Chapter 12: The Homeless Female Supporting Character 12

Pan Juan returned to the room deep in thought. Zhang Dagui had already turned off the television, preparing to go to sleep.

Seeing her like this, he asked, "What's wrong?"

"I was asking you why you were down there for so long. Did something happen?"

Pan Juan stammered for a moment before reporting everything that had happened, from Zhang Yi’s phone call to what Zhang Yu had said, word for word.

Zhang Dagui hadn't expected such a situation. Regarding Zhang Yi calling Zhang Yu by her first name, he said, "Xiao Yi is in the wrong here. No matter how useless his aunt might be, how can he just call her by her name?"

"I mentioned it back then—Xiao Yi and the others look down on Xiao Yu, and you should have disciplined them a bit. Well, look at it now. See? Xiao Yu has finally snapped."

Thinking of this, Zhang Dagui suddenly recalled a possibility. "Do you think the reason she agreed to her boss's suggestion and decided to work out of town is because of this?"

Zhang Dagui had been wondering why Zhang Yu would suddenly decide to work in another city, and now, he felt he knew the reason.

"Snapped or not, she doesn't even have a house." Pan Juan actually looked down on Zhang Yu as well, believing she couldn't afford to buy one.

"If she goes out of town, don't you think her salary will increase? Did you ask her what her salary would be like over there?" Even though Zhang Dagui hadn't worked out of town himself, he knew that the income wouldn't be low; otherwise, why would anyone go?

"And if she goes out of town, wouldn't there be subsidies?"

"I can tell you, maybe if she stays there for a few years, the subsidies alone would be enough for a down payment on a house."

Thinking of this, Zhang Dagui suddenly exclaimed that it was bad. "I have a feeling that girl is planning to buy a house."

Don't look at how he hadn't cared when he mentioned her income would be high earlier; once he heard that it might be enough for a down payment, he was stunned.

Pan Juan was also shocked. "The subsidies are that high?"

"I'm not certain, but they must be substantial. Otherwise, do you think that girl would have the confidence to say she doesn't want any of the family's assets?"

"But, but..." Pan Juan still felt that with Zhang Yu's ability, it was impossible for her to buy a house.

Zhang Dagui glanced at Pan Juan. "Just wait and see. Xiao Yu, even if she can't afford a big house, she can definitely afford a small one."

"But that's fine, too. Once she buys a house, it will eventually be left to the Zhang family."

Zhang Dagui thought of his eldest grandson, Zhang Yi, and couldn't help but sigh. "That child, Xiao Yi, has been spoiled rotten by his parents."

"He doesn't understand social nuances, yet he thinks he's very capable."

"I spoke to an old friend on the phone last time, and he told me that the boy, Xiao Yi, has a bit too much 'personality'."

"Huh?" It was the first time Pan Juan had heard someone describe Zhang Yi that way, and she was truly stunned. "Personality?"

"What's wrong with him?" Anyone who has worked in a professional environment knows that "personality" is not a positive term.

Once a boss defines you that way, it basically means your career development in that workplace has hit a dead end.

"What else could it be? When his boss assigns him a task and asks if he knows how to do it, he says he does."

"The boss told him that if he didn't understand something, he should ask for guidance. Instead, he didn't ask and just did things according to his own ideas and methods."

"As a result, he made a mess of things. When the boss criticized him, he wouldn't even admit his mistake, instead claiming that someone was jealous of him and was sabotaging him behind his back."

Zhang Dagui hadn't wanted to say anything at first, wanting to give his grandson some face, but now he really couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Maybe someone really is sabotaging him?" As the eldest grandson, Zhang Yi had grown up right in front of Zhang Dagui and his wife. To the old lady, this grandson was the most precious thing in the world.

In her eyes, Zhang Yi was perfect in every way; there wasn't a single flaw.

Zhang Dagui sighed helplessly. "Yes, yes, in your eyes, your eldest grandson is perfect."

"You really are..." He wanted to say something else, but held back. Forget it, there was no point; in Pan Juan's heart and eyes, Zhang Yi could do no wrong.

Pan Juan knew that Zhang Dagui was probably going to blame her again for Zhang Yi not turning out successful.

"As if you don't spoil Xiao Yi yourself."

"Do you want me to list how you usually spoil him?" Pan Juan looked at Zhang Dagui with a smile. They were an old married couple; who didn't know the other's habits?

Zhang Dagui wasn't about to let Pan Juan list them out. "Fine, fine, it's all my fault."

"Let's not discuss who spoiled Xiao Yi right now."

"What we need to discuss is how to change Xiao Yi's attitude."

"If he keeps looking down on Xiao Yu, I can guarantee that once Xiao Yu has money, she won't even think of Xiao Yi."

"Maybe not just Xiao Yu, even Xiao Xin and the others won't think of him."

Zhang Dagui thought about it carefully and suddenly realized a serious problem: the relationship between Zhang Guohua and the others and Zhang Yu seemed quite distant.

"Old woman, have you noticed that Xiao Yu seems to have a very distant relationship with her brothers?"

"Does she?" Pan Juan hadn't expected the jittery Zhang Dagui to notice this.

"How could she not?" Zhang Dagui listed his observations one by one, hoping to get Pan Juan's agreement.

At first, Pan Juan really hadn't noticed. "When Guohua and the others are together, they either talk about work or their kids. What do you expect Xiao Yu to talk about?"

"She's been working for so many years and is still just a junior accountant. She really has nothing to talk about with Guohua and the others."

"And if you talk about kids, she's not married and doesn't have any. How is she supposed to join in?"

Pan Juan didn't think it was Guohua's problem; it was just that they had nothing in common.

"And I don't know if it's because she's getting on in years and isn't married, but sometimes I feel her temper is very strange."

"Sometimes, when Guohua and the others are talking, it's not like she can't participate, but she just has no desire to join in. She just stays quietly by herself."

"No, that's not it." Zhang Dagui felt Pan Juan's line of thinking was wrong. "Every time Guohua and the others come back, Xiao Yu is the one in the kitchen working, right?"

"What else are we supposed to do?"

"We can't be the ones doing the work."

"Besides, Guohua and the others have been working all week; they're tired, and they are guests."

Pan Juan simply didn't believe in making guests work. "Xiao Yu cooks often anyway; she's very quick at these things."

Hearing this, Zhang Dagui looked at Pan Juan helplessly. "Have you forgotten that Xiao Yu also works? Isn't she tired on weekdays?"

"That's why she said earlier that from now on, when she comes back, she's a guest, and there's no reason for her to cook."

"By the way, starting tomorrow, you'll be doing the cooking, if Jiang Yun doesn't come over."

Zhang Dagui suddenly felt a bit uneasy, not knowing if Jiang Yun would be willing to come over to cook.

If Jiang Yun wasn't willing, what would they do for food in the future?

"You need to start practicing, too. I'll give you a month. Can you make a meal that satisfies me?"

As the father-in-law, he certainly couldn't order Jiang Yun around, but that didn't matter—he still had Pan Juan.