Chapter 58 Beauty Is in the Eye of the Beholder

Chapter 58: Beauty Is in the Eye of...

Lu Yun went to find Matchmaker Zhao, who thought she was about to get some juicy gossip about the Zhou family. When she learned that Lu Yun just wanted help investigating the landlord, she didn't refuse. Lu Yun gave her a red envelope, and Matchmaker Zhao was all smiles.

Matchmaker Zhao: "Don't you worry. I'll find out what that family does, whether they're reliable, and whether the shop is worth renting! Renting a shop is different from renting a house. If the landlord of a shop isn't trustworthy, it'll affect your business down the line."

Matchmaker Zhao had the sense not to ask what Lu Yun planned to do with the shop. She was getting paid either way, and she knew what mattered more—gossip or cash. Even if she was curious about Lu Yun's plans, she could just check it out once the shop opened.

On Monday, Lu Yun saw Chen Qiao in the office. The two of them couldn't slack off today, but that was fine—they still had something to look forward to all morning. The factory cafeteria was serving braised pork belly for lunch.

Lu Yun hadn't had braised pork belly in ages. Back when goods were scarce, she used to love it. Later, when goods became plentiful and ration tickets were a thing of the past, their family earned more money, and Lu Yun's father was a good cook—but oddly enough, they ended up eating it less.

Their cafeteria's braised pork belly was especially delicious. Even though it was made with pork belly, it was fragrant without being greasy. Even the fat was delicious.

As soon as work ended, Lu Yun and Chen Qiao headed to the cafeteria. They got their food and sat down to eat.

Sister Lü was strutting around all proud, and people were congratulating her. Lu Yun and Chen Qiao had no idea what was going on, but they didn't need to ask—someone in the cafeteria started talking about how Sister Lü had finally caught a break. She'd been promoted!

Lu Yun: "She earned it."

Chen Qiao laughed so hard she almost choked on her food. Indeed, Sister Lü's promotion was well deserved.

Lu Yun and Chen Qiao were heading back to the office when they saw Sister Lü looking around warily. Chen Qiao didn't hesitate—she pulled Lu Yun along to eavesdrop.

Doing bad things takes real talent. Take Sun Zhi and Aunt Han, for example—whenever they were scheming, they looked guilty. But look at Aunt Jiang from their courtyard—she did bad things bold as brass. Sister Lü was clearly more like Sun Zhi and Aunt Han.

Aunt Jiang was a real tough cookie. A force to be reckoned with!

Sister Lü met with the Deputy Factory Director, who said, "You've been promoted, but have you thought about this? If Sun Chun marries into the Zhou family and Zhou Jun helps the factory land orders, what's gonna happen then? Zhou Jun and Sun Chun will definitely try to get revenge, right? How much did those two eat dirt because of you last time?"

Sister Lü: "Do you think I'm dumb? You think I don't know? I'll be straight with you—I'm not sweating it. The Zhou family came to me. Even if they let Zhou Jun marry Sun Chun, my job's safe!"

Well, well, well—there was more to this story. Lu Yun and Chen Qiao listened for a while longer, then quietly slipped back to the office.

Chen Qiao didn't understand either. "Why does Zhou Jun like Sun Chun so much? I just don't get this whole love thing!"

How to put it? Chen Qiao really couldn't see what was so great about Sun Chun. But maybe in Zhou Jun's eyes, she was perfect in every way. As they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Chen Qiao: "Right, beauty is in the eye of the beholder!"

In the afternoon, Lu Yun and Chen Qiao were busy with work. Sister Lü made a point to stop by their office and shoot the breeze for a bit before leaving.

Sister He: "I think she wants to grab a bullhorn and announce to the whole factory that she got promoted!"

Sister He had just been to another office, and sure enough, Sister Lü had swung by there too.

Sister He wasn't jealous. Why would she be? Sister Lü got a promotion and a slightly higher salary, but Sister He's earnings were way higher than that. If Sister Lü knew, she'd probably be the one coming over to be jealous. Sister He looked at Lu Yun with a look that was a bit too sweet for comfort.

Sister He then remembered her own troubles. Her daughter-in-law's family wanted more bride price because they'd found out how much money Sister He's family made. Sister He wanted to go home and punch her old man—if he hadn't gotten drunk and run his mouth, how would the in-laws have found out? They hadn't even told their son to breathe a word to his wife!

Sister He knew exactly what kind of people her daughter-in-law's family was. She'd never been satisfied with this daughter-in-law—it was her son who was head over heels!

Zhou Yanze arrived early to wait for Lu Yun to get off work. Today he wore an overcoat, looking tall and sharp. Even though Lu Yun was used to his face, she still loved seeing him every time. If anything, she seemed to love him more and more. Was it because Zhou Yanze was getting better looking, or was she just seeing him through rose-colored glasses?

Zhou Yanze: "What is it?"

She couldn't be the only one with rose-colored glasses. Was Lu Cheng also seeing someone through them?

Lu Yun: "Do you think I'm pretty?"

Zhou Yanze's face turned red, but his tone was sincere. "Yeah, you're pretty."

Lu Yun wanted to ask whether she was naturally pretty or if it was just rose-colored glasses, but her expression got even weirder because the question itself was weird.

Lu Yun: "Let's head back."

