Chapter 207: A Grand Gesture

Chapter 207: Chapter 207: A Grand Gesture

"Oh, I just came over to introduce myself and say hello. You didn’t know who I was before."

"I see. Well, we’ve met now. Brother Liu, when are you free? Why don’t you come over for dinner? I’ll cook for you myself," Lu Zhengchuan offered warmly.

"I’d love to," Liu Qi readily agreed. He had been wanting to get closer to Lu Zhengchuan, so this was one of his objectives.

They exchanged a few more words before Liu Qi had to leave. He was still on the clock, after all.

Now that he knew who was delivering their vegetables, Lu Zhengchuan didn’t need to waste any more time asking around. He took a detour to the service co-op, where a beautiful, stylish red dress immediately caught his eye.

Lu Zhengchuan was certain it would look beautiful on Wanwan.

"How much is this dress?" Lu Zhengchuan stepped forward and asked.

"It’s not expensive," the salesperson said enthusiastically. "Forty-two yuan, plus cloth coupons."

’Just as you’d expect from the Capital.’ In the Southwest, a dress like this would only cost eight yuan, but the price here was several times that.

Noticing Lu Zhengchuan’s hesitation, the salesperson quickly added, "Sir, this dress is made of genuine silk. The price is absolutely fair. Feel it for yourself if you don’t believe me."

"But silk snags easily, so if your fingers are a bit rough..." The salesperson trailed off, implying he should be careful.

Lu Zhengchuan’s hands were far from delicate, so he touched the fabric with the back of his hand. It was just as soft as she’d said.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have over forty yuan on him. He gave his entire stipend to Wanwan now, and his own personal savings weren’t enough to buy a dress like this.

Lu Zhengchuan was already trying to figure out how he could earn some extra money during his leave to buy the dress for Wanwan.

Just then, an unexpected, yet somehow expected, person appeared beside him.

"Zhou Yu."

"Hello. Please wrap up this dress. I’ll take it." Zhou Yu was decisive, pulling the money and coupons from his wallet without a moment’s hesitation.

Lu Zhengchuan’s face darkened. ’Well, that’s just great.’ His plan to earn the money and come back for the dress was ruined.

And to make matters worse, the dress was now in the hands of the infuriating Zhou Yu.

Lu Zhengchuan turned and walked out. He would just have to check the other department stores for an even better dress to bring back for Wanwan.

Zhou Yu hastily took the packaged box and hurried after Lu Zhengchuan.

"Zheng Chuan, wait up!" Zhou Yu called out.

Lu Zhengchuan didn’t break his stride. ’I know Zhou Yu has connections and can get into the military compound easily. Since I can’t avoid him, can’t I at least ignore him?’

"Zheng Chuan, this is an apology gift for Comrade Su Wan. I didn’t know what she would like, so it’s a good thing I saw you looking at this. Otherwise, I would never have been able to pick something she’d approve of."

Lu Zhengchuan stopped in his tracks and let out a cold laugh, infuriated by the provocation. "That was my taste. Whether Wanwan will like it, I have no idea. Hmm, on second thought... a color this flashy? Wanwan has never worn anything like it. She’ll definitely hate it. You’ll probably just offend her by giving her this gift."

"What a waste of your money and coupons. All that for nothing."

Zhou Yu’s lip twitched at the sarcastic remark, but he saw it as an opening. He cleared his throat. "Zheng Chuan, haven’t I told you? Old Lu isn’t short on cash, and the Lu Family has an extensive collection. A dress like this might be a month’s salary for a normal person, but to Old Lu, it’s nothing more than the cost of a single meal. He wouldn’t think twice about it."

Lu Zhengchuan sneered. "Heh, are you trying to flaunt your wealth at me?"

’That wasn’t his intention, even if it came across that way.’

"No, I just wanted to tell you that this apology isn’t just from me. It’s from Old Lu as well."

"Get lost."

Lu Zhengchuan didn’t mince words this time.

Any favorable impression he might have had of Mr. Lu was now completely gone.

’Are they trying to humiliate me, or Wanwan?’

’Do they really think we’re the kind of people who would suck up to someone for money?’

Lu Zhengchuan shoved the gift box away.

Zhou Yu nearly dropped it, but he didn’t give up and continued to follow him.

He followed him all the way to his home’s courtyard.

Just as Lu Zhengchuan reached his front door, Aunt Zhao, having heard him approach, came to open it. "Zheng Chuan! You have to come see! Someone sent you packages! They’re huge, nearly as tall as a person! Two giant bags! Xiao Liu and another man delivered them, so I went ahead and signed for them. There’s a letter here, too. They said it’s from the sender."

"The strange thing is, the letter doesn’t have a stamp, and it wasn’t sealed."

Lu Zhengchuan already had a good idea who the letter was from. He reached out and took the envelope.

He quickly opened it. Inside was a single letter, signed by Lu Tingyan.

’Just as I thought. My dear old dad.’

The contents of the letter were simple. It started by asking how they were doing, then gave a brief update on his own life, saying things abroad were peaceful and much the same as always, and that they shouldn’t worry.

It went on to say that the items he sent were all gifts for the children and Su Wan.

He hadn’t forgotten his own son, though; he’d bought him a video cassette recorder and a digital watch.

Lu Zhengchuan’s lips curved into a smile. "Looks like my friend is quite generous."

"A friend?"

"Sending so many things?" Aunt Zhao asked curiously, stepping aside to give Lu Zhengchuan a better look at the two truly enormous packages.

"Mhm, it’s fine. We’ll just accept them. Let’s open them up and see what’s inside." Lu Zhengchuan had his own little plan. He deliberately turned and called for Zhou Yu to come inside.

’So he’s proud of his money, is he? Well, with my father in the picture, Wanwan and I won’t be lacking for money either.’

Zhou Yu walked in happily, assuming Lu Zhengchuan had come to his senses. Instead, he saw Aunt Zhao opening one of the cloth bundles and pulling out two woolen overcoats.

One was black. Judging by the style and size, it was for Lu Zhengchuan.

The other was a red woolen coat for Su Wan, far more stylish and expensive than the dress from the store. It must have cost several hundred yuan, at least.

"There are woolen sweaters, woolen socks... I don’t know what material these pants are made of, but they’re so sturdy yet so soft."

"Zheng Chuan, look! This whole bag is full of summer clothes! Dresses, trousers, stylish mandarin-collar shirts, and clothes for the children too!" Aunt Zhao was hanging each item on a hanger and putting it on the clothesline in the courtyard, but she quickly ran out of hangers and had to start draping things over the chairs.

Zhou Yu watched from the side, his expression unreadable. By now, he understood perfectly. Lu Zhengchuan was showing him, in no uncertain terms, that he didn’t need his money, nor that one dress.

"Not bad," Lu Zhengchuan said. "This should be enough clothes for Wanwan and the two kids. The children’s clothes are a little big, though. Tuantuan can probably wear his, but Yuanyuan’s will be too large for her."

"Zheng Chuan, over here there are a bunch of glass tumblers! And metal mesh bags!"

"This must be chocolate, right?" Aunt Zhao asked, tentatively arranging the various items.

"And these are canned goods... *hiss*... so many cans! And they’re all canned meat and fruit."

Aunt Zhao kept gasping in amazement. "This must have cost a fortune."