Chapter 150 Benefactors of Livelihood

"Director Pei is the head of the factory, so naturally he is the highest-level leader! Why are you asking all this?"

After answering truthfully, the security guard suddenly grew tense.

He stared at Liu Mingli, his eyes full of wariness!

This man was so strange.

One moment he claimed to be here for a tour, and the next he kept asking this and that.

And obviously, he was someone who didn't even know Director Pei!

So then, what on earth had he come here to do?

Yet, facing all of his confusion, Liu Mingli had no interest in caring.

Even the moment of surprise that replaced the guard's wariness when he heard the name Wu Ya was naturally glossed over!

By this time, he had already obtained the answer he wanted.

With an expression that said "I've seen right through the two of you," he gazed at Liu Qian and Huang Silu.

"Heh, Young Master Huang, you kids really are interesting! Look, the security guard at Chensil Factory just said it too—Director Pei is their highest leader. Not a single half-word was mentioned about Wu Ya!"

His tone carried undisguised mockery.

Naïve!

How could such an obvious goad ever fool an old hand like him in the school of hard knocks?

Did they really think that with some empty posturing spoken from the lips of Young Master Huang, he would swallow it hook, line, and sinker?

And consequently, directly agree to let Liu Qian associate with Wu Ya?

Little did they expect that he would follow their logic and drive them right into a corner!

"Nannan, what's the point of you two doing this? Do you really think that by fabricating a mountain of lies, Wu Ya's background as someone from an impoverished household will just vanish? Can it change the current reality that his family has absolutely nothing? You two are truly laughable!"

Lin Yongfen's face at that moment was so gloomy water could be wrung from it.

Who knew how much water this girl had sloshing around in her brain!

How could she have been so completely bewitched by that Wu Ya that she lost her way?

She had actually thought of joining forces with Young Master Huang to put on a double act for her!

No!

It definitely had to be Wu Ya!

Only someone from that kind of humble, destined-to-be-destitute bottom layer of society could possibly come up with a joke so full of holes!

But what was most hateful was that she had dragged her own daughter down with him.

A girl who used to be so gentle and obedient had actually learned how to lie!

Utterly infuriating!

Yet the two of them failed to notice that their back-and-forth remarks had filled the security guard's face with a colorful array of shifting expressions!

The way he looked at them had shifted from initial wariness to later surprise, and finally transformed completely into the gaze one would reserve for an idiot!

"Excuse me, is the Wu Ya you're talking about only eighteen years old? The Wu Ya who lives at Number 5, Building 34, Gandong First Neighborhood?"

Huh?

Liu Mingli turned his head and glanced at the security guard.

Only then did he realize that their conversation had been eavesdropped on by a bystander!

Involuntary frost immediately coated his face.

Before he could even speak...

"We were talking, and you were eavesdropping on the side. Don't you know that's extremely impolite behavior?"

Lin Yongfen poured out all of her pent-up fury directly.

The security guard blinked.

Yet in a mere blink, his face was plastered with contempt.

Squinting sideways, he swept his gaze across the four of them, then put his hands behind his back.

"Heh, what a wondrous world we live in, truly full of marvels! Clearly penniless bums themselves, yet they dare to mock others as down-and-outers!"

Dropping that sarcastic remark, he turned on his heel and walked away.

Seeing this, Liu Qian, who had initially wanted to retaliate with a retort, exchanged a glance with Huang Silu and remained silent.

Yet both of their eyes were brimming with suppressed mirth!

To be looked down upon by a security guard—their parents must have been boiling with rage!

Sure enough.

"You!"

Watching the security guard swaggering away with a lazy, swaying gait as he got further and further away, Lin Yongfen widened her phoenix eyes in fury.

She wanted to hurl abuses right then and there, but ultimately held it in.

She couldn't possibly get into a screaming match with a security guard, could she?

Yet this breath of anger was truly suffocating!

A moment ago, she had been looked down upon by Huang Silu's mother.

Though infuriating, she could accept it.

After all, those people were both wealthy and influential, and their status was indeed something they couldn't compare to!

But now?

They were being looked down upon by a security guard yet again!

And moreover, it was such a blatant, face-to-face slap!

What had he called them?

Penniless bums!

Had she ever seen a booming, rising profiteer who was a penniless bum?

Poverty truly limited such a person's imagination!

How dare he call them penniless bums?

This was pure humiliation!

"Wait... what did that security guard say? I'm a penniless bum, yet I dared to mock others as down-and-outers? Others... those others..."

Liu Mingli, however, froze.

Instead of showing the slightest trace of indignation, the expression on his face began to undergo a series of dramatic changes.

