Cheng Lizhu had always been submissive, barely daring to breathe in front of Old Mrs. Ye.
Today, for Yu He, she actually made such a request to Old Mrs. Ye, making Ye Zisu, who was standing nearby, feel a sense of crisis once again.
"Really?" Old Mrs. Ye asked suspiciously.
She looked at Yu He with her eyes, the obvious disdain from yesterday gone.
She hadn't expected this bumpkin who returned from the mountains to be so smart, scoring a perfect score.
It must be the Ye family's good genes! The genius grandson was the best proof.
"Director Luo personally announced the results, and everyone at Kaiwei school knows about it. I've already decided to treat all the teachers and students at Kaiwei tomorrow! I've also informed the reporters!"
Ye Jianming said excitedly.
When Old Mrs. Ye heard about treating all the teachers and students to a meal, her heart ached, "How much will that cost!"
The Ye family's current financial situation, while seemingly glamorous, was actually not very optimistic.
A small banquet was manageable, but inviting all the teachers and students of Kaiwei would mean inviting tens of thousands of people!
Moreover, a school of Kaiwei's caliber certainly couldn't be treated to ordinary home-cooked meals.
Old Mrs. Ye roughly calculated the expenses and almost fainted.
"No matter how much it costs, it must be spent! This is the best opportunity to prove the Ye family's financial strength and cultural level!
"I believe that after this grand feast, the Ye family can successfully break into the list of prominent families in North City, and then we will naturally have more business collaborations coming our way!"
Ye Jianming said passionately.
He had already planned that if they didn't have enough money, they would mortgage this villa and get a loan from the bank to hold a grand celebration banquet and invite a large number of reporters to cover it.
If they did this, the Ye family would definitely become famous. Then, they could indirectly advertise the Ye family company's business and wait for customers.
Within half a year, they would earn back the expenses and redeem the house from the bank.
Old Mrs. Ye spent the first half of her life farming in the countryside. After the Ye family became rich, she became a nouveau riche who was always showing off. She had no understanding of company operations.
She simply listened to Ye Jianming speak eloquently, making it sound like they would become rich soon. And because it was for the Ye family's reputation, she thought it was a good idea.
"In that case, proceed as you said," Old Mrs. Ye nodded, then looked at Yu He, "You can have Zizheng's study, but there's a condition: you must change your surname back to Ye."
If she changed her surname back to Ye, then all the glory of tomorrow's feast would truly belong to the Ye family, not their adopted daughter.
Old Mrs. Ye's calculations were running wild in her mind.
"Are you also changing my identity as the Ye family's eldest daughter back?" Yu He asked.
Ye Zisu, listening to them discuss how to hold a feast for Yu He, felt her position in the Ye family was precarious.
Yu He's question made her alarm bells ring even louder.
This country bumpkin still wanted to snatch back the position of the Ye family's eldest daughter!
The thought of the dilapidated house in the mountain village made Ye Zisu's whole body recoil.
She would absolutely never go back to such a slum in her life!
She quietly slipped out to make a phone call when no one was paying attention.
In the living room, Old Mrs. Ye was momentarily stumped by Yu He's question.
"Didn't we discuss this before? The Gu family is interested in Susu, the Ye family's eldest daughter cannot be changed!"
Ye Jianming said, with obvious displeasure in his tone.
The marriage alliance between the two families was actually for the Ye family to maintain their business ties with the Gu family. They had sent Ye Zisu for the marriage, and coincidentally, Gu Ze had fallen for Ye Zisu.
If Yu He was publicly revealed to be the Ye family's true eldest daughter, the Gu family would certainly not accept a wild girl raised in a remote mountain village as their young madam.
At that time, if Gu Ze insisted on marrying Ye Zisu, the Ye family would be out of the picture.
Therefore, before their business prospered, this secret absolutely could not be revealed!
"Then there's no need for me to change my surname. What does it matter what my surname is, if I'm still the Ye family's adopted daughter?" Yu He said indifferently.
They wanted the Ye family's reputation to be good but were unwilling to bear the risks. Their calculations were indeed shrewd.
Ye Jianming and Old Mrs. Ye were speechless for a moment due to her words.
Publicly announcing Yu He as an adopted daughter was indeed their fault.
But for the sake of the Ye family's interests, they were resolute in not revealing this secret!
"No, no matter what your surname is, you are Mom's precious daughter..."
Cheng Lizhu tugged at Yu He's clothes and whispered.
Yu He looked back at Cheng Lizhu. In the entire Ye family, only her mother truly cared about her.
Facing the maternal love that had been missing for over a decade, she didn't know how to respond, only nodding slightly.
Afterward, Cheng Lizhu, mustering her courage, and without waiting for Old Mrs. Ye's approval, redecorated Ye Zizheng's study on the third floor into a room for Yu He.
--
When Ye Zizheng returned home, he found that Yu He had occupied his study again. He angrily pushed away the quilt that Cheng Lizhu was arranging.
"No! This is my study, I won't let the country bumpkin live here!"
He shouted, then turned to call Old Mrs. Ye over and threw a tantrum,
"Grandma, how could you give my study to her?! This country bumpkin snatched my study as soon as she returned, and she'll definitely try to snatch the Ye family's property from me in the future! I don't want her here!"
This remark shocked everyone.
Old Mrs. Ye cared about the Ye family's reputation, but she valued sons over daughters even more!
The Ye family's property could only be inherited by grandsons, how could it be passed on to granddaughters!
Yu He returned and immediately occupied Ye Zizheng's study. Would she also try to seize the Ye family's assets in the future?!
Old Mrs. Ye's gaze towards Yu He changed immediately, becoming vigilant.
Yu He: "..."
Yu He: "Does the Ye family have assets of one billion?"
Her tone was light, yet it sounded inexplicably grating.
One billion!
Even ordinary wealthy families might not have such assets, let alone the Ye family, which was only on the fringes of the elite.
"What do you mean?!" Old Mrs. Ye's face darkened.
Although the Ye family's assets were only tens of millions, it was still money that this country girl could never earn in her lifetime!
"Country bumpkin, do you even know how many zeros are in one billion? You even want to talk about a billion! You've really come back to fight with me for the family fortune! Grandma, quickly chase her away!"
Ye Zizheng pouted and yelled at Old Mrs. Ye.
Yu He: "..."
Cheng Lizhu sensed the awkward atmosphere and, afraid that Old Mrs. Ye would again favor her grandson and take the room back, quickly tried to mediate.
"Zhengzheng, who told you that Hehe wants to fight with you for the family property?" she asked Ye Zizheng, crouching down.
Ye Zizheng was only seven years old. Although he was precocious and mischievous, he definitely wouldn't have such thoughts.
As expected, when she asked, Ye Zizheng began to stammer.
"This, who needs to tell me? I'm not an idiot."
Yu He glanced at him, truly a case of "protesting too much."
As for who in this family could possibly instigate this foolish younger brother, it was self-evident.
"I'm not interested in the Ye family's assets. Don't bother me if you have nothing else."
With that, she slammed the door shut with a "bang."
Old Mrs. Ye's expression grew even colder.
If it weren't for the Ye family's reputation and the upcoming banquet, she wouldn't have let this wild girl stay on the third floor!
Once she turned eighteen, she would sell this wild girl off to subsidize the Ye family's living expenses!