Because I worked the night shift, I didn't get up until around noon the next day. Wednesday got up a little earlier than me, and by the time I got up, he had already ordered takeout. So we sat at the stone table in the yard, eating and chatting.

On Wednesday, San San asked me, "Brother, what exactly did you call me here for?"

"Come work with me delivering food first... I'll talk to my boss today and help you get onboarded."

Wednesday looked at me with a somewhat incomprehensible gaze.

I laughed again and said, "What's wrong? You're still thinking about your master's degree... do you feel like it's a waste of your talents?"

"No, no... I just don't believe you're really delivering food!"

"If you don't believe me, you can ask your fourth brother... She's even met my colleagues and had dinner with them."

"Brother, are you really taking this very seriously?"

I nodded and replied, "Don't underestimate the job of delivering food. If you work hard, you can earn over 10,000 a month... You've been to Dali, so you know the average salary here. Why would you slack off when you have such a high-paying job?"

"Too."

"Can you accept this job?"

"If you can do it, then I can do it too."

I smiled and didn't say anything more; but I had seriously considered letting Zhou San deliver food, because he wasn't very good at dealing with people, and delivering food meant dealing with all sorts of people every day, which could help him improve his interpersonal skills to some extent... I always believed that a rough gem like Zhou San should first be sculpted by the knife of society before he could truly become something of value... Anyway, I didn't want him to become a dull engineer who could only do programming... So, before he could work with me on a business, he had to develop some social skills.

...

In the afternoon, I brought Zhou San to the company. The company was short-staffed, so it wasn't too difficult to find Zhou San a food delivery job... I bought him an electric scooter, and after some simple training, he started working... In order to let him face this job independently, I didn't let him choose the same route as me, nor did I say anything to encourage him or impart my experience. I really hoped that he could put what he had learned into practice and find the most efficient way to deliver food.

...

I was busy from noon until the evening's peak dining hours, and finally finished my workday. Without even taking a proper breather, I went to the bar that was about to start renovations. I needed to check the renovation budget from the renovation company with Chen Jin.

Chen Jin and I spent half an hour getting this done, and then we chatted for a bit. Chen Jin handed me a cigarette and asked, "Will Lu Jia be back soon?"

"Yes, just one or two weeks."

"Has she discussed her plans with you?... I remember she still has a position at the clothing company in Chengdu, right?"

"Yes, that's true... That company treated her well; they continued to pay her a salary during the year she was studying abroad."

"It's not realistic for her to not work for this company after she finishes her studies, right? ... After all, they're offering her paid leave to study abroad. If she just abandons them as soon as she returns to China, that would be really unfair of Lu Jia."

“Lu Jia wouldn’t do that… First of all, she’s very satisfied with this job; secondly, she signed a contract with the company, and the contract specifically included clauses explaining this matter, meaning she can’t switch jobs for the next four or five years… otherwise she’ll have to pay a hefty penalty for breach of contract.”

"She's in Chengdu, and you're in Dali, so this has become a problem between you two."

Let's take it one step at a time.

"Now you're the one in a passive position... Both of your houses have been transferred to her name."

I squinted and took a deep drag of my cigarette… My feelings were a bit complicated. If living in Dali was a bit like a dream, then Lu Jia was a real-life thunderbolt. Whenever I thought of her, I would unconsciously see the responsibilities on my shoulders. I needed to get married and have children, prepare money for diapers, consider buying a house in a good school district… Even the kinds of extracurricular classes my children would take were within my consideration… In short, I should plan ahead for everything that might happen in the future.

After a long silence, I finally spoke to Chen Jin: "I have something to tell you... Don't tell Lu Jia that I invested in your bar, and don't tell her about my work on food delivery ads either."

Chen Jin seemed puzzled. He looked at me and asked, "These are all things that prove you're working hard to build your business, so why can't you tell her?"

“I mentioned it to her before, but she couldn’t understand me… She said she felt insecure, and then she suggested transferring the house in Dali to her name as well… I’m not upset about the house… I just don’t have much faith in her… Is she really a woman who can go through thick and thin with me?”

"So, you're testing her now?... Show her your worst side... and see where her tolerance for you really ends."

"No... I just want to see which aspect of Michael she loves... If one day I really have nothing left, how much sincerity will she have for me, and how much patience will she give me... After all, we didn't get married with the intention of getting divorced... So, I don't want to create so many hidden dangers in our married life before the marriage has even begun... Both she and I must be psychologically prepared before we can take this step."

Chen Jin also pulled out a cigarette from his pack, lit it, took a deep drag, and then replied with deep emotion, "This time, buddy, I choose to understand you... Have you noticed that women who have been in the workplace for a long time tend to be a bit materialistic and scheming... Not to mention anything else, just take me for example, I almost died at Ding Lin's hands!... Is there any woman in this world more ruthless than Ding Lin?"

I remained silent because Chen Jin had asked me this question many times... I knew that even after more than a year, he had not completely let go of his relationship with Ding Lin; he had been badly wronged by her.

After a moment of silence, Chen Jin said to me again, "To be honest... I still really hope you can marry Lu Jia... I've always felt that Lu Jia is much more reliable than Ding Lin... Just look at how she took care of your father, she really made a sacrifice!"

“I have never denied her contributions on this point.”

"Yes, you're quite generous... You made money and bought her an apartment in Chengdu, and now you've even transferred the house in Dali to her name... Those two should just live happily ever after. Actually, marriage doesn't have to be about being completely devoted to each other..."

I interrupted Chen Jin, saying, "At least we should support each other." (To chat with more like-minded people about "My Tenant Miss," follow "or" on WeChat to discuss your favorite books.)