A Close Call

Be careful.

He Chunlian said, "If your careless nature could be cured, it would be worth it even if it were broken."

Gu Jinshui chuckled to himself, while Gu Yinxing it both amusing and infuriating.

The Yan Family were honest people. Not long after the two families got engaged, Yan Ren came to see Gu Yinxing. He was inevitably teased by others when he came.

"Oh, the Gu Family's son-in-law is here." Elder Guo puffed on his pipe, smiling broadly, a kind smile on his dark face.

Yan Ren greeted them Yan Ren and generously, "Hello, sir and madam, I'm here to see Yin Xing."

"Alright, go quickly, Yin Xing is at home."

Widow An was picking vegetables, while constantly glancing at Yan Ren.

The more she looked at Gu Yinxing, the more she realized how skilled she was at choosing a partner.

After Yan Ren went to the backyard, she sat under the Chinese Pagoda Tree and said to the people, "Did you see that? Yin Xing's boyfriend is so open-minded and generous, and not arrogant at all. I really don't know how this girl found such a good man."

It's said that elders have Yan Ren eyes. Although Yan Ren didn't talk much when he came to the Compound, everyone knew he was a really good person.

Elder Guo said, "That's right, this young man even offered us cigarettes. He knows how to handle things. He's already a team leader at such a young age; he'll be something special in a few years."

As he spoke, an envious look appeared on Elder Guo's face. "If I had a son like that, I could die in peace."

"Grandpa, your son isn't bad either; he has a stable job now," Widow An said with a smile. "Speaking of which, Song Mei's boyfriend is just outrageous. He never even looks at anyone when he comes back, acting all high and mighty. Last time I asked him if the department store had any cheap soap, and he just glanced at me and walked away without saying a word."

Widow An was still indignant when she mentioned this matter.

Everyone immediately agreed upon hearing this.

"Oh, so he treats you the same way? He treats us the same way too. I saw him on the street earlier and greeted him, but he acted like he didn't see me. Ugh, what a jerk."

Zhao Donglai's arrogance had clearly offended the elderly residents of the Compound Courtyard.

When Song Mei arrived with the things, she heard people gossiping.

She was so angry her face turned red. Elder Guo looked up and saw her, paused, and looked a little embarrassed. He quietly nudged his wife next to him. Auntie Guo was still talking to someone about her wedding day, and she was unhappy about being nudged like that. When she looked up, she was speechless. "Song, Song Mei, go back to your parents' home."

Song Mei kept a straight face, her lips twitched, and she turned around and went straight to the back.

Auntie Guo and the others were extremely embarrassed. They exchanged glances and whispered, "Hey, he's got a lisp too."

When Song Mei returned to the Song Family, she stood at the door and caught a glimpse of Gu Yinxing and Yan Ren chatting and laughing inside the other room.

The two were young and good-looking, especially Yan Ren, who was wearing a shirt and trousers today. His waist was very slim, and his sleeves were rolled up, revealing his strong and powerful arms with veins that bulged like mountains.

Just by looking at him, you can feel his overwhelming masculine charm.

Yan Ren of his position, Yan Ren was very sensitive to people's gazes. He noticed the gaze on his back and turned around to look.

Song Mei blushed, hurriedly lifted the curtain and went inside. With a snap, the curtain fell, and Huang Xirong, hearing the noise, came out. Seeing her return, he was startled. "Why are you back?"

"I'll come back, okay?"

For some reason, Song Mei suddenly felt wronged. Seeing an apple on the table, she casually wiped it with her sleeve and started eating.

Huang Xirong was somewhat surprised by the rebuttal, but seeing Song Mei's expression, he didn't dare to say anything.

Song Mei was munching on an apple when she heard footsteps outside. Gu Yinxing's clear, melodious voice, like that of a nightingale, came from outside. "Let's go eat braised pork after we buy some food."

"Braised pork, what made you think of eating this?" The man's voice was husky and magnetic.

Gu Yinxing laughed and said, "Tired of Western food? Try this! Okay, I'm saving you money, and you're still not happy? Let's go."

The two walked away chatting and laughing.

Although Huang Xirong didn't know what was going on, she could tell from her daughter's expression that her daughter was upset.

She walked over and said, "Don't overthink it. Yan Ren's family is so well-off; it might not be a good thing for Gu Yinxing to marry into their family."

