The once arrogant academic from the academy, now with strands of hair glued to his forehead by sweat, his lips cracked as if he had just emerged from a desert trek.
He was humbly begging her to let him stay in a small back room. Li Weili didn't know what to feel:
"No, in a few days, my parents will be here."
"Besides, how can a young lady like me take in a young man like you?"
"I… alas, forget it, I'll try to find another friend's place?" Gao Mingxiu dejectedly pulled his suitcase and turned to leave.
Before coming, he had already visited several friends living outside, but not a single one was willing to take him in.
He didn't want to face the girl he liked in such a disheveled state, but he truly had nowhere else to go.
He only had two hundred yuan left. He didn't dare to take a taxi anymore, so he had to walk.
He couldn't even imagine how terrible he looked right now.
"Wait."
Li Weili called out to the dejected and lost Gao Mingxiu.
No matter what kind of family background this proud person had, a child who dared to resist authoritarian parents was a good child.
Gao Mingxiu turned his head with a face full of surprise: "Lili?"
Li Weili walked out of the courtyard: "I'll take you to someone I know to stay. Just don't mind if they're a bit noisy."
"Okay, okay, okay." Gao Mingxiu nodded vigorously: "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Li Weili waved at him. It felt a little strange for her to suddenly be so polite.
She locked the courtyard gate and led Gao Mingxiu towards Ouyang Lei's place: "Where are you planning to look for a job?"
"I don't know yet." Gao Mingxiu's face was bitter:
"Some big companies definitely won't hire me. I, I'll go check out construction sites first. I need to earn some money before I can continue to defy my family."
Big companies won't hire him?
Li Weili thought for a moment and said, "Do you want to work at Jingyuan Company? I work there. I heard the accounting department is short-handed. Don't you have a minor in economics and management?"
Jingyuan Real Estate Company?
Gao Mingxiu was surprised. If he could get into Jingyuan Company, no matter how powerful his grandfather was, he wouldn't be able to reach him.
Normally, Jingyuan Real Estate Company was just an ordinary company, and people in their circle shouldn't have paid attention to it.
However, the properties launched by Jingyuan Real Estate Company were in locations that were hard to ignore.
The first batch of properties in '94 consisted of only six buildings, located outside the Third Ring Road but adjacent to a newly built subway station, making them convenient for transportation. They were sold out within two weeks of opening.
Everyone thought Jingyuan Company was lucky to have secured such an excellent plot of land.
The second batch of properties in '96 began to be sold. They were outside the then-under construction Fourth Ring Road, but still adjacent to the new subway.
Within a month of opening, all twelve buildings were sold out.
In '99, the third batch of properties was met with a buying frenzy as soon as it opened.
These twenty-four buildings were still outside the Fourth Ring Road, but a subway was under construction nearby.
It was as if Jingyuan Company knew about the subway construction in advance. Could it be that someone in their circle leaked the information? Or was Jingyuan Company an enterprise owned by someone in their circle?
Those with an interest investigated and only found a general manager who seemed like a triad leader.
After discovering this general manager possessed martial arts skills, people in their circle thought of the special forces team.
In the year 2000, Jingyuan Company's fourth batch of properties began construction.
This batch was located outside the then-under construction Fifth Ring Road.
The project was divided into two phases. Phase one consisted of forty-eight commercial buildings. Not far from these buildings, a subway was still under construction.
Phase two was a villa area of 200 mu, adjacent to phase one.
Someone in their circle, filled with envy, couldn't stand it any longer and filed a lawsuit, claiming that someone from the special forces team was using their position for personal gain.
After investigating Ouyang Lei, the authorities provided evidence proving that Jingyuan Company was very legitimate. The plots for their properties were purchased in batches from the company's inception to increase its assets.
At the same time, the company was very compliant with tax regulations.
The envious party didn't believe it and intended to investigate Jingyuan Company further, but they were suppressed by the higher authorities.
As a result, many people speculated that Jingyuan Company had very powerful backing…
"Okay, but I heard Jingyuan Company doesn't recruit externally."
"Isn't there me?" Li Weili assured him.
As they spoke, they arrived at an open courtyard gate.
Li Weili called out "Uncle Le" into the courtyard, and a middle-aged man quickly emerged from the main house.
"Uncle Le, this is my schoolmate Gao Mingxiu," Li Weili pointed to Gao Mingxiu and said to Uncle Le:
"He's had a bit of a disagreement with his family, so I've asked him to stay with you for now."
"Tomorrow, have Lin Zhicheng take him to the company's accounting department."
Uncle Le nodded.
Li Weili then said to Gao Mingxiu, "This is Uncle Le, the manager of the engineering department."
"Hello, Uncle Le." Gao Mingxiu extended his hands.
Uncle Le just looked at his hands, not moving.
Gao Mingxiu's gaze also fell on his hands.
His palm lines and the gaps between his fingers were filled with black dirt.
He quickly retracted his hands, explaining awkwardly, "Sorry, I, I walked here."
In January, when the temperature was only a few degrees, how far would one have to walk to get the hand holding a suitcase mixed with sweat and dust?
Li Weili became displeased with that Grandpa Gao. To push his own grandson to such an extent, was there any family affection left?
She patted herself, not taking out her wallet: "Uncle Le, could you lend Gao Mingxiu five hundred yuan first…"
"No, no, no." Gao Mingxiu shook his head. "I, I have money on me."
Li Weili didn't believe him: "How much?"
How much money could a rich second-generation guy have left if he was walking around with a suitcase?
Gao Mingxiu's face turned red: "Two, two hundred."
Li Weili was speechless: "Do you know that wages in any company are paid at the beginning of the next month?"
"I…" Gao Mingxiu's face turned red enough to bleed: "Thank you, Uncle Le, I, I will borrow five hundred yuan from you."
Li Weili secretly rolled her eyes. He was willing to borrow from Uncle Le but not from her.
Uncle Le took out his wallet and pulled out a thousand yuan: "Take care of yourself."
Gao Mingxiu took the money. His hands felt hot, his heart felt hot, and his face felt even hotter.
He, who had never lacked money, had to borrow from someone.
The so-called friends who usually surrounded him were not as good as Lili, who looked down on him, and Uncle Le, whom he had met for the first time.
The more his grandfather pressured him, the better he would live, proving that he could still make something of himself without the Gao family.
…
After breakfast, the Yu family of three, Li Zhengguo and his wife, plus Elder Shen and two orderlies, a total of eight people in two cars, drove towards the entrance of the compound.
Elder Shen rolled down his car window and greeted everyone he saw.
Soon, people in the compound knew they had gone out to buy a house.
No, they were going to buy a villa. The Yu family's in-laws were buying a villa as a wedding house for Ziyu.
A villa! Hundreds of thousands.
It was said that the betrothal gift was twenty thousand.
It was said that the bride price was fifty thousand.
It was said that the decoration fee was thirty thousand.
It was said that there was also a seven-seater car.
It was said that they would also provide living expenses for the child in the future.
This daughter of the Yu family was raised worth it.
I wonder if the Yu family's in-laws had any more sons?
Quickly go and check.
And it's time to discipline one's own daughter, train her to be like Ziyu.