Back at the courtyard, Lu Yun ran into Sun Zhi. This time he wasn't punching the wall—he was repairing it. She really had to fight not to laugh. Lu Yun sped up to walk past him, but Sun Zhi reached out and punched the wall, sending a few bricks crashing down.

Sun Zhi: "Do you think I'm a joke?!"

Lu Yun: "I was just walking by!"

Sun Zhi: "I heard you laugh!"

Could Sun Zhi please stop being such a clown? Lu Yun was genuinely afraid she'd bust out laughing!

Sun Zhi: "Has your cousin tied the knot with Jiang Xiangqian yet?"

Lu Yun: "I dunno. Why you asking?"

Why? Because Sun Zhi hated Chen Qiao, of course. If it weren't for her, none of this would've happened. If it weren't for her, he wouldn't be here fixing this wall!

Sun Zhi punched the wall again. "Why do you have a cousin like that?! Don't forgive her. She ain't worth it. You better never forgive her, got it?!"

Lu Yun took a deep breath and hightailed it back inside.

That evening, Lu Yun was shocked to see braised pork belly at home. She'd just had it for lunch!

Lu's father: "I realized it's been a while since I made braised pork belly. Come try it—it's got the perfect mix of fat and lean. I even topped it with dried osmanthus!"

It looked and smelled amazing. Lu Yun completely forgot she'd just eaten braised pork belly at lunch!

Braised pork belly with rice—a perfect match, just like tomatoes and eggs with rice, or soy milk with fried dough sticks!

Matchmaker Zhao worked fast, since Lu Yun had given her a red envelope. She waited outside the garment factory for Lu Yun and immediately told her what she'd found out about the landlord.

Matchmaker Zhao: "There are four of them—the husband and wife, plus two sons. Neither son is married. One stays home all day without a job, and the other works at a condiment factory. The two brothers don't get along and fight often. Their family has a decent reputation, especially the landlord's wife—she's known for being virtuous, capable, gentle, and generous and big-hearted!"

Lu Yun: "Anyone who manages to build that kind of rep is usually not a simple person."

Matchmaker Zhao slapped her thigh. "Exactly! That's what I thought too. I've been a matchmaker for years—I know all about how reputations work!"

Lu Yun: "What about the landlord, though?"

Matchmaker Zhao: "He's usually pretty loyal to his friends, just a bit stingy. I couldn't find out much about him. Most of the family's affairs are handled by his wife. If you want to rent their shop, that's fine—at least on the surface, they won't pull anything too shady."

Lu Yun figured the same.

Matchmaker Zhao: "And with both sons still single, the family will definitely be extra careful about their reputation."

Lu Yun: "Thank you."

Matchmaker Zhao was excited too. She never thought that after all these years of matchmaking, she could make money doing this kind of side gig. She said, "If you need anything else, just hit me up! I know a ton of people after all these years!"

After all, she was a matchmaker—many couples had been introduced by her and gotten married. People were willing to do her a favor when she came asking around. It wasn't like she was some random person setting people up on blind dates!

Lu Yun went home and thought about it all night. She decided to rent the shop after all. The location was right, and the landlord was decent enough. She didn't know yet whether she'd need to keep renting it long-term—she'd have to see how business went after opening.

The next day, Lu Yun went to the shop. The landlord saw her and immediately asked eagerly, "I've been thinking—I can knock the rent down a bit more. What do you think? I'll be straight with you—it's not that we can't rent this place out. It's just that it's year-end, and not many folks are looking to rent shops. We don't want the place sitting empty."

It would be one thing if they just didn't want the shop sitting empty, but if it stays closed, they make no money and still have to be there watching over it—whereas if they rent it out, not only do they avoid those costs, they also earn rent.

The landlord genuinely offered a fair price, and Lu Yun decided on the spot to rent the shop. There weren't many shops available nearby, mainly because it was the end of the year—after all, if a shop is making money, nobody wants to rent it out, and the year-end is a prime time for profits.

Lu Yun was a bit curious about why the landlord's family breakfast shop wasn't making money.

She spent the whole morning handling the shop rental. Once the shop was rented, she went to find a renovation crew. Not many were willing to work at this time of year, but some local ones were still available.

By noon, Lu Yun returned to the garment factory, and Chen Qiao had already eaten at the cafeteria and come back. Lu Yun didn't want to make do with that, so she headed out to grab a bowl of noodles nearby, and Chen Qiao tagged along.

Chen Qiao: "Spicy minced pork noodles—I've heard these are really good!"

Lu Yun had a bowl of spicy minced pork noodles—so numbing and spicy that she broke out in a sweat.

Chen Qiao asked, "What were you up to this morning?"

Lu Yun didn't hide it. "I rented a shop."

Chen Qiao: "Rented a shop? Are you going to open a business?"

Chen Qiao knew that some people who started with a stall eventually opened their own shops. Those people were going into business for themselves, unlike Lu Yun, who still had a job. If Lu Yun was going to open a shop, she definitely couldn't keep taking leave to set up her stall like now—was she planning to quit?

Chen Qiao, for now, couldn't bring herself to decide to resign. There was still a sense of security in having a stable job. Even when Chen Qiao sometimes made more in a few days than her salary, she never considered quitting.

Author's note:

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