Song Mei's lips twitched. Could anything worse than marrying a living eunuch?

Although she knew before that Zhao Donglai was no match for Yan Ren, she could tolerate it because Zhao Donglai was good to her. But who knew that Zhao Donglai was actually lacking in that area? He couldn't compare to any other man, let alone Yan Ren.

"Mom, where's Chaohua?" Song Mei suddenly remembered something and stood up to ask.

Huang Xirong said, "I just asked her to go out and buy soy sauce. What do you need her for?"

"I need to talk to her, it's none of your business." Song Mei said rudely, threw the apple core on the table, and went straight out.

Huang Xirong didn't dare to say anything.

Song Mei met Song Chaohua at the general store.

She pulled Song Chaohua aside, "Song Chaohua, I have a question for you, answer me honestly!"

Song Chaohua was startled by Song Mei's distorted expression, her palms sweating, and she quickly nodded.

Song Mei stared intently at her, "Have you ever dreamed about what would happen if Gu Yinxing married Yan Ren?"

Song Chaohua quickly shook her head.

In her past life Gu Yinxing didn't marry Yan Ren either.

"Will Yan Ren have a Yan Ren future?" Song Mei grabbed Song Chaohua's shoulders, her grip too tight, and Song Chaohua winced in pain, her eyes reddening. "Auntie, I don't know, I don't know anything."

"Stop pretending!"

Song Mei wasn't buying it at all, and shook Song Chaohua's body hard. "I heard you tell your dad that everyone will be laid off in the future, and houses will become more and more valuable, right?"

Song Chaohua's face turned pale, and she abruptly looked up at Song Mei, "You were eavesdropping?!"

Song Mei sneered, "I was eavesdropping. It's clear you were the ones who kept it from me first. You don't treat me like family at all; you don't even think about me when you have a chance to make money."

"No, no," Song Chaohua quickly denied.

But Song Mei refused to believe her and demanded, "Tell me honestly what happened to Yan Ren afterward?!"

She desperately needed an answer to find balance.

Song Chaohua thought hard. In her previous life, she got married early, and the only wealthy and powerful family she knew was the Gu Family.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have kept taking advantage of the Gu Family after her rebirth.

Wait, Yan Ren...

"He... he seems to appear on TV quite often."

Song Chaohua stammered, looking timidly at Song Mei.

"Appeared on TV?" Song Mei was stunned for a moment, then let go of her hand. Song Chaohua quickly took the opportunity to run away, looking back as she ran, afraid that Song Mei would catch up.

Who are the types of people who frequently appear on television?

Needless to say, only those leaders.

Song Mei's original intention was to make herself happy, but she didn't expect to hear such "bad news." She returned to the Zhao Family dejectedly.

Zhao's Mother had just finished cooking dinner and came out of the kitchen when she saw Song Mei returning from outside right on time. Her face immediately darkened.

Just as she was about to speak, Zhao's Father waved his hand at her and shook his head slightly. Zhao's Mother had no choice but to go into the kitchen to get rice, out of sight, out of mind.

"Xiao Mei, you're back," Zhao's Father greeted her.

Song Mei then came to her senses. She looked at Zhao's Father and hummed in response. Zhao Donglai out of the study and asked Song Mei, "Where did you go? Why didn't you say anything? We have to wait for Mom to come back before we can cook dinner."

Zhao Donglai didn't mean anything by it; Song Mei was on vacation today, so she didn't have to go to work and could just cook dinner at home and wait for people to come home.

But Song Mei was in a bad mood at the moment, and she exploded when she heard this. "What, do you think I have to cook for you to eat? Am I a maid or a servant you bought?"

Zhao Donglai was startled by her anger. After a moment, he became a little annoyed as well. "What are you saying? How many meals have you cooked in our house? My mother does all the housework. Other people's wives are so virtuous. You don't do anything and you still have such a bad temper!"

"Hey, other people's husbands are really capable!"

Song Mei stood with her hands on her hips, looking at Zhao Donglai with disdain. That look made Zhao Donglai's face turn red with anger.

"You... you..." Seeing his son so angry that the veins on his forehead were bulging, Zhao's Father quickly pulled him back and tried to smooth things over, saying, "Alright, it's all my fault. If I had known Xiao Mei was going out, I would have gone home and cooked first."

