Chapter 97

After Jian Haiquan left, Guan Dongping sighed, "Boss, we’ve offended Xingyao Media. We might have a lot of trouble in the future."

Ye Bufan said, "It’s fine, he’s just a thug. Don’t worry about it. Even if they can’t control everything, it doesn’t matter much even if they monopolize the media industry."

"Once our houses are built and on sale, people will line up to buy them. We won’t need any advertising at all."

Guan Dongping sighed again, not knowing where this young boss’s confidence came from.

But he was a practical person and didn’t think too much about the future. He went back to the construction site to work.

To calm the workers’ emotions, Ye Bufan stayed with them until evening. Only after the workers finished did he leave.

The next morning, when he came to Zui Jiangnan Restaurant again, he found that his mother was dressed from head to toe in a completely new outfit.

Since he could remember, their family had always been very poor, and his mother had never cared about her appearance or bought any cosmetics.

As the saying goes, a Buddha relies on gold, and a person relies on clothes. Today, Ouyang Lan’s clothes weren’t particularly luxurious, but they immediately enhanced her demeanor. High-end clothes really made a difference.

After dressing up, she looked at least ten years younger, like a beautiful woman in her thirties. It was clear that this was all Qin Chuchu’s doing.

Although he now had money, he was a complete novice when it came to women’s fashion. It seemed he would have to ask Qin Chuchu to come over more often to help dress his mother.

Seeing her son looking at her, Ouyang Lan said a bit shyly, "Xiaofan, what’s wrong? Does Mom look bad in these clothes?"

"Not bad, but too good," Ye Bufan smiled. "If you go out on the street now, you’ll definitely turn heads. People would believe you’re thirty."

"You’re just talking nonsense again."

Ouyang Lan said this, but her face was beaming. No woman doesn’t love beauty.

She added, "Chuchu bought all this for me. I said I would pay, but she insisted and even wouldn’t let me see the prices."

"Mom, she’s my girlfriend. It’s only right for her to buy you some clothes."

Ye Bufan secretly admired Qin Chuchu’s intelligence and thoughtfulness. These clothes, which cost tens of thousands, would never have been bought by his mother if she had seen the prices.

"Xiaofan, I want to tell you, Chuchu is a good girl. You mustn’t mistreat her."

Ouyang Lan couldn’t stop smiling when she mentioned Qin Chuchu, clearly very satisfied with this daughter-in-law.

After breakfast, just as Ye Bufan was about to leave, Ouyang Lan’s phone rang.

When the call was answered, a sharp female voice came through the receiver: "My dear sister, when are you going to pay back the 3000 yuan you owe us?"

Although the phone was in Ouyang Lan’s hand, the room was quiet, and Ye Bufan’s senses were exceptionally sharp. He heard the conversation clearly and immediately frowned.

The caller was Ouyang Lan’s youngest sister, Ouyang Hui, a woman known for her sharp tongue and meanness. She had bullied Ouyang Lan many times over the years.

When Ye Bufan was in college, the family couldn’t afford his tuition. Ouyang Lan begged and suffered greatly before Ouyang Hui finally threw the 3000 yuan in her face.

He remembered that scene clearly and would never forget it.

A few days ago, when Ouyang Lan was seriously ill in the hospital, he had called Ouyang Hui, but she didn’t care about her sister’s life or death.

As soon as she heard about borrowing money, she hung up. Now, she was coming to collect the debt.

Ouyang Lan said on the phone, "Xiaohui, don’t worry. I’ve already prepared the money. I’ll pay you back when I go home for the ancestral worship in a few days."

She was kind and didn’t like owing money. Once she had the money, she had already prepared to pay back her relatives when she returned home.

Ouyang Hui said, "No need. I and Xiaojun are already on our way to Jiangnan City. We’ll be there in two hours. We’ll come to your place to collect the money. Just tell me the address."

Ouyang Lan’s hometown was in Wufeng County, which was part of Jiangnan City, but the county was very far from the city, about 200 kilometers away.

Ouyang Lan said, "Then come to Zui Jiangnan Restaurant. I’ll treat you to lunch."

Ouyang Hui said, "Sister, don’t think you can avoid paying by treating me to a fancy lunch. The money must be paid today."

Ouyang Lan said, "Xiaohui, how can you talk like that? Am I the kind of person who would avoid paying? One thing is one thing. We can have lunch and pay the money separately."

Ouyang Hui snorted coldly and hung up without saying another word.

After Ouyang Lan put down the phone, she said, "Xiaofan, your aunt and Xiaojun are coming. Reserve a private room for lunch, and we’ll treat them to a meal."

Ye Bufan said, "Mom, you don’t need to bother with them. Just give them the money. There’s no need to treat them to a meal."

Ouyang Lan said, "How can you talk like that? She’s still my sister. What’s wrong with having a family meal?"

Ye Bufan said, "You treat her like a sister, but she doesn’t treat you like one. A few days ago, when you were seriously ill, I called her, but she didn’t care about your life or death. She even told me that even if you died, the money must still be paid. How can a sister be like that?"

Thinking about the desperate situation at the time, Ye Bufan felt his anger rise.

If it weren’t for his good luck and the inheritance of the ancient medical school, he might have already been separated from his mother by death.

Ouyang Lan sighed, "Son, everyone has their difficulties. Maybe your aunt didn’t have the money at the time."

"Let’s put that aside, but what about coming to collect the debt? If it weren’t for your sacrifices back then, where would they be today?"

Ouyang Lan’s family had six children, three boys and three girls, and she was the eldest.

When she was in her teens, their father died early. Later, her mother fell seriously ill from overwork, and the burden of the family fell on her shoulders.

Due to the family’s poverty, she gave up her top county exam results and entered society early to work and earn money to support her younger siblings’ education.

When the youngest, Ouyang Hui and Ouyang Fei, went to college, even though the three uncles were already working, they didn’t help with the tuition. Ouyang Lan bore the burden alone.

By then, Ouyang Lan was already of marriageable age, but she didn’t get married to support the family.

To prevent her younger sisters from dropping out, she endured humiliation and married the playboy Jiang Shaotian in the county, exchanging herself for 50,000 yuan, which allowed Ouyang Hui and Ouyang Fei to graduate from college smoothly.

At that time, both Ouyang Fei and Ouyang Hui were very grateful to Ouyang Lan, and their relationship was quite good.

But later, Jiang Shaotian’s gambling and womanizing ruined the family, and he left for another rich woman, leaving Ouyang Lan and her daughter alone and destitute.

Adding to that, she had adopted Ye Bufan, making their life even harder.

By then, Ouyang Hui had graduated from college and entered the county pharmaceutical bureau with a bright future.

As the gap between the two sisters grew, Ouyang Hui not only didn’t help but also looked down on Ouyang Lan, completely forgetting the kindness of her elder sister.