novelinnhs Chapter 25 No Comparison, No Harm
Chapter 25 No Comparison, No Harm
Lu Ran took out a red envelope from his pocket. The envelope was from Cheng Ning's bag, and he borrowed it temporarily.
He had already taken the money out of the red envelope and put another stack of money back in.
Lu Ran handed the red envelope to Zhang Changlian.
"It's our first meeting, and I didn't have time to prepare a gift. Please accept this red envelope as a token of my appreciation, Aunt Zhang!"
In fact, Lu Ran had already returned when Zhang Changlian had just entered Cheng Ning's house, and secretly took Cheng Ning to hide outside and listen to her conversation with Cheng Ning's mother.
From the conversation, it was clear that this woman was essentially a central figure in the village's interpersonal relationships.
Almost all matchmakers possess this quality.
You may not like such a person, but it's best not to let her hold a grudge against you, otherwise you'll have a hard time in the village, and soon all sorts of rumors about your family will spread throughout the village.
He doesn't really care. He can listen to other people's gossip as much as he wants, just for fun. Let them talk if they want.
Cheng Ning mostly lives in the city, so it doesn't really matter.
But Cheng Ning's mother couldn't do that; she not only lived in the village, but she also lived alone at home.
Unless Auntie is willing to go to the city with Cheng Ning, she must maintain good relations with people in the village, especially with someone like the old lady in front of her.
Lu Ran could tell just now that the aunt's explicit words had left the older woman with some resentment.
Lu Ran was pleased to hear this, but his aunt was clearly saying it on purpose to prevent him from misunderstanding.
But he couldn't just let his aunt offend people because of him.
That's why I chased after them.
"Ah... young man, what are you doing? This is too kind of you. I... I can't accept it."
Seeing the bulging red envelope in Lu Ran's hand, which was so full it couldn't be closed, filled with red bills, it must have been worth at least several thousand yuan.
Despite being extremely envious of such a generous offer, Zhang Changlian still politely declined.
Lu Ran placed the red envelope in the old lady's hand.
He then smiled and said, "When Cheng Ning and I are not around, I hope Aunt Zhang will take good care of Aunt Wu."
"If anyone asks you to act as a matchmaker in the future, please try your best to help them. Every year when I come back, I will prepare a gift for you, Aunt Zhang, to express my gratitude."
"I hope Aunt Zhang won't refuse."
Lu Ran had already made his intentions quite clear, and he believed that such a shrewd person would definitely understand.
"Aha, ahahaha..."
"Alright, alright, he's a filial young man. In that case, I'll accept him."
"Don't worry, from now on, I guarantee that no one will bully Wu Meizi anymore, and I will let the villagers know that her daughter has found an amazing boyfriend, so that those who are eyeing Xiao Ning will give up."
Lu Ran nodded in satisfaction.
"Thank you very much, Aunt Zhang. Goodbye, Aunt Zhang."
"Okay, goodbye."
Zhang Changlian happily stuffed the large red envelope into her pocket and turned to leave with a smug look on her face.
Lu Ran let out a long breath, then turned around and went back into the house.
Zhang Changlian didn't take out the large red envelope that Lu Ran had given her until she got home.
After sitting down, he licked his fingers and happily started counting.
A few minutes later.
"My God, over seven thousand dollars! That's incredibly generous!"
The fact that Lu Ran brought out so much money, in both whole and small amounts, shows that he had taken out all the cash he had on him, demonstrating his sincerity.
Thinking back to the people who used to ask her for help, she would either treat them to a meal or reluctantly give them a few hundred or a thousand yuan. Compared to that, it's like heaven and earth.
"Aunt Zhang, Aunt Zhang, are you home?"
Upon hearing this sound, Zhang Changlian quickly put the money away and hid it.
Only then did he get up and open the door.
The newcomer was a sleazy young man with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, wearing dirty slippers and disheveled clothes; he looked like a petty thug.
Zhang Changlian's expression changed slightly, and then she said, "Xiao Shuai, I know why you came to see me. Don't count on that girl from the Cheng family. Find someone else. I'll help you find a match then."
Upon hearing this, Li Shuai immediately retorted, displeased, "Aunt Zhang, what do you mean by this?"
"My dad gave you a thousand dollars, and you took the money but didn't do anything? Don't you have any sense of honor?"
Compared to Lu Ran's gentle and refined attitude, Zhang Changlian instantly felt that the person in front of her was terrible and had no manners at all.
He frowned and said, "It was your dad who begged me for help so politely. The red envelope was just a token gesture; do you really think I'm short of that thousand yuan?"
"Besides, go out and ask around, see how much real matchmakers charge. I'm helping you based on our connections. Don't you know any manners?"
Li Shuai smiled sarcastically.
"Tch, if you think the money is too little, just say so. My family isn't short of money. If you do things properly for me, I'll give you a good reward."
"You think one thousand is too little, how about ten thousand?"
"If it's not worth 20,000 or 30,000, she's just a blind woman. It's her good fortune that I've taken a liking to her. How could I refuse?"
"Even if I didn't admit you were deliberately inflating prices, you really think I'm an idiot, don't you?"
Zhang Changlian's face instantly darkened.
It's true that she likes money, as is normal for everyone, but liking money doesn't mean she's willing to be subservient and humiliated by others for it.
Her politeness towards others stems from courtesy, not from any sense of inferiority.
So what if the Li family is rich? My mother's brother is the village chief, and my mother's brother-in-law is the secretary to the county party secretary. Who in the village doesn't respect them?
Do you really think I built my reputation on just my words?
Li Shuai, that brainless idiot, completely failed to realize that money is utterly insignificant compared to certain other things.
Zhang Changlian pointed outside with a dark face and said, "I don't care about your family's affairs. Now get out of here. You're not welcome in my house."
Li Shuai sneered, "Heh, don't think you're so great just because the village chief is your brother. If you won't help, I'll go to his door myself and talk to him."
"Huff... Huff..."
Zhang Changlian was so angry she could hardly breathe.
She couldn't understand how someone as shrewd as Old Li could raise such an idiot son.
···
At Cheng Ning's home.
Cheng Ning asked Lu Ran, who had returned, "What did you say to Aunt Zhang after you?"
Lu Ran smiled and said, "It's nothing, just a few polite words to get to know each other."
Cheng Ning had a look on her face that said, "Do you think I'm an idiot?"
Lu Ran then said helplessly, "Alright, I'll go out and deliver the red envelopes. After all, we're from the same village, we see each other all the time, so we need to maintain good relations."
Wu Meimei understood that Lu Ran did it for her sake.
She was becoming more and more satisfied with Lu Ran.
"Xiao Lu, how much money did you put in the red envelope? I'll make it up to you."
"Sister Zhang is actually a nice person, she just likes to meddle in other people's business too much, but you can't be the one to bear the cost of these social interactions."
Lu Ran shook his head: "No need, it's just a few hundred yuan."
"Several hundred? The exact number?"
"Auntie, really, there's no need. Just think of it as me wanting to get along better with Aunt Zhang. After all, I... don't really want anyone else to come and ask you to arrange marriages for me."
Cheng Ning's cheeks flushed, and she lowered her head, not daring to respond.
He thought to himself, "How can this person be so shameless?"
"Cheng Ning, is Cheng Ning home?"
A discordant voice broke the family's peace. Hearing the vulgar voice, Lu Ran frowned.