Eldest Cousin, Wen Zaitian (1)

***

Yue Yan was a little worried. "How is Eldest Cousin now?"

He had worked hard for a few years, but he did not earn any money and was even scammed. She hoped her cousin wouldn't take things too hard.

"Your Eldest Aunt almost had a miscarriage and your uncle went to ask for an explanation. He was criticized sarcastically. The general meaning was that your uncle's family wanted to take advantage of them and got anxious when they couldn't. Your grandmother was also angry."

Yue Yan was angry when she heard that. Most people were simple and honest in this era, but people were really bad if they wanted to be.

"What is Cousin going to do next? If he can't find work, let him work with my father for a while first, lest he takes things too hard."

She was really worried about her cousin. Her cousin secretly looked at her at the housewarming banquet yesterday, looking like he wanted to talk to her but was embarrassed.

There was no mention of Yue Yan's maternal grandmother's family in the original novel. Yue Yan was a supporting role to begin with. Yue Yan did not know what her cousin's future would be like, but she could not let him be alone now. He might take things too hard.

She was so nervous mainly because in her previous life, a student would go to the rooftop every time her school finished a large-scale examination. Although they were all saved, the psychological problems of teenagers had to be taken seriously.

Cousin was only 19 years old this year. No matter what, he was still a child.

Wen Hongyu wiped her eyes. "Go to your grandmother's house with Mom later. Ride fast on your bicycle."

Yue Yan nodded heavily. "I'll take a shower and we'll go."

Mom didn't know how to ride a bicycle. It was a 20-minute walk to Grandma's house and a five-minute bike ride.

Yue Yan finished her food in two or three bites and left her father alone at home to make bingfen.

"Grandma, we're here!" This was Yue Yan's first time at her grandmother's house.

Her grandmother's house was a standalone house. It was made of wood and had a green tile roof. The door outside was made of wooden planks. One had to take off the wooden planks to open and close the door.

After entering, she walked through the corridor to the courtyard. In the middle was the patio, and there were three rooms on both sides. Opposite it was the open door of the hall.

No wonder her grandmother's family could accommodate so many people. There were really many rooms.

Wen Hongyu parked the bicycle in the courtyard and asked Yue Yan to close the wooden door so that the thieves wouldn't come in and steal the bicycle.

Yue Yan was not afraid. Her bicycle was unique. How stupid was the thief to steal her bicycle?

She locked the door and had just walked to the door of the central hall when she heard her aunt's cries and scolding.

Yue Yan entered and her uncle greeted her with a forced smile. Wen Zaitian was silent.

Eldest Aunt leaned on the bed. "Those damn people. They did such immoral things and even bit us before they left. They don't even accumulate merit for the child in her stomach!"

Wen Hongyu hurriedly calmed her down. "Eldest Sister-in-law, take care of the babies. It's not worth getting angry at such a person!"

Yue Yan also comforted her. "It's their loss that they missed out on such a good person like Cousin. Aunt, think about it. What if this family is so bad that Cousin might be implicated when they do bad things in the future? Cousin is getting out of his misery in advance."

Eldest Aunt was furious. "None of them are good people. The meaning between the lines is that our family wants to cheat his family of their unique skills. Back then, when their family wanted to take in disciples, they came to beg us and acknowledged your Cousin as their godson. Now that they've gone back on their word, it became our family's fault!"

Yue Yan was curious. "What kind of skills is that? Why does their family treasure it so much?"

Wen Zaitian said in a muffled voice, "Their ancestors were imperial chefs. Later on, they retired and returned to their hometown. The Delicious Restaurant in the city is their restaurant. I've always been cutting vegetables. I don't know what their unique cooking skills are."

Good lord, he had been an apprentice since he was 13 years old and was still learning how to cut vegetables after six years. He had not learned anything.

"What about his salary?"

Eldest Aunt said angrily, "Salary? How can he still have the cheek to take a salary? We still have to give him things to show our filial piety every festive season?! Ask your cousin. His master's wife orders him around like she's ordering a servant. Her words are even unpleasant. Your cousin has endured for so many years and was kicked away just like that. How can we not be angry?!"

No wonder. This family probably felt that Cousin must be coveting their family's unique culinary skills when he could still work hard without complaint even though they had treated him like this.

This was how one judged others by oneself. One would think that others had a motive for everything they did just because they had evil intentions.

Yue Yan said calmly, "We can't just let them off like this. At the very least, we have to let them pay Cousin his salary. Otherwise, we'll blow this matter up and let everyone know the true colors of the boss of Delicious Restaurant!"

Grandma was worried. "But they insist that we schemed against their family's unique culinary skills. We can't explain it clearly."

Yue Yan asked, "But Cousin didn't learn it either. Why should he admit it?"

Wen Hongyu added, "That's right. We don't know anything. Why are we feeling guilty!"

Yue Yan said patiently, "Yes. Let's not talk about acknowledging a master. Just say that Cousin has worked in their restaurant for six years and didn't get a single cent of salary. He even has to give a gift to the boss every festive season. Let's make a fuss like this. We don't have to panic even if they get the police. This is more beneficial to us. The law doesn't care about acknowledging a godfather or acknowledging a master, but it only cares about arrears in salary. It's a fact that they didn't give him his salary. Since they have fallen out with him, we have to get our money back and minimize our losses."

Eldest Aunt was enlightened. "I see. Previously, we wanted them to give us an explanation, but we were shocked by their words. I was so angry that I even suspected that we were really wrong."

Yue Yan advised her, "Aunt, you can't think that way. They're brainwashing you and pushing all the blame to you so that they don't feel burdened. They don't care about others' lives. This is a selfish behavior."