178: Chapter 179 Excellent Parents

No matter how urgent the recruitment exam for the new store manager was, An Xin and Chu Xinxin did not stay in Shanghai for too long. After spending a sweet night together, Chu Xinxin booked the return flight.

The two had a nine o'clock morning flight, and the interview was scheduled for two in the afternoon; as soon as they got off the plane, they hurried to the company.

An Xin called Li Yuanyuan and instructed her to order two takeout meals to the company.

The schedule was too tight, and An Xin and Chu Xinxin hadn't eaten anything while rushing all the way. When the two returned to the manager's office, they happened to catch Li Yuanyuan making dumplings in the office.

"Didn't I tell you to order takeout?"

"Takeout isn't hygienic, and I was afraid you'd feel uncomfortable eating it on an empty stomach. I just happened to have flour and vegetables stocked in the office. Wait a moment, the dumplings will be ready soon."

Li Yuanyuan was very fast at making the dumplings; in no time, the desk was filled with them.

"CEO An, Sister Chu, how do these dumplings taste?"

Li Yuanyuan's eyes were full of anticipation as she looked at them.

She was a girl from the countryside and had been ordered around by her elders to do chores since she was little.

"It's delicious. Li Yuanyuan, do you have enough break time?"

An Xin's dumpling-eating motion slowed down. Since Li Yuanyuan could stock these ingredients, she must be cooking in the company often.

An Xin didn't quite understand Li Yuanyuan's behavior.

The restaurant's meal allowance was already high enough, and Li Yuanyuan wasn't in a low-income bracket; she could completely afford to buy ready-made food, so there was no need to go through all this trouble.

"It's enough. I still have fifteen minutes of break time after cleaning up, which is enough for a nap. I work very efficiently."

Li Yuanyuan smiled quite reluctantly.

"Have you encountered any difficulties? Why don't you eat out? Slightly more expensive takeout still has hygiene guarantees."

"I... my younger brother is getting married, and my mother is forcing me to buy a house for him. If I don't give her the money, she'll come to my workplace and cause trouble... CEO An, please rest assured, I will definitely work hard to make money and won't cause any trouble for the company..."

Li Yuanyuan knew that the truth couldn't be hidden forever. If she couldn't scrape together the money to buy a house for her brother soon, her mother would come to Mingyue Pavilion to make a scene.

Li Yuanyuan cherished her current job very much; she didn't want to lose this rare opportunity.

"What will you do if they keep asking you for money? Are you not going to live your own life?"

Chu Xinxin did not understand Li Yuanyuan's self-sacrificing behavior.

"It's not that I haven't resisted. When I disappeared, my mother called the police and said I was missing. After finding out my personal information, she would come to my workplace to make a scene and badmouth me in every way. I've already lost five jobs because of her. CEO An, Sister Chu, I really like Mingyue Pavilion. I really want to stay here and work hard to realize my own value. Please don't fire me because of my personal family issues."

Mingyue Pavilion is now a well-known brand in Jinghai, and its reputation is very important.

Having a mother who causes trouble made Li Yuanyuan feel very insecure.

Worried about losing her job, Li Yuanyuan hadn't slept well for three consecutive days.

Li Yuanyuan's eyes were filled with exhaustion.

"I won't fire you because of such things. Your blind obedience will only harm you. If you really want to get rid of this abnormal relationship, what you need to do is not to hide, but to fight back with a firm attitude. Don't be a mute who only knows how to suffer grievances."

An Xin's words gave Li Yuanyuan a new lease on life.

A glimmer of light returned to the young girl's lifeless eyes.

"Fight back?"

"Let them see your firm attitude, and also appropriately play the victim. Only the crying child gets the milk."

Chu Xinxin also counseled Li Yuanyuan from the side and picked up a dumpling for her.

Li Yuanyuan took their words to heart. When she received another phone call from her mother demanding money, the gentle-natured Li Yuanyuan changed her tone when speaking to her mother.

"I don't have money to buy a house for my brother. He's a grown man with hands and feet, why can't he earn money to buy a house himself? Why do you always ask me for money? Am I not a human being? Do I not need to eat, need to live in a house? Need to see a doctor?"

"You brat, what kind of attitude is that? How are you talking? That's your brother! As his sister, you don't help your brother, but want to help some wild man outside? Li Yuanyuan, I'm telling you, you were only born to give birth to Li Xiang. Don't be ungrateful, wire the money over quickly. If you don't wire me fifty thousand yuan today, I'll buy a plane ticket to Jinghai tomorrow and go to your workplace to let your boss see how unfilial his employee is. Let's see if you'll have the face to work there anymore."

Li Yuanyuan's mother's tone was very aggressive.

"Come then, if you're not afraid of losing face, come. Let the city people in Jinghai see clearly what kind of mother Li Xiang has! See clearly what a family that favors sons over daughters looks like, and see clearly what a vicious face a mother who sucks her daughter's blood has."

Li Yuanyuan's voice was cold, and her aura was firm.

These few shouts silenced the person on the other end.

Li Yuanyuan didn't want to listen to her mother's nagging anymore, so she directly blocked her mother's phone number.

After hanging up the phone, Li Yuanyuan's eyes were slightly moist.

Having such a family, Li Yuanyuan had it too tough.

Having lived for over twenty years, this was the first time Li Yuanyuan had yelled at her mother. Yelling at someone didn't bring any guilt, but rather an unprecedented sense of relief.

Li Yuanyuan felt a sense of comfort like being reborn.

Chu Xinxin noticed Li Yuanyuan's state and, fearing that she was under too much pressure and her body wouldn't hold up, specifically gave Li Yuanyuan a half-day off.

Upon receiving the time off, Li Yuanyuan was somewhat pleasantly surprised.

"The company is at a busy time; I'd better not take leave. I can still work..."

"Don't force yourself; work is never-ending. Go home and rest. Only by adjusting your mindset and body can you earn more money. With me and CEO An in the company, what else do you have to worry about?"

Today was the day for interviewing the new store manager. Li Yuanyuan was afraid that the store manager interview would result in an unsatisfactory successor.

She wanted a leader who was gentle and capable, just like Sister Chu Xinxin.

"Sister, please be selective with the interviews; this concerns the future development of Mingyue Pavilion."

Li Yuanyuan was just a small employee; this was all she could say.

Li Yuanyuan returned to the office, did some simple organizing of files, and left the company with her leave slip.

After coming out of the company, Li Yuanyuan felt a bit lost and wandered aimlessly on the street. As she walked, Li Yuanyuan's heavy heart became lighter as the distance increased. Perhaps, if there were no harassment from her mother, the future days wouldn't be as difficult as she had imagined.

Mingyue Pavilion, interview room.

A total of twelve interviewees passed the written test.

An Xin called out the candidates' numbers in the interview room, and the candidates walked into the room one by one for the interview.

An Xin asked some questions related to business management.

Out of these twelve people, only three were the real deal.

The remaining nine were just making up the numbers; some were too pedantic and overly rigid.

Some had falsified their academic credentials, and their written test papers were not written by themselves but by hired ghostwriters.

An Xin wanted to meet the ghostwriter behind the person who cheated on the exam, which was why he broke the rules and gave him an interview opportunity.