She said Boss Ye was originally a match arranged for Rongrong by her cousin, but Xiaoman accompanied Rongrong to the blind date and ended up catching his eye instead. Look at our Xiaoman, she really is blessed.”
“Hehe, the eldest sister in law really said that?”
“We’ll be grateful if she doesn’t curse our Xiaoman.”
Li Yunshu’s two sisters-in-law laughed awkwardly.
They had been sisters in law for decades. How could they not know each other’s personalities?
There was no point trying to hide it.
“Beep… beep… beep…”
A car horn sounded by the bridge beside the river.
“Whose relative is that? Someone came in a car. Oh, that young man brought quite a few gifts too.”
Li Yunshu’s second sister in law poked her head out from the courtyard entrance. “I’ve never seen that young man before. I wonder whose relative he is. He really has some ability. Being a driver is a good job too…”
Then she saw the young man walking directly toward Li Yunshu’s house.
“Yunshu, Xiaoman…”
She called out in surprise while waving toward them. “Quick, look…”
Before she could finish speaking, the man had already reached the courtyard entrance.
Ye Xiaochen spotted that silly girl at once.
“Xiaoman…”
“Ah, you… why are you here?”
Lin Xiaoman was stunned as she watched him walk into the courtyard carrying fruit, malted milk, and canned fruit.
“What? You don’t welcome me?”
“Welcome, welcome.”
A sudden hope rose in Lin Xiaoman’s heart.
The money had arrived!
Ahem.
This wealthy construction contractor seemed willing to pursue a relationship with her after all.
“But didn’t you say you had an appointment to discuss something?”
“I finished it.” Ye Xiaochen handed the gifts to her. “I didn’t know what you all liked, so I just bought some things.”
“Thank you.”
He had come to her house carrying gifts.
This was a good sign.
Lin Xiaoman’s heart began pounding wildly.
“Xiaoman, this young man is…”
Li Yunshu stared at him in astonishment.
He was wearing a neat suit, his hair was perfectly arranged, and his black leather shoes were shining.
This young man was quite impressive. He looked energetic and presentable. He certainly passed the test as her son in law.
“Mom, this is Ye Xiaochen, Boss Ye.”
Lin Xiaoman didn’t dare say that he was her blind date. After all, he still hadn’t acknowledged that relationship.
“Boss Ye, this is my mother, Li Yunshu.”
“Oh, so this is Boss Ye.”
Li Yunshu’s two sisters-in-law immediately stood up and walked over.
“I’m Xiaoman’s second aunt.”
“I’m Xiaoman’s third aunt.”
They introduced themselves one after another.
What were they trying to do?
Even the actual mother in law hadn’t had a chance to speak yet, so why were the two of them rushing forward?
“Hello, elders. I didn’t know you would be here, so I didn’t prepare enough gifts.”
Ye Xiaochen immediately took out his wallet and pulled out two crisp hundred yuan notes.
“I didn’t know what you two elders liked, so please accept this as a small gesture from me. You can buy some fruit for yourselves.”
“Ah, that wouldn’t be right. How could we take your money?”
“Exactly. It’s our first time meeting. How could we possibly take your money? We can’t, we can’t.”
Their mouths said they couldn’t accept it, but their eyes remained fixed on his wallet.
Good heavens.
There was still a thick stack of bills inside.
That had to be several thousand yuan.
Ye Xiaochen really was rich!
“Please take it. You’re Xiaoman’s elders, so you’re my elders too. Since I didn’t prepare gifts for our first meeting, it would be rude of me not to give you something.”
Ye Xiaochen put a hundred yuan note into each woman’s hand.
The two women immediately broke into broad smiles. They praised Xiaoman for being blessed, having good judgment, and finding such a wonderful son in law.
Li Yunshu felt her heart ache.
This son in law was far too generous.
Who handed out hundred yuan notes the moment they met?
If things didn’t work out and they broke off the engagement later, wouldn’t she have to take money out of her own pocket to return it?
Ahem!
Forget that.
She absolutely could not let such a wealthy son in law slip away.
With that thought, she quickly pushed Lin Xiaoman forward.
“Xiaoman, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and invite Little Ye into the main room to sit. I’ll go boil some water.”
What she called boiling water actually meant making poached eggs.
That was how a distinguished guest was treated when they came to the house.
Seeing that her two sisters-in-law showed no intention of leaving, she had no choice but to grit her teeth and cook two extra bowls.
“Boss Ye, please come sit in the main room and have some water.”
Lin Xiaoman had been completely caught off guard by Ye Xiaochen.
He had suddenly come to her house and then spent so generously on gifts. It made her imagination run wild.
Had he taken a liking to her?
Had he agreed to date her?
“Xiaoman, when did you become so formal with me? Why are you calling me Boss Ye? You’re not one of my workers. Just call me Ye Xiaochen, or you can call me Achen.”
Lin Xiaoman looked at his smiling face, and her face turned even redder.
Ye Xiaochen was amused.
He had originally thought she was a bold girl, but apparently she was no different from anyone else.
She had already turned bright red after just a few words.
This silly girl really had no defenses at all.
“Then… I’ll call you Brother Ye.”
“Mm, that’s good. I like that.” Ye Xiaochen said softly. “Say it again.”
“Brother Ye, please sit down and have some water.”
Ye Xiaochen nearly dropped the cup he was holding.
Good heavens.
He had seen all kinds of women, but how had he suddenly been captivated by her voice?
“Brother Ye, are you all right?”
“I’m fine, I’m fine.”
Some water had spilled onto his suit. Ye Xiaochen brushed at his clothes and touched the box in his pocket.
“I almost forgot. This is for you.”
“What is it?”