Chapter 103: Insatiable Greed

When she was in her senior year of high school, her mother had been truly out of options. She borrowed from everyone she could, and in the end she managed to squeeze fifteen hundred yuan out of her maternal uncle’s family.

For that, her mother had endured countless humiliations. From that day on, Zhao Sijie worked hard to pay her own way through school and never asked them for another cent.

And now they were treating that fifteen hundred yuan as though it had saved their entire family’s lives.

They had made her spend seventy thousand yuan in one go, and not even a word of thanks had come from them.

Zhao Sijie truly could not understand how they had the face, but thinking of family ties, she still endured it.

After leaving the jewelry store, Liu Jing was in a very good mood. Chen Shufang kept praising her daughter-in-law for her good taste, showering her with flattery as though afraid she might run off and not marry her son.

Even though Zhao Sijie was unhappy, she still said nothing because of family ties. She only reminded them that it was about time and that Xia Yu was waiting for them to go eat.

At the mention of Xia Yu, Chen Shufang could not help saying, “Sijie, Aunt has to say a few words to you.”

“You have such good conditions, educated, a college graduate, and beautiful too. Why did you find a boyfriend like that?”

“He doesn’t even have a decent car. What future can you expect with a man like that? Listen to your aunt and find a rich man. Dump that useless loser.”

“Aunt, this is my business. You don’t need to interfere,” Zhao Sijie said unhappily. “And Brother Yu is not as bad as you make him sound. He treats me very well.”

In truth, she had not said the rest: your son Cao Jun is no better. Yet he even had the nerve to speak about others.

“What kind of attitude is that? I’m only thinking of your own good.” Chen Shufang was angry instead, then turned to persuade Zhao’s mother.

After all, they still hoped Zhao Sijie would bring them more benefits. If she could find a rich man, would they not benefit as well?

What could they possibly gain by finding a useless man like Xia Yu, who drove a van?

Liu Jing walked up beside Zhao Sijie and joined in. “Cousin, I think Aunt is right. You’re so pretty, and now you even have a good job.”

“It wouldn’t be hard at all to find some rich man. I wouldn’t even look at someone like Xia Yu. If you don’t know any rich men, Cousin-in-law can introduce some to you.”

“Heh, there’s no need for you to worry about my business. Thanks anyway,” Zhao Sijie said, forcing herself to remain polite.

Seeing that her daughter was unhappy, Zhao’s mother could not help saying, “All right, stop talking about this. Xia Yu is actually very good. He’s kind and treats Sijie well.”

“He also looks healthy and capable. I’m quite satisfied with him. As long as Sijie is happy, that’s enough.”

“Third Sister, what am I supposed to say to you?” Cao Xun said in frustration. “This is why you’ve lived such a hard life. Back then I told you to marry a rich man and you refused. Do you want your daughter to follow your path too?”

“That’s enough. Do you people still want to eat or not?!”

Zhao Sijie had finally reached her limit. They had even dragged her mother into it.

The others, seeing her lose her temper, opened their mouths but fell silent in the end. After all, they were still counting on Zhao Sijie this time.

By the time they hailed a taxi to the restaurant, Xia Yu was already waiting outside the entrance.

To entertain them, the reservation was at Delicious Restaurant. Of course, the main reason was that Zhao Sijie was a senior staff member there and could get an internal discount.

Xia Yu greeted them warmly as always. But when he noticed that Zhao Sijie looked upset and dejected, he could not help asking softly, “What’s wrong? Not happy?”

“It’s nothing.”

Zhao Sijie forced a smile. She did not dare tell Xia Yu, for that would only burden him.

“Mm, then let’s go in.” Xia Yu turned to them and said, “Auntie, Uncle, Aunt, the table’s already reserved. Let’s go in.”

“The restaurant’s not bad. This time you’ve barely passed,” Liu Jing said with a sneer at him. “But if you picked such a good place just to act wealthy, you’d better be able to handle it.”

“Don’t end up unable to pay the bill and make us lose face.”

With that, she walked in arrogantly beside Cao Jun.

Cao Xun and Chen Shufang gave Xia Yu a glance and followed inside as well.

“Brother Yu, just bear with it for a bit. They’re like this,” Zhao Sijie said quickly when she saw that Xia Yu’s expression was not right.

“I’m fine. What’s this little thing worth, for your sake?”

Inside, Chen Shufang and the others were still stunned by the luxurious, star-rated decor of Delicious Restaurant. They had thought it was only a somewhat upscale place.

Only after entering did they realize how upscale it really was. Every guest coming and going was a successful person in a suit and tie, and their own clothing made them look glaringly out of place. They all knew they did not belong here, so they urged Xia Yu to hurry up and take them to a seat.

They sat by a window and took the menu. When they saw the prices, they were shocked again.

Liu Jing could not help whispering, “This Xia Yu is really willing to bleed himself dry to win Sijie and our favor.”

“So let’s not be polite. Eat him into bankruptcy and see whether he still dares to stay with Sijie.”

“Heh, got it. My wife really is smart,” Cao Jun said with a wicked smile.

So the two of them ordered the most expensive dishes they could find, and at least ten of them.

Zhao Sijie naturally knew the prices of these dishes, and their greed angered her again. She was just about to say something, but Xia Yu stopped her.

Let them order. He could still afford one meal.

When the food was served, everyone began eating. About halfway through the meal, Chen Shufang finally remembered something and asked, “By the way, Xia Yu, I still don’t know what you do for work.”

Xia Yu paused slightly and glanced at Zhao Sijie, asking with his eyes whether he should keep up the act of being impressive and high-end.

Zhao Sijie answered directly, “Brother Yu is driving for a big boss now. The boss values him a lot and leaves all kinds of things to Brother Yu. He can even use the car whenever he wants.”

“They even said they’d give Brother Yu a raise in a while, right, Brother Yu?”

Xia Yu smiled and nodded. “Yes.”

“Heh, you make it sound so nice. Isn’t he just running errands for someone else?” Liu Jing said dismissively.

“That’s right,” Cao Jun echoed.

Zhao Sijie’s face darkened, and she did not know how to explain further.

Xia Yu gave a wry smile. This family really did not give anyone even a shred of face.

“All right, let’s not talk about that. Do you have a car and a house?” Chen Shufang asked.

Xia Yu was stunned for a moment. “Uh... yes.”

“Oh, a car and a house. That’s not bad.” Chen Shufang immediately changed her expression and smiled. “Since your boss values you so much, your salary must be pretty good too.”

“In that case, you should pay the bride price for Sijie’s cousin. It isn’t much, only one hundred thousand yuan.”

“Aunt, what... what are you talking about!!”

She knew what kind of people this family was, but there had to be a limit to everything, right? She had just paid for all the things they bought, a full seventy thousand yuan, and now they still wanted her to produce another one hundred thousand. How did they even have the nerve to ask?

It was shameless greed beyond measure.

Liu Jing took a piece of meat and said lightly, “Aunt, if the bride price isn’t enough to make one hundred and fifty thousand, my parents won’t agree to me marrying Cao Jun.”

“Right now Cao Jun still doesn’t have a house in the city. If we can’t even come up with the bride price, then I’m afraid our marriage will be off.”