16. You know, I've never had a husband since I was a child.

She didn't move an inch, but subconsciously covered her back with her hand. He noticed this small movement, and a smile flashed across his eyes.

He didn't actually intend to punish her severely. She was only twenty years old, and it was inevitable that she would make mistakes. Anyway, with him around, he could cover for her and guide her no matter what mistakes she made.

Even if she smashed a hole in the sky, he would protect her; at most, he would just give her a spanking.

He knew that even if she was punished and felt the pain, she would still cause trouble and make mistakes next time. He just wanted to remind her not to go too far.

He stepped forward, twisted her wrist, and pressed her onto the table. The ruler kissed her buttocks, and Shang Zhi instantly let out an exaggerated wail.

"Ouch, ouch! Uncle Pei..." People can unleash unlimited potential when they are anxious. She twisted her wrist to escape from his grasp, but was immediately approached by him with a ruler in hand.

"I remember I just told you that you should report when you go out, right? Besides, it's dangerous for you to leave home in the middle of the night."

"It's not dangerous, it's not dangerous, Xingxing's driver is here to pick me up..."

Snap!

Before Shang Zhi could finish speaking, she was hit on the buttocks again with a ruler, making her wince in pain.

“Uncle Pei, I really know I was wrong. I was a little scared and angry at the way you were last night, and I didn’t know what to do, so I went to find Xingxing.”

“We’ve known Xingxing for so long, I don’t think this counts as running away from home. At most, it’s just an emergency escape.”

"If you don't yell at me like that next time, I won't run around anymore, okay?"

"I'm so pitiful, please have some pity on me."

“You know, I’ve never had a husband since I was a child. I once spent more than 200 days underwater and was so hungry that I only weighed a few pounds.”

Upon hearing this, Pei Yanxiu could no longer suppress the smile in his eyes. This guy may not have many other skills, but his ability to spout nonsense is getting better every day.

He reached out and pulled her into his arms. The heat behind her hadn't subsided, so he took out some ointment from the cabinet and applied it to her.

He sat in the chair, and Shang Zhi hugged his neck. His movements were gentle, and the tingling sensation made her ears itch.

She buried her head beside him. She didn't dislike this moment. Standing in front of him and being taught by him made her feel that there was a place in the world where she could be as willful and capricious as she wanted.

You can receive endless tolerance by paying a small price.

This is rare, as most adults only engage in the exchange of interests and lack concepts like tolerance and understanding.

-Buzz-

-Buzz-

Outside the room, Shang Zhi's phone rang. She got off Pei Yanxiu, picked up the phone and saw that it was Jiang Dayuan calling. She put the phone on speakerphone so that Pei Yanxiu could listen in as well.

"Mr. Shang, thank you for the money."

"I've discussed this with our technicians. How about this? We'll pay for the reinforcement of the parts that have already been constructed, and for the parts that haven't been constructed, we'll replace the concrete with qualified ones. We guarantee that we won't use sea sand again in the future."

Shang Zhi looked at Pei Yanxiu and saw him nod slightly, agreeing to the call.

With the sea sand issue resolved, a huge weight was lifted from Shang Zhixin's shoulders, and her tense nerves finally relaxed. She made an appointment with Lu Xingqi to go to the mall and bought everything she liked.

Shang Zhi felt no guilt about swiping Pei Yanxiu's card; he was willing to be her ATM.

"There's so much stuff, I'll have the driver come up and get it."

"Don't call the driver. Dr. Shi is off today. I'll ask him to come over, and we can all go to my house for dinner later."

"Okay." Shang Zhi didn't refuse; she was happy to watch the show from the sidelines anyway.

Shi Yuchuan arrived quickly, and Lu Xingqi tossed him both of their shopping bags. He was slightly shocked when he saw what they had bought.

"Thank you, Dr. Shi."

Back home, Shi Yuchuan first sorted and put all of Lu Xingqi's things into the house, then went into the room and started cooking with practiced ease, which surprised Shang Zhi.

"You two are progressing so fast?" While Shi Yuchuan was cooking, Shang Zhi pulled Lu Xingqi aside.

"I was just about to tell you, Azhi, what do you think of Dr. Shi?"

"Not bad, a promising young talent."

"My mom saw him last time she came over, and she insisted that the family, being from a humble background, wouldn't approve, and she made me go on a blind date. The thing is, the blind date is that Pei Wang!"

"What?"

"I'm so angry! Who is Pei Wang? He's a thug! What can he do besides fighting?! Even if I'm going on a blind date, I should at least find a decent person for me!"

"But my mom insists I go. Last time she came, we had a huge fight. My mom said that no matter what, it's impossible for Shi to be a doctor. She said he must have ulterior motives. Do you think Shi would be that kind of person?!"

"When I go on a blind date with Pei Wang, will you come with me? It's so awkward."

"Sure, but would it be inappropriate for me to go?"

"There's nothing wrong with it. I'm just afraid I might do something rash if I go alone, and then my mom will scold me again."

"Dinner is ready." Lu Xingqi and Shang Zhi were still hesitating when Shi Yuchuan's voice sounded from behind them, startling them.

"What were you talking about? Who's going on a blind date?" Shi Yuchuan asked, glancing at Lu Xingqi as he set out the dishes.

"Oh, it's nothing, we were just talking about friends." Lu Xingqi winked at Shang Zhi.

After finishing her meal, Shang Zhi wanted to go back and ask Pei Yanxiu if he knew about Pei Wang's blind date with Lu Xingqi, but on the way, she received a call from the project manager saying that a pipeline that hadn't been there before had been discovered at the construction site.

Shang Zhi only had a vague understanding of these matters and was completely confused when she rushed over. The project manager spent a long time explaining it to her before she could roughly understand what was going on.

Information on underground pipelines is usually obtained before construction begins, but what has been discovered so far is a overlooked sewage pipe that wasn't in the previous records. Its location is also right above the connecting passageway between the shopping mall and the subway, making it difficult to avoid.

If we were to redo the pipeline relocation now, the cost would increase by tens of millions of yuan, not to mention the need to coordinate with the relevant property owners, which would take a lot of time and effort.

Shang Zhi was stunned by these successive events. She suddenly realized that doing projects was not a simple matter. It wasn't as simple as just taking the money and having the building automatically grow. There were too many things that required communication and cooperation. No wonder her parents had been in poor health and couldn't sleep well in previous years.

"Or there is another solution to avoid relocating the pipeline. The previous design provided a flat slope, and our commercial area can directly connect to the subway. We can also avoid the flat slope by going down a few meters at the interface, bypassing the pipeline, and then going back up."

"But wouldn't it be a bit troublesome to use it like that, going up and down repeatedly?"

"Adding an escalator is possible, it's actually not too bad. It is indeed a little more troublesome, but it is a cost-effective solution. It doesn't require touching the pipelines, and you can simply cantilever and protect them during construction."

“I don’t know if you’ve done pipeline relocation work before. It’s very troublesome because the pipes don’t belong to us. We need the cooperation of the relevant sovereign entities, but they may not be willing to cooperate with us. There are too many procedures to go through. My idea is to leave it as untouched as possible.”

"However, the final decision on how to handle it is up to you."

"I understand. I'll think about it and get back to you later."

Shang Zhi didn't know what to choose, so when she got home she told Pei Yanxiu about both options and asked him what to do.