Jiang Chengyi saw her silence and did not urge her, because he was sure that Sun Ling would eventually do as he said.
He provided the job and the pocket money. Without him, Sun Ling would probably not have wanted the outcome she did.
After sending her back and giving her fifty yuan, he reminded her to find time to get an abortion. Then Jiang Chengyi drove back to the company.
At this moment, Zhu Shasha was sitting in Jiang Chengyi's office with a displeased expression, waiting for him to return.
This time, when she returned to Beijing, she was supposed to formally meet the贺 family elders to discuss her marriage with He Zinian.
That bitch, who had occupied the position for so many years, had finally gone to Hong Kong. She thought her hard work had paid off, only to have the two old geezers from the He family strongly oppose her marriage to He Zinian. They even threatened to disown He Zinian if he dared to marry her.
After waiting for so many years, how could she be willing to give up?
What was most outrageous was that those two old geezers actually wanted He Zinian to fire her.
He Zinian had no choice but to let her come here to lie low for a while. Once the elders' emotions were pacified, the marriage could proceed slowly.
Slowly, slowly. She had been with He Zinian for five years, even resorting to having a child out of wedlock and enduring the disdain and criticism of others. How many five years could a woman have?
"My father's favorite hobby is collecting jade and antiques. Didn't you say that the person surnamed Jiang also likes to collect them? See if there's anything that can catch the old man's eye. Tell me how much it costs, and we'll cater to his interests. If he's happy, the marriage will be much easier."
It was only after hearing He Zinian say this that Zhu Shasha's expression finally softened.
As soon as Jiang Chengyi arrived at the company, a staff member came to report, "Manager, Assistant Zhu from Beijing is here. She's in your office and says she has something to discuss with you."
Jiang Chengyi nodded and went straight to his office.
"Mr. Jiang."
"Assistant Zhu."
After greeting each other, Zhu Shasha smiled and said, "I heard that Mr. Jiang likes to collect antiques. May I have a look?"
"Assistant Zhu is also interested in antiques?"
Zhu Shasha smiled a little embarrassedly and said, "To be honest, it's Mr. He's father who likes them very much. Our Mr. He heard that you have a good research in this area and asked me to help him see. As long as it can catch the old man's eye, any price is fine. He Zinian and I, we will both remember your kindness."
She said it as if it were an afterthought, and then quickly continued as if nothing had happened, wanting Jiang Chengyi to know that her relationship with He Zinian was not ordinary, so her words were He Zinian's intentions.
There are usually two types of collectors: one who genuinely likes it, and one who collects it for appreciation.
Jiang Chengyi happened to be the latter.
He was a good investor. If the items he possessed could truly catch Mr. He's eye, it would not just be the value of the items themselves. He Zinian would owe him a personal favor, and the future benefits would be limitless.
Therefore, Jiang Chengyi readily took Zhu Shasha to his study.
However, Zhu Shasha looked around and felt dissatisfied.
She didn't think much of the things Jiang Chengyi collected, let alone Mr. He, who had been studying antiques for decades.
"Are there any others? The price is definitely negotiable. If it can really help, our Mr. He will be very grateful to you."
Thinking that he was hoarding them, Zhu Shasha asked with a smile.
Seeing that nothing could catch Zhu Shasha's eye, Jiang Chengyi was also disappointed. After all, he had only been exposed to these things for less than two years, and he was only in his early thirties. His age was a factor.
With the ten years of turmoil in between and the policy opening up for just over three years, collecting so much was already quite good.
His gaze fell on the flower pot on the windowsill, and Jiang Chengyi suddenly thought of something, his eyes lighting up.
"If we're talking about good things, I really know of one: a pair of Yuan Dynasty blue and white vases with double handles. If both vases are complete, Mr. He will definitely like them."
Zhu Shasha's face showed surprise: "Where can I buy what you're talking about?"
"I only know who has one of them. As for the other, I'm afraid it will require some effort to find out."
"It's okay. We can buy one first and then slowly look for the other," Zhu Shasha thought that this Yuan Dynasty blue and white porcelain should be about right.
"I'll take you there once I find out her address."
...
Chen Lishu was completely unaware that she was being targeted, as she had been busy furnishing her new home for the past two days.
Because the house was too large, it took nearly a month to complete the renovation.
Chen Lishu was already more than four months pregnant, and because she was carrying twins, her belly was almost as large as someone else's at five months.
For convenience of going to school, they were still living in the rented house for the time being. This way, it would take less than ten minutes to walk to school every day. If they moved, they would definitely have to take the bus, which would be too dangerous.
Taking advantage of the fact that she was still relatively mobile, she decided to prepare the necessary items. Once school was on vacation, the whole family could move in.
Since it was their own home, and they would likely be living there for a long time, Chen Lishu was very attentive. In the future, there would be many children and many perishable items, and definitely a lot of dirty clothes, so she decided to get a refrigerator and a washing machine.
With Zhao Xingwang's help, these items could be bought at the Overseas Chinese Store, so it wasn't much trouble.
During the renovation, in addition to demolishing the walls that previous tenants had illegally built, the original house design was largely maintained.
There were four bedrooms upstairs and two bedrooms downstairs. Chen Lishu decided that she and Gu Xingdong would live upstairs with the three children, leaving one extra room as a study. Downstairs, Zhao Qiuyue would have one room, and the other would be a guest room.
All the beds were made by Gu Xingdong during the renovation. The remaining items, such as tables, chairs, benches, and sofas, could only be purchased when Gu Xingdong had time off.
Curtains, quilts, and other such items also needed to be made. Calculating all the miscellaneous tasks, there were quite a few. Fortunately, Zhao Qiuyue had good needlework skills, and Chen Lishu, who was inconvenienced by her pregnancy, could occasionally help out.
This day, Chen Lishu and Rui Rui only had half-day classes. After school, she picked him up on the way back.
Zhao Qiuyue had already prepared lunch. After they finished eating, Rui Rui went to his room to do his homework, while Chen Lishu helped Zhao Qiuyue sew a quilt.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Zhao Qiuyue quickly put down what she was doing and went to open it. To her surprise, she saw a strange man and woman standing at the door. Zhao Qiuyue asked doubtfully, "May I ask who you are?"
Jiang Chengyi's gaze fell on Chen Lishu, who was just coming out of the bedroom. He smiled and said, "We are looking for Comrade Chen Lishu."
Chen Lishu reacted for a moment when she saw him, and then she remembered. Li Zhiwei had introduced him before. The man was Jiang Chengyi, Jiang Yuwei's older brother. As for the stylishly dressed woman next to him, she had never seen her before.