Chapter 11
"Ahem...well, didn't we agree that I would cook?" Zheng Juyong fell into a light sleep in the second half of the night. When he heard Guan Ying's voice on the phone outside, he woke up hurriedly as if awakened from a dream, holding a bag of grains in his hand.
While Guan Ying was on the phone with Jiawei, she had already cleaned the pot and cooked a new pot of noodles. The water was already bubbling around the edge, and it would soon be ready. She glanced at the bag of grains in Zheng Juyong's hand and thought he was really a "useless scholar". He didn't even think about how long it would take to cook grain porridge in an electric cooker. She couldn't wait!
She gave him the pot, picked up a bowl and scooped out her portion of noodles, then turned and left: "If you don't like it, just throw it away. Eat it or not!"
There was an empty bowl next to the pot, obviously it was a double portion.
Zheng Juyong's mind wasn't full of twists and turns. He hadn't slept well the previous night, so his brain wasn't working well at all. Not only did he not notice Guan Ying's dislike for him, he even seemed happy: "Oh, you've already prepared everything? Where did the bacon come from? Is there bacon in the suitcase? Why didn't I see it... Hey, how did you know I was starving?"
The big bag of bacon was pressed under a bag of beef jerky. He searched the bottom of the box, but he said he didn't see it... Guan Ying was too lazy to answer him in the living room.
Throwing away the bag of grains, Zheng Juyong carried the whole pot to the living room, sat down side by side with Guan Ying on the small sofa, and started eating without washing his face or brushing his teeth.
"Ugh! Why are you eating with a pot in your hand? Isn't that disgusting?"
"Is your bowl not full?" Zheng Juyong thought he had taken her share and pushed the pot towards her bowl. "Then you can serve more. I haven't touched this yet."
"Eh! Take it away!" Guan Ying picked up her bowl with disdain, not even wanting to touch the pot. "Wait, have you washed your face and brushed your teeth?"
Zheng Juyong, with his lopsided hair, completely disregarded his image in front of her. He buried his head in his noodles, puffing out his full cheeks. "I'm just worried you'll get anxious and run away after you finish eating. It's not like you can't do something like kicking me away."
It's like a dog-skin plaster, once it's on your body, you can't take it off.
Guan Ying reluctantly said, "You can follow me, but you can't be sloppy and embarrass me."
Zheng Juyong opened his eyes wide: "You mean what you said?! I'll wash it after we finish eating, hehe, I promise not to let you down!"
Guan Ying held her bowl with disdain and moved it a little to the side.
"Guan Ying, what seasoning did you put in it? The soup is quite delicious." He was so happy eating that he even drank up the remaining soup, as if he had been hungry for several days.
Guan Ying said calmly: "There are instant noodle seasonings in the refrigerator."
Zheng Juyong's happiness instantly faded: "Ah? Everything in your refrigerator is bad!"
Guan Ying thought he was being too nosy: "This sealed package won't go bad."
He thought back to the day he moved in, when he personally cleaned the refrigerator wearing disposable gloves. Where did the instant noodle seasoning come from? Suddenly, he realized, "Of course it didn't! It was all soaked and clumped together in the cracks of the refrigerator. I didn't scrape it out, or I would have thrown it away with the rotten fruit!"
He couldn't remove it because the old ice cube, wrapped in the seasoning bag, was stuck to the cabinet pipe. He was worried that using too much force would damage the appliance, so he cautiously let it go. But Guan Ying didn't care and just grabbed a spoon and scraped it off! As for the soggy mess, in her eyes, it was even less of a problem. If you threw it into the soup, wouldn't it turn into water sooner or later? Drinking it would be no problem, especially since it wasn't expired yet!
"A little bit won't kill you, why are you yelling? I didn't ask you to eat it!" Guan Ying knocked the bowl down, took the pot to the kitchen, and threw it into the sink.
He had already drunk it, and he was still talking nonsense, wasn't he just trying to upset her? She knew that she and Zheng Juyong couldn't stay together, and that the rich young master would piss her off to death!
Zheng Juyong, who was always grateful for what he had done, finally noticed Guan Ying's mood at this moment. He tiptoed up behind her and gently patted her shoulder: "Let me do it?"
