Chapter 178: The One Who Loves You Will Bend Down

Chapter 178: Chapter 178: The One Who Loves You Will Bend Down

The waiter came over to take their order.

Xu Siyuan hesitated. He was afraid if he ordered too little, it wouldn’t be enough, but if he ordered too much, he wouldn’t have enough money to pay the bill.

Seeing his friend’s dilemma, Shen Yanzhi helped him out. "I hear your restaurant’s rice noodles are excellent. Let’s just get a bowl of rice noodles for everyone."

A bowl of rice noodles was one jiao. A bowl for each person would only come to a little over one yuan. If they ordered three or four other dishes, it would be about right.

Jiang Moli said, "It’s a rare treat to eat out, why would we eat rice noodles? Waiter, bring us a plate of all your house specials! No, two plates—one for each table!"

Xu Shu couldn’t take it anymore. She said angrily, "Mr. Jiang, my brother is treating us today. The least you could do is let the host decide!"

It was the lunch rush, and the restaurant was full of customers. Hearing Xu Shu’s words, they all cast strange glances their way.

’So she’s not the one paying, that’s why she doesn’t care about the cost, huh?’

’She’s got some nerve.’

『Disdain Value +5. 50,000 yuan credited.』

Jiang Wenjuan, who wasn’t nearly as thick-skinned as Jiang Moli, tried to smooth things over awkwardly. "You don’t have to spend so much. A bowl of rice noodles for everyone will be fine."

Feng Meihua agreed, "Yes, let’s just have rice noodles."

Jiang Moli said, "No way. I want to eat meat."

As soon as she said that, she drew a new round of eye-rolls and scornful looks.

’So brazen for a freeloader.’

『Disdain Value +8. 80,000 yuan credited.』

"Jiang Moli, can you please stop embarrassing my third uncle in public?"

Lu Tingting glared at Jiang Moli, then turned to the others at the table and said, "This meal is on me. Order whatever you want."

Jiang Moli gave Lu Tingting a somewhat surprised look. ’This little fool is being quite generous today,’ she thought. She stood up, raising a hand.

"A misunderstanding, a misunderstanding! Mr. Xu, you never said beforehand that you were treating. I was thinking that since our group is large and there are only two of you, I would definitely be the one to pay. But thank you for your kind intentions all the same."

Hearing Jiang Moli say this, Xu Siyuan was taken aback.

Thinking back carefully, he realized he hadn’t explicitly said that he was treating them to lunch today.

However, since he was the one who had invited Jiang Moli to eat, it was generally understood that he would be the one paying.

Xu Shu’s face flushed red, and she didn’t know what to do.

Jiang Wenjuan and Feng Meihua, however, breathed a long sigh of relief. They had lived half their lives and had never been so mortified. It was just too embarrassing.

Xu Siyuan felt very embarrassed and apologized to Jiang Moli on his sister’s behalf. "Mr. Jiang, please let me treat you. Consider it my apology. Order whatever you’d like."

’If I really go over budget, I’ll just ask my partner organization to advance me some money.’

Jiang Moli waved her hand. "Don’t argue with me. I’ll pay. My husband earns more than you all, so it’s only right that I treat."

Someone who couldn’t stand her show-off attitude muttered, "What’s she putting on airs for? So what if she has a bit of stinking money?"

Jiang Moli turned around and beamed at the person. "My man earning over ten thousand a month is actually pretty remarkable."

Ten thousand a month?!

The customers who didn’t know Jiang Moli were all completely shocked!

Although they couldn’t imagine what kind of job paid ten thousand yuan a month, the way they looked at Jiang Moli changed, as did their attitude.

The person who had mocked her suddenly sounded much more polite. "Comrade, what kind of work does your husband do?"

"He’s a soldier."

"You must be joking. How can a soldier earn ten thousand yuan a month?"

"That’s right. 0.01 of ten thousand a month."

The entire restaurant was speechless.

’She’s really full of it, calling a hundred yuan ’over ten thousand a month’!’

『Disdain Value +5. 50,000 yuan credited.』

Still, 100 yuan was more than what most people made. An average worker only earned 30 or 40 yuan a month.

