Chapter 64: The Pitiful Female Supporting Character from a Patriarchal Family in the 2000s (11)

Ye Zhou acted as soon as he decided. Ai Xiaoling noticed he was even busier than before.

Sometimes he was nowhere to be seen at night.

Mother Ye even asked Ai Xiaoling, “Is there something off with Ye Zhou lately?”

“Huh?” Ai Xiaoling played dumb.

“Something’s off. He asked me to pay him his wages in advance. He must be in urgent need of money.” Mother Ye shook her head and asked Ai Xiaoling again, “Did you notice anything?”

Ai Xiaoling said, “No.”

Ye Zhou hadn’t said a word to her lately.

“Could he have been tricked again?” Mother Ye looked very worried and muttered.

“What did you say?” Ai Xiaoling didn’t catch it.

To save her son’s reputation, Mother Ye hurriedly left with the ledger. “Nothing. I’m just checking this month’s accounts.”

This embarrassing matter couldn’t be told. Ye Zhou was already so reserved. If word got out that such a grown man had been scammed, people might say he wasn’t right in the head, and then no girl would want to marry him, right?

Ai Xiaoling didn’t suspect much. While she was busy with her own tasks, she also paid attention to what Ye Zhou was doing.

A few days later, Zhang Bin came to the store, wanting to invite Ai Xiaoling to dinner and a movie.

A single man inviting a single woman to dinner and a movie—the meaning was already very clear.

Just a few days ago, Zhang Bin had introduced a friend to pick up goods from the store. The follow-up delivery wasn’t done yet. Ai Xiaoling had just been thinking whether they should invite him to a meal, when she saw Ye Zhou returning, staring at her with a blank expression.

Ai Xiaoling immediately pledged loyalty and refused without hesitation. “I’ve been really busy lately.”

“Not even free in the evening?” Zhang Bin was still trying.

“Even busier in the evening.”

“All right then.”

……

After Zhang Bin left, Ai Xiaoling walked out from behind the counter, eyes smiling as she came to Ye Zhou’s side. “You’re back?”

Ye Zhou asked, “What did he come looking for you for again?”

“Oh, didn’t he introduce a business deal to our store? He said we should have a meal together,” Ai Xiaoling said and quickly added, “I refused. Once we receive the payment, I’ll ask Aunt Ye to give him a referral bonus. We don’t necessarily need to eat together. It would be bad if there was a misunderstanding.”

Business, after all, was about mutual benefit.

Besides, she couldn’t let Ye Zhou think she was someone who only cared about love and romance, someone who thought about dating every day.

She was focused and dedicated to her career, fighting for her career!

“Mm.” Ye Zhou nodded and handed her the watermelon juice he was holding.

“Thank you, little boss,” Ai Xiaoling followed behind him and asked, “Little boss, have you found a startup project? Are you starting your business now?”

Mother Ye had said that Ye Zhou asked for his wages to be paid in full, and he had been so busy lately.

What kind of business was it?

Why hadn’t he told her yet? It was driving her crazy!

“Just some small ventures. I’ve taken on a few little projects,” Ye Zhou said.

Ai Xiaoling’s eyes lit up immediately. “What kind of projects?”

“Rural revitalization.”

Ai Xiaoling hadn’t heard of it. “What does that involve?”

“Township roads.”

In short, it meant paving roads for the countryside, infrastructure projects.

“No,” Ai Xiaoling was confused, “you’re starting a business doing this?”

“What’s wrong with that?” Ye Zhou had been running around outside during this time, getting familiar with various industries, shamelessly contacting every useful person he could.

Only then did he find this opportunity.

A classmate from junior high lacked both funds and someone to manage the business, so he invited Ye Zhou to join.

Ye Zhou had investigated and found it feasible, although it required some upfront investment. At this time, township infrastructure projects were in high demand, and the country was also heavily investing. Small projects did not require too much capital.

“Then what about me?” Ai Xiaoling felt like even the watermelon juice was no longer sweet. Her eyes dimmed and her face fell, “What can I do for you?”

She could not possibly go to the construction site to shovel sand or carry cement, right?

No, Ye Zhou’s entrepreneurial project should be related to building materials.

