Chapter 171 Guyue Company’s New Year Goods

Chapter 171: Guyue Company's Holiday Gifts

In Hejia Village, Niu Yanxia was distressed seeing He Guoxu's miserable state. "Was it the Jiang family? How vicious! I'm going to go give them a piece of my mind!"

He Guoxu looked at his reflection in the mirror, filled with resentment, but he told his mother the truth. "No, it was a stray dog from Nanhe Village."

Niu Yanxia was stunned. "Why would a dog go after you for no reason?"

"It's got a death wish!" He Guoxu winced in pain, recalling how the dog had trampled the flowers. "Probably that dog couldn't stand the smell of flowers. Once my face is better, I'm going to kill it!"

"That damn dog, daring to hurt my son! It deserves to be put in a stew!"

*

In Nanhe Village, word quickly got around that a young man showed up at Jiang Yingxue's door with flowers.

It soon reached the ears of Secretary Zhiqiang and the village chief.

Marriage is the natural course of life—they certainly wouldn't oppose such matters, nor did they have any grounds to object.

But if Jiang Yingxue were to marry, would the village's development and perks remain the same as before?

After hesitating at home for a while, Secretary Zhiqiang dialed Jiang Yingxue's number.

"Ying Xue, I heard today..."

Ten minutes later, Secretary Zhiqiang hung up the phone, feeling reassured.

See, I knew it—there hadn't been any rumors, so it couldn't be Jiang Yingxue's boyfriend.

It was probably some man trying to latch onto her now that the Jiang family had prospered. How shameless.

"We need to find out exactly which shameless family he's from!"

After making inquiries in the village and calling Wang Fang, they identified the suspect.

Someone from Hejia Village.

This person was also somewhat related to Jiang Mingzhen—he was her husband's nephew.

What a mess. Secretary Zhiqiang first filled her in on everything he'd heard.

Unsure whether Jiang Mingzhen was aware, Secretary Zhiqiang still called her to explain the situation.

Upon learning the truth, Jiang Mingzhen was furious and immediately called Niu Yanxia to give her an earful.

But Niu Yanxia was thick-skinned, feeling no shame at all. Instead, she accused Jiang Mingzhen of not sharing the wealth with family when she had good connections.

The two had a screaming match over the phone. Knowing her sister-in-law's character, Jiang Mingzhen could only warn Jiang Yingxue not to be deceived by the He family.

"Auntie, don't worry. Even my dog wouldn't fancy someone like that."

"With you saying that, I feel relieved. Don't worry about sparing my feelings—just reject him if you need to."

"Mm, don't worry. No one can force me into anything I don't want."

Over the next few days, perhaps because He Guoxu's face hadn't healed, he didn't show up in Nanhe Village. But if he dared to come, Jiang Yingxue had a hundred ways to get rid of him.

*

Wang Xiaoyou was an entry-level worker in the construction department of Guyue Company, often having to do back-breaking work at construction sites, earning his keep through hard labor.

But some relatives in his family loved to look down on others and toady up to those above them.

This year, during the holiday gathering, when the topic of work came up, his eldest aunt, Wang Meiling, was at it again.

Wang Meiling spoke proudly, "My Xiao Jie's company gave him a 3,000-yuan year-end bonus this year, along with a bag of rice and a big bottle of oil. What about your kids? How much did they get?"

Then, a flicker of disdain flashed in her eyes. Though her next words seemed directed at everyone, she kept glancing over at Wang Xiaoyou.

"If a company doesn't give year-end bonuses or holiday gifts, my advice is to quit immediately. Young people shouldn't have no drive, especially those who are married—they should choose a good job. There's a family in our village where the wife ran off because she thought her husband's job wasn't respectable."

Wang Xiaoyou said, "Auntie, why are you looking at me while saying that? My wife isn't going to run off."

Wang Meiling took a sip of tea. "You never know. With a job like yours, working yourself to the bone for little pay, no wonder your wife might take off."

Fortunately, Wang Xiaoyou's wife wasn't in the room at the time, or she would have blown her top. Hearing this, Wang Xiaoyou was also angry and fired back, "Auntie, you should worry about yourself first. My uncle..." He left the rest unsaid, letting his aunt imagine the rest. He had heard more than once about the disputes between his aunt and uncle over a widow.

Wang Meiling snapped, "You little brat, watch your mouth!"

Wang Xiaoyou's father, Wang Guoli, was also displeased with his tactless younger sister. "Meiling, as an elder, you should be more careful with your words. My son's marriage is just fine."

"That's right. Xiao Jie isn't young anymore. You should focus on finding him a suitable girl. He's already this old and still unmarried."

Wang Meiling shot back self-righteously, "Second Brother, I'm only saying this for your son's good. If it were anyone else, I wouldn't bother."

"Hmph, I know exactly what you're thinking. My son's holiday gifts this year are no worse than your son's year-end bonus!"

Wang Meiling looked up in surprise. "Your construction company gives out holiday gifts now?"

The other relatives also looked over curiously.

His son had been looked down on by relatives every year because of his job, but now Wang Guoli finally got to boast. "My son's company didn't give out much for holiday gifts—just something worth about 40,000 yuan."

"40,000?" Everyone present was astonished and asked which company it was.

"Which company did Xiaoyou join? They're so generous!"

"Brother Guoli, just tell us which company it is."

"Xiaoyou is right here. Why not ask him directly?"

Wang Meiling didn't believe Wang Xiaoyou could land such a good job. "It must be a lie."

Wang Guoli beamed with pride. "My son now works for Guyue Company. You've all heard of Guyue Company in our city, J City, right?"

His brother-in-law said, "A friend's son works there. I heard their company got all their holiday gifts from Xuehe Shop this year."

His sister's daughter added, "That's the shop on Chengyang Road. Their stuff is expensive, but it tastes amazing!"

His brother-in-law continued, "Guyue Company gave each employee holiday gifts worth 50,000 yuan this year, along with a 500-yuan cashmere sweater and a 2,000-yuan jacket. The clothes are the real deal too."

Wang Guoli said proudly, "Exactly!"

Everyone suddenly warmed up to Wang Xiaoyou.

Their eager eyes turned to him. "Xiaoyou, is your company still hiring? Do you think you could get your cousin in? He's smart, capable, and hardworking—he'll do a great job."

"That's right, Xiaoyou. Can you see if you can get your cousin Zhi in too? He has a college diploma. Do you think you could arrange a good position for him?"

He thought Wang Xiaoyou only had a high school diploma, while his son had a slightly higher education, so he surely wouldn't be worse off.

Wang Xiaoyou smiled. "Aunt, Uncle, I just work construction. You don't expect them to come move bricks with me, do you?"

"Ah, so you're still working at a construction site?"

"Yes, the company has great benefits. Everyone's holiday gifts are about the same."