Chen Lishu shook her head, her expression exceptionally firm. "No, I must do the food industry. This path offers profits no less than the clothing industry. Who in this world would say no to more money?"
Gu Xingdong had always respected Chen Lishu's decisions. However, seeing the dark circles under her eyes today, his attitude was unusually stern. "I disagree. Enough money is enough. I don't want you to collapse your body from exhaustion. If you don't rest, I won't hesitate to use some forceful measures to keep you here."
With that, Gu Xingdong pulled Chen Lishu into his arms, a dangerous glint flashing in his eyes.
When Chen Lishu realized what his "forceful measures" entailed, her cheeks instantly flushed. She hastily pushed against Gu Xingdong's chest with her hands. "Wait... wait a moment! Of course, I won't exhaust myself for a few pieces of paper! I mean, Shuse Group will be managed by Zhang Bin, and I won't be setting up stalls. Instead, I'll dedicate my time to handling the food factory!"
Hearing Chen Lishu's plan, a complex expression crossed Gu Xingdong's deep eyes. He parted his thin lips and slowly spoke, "Lishu, this is the first time I feel like I don't understand you that well."
"You don't understand me? What don't you understand about me?" Chen Lishu couldn't quite grasp his meaning. She instinctively looked up at him as he spoke, meeting his unfathomable gaze.
That look seemed as if it could penetrate her innermost secrets. Chen Lishu's heart skipped a beat, and guiltily, she averted her eyes.
She said, "What nonsense are you spouting? We've lived together for so many years. If you don't understand me, who else would?"
Gu Xingdong domineeringly cupped Chen Lishu's jaw, forcing her to look at him. "The way each industry is managed is different. You said it yourself, we've lived together for so many years, and I've never seen you venture into the food industry. Suddenly opening a factory makes me very suspicious. It's as if you've experienced some things already, allowing you to handle both the clothing and food industries with ease. I'm not trying to interrogate you; I just find you too mysterious... and I'm afraid of losing you."
By the end of his words, Gu Xingdong held Chen Lishu tightly. If Chen Lishu had looked up at that moment, she would have seen the panic in his eyes.
Chen Lishu also fell into thought. If she revealed the truth of the matter today, how would Gu Xingdong see her? As a monster? Everything she had finally achieved now, Chen Lishu didn't want it to turn into smoke and bubbles.
After a moment of consideration, Chen Lishu pushed Gu Xingdong away and said seriously, "I may not have eaten pork, but I've seen pigs run, haven't I? It's not that I'm so adept at doing business. It's just that back then, there was no other choice. If I hadn't made changes, the whole family would have starved in J Province."
This reason sounded quite plausible at first glance, but Gu Xingdong knew that Chen Lishu never did anything unprepared. Venturing into the food industry was definitely not a whim!
They looked at each other. Gu Xingdong sighed, "It's not too late to say it when you feel like it. I have people who can help you secure the venue for your factory."
"Okay." Chen Lishu agreed to the matter, and the atmosphere in the living room fell into silence. From that moment on, it felt as if a barrier had been erected between them.
----
Li Xiulan returned at dinner time, having gone out in the morning.
At the dinner table, she kept glancing at Chen Lishu. The intense gaze made it difficult for Chen Lishu to ignore. So, she put down her chopsticks and asked, "Mom, do you have something you need to tell me?"
Li Xiulan nodded hesitantly at first, but after opening her mouth, she had nothing more to say.
Seeing this, Chen Lishu immediately comforted her, "Mom, we're family. If you have something to say, just say it. Why be so hesitant?"
As soon as she said this, Gu Xingdong, who had been silently eating, looked up at Chen Lishu with a complicated expression. Chen Lishu met Gu Xingdong's sullen gaze, and the words got stuck in her throat, neither going up nor down, almost choking her. Once she recovered, she wished she could slap herself. Wasn't she stirring up trouble? Unable to respond, she could only turn her head unnaturally, forcing a smile as she looked at Li Xiulan. "Mom, just say what you want to say. If there's a problem, we'll solve it together."
Li Xiulan had noticed the reactions of the two. More importantly, when had the usually affectionate couple ever sat separately? Suspecting that something might have happened between them, Li Xiulan immediately put her own matters aside, her expression serious as she sat up straight and asked, "Did you two have a fight?"
At her words, Su Nian and Qin Yue immediately looked up. One with concern, the other with anticipation.
Facing everyone's scrutinizing gazes, Chen Lishu didn't know how to explain the situation. As she was caught between a rock and a hard place, Gu Xingdong spoke up from beside her, "Mom, don't change the subject. We're talking about your matter right now. What could possibly be wrong between us?"
Upon hearing Gu Xingdong's denial, Li Xiulan couldn't help but murmur, "Didn't you notice the strange atmosphere between you two?"
However, it was best if they hadn't argued. After years of marriage and having children, she had never seen Gu Xingdong and Chen Lishu quarrel. Gu Xingdong, being such a doting husband, arguing? It would only happen if the sky fell!
Since everything was fine with Gu Xingdong, Li Xiulan hesitated for a moment and then mumbled, stuttering, the matter that had happened to her. "I gave the secret recipe for the sausage seasoning to Li Na. Li Na came to me herself, saying her family was in financial difficulty. I thought since we're family, and our family is quite well-off, we don't lack this business. It's good to help out..."
After speaking, Li Xiulan didn't dare to take a deep breath, fearing that Chen Lishu would be angry and accuse her of meddling or ruining her plans. Fortunately, Chen Lishu was magnanimous. Upon hearing the news, she was only slightly surprised and did not blame Li Xiulan.
However, she also used this incident to realize that her aunt's family were not good people. If such a thing happened once, it would happen again. To avoid unpleasantness in the future, Chen Lishu laid down the law first. "Mom, I don't lack the money earned from this business. Anyway, once Yicheng and Xiaobai have completely adapted to kindergarten life, I'll be moving on to other things. So, you giving the sausage secret recipe to them is fine. However, I hope that in the future, your aunt's family will not try to track me secretly to achieve their goals, or come to you to do difficult things. If there's anything, we 'family' can sit down and discuss it properly!"
Tracking? Li Na kept mentioning "family" on her lips, but her actions were not those of a family member! Hearing this news, Li Xiulan's face was filled with unprecedented anger.