Having earned enough disdain value, Jiang Moli returned to normal and ordered four of the house specials.

Even without the Xu Family Siblings, she had planned on treating everyone to a nice meal at a restaurant anyway.

’If you want the horse to run, you have to feed it more grass.’

Who knew? Maybe after this performance, other organizations would invite them to perform too.

She received a large reward every time she performed, but the others didn’t get a single cent of compensation.

Given the poor economic situation of the era, she would have otherwise insisted on giving Jiang Wenjuan and the others a service fee.

The others also ordered a dish or two each.

Shen Yanzhi ordered a dish of braised pork with preserved mustard greens.

Lu Tingting took the opportunity to strike up a conversation with Shen Yanzhi. "Teacher Shen, you like braised pork with preserved mustard greens? I..."

She was about to say that her mother made it especially well and that he should come over to her house to try it sometime.

But then she heard Shen Yanzhi reply, "It’s not for me. Shushu loves it."

Lu Tingting’s fragile heart shattered into a million pieces.

Across the table, however, Xu Shu’s cheeks turned a delicate shade of red as she beamed with joy. "Brother Yanzhi, you still remember that I like this dish?"

Shen Yanzhi chuckled. "When you were little, you’d always come over to freeload whenever my family made braised pork with preserved greens."

Xu Siyuan chimed in, "Isn’t that the truth? We could never drag her back. Mom would get so mad she’d threaten to send her to your house to be your little sister."

Shen Yanzhi smiled.

Xu Shu pouted coquettishly. "Brother, that was when we were kids."

Watching the three of them chatting and laughing so happily, Lu Tingting shot to her feet. Everyone at the table stared at her in surprise.

"I’m going to the restroom!"

She tossed out the words stiffly and walked off.

"Let’s start with these dishes. If it’s not enough, we can add more later. I’m going to the restroom too."

After saying that, Jiang Moli stood up and followed Lu Tingting toward the restroom.

Hearing footsteps behind her, Lu Tingting turned around. Seeing it was Jiang Moli, she couldn’t help but glare.

"Why are you following me?"

"I’m afraid some fool like you will get herself kidnapped. Then your family will come asking me for you, and where am I supposed to find you?"

"Don’t you dare jinx me!"

The two of them bickered as they headed to the restroom.

Jiang Moli asked her, "My dear niece, let me ask you a question."

Lu Tingting shot her a glare.

Jiang Moli waved her hand. "Never mind, I won’t ask."

Lu Tingting, left hanging by her, grew even more frustrated. "Just ask!"

"Suppose—and I’m just saying suppose—Shen Yanzhi was willing to date you, but on the condition that you had to stay with him in Menghai for the rest of your life. Would you be willing?"

"Of course I would!"

Lu Tingting’s unthinking response took Jiang Moli by surprise.

Lu Tingting said, "If I were dating him, then of course I’d be wherever he is."

"I didn’t realize you were such a ’love brain’."

"What’s a ’love brain’?"

"Simply put, it means love is everything. The only thing in your eyes is the man, and everything else is thrown to the winds."

After learning the meaning of ’love brain’, Lu Tingting was actually quite pleased.

She thought ’love brain’ was a good term, since people in this era all valued the spirit of devotion.

"You think everyone is as fickle and ungrateful as you, only caring about your own happiness? My third uncle is so good to you, yet you refuse to stay in Menghai and live a good life with him."

Jiang Moli laughed. "You know me so well. Don’t tell me you’ve fallen in love with me?"

"Stop grossing me out! If I were a man, I’d rather be single forever than have someone like you. Only my third uncle is blind in both his eyes and his heart, unable to see all your flaws."

Listening to Lu Tingting’s tirade, a passage Jiang Moli had once read came to mind:

’Many people like you because you’re pretty and beautiful, because you can say clever things, because you’re interesting and fun.’

’This kind of liking secretly contains many expectations.’

’But some people like you, and they allow you to be neither beautiful nor well-behaved, and still want to give you their shoulder to lean on and all their candy.’

’In this world, there will always be people who think you’re not good enough, and there will also be people who think everything about you is good.’

’You don’t have to stand on your tiptoes. The person who loves you will bend down for you.’