Chapter 37

Zhu Jia Lou’s New Year’s Day is not cold, although the owner of this place is an out-of-wedlock abandoned woman, but she has money, only two adopted daughters, no son, only in her early forties, and quite good-looking.

So on a good day like this, when guests can’t be kicked out, many guests will come uninvited.

Zhu Yanshu insisted on staying in bed until both of her daughters had left the house, then she got up. She had just put on her morning coat and walked out of the house, when Zhang Ma said anxiously: “Madam, quickly dress up! Wear that new dress of yours, or you’ll be disrespectful when the guests arrive!”

Zhu Yanshu sighed and fell down on the sofa: “Mrs. Zhang, how can I be in the mood to deal with guests now? If guests arrive later, just drive them away!”

Zhang Ma was not happy, and pushed her back to the house, pressed her in front of the dressing mirror, shoved the comb into her hand, and said, “Madam, after a woman’s age passes forty, one more year is equivalent to ten years of growth! You don’t have many good days left! You can’t waste it like this anymore!”

Zhu Yanshu sighed, combing her hair with one stroke, “Big sister and second sister’s affairs are still unsettled, how can I have time to think about my own affairs?”

Zhang Ma was furiously cleaning up the bed, opening the closet and picking out the clothes one by one, saying: “Madam, although your daughters are important, they can’t stay with you for the rest of your life, and in the future, when they get married, will you still be able to follow them to your in-laws’ home? In the early two years, Miss Da did not open up, the second Miss sickly not wake up, this is not to say, now the two girls are adult, in a year or two will be married, then you come to think about their own things will be too late! In two years, you’ll be forty-eight! You’ll be fifty years old, how can you find a good family?”

Zhu Yanshu, as if stabbed in the chest, threw down her comb and said, “Look at what you’re saying! I’ve become an old lady!”

Zhang Ma put her clothes on the back of the chair and came over to hold her shoulders and said, “My good wife, the words are a bit harsh, but they are all from my heart! You are only forty-six years old now, so if you pick carefully, you will still be able to find a suitable person. Think about it, when Yang left and you were 44, how many people came to introduce you? Even when I went to the market, I met a matchmaker! But now? There are fewer and fewer people every year, and they’re not as good as they used to be.” Zhang Ma leisurely sighed and patted Zhu Yan Shu’s shoulder, “You have to hurry! Time waits for no one!”

Zhu Yanshu sat in front of the mirror in the midst of Zhang Ma’s intimidation and scrutinized her face for half an hour to see if she had another wrinkle on her face.

In the end, she wore her best and most expensive clothes, draped herself in a white fox skin shawl, and even at home, she put on glass stockings and high heels, dressed up like a rich lady going to a ball, and sat on the sofa in her own home.

Zhang Ma had already decorated the house! There were new vases, new tablecloths, new sofa towels, new curtains and teapots.

On the coffee table were cream cakes and new cookies, as well as fragrant black tea and coffee.

Zhu Yanshu sat on the sofa and still wanted to gesture, “The people will be here in a while, don’t keep them for lunch, just say a few words and let them go quickly.”

Zhang Ma said, “Naturally, naturally. Ma’am, I have cooked soup dumplings, you didn’t have breakfast, do you want to have a bowl now?”

Zhu Yanshu hadn’t finished one of her soup dumplings yet, the guests had already arrived.

The first wave of guests were her poker friends, Mrs. Fang’s nephew, who was said to be working as a lawyer and studying at an Englishman’s school. Mrs. Fang is fifty-eight this year, her nephew looks like sixty-eight, looks like a small old man, a low head, the top of the head is bald, wearing a western hat and a long shirt, not Chinese and not western.

His name was Fu Wenshan, and he was most attentive to Zhu Yanshu.

Zhu Yanshu couldn’t help but roll her eyes at the sight of this Mr. Fu Wenshan, and she didn’t like him very much, even Zhang Ma had to frown at him. Because this Mr. Fu not only loves to boast and envies foreign moons, but also has an ex-wife in the United States and an eldest son who follows his ex-wife in the United States. Some people suspected that Mr. Fu Wenshan had not divorced his ex-wife at all, and said that he wanted to remarry, but who knows if he wanted to make a big deal out of it?

