Chapter 13: Slander

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Qian Lingyu basically took Ye Zhuo for a tour around the shop. The entire shop was not very huge; it was only a total of nine square meters, inclusive of the back kitchen. There were over 20 tables set up in the shop.

Qian Lingyu explained, “Our operation here is not considered especially busy now, but there will be a constant flow of customers when our shop opens. Little Ye, you’re going to be doing some complicated work here, so don’t you be complaining that you’re tired.”

“Mmhmm.” Ye Zhuo nodded.

Next, Qian Lingyu took Ye Zhuo to meet a middle-aged woman. “Sister Liu, this is Ye Shu’s daughter, Little Ye. She will be taking Ye Shu’s place to work here for a month from today onward. Please brief her on the important matters.”

Sister Liu had her hair dyed blonde and had a dazzling gold ring on her ring finger along with a thick gold bracelet on her wrist. She said in astonishment upon seeing Ye Zhuo, “Yikes! I didn’t expect Ye Shu to have such a beautiful daughter!”

Even though Ye Shu worked in the barbecue shop for more than two years, she was quiet and seldom chatted to others on usual days. Hence, no one in the shop knew about her personal matters.

Upon saying that, Qian Lingyu turned her head to look toward Ye Zhuo. “Little Ye, you can ask Auntie Liu if you have any further questions about the job from now on.”

“Alright.” Ye Zhuo nodded.

Qian Lingyu spoke a little more, and then she turned around and walked into the shop. She made her way to the bar and had some water while she said to her son, “Oh, Boyang! You have to study well and continue to work hard on your studies so that you can strive to get into a first-tier university next year! Strive hard to bring credit to your mom! Don’t be like the young girl earlier; she’s out working at such a young age… What a good-for-nothing!”

Qian Lingyu’s son was named Li Boyang. He was the only son in the family, so he was rather spoiled.

He was 18 years old this year and would be entering junior year after the summer break. Junior year was the turning point of one’s life, and it was also the most important year in one’s school life.

“Alright, mom.” Li Boyang nodded. “I will.” He performed really well academically, so it would not be an issue for him to get into a first-tier university. He would only need to study a little harder, and he would get into an ivy league university without any difficulty.

“My son is really awesome!” Qian Lingyu was delighted. “Take a rest if you’re tired of doing your homework. There’s watermelon in the fridge; let me bring you some.”

“Sure.”

Qian Lingyu loved her son very much. When she cut the watermelon for him, she would even meticulously remove the watermelon’s seeds.

The sky grew darker and darker on the outside, and customers began arriving at the barbecue shop in succession.

Ye Zhuo was not melodramatic. She cleaned the tables and swept the floor when she had to. She was dextrous and agile when she worked to the point where no one could pick out a single flaw.

Sister Liu nudged Qian Lingyu’s arm with her elbow. “Look at Little Ye; she’s rather capable, isn’t she! I really couldn’t tell at first!”

Ye Zhuo was so pretty that Sister Liu was still under the assumption that she could not do much. She did not expect that the young maiden would be so good at her job and that there was no fault to pick with her.

Qian Lingyu replied without paying much attention, “The children from poor families grow up faster! When I was her age, I was doing everything that I could get my hands on. We even had to herd cows at the time!”

“How can we compare the past with the present? Tell me which family’s young maiden now is not pampered?” Sister Liu asked.

Qian Lingyu nodded. “You’re right. However, what’s the point of being good at doing work but being uncultured? She is so pretty, yet she dropped out of school at such a young age to enter the workforce; what kind of success will she achieve in the future?”

Even though Ye Zhuo took Ye Shu’s place at work, in Qian Lingyu’s perception, a beautiful girl’s mind was only clouded with thoughts of love and relationships. How would she still have the time or effort to study?

Especially when the girl was as beautiful as Ye Zhuo, she figured that Ye Zhuo must have dated at least a few boys! She was even certain that Ye Zhuo was no longer a virgin!

