Chapter 158 - Installing the Telephone (3)
10,000 yuan? Asking for a 20 something girl to come up with 10,000 yuan in 1992? How could her parents even make such a request?
Shu Yan had seen Yingying’s lunch before. She just a.s.sumed that her family was poor. She hadn’t expected that it was the result of an extreme case of valuing males over females.
“Your parents were the ones who gave birth to you and raised you, not your little brother. You just need to do your part in being familial when your parents aged. There’s no need to support your little brother now. Don’t be silly. They don’t have your best interest in mind so you must have your best interest in mind. Your life belongs to you.” Shu Yan patted Yingying on her shoulder. “Do your parents know how much you make?”
Yingying shook her head. “I’ve told them about my base salary and subsidy. I did not mention my commission.”
“Then don’t mention it. When you go home today, let them know that the subsidy has been cancelled and meals will be provided on site. Get your own meals over here from now on. All you ever ate was steamed buns and vegetables. Look how skinny you are. I won’t keep you any longer if you lose more weight.” Shu Yan tried to intimidate her on purpose. “And don’t mention the commission either. Save them up for yourself. You will have your opportunity to be familial later on but not like this.”
Yingying has already had some thought already. She wouldn’t otherwise have kept the commission bit from her family. She just needed that final push.
“Boss Lady, can I keep my money with you? My mother worries that I will run away and hides my ID card.” Yingying smiled bitterly. “I can’t even open a bank account. I can’t keep the money at home either. It’ll be even worse if my mom ever finds them.”
“Sure. Then you keep a record on your end and I will keep one on my end as well. Just let me know when you need it. If you don’t need it, then just save them. It will be your dowry when you get married.” Shu Yan teased her.
Yingying smiled shyly. “It’s too early for that. I was chatting with Xiuxiu-jie a few days ago. She said that one should still be financially independent even after one gets married and not ask the husband for money if at all possible.”
“That’s a good way of thinking. Having your own money is always the best. So save as much as you can, this will become your bargaining chips later on.” Shu Yan heard the bell rang by the door and looked up. It was Zhang Huaxiu coming back after lunch with a bundle of flowers in her hand.
“Wow, the flowers are pretty!” There were stars in Yingying’s eyes from envy when she saw the big bundle of flowers in Zhang Huaxiu’s hand. “And here you said Chen Fei was shy. Doesn’t look like it.”
Zhang Huaxiu gave her a stare then said, with a bit of shyness, “I plan to tell my parents. If they are okay with it, we will start making plans before the end of the year.”
“That’s wonderful.” Shu Yan was happy for Zhang Huaxiu genuinely.
That night, when Zhang Huaxiu returned home, her parents were already in bed. She went and knocked on their door.
Wu Xiuyue came out of the kitchen and asked, “You wanted to talk to Mom and Dad?”
“I have an announcement to make,” said Zhang Huaxiu with a smile.
Father Zhang, Mother Zhang, Zhang Huafeng, and Wu Xiuyue sat in front of Zhang Huaxiu looking at her with their four pairs of eyes.
“Wait, come again. What do you have now?” asked Mother Zhang, surprised.
“I have a boyfriend. His name is Chen Fei and he’s an architect. He was the one who designed the shop that I work at currently. He’s a very nice person and I’d like to introduce him to you.” Zhang Huaxiu repeated herself and waited for her parents’ response.
“What do you mean introduce him to us. We don’t even know where he’s from, what’s his family like, how much he makes a month. We don’t even know his age.” As much as they had been rushing her to find someone, now that she had found someone, her parents now worried about a whole different set of problems.
“He’s from Province Chuan. He’s 29 years old this year; one year older than me. That’s a suitable age for me. He’s 175 cm tall and I am 165. We are a good match there as well. You will like his look. He also graduated from a polytechnic just like me. His mother pa.s.sed away when he was a child and his father had remarried. He has an okay relationship with his father and hasn’t been back home in years. He said he will settle down in City Nan and can buy a place nearby. He has been looking at apartments at Nanfu Mansion and will buy as soon as you okay it. As for his monthly income. He is the top architect at his company and also a minority owner. He probably makes a decent amount.” Zhang Huaxiu told them everything that she knew.
If he indeed was willing to settle down in City Nan and to buy a place at Nanfu Mansion, then it wouldn’t matter where he was from. They only worried that he was just lying and couldn’t really afford a place at Nanfu Mansion.
“This is too sudden. Give your mom and I some time to process this.” Father Zhang was relatively calmer comparing to Mother Zhang.
“Yes, yes. We will need to think this over.”