Chapter 44 This Is Snagging a Bargain

Chapter 44: What a Steal

Zhou Yanze and Lu Yun agreed to meet outside the alley that evening. When they met, Lu Yun saw that Zhou Yanze had driven there. She wasn't thrilled that he was rich—just curious about how he'd made his money. She'd only just hit the ten-thousand-yuan mark, and Zhou Yanze was already driving a car.

Lu Yun really wanted to sit down with Zhou Yanze and talk about making money for an entire day and night.

Lu Yun kept her head, though. The methods that worked for Zhou Yanze might not work for her, but her determination to make money only got stronger.

Zhou Yanze had come to deliver things to Lu Yun—mostly New Year's goods. There were gifts for Lu Yun, her father, her mother, and even for Lu Cheng and his wife.

Zhou Yanze: "It's not the right time to visit your home yet. I'll have to ask you to carry these back yourself."

Lu Yun: "You think carrying these back is a hardship?"

Zhou Yanze: "Mm, wouldn't it be?"

Although Lu Yun's parents hadn't met Zhou Yanze in person, they were genuinely satisfied with him—not because he'd sent such generous gifts, but because he was looking out for Lu Yun's reputation. After all, they lived in a crowded compound where there were prying eyes and wagging tongues, and since Zhou Yanze hadn't formally started a relationship with Lu Yun, it would lead to gossip.

Lu Yun's father asked, "When are you going to get together with him?"

Lu Yun: "He hasn't asked me. It's not like I can just go up and say, 'Do you want to be my boyfriend?'"

When her father heard this, he smiled. The fact that she was talking this way meant the man was basically her official boyfriend already—she was just waiting for him to make the next move. And since he'd already sent New Year gifts, he was clearly thinking about when the right time to make a move would be.

The He family also sent New Year gifts the next day—a whole lot of them.

Zhou Yanze's gifts were clothes, health supplements, and trendy items. The He family's gifts were more practical: chicken, duck, fish, meat, and fresh fruit—so much that the Lu family probably wouldn't need to buy any of it themselves. There were also several thin sweaters that Sister He had knitted with fine yarn, all at once.

Lu Yun said truthfully, "I haven't figured out what my next step is yet."

Sister He: "Even if you haven't figured it out, you're still our family's savior. It's only right that we give you these things—and it's not just about continuing our partnership next year. We bought our son a unit in a tube-shaped apartment building, and he's already found someone through a blind date. They're getting married after the New Year."

Hearing this, Lu Yun thought of Zhou Yanze. She and Zhou Yanze had also met through a blind date, though theirs might have been a bit different from others. Still, it counted as a blind date.

Sister He's son had found his match at the end of the year and would marry after the New Year, yet she and Zhou Yanze still weren't officially boyfriend and girlfriend?

Thinking about it, Lu Yun liked how things were between her and Zhou Yanze now. Rather than rushing into being boyfriend and girlfriend, then marriage and children, it felt more like Zhou Yanze was pursuing her.

This man was really something!

Sister He: "When my son gets married, you must come and have a drink at the wedding!"

Sister He went back with her husband, who was still wondering what Lu Yun really meant. Lu Yun said she hadn't figured out her next step, and Sister He's husband didn't know if he should believe it. How could she not have figured out her next step? The next step was obvious: they'd keep knitting sweaters, and Lu Yun would keep placing orders with them. It was obviously going to be profitable!

They'd already bought the tube-shaped apartment. Lu Yun could definitely afford one too—she probably made even more than them. If they kept at it, maybe they could even afford a courtyard house.

Sister He's husband: "When you're at work these next few days, try to feel Lu Yun out again."

Sister He: "Forget it. Let's just do what Lu Yun says. Even if we try to sound her out, if she doesn't want to cooperate with us, she won't. I've come to understand her a bit—if I keep dropping hints, she might think we're too calculating. Let's just go home first."

It was precisely because she understood Lu Yun that Sister He didn't try to play games. She'd tried to build a closer relationship with Lu Yun at the office, but Lu Yun never treated her any differently. Eventually, Sister He just focused on knitting and stopped trying to win her over.

Lu Yun thought about what to give Zhou Yanze as a return gift. She realized she didn't know much about his family situation. So she grabbed some things and went to see Matchmaker Zhao.

Matchmaker Zhao was busy during the New Year rush, but her eyes lit up when she saw Lu Yun. "Are you here to invite me to your wedding feast?"

Lu Yun: "No, not to invite you to a wedding—I wanted to ask you about Zhou Yanze."

Matchmaker Zhao: "I don't know much about Zhou Yanze. If you asked about Zhou Jun, I could tell you a lot. Zhou Yanze is Zhou Jun's young uncle. When I was checking up on Zhou Jun, I didn't pay much attention to his uncle. Since you've come to ask me about Zhou Yanze, you two must be hitting it off. Why not just ask him directly?"

Lu Yun: "Asking him directly is different from asking you. I just wanted to ask you first before going to him."

Matchmaker Zhao: "Alright, once things calm down in a few days, I'll help you look into it."

Lu Yun: "Thank you so much."

