Chapter 16: The Homeless Female Supporting Character 16

The old couple felt that Zhang Yu was only acting this way because she wasn't getting a share of the house.

They didn't believe for a second that they had been unfair to her; instead, they felt their arrangement was perfectly correct and that it was Zhang Yu who was being cold-hearted.

Pan Juan nodded incessantly. "Yes, that's exactly it."

"But it doesn't matter. Even if the second girl doesn't look after us, we still have the eldest and the others."

"They won't abandon us." Pan Juan still had confidence in Zhang Guohua and the rest.

"Of course they won't. If they weren't going to look after us, would we even give them a house?" Zhang Dagui said crossly.

"By the way, the eldest daughter-in-law is coming over to make dinner today. You should help her out a bit too."

"Don't act like you don't know how to do anything."

"Honestly, she can't even cook a single meal."

"Otherwise, if we go out to eat for lunch every day, it'll cost a lot of money."

Even if they only spent sixty yuan a day, that would be eighteen hundred a month. Once other expenses were added, it might even exceed a single person's monthly salary.

"How about we let the eldest's family move in? Since Xiao Yu has moved out, the eldest daughter-in-law could get up early to make breakfast and prepare lunch."

Pan Juan cautiously brought up the idea she had mentioned last time. Zhang Dagui thought about it and felt it was fine. "I have no problem with that. You decide."

Pan Juan naturally had no objections either. After all, although there would be three more people in the house, there would be someone to do the housework.

She had already decided that once Zhang Guohua and his family moved in, she would let Jiang Yun handle the chores.

Since Jiang Yun was doing housework at home anyway, she might as well do it here. "Xiao Yi is getting older; he'll need money for his marriage in the future."

"Once they get the house, decorating it will also require a lot of money."

"The eldest couple only earns so much; it's simply not enough to cover everything."

"If they live with us, they can save their salaries."

"That way, when Xiao Yi grows up and gets married, they won't be crying about having no money."

The more Pan Juan thought about it, the more she felt this was the best arrangement. Zhang Dagui, of course, had even fewer objections.

"Fine, you handle the arrangements. There's no need to ask me about every little thing." Zhang Dagui didn't ask for much—just good food, good drink, a good place to live, and no troublesome matters for him to deal with.

Busy at her workplace, Jiang Yun had no idea that her previous refusal to move into the Zhang house and live with the old couple would be brought up again today.

Sitting at her desk, she was filled with anxiety. What was she going to do about dinner tonight?

While her cooking was decent, it couldn't compare to Zhang Yu's.

Zhang Yu's cooking was good enough to rival a chef in a small restaurant, yet Zhang Dagui and the others were still incredibly picky. Now that it was her turn to cook, Jiang Yun didn't know what to do.

She sighed helplessly, feeling more and more frustrated. She truly didn't understand why Zhang Yu had to go work in another city.

It had left her in a state of constant franticness, not to mention the upcoming house cleaning. She had already anticipated that Zhang Yu would come back, but if she only returned on Saturdays and left on Sundays, how much work could she actually do?

And she couldn't even criticize her, because the house had nothing to do with her. Since Zhang Yu was working elsewhere, she was completely indifferent to the Zhang couple's money and felt no need to "perform" for them.

Jiang Yun sighed helplessly. Zhang Yu had simply waved goodbye and left, ignoring all the family drama, but Jiang Yun couldn't help but feel expectant.

Hearing her sighs, her colleagues all asked what was wrong and if she was facing some troubles.

Having been colleagues for so many years, they knew her well; she just laughed it off to brush the matter aside.

She knew that no matter what, no matter how much grievance or trouble there was, who else could she rely on besides herself?

Rely on Zhang Guohua or Zhang Yi? Jiang Yun knew she couldn't. They were all pampered young masters, and she wondered how Pan Juan would mock her if she saw her making Zhang Guohua and his son do chores.

Sitting at her seat, Jiang Yun remembered Zhang Yi calling Zhang Yu yesterday. The result was either a hang-up or a sarcastic remark, with Zhang Yu asking why he wasn't doing the work himself if he wanted to be filial.

Jiang Yun knew that because Zhang Yu wasn't getting married or having children, she had long ago placed the responsibility of elderly care on Zhang Yi.

Zhang Yu used to be so good to Zhang Yi, often buying him food, drinks, and supplies, but it had been a long time since she had bought him anything.

As for money, she hadn't given any for a long time either. At first, Jiang Yun hadn't cared, since Zhang Yu hadn't been buying things for Zhang Xin and the others either.

But thinking about it now, that was exactly the problem.

If she hadn't already had an idea, why wouldn't she be buying things for Zhang Yi and the others? Everyone knew that Zhang Yu had always been in a pleasing attitude toward the three children.

And now... Jiang Yun felt a slight sense of panic, but then she thought, what was she panicking about?

With Zhang Yu's unkempt appearance, what man would ever like her?

When she was young, no boys pursued her, so how could anyone pursue her now that she was nearly forty?

Even if a man did pursue her, he would likely only want to marry her to have a housekeeper.

Not only would the Zhang couple disagree, but Zhang Yu wouldn't agree either.

After all, if she had been willing to be a stepmother, she would have married long ago, wouldn't she?

To Jiang Yun, as long as Zhang Yu didn't marry, everything was fine. She was still a member of the Zhang family, and in the future, she would still rely on the Zhang family to care for her in her old age.

Among the three children, who had the best chance? Naturally, it was Zhang Yi. He was the one to carry on the Zhang family line. Zhang Xin was smart and had good grades, but so what? She would eventually marry into another family.

As for Liu Jian, Zhang Hong's son, there was no need to even mention him; just the surname "Liu" meant he was completely excluded.

She believed that as long as the Zhang couple was around, they would definitely speak up for Zhang Yi, and Zhang Yu, being such an obedient person, would follow suit.

In that case, Zhang Yu being sent away to work was actually a good thing.

If she was working away, she could earn more money. It was fine if she didn't buy things for Zhang Yi and the others; wouldn't that just mean more money could be left for Zhang Yi in the future?

Or when Zhang Yi got married, as his aunt, surely Zhang Yu wouldn't be able to avoid giving some money?

Although she didn't know how much money Zhang Yu had, she figured it was at least two hundred thousand. When Zhang Yi got married, she could let Zhang Yu pay for the betrothal gifts.

As for the house decoration, she would let the old couple invest the money.

The furniture and appliances would be arranged by the bride's side, and as for the banquet costs, Jiang Yun had already decided that they would pay for it; they couldn't expect the others to fork out the money.

After perfectly arranging all the funds needed for Zhang Yi's wedding, Jiang Yun's mood became wonderful.

Even though she would have to face the picky mouths of Zhang Dagui and the others, Jiang Yun's spirits were soaring.