He stood behind her, towering, no less imposing than Xiao Weiyan. Guan Ying instinctively dodged toward the sink. The kitchen was narrow in the small apartment. Zheng Juyong thought he'd bumped into her, and while he was trying to establish a truce, he couldn't afford to mess it up again. He reached forward to grab her, but in a flash, one arm was pressed against the edge of the sink by her belly, causing him to stumble forward and press against her. Instinctively, his other arm naturally wrapped around Guan Ying's other shoulder; otherwise, with his weight pressing down on her, neither of them would be able to stand.
"Bang!" A pot bottom hit him on the forehead.
The bottom of the pot was deflated, which showed that Guan Ying had taken decisive action.
"Ah... I was just afraid of bumping into you. You don't have to react so strongly, do you?" Zheng Juyong looked aggrieved and his face flushed with pain.
Seeing the black pot bottom on his forehead, Guan Ying felt that she had hit him too hard and threw the dented pot into the trash can: "Forget it, don't wash it."
Zheng Juyong went to the bathroom to take a shower, and from time to time he opened the door a crack to glance into the living room to make sure she was still waiting for him.
"I won't run away. You go wash up quickly." She hit him. She did feel a little sorry in her heart, and her tone was much more tolerant.
"Can you squeeze some dishwashing liquid for me?" Zheng Juyong stuck out a slippery head with a circle of foam on his forehead.
"What?" Guan Ying suddenly remembered that the pot had been used for several years. She felt guilty and stood up to go to the kitchen to get it for him. "You are such a trouble!"
"I can't leave you alone, hehe." Zheng Juyong blinked his eyes that were stung by the shower gel foam, stretched out a slippery big hand, wrapped it around her without any accuracy, touched her twice, and then took the detergent from her hand.
Guan Ying stood at the door, spread out the back of his hand, stared at the foam he had stuck on it, and was lost in thought for a moment.
"Guan Ying, I seem to have forgotten to bring my vest!" He did it on purpose. He was afraid that what she said before was just to coax him. Only by bothering her from time to time could he ensure that she would not sneak away while he was taking a shower.
"That's enough!" Guan Ying muttered and went to the bedroom, but this time she was experienced, so she threw it in as soon as the door opened.
"Oh hey! Are you using so much force? This is the only dry vest I have left." Fortunately, he caught it in time and was not thrown into the water by her.
Guan Ying urged, "Master Zheng, please hurry up. The workers are still waiting for you to settle their wages at the port."
"Huh? Today?" Through the frosted door, I could vaguely see him putting on his clothes.
Guan Ying: "They worked all night last night and need to rest today."
Zheng Juyong frowned, suddenly remembering how noisy Jiawei had been when he'd spoken to her last night. She must have stayed at the port with the workers. Thinking of it this way, Guan Ying would rather trouble Jiawei than assign another task to him. It seemed she was really planning to kick him out.
A huge feeling of frustration came over him, and when he changed his clothes and walked out of the bathroom, he had no confidence in himself and a depressed look on his face.
Guan Ying clapped her hands: "Good, good, you look presentable now. Let's go."
He knew that she was not complimenting his appearance on purpose, she was just in a hurry to leave. As she spoke, she had already picked up her bag and stood by the door!
"Or, I won't get off the car later. You should settle the wages for the workers. It's your credit." Now that he had thought of it, he didn't want to take advantage of it.
Guan Ying walked ahead hurriedly, holding the car keys, and turned back to urge him: "Why are you being so pretentious! Just do what I tell you to do. If you don't obey, get out!"
"But didn't you say you were going to the market this morning?"
"Jiawei went in my place." Guan Ying had already started the car.
Her original plan was to go to the market herself and see if she could sell the defective goods at a low price, while Jiawei drove the truck to Hassan to deliver the remaining goods. As for Zheng Juyong, he would go to the port early to get his salary and catch his flight. But plans didn't change quickly, and she had to make new arrangements early in the morning.
Zheng Juyong, unaware of her specific plans, stood outside the car, lost in his own sad logic. "It's my turn! I'm strong and can run, and I'm a man, so I'm more convenient than her. She's not from Xicheng Steel, so she doesn't understand the market... Forget it, I'll go to the trading market, and you go collect the salaries."