“As the saying goes, ‘a woman’s destiny is decided by luck’. It’s fine that she is uncultured, as long as she marries a good husband in the future.” Sister Liu added, “Little Ye is so pretty, so she will certainly marry into a good family in the future and be the wife of a rich man!”

Sister Liu was born in the 1960s, so she kept to her old ideologies and thought that a girl need not worry about having a good life as long as she had a pretty face. After all, they lived in a materialistic era that prioritized one’s appearance.

“Sister Liu, do you think that the wealthy people of today are all blind!? The wealthy people are not only marrying women who are beautiful but also women who have good educational backgrounds!” At this point, Qiang Lingyu took a glance at Ye Zhuo over there, lowered her voice, and said, “Moreover, Little Ye is so pretty. I bet the boyfriends that she had dated could form a queue as long as a few streets. I’m certain that she is no longer a virgin, so which rich man will marry a deflowered girl?”

The rich people were not fools! They would refuse to marry girls like Ye Zhuo. Even Qian Lingyu would refuse to let her son marry an uncultured wife like her.

Sister Liu furrowed her brows. “You can’t just make blind conjectures like this! I can see that the child, Little Ye, is not that kind of person.”

What was the most important thing for a girl? It was her reputation, of course!

Qian Lingyu replied, “There are some people who act one way in public and another in private. There’s utterly no way you can tell that something is wrong! Will a thief write the word ‘thief’ on his face? It’s a no for sure!”

Upon saying that, Qian Lingyu added, “I’m only telling you this now, but it’s inappropriate for me to talk about this when I’m with other people.”

Ye Zhuo was truly stunning! She was so beautiful that it made Qian Lingyu feel that she was not a person who knew her place. She even felt a fit of ineffable jealousy toward Ye Zhuo. They were all women, so why was Ye Zhuo so pretty?

When jealousy could not be declared openly, it turns into slander. The slander was done almost subconsciously.

“Fortunately, God was fair. God gave Ye Zhuo a beautiful outer shell, yet He did not give her good intelligence or a good educational background.”

Sister Liu found Qian Lingyu’s remark to be a little inappropriate. “You shouldn’t say that. What if Little Ye is still in school!? Aren’t there many children who take summer jobs these days?”

“No, that’s impossible.” Qian Lingyu said determinedly, “Look at her, and you can tell that she’s not good in school. Moreover, why would she work so hard if she is only filling in for Ye Shu for a month? It’s very obvious that she is trying to work here on a long-term basis!”

In Qian Lingyu’s perception, Ye Zhuo was so serious at her job so that she could flatter Qian Lingyu. She wanted to become a full-time staff member and work here on a long-term basis.

Sister Liu gazed at Ye Zhuo’s busy silhouette. “I think that isn’t the case… Lingyu, you must be overthinking, right?”

“What do you mean by overthinking? This is the reality! Sister Liu, if you don’t believe me, let’s see the result in a month.” Qian Lingyu was very confident.

Ye Zhuo, who was still bustling about, had no idea that Qian Lingyu had already criticized her from head to toe.

Ye Zhuo was a hard worker, and she did not rest at all over the entire night. Therefore, Sister Liu served her a glass of iced coke. “Here, Little Ye. Have a sip of the drink and take a rest.”

“Thanks, Auntie Liu.” Ye Zhuo received the glass with both her hands.

Noticing that, admiration tainted Sister Liu’s gaze. One could tell a lot about a person’s upbringing and attainment by observing the small details! She could tell that Ye Zhuo was brought up well just from the way Ye Zhuo received the drink.

When a senior handed something to a junior, the junior would certainly need to receive it with both hands in order to show respect to the senior.

Ye Zhuo had received the drink with both her hands earlier. Moreover, she had just finished work after midnight and still remembered her manners.

Before she left, Sister Liu reminded her, “Little Ye, you’re a young woman. Be careful on your way home.”

“Thanks, Auntie Liu. I will.”

Ye Zhuo had just walked out of the barbecue shop when she saw Ye Sen standing across the street waving at her. “My niece, over here!”