Chapter 336 - Chapter 336: Feeling Depressed
Chapter 336: Feeling Depressed
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Gu Shan desired to make connections with Deputy Chief He and his associates through Su Shen. Therefore, despite the anger boiling within him, he swallowed his pride and refrained from causing a scene.
He could tell that Su Shen had taken a liking to Gu Zi. If he could get Gu Zi to attend the wedding banquet, Su Shen would surely come as well, providing him with a reason to invite Deputy Chief He and his associates.
Gu Shan had initially planned to go to the village to personally invite Gu Zi and Su Shen. However, an unexpected encounter with Gu Zi made him decide to hand her the invitation on the spot, saving him the trouble of a separate trip.
He said to Gu Zi, “Your mother and sister are constantly worrying about you. Let’s not dwell on that. Just come to the wedding banquet. But I must warn you, Su Shen already has children. He is currently spoiling you because of the novelty of your marriage. You can be willful now, but once the novelty wears off, things will change. You need to learn to grow up.”
At first glance, his words seemed considerate, as if he genuinely cared for Gu Zi. But upon further thought, they left a bitter taste in her mouth.
Gu Zi realized that Gu Shan was implying she was ungrateful. However, she did not refute him. Instead, she took his words in stride and responded with a tone of complaint.
“Uncle Gu, you make a good point. I’ve noticed that Su Shen has indeed changed. He is no longer willing to give me money to spend. Look, I just paid my father’s hospital bills and bought so many things. I don’t have much money left. I think I will skip the banquet. If I buy new clothes and can’t even afford a gift, wouldn’t that be embarrassing for you?”
Mother Lin, who was listening from the side, blinked in surprise. Su S wasn’t giving her money to spend because all the household money was in Gu Zi’ s hands.
Mother Lin was a bit confused as to why Gu Zi would say such a thing, but she didn’t say anything and went back to looking for her knitting supplies, not wanting to get involved in the conversation.
Gu Shan, hearing Gu Zi’s words, felt vindicated in his belief that a man with money is prone to change his ways, and that Su Shen would eventually do the same.
While Su Shen was still doting on Gu Zi, he had to quickly leverage Su Shen’s connections to meet useful contacts. In the future, he would primarily rely on Lin Miao and Gong Zhan.
Gu Shan was surprisingly generous this time. Without much consideration, he took out two hundred yuan from his bag and handed it to Gu Zi, saying, “The gift money is a trivial matter. Here are two hundred yuan. You can use it as a gift at the banquet. It’s decent.”
Seeing Gu Shan give Gu Zi two hundred yuan, Lin Miao felt a pang of distress.
They had spent quite a bit of money recently preparing for the banquet, even dipping into Lin Miao’s private stash. She had been hoping to recoup some of the expenses with the gift money, but now they were giving it away?
Lin Miao felt suffocated, and Zhang Mei also felt a pang of pain, but there was nothing they could do. They couldn’t catch a wolf without spending some money on bait. The gift money was fine, as they could recoup it later.
However, after accepting the two hundred yuan, Gu Zi hesitated, saying, “Oh, it seems I still can’t come. The day of your banquet is a Saturday. My eldest and second child don’t have school that day. If we go out, who will cook for the children? My mother needs to take care of my father, and Lin Cheng and the others have to work. If we hire someone to look after them for the day, we’ll have to pay, right?”
Gu Shan found it hard to smile, saying, “In the countryside, neighbors help each other out. It doesn’t require money, does it?”
Gu Zi replied with a hint of embarrassment, “I’m not as good as Lin Miao at managing relationships in the village. I can’t get along with the neighbors, so I have to use money to get things done. Never mind, I won’t come.”
As she spoke, she tried to return the money to Gu Shan. Gu Shan quickly took out another ten yuan from his bag and handed it to Gu Zi, saying, “This should be enough, right?”
Gu Zits eyes flickered, but she didn’t take it. “It’s not good to always ask for favors without giving anything in return. I can’t even buy some snacks for their children. And to think that Su Shen is a factory owner, yet so stingy in showing gratitude. Let’s not trouble others this time.”
Gu Shan was so frustrated that he wanted to kowtow to this young woman. He quickly took out another ten yuan and gave it to Gu Zi, saying, “Twenty yuan, enough to take care of them for a day. It’s decent enough.”
Seeing this, Zhang Mei quickly said, “If it’s not enough, ask Su Shen for more. He’s not broke. You have to ask him for money. If you don’t use his money, he’ll give it to other women.”
She couldn’t give any more; she would die of heartache.
Hearing Zhang Mei’s words, Gu Shan glanced at her. He remembered how she used to always find excuses to ask him for money when they were young. So this was her strategy!
After living together for so many years, this was the first time he realized how cunning Zhang Mei could be. It left him feeling uneasy, and he involuntarily tensed his jaw..