Chapter 52 - Are You Sure?
Panda Novel
Madam Cen did not show any mercy. She hit Cen Shaoqing on the back a few times.
‘This brat!
‘He has been like this for the past ten years, looking down on everyone.
‘He is asking for a beating!’
Cen Shaoqing did not dodge. He held the prayer beads in his hand as he said, “Grandma, everyone has their own way of living. I am very satisfied with the current situation. Just like you said, I am not RMB. How can I please everyone?”
Cen Shaoqing was a vegetarian, and he believed in a solitary life. He liked silence. He felt that two was a crowd. He preferred to be on his own.
Madam Cen looked at Cen Shaoqing with a look of disbelief. “Don’t you have anything to say when you find out that a young lady isn’t interested in you?”
Cen Shaoqing shook his head.
Madam Cen had wanted to provoke Cen Shaoqing with the excuse that Ye Zhuo wasn’t in the least bit interested in him. Unexpectedly, Cen Shaoqing did not seem to care at all.
Under normal circumstances, didn’t men have a strong desire to conquer and subjugate? Wasn’t her eldest grandson a little…abnormal?
Madam Cen scanned Cen Shaoqing from top to bottom. “Shaoqing, tell me honestly, do you… have a problem down there?”
Even Cen Shaoqing, who was usually very calm and composed, could not stand still when he heard this. “Grandma, you’re worrying too much.”
“In that case, do you like men?” Madam Cen narrowed her eyes.
Cen Shaoqing’s fingers that were twirling the Buddha beads paused. “Grandma, you’re getting more and more ridiculous!”
His tone made it seem like Madam Cen was an insensible junior.
“If you like men, then so be it! It’s not something to be embarrassed about! If you really like men, then I have nothing else to say! Tell me, do you like men or not?”
Madam Cen continued, “Do you think I’m concerned about you? I’m worried about Ye Zi! If you like men and I introduce Ye Zi to you, won’t I be ruining Ye Zi’s future? Ye Zi is so beautiful! So young! So smart! So amazing! I don’t want her to be hurt!”
Cen Shaoqing thought that his grandmother was genuinely concerned about him. Turns out, he had thought too highly of himself! She was only worried about that little girl…
Seeing that Cen Shaoqing did not speak, the old lady poked his arm. “Hey! I’m asking you a question! Do you like men?”
Cen Shaoqing silently chanted a calming mantra in his heart before saying, “Grandma, although I have no intention of starting a family, there is no problem with my sexual orientation. So, you shouldn’t worry about this kind of problem that is non-existent.”
Hearing this, Madam Cen heaved a sigh of relief.
As long as there was no problem with his sexual orientation, there was still hope. It seemed that she could continue to carry out her plan to lure Ye Zhuo into marrying her grandson.
Madam Cen reached out her hand to pat Cen Shaoqing on the shoulder. However, after stretching out her hand, she realized that she was not able to reach Cen Shaoqing’s shoulder due to his lanky height.
‘Stinky brat!
‘Why are you so tall?’
Without a word, Madam Cen climbed onto the sofa next to her and patted Cen Shaoqing on the shoulder as she wished. Then, she said earnestly, “Shaoqing! We only live for a short few decades. Grandma hopes that you can spend it with the person you love. I think Ye Zi is not bad! Although I must say, Ye Zi is more outstanding than you, fairer than you, better at talking, better looking than you, and more likable than you! Even if you work harder, you will still barely be worthy of her!”
At this point, Madam Cen patted her chest confidently. “With a good grandmother like me around, she will definitely become a member of our Cen family! To be honest, if you weren’t my biological grandson, I really wouldn’t have the heart to harm Ye Zi.”
Cen Shaoqing was speechless. ‘Biological grandmother?’
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“Sigh!” Madam Cen sighed. “How can there be such a good grandmother like me in the world! You little brat, did you save the Milky Way galaxy in your previous life?”
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Cen Shaoqing was truly rendered speechless. ‘Am I really the one who saved the Milky Way galaxy?’
…
The next morning.
Ye Zhuo woke up very early. She tied a few sandbags to her legs and ran a few laps around the neighborhood. She had been training like this for some time now, and her physical fitness had improved a lot.
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By the time Ye Zhuo was done with her morning run, she reached home at exactly 7:30 in the morning.