Ai Xiaoling remembered that it was about supplying materials and hardware to major real estate projects. She felt she was already working in this field. In the future, she could be a salesperson and help him manage the warehouse. Surely, the bonuses would be substantial.

“These formal projects all require someone to handle design, budgeting, and contracts—” Ye Zhou cleared his throat, “You can start as a document controller.”

“But—what’s a document controller?” Ai Xiaoling frowned and could not help asking, “Is this entrepreneurial path really viable?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Ye Zhou would not allow her to question the idea of following him, so he spent an entire afternoon telling Ai Xiaoling everything he had gathered, analyzing it all with her in detail.

Do not underestimate the role of a document controller. It was also an essential part of the project.

Moreover, these projects were not complicated. A document controller could easily take on part-time work. Ai Xiaoling could do it as a side job.

Actually, what Ye Zhou really wanted Ai Xiaoling to become was a cost estimator.

Currently, the engineering field needed cost estimators to oversee the process. There were very few in the market, and they earned high salaries with great prospects.

Ye Zhou planned to enter this industry. If he wanted to start a company, he would need several cost estimators. But hiring all of them was out of the question. That would be uncontrollable. He wanted Ai Xiaoling to get certified in this field. However, her education level was not enough, so she needed to first earn a correspondence degree.

“You could also quit your job. I can find a company for you to study and train to become a cost estimator.” Ye Zhou proposed another solution and then added, “You’ll be paid during the training, but you would need to go out of province. I’ll also pay for your tuition and help you improve your education.”

Their town was small, so development in this area was still lacking.

Ye Zhou was not thinking too far ahead. He was just trying to find a reliable path for her because someone else had successfully taken it. Self-study was enough, and that person had already started their own business.

Ai Xiaoling was smart and had a good memory. He wanted her to give it a try too. There was no need for her to be as capable as someone starting a company.

As long as she passed the exams and got a job, her salary would be ten times higher than it was now.

“I’ll think about it.” Ai Xiaoling was still unwilling to give up. “Is this the only entrepreneurial path? Our shop already sells building materials. Is there any startup opportunity in that area?”

“Not for now.” Ye Zhou shook his head.

“Alright.” Ai Xiaoling gave up. She comforted herself that it might still be early. Ye Zhou had not yet encountered the right opportunity.

Two paths lay before her. One was to continue waiting, waiting for Ye Zhou to find the opportunity and walk the same path as before. The second was to accept his arrangement and give this new direction a try.

It was never a loss to learn more skills. Ai Xiaoling decided to give it a go.

She completely trusted Ye Zhou and was ready to follow him and enjoy success together. Since he said that the cost estimator certificate was highly valuable, it definitely was.

Ai Xiaoling still wanted to work while studying. Ye Zhou immediately moved his room’s computer downstairs for her and bought her a set of books to help her study hard and start learning the basics.

Ye Zhou even found the document controller working on their current project and asked him to teach Ai Xiaoling.

She really learned fast and was diligent.

After just ten days to half a month of exposure, she had already grasped the majority of it.

Ye Zhou immediately gave her some documents to handle and even found her a part-time job. The goal was to let her enjoy the benefits and feel motivated.

Ai Xiaoling became extremely busy, and then she received her first part-time salary. Although it was less than two hundred yuan, it ignited a greater passion in her. She then took on several more jobs.

In just two months, Ai Xiaoling’s part-time income actually exceeded her salary at the shop.

Part of it was because Ye Zhou deliberately gave her more money. In any case, Ai Xiaoling was beyond excited and studied even harder. She had looked into it and found that cost estimators really did earn a lot. They could even start their own companies in the future.

Of course, Ye Zhou got even busier.

He was busy seeking clients, taking on projects, and no longer even delivered goods for the shop and asked Mother Ye to hire someone else.

“I’ll pay you more!” Mother Ye said.

“I’m busy.”

“What are you so busy with?” Mother Ye asked.

“Starting a business!” Ye Zhou replied.

Upon hearing this, Mother Ye’s eyes widened. “Starting a business?!”

Ayalee: Hey everyone! If you’re enjoying this novel, it would mean the world to me if you could head over to Novel Updates and give it a nice rating! Your support keeps me super motivated. Pretty please with a cherry on top? ʕ•☉ᴥ☉•ʔǝʇnɔ