Chapter 63: The Pitiful Female Supporting Character from a Patriarchal Family in the 2000s (10)

Early the next morning.

Zhang Bin came to the store looking for Ai Xiaoling.

“I happened to be in the area taking care of something. Want to grab breakfast together?” Zhang Bin asked inquiringly.

“Huh? I have to watch the store,” Ai Xiaoling declined politely, her tone apologetic.

Zhang Bin asked, “When do you get a day off?”

Ai Xiaoling ran her fingers through her hair a few times. “I don’t have a day off.”

Now it was Zhang Bin’s turn to be stunned. In his view, no matter how busy or tiring a job was, it should at least come with four days off a month, right? At worst, two days?

“I’m not like you, working at the Construction Bureau. You probably get weekends off, right?” Ai Xiaoling praised him while explaining with a smile. “I’m the only one watching the store. If I take a day off, who’ll look after it?”

Mother Ye was now out most of the time doing sales. Ye Zhou had to deliver goods.

She could not leave the store at all right now.

“Your job is really…” Zhang Bin said, “Next time, I’ll ask around our bureau or other departments to see if there’s a suitable job for you. At least one with weekends off.”

That kind of promise, if made to another young girl, might have been hard to resist.

Ye Zhou, who was coming down the stairs, heard it. A flicker passed through his eyes.

In a small county like this, everything operated on connections. If Zhang Bin dared say this, he definitely had some connections. Moreover, it seemed like Zhang Bin had gotten into the Construction Bureau through connections himself.

Ye Zhou glanced at Ai Xiaoling again. After Zhang Bin spoke, the smile on her face deepened, and she responded with several cheerful remarks.

Well, of course.

With a stable job, who would want to stay and guard a crowded hardware store?

The two of them chatted for a while longer. Zhang Bin said he would invite her to dinner next time.

Watching Ai Xiaoling agree, Ye Zhou’s heart sank once more.

As soon as Zhang Bin left, Ai Xiaoling immediately threw herself into her busy work. She was organizing orders and writing receipts.

Ye Zhou walked over, and she handed him several slips. “These need to be delivered by this morning.”

“Mm.”

“Huh—” When Ye Zhou reached out, Ai Xiaoling pulled the slips back with a surprised look, raising her voice. “Little boss, when did you get such a handsome and stylish haircut?”

Ye Zhou was in a somewhat bad mood, but still answered her, “Just got it cut randomly.”

“To look this good from a random cut, tsk tsk tsk—” Ai Xiaoling handed the slips over again with a smile and continued to praise, “Maybe it’s because you’re already good-looking, so the hairstyle suits you. It’s such a refreshing kind of handsome. Big heartthrob!”

Ye Zhou was a little flustered by her compliments. He lowered his eyes to avoid her gaze and cleared his throat to cover it up.

When he went out for deliveries, he often received compliments, and some bold girls even asked for his contact information.

But none of that compared to the impact of one casual compliment from Ai Xiaoling.

Just as Ye Zhou took the slips, Ai Xiaoling leaned on the counter with her elbow, smiling as she took out ten yuan. “Can you help me buy a pork knuckle rice later?”

He knew it. Her compliments had a motive. He pursed his lips and said, “You’ve eaten it so many times, not tired of it yet?”

She had eaten it every few days for a while.

There were even a few days when she ate pork knuckle rice consecutively. Still want more?

“Nope, I’m not tired of it. If something’s delicious, I just want to keep eating it,” Ai Xiaoling shook her head and smiled again. “When you buy it, remember to ask them to add more pork intestines. I want some.”

Ye Zhou took the money. “Anything else?”

“A cup of watermelon juice.” Ai Xiaoling’s eyes and brows were full of joy. To show her gratitude, she even walked out from behind the counter and stood at the door to see Ye Zhou off. She waved her hand. “Goodbye, little boss. Drive safe.”

She spoke sweetly to everyone.

But Ye Zhou still fell for it every time. “Mm.”

Watching the delivery truck drive away, Ai Xiaoling turned back to continue her work.

By noon, Ye Zhou brought back the food. Ai Xiaoling was able to eat a hot meal as soon as she got off work. She felt happy and thanked Ye Zhou multiple times.

As she took a bite of the pork knuckle rice soaked in sauce, she looked at Ye Zhou with satisfaction. “Little boss, if you didn’t help me buy lunch, how much less happy would my life be?”

“There are a few pork knuckle rice shops across from the Construction Bureau.” Ye Zhou had bought himself a portion too. While opening his lunchbox, he tried to keep his tone balanced and pretended to speak casually.

“Hmm?” Ai Xiaoling stuffed another bite into her mouth, then realized he must have overheard her and Zhang Bin. “You mean that—”

Ye Zhou saw her stop mid-sentence and looked up at her.

Ai Xiaoling appeared to be in deep thought. “I only have a junior high school education. Is that enough?”

She was seriously considering it.

“I don’t know.” Ye Zhou really didn’t. He gripped his chopsticks tightly and placed the pork intestines from his bowl into hers. He said he didn’t like eating them, so he always gave them all to her.

“Thank you, little boss.” Ai Xiaoling drank some soup and sighed. “Forget it. We’re not related. Why would he help me? There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world.”

Ye Zhou lowered his head and kept eating. “Doesn’t he like you?”

“You noticed too?” Ai Xiaoling was surprised.

Ye Zhou raised an eyebrow and gave himself an excuse. “Men understand men.”

“Oh.” Ai Xiaoling actually believed him and quietly treated Ye Zhou like a confidant. “Then do you think this ‘like’ is sincere?”

