Sun Xiulan was dressed simply, clearly a nanny for the Dai family. Zhou Jian'an exchanged pleasantries with her politely, but in his heart he didn't think much of her.
He was just a nanny. In the past, he was a servant, someone who served others. Although Zhou Jian'an's parents were farmers, they didn't work as nannies. He was the Dai family's prospective son-in-law, which was not on the same level as a nanny.
Sun Xiulan wanted to get closer to Zhou Jian'an, after all, he was her son-in-law. If Zhou Jian'an became successful, Sun Xiulan could live with her son-in-law in her old age, so leaving a good impression was definitely the right thing to do.
Before she could speak, Zhou Jian'an pushed her aside, strode over to the middle-aged man sitting in the rocking chair, and his attitude was almost obsequious.
"Uncle Dai, hello, I am Qin Xue's boyfriend. We have been dating for a long time, and I have always wanted to visit you."
Sun Xiulan's smile froze as she glanced at Dai Qin, who was acting behind Zhou Jian'an.
The mockery in her eyes was obvious.
Zhou Jian'an is a college student, that's true. To put it nicely, the government guarantees job placement for college graduates. But Zhou Jian'an has no family connections, so wanting to stay in Beijing is just wishful thinking. Even if he did stay, it wouldn't be a good job.
After all, the newspapers said that "personal wishes should be subordinate to the state" and "people should be considerate of the country's difficulties." Zhou Jian'an looked down on her as a nanny, and Sun Xiulan would never look down on him as a country bumpkin.
If Dai Qinxue hadn't been divorced and had a child, and the family hadn't had any income, Sun Xiulan would have called Zhou Jian'an a country bumpkin.
Don't be fooled by his suit; the mud on his clothes makes him look like a country bumpkin, yet he dares to try and climb the social ladder.
Why would the Dai family's daughter choose to marry someone with such potential as Secretary Zuo?
They really dare to pat themselves on the back.
Wearing an apron, Sun Xiulan smiled and said to "Dai Xueyi," "Sir, you and Jian'an can chat for a while, I'll go get two more dishes."
Sir? Families with a refined background are indeed particular; even their nannies are so considerate.
Dai Xueyi was wearing a white shirt with a gray knitted sweater. It wasn't exactly fashionable, but his outfit was quite well-coordinated. He was wearing glasses and engrossed in reading a newspaper.
He resembled a taciturn old scholar, which matched Zhou Jian'an's impression of powerful officials.
Zhou Jian'an had never seen a photo of Dai Xueyi. Dai Xueyi had a special status and rarely accepted interviews from television stations and newspapers. He was a central government official, but his official position was not high enough for him to appear on the news every day.
Dai Xueyi coughed and put down his newspaper.
Zhou Jian'an glanced at it and noticed that he was holding the newspaper upside down.
Dai Qinxue tried to salvage the situation: "Dad, really, you're not in the mood to read the newspaper. If you wanted to test your future son-in-law, just say so. Why pretend for Jianhua? Jianhua isn't an outsider."
Dai Xueyi glared at her, his expression softening slightly.
“This is my son-in-law’s first visit. I was just testing him out, wasn’t I? I’ve raised my daughter for so many years, I can’t just give her away like this, can I? I’ve introduced you to so many kids from high-ranking families, but you said you didn’t like any of them. You insisted that Jianhua is highly educated, capable, doesn’t have the bad habits of kids from high-ranking families, and isn’t as stingy as other rural people. You said Jianhua is good to you and never stingy with money, so I agreed to meet him.”
Dai Xueyi spoke in a serious, bureaucratic tone, his manner of speaking was exactly like that of an official on television.
"Uncle, my feelings for Qinxue are genuine. I will never mistreat her. I swear, every penny I earn will go to her. I want to make her the happiest woman in the world."
Dai Qinxue smiled happily.
She had a tough time lately. That old vile woman, Jiang Meifeng, brought Zhou Chufei to Beijing, ostensibly to take care of her, but actually to monitor her. When Dai Qinxue spent Zhou Jian'an's money, Jiang Meifeng berated her sarcastically; when Dai Qinxue bought clothes for her daughter, Jiang Meifeng blamed her for not buying any for Zhou Chufei; when Dai Qinxue dressed up nicely, Jiang Meifeng accused her of trying to seduce men.
Zhou Chufei is such a fool. He doesn't want his own mother and sister, but insists on having her as his stepmother. Dai Qinxue smiles on the surface, but in her heart she curses him a thousand times. He's as fat as a pig, yet he dares to dream of being her child.
Dai Qinxue was filled with resentment, but she couldn't do it openly, so she could only use her family background to pressure Zhou Jian'an.
“Jian’an, my father’s test for you is down to the last hurdle. He asked me to ask you how you plan to deal with your mother and Zhou Chufei. You know who I am. If my father’s neighbors and colleagues find out you have such a grown child, how will my father face them?”
Dai Xueyi glared at Zhou Jian'an and nodded repeatedly: "That's right, my daughter has already suffered enough by marrying you, how can she become someone's stepmother? People will laugh at us if they find out! I don't care what you were like before, if you want to be my Dai family's son-in-law, you must handle this child properly."
His stern expression and barely concealed anger alerted Zhou Jian'an, who rose tremblingly and hurriedly assured him:
"Don't worry, I'll send him back to his hometown and make sure he doesn't show up in Beijing."
Dai Xueyi responded, "You and Qin Xue are still young, you can have more children. If you can't even handle this kind of thing, how can our Dai family dare to train you?"
Zhou Jian'an readily agreed, saying that Zhou Chufei was truly a hopeless child.
He's as fat as a pig, all he does is eat, and he's always squatting on the ground crying. He's made Zhou Jian'an lose face. Zhou Jian'an used to like this son, but after Dai Qinxue's constant whispering in his ear, he also thinks he's a nuisance.
Sun Xiulan brought over a cup of hot water. "Dai Xueyi" opened a box of tea leaves, pinched a small handful, and put it in. Sun Xiulan glared at him, but "Dai Xueyi" pretended not to see it.
After finishing the tea, he even opened a bottle of Moutai for himself during the meal.
It was this bottle of Moutai that put Zhou Jian'an at ease.
If Dai Xueyi truly didn't think highly of him, he wouldn't have served him Moutai. That kind of liquor is reserved for distinguished guests. The fact that Dai Xueyi was willing to serve Moutai proves that he is satisfied with his son-in-law.
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