Chapter 30: Saving Money to Buy a House

Fu Tingxiu saw Fu Boxuan as if he had spotted a fat sheep. Without hesitation, Fu Tingxiu took advantage directly, "These are handmade jewelry by your sister-in-law. How about buying a few pieces for your girlfriend?"

The tone was questioning, but anyone familiar with Fu Tingxiu knew it was an order. Fu Boxuan had no choice but to buy.

"These jewelry pieces are so beautiful," Fu Boxuan said, "Xiao Xuan, pick a few."

When his girlfriend heard the words "girlfriend," she felt a sense of joy from being acknowledged and happily selected several pieces, saying, "These are all so pretty, I love them all."

Fu Tingxiu seized the opportunity, "If you like them, buy them all. They are all unique. For example, these cherry earrings symbolize double happiness, perfect for a couple in love. And this sunflower hair clip symbolizes passionate love..."

Meng Ning, listening nearby, was impressed by this marketing pitch. Fu Tingxiu was improvising these symbolic meanings on the spot.

Fu Boxuan's girlfriend grew more excited as she listened and murmured that she wanted to buy them all.

"Big brother Boxuan, let's buy them all, okay?"

Fu Boxuan generously waved his hand and said, "Buy them all."

Meng Ning knew that Fu Boxuan was Fu Tingxiu's distant relative. She felt awkward about accepting money, so she smiled and said, "I'll package them for you as a gift."

Inside, Meng Ning felt a pang of heartache. It would take her two days to make these dozen or so pieces of jewelry. They were all products of her hard work. However, she didn't show it and thought she could work a bit harder for the next two days.

Fu Tingxiu intervened, "You stayed up late to make these. How can we not pay? Family should be transparent. Although Fu Boxuan and I are distant relatives, we're not close. Don't feel embarrassed. Besides, we're saving money to buy a house, so every penny counts, and we can't afford to waste anything."

Fu Boxuan hesitated, realizing he had forgotten his brother for his wife. Fu Tingxiu owned several villas and had recently bought a three-bedroom apartment in Water Mu Tian City. He was still buying houses?

Suddenly, Fu Boxuan felt a strong desire to see Fu Tingxiu mess up one day and see how Meng Ning would handle it.

Fu Boxuan chuckled, "Sister-in-law, Big brother is right. We should pay. I can't take this for free. How much in total?"

Meng Ning waved her hand and smiled, "Really, there's no need. It's not worth much..."

Even though they were saving money to buy a house, she couldn't accept money from relatives.

Fu Tingxiu picked up Meng Ning's QR code for payments from the table and handed it to Fu Boxuan, saying, "Scan the code. It's 4,000 yuan in total."

When Mengning heard the price quote, she widened her eyes and instinctively looked at Fu Ting Xiu, thinking it was extortion.

"Directly raising the price ten times! Isn't this blatant price gouging?"

"If we get reported, I could end up in trouble."

"It's not good to take advantage of acquaintances, even distant relatives."

"Fu Ting Xiu..." Mengning was about to intervene.

But Fu Boxuan had already scanned the QR code and said with a smile, "This is too cheap already, I've transferred the money."

As soon as Fu Boxuan transferred the money, Mengning received a payment notification: Alipay received 4,000 yuan.

Mengning: "..."

Fu Ting Xiu put down the payment code and said, "We're closing the stall. You can take your girlfriend somewhere else."

The implication was to rush them.

Fu Boxuan wanted to get closer to Mengning, seeing how serious his elder brother was by coming to the street stall with them, ensuring protection in the future.

Fu Boxuan opened WeChat, grinning, "Sister-in-law, add me on WeChat."

After just tricking Fu Boxuan, Mengning couldn't refuse adding him as a friend.

In Mengning's eyes, Fu Boxuan was a simpleton, a big innocent guy who got taken advantage of and was still smiling.

But Fu Boxuan felt like he had hit the jackpot, getting his sister-in-law's WeChat for just 4,000 yuan.

Mengning took out her phone and they added each other as friends. When Fu Boxuan left, he warmly greeted Mengning, making her feel embarrassed.

"All the accessories are sold. We can close the stall now," Fu Ting Xiu said.

Mengning asked, "Fu Ting Xiu, why did you quote such a high price just now? What if your distant brother finds out? It might hurt your relationship."

"You made them yourself. Even if I raised the price a hundred times, it would still be worth it," Fu Ting Xiu said seriously. "Don't feel guilty. He owed me 3,500 yuan from a few years ago and never paid me back. I just got it back now."

"Really?" Mengning half-believed. "He doesn't seem like he's short of money. How could he owe you and not repay?"

Fu Ting Xiu said seriously, "Maybe he forgot, and I didn't want to bring it up. I just took the opportunity to get it back."

Mengning glanced at Fu Ting Xiu, feeling there was more to the story.

When Fu Ting Xiu quoted the sky-high price just now, he hadn't seemed embarrassed.

To prevent Mengning from overthinking, Fu Ting Xiu changed the subject. "Tomorrow, let's not set up the stall. We've been married for so long, and your mother-in-law has never visited. Let's invite her over for dinner tomorrow, along with your friend. We didn't have a wedding, but we still need to celebrate."

"I was actually thinking the same thing. You were busy before, but since you don't have work this weekend, I'll call Qin Huan and my mom later."

"Mengning said, 'Then let's also invite your aunt and that distant brother from earlier. I wonder if they'd be willing to come.'

Fu Ting Xiu replied, 'If you invite them, they'll definitely be happy to come.'

'Alright then, it's settled. Please remember to call your aunt since I don't have her contact details.'

'Okay.'

After packing up the stall and returning home, while Mengning went to freshen up, Fu Ting Xiu called Fang Qiong from his room, 'Your daughter-in-law invites you to come over for dinner tomorrow...'

He informed Fang Qiong, but regarding Fu Boxuan, he simply sent a message.

Once done, he called the company's chief secretary to inform the HR department of Shengyu Group's jewelry subsidiary to publicly recruit designers, relaxing the requirements to a high school diploma.

The chief secretary was momentarily stunned upon hearing the recruitment conditions, thinking she had misheard.

The jewelry company under Shengyu Group mainly catered to the upper class and typically required designers with at least a bachelor's degree from prestigious universities like 211 or 985, significant work experience, or notable achievements in the field. They never hired externally.

The chief secretary asked hesitantly, 'Mr. Fu, did you mean to recruit designers externally with just a high school diploma?'

'Yes,' Fu Ting Xiu replied succinctly. 'I want to see this recruitment announcement by tomorrow.'

'Yes, Mr. Fu,' the chief secretary obeyed without further questions.

Mengning was unaware of all this as she finished washing up in the bathroom and then hand-washed some underwear. Although she and Fu Ting Xiu lived separately in the house, there was only one place to hang laundry—the outdoor balcony adjacent to the kitchen.

As Mengning went to the balcony to hang the underwear, Fu Ting Xiu entered the kitchen intending to cook something. He heard movement from the balcony and glanced over to see Mengning in loose pajamas with slightly damp hair, holding up a clothes hanger with underwear.

Mengning's legs were fair and slender, and when she stood on tiptoes, her pajamas slid up to her thighs, drawing his gaze further upward, which was captivating.

One of the pieces of underwear slipped suddenly to the ground, prompting Mengning to reach down to pick it up. It was then that she noticed Fu Ting Xiu behind her. Blushing deeply, she quickly hid the underwear behind her back.