Chapter 313 - 311: Shameless

Chapter 313: Chapter 311: Shameless

Not long after the father and daughter returned home, they put away the things from the Zhang family and had just finished relaying Zhang Dazhuang and Wen Xiu’s message to Lin Qiao’s mother and two younger sisters when Shi Xiuhua came knocking, eagerly bringing Lin Yan with her.

Hearing the knock, Yao Hui Chun opened the door and blocked the entrance without inviting the two in. With a scornful look, she said, "Rest assured, Qiaoqiao’s dad really swallowed his pride for you. He’s not even this dedicated to our own family’s affairs. For you two, he got up extra early today, caught and killed a chicken, delivered it to the Zhang family, and begged them for a long time. After a great deal of persuasion, they finally, reluctantly, agreed. Otherwise, hmph, you think your Yan Zi, who didn’t even graduate from junior high, could get into the Zhang Group? In her next life."

"The Zhang family really agreed?" Shi Xiuhua asked, overjoyed, automatically filtering out everything else.

’Giving the Zhang family a chicken to beg them... Hmph,’ she thought dismissively. ’Don’t think I don’t know. They’re always giving people chickens, ducks, eggs, and what not. So stingy. Their family raises so many chickens and ducks in the bamboo forest, but they’re so tight-fisted with them. Outsiders get to eat them, but their own family doesn’t. Except for us, who occasionally get to eat some thanks to my parents-in-law, the other brothers and sisters can’t even dream of getting a taste. That one time Third’s mother-in-law came to visit, Third wanted to come get a few chickens to take back for her, but he didn’t even get a single feather. It made Third’s wife so mad she cursed them out all over the village for half a month...’

’Second Brother is so bad at handling relationships,’ Shi Xiuhua grumbled to herself. ’He doesn’t care about his own siblings. And now he has the nerve to take credit in front of me for giving a gift that didn’t even cost him money?’ She completely forgot who had been insincere to whom first. Her dissatisfaction inevitably showed on her face, but thinking that her daughter hadn’t gotten into the Zhang family’s company yet, she didn’t dare turn hostile. She could only suppress her frustration and not respond, pretending she didn’t understand the underlying meaning of Yao Hui Chun’s words. She completely ignored the cold expression on Yao Hui Chun’s face and the sourness in her tone.

’So shameless.’

Yao Hui Chun cursed inwardly at Shi Xiuhua’s reaction. Although she had never really expected Shi Xiuhua to offer any financial compensation, for her family to go to all this trouble for them, only for the other party not to say a single word of thanks—just taking their efforts for granted and even acting like it wasn’t enough...’Who would be happy about that?’

Before her discomfort had passed, Lin Yan, already overjoyed, couldn’t wait to start asking questions: "Second Aunt, the Zhang family agreed to take me, so did they say when I should start? Tomorrow or the day after? I’m free anytime, so tomorrow would be best. Did they say what position they arranged for me? How much can I make a month? Is the work easy?"

"Yan Zi, Second Aunt knows you’re anxious, but there’s no need to be in such a rush, is there? Don’t you know the New Year is just a few days away? Everyone’s about to go on holiday. What company isn’t busy giving out bonuses and New Year’s goods right now? Who would be stupid enough to hire someone to start work now? Are you expecting them to just hand you money and gifts the moment you walk in the door?" Hearing Lin Yan’s impatience, Yao Hui Chun laughed in exasperation and said sarcastically, "Don’t ask anything else. The Zhang family’s old master doesn’t manage the company’s affairs; his son has to make the decision. That’s why I said to go the day after tomorrow for the final word. But they also said the earliest you could start is after the New Year."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yan’s face fell. She was still young and didn’t think things through completely. Plus, she had never respected this so-called "Second Aunt" to begin with. So, unlike her mother, she didn’t bother to hide her displeasure at all.

"We have to wait until after the New Year?" Seeing Lin Yan’s expression, Shi Xiuhua, afraid she’d ruin things, quickly gave her a tug. But even though she tried to hide it a little, she couldn’t completely conceal the disdain on her face and the dissatisfaction in her voice. She muttered under her breath, "Yan Zi is just anxious. She thinks since you already went to plead for her, why not plead a little more and get her to start before the New Year? I mean, the Zhang family is so rich and powerful. Would they really care about the little bit for one person like Yan Zi?"

"Heh heh... They didn’t get to be rich and powerful for free. Why should they do something as stupid as paying someone who hasn’t done any work? Anyway, I’ve told you, it’s after the New Year. Come back the day after tomorrow for the final word. If you’re really too impatient to wait, that’s fine too. No one is begging you to go. That’s all. Go home now. I have a ton of things to do here; I don’t have time to chitchat with you."

Yao Hui Chun didn’t care about Shi Xiuhua and Lin Yan’s gratitude at all. She never had much affection for her husband’s family to begin with, and after learning that her husband wasn’t the Lin family’s biological son, she cared even less about what any of them thought. So after saying her piece, regardless of how ugly their expressions became, she slammed the main gate shut with a SLAM.

Outside, staring at the closed gate, Shi Xiuhua’s face fell. She held back her anger for a moment before finally cursing hatefully, "What’s her problem?" Then she grabbed Lin Yan and stormed off.

Inside, Lin Fu shook his head with a wry smile. "With you acting like this, wasn’t all our hard work for nothing? Instead of gratitude, we just earned their resentment."

"Did you really think they’d ever be grateful to us?" Yao Hui Chun pursed her lips. "Stop dreaming. Even if we poured our hearts out for them, we’d never get any gratitude in return. Every single one of them would just think we haven’t done enough. If that’s the case, why should I waste my energy dealing with them?"

"It’s true, you’ve had it rough in the past." Lin Fu sighed. "From now on, just do whatever makes you happy. I won’t object."

"I know you don’t blame me. But even in the past, didn’t you just admonish me half-heartedly at most? Otherwise, why would they say you’re scared of your wife? In the past, any face I gave them was for your sake. We don’t have to do that anymore. Since they’re not related to you anyway, why should I be polite?" Yao Hui Chun said, feeling exceptionally relieved and smug. "I know what you mean. I’m not stupid. I’ll still put on an act in front of outsiders. But, when no one’s around, hmph hmph—"

"Yes, yes, as long as you understand. I’m relieved you don’t misunderstand and think I’m speaking up for them." Seeing Yao Hui Chun’s smugness, Lin Fu just smiled and shook his head.

Lin Qiao, Lin Long, and Lin He were also snickering on the side, trying to hide their smiles. Before they could have their fill of amusement, each of them got a light tap on the head as Yao Hui Chun’s warning voice came, "Don’t you go learning the wrong things from this... Especially you, Third. You should know, I’m not like this with everyone."

"Don’t worry, we understand perfectly." The three sisters weren’t angry about being tapped on the head; they just giggled in response. The youngest, Lin He, a clever little imp, hugged Yao Hui Chun and said coaxingly, "Mom, I’m not learning the wrong things. I’m very reasonable with other people. As long as they don’t provoke me, I’m very easygoing."

"You... you girls... other than your little brother who’s too young to tell, among the three of you, the others might be taken advantage of, but you’re a clever one. I’m least worried about you." Yao Hui Chun poked Lin He’s forehead, then looked up at the other two and instructed, "But you all remember this: as long as other people don’t go too far, most of the time, we should still leave some leeway and not take things too far, understand?"

"We know," Lin Qiao and her two younger sisters replied with giggles.