pdf-ebookys Chapter 219 A General Arrives
Chapter 219 A General Arrives
"Enough!" Father Li suddenly stood up. "Third son, don't go too far!"
"I'm being unreasonable?" Auntie San raised her voice. "Who am I doing this for? Don't you even think about it? What future can your daughter have with that country bumpkin? All the educated youth are hoping to return to the city, and you, seeing a good marriage opportunity that could bring her back, actually..."
"Third Aunt!" Li Xiaoyun suddenly spoke, her voice unusually stern. "This is my boyfriend, Li Xiangyang. If you speak like that again, don't come to my house again."
Li Xiangyang stood up and said in a deep voice, "Third Aunt, right? Although I'm from the countryside, I have skills and can earn money. I will definitely make sure Xiaoyun has a good life. Besides, the old head of the security department has only retired; who gets promoted isn't just something you can say offhand..."
"Pah!" Third Aunt's face turned pale with anger. "It's just hunting! Why are you acting so high and mighty? Even if they don't go hunting, they're still a hundred times better than you..."
As soon as her aunt finished speaking, Li Xiaoyun couldn't hold back any longer. "Auntie, I'm only being lenient with you because you're my elder. If you don't want it, I don't care. It's just the head of security at the machinery factory; Xiangyang is a technical consultant, and he charges ten yuan for each visit!"
"Xiaoyun, if you're going to talk big, at least come up with a plausible reason, right?"
Upon hearing this, Auntie San was so angry she laughed.
She naturally didn't believe it, and thought that Li Xiaoyun was just trying to save face.
"Xiaoyun, tell me, a country bumpkin who can't read a few words, who doesn't even know which way the factory gate faces, what does he ask when people hire him as a technical consultant? How to fertilize crops?"
"Third Aunt!" Li Xiaoyun's face flushed with anger. "How dare you speak to Xiangyang like that?"
"Why should I? Because I've lived in Chuncheng for over forty years," Auntie sneered. "Besides, if he were truly a technical consultant, wouldn't Factory Director Zhang Guohua have personally invited him?"
Li Xiangyang took a deep breath, a flash of anger in his eyes: "Since Auntie doesn't believe me, then I'll prove it to you. Let's go find Director Zhang!"
"Fine, I'll go!" Auntie slapped her thigh. "If you can really prove you're a technical consultant, I'll apologize to you on the spot!"
"Third son, you're deliberately looking for trouble!" Father Li finally couldn't hold back any longer. "Today is their first time visiting, and you..."
“Dad,” Li Xiaoyun interrupted her father, “it would be good to let Third Aunt go and see her, so she won’t keep talking about Xiangyang like that.”
"Then I'll go too!" Mother Li wiped her hands and walked over. "I want to see who's lying!"
Li Xiangyang nodded: "Okay, let's go now!"
The group walked straight out of the house.
"Let's see how long you can keep this up. Once we get to the factory, let's see what you're like... Hey, where are you going?"
"I'm telling you, are you just leading everyone on a pointless tour? You're afraid to go to the machine factory, so you're looking for an excuse to slip away."
My aunt chattered incessantly the whole way.
Li Xiangyang continued walking forward unhurriedly, simply ignoring this kind of person.
Seeing that Li Xiangyang ignored her, Third Aunt became even more emboldened: "If you don't know which way the machinery factory gate faces, I'll kindly point you in the right direction. If you're too scared to go, I think we shouldn't waste any more time and should hurry back."
Mr. and Mrs. Li walked at the very back, and seeing their aunt's persistent nagging, they began to feel uneasy.
It wasn't that I doubted Li Xiangyang, but I was worried that if something unpleasant happened on this trip, it would be difficult to handle.
As Li Xiangyang led everyone through a maze of turns to a residential compound, the gatekeeper didn't even stop them, but instead greeted them with a smile. Aunt San had a bad feeling.
Even after they reached the second floor, Li Xiangyang remained indifferent to her and knocked on the door.
Not long after, footsteps came from inside the door, followed by a middle-aged man's voice: "Who is it?"
"Director Zhang, it's me, Li Xiangyang."
"Oh, it's Consultant Li!" The door opened, and Zhang Guohua poked his head out. Seeing Li Xiangyang, he immediately beamed. "Something wrong so late?"
"Director Zhang, I'm so sorry to bother you so late," Li Xiangyang said apologetically. "There are some things at home that I'd like to ask for your help with."
"Don't be so polite, come in, come in!" Zhang Guohua warmly opened the door completely. "I was just about to talk to you about the low-temperature component's adaptability. Your suggestion last time, after discussion by the technical department, seems very reasonable!"
Third Aunt stood there, mouth agape, unable to speak.
Mr. and Mrs. Li exchanged a glance, and a relieved smile appeared on their faces.
“Director Zhang,” Li Xiangyang stepped aside to make way, “These are Xiaoyun’s parents and her third aunt. This is their first visit, and they wanted to bring them to pay their respects to you.”
"Oh, please come in!" Zhang Guohua quickly greeted everyone.
Seeing her aunt's stunned expression, Li Xiaoyun couldn't help but raise the corners of her mouth.
Zhang Guohua ushered everyone into the house and warmly poured tea for them.
Although he was the head of a factory, he was very tactful in his dealings with people and could tell at a glance that he had come to resolve family matters today.
"Come, come, have a seat," Zhang Guohua said with a smile. "Consultant Li, let me tell you, we just finished testing the plan you proposed last time, and the results were excellent!"
"Director Zhang, you flatter me," Li Xiangyang said modestly. "My suggestion is nothing."
“This isn’t just polite talk,” Zhang Guohua said seriously. “The issue you mentioned about the strain on mechanical parts materials in minus forty degrees Celsius is something most people wouldn’t think of. If you hadn’t reminded us, our equipment wouldn’t be freeze-resistant, and there would have been a major problem.”
My third aunt sat to the side, her expression incredibly interesting.
"Oh, right," Li Xiangyang said, as if suddenly remembering something, "I heard that your factory's former head of security recently retired?"
Zhang Guohua paused for a moment, then said, "Yes, that's true. He retired last month and is currently looking for a replacement. Does Consultant Li have a suitable candidate to recommend?"
"No, no," Li Xiangyang waved his hand, "I just heard that someone is making a false claim that they're guaranteed to become the head of security, and I'm worried about damaging our factory's reputation."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Guohua's face immediately darkened: "Is that so? Consultant Li, you'd better explain this to me clearly."
Auntie sat there, her face turning pale and then flushed, wishing she could disappear into the ground.
She then realized that Li Xiangyang was not only a technical consultant, but also a general who had helped her.
"It's nothing serious," Li Xiangyang glanced at his third aunt. "Perhaps someone misheard the news."
Although Zhang Guohua didn't understand the intricacies of her words, he could roughly guess what she meant from her aunt's expression.
He smiled and changed the subject: "Come, come, let's not talk about that now, try some of our tea. Consultant Li, when do you have time to come visit the factory...?"