"Brother Zhang, you seem a little different today?" Li Zhiwei stopped suspiciously as he passed Zhang Xue early in the morning.
"Different how? It's just one nose and one mouth." Zhang Xue, feeling nervous under his gaze, blinked her eyes more than usual.
"That's not it," Li Zhiwei said, looking at her again before his eyes widened in mock horror. "You're wearing lipstick!"
Zhang Xue's face flushed instantly, and she said shamefully, "What's it to you? Hurry back to your seat."
Zhang Xue actually felt awkward wearing lipstick. Especially after Li Zhiwei pointed it out, she quickly took out a handkerchief and vigorously wiped her mouth.
"Why did you wipe it off? You looked good like that," Chen Lishu said from the side.
Li Zhiwei observed Zhang Xue's reaction, and then, as if struck by an idea, he suddenly asked, "You haven't started dating, have you?"
Zhang Xue glared at him. "Yes, so what?"
"It's fine, why wouldn't it be?" Li Zhiwei chuckled. "If you don't find someone soon, you'll become an old maid. I was actually worried for you and was thinking of introducing someone. Now I can finally relax."
He then sighed like a doting father, earning him a glare from Zhang Xue, who gritted her teeth and said, "Thank you for your concern."
Li Zhiwei, continuing to push his luck, said, "When did you rope them in? Tell me so I can learn from you."
Finally, Zhang Xue playfully hit him, and Li Zhiwei became properly subdued.
When school ended at noon, Zhang Xue and Chen Lishu walked towards the school gate. From a distance, they saw a figure in military green standing by a gatepost, as straight as a poplar. As they got closer, Zhang Xue couldn't help but tease, "Li Weimin, are you so used to standing at attention in the army that you've come to guard the school?"
"No, no," Li Weimin said. Seeing the university students coming and going, he felt they were all so outstanding and was very nervous. But when he saw Zhang Xue smile at him, he felt less anxious.
"Sister-in-law."
Chen Lishu nodded and smiled, "I won't disturb you two. I'll be going now."
After waving goodbye to Chen Lishu, the two of them looked at each other, smiled, and suddenly didn't know what to say.
"You." "Me."
Li Weimin: "Ladies first, you go ahead."
Zhang Xue, however, said, "Men and women are equal, why don't you speak first."
Li Weimin: "You haven't had lunch yet, have you?"
Hearing him mention food, Zhang Xue's spirits immediately lifted. "There's a restaurant near our school, they make delicious meat dishes, like braised pork and shredded pork with garlic sauce. I'll take you."
Li Weimin's face lit up with surprise. "How did you know I like meat?"
Zhang Xue smiled. "I like it too."
After they spoke, they looked at each other again and both couldn't help but laugh.
...
As the time agreed with Qiu Peng approached, Lin Xiaohui became more patient with Lu Yang than usual. Lin Xiaoyue, seeing this, felt happy for Lu Yang. Regardless of what the adults did, the child was innocent after all.
"Sister, it's not a solution for Yangyang to have a fever on and off. I want to take him to the city hospital for a thorough check-up tomorrow."
Lin Xiaoyue looked up. "Alright, get the child checked properly. Do you have any money on you? Or should I lend you some?"
Lin Xiaohui waved her hand. "No need, I still have a little. I'll ask you if I run out of money."
Lin Xiaoyue was very gratified by her change. She thought perhaps it was because she had just separated from Lu Chengming and was feeling down, which led to her frequent temper. As time passed, she would get better, so she didn't think in any other direction.
Meanwhile, Gu Xingye came to find Chen Lishu again. "Third Sister-in-law, I've been keeping an eye on it for the past two days, and there's been no movement in the account at all. Is he planning to default on the payment?"
Chen Lishu's expression was also a bit serious, but she shook her head upon hearing his words. "We have a signed contract. Besides, our amount of money is nothing to the Provincial Construction Bureau."
Gu Xingye frowned. "If that's the case, then why is he still withholding our project payment?"
"Perhaps he thinks we're easy to bully," Chen Lishu murmured to herself. She looked up at the sky outside. "You come with me again tomorrow."
This matter couldn't drag on any longer; they needed a clear explanation.
The next morning, Chen Lishu had no classes. After getting ready, Gu Xingye also arrived. After having breakfast at home, the uncle and niece went to the Provincial Construction Bureau together.
"It's about the project payment again, isn't it? What a coincidence, the accountant is on leave these two days. Once she's back, for such a small amount of money, a large enterprise like ours certainly wouldn't owe you."
Chen Lishu smiled. "The accountant and the cashier can't both be on leave, can they? If that's the case, I think we don't need to transfer the money. Let's just pay in cash. As you said, the Provincial Construction Bureau is such a large enterprise, and our amount isn't much. According to the contract, fifty percent of the payment each month, for two months, is less than two thousand yuan."
Li Guojun said with a smile, "Little Chen, how about you pay it upfront, or discuss with the workers to pay their wages a bit later? It won't fall through anyway, and there's still the later renovation. In my opinion, it would be easier to pay it all after the project is completed and handed over."
She hadn't seen the Provincial Construction Bureau ever delay its employees' wages, yet this Mr. Li had the nerve to say that.
Chen Lishu looked at him and became serious. "Manager Li, business is all about trust. We have a contract. If the company is really facing financial difficulties, can you give me a clear answer on when the money will be available?"
Li Guojun narrowed his eyes. "Asking for a specific time is a bit difficult for me. Besides, if you're unwilling to advance such a small amount, I doubt your company's ability to keep up with the funding for the later renovation. You won't cut corners, will you?"
Was he trying to threaten her?
"Furthermore, for such a small sum, you keep coming to催 (cui - urge/pressure). If the company takes on any future projects, will I still consider your family?"
"Manager Li, please calm down." Chen Lishu said, glancing at Gu Xingye. The latter understood and quickly took out a cigarette to hand to Li Guojun. The latter looked down and saw it was a Zhonghua cigarette, then smiled and accepted it.
Chen Lishu had asked Nan Haitao for help to get the Zhonghua cigarettes. She knew she would need to have cigarettes and alcohol ready if she was going to be in the engineering business in the future.
"I didn't expect Little Gu to have such good cigarettes. I'm really afraid that after smoking such good cigarettes, I won't get used to my own cheap ones anymore."
Understanding her intention, Chen Lishu smiled. "I happen to have two more cartons at home. If you like them, Manager Li, I'll have my fourth brother deliver them to you tomorrow."
Seeing that she was being sensible, Li Guojun's eyes crinkled into a smile. "How could I possibly accept that."