Both Lu Yun and Zhou Yanze had given Matchmaker Zhao money, especially Zhou Yanze. He'd left a deep impression on her—it was the first time someone had chased after her to give her money, saying that since he and Lu Yun had met through her, he should give her a separate matchmaker's fee. Zhou Jun's money was Zhou Jun's money.

Matchmaker Zhao didn't know much about Zhou Yanze, but she knew a lot about Zhou Jun. She invited Lu Yun to her home for tea and rattled off everything Zhou Jun had been up to lately.

Matchmaker Zhao: "That man's brain is full of water. He got that pure, stubborn little white flower he likes a job at your factory. Did you know?"

Wait—even Matchmaker Zhao knew about the pure, stubborn little white flower?

It took Lu Yun a moment to process this. So the pure, stubborn little white flower was the girl Zhou Jun liked. Lu Yun had speculated before but wasn't sure if she was the one Zhou Jun liked. She'd never bothered to look into it.

Matchmaker Zhao: "The Zhou family won't let her through the door. She went to the Zhou house and told the Zhou family that she's independent and strong-willed and would never cling to Zhou Jun—that Zhou Jun was the one pestering her!"

Lu Yun: "And then?"

Matchmaker Zhao: "Then Zhou Jun chased after her to apologize. I heard he even had a fight with his family. Now he's moved out of the house and into the dormitory."

Speaking of this, Matchmaker Zhao was completely speechless about Zhou Jun. His family had a two-story house with a courtyard, and he wouldn't live there. He chose to live in a dormitory, sharing a room with several people. She didn't know if he could get used to it or if he'd regret it.

Did he think living in a dormitory was no different from living at home?

After meeting with Matchmaker Zhao, Lu Yun went to the courtyard house. There was still some cleaning left to do. When she finished, she bought some things to leave there—Spring Festival couplets. She'd need to come back before the New Year to put them up.

Lu Yun saw Aunt Feng and greeted her. Aunt Feng gave Lu Yun some fruit. Lu Yun tried to decline, but Aunt Feng insisted, so Lu Yun could only thank her.

Aunt Feng: "Do you remember that girl who tried to stay overnight at your courtyard house last time? She ended up in the police station."

That was Chen Shu. Of course Lu Yun remembered—Aunt Feng was the one who'd tipped her off.

Aunt Feng: "She's been hanging around the area a lot lately. I was worried she was still up to her old tricks, so I kept an eye on her. She actually went and got a job at the nearby waste station—the recycling depot. The one just up ahead."

Lu Yun: "She got a job at the recycling depot?"

Aunt Feng: "Yeah. What do you suppose she's thinking? She's a clean, fair-skinned young woman. It's not like she couldn't find other work. Why would she take a job at a recycling depot?"

Last time Lu Yun had followed Chen Shu, she'd been hanging around near the recycling depot. Now she'd gone to work there. Lu Yun couldn't help but think about her courtyard house. Chen Shu's obsession with the courtyard house was because of the gold bars inside. Her going to the recycling depot—even working there—must also be because there was something at the depot.

Lu Yun deliberately took a longer look as she passed the recycling depot. She didn't run into Chen Shu, but she ran into the pure, stubborn little white flower from their garment factory.

The pure, stubborn little white flower had come to the recycling depot to buy a bed. Despite the name, the place had all sorts of things—lots of people came here to hunt for cheap secondhand goods.

She looked around for a while, then picked out a bed and an old dresser. With her cold, aloof demeanor, when the depot staff quoted a high price, she gave a disdainful look and left without even haggling.

Lu Yun was in awe. Sister Lü was truly a saint for putting up with her!

The depot worker chased after her. "I can give you a discount!"

The pure, stubborn little white flower said, "No integrity, just arbitrary pricing. What kind of shop are you running?"

The depot owner was baffled. He was trying to make money! If he worked this hard every day and didn't make money, why would he run a recycling depot at all?

The pure, stubborn little white flower named her price. "Thirty yuan for all of this."

The depot owner shot back, "You're so high and mighty—why do you even need a bed and a dresser? You don't need them. You have your pride!"

Lu Yun watched the whole thing go down. The scrap yard owner was furious and asked Lu Yun, "Do you want it? I'll give it to you for thirty bucks!"

Thirty bucks was practically giving it away—the owner just couldn't stand that pure, stubborn, fragile-looking girl!

Sun Chun asked, "You want it?"

Lu Yun said, "Yeah, I'll take it!"

Lu Cheng slept in a separate room from his wife, and his bed was a single bed. They could buy this one for Lu Cheng. They could send the dressing table over to Lu Cheng too, right? If he didn't need it, they could just leave it in the courtyard house. After all, thirty bucks was way too cheap!

Wasn't this a total steal?

Sun Chun pretended to be aloof, but on her way back, she couldn't help glancing back at the bed and the dressing table.

Chen Shu bought herself a few buns and came back. She kept watching the scrap yard and realized a bed and a dressing table were gone. Chen Shu was dumbfounded!

She'd waited so long for the heroine to show up, and when she went to buy buns, the heroine came and bought the bed and dressing table?

No way, right?

Author's note:

None