“What do you mean?”

Ai Xiaoling sighed and poked at the rice in the takeout box. “I don’t think it’s that reliable. Didn’t Li Wenjie’s mom look down on my unstable job? She even wanted Zhang Bin to introduce a girl with a stable job to him. That means their unit already has girls like that. Why would he choose me?”

Looking at her full of worries, it was obvious she had already fallen for him.

Worried she hadn’t been noticed by Zhang Bin. Worried she wouldn’t be accepted by his family.

Ye Zhou instantly lost his appetite again. Eating became tasteless.

“Little boss—” Ai Xiaoling looked up again. Those clear and bright eyes stared at Ye Zhou as she softly called him.

Ye Zhou instinctively looked at her and responded gently, “Mm?”

“When are you going to start a business again?” Ai Xiaoling seemed to really care about this question.

Given what she knew, Ye Zhou would definitely succeed in starting a business.

So, if she didn’t sabotage things or try to separate Ye Zhou from his fiancée, and instead used her abilities to help him in the early stages, took some dividends, maybe she could ride along and achieve financial freedom?

Nothing was more tempting than money.

“What?”

Seeing he looked confused, Ai Xiaoling reminded him seriously. “Didn’t you already start a business outside the province? Are you really willing to keep delivering goods like this? Don’t you plan to make a grand comeback?”

Ye Zhou’s expression stiffened. “……”

“I think you’re really capable. I truly believe you’ll achieve great things one day—”

Ai Xiaoling spoke with sincerity. Her eyes fixed on Ye Zhou, not blinking once.

Ye Zhou thought to himself that she had mastered the art of sweet-talking people with her eyes closed.

“Failing at starting a business once is no big deal. Just try again. I’m willing to follow you and work hard!” Ai Xiaoling immediately declared her loyalty. “As long as you need me, I’ll learn whatever I don’t know. I’m not afraid of hard work, not afraid of fatigue, not afraid of being wronged!”

Ye Zhou fell silent for a moment and observed her expression.

It seemed like, for once, his mom had done something right and hadn’t told Ai Xiaoling about his embarrassing story of being scammed shortly after starting a business outside the province.

Ye Zhou thought it over and asked her, “Aren’t you waiting for him to arrange a job for you at the Construction Bureau?”

“Ai, it’s just empty talk. Maybe he’s just dangling a carrot to fool me? Back in school, he was quite flirtatious. I heard he was flirting with several girls at once.” After she said that, she raised her small fist and slowly clenched it. “Besides, what’s more important than career?”

Career! She was going to chase her career!

But right now she had no money, no education, and no connections.

She was earning just over a thousand yuan at this store and was still in debt.

Her original dream was to open a hardware store, but the cost of goods was very high. When could she possibly save enough capital to open a store?

Ye Zhou laughed.

“I’m being serious. As long as you say the word, I’ll follow you wherever you go. If you want to go back to the province to start a business again, I’ll go too,” Ai Xiaoling emphasized.

“Why do you trust me so much?” Ye Zhou was rather puzzled.

Ai Xiaoling looked at him and slowly took a bite of the pork trotter rice. Her eyes were filled with anticipation. “Because—you’re the most reliable person I know. If even you can’t lead me to get rich, how can I ever become wealthy?”

Ye Zhou suddenly had a startup plan. “I really am thinking of starting a business again—”

“Really?” Ai Xiaoling’s eyes widened instantly, and her body leaned slightly toward him. “What kind of business?”

“Don’t get too excited just yet.” He pointed at the table. “Eat first. It won’t taste good once it gets cold.”

“Okay.” Ai Xiaoling sat up straight and continued eating.

The corners of her mouth kept curling up. When she looked at Ye Zhou, her gaze was full of affection and joy, and she grew more and more delighted the more she looked.

Wasn’t there every reason to be happy?

Ye Zhou was about to start a business, and she was there right from the beginning, when he didn’t have a single assistant by his side.

The moment of achieving wealth and reaching the peak of life was about to begin!

“I’ll tell you when I’ve thought it through,” Ye Zhou said seriously, trying to bluff her. “Starting a business isn’t an easy thing. In the beginning, it will be very busy. You might not have much time for romance.”

“That’s fine,” Ai Xiaoling immediately agreed. She even thought of a fitting phrase. “I believe we must first secure a livelihood before seeking love. I’m not afraid of hard work.”

Ye Zhou added, “That kind of thinking is exactly right. It’s best not to consider dating or marriage for now.”

She replied right away, “I won’t think about it. I’ll go wherever you go!”

If Ye Zhou achieved financial freedom, even if she didn’t do that well, she could still benefit from it, right?

By then, what kind of man wouldn’t she be able to find?

Ye Zhou and the others couldn’t possibly know that in the future, technology would be so advanced that even without marriage, a single woman could register a child’s household.

Making money.

Making money was the most important thing!

“You really would go with me anywhere?” Ye Zhou confirmed again. He felt like he had just eaten a candy, slightly dazed and blissfully sweet.

“Really,” Ai Xiaoling looked at him and nodded vigorously, raising her voice to promise, “Wherever you go, I’ll go. Wherever you are, I’ll be there. I won’t leave your side for even a moment. I’ll come whenever you call!”

Make money, make money!

She had to become his right-hand woman. This opportunity couldn’t be snatched away by anyone else!

Ye Zhou lowered his head to eat, his eyes curved, and his lips were full of a smile.

This business was indeed worth starting.