From displeasure, to stupefaction.

And finally, it settled completely into sheer horror!

He had only mentioned two names just now!

One was Director Pei, provided by the security guard.

The other was Wu Ya, whom they were all familiar with!

As for Director Pei, they hadn't made a single comment about him.

They had only mocked Wu Ya, calling his family impoverished!

Yet when that security guard made his retorts, he had used that exact point to humiliate them!

Could it be that...

"Mister, please stay your steps!"

Thinking of this, Liu Mingli hurriedly called out to stop the guard.

The man already had one foot inside the guardhouse.

At the call, he turned back, looked him up and down, and sized him up for a few seconds.

His gaze was still filled with utter contempt.

It was the kind of expression that said, "What kind of big shot are you trying to pretend to be in front of me?"

"Something you need? Are you asking about Director Pei, or do you want to know about that Wu Ya whom you looked down upon?"

His tone was frivolous, carrying obvious mockery.

Yet at this moment, Liu Mingli could hardly care about any of that.

Rushing to pursue the matter of Wu Ya's situation was the only proper business!

Because from the guard's words just now, it was obvious that he knew Wu Ya!

Only, he had glossed right over it earlier!

Thinking back on it now, if Wu Ya wasn't here, how could a mere security guard possibly know him?

"Um... is Wu Ya... the leader second only to Director Pei in your factory?"

After a moment of deliberation, Liu Mingli began to probe once more.

After all, the concept of Wu Ya being the boss was simply too mind-boggling.

In his subconscious, even the thought of asking had been directly blocked out!

Yet who would have expected...

"Second only to? Heh, Director Pei is the head of our factory! But Boss Wu Ya is our bread and butter! You tell me, which of those leaders is bigger?"

The security guard threw back such a rhetorical question in response.

Then he raised a hand, lifted the curtain, and stepped inside.

Leaving the four people standing outside like four statues.

Liu Qian and Huang Silu were calm.

But Liu Mingli and Lin Yongfen...

"Wu Ya actually leased such a huge factory?!"

They were thoroughly and utterly dumbfounded!

Director Pei was the factory director.

That undoubtedly made him the former head of Chensil Factory!

No wonder when he first asked who was the biggest person in this factory, the security guard had answered Director Pei.

Because this security guard was an employee of Chensil Factory himself!

Naturally, in his concept, the factory director must be the biggest.

But his final sentence contained a wealth of information!

Wu Ya, who was moreover respectfully addressed as Boss Wu!

Was actually their bread and butter?

Their bread and butter!

This practically told them in no uncertain terms that this factory had indeed been leased by Wu Ya!

And precisely because of this, Chensil Factory had managed to recover from its halted production state.

The workers had once again secured a stable income.

To them, who had once despaired, what else could this be if not their bread and butter?

"Dad, Mom, do you believe it now?"

Liu Qian, who had been holding back a bellyful of stifled anger, finally spoke up.

Her parents' snobbery made her heart wrench with sorrow at that moment.

If reality hadn't forbidden it, she really would have wanted to just pack up and walk away.

For the sake of climbing social ladders, they were even willing to actively push their daughter out.

Though not quite shoving her into a fiery pit, it was truly chilling to the bone!

Because such behavior was equivalent to bartering with their daughter for benefits.

It was tantamount to selling her off!

Yet despite all this, Wu Ya had still been looking out for them.

He was unwilling to personally and directly reveal the career he had built.

To avoid giving them the feeling of being humiliated or slapped in the face!

That was why he had worked through Huang Silu, even making the choice to willingly act as a spare tire.

Just in case they still disapproved now, leaving a path open for the future!

And what about them?

Not only did they refuse to believe it, but they had also harbored endless suspicions against the three of them!

Now look at them.

Wu Ya had preserved their dignity to the utmost, yet they threw it away themselves.

Insisting on running all the way out to this desolate suburban wasteland, presenting their faces directly to a security guard!

Only to be slapped hard across the face by that very guard!

Now, are they finally satisfied?

"This... We... Heh, Nannan, of course we believe what you say! As for the reason we ran all the way out here, don't misunderstand. We mainly just wanted to see for ourselves what kind of shock that kid Wu Ya could bring us!"

Liu Mingli stiffened his old face.

Yet his change in attitude didn't hesitate in the slightest.

He was actually able to keep a straight face while smoothly transforming his bellyful of doubt from moments ago into "wanting to see it for oneself."

This little maneuver left Huang Silu, who was watching from the sidelines, completely bewildered!

"So... that works too?!"