Guan Ying put on sunglasses and said, "Jiawei can speak Arabic, can you? Besides, I don't expect her to be able to negotiate anything. I just asked her to help me get some new business cards... As for you, since you don't want to leave, don't blame me for using you. Get in the car!"
Did it sound like he was still useful? Zheng Juyong looked at his expression and jumped into the passenger seat: "Guan Ying, I promise you, as long as you don't drive me away, I'll do whatever you want with me and I promise not to cause you any trouble."
Guan Ying stepped on the accelerator: "I know, you let me use yours last night. Don't worry, I will use it vigorously!"
It sounds weird.
Without time to think, Zheng Juyong pulled the seat belt: "You...slow down, slow down."
Guan Ying didn't even brake when turning: "Master Zheng, the workers are waiting! I'll drive, you shut up!"
When they arrived at the freight yard, Brother Liu and Brother Qin had just finished their work. When they saw Guan Ying coming back, they came forward to greet him enthusiastically.
Brother Liu wanted to save face for his brothers in front of the boss: "Guanguan, it's good that you're back. Take a look at us and see if we can complete this job. If there's anything unsatisfactory, just let us know!"
Guan Ying pushed Zheng Juyong forward and smiled like his henchman. "Hey, Brother Liu, we're old acquaintances, trustworthy! It's all Manager Xu's fault. I clearly told him before I left to explain the work to you all, Brother Liu, before leaving. Who knew he was so anxious to return home? Our young boss Zheng thought you all knew everything, so he kept silent. Don't underestimate our young boss Zheng. He's a kind and generous man. Now that he's figured out what happened and knows it was a misunderstanding, he's determined to compensate everyone. He'll come here often, so we can have more opportunities to cooperate."
Brother Liu and Brother Qin exchanged glances. It was obvious that this kid was born rich and couldn't handle hardship. He'd fallen asleep in the car, enjoying the air conditioning! But after hearing what Guan Ying said, he felt that this kid at least had good intentions. Besides, he'd come here often, making money. Wasn't it just because the boss was stupid, wealthy, and generous? As for whether the boss was pampered or not, that was a minor issue!
Brother Qin laughed loudly: "Yes, it was Manager Xu who didn't explain himself clearly! Boss Zheng, we can be said to have known each other for a long time. Hahahaha, if you have any work in the future, remember to call us first. We are old acquaintances!"
Compared to yesterday, the workers' attitude towards him was completely different. Zheng Juyong was suddenly overwhelmed by the enthusiasm and experienced Guan Ying's "art of language" firsthand.
After settling the wages and saying goodbye to the workers, Zheng Juyong followed Guan Ying in a daze.
His mind was reeling from Guan Ying's words. The slight insecurity and frustration he'd felt when he left the house that morning had vanished. She'd called him "a man of genuine character and a man of generosity!" She'd praised him, loudly and in front of so many people! Even his mother hadn't praised him that way. He really should have recorded her words and let his parents hear them too!
"Zheng Juyong, what are you thinking about? Look in the mirror. You're smiling like a fool."
"Hmm? Oh haha, I was wondering, what you said...Manager Xu, is it true?" He actually wanted to ask, are the words that she praised him true?
“It’s true!”
Yes! Zheng Juyong was intoxicated. That’s right, he was so outstanding, there was no way she couldn’t see it, hahahaha.
Guan Ying: "You don't realize you've offended Manager Xu, right? He's deliberately punishing you, but there's no need to be angry. He's just teaching you a lesson. Next time you see him, you have to thank him."
Zheng Juyong was innocent and adorable when he was self-absorbed: "Huh? How did I offend him? I even said I would treat him to a meal, but he said he had a plane to catch. I can't force him to go."
Guan Ying glanced at him, not wanting to hurt his pride, so she chose her words: "Well, it's not about the meal. He's just being polite. No one needs a meal. The main thing is that you shouldn't have called him Manager Xu right away, even though he looks like Manager Xu."
Zheng Juyong looked confused: "What are you talking about?"
Guan Ying sighed. How could Zheng Juyong possibly understand the worldly ways and customs? He was too well protected by Uncle Zheng. How could he have seen the various masters of the steel industry? She didn't know where to begin to talk to him. Forget it, forget it.
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