Ye Zhiyu narrowed her eyes: "You're saying I'm making a mountain out of a molehill? Oh, isn't this the time when you were just throwing labels at our family?"
Bai Yulian: "I was just joking, who knew you would take it so seriously."
Seeing that Ye Zhiyu wasn't falling for her tricks, she changed her strategy.
"A joke? This... ma'am? A joke is only a joke if the person himself finds it funny. I can't agree with what you're saying."
The neighbors saw that Ye Zhiyu had an extraordinary air about him and that he was definitely someone important. Bai Yulian still tried to get close to him, but now she had bitten off more than she could chew.
No family in this alley has escaped being labeled by her. Although they don't know her or what her relationship is with Tian Hongfang, it doesn't stop them from having a good impression of the Lu family.
An auntie walked over and pushed Bai Yulian aside with her bottom, saying, "Oh, well said, Sister Lu, who is this in your family? She's so pretty."
The old lady took a few steps back, and only then did Ye Zhiyu see that her feet were bound feet, no wonder she couldn't stand steadily.
Tian Hongfang naturally took Ye Zhiyu's hand: "This is my second son and his wife. They study at Peking University just like my eldest son and his wife. They didn't have any classes today, so they came to see me."
"What an auspicious place your house is! You're so lucky to have four college students at once."
"No, no." In the past, Tian Hongfang never imagined that she would one day get tired of hearing compliments.
"Hey~ what are you planning to do?" The aunt saw the craftsman pulling the wire.
Tian Hongfang looked at Ye Zhiyu, smiled, and said there was nothing to hide.
"Auntie, my dad is still in our hometown. I'm going to get a phone installed there so that I won't be delayed if something happens."
"Hiss~" Upon hearing this, everyone around gasped.
Did I hear that right? A phone call?
That's a telephone.
The reason why there are so few phone lines is not because people are unwilling to install them, but because applying for them is not only troublesome, but also expensive.
At least 2000 yuan.
It's easy to imagine how shocked everyone was. Their gazes towards the Lu family were no longer just admiration; they knew there must be someone powerful behind them.
The aunt exclaimed again, "Oh my, sister, you are so lucky to have such filial and capable children."
"Yes, yes, so filial."
The neighbors around are also doing their part. Having more friends means having more options, right? You never know when you might need their help.
At this moment, Bai Yulian spoke up again, completely out of place: "Ha, it's just installing a telephone, do you all need to fawn over me like this? So what if you have money?"
This is a really classic statement.
The aunt said, "Bai Yulian, can you please stop talking about money all the time? People's filial piety is turning into something else when you say it. You can't expect anything good to come out of a dog's mouth."
Now Bai Yulian had her chance. She immediately put on a mournful face, her already wrinkled face becoming even more creased, like a piece of clothing that had been haphazardly crumpled up and stuffed somewhere for a long time.
“You money-grubbing people have always deliberately isolated me because my family is poor. I’m always being ignored when I try to be nice to you, and now you’re openly insulting me. I don’t want to live anymore. Just because I’m poor, does that mean I deserve to die? Why are you ostracizing me like this?”
She cried and wailed, but no one comforted her; they just watched coldly. This shows how unpopular she is.
Ye Zhiyu sighed and looked at her with pity: "Auntie, you're so pitiful. I don't know what you've been through to develop paranoia, thinking everyone is a bad person. I sympathize with you, but..."
He changed the subject abruptly, his eyes sharpening. "I won't allow you to insult everyone just because you're mentally unstable. We live honestly and cleanly, and every penny we earn is earned aboveboard."
I don't know why, but in the old lady's mouth, having money means you should die, you can't use money, and you should live a miserable life even if you have money. Besides, everyone is frugal, and all we do is buy groceries, which are necessities. Yet the old lady still makes sarcastic remarks.
"Auntie, it's not that you're so poor that you can't stand seeing others doing well, so you're trying to drag everyone down with you into poverty, is it?"
Upon hearing this, everyone present turned to look at her. If looks could materialize, Bai Yulian would surely be pierced through by now.
"What the hell is he? He's been acting crazy all the time. So that's what he was thinking."
"What bad luck to run into someone like this."
The whispers around her reached Bai Yulian's ears, and she hurriedly explained, "No, I didn't. I was just... just being frugal, so I said a few more words. If you don't like it, I'll just not say it again."
"Oh, so you're just taking advantage of us because we're not good with words and can't quite grasp things, that's why you don't take us seriously, right? Don't you even know why we're isolating and ostracizing you? Do you even understand that?"
Bai Yulian was speechless and simply ignored them, focusing only on the Lu family.
“You said it’s just some necessary things, but is this telephone really necessary? There are plenty of telephones on the street.”
Ye Zhiyu was surprised, "Auntie, once I have this phone installed, it means that all the neighbors in this alley can come to my house and pay to make a call. If there is an emergency, I won't have to go far away anymore. Isn't that convenient? Isn't this necessary?"
Or is it that nobody needs it? If not, I'll tell the plumber not to leave such a long cable.
Although she got help from her father, Ye Jinlin, there was another condition: the phone wasn't for her family's use; it was essentially a public phone booth.
That's why she left such a long cord at the door, so Tian Hongfang could watch over it and make calls without going inside, saving the house from being burgled and feeling embarrassed to ask for help if something was stolen.
She's putting on an act, but it's none of her business if others don't use it; it's better if they don't, it's just too much trouble.
This immediately enraged everyone, who pushed Bai Yulian, saying, "Why do you have to nitpick? You can't even manage your own family affairs, but you're so eager to meddle in other people's business."
"That's right, let's go quickly."
He then smiled at Ye Zhiyu and said, "Don't listen to her nonsense. Your family is thinking of everyone, and we are very grateful. Let's keep this thread."
"Yeah, yeah."
Just kidding, everyone has their emergencies sometimes.
Bai Yulian gritted her teeth, "You still have to pay for it. Anyone who didn't know better would think it was free."
Now, without Ye Zhiyu even having to say a word, everyone's spittle drowned her.
"Free? Are you crazy? This phone is so expensive! People's money is no object. Why don't you get one for us and we'll just use it for free?"
"Oh dear, we should stay away from her in the future. Is her disease contagious?"
While we were arguing, the master had already installed the phone, and I even got to listen to a show for free. How wonderful!
After the crowd dispersed, Ye Zhiyu taught Tian Hongfang how to make a phone call, writing down his home phone number for her.
She happily took the research and went off to do it.
Lu Ze returned before dinner that evening. He looked tired, but his eyes gleamed with a sharp light, indicating that things had gone very smoothly.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
