Free Web NovelChapter 270: Chapter 270: Nothing to Say
"Sui’er, hurry up and apologize to your sister. You can’t just spout nonsense like that anymore."
Chen Fengjiao hurriedly shot Sui’er a look. She hadn’t expected Sun Jiaming’s injury to be because of Gu’er. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
"I won’t!"
After saying that, Lin Sui’er stood up, went back to her room, and SLAMMED the door shut.
"This child... honestly, why does she have such a temper?"
Chen Fengjiao muttered, then said to Gu’er, "Gu’er, don’t be mad at her. No matter what, she’s your younger sister. She’s immature, so you, as the older sister, should be more tolerant of her."
What could Gu’er say? She understood how Chen Fengjiao’s mind worked. ’Mom is different from Dad. Even if I try to reason with her, she won’t understand. She’ll just think I’m being petty.’
Besides, her dad would probably be heading to the countryside in late September, and he might be gone for two years. Of course, he would come back when he had time, but he couldn’t return every day. During that time, her mom would be home alone with the kids. It wouldn’t be easy for her, and Gu’er didn’t want to make Chen Fengjiao upset.
Chen Fengjiao pulled Gu’er to sit on the sofa, poured her a glass of warm water, and placed it in front of her. Smiling, she asked how the employees were today.
Gu’er’s heart skipped a beat. ’Is Mom about to ask me for something?’ She’d never gotten this kind of treatment when she came home before.
"Gu’er, ah, does your mall still need people for the opening?"
Chen Fengjiao finally got to the point.
"We have fifty employees now, but in the end, we’ll probably only be able to use about thirty of them. I think that should be enough."
Gu’er took a sip of water. She knew in her heart that someone must have begged her mom to get them a job.
"Gu’er, do you remember Aunt Zheng? Her daughter, Qi Ming, is twenty this year. Aunt Zheng has a terrible headache trying to find a job for her. When she heard you were opening a private mall, she told me she wants her daughter to go there and learn a bit. She’s not asking for a great position, just something to keep her busy every month, enough to earn money and support herself. And then there’s Granny Zhang’s grandson. He’s nineteen and not in school anymore. Granny Zhang is worried sick about him, too; boys are hard to manage. She was hoping he could also get a job there, doing anything at all, just as long as it’s work. What do you think, Gu’er?"
Chen Fengjiao asked, her eyes fixed on Gu’er. ’Gu’er probably won’t refuse,’ she thought. ’I’m her mother, and this is the first time I’ve ever asked my daughter for something. She shouldn’t deny me this and make me lose face. Besides, the mall needs workers. It’s all the same who she hires. If she hires the people I find, it’ll be more reliable.’
Gu’er didn’t answer immediately. She definitely knew the Aunt Zheng and Granny Zhang her mother was talking about, and she knew about their children, too. Because women love to gossip, Chen Fengjiao would often chat about the neighbors’ affairs in her spare time. This Aunt Zheng used to be in the same work unit as Chen Fengjiao. Later, Chen Fengjiao quit her job, but Aunt Zheng stayed on. Chen Fengjiao always felt like she couldn’t quite hold her head high in front of Aunt Zheng. Now, with Aunt Zheng coming to her for a favor, Chen Fengjiao must be feeling quite smug.
If Aunt Zheng’s daughter were a decent person, Gu’er wouldn’t mind doing her mom this favor to help her maintain her social standing. But her mom herself had said at home several times that Aunt Zheng’s daughter, Qi Ming, was a very rebellious character. At sixteen, she started dating a young hoodlum. When her family disapproved, she actually ran away from home and moved in with him. The next year, she got pregnant. However, she caught the hoodlum cheating on her with another woman. They got into a physical fight, she lost the baby, and they broke up. Then she went back home.
After Qi Ming returned home, her family started arranging jobs for her, but she changed jobs almost every six months, never holding one for long. She either couldn’t get along with her colleagues or was having an affair with a male coworker. When she was nineteen, she even got entangled with a married man from her workplace, going so far as to show up at his house and try to force his wife to divorce him. The incident blew up and almost cost someone their life. It was said that Aunt Zheng was so furious she nearly fainted. She dragged Qi Yue back to curse her out, but Qi Yue actually cursed back at Aunt Zheng. Chen Fengjiao had told them all of this herself at home. Chen Fengjiao had even said that having a daughter like that was the result of eight lifetimes of bad luck. And now, Chen Fengjiao actually wanted to bring someone like that into her mall. ’Is she my real mother? Isn’t she afraid that a menace like that will ruin the mall? Has she even considered me at all? I’m her own daughter!’
As for Granny Zhang’s grandson, he didn’t have any bad record, so it wasn’t out of the question to arrange something for him.
"Mom, you can have Granny Zhang’s grandson come to the mall tomorrow. We’ll see if he’s a good fit, and if so, we’ll keep him for training. As for Aunt Zheng’s daughter... Mom, we have too many female employees over there already. We can’t even manage the ones we have, there’s really no space."
Gu’er sighed internally. She had to give her mom some face, so she’d take one of them. But as for Aunt Zheng’s daughter, she absolutely would not hire her, no matter what.
"Gu’er, Mom knows this is difficult for you, but Aunt Zheng has begged me several times. I feel so sorry for her. You have no idea how much she cried. It’s really hard for me to refuse her. Just do Mom a favor and let her in. If it really doesn’t work out, you can let her go later. That way, at least I’ll have an answer for your Aunt Zheng. What do you say?"
Chen Fengjiao said in a soft voice.
"Mom, didn’t you say that Aunt Zheng’s daughter was a bad person? Why do you want her to go work in the building my sister opened? If she’s really bad and does something wrong, won’t that put my sister in a very difficult position? Mom, how could you promise Aunt Zheng? You can’t force my sister to agree."
Lin Zheng asked his mother, confused.
Gu’er remained silent. ’Even Lin Zheng understands the logic, so there’s no way Chen Fengjiao doesn’t. Why did she agree, then? It’s all because of face! She feels important because Aunt Zheng begged her. But for the sake of that face, you’d disregard your own daughter?!’
Chen Fengjiao’s expression turned ugly, but she couldn’t blame her son.
"When did I ever force your sister to agree? Your sister Qi Ming has changed for the better. She’s not like she was before. That’s why Mom was thinking of helping your Aunt Zheng."
Chen Fengjiao explained, faltering a little.
"Mom, it’s not that I’m trying to embarrass you and Aunt Zheng. First, we really can’t fit anyone else in. Second, we hire based on character, and we can’t accept people with bad character. Besides, Mom, the mall isn’t just mine. It’s a five-person partnership. To hire someone, all five of us have to agree. It’s not my decision alone. Let’s just drop this, okay?" fгeewebnovёl.com
Gu’er didn’t want to make Chen Fengjiao lose too much face. But she was definitely not going to hire that person.
"Listen to her. She’s only refusing because she doesn’t care about you. She just wants to see you humiliated in front of others. She’ll only be happy when you’re put in an impossible spot. In her heart, she doesn’t even see you as her mother."
Lin Sui’er opened her door and poked her head out to say her piece.
Chen Fengjiao’s face fell.
Gu’er gave her a cold look.
"I’m pretty tired today. I’m not going to wait for Dad to get back. I’m going to bed."
With that, Gu’er stood up. When two people don’t see eye to eye, even half a sentence is too much. She really had nothing more to say.
Thank you to Long Yin Yue and Ye Zhi Si Kao for the monthly tickets, and thank you all for your support. There will be five updates today; I got up in the middle of the night to write. Have a great weekend, everyone.