"Dad!" Zhao Donglai was furious.

He had never suffered hardship since childhood, nor had he ever been ostracized like this. Only after marrying Song Mei did he understand what it meant to have unspeakable suffering.

"Alright, alright, what's there to say about a quarrel between two young people?"

Zhao's Father quickly tried to smooth things over, lowering his voice. "The neighbors are all listening. If they hear anything, we'll be too ashamed to face anyone."

They lived in a dormitory-style apartment building built by their work unit. Although it was impressive, the downside was that they could hear everything their neighbors were doing right away.

Zhao Donglai felt as if he had been doused with a bucket of cold water; his anger vanished instantly, and he lost all his spirits.

Seeing Zhao Donglai's appearance, Song Mei felt even more miserable compared to Yan Ren. She blamed Gu Yinxing for this, thinking it was all Gu Yinxing's fault for causing trouble. Otherwise, she should have been the one marrying Yan Ren.

Aunt Yan Ren had her eye on her for a long time.

Gu Yinxing was unaware that she was sitting at home when trouble came knocking on her door.

Yan Ren took her to buy three gold items today. The gold bracelets were quite heavy, weighing 80g each. He Chunlian couldn't help but gasp, "Xiao Yan is really something else, these must cost several hundred yuan!"

"Mom, five hundred and eighty, adding it all up, it's exactly one thousand."

Gu Yinxing sounded somewhat guilty and embarrassed as she said this.

Who would spend so much on a wedding?

"A thousand?" He Chunlian's eyes widened. She looked Gu Yinxing up and down, somewhat puzzled and helpless. "Girl, you should be careful with your purchases."

"He insisted on buying it for me, Mom. Don't worry, he said it's from his savings, his own money." Gu Yinxing said with a smile, "Yan Ren said he has a five-figure sum in savings, and he'll let me spend it all after we get married."

He Chunlian was silent for a moment, then said, "Don't tell anyone what you just said, or I'm afraid all our neighbors will be envious."

The Yan Family had already given them enough, and Yan Ren had added even more out of his own pocket. If word got out, who wouldn't be jealous?

"I'm not stupid," Gu Yinxing scoffed. "I told you people would come asking me for money, why would I want to create trouble for myself?"

"That's more like it." He Chunlian was satisfied now. Her silly daughter had finally shown some intelligence. In fact, since the marriage between the Gu Family and the Yan Family was arranged, it wasn't that no one had thought of borrowing money. However, He Chunlian had spread the word that the bride price would be taken back to the Yan Family by Gu Yinxing, which silenced many people. But even so, a hundred or two hundred yuan still had to be lent out.

"Jin Shui, the pots and pans are in your hands now. When will you have any news?"

Upon seeing the three gold pieces, He Chunlian asked Gu Jinshui.

Gu Jinshui had almost forgotten about it, and he quickly said, "I'll go look for it tomorrow."

Antiques from the Daoguang Era aren't worth much right now, but it still takes some effort for others to buy them. Gu Jinshui, however, had it much easier. He went to Panjiayuan and Temple of Retribution to the Nation and spent a little over a hundred yuan to collect two sets: one set of blue and white porcelain and the other of blue glaze porcelain. Both were flawless, and the pieces were exquisite, grand, and had intricate patterns.

Although they cannot compare to the Kangxi and Qianlong, they are still excellent pieces from the official kilns. After being cleaned, even those who do not know much about antiques can tell that these two sets of porcelain are good.

However, Gu Jinshui was somewhat dissatisfied.

Perhaps because there are more Overseas Chinese and foreigners buying antiques now, it's becoming increasingly difficult to find genuine antiques and bargains.

"Brother," Douzi came running up, panting.

Gu Jinshui was somewhat surprised to see him approaching. "How did you know I was here?"

"A friend nearby told me he saw you buying antiques here, so I came to find you right away."

Douzi picked up the teacup in front of Gu Jinshui, took a sip, and exclaimed, "Good heavens, this 'starry sky' tea is so bland!"

They were at a tea stall next to Temple of Retribution to the Nation.

"What good tea could such a small tea stall possibly use?" Gu Jinshui laughed and said, "Great! What's up?"

Douzi wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "The people in that courtyard have agreed to move out and want to invite you over."

Gu Jinshui raised an eyebrow, "So..."