Xia Xiaolan waited for Kang Wei in Peng City.

In the capital, Shao Guangrong clung desperately to Kang Wei’s leg: “Good brother, help me out. If you don’t help me, how will I ever repay the money I owe you?”

Kang Wei wanted nothing more than to kick this shameless fellow away.

These days, debtors act like masters. He felt Shao Guangrong had played him – borrowing money had both pleased his future sister-in-law and renovated Shao Guangrong’s own house. While Kang Wei provided the money, Shao Guangrong reaped all the benefits, both public and private. What’s worse, now he claimed he couldn’t repay the debt and shamelessly asked Kang Wei to help him make money together. His logic was that only after making money could he repay his debts, and if the creditor didn’t continue investing, the previous loan would become a bad debt. What could Kang Wei do? He felt utterly helpless!

“Forget about repaying me. Consider that money an advance wedding gift.”

Who gives twelve thousand as a wedding gift? That’s extraordinarily generous, even for real brothers.

But Shao Guangrong disagreed, “Am I the kind of person who doesn’t repay debts? No way! I must repay this money!”

He was just making excuses to tag along.

Kang Wei finally managed to peel off this persistent leech, “Let’s talk business. In a partnership, those with money contribute funds, those with resources contribute connections, and at the very least, one can contribute effort. Which of these three can you offer? If it weren’t for Brother Cheng’s face and Sister-in-law’s consideration, why would they include me in this business? In Yang City, you can easily find dozens of business partners who can invest tens of thousands. Would they need me? Even I’m getting a favorable deal here. We can’t be too shameless and let you take advantage too, right?”

Money, resources, and effort – Shao Guangrong indeed had none of these.

If this business were in Shang City, he could have used his Uncle Shao Limin’s influence, but in Peng City, among all his relatives and friends, not one could help. Before Peng City became a Special Economic Zone, who would have wanted to go there?

As for effort, Shao Guangrong was quite content with his current job. Apart from the low salary, he couldn’t find any fault with it.

His family would never agree to him giving up his job to permanently station himself in Peng City’s small commodities market.

Shao Guangrong himself wouldn’t agree either. He envied Kang Wei’s money-making opportunity but wasn’t willing to quit his job to become a private businessman. One couldn’t have everything – there had to be give and take. Like Sister-in-law Xiaolan, who could both run a business and be a college entrance exam top scorer – who knew how she managed that? Kang Wei certainly couldn’t do both.

Probably Shao Guangrong couldn’t either.

Kang Wei’s words left Shao Guangrong embarrassed.

Seeing Shao Guangrong’s dejected state, Kang Wei felt somewhat sympathetic.

Apart from being a bit of a blabbermouth, Shao Guangrong was quite loyal. While Kang Wei couldn’t make any guarantees, earning some pocket money shouldn’t be too difficult, right? At most, he could lend Shao Guangrong more money… Wait, something seemed off about that thought.

“Fine, you can come to Peng City with me, but don’t talk about partnership. Just come and look around.”

Shao Guangrong immediately brightened up and eagerly pressed forward: “Does the Zhou family know that Sister-in-law was the provincial top scorer in the college entrance exam in Yu Nan?”

Kang Wei wasn’t sure either, “Since Brother Cheng told us, he must have told them!”

For such joyous news, what would they be waiting for if not to tell the family immediately?

However, Kang Wei didn’t understand that some things were natural to boast about to friends but required more subtlety with family elders.

When Zhou Cheng called home, if Guan Hui’e had answered, he would have said it directly. But with Zhou Guobin, the father-son dynamic was different. Zhou Cheng didn’t need to spell everything out; Zhou Guobin would naturally understand.

When Zhou Guobin heard that the college entrance exam results were out, he guessed that Xia Xiaolan must have done quite well for Zhou Cheng to be so happy.

Zhou Cheng desperately wanted to bring the girl home to gain his family’s approval.

How could a girl without a family background win over the boy’s parents? Only by being exceptionally outstanding herself! Never mind talk of being kind and generous – these character traits were intangible, could be faked, and required long-term interaction to verify. But excellence was immediately apparent to outsiders.

Moreover, the Zhou family didn’t need a daughter-in-law who had nothing to offer except “kindness and generosity.” Even adding good looks to that wasn’t enough. “Kindness” was a good quality, but only if one could manage it properly. Sometimes, a single foolish thought could drag the whole family down to hell!

These were Zhou Guobin’s requirements for a daughter-in-law. First, Zhou Cheng had to like herself – emotional connection was the foundation of a stable marriage, and Zhou Cheng needed a stable marriage. Second, Zhou Cheng’s choice couldn’t be stupid. Zhou Guobin couldn’t accept his son choosing a mere ornament… However, what Guan Hui’e worried about didn’t concern Zhou Guobin. How could Zhou Cheng fall for a girl who was just pretty?

The girl must be outstanding to have captured Zhou Cheng’s interest so completely.

But just how outstanding was she? Why was Zhou Cheng still keeping it from the family?

Zhou Guobin wanted to remind his wife, but Guan Hui’e was adamant.

“How well could she possibly do on the exam? If she were truly outstanding, why did she run away instead of meeting me last time? From what I saw, she’s nothing special!”

A person can’t choose their birth, and family background isn’t particularly important. But shouldn’t a girl at least be confident enough to face people? As soon as she heard about meeting them, she quickly took a train back home. Guan Hui’e was furious – she wasn’t a man-eating tiger, so why run away?

“Zhou Cheng said he’d bring her home after the college entrance exam. Now the results are out, why isn’t he mentioning it anymore? Our home isn’t a den of tigers and dragons – we won’t eat her! She knows in her heart that she’s not good enough for our Zhou Cheng, so she’s trying to delay. Does she think after a few years we’ll have no choice but to accept her? No way!”

Guan Hui’e fumed while Zhou Guobin poured her a glass of water:

“You’re being too harsh. This isn’t how an elder should act. I’ve seen you be much more tolerant with strangers.”

Guan Hui’e held the glass of water silently.

Of course, she could be tolerant of strangers – they had nothing to do with her.

But as Zhou Cheng’s mother, with only one son, Zhou Cheng’s protective behavior towards Xia Xiaolan made Guan Hui’e feel her importance was threatened. Every mother in the world would be picky about their daughter-in-law. All mothers think their sons are the best, and not just any girl is good enough. Even if Zhou Cheng wanted to marry beneath their status, with so many girls waiting for him to choose from, why did he have to pick one whose conditions were lacking in every aspect, challenging the family’s tolerance?

Seeing this, Zhou Guobin added:

“You’re already so prejudiced without even meeting her. No wonder Zhou Cheng doesn’t dare bring the girl home easily.”

With Guan Hui’e’s obsessive attitude and preconceived notion that Zhou Cheng’s choice wasn’t good enough, she would find fault even after meeting the girl. This would be devastating to Zhou Cheng’s first relationship!