Chapter 399 Want to reap the rewards? No way!
Gu Beichen was amused by the term "branch leader" and couldn't help but smile.
"daughter in law."
"Um?"
"You've played too big a game," Gu Beichen said, looking at the dust swirling under the streetlights. "Even I've become a pawn in your game."
"What? Chief of Staff Gu, are you feeling wronged?" Su Yue's voice carried a hint of teasing. "How about we promote you and make you the Grand General Who Protects the Nation?"
"I'm not wronged." Gu Beichen's fingers tightened around the receiver, his palms sweating. "I'm willing to be this pawn."
He didn't say thank you. Between husband and wife, those two words are too insignificant.
But he knew in his heart that without Su Yue's strategic planning from behind the scenes, without her meticulously orchestrated schemes, he would still be wandering around aimlessly like a headless fly.
"By the way, you did a great job sending the sea buckthorn frost to the garrison." Su Yue seemed to remember something. "Huo Wenxuan received several urgent telegrams from Beijing today, all from the logistics departments of various units wanting to place orders. They specifically requested that 'Commander Gu's style'."
"The same style as Commander Gu's?"
“Yes.” Su Yue laughed even harder. “Now everyone in Beijing is saying that it’s the special forces’ secret equipment. It can prevent frostbite and even protect against bullets. Your tough guy’s endorsement effect is much better than that Frenchman Pierre’s.”
Gu Beichen touched his face, where the warmth of Su Yue applying face cream to him that day still lingered.
Bulletproof? These guys really dare to exaggerate.
"There's something else." On the other end of the phone, Gu Beichen paused for a moment, as if he found it difficult to say.
Su Yue fiddled with the coil of telephone cord, the static crackling from the receiver. "Stop stammering, is some girl in the capital taking a liking to you again?"
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Gu Beichen seemed to choke on his smoke. "It's my second sister-in-law, Lin Ruolan. She bought a plane ticket for tomorrow, flying to Haikou, and then transferring to your place."
Lin Ruolan.
Su Yue quickly went through the family tree of the Gu family in her mind.
Gu Beiyu's wife is the only daughter of the Lin family, a scholarly family in the capital, and is known as a "high-class beauty".
Back then, Gu Beiyu gave up a perfectly good job as a lecturer at Beijing University and insisted on coming to Hainan Island to do some kind of marine fisheries research. I heard that his second sister-in-law went on a hunger strike at home but couldn't stop him.
"Did she come to persuade Second Brother to go back?" Su Yue asked.
“It’s not just that.” Gu Beichen paused for two seconds. “She’s related to the Qin family, and she’s probably here to probe your situation on behalf of certain people. Your Blue Ocean Factory is too famous now, and there are quite a few people in Beijing keeping an eye on it.”
Su Yue wrapped the telephone cord around her finger, leaving a red mark. "Okay, I got it. As long as she doesn't act all high and mighty and boss me around, I'll treat her like royalty."
After hanging up the phone, Zhang Huilan was carrying a basin of freshly washed seaweed into the house.
"Mom, someone from the capital has arrived." Su Yue took the basin and placed it on the table. "Second sister-in-law will arrive tomorrow."
Zhang Huilan's hand froze, her brows furrowing instantly. "Ruolan? What's she doing here? This goddess is not easy to please."
The old lady was clearly a little intimidated by her second daughter-in-law, who came from a noble family and always liked to quote classical texts.
In the past, when celebrating the New Year in Beijing, Lin Ruolan would frown for a long time even if the dumpling skin was a little thick, and would give a long lecture on the great principle of "being meticulous about food".
"She said she's here to visit relatives." Su Yue picked up a rag and wiped the water stains on the table. "Don't panic, this is our territory. If she wants to put on airs, she'll have to see if the wind on this island will give her any face."
The next morning, the jeep was parked outside Haikou Airport.
The sun was scorching, and the asphalt road surface shone with an oily sheen.
Su Yue, wearing sunglasses, leaned against the car door, fanning herself with a palm-leaf fan.
Zhang Huilan nervously tugged at her newly changed polyester shirt, then looked down at her cloth shoes to see if they were dusty.
Not long after, two figures, one tall and one short, emerged from the exit.
Lin Ruolan was wearing a beige double-faced wool coat, black leather shoes, a silk scarf around her neck, and her hair was neatly styled.
Among the passengers dressed in t-shirts and shorts around her, she looked like she had been cut out of a magazine and pasted on, completely out of place.
Beside him was a boy of about ten years old, dressed in a complete suit, with a neatly tied bow tie, his back ramrod straight, and carrying a small leather suitcase that didn't match his size.
That's Gu Beiyu's son, Gu Sichen.
"Over here!" Zhang Huilan waved.
Lin Ruolan stopped, took out a clean white handkerchief from her bag, gently covered her mouth and nose, and frowned almost imperceptibly.
Clearly, the heatwave, thick with the fishy smell of the island air, made this noblewoman from the capital somewhat uncomfortable.
"Mom." Lin Ruolan approached, put down her handkerchief, and bowed slightly, her manners impeccable. "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting all this time."
Even when she was drenched in sweat, her makeup remained impeccable, and not a single strand of her hair was out of place.
"It's alright, it's alright, we just arrived too." Zhang Huilan awkwardly took the suitcase from Gu Sichen's hands. "Sichen has grown quite a bit taller, let Grandma take a look."
Gu Sichen avoided Zhang Huilan's hand, switched the box to her other hand, and bowed respectfully: "Grandma, I can do this kind of rough work myself."
Polite, distant, and well-mannered to the point of being cold.
Su Yue took off her sunglasses, hung them on her chest pocket, and smiled as she extended her hand: "Second Sister-in-law, I'm Su Yue. This is the first time we've met."
Lin Ruolan's gaze fell on Su Yue.
He looked it over from head to toe, as if he were appraising a piece of porcelain waiting to be appraised.
“Su Yue.” Lin Ruolan didn’t reach out, but simply nodded. “I’ve heard Bei Chen mention her before. Seeing is believing, she is indeed a remarkable person.”
The words sounded like a compliment, but the way she said "wonderful person" carried a sarcastic undertone, implying she was "unconventional."
Su Yue wasn't annoyed. She naturally withdrew her hand and opened the car door: "Second sister-in-law, you flatter me. I'm just an ordinary person, not as refined as you are from the capital. Get in the car, it's going to be a bumpy two-hour ride."
There was no air conditioning in the jeep; only hot, salty air blew in through the open windows.
Lin Ruolan sat in the back seat, her back always straight. Even when the car went over bumps and potholes, she only swayed slightly before quickly regaining her dignified posture. Gu Sichen sat next to her, holding a small backpack, silently staring at the coconut trees and water buffaloes flying past the window.
“Sister-in-law, you drive quite steadily,” Lin Ruolan suddenly spoke, breaking the silence. “I heard that Blue Ocean Factory is doing very well now, and even the French are becoming honored guests. This is a unique phenomenon in that circle in Beijing.”
Su Yue gripped the steering wheel, her eyes fixed ahead: "It's just a small-scale operation, just to earn a living for the factory workers. How can it compare to my second sister-in-law's refined and scholarly life in the capital?"
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