Chapter 6 No House Female Supporting Character 6_1

Zhang Yu, carrying her things, returned home and surprised her parents, Zhang Dagu and his wife, by arriving earlier than expected.

"Have you finished the procedures?" Zhang Dagu had thought about it all night yesterday, hoping she could speak to the leaders about not wanting to take a job out of town if possible.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Yu had actually brought back all her belongings from the office.

Zhang Yu hummed in affirmation, "Yes, something came up at the subsidiary, and I have to go there tomorrow."

Ah, Zhang Dagu didn't expect things to be settled so suddenly. He merely delayed a little, and the matter was decided, "Why so soon?"

Pan Juan was also stunned, "Why do you have to go so soon?"

Zhang Yu hummed in affirmation again, "Yes, no choice. There's a big project starting there, and I'm the person sent by the higher-ups. I'll be involved throughout."

Zhang Dagu sighed softly, knowing there was no way to change Zhang Yu's mind. Since it was so, he could only accept it.

"Once you're there, work hard."

Zhang Yu hummed in confirmation, "I will."

Looking up at Pan Juan, she said, "Mom, once I'm there, I'll probably be pretty busy, and I might not have time to come back."

"If you move houses during that time, just ask my brothers to help out more."

"Don't overwork yourselves."

"On weekends, let my brothers do the grocery shopping and the cooking, and you both should take it easy."

She wouldn't say not to have weekend family dinners or anything like that; after all, it's a Zhang Family tradition. Anyway, it's not her who'll be cooking, so whoever does it is their business.

Pan Juan looked at Zhang Yu, who was about to leave but still took the time to worry about them, "Don't worry, your brothers are very filial."

She knew better than to expect Zhang Yu's help with packing for the move; it was clear she would have to rely on Zhang Guohua and the others.

Zhang Dagu hummed in agreement, "Right, don't worry, your brothers will be there."

"Oh, mom and dad, let's go out to eat today, and then I have to pack my things." Although she had already packed some items, there was still a lot to sort out, and it was best not to fuss over cooking anymore.

In normal circumstances, Zhang Dagu would have grumbled about the waste of going out to eat, but considering Zhang Yu had a lot to do, he said, "Let your mom cook."

Ah, when Zhang Yu had made the suggestion earlier, she was somewhat worried that Zhang Dagu might get angry. Surprisingly, he proposed Pan Juan to cook.

With this thought, Zhang Yu looked anxiously at Pan Juan. Although it was always Pan Juan who cooked before, the problem was her cooking skills weren't that great.

Later, as Zhang Yu grew up, she honed her culinary skills and eventually took complete control of the kitchen.

Ever since she learned how to cook, Pan Juan had stopped cooking altogether, managing only to reheat food.

Now, they expected Pan Juan to cook, and Zhang Yu truly dreaded what the meals might be like.

Regardless of whether the food would be edible or not, it was just one meal for her to endure, but it was different for Zhang Dagu. Although the old man couldn't cook and was unwilling to do so, he was very picky about his food.

Zhang Yu truly worried about how Pan Juan's cooking would stand up to Zhang Dagu's critiques.

In fact, if possible, she thought that since both spouses were not great cooks and were both very fussy, they should consider hiring a housekeeper.

If they were unwilling to hire a nanny, then they should at least hire a part-time worker. Even though this would be an extra expense, it would at least ease their burden.

However, she couldn't say the same thing for the Zhang Dagu couple. Despite having a considerable retirement pension, it did not mean they were willing to spend money on hiring help.

Pan Juan hadn't expected Zhang Dagu to actually suggest she cook, leaving her truly stupefied, "I, I..."

She didn't know how many years it had been since she last cooked and now she was being notified to do so, what was she to do?

Her first reaction was to let Zhang Yu do the cooking, especially since she had already sorted everything out the day before.

But she really didn't dare say it, because even if Zhang Yu could cook today, it would still be her turn tomorrow.

"I'll go cook," Pan Juan sighed in her heart. Although very unwilling, she had no choice.

Zhang Yu thought Pan Juan would be reluctant to cook, and was surprised when she simply agreed without protest.

"Dad, mom hasn't cooked for a long time," Zhang Yu said, thinking it over. For the sake of their safety, better not.

"She has to learn to cook sometime," Zhang Dagu said coldly. "Otherwise, what will we do for meals after you leave?"

What did he mean by that? Was her previous diligence a bad thing? "Never mind, I'll go cook."

"I'll stand guard for the last time." In case Pan Juan's cooking turned out badly and they all ended up with stomach trouble, it could mean a family trip to the hospital.

And she could just imagine, once the Zhang Guohua family heard about it, it would all be her fault again, accused of not standing her post till the end.

As for how the Zhang Dagu couple would manage their daily meals after she left, that was no longer her concern.

But considering that the elderly couple had just given Zhang Guohua a property, she reckoned they'd still be willing to cook.

She wondered if carrying on this way for too long would cause the others to have objections.

Or maybe when it was someone's turn to cook, they would simply eat here, saving on household expenses. That might also be a good approach.

Zhang Yu really didn't understand. As for the Zhang Guohua family, since Chiang Yun worked in a company and their conditions were somewhat inferior, her unit was still profitable, and overall, their income was decent.

As for the Zhang Shouhua couple, being middle school teachers, they also tutored and had a good income.

Zhang Hong and her spouse were both civil servants in government agencies, and in terms of income and benefits, they were actually quite well off.

Yet all three families would mooch off their parents if they could, each one pretending to be more impoverished than the next.

Alas, Zhang Yu sighed in her heart. Let it be; if they liked to cry poor, that was their business. She preferred to work hard to earn her own money rather than have her hand out.

She felt that these three families weren't really without money, but in their eagerness to appear impoverished, they simply kept their money in the bank and never thought about buying property.

And so they missed the era of low housing prices. By the time they saw prices rising and decided to buy, they discovered that what they thought was a lot of money wasn't enough for a property.

All three families hesitated, not wanting to spend all their money on housing, wondering where to get cash if they needed it later.

Due to their hesitations, when they finally decided to buy, they found that prices had risen again, which infuriated them to the point of not buying at all.

When they later saw the continuous rise in housing prices, they finally made up their minds to buy, but the money that could have bought a large house only got them a small one.

Zhang Yu found it amusing just thinking about it. She wondered if they had ever considered using the money they tried to extract from Zhang Dagu and his wife for legitimate purposes, not knowing how much they actually had to their names.