Chapter 215 - 213: Inheritance

Chapter 215: Chapter 213: Inheritance

Yang Hui was clearly used to this. In her family, her father had always dominated every affair, big or small, including her marriage.

So when she dated, she was completely focused on enjoying what her partner provided. It wasn’t like a normal relationship where one would evaluate a man’s character and family background.

After all, her father was always the safety net for her marriage prospects.

But now that her safety net was gone, maintaining that same attitude was just completely misguided.

"Miss Yang, you may not know this, but in a normal relationship, when you have such an obvious grievance, the worst thing you can do is keep it bottled up."

"You should be asking your boyfriend why his parents’ attitude has changed."

"You just lost the most important person in your life. You’re in an incredibly vulnerable position right now. You’re allowed to be suspicious, sensitive, or even act unreasonably. If your boyfriend is a decent guy, he’ll be able to tolerate it."

"But if he turns around and blames you for it, then it’s the perfect chance to see his true colors."

"That’s right," Mrs. Yang, who had been listening, said with sudden understanding. "You’re about to get engaged to Xiaotang. You should make things clear with him."

"It’s not like a daughter of the Yang Family is desperate! What kind of attitude is that from his parents!"

"Please don’t add fuel to the fire," Zhang Zhe couldn’t help but interrupt. "This is something the two of them should communicate about first."

"To be honest, his parents’ attitude actually shows that they aren’t very scheming. If they were truly cunning, they would’ve hidden it until after the wedding."

"They wouldn’t drop the act this early."

"So I’m inclined to believe that the boyfriend might not even know about his parents’ attitude. Isn’t he supposed to be managing a furniture store? A person only has so much energy."

"Matchmaker, I understand what you mean," Mrs. Yang, eager to get her point across, chimed in immediately. "But they aren’t even married yet, and his parents are already acting like this."

"If she marries into that family, can you imagine how bad it will be?"

"This is exactly what I was talking about. You two need to change your mindset."

"Your family’s assets are A8.7. With his financial standing, he’s barely qualified to marry into your family. Once you’re married, there’s absolutely no need to live with his parents."

"You can just buy a house near your own family’s home."

"What about the assets? What if his family constantly leeches off of us?" Mrs. Yang had clearly thought about many of the potential problems with this marriage.

"How can they leech off your fixed assets? The properties are in your names. It’s not like he’d have the nerve to ask for a house as part of the dowry, would he?"

"But what about the shares in the furniture store?"

"That... is something you’ll have to work on yourself, Miss Yang." Zhang Zhe couldn’t help but sigh.

’If this goes on,’ he thought, ’I’ll feel like I’m playing the role of Yang Hui’s father—the Gu Family version, no less. Her own dad never taught her these things, so now I have to.’

But for Old Bai’s sake, he decided to say a little more.

"Miss Yang, right now, you have two options."

"The first option: after you get engaged, you start learning to participate in the management of the furniture store. Slowly, you take control of the company’s finances."

"You’d be turning your boyfriend, or future husband, into a professional manager for your family’s business."

"That’s a bit more reliable than hiring a professional manager from the outside. At least you’re less likely to be schemed against."

"And the second option?" Yang Hui, who clearly had zero confidence in herself, immediately asked about option two.

"The second option is to first find a law firm or an accounting firm. Have them help you plan the most appropriate way to handle the company’s shares."

"Prepare your exit strategy first."

"Then, in the time before the wedding, focus on evaluating your boyfriend’s character. Pay close attention to his reaction when you reveal that you want to manage your family’s shares."

"That should basically prepare you for any possible scenario."

Zhang Zhe let out a long sigh in his heart. ’If Yang Hui still manages to get all her money swindled by the guy after all this,’ he thought, ’then all I can do is look to the heavens and sigh...’

’My schemes have failed; it must be the will of Heaven.’

However, he had still overestimated this mother-daughter duo.

First, Yang Hui posed a direct question:

"Matchmaker, I understand everything you’ve said. But what if my boyfriend is a really good actor and I can’t see through his disguise at all? What do I do then?"

"Didn’t I just tell you to find a lawyer to help you plan out your assets?"

"But what if he tricks me?" Yang Hui said, a little embarrassed. "I’m not as smart as he is. He might be able to sweet-talk me into just giving him the money."

"I get it. You’re the type who’d help him count the money after he’s sold you, is that right?"

"Yes, yes, exactly! That’s what I mean."

"That’s fine, then," Zhang Zhe said with a slight smile. "When a person’s intelligence doesn’t match their wealth, that wealth will find a way to drain away until it reaches a level that does match."

"In other words, your father earned your family’s money. If the two of you don’t have the ability to manage it, you’re destined to just burn through the fortune anyway."

"Okay," Yang Hui nodded, looking a bit dejected.

Her expression showed she wasn’t incapable of thinking; she had just been so well-protected that she’d grown too lazy to do it.

"It’s alright, Huihui. Don’t you worry, I’ll help you vet him too," Mrs. Yang said, patting her daughter’s shoulder with a face full of encouragement.

She was providing plenty of emotional support.

Seeing this touching display of mother-daughter affection, Zhang Zhe remained silent, not wanting to disturb them.

After a while, Mrs. Yang finally spoke up.

"Matchmaker, actually, before coming here, I also consulted two of your peers."

"Their advice was completely different from what you gave us."

"Oh? Is that so?" Zhang Zhe feigned surprise, but he couldn’t care less. He’d already been paid, and the advice he’d given was sound.

"Really. Their ideas were so different from yours."

"One matchmaker suggested I find a son-in-law who has a stable government job and whose parents have both passed away. Because, you know, a government job is respectable, and such a man usually won’t try to fight for his wife’s family assets."

"Then what do you do about her current boyfriend?" Zhang Zhe asked curiously.

’The chairman of the furniture store is gone, and the manager—her boyfriend—has lost his legitimate claim to run the company. If anyone with a crooked mind decides to make a move, they’ll be facing bankruptcy in no time.’

"She didn’t mention that. But the matchmaker did suggest we just hold on to our current assets and live off the rental income. That would be enough."

"I suppose that works. It’s one of the safest methods, second only to converting all your assets into gold bars and hiding in a tunnel back in your hometown."

"Any other suggestions?"

"Yes. The other matchmaker said we should find an unambitious man to marry into the family, someone who can just ’lie flat’ with my daughter."

"That’s a pretty terrible suggestion," Zhang Zhe said, shaking his head. "I can understand the first one—some people romanticize government jobs. But if you find a man to marry into the family, how can you guarantee he won’t have ulterior motives?"

"We can vet him."

"Then why not start by vetting Yang Hui’s current boyfriend?" Zhang Zhe spread his hands in exasperation.

"Let’s be honest. With your family’s financial situation, if word got out that you’re looking for a man to marry in, the ones with impure intentions could custom-build the exact persona you’re looking for."

"He’d be guaranteed to be perfect, so perfect you couldn’t find a single flaw."

"The question is, would you dare accept a son-in-law like that? Would you dare marry a man like that?"

"..."

Mrs. Yang and her daughter exchanged a look, then shook their heads in unison.

They had been genuinely angered by the attitude of Yang Hui’s boyfriend’s parents, so much so that they were thinking of calling things off before the engagement. But after listening to Zhang Zhe’s analysis, they began to hesitate.

Because this boyfriend, from an ordinary background, might just be the last "inheritance" Father Yang had left them.