Chapter 344: Being Wronged

Liu Rusi then asked, "But if we only make bicycles, this trade company won't be able to earn much money, right?"

He Yuzhu nodded: "Sister, don't worry about that. I've already thought it through for you. I have a friend who runs a garment factory in Qianmen, and business is absolutely booming, especially the down jackets she makes; they are in short supply every winter. We can totally sell these stylish, warm items abroad. Also, the chili sauce produced by the Nanluoguxiang street factory has an authentic and unique taste; I see that as another good product that can be sold abroad. With just these few businesses, I can guarantee that if done well, it will definitely not earn less than you burying your head in making bicycles."

"Oh?" Liu Rusi suddenly grabbed He Yuzhu's ear. "These good business ideas, I'm afraid they were all suggested by you to others, right? Let me guess, are these 'friends' all women?"

"Ouch! It hurts! Sister, take it easy, take it easy!" He Yuzhu shrank his neck and begged for mercy repeatedly. "It's true they are women, but since I dare to introduce them to you openly, it proves that my heart is clear and my conscience is clean! If there were really something going on, I would be trying to avoid them, how could I throw myself into the line of fire?"

"Hmph, there's some truth to what you say." Only then did Liu Rusi let go.

He Yuzhu rubbed his reddened ear, took the opportunity to put his arm around Liu Rusi's waist, pulled her closer to his chest, and lowered his voice: "Sister, my mother today... seems to have sensed something about the relationship between us. Do you think I should find an opportunity to make it clear to her?"

Liu Rusi's body stiffened almost imperceptibly, then she relaxed: "Don't say anything yet. You are still young, and if you shout it out so early, it would look as if I had deceived you."

"But being in this state of uncertainty is so unfair to you." He Yuzhu hugged her tighter, his chin resting on the top of her head.

Liu Rusi leaned in his arms, her tone indifferent: "My mother entered the Shen Family for the sake of a hollow reputation, and in the end, she lost her life because of it... I don't care. As long as you treat me with sincerity, I don't care even if we never get that certificate in our whole lives."

He Yuzhu didn't answer, only tightened his arms.

Liu Rusi was quiet for a moment, then suddenly broke free from his embrace, turned around, and pointed her finger at his head: "He Yuzhu, you listen to me well. If you dare to play tricks behind my back in the future, I guarantee you will never find me again in this life."

He Yuzhu cupped his hands and said: "The green mountains will not change, the clear waters will flow forever. The world of the jianghu is vast, I will never fail you."

Liu Rusi was amused by his serious look, and her eyes turned red. The next second, she caught him off guard, leaned in, and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

How could He Yuzhu let her go? He immediately pulled her back into his arms.

"Get lost! It's broad daylight..." Liu Rusi's cheeks were flushed, and she pushed him away in a flurry.

In a quiet courtyard near Qianmen, just as Xu Damao stepped into his home, Xiaomei greeted him and asked: "Damao, did you manage to take over that storefront at Jubaozhai?"

Xu Damao placed his old leather bag heavily on the Eight Immortals table, lifted his chin high, and said with great excitement: "Is there anything your master can't handle? I took it all, including the property and the goods, for a total of 150 million (old currency)! The key is that those people in charge of the seizure didn't recognize the treasures at all; a pile of ancient books from the Ming and Qing dynasties and manuscripts by famous people were all packed and sold to me as waste paper. I even had to pretend to haggle with them for a long time—bah, a bunch of blind fools!"

Xiaomei's eyes lit up: "Then... how much are those manuscripts worth?"

"Conservatively estimated, just those scraps of paper are worth 80 million!" Xu Damao lowered his voice, his pride almost overflowing from his eyebrows. "This house is practically half-price, like picking it up for free."

Xiaomei grabbed his arm in excitement: "With such a great achievement, did Siqiang give you a red envelope?"

"Of course!" Xu Damao pulled a stack of brand-new banknotes from his chest like a magic trick and slapped them against his palm with a loud sound: "Eight million!"

"Then when you become the manager, how much will your monthly salary be?"

"Following the precedent of the old manager at 'Hutong Yi', the base salary will be at least one million, plus a share of the business!" Xu Damao was full of ambition, as if he could already see himself sitting behind the counter. "We must celebrate today! Let's go, let's go to a restaurant and eat roast duck!"

He Yuzhu left Liu Rusi's house and rode his bicycle back to Nanluoguxiang No. 95 Courtyard.

Yan Bugui was tending to those flowers and plants in front of the door. Seeing He Yuzhu enter, he said: "Zhuzi, your father is back. I saw he wasn't wearing his military uniform; did he transfer to civilian work?"

He Yuzhu shook his head: "You've stumped me there; I haven't seen him yet!"

He Yuzhu walked quickly into the room and saw He Daqing cooking in the kitchen, so he asked: "Dad, it's not the New Year or any holiday, why did you suddenly come back?"

He Daqing said: "Our Division Commander has transferred to civilian work, how could I possibly remain in the army?"

"Where have you been assigned?" He Yuzhu asked.

"Northern Automobile Factory," He Daqing said.

"What? Is that the factory Secretary Liu is planning? But this... isn't this still just a pipe dream?"

"People like us are going there to 'draw' that dream into reality. Division Commander Yang will be the future Factory Director Yang, and I'm in charge of the logistics side of things."

After hearing this, He Yuzhu said: "I've been 'calculated' by Factory Director Yang again! Dad, once you become the Logistics Director, you'll definitely need me to help you with the troublesome matters in the factory in the future!"

"I haven't been working in vain these past few years; I've also accumulated quite a few connections," He Daqing said proudly.

"That's good! By the way, my status is still in your division. In this way, I've also been 'transferred to civilian work' along with you."

He Daqing nodded: "Lao Yang said that Secretary Liu spoke to him; you are the future Engineer."

"So after I contributed so many design drawings, I still can't be the Chief Engineer?" He Yuzhu said with some disappointment.

"You little brat, based on your qualifications, if I gave you the position of Chief Engineer, would you dare to take it?"

"Why wouldn't I dare? Without me, even if you had those drawings, you might not be able to make a high-efficiency engine," He Yuzhu said.

"Arrogance brings rain, and arrogance brings disaster! You brat, when you get to the factory in the future, keep a low profile for me," He Daqing said.

"I know, but my ability is right there!" He Yuzhu said.

Just then, He Yushui ran in. Without even looking at He Yuzhu, she threw herself at He Daqing and said: "Dad, why are you back?"

"From now on, Dad will come home every day!" He Daqing smiled until his face was full of wrinkles and picked his daughter up high.

"Dad, give me 100,000 yuan," He Yushui said crisply, hugging his neck.

"What do you need so much money for?"

"The teacher is organizing a trip to Beihai to go boating. Xiaomi and Dahua's families are having a hard time, and I want to pay for them too."

"Good! My daughter is sensible, Dad supports you!" He Daqing took out the money very readily.

He Yushui took the money, glanced at He Yuzhu who was standing to the side, curled her lips, and ran off with a "hmph."

He Daqing looked at his son standing there and wondered: "This girl, why is she ignoring you?"

He Yuzhu gave a bitter smile and explained: "The parents of their teacher, Teacher Zhang, are spies. I felt she was being coerced, so I didn't participate and let her go... Yushui and the others think I drove away a good teacher and are currently angry with me. There's no way to tell them about this..."

He Daqing smiled and said: "This is hard to explain... you brat, just play the role of Dou E for once!"