"That's right, Nannan, your father and I mainly just wanted to come and see if Wu Ya could really create a miracle. And look, seeing is believing now, isn't it? Naturally, only by seeing this can we truly rest easy and let you two date, right?"

Lin Yongfen chimed in closely behind. The anger brought on by the security guard had vanished entirely from her face.

Replaced by a smile as warm as a spring breeze.

Wu Ya had genuinely carved out a career for himself.

He had truly turned a tailor shop on the verge of bankruptcy into a clothing factory.

And it took him less than half a month!

This was simply a miracle!

An absolute, textbook example of commercial success!

A person like this had an exceptionally limitless future ahead of him!

Even right now, someone capable of leasing such a massive enterprise was already second to none in the Suiyan District!

His monthly income must be at least one hundred thousand, right?

And how old was Wu Ya?

Eighteen.

Achieving a monthly income of one hundred thousand at eighteen made him simply a genius.

No.

A prodigy!

If her daughter could associate with such a person, what else would there be to worry about in the future?

A lifetime of wealth was within arm's reach!

Even breaking into the ranks of the nation's top billionaires was just a matter of time!

And the two of them, as parents, would naturally rise along with the tide.

Wherever they went, wouldn't they be treated like the moon surrounded by stars?

Everyone would look at them with burning envy and say: Look, that's the mother-in-law of the wealthiest man!

How glorious would that be?

How dazzling?

Just thinking about it made her uncontrollably excited!

"Heh, Uncle, Auntie, I'll be leaving first then."

Seeing the pair's expressions, Huang Silu couldn't hold it in any longer.

A creeping chill was eroding his skin.

Tiny goosebumps were dropping off him layer by layer!

Just a moment ago, he had heard with his own ears these two calling Wu Ya destitute.

Calling him a toad trying to eat swan meat!

Yet in the span of a single breath, their ideology and their physical bodies had achieved complete unification!

Wu Ya had suddenly become the favorite prize.

They had utterly forgotten the things they had said themselves!

Therefore, he couldn't take it anymore.

He was afraid that if he stayed a single moment longer, he would begin to look down on Liu Qian's character as well!

At the same time, a deep sense of pity welled up in his heart for Wu Ya!

"Kid, even if you manage to win Liu Qian over, these two living treasures will be a lifelong disaster for you!"

Yet at this moment, whether he left or stayed seemed to hold no importance in the eyes of Liu Mingli and his wife.

Therefore...

"Oh, Xiao Huang is leaving? Then take it easy, be careful on the road."

Liu Mingli even changed his form of address, dropping the ultra-deferential "Young Master Huang" straight down to "Xiao Huang"!

His tone assumed the full condescension an elder should have toward a junior.

He couldn't even remember anymore that this young man was the son of Manager Huang from Wujing Company!

"Yeah, Xiao Huang, thank you for taking care of our Liu Qian these past few days! However... please keep this matter a secret for us! Make sure not to go blabbing about it everywhere, lest it bring any bad influence to Liu Qian!"

A bad influence!

Lin Yongfen was even more ruthless.

Not only did her form of address change directly, but her words were dripping with warning.

My daughter Liu Qian's future is completely different now!

It's not something your family can cling to anymore.

So please be sensible.

Don't go spreading the fact that she stayed at your house for a few days!

Lest it affect my daughter's relationship with Wu Ya!

As if Liu Qian staying out overnight had been Huang Silu abducting her, rather than them pushing her out themselves!

"Uncle, Auntie, don't you worry. I know where to draw the line!"

Huang Silu greeted them through gritted teeth, turned on his heel, and didn't dare linger for a split second.

In the blink of an eye, he had vanished into the night!

He was afraid.

Because right now, he wasn't just getting minor goosebumps anymore.

His stomach was seriously churning!

If he delayed for even another breath, he would have ended up vomiting all over the ground!

"What kind of bizarre freaks are these people? Half an hour ago, I was the one they were fawning over and sucking up to! The next half hour, I've become 'Xiao Huang' who needs to be warned! This transition was executed with such seamless proficiency! Truly breathtaking! Sigh, Liu Qian is certainly unlucky to have ended up with parents like these!"

All the way back, Huang Silu remained indignant.

Their family drama had dragged him along for a roller-coaster ride through life.

This kind of bizarre opportunity was probably a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence if told to others.

Yet somehow, he had actually run into it!

"Wu Ya, you better wait for me at home! If I don't bleed you dry for a heavy meal tonight, how can I extinguish the fire in my heart?"

Finally, he found the key to his salvation.

All his pent-up fury redirected itself toward Wu Ya.

Then, locking onto his target, he marched straight toward it.