Zhu Yanshu at first did not like his looks, and then heard more, even he as a person do not like.

But she can’t do anything to drive people away.

“Rare guest, rare guest.” Zhu Yanshu rose in style, “Did Mr. Fu just come back from the UK or from the US?”

Fu Wenshan quickly stepped forward, took off his hat and bowed with his chest in his mouth, then grabbed one of Zhu Yanshu’s hands and had to perform a kissing gesture, which was interrupted by Zhang Ma who came up with the tea, “Please have some tea, sir!”

Zhang Ma felt that Fu Wenshan could not be sincere to Zhu Yanshu, and thought that he was wasting the tea and the living room that she had decorated so nicely, so she refused to leave even after serving the tea, and stood next to the sofa, waiting to see off the guests.

Fu Wenshan, with a cup of tea in one hand and a hat in the other, looked around and realized that Zhang Ma had obviously not been educated as a high-level servant and would not help him hang up his hat, so he had to just sit down and put his hat on his lap.

Zhu Yanshu would only hold the tea and look at him with a smiling face.

With such a smiling face, Fu Wenshan really couldn’t say anything to complain.

Fu Wenshan leaned forward, hating that he could not reach Zhu Yanshu on the other side of the long sofa with his small body: “Ms. Zhu, long time no see, how have you been? I’ve been missing you very much in America.”

Zhu Yanshu smiled and asked, “I’m fine, thank you for thinking about me. Are you going to the US for business or to visit your wife?”

Fu Wenshan hurriedly said, “Ex-wife, ex-wife, we divorced long ago.”

Zhu Yanshu just laughed.

Fu Wenshan said, “And I’m going to the US this time, it’s actually my son who asked me to go over.” He paused for a moment, looking complicated, as if there was a troublesome matter that made him not know what to do.

Zhu Yan Shu then asked, “Is it something troubling and difficult for your son?”

Fu Wenshan shook his head, “No, he is doing fine over there. He called me over, in fact, he wanted to …… he wanted to suggest that I move to the United States.”

Zhu Yanshu put down his teacup and came to a few moments of conversation, “Is your son hoping that you will also immigrate there?”

Fu Wenshan nodded, “Yes, he suggested that I decide as soon as possible. It’s just that if I want to go over there, there’s still a problem that needs to be solved.”

Zhu Yanshu asked, “What problem?”

Fu Wenshan: “Back then, my ex-wife used my son to get to the United States, now if I want to bring me over there as well, there is no longer a loophole in the immigration policy. The only way is for me and my ex-wife to get married in the United States.”

Zhu Yanshu instantly felt that this was a hint! It made her lose interest in the topic as she leaned back in her chair and said coldly, “Then I have to congratulate you in advance for tying the knot with your wife again.”

Fu Wenshan, however, felt that he had hinted at a lot of things, and not only did he not read Zhu Yanshu’s face, he also took the liberty of treating this cold, delicate face as an unwillingness to part with him, and at this point, he said with deep emotion, “Actually, I’m more than willing to stay, if there’s a person who can retain me …… ”

Zhu Yan Shu silently took a deep breath, holding a teacup and concentrating on drinking tea.

Dealing with this Mr. Fu was already physically and mentally exhausting, but at this exact moment, the second guest also arrived uninvited.

The second guest was introduced by Director Liao of the fire-fighting team, named Yu Yingda, fortunately not a relative of Director Liao, otherwise it would be more difficult to deal with.

Mr. Yu is well-dressed, good-looking, living in a big house, driving a car, hair is not bald, this year forty-four years old, and Zhu Yanshu can barely be called match.

But he does not have a job, is a family.

It is said that he fled here after the big officials in Beijing city, and then the old master’s family had an accident, so he just strayed out. He had suffered some hardships when he was young, and now he only works on the basis of the old favors he had saved up in the past.

He is a very good person, practiced in human affairs, and is not considered to be incapable of doing anything.