After breakfast, the mother and daughter went to the restaurant. With yesterday’s experience, Ye Shu prepared twice as many dishes today as yesterday. Not long after the restaurant was opened for business, a customer walked in.
As Ye Zhuo had predicted, there were more customers today than yesterday. The restaurant remained busy until two o’clock in the afternoon before the mother and daughter took a break.
During lunch break, two young girls came to apply to be waiters.
Ye Zhuo smiled and said, “Can you show me your ID card? I would like to have a look at it.”
“Sure.” The two took out their ID cards and handed them to Ye Zhuo.
One of them was called Chen Xiaoxi, and the other was called Bai Nana. They were both young and only 22 years old.
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Ye Zhuo looked at their ID cards before saying, “Ladies, the salary here is three thousand yuan a month. You are required to come to work at ten in the morning, and you can have an hour’s rest at noon. Then, you can get off work at ten o’clock at night. If you think it’s appropriate, go for a medical check-up and you can come to work tomorrow.”
The basic salary in the Yunjing Province was 2,500 yuan, but Ye Zhuo felt that the food industry was more tiring, so she added another 500 yuan.
When the two of them heard that the salary here was 500 yuan a month higher than other places, they immediately nodded and said, “Yes! We’ll come to work tomorrow!”
“Okay.”
After hiring two waiters, Ye Zhuo hired another auntie to wash the dishes in the kitchen.
The auntie’s surname was Chen. She had just come from her hometown and did not speak Mandarin very well. She had applied for many jobs but no one wanted her. When she found out that Ye Zhuo was willing to hire her, Auntie Chen was especially happy.
“Boss, if you want me to, I can start work today! Don’t worry, I’ll work for free today and I won’t even ask for today’s salary!”
Ye Zhuo smiled gently. “Auntie Chen, my name is Ye Zhuo. You can call me Zhuo Zhuo. Please go to the hospital for a physical examination today and come to work at 10 am tomorrow.”
“Alright then.” Auntie Chen continued, “I’ll come back tomorrow morning.”
At a certain snack shop on the same street, He Fengxian was sitting in the shop eating melon seeds when some other shop owners stopped by to visit. “Fengxian!”
“Ah! It’s Big Sister Li! Come in and sit down!” He Fengxian quickly grabbed a handful of melon seeds for Big Sister Li.
Big Sister Li did not stand on ceremony. She picked up the melon seeds and started eating, and while eating, she said, “That Zhang Ji who used to sell stewed pork rice is really inhumane! Since she did not make any money selling stewed pork rice, she’s resorted to stealing other people’s business! I can’t believe she actually moved next door to sell snacks! I just spotted a few of your regular customers at her shop!”
“That’s right! I feel sick just looking at her! And the mother and daughter who bought over her previous shop lot are complete idiots! I’ve already advised them against it, but they refused to take my advice!”
“I heard that the mother and daughter’s surname is Ye, right?” asked Big Sister Li.
He Fengxian nodded.
Big Sister Li continued, “How’s their business?”
He Fengxian said, “With that kind of location that their shop is at, how good can business be? If that location was so good, how could the owner of Zhang Ji’s Stewed Pork Rice be willing to sell them the shop lot? They had just opened yesterday, and there wasn’t even a single customer who came to eat! I think they are going to close in three days! I can’t believe they even pretended to be happy and lied to me that their business was good! Do they really take me for a fool!”
Big Sister Li smiled and said, “Some people like to brag! Zhang Ji got lucky! She managed to find someone stupid enough to buy up the shop!”
He Fengxian clapped her hands and stood up. “It just so happens that I have nothing to do now. I’ll bring you to Ye Family’s Private Kitchen to have a look.”
She couldn’t wait to see the Ye family making a fool of themselves. Wasn’t Ye Shu bragging about their family’s business yesterday? It was dinnertime now! There probably wouldn’t be a single customer at Ye Family’s Private Kitchen. She wanted to see Ye Shu’s embarrassed face later!
“Okay.” Big Sister Li also stood up.
The two of them walked over to Ye Family’s Private Kitchen.
As they approached the restaurant, He Fengxian was completely stunned. Was she seeing things?
Big Sister Li tugged at He Fengxian’s sleeve. “Is this Ye Family’s Private Kitchen? Are you sure?”
There was a long queue outside the restaurant. How could one claim that business was bad?
