The cassette tape of this song?
Li Weidong smiled bitterly to himself.
The song hasn't even been written yet!
He laughed it off and said, "I don't know what song it is. I just heard someone sing it before and thought it sounded nice, so I wrote it down."
"I see..."
Shen Xiaoyan was somewhat disappointed, but ultimately didn't ask any more questions.
The three chatted and laughed, and soon arrived at the Li family's house.
Zhao Xiulian answered the phone and knew they were coming, so she prepared the meal early.
The bok choy grown in the garden was stir-fried with pork cracklings, and the aroma was irresistible. It was served with a large bowl of braised pork belly in a rich, dark soy sauce and a plate of stewed chicken, making for a very satisfying meal.
"It smells so good!"
As soon as Shen Xiaoyan entered the door, she sniffed and exclaimed, "I could smell the delicious aroma from the yard! Auntie's cooking is really good. We're in for a treat today!"
Zhao Xiulian was stunned when she saw her, and pulled Li Weidong aside.
"Didn't you say Zhang Bin was coming alone? Why is this widow here too?"
Although she knew that Shen Xiaoyan was starting a business with Li Weidong, she never had a good impression of Shen Xiaoyan.
In her opinion, Shen Xiaoyan, a widow, should have lived a quiet and obedient life, but instead she was out in the public eye doing business, and she didn't know how to behave properly with Li Weidong.
Most importantly, the widow was beautiful, and she was afraid that her foolish son might lose his mind and do something shameful!
Li Weidong smiled wryly: "Mom, I've told you so many times, Xiaoyan is a widow, but that's not her fault. Stop calling her a widow all the time!"
That's really awful!
Zhao Xiulian said irritably, "I didn't say anything wrong, she is a widow! Why did you bring her back?"
They used to go to the city all the time, but now that they've moved to the village, and Li Weidong is engaged, what if rumors start circulating...
"It'll be more convenient for me to do business if I come along!"
Shen Xiaoyan's voice startled the two of them.
She had somehow gotten close to us without us even noticing!
Caught red-handed talking badly about someone, Zhao Xiulian's face flushed red and then turned pale.
Li Weidong was also a little embarrassed: "Sister Xiaoyan, my mother..."
“I know my aunt was just curious.”
Shen Xiaoyan said frankly, "After all, I didn't say I would come along at first. It was only later that I thought about it. We're going to grow mushrooms, and the farmers we're cooperating with are all in the village. It's not convenient for me, who's in business, to always live in the city."
"So I moved here with them!"
She looked at Zhao Xiulian and laughed heartily: "Auntie, I'm young and inexperienced, and there are many things I don't understand. I'll have to ask you for advice in the future!"
"Zhang Bin and I will be staying here, which will inevitably cause you a lot of trouble. Please don't find us annoying!"
Zhang Bin sensed the awkward atmosphere and quickly chimed in, "That's right, Xiaoyan is right. Auntie, I'll be relying on you from now on."
Zhao Xiulian thought Shen Xiaoyan would be angry, but she saw that not only was she not angry, but she also explained generously and treated her as an elder, sincerely saying that she wanted to learn from her. Zhao Xiulian felt ashamed.
The son is right. It's not Shen Xiaoyan's fault that she's a widow, and being a widow doesn't mean anything; as long as she's a good person, that's enough.
I was overthinking it.
She said somewhat apologetically, "Don't mention asking for advice. I'm just a country bumpkin who hasn't seen much of the world. I hope you won't look down on me in the future!"
At this moment, Zhao Xiulian's prejudice against Shen Xiaoyan was quietly shattered.
Li Weidong breathed a sigh of relief and quickly invited everyone to eat.
After the meal, Li Weidong took the two men to Huang Mao's house next door to look at the house.
The old house of Huang Mao's family has three rooms, and they have all been cleaned up and are now spotless.
Even the bed was made up.
"You've really worked hard, Auntie!"
Shen Xiaoyan linked arms with Zhao Xiulian, her eyes crinkling: "When we came here, Weidong told me we were staying in an abandoned old house. I thought it would be covered in weeds and dust, and cleaning it would take a lot of effort!"
"When I looked, my aunt had cleaned everything up. There wasn't a speck of dust in the house, inside or out. It's only because my aunt is so capable that I could make it this clean even in three days!"
Everyone likes to hear nice things.
Zhao Xiulian was so embarrassed by the praise that she kept saying, "It's just cleaning, what's so special about that? Lili helped me a lot too!"
Shen Xiaoyan shook her head and said, "Cleaning is a skill too. Some people just can't clean properly. You and your sister are really good at it!"
With just a few words, he charmed Zhao Xiulian and her daughter, making them overjoyed.
Li Weidong shook his head as he read it.
As a businesswoman, Shen Xiaoyan's silver tongue is enough to make even the most powerful people work for her. While others may have the power to make money work for them, she could probably do just that.
But this is good too. My mother's prejudice against her is gone, and it will save me some trouble.
After leading the two around the house, Li Weidong had a plan in mind.
"I think this main room should be used as an office from now on."
He pointed to the spacious room and said, "We'll go to the city later and bring over tables and chairs. We'll receive farmers or customers who come here in the future."
"Zhang Bin will stay in the east room."
Zhang Bin nodded: "Either is fine, I'm not picky."
Shen Xiaoyan looked towards the west room: "Then I'll stay here?"
She looked somewhat hesitant.
It is said that widows are often the subject of gossip. Although she did not care much about other people's reputation, gossip can be a powerful force, and she would occasionally feel uncomfortable after being talked about so much.
If I were to live with Zhang Bin now, who knows what kind of rumors would spread!
Moreover, this was just in the village, and she had seen firsthand the gossip of those old women there.
Li Weidong laughed and said, "How could I let you stay here! I'll stay in this room. You can go to my place and stay with my mom and Lili."
Since the two houses are next to each other, there's no need to worry about anything happening even if there's only a house full of women and children.
This arrangement also avoided rumors and gossip.
Zhao Xiulian had long been won over by Shen Xiaoyan, and immediately nodded and said, "Wei Dong is right, you can live with me and Lili."
After saying that, he added, "You're going to do great things, and I can't be of much help. From now on, I'll just be in charge of cooking and washing your clothes!"
Li Weidong grinned and said, "So, Mom, you're the head of the logistics department?"
"And what about me? And what about me?"
Li Xiaoli jumped up.
Li Weidong looked thoughtful for a long time before finally saying, "You'll be the company's mascot!"
"Am I a mascot?"
Li Xiaoli became happy.
Zhao Xiulian complained, "Your brother is saying you're completely useless!"
Li Xiaoli immediately got angry and stomped her foot in frustration: "Brother, you're bullying me again! I'm going to tell Xiao Ye!"
Everyone laughed, and the courtyard was filled with cheerful laughter.
After laughing and joking for a while, and then moving Li Weidong's bedding over, they finally calmed down.
Li Weidong called to Shen Xiaoyan and Zhang Bin, and said seriously, "Alright, the office is settled."
"Next, it's time to develop a work plan for the later stages!"
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