Zhu Yanshu likes to play cards, once played cards with the wife of Director Liao, and thus got to know this Mr. Yu. At that time, she thought that Mr. Yu was a relative of Mrs. Liao, and later, when she was introduced by the Director of Liao to the two of them, she was able to figure out the complicated relationship between Mr. Yu and the Director of Liao’s husband and wife, and then she stayed away from Mr. Yu.

She is not looking down on the “work” of the family, there are men and women in the world, like Mr. Yu, such as a pair of powerful couples, it is not uncommon.

It is not uncommon to see a couple as powerful as Mr. Yu, but she really doesn’t think they are the same.

But Mr. Yu seems to be planning to go from good to bad, at a glance, Zhu Yanshu, specially asked Secretary Liao to be a matchmaker. He is also quite honest, the first meeting will be the past all told, he said since childhood in the theater troupe to learn the play, learned all the dirty skills, born so big, but also did not earn a penny, the main family after the collapse of his exile, or can only rely on this ability to earn money to make a living. But now he is getting older, and he wants to change his ways, so that he can eat a bowl of tea and rice in peace in the future. He asked Zhu Yan Shu to rest assured, will not force her, and will never make her reputation tainted, just hope that she can give the two a chance.

Zhu Yan Shu again and again refused to no avail, fortunately, Mr. Yu usually never come to the door, because of his origin, on the contrary, more concerned about the reputation of innocence, only in the Chinese New Year this kind of time to bring gifts to the door, came and did not soon sit down, not even drink tea, put down the gifts on the way out, is Zhu Yan Shu difficult to deal with the suitors in the best to deal with one, the only trouble is that I do not know when he will be dead heart.

The only trouble is that I don’t know when he will die of heart. Yu Yingda’s bright and shiny appearance, Fu Wenshan’s face hangs down, sour and smelly and long. Fu Wenshan’s many advantages in front of the Yu Yingda only “innocence” can beat each other, but for men, wealth and power, looks and tongue are advantages, only more than 50 years old innocence is not.

And Yu Yingda even if the family again rich, know the dignitaries again more, he is not as good as Fu Wenshan is a family of clean decent people.

So these two people will meet each other two hate, is born against the enemy.

Although the two usually will never meet on the road, but also have long heard of such a character, like today such a coincidence, together in the Zhu family encountered the situation has been two or three times.

Zhu Yan Shu saw this scene, the head is a few points, she pressed one hand on the forehead is going to plan to pretend to be sick to avoid, but Fu Wenshan got up, for the Yingda said: “Some people really do not have self-awareness.”

Yu Yingda: “I share the same feeling as Mr. Fu.” He hands the gift to Zhang Ma and doesn’t approach or sit down, he just salutes Zhu Yanshu, “Ms. Zhu, I wish you a happy new year.”

Zhu Yanshu only stood up and returned the salute, “Happy New Year to you as well.”

As if Yu Yingda had said enough already, he said to Wenshan, “Mr. Fu is leaving, right? As it happens, I’m on the same path as Mr. Fu.”

Fu Wenshan stood up because he wanted to reject the guest on behalf of Zhu Yanshu, when he saw Yu Yingda say so, he hoped that Zhu Yanshu would open his mouth to stay with him and only drive away Yu Yingda, so his eyes looked at Zhu Yanshu expectantly.

Zhu Yanshu hurriedly seized this opportunity!

“Take your time! Zhang Ma, see the two gentlemen off on my behalf.” She said.

Zhang Ma in her heart these two are not good matches, even if you want suitors to hold up the facade, you have to look at what kind of person you are looking at.

She said with an iron face, “Mr. Fu, Mr. Yu, please, I’ll see the two of you out.”

Fu Wenshan was reluctant to leave, and Yu Yingda was not willing to keep Fu Wenshan here to offer his attentions, and he could instead please Ms. Zhu by doing so.

Yu Yingda left Zhu Yanshu with an affectionate look of “leave it to me” and dragged Fu Wenshan along with him.

Zhang Ma rushed to the front door, and when she came back and pushed the door open, she saw Zhu Yanshu crooked on the sofa.

Zhang Ma: “Ma’am, quickly sit down, or else another guest will come and see how good it is?”

Zhu Yan Shu holds her forehead: “You quickly spare me, where are the good people here!”