Chapter Ninety-Seven: How I Married Her

  Zhang Dahu's car had just driven away for a short while when a taxi stopped in front of Li Yi, "Brother Yi, hurry up and get in the car!"

  "You're pretty efficient, you've already arranged for two taxis?" Li Yi said to Zhang Xiaoliang after getting in the car, "How's that thing I asked you to do coming along?"

  Zhang Xiaoliang started the car and quickly followed, saying: "Brother Yi, don't worry, I'm absolutely reliable in handling things. Da Hu has been in the hospital for a while, so your uncle and aunt can't know him. And I've already instructed him on what to say, he knows how to talk, and later it will definitely make you very proud."

  "Hmm! Has contact been made with Sister Ba's side?" Li Yi asked again.

  "Ba Jie said it's no problem, just waiting for you to go over!" Zhang Xiao Liang couldn't help but ask, "Yi Ge, do you think this will convince Uncle and Aunt?"

  "I've done what I should have done, shouldn't be a problem, right?" Li Yi also wasn't confident in his heart, he thought it should be about the same.

  As for Wang Shanshan's side, the car had just been driving for a short while when Zhang Guilian asked: "Master, do you know where the best restaurant in Liuhe City is?"

  "Sister, I don't know if you want to go for the mid-range or high-end one." Zhang Dahu did as his sworn brother said, he had been in society for many years and was absolutely reliable when it came to getting things done.

  "Of course, we'll go to a high-end restaurant. Wait until my future son-in-law treats me to dinner, do you think I can settle for an ordinary place?" Zhang Guilian wanted to take this opportunity to see Li Yi's financial situation. If Li Yi was really wealthy, she would agree to their relationship; if not, it would make Li Yi lose face.

  "There are three restaurants in Liuhe City that are quite famous, all of which are five-star standard. Qinhuai Renjia in Baohe District, Fuxing Hotel in Luyang District, and Pinxiang Pavilion in Shushan District are all good." Zhang Datou said, "If you want to save money, I suggest going to Pinxiang Pavilion, the food there is not bad, and the price is also very reasonable."

  "Which dish is the most expensive?" Zhang Guilan would certainly not go to Pinxiang Pavilion, if a meal only cost a few thousand yuan, it wouldn't achieve her goal.

  "If you want to go to a luxurious place, then it's Qinhuai Renjia! The food there is expensive, but the taste is really good, and they also have some rare mountain delicacies that are hard to find elsewhere." Zhang Datou said, "However, just eating something casual there won't do with less than tens of thousands of yuan."

  To put it into perspective, tens of thousands is a huge amount, and the average family's annual salary isn't even that much.

  "Then go to the Qinhuai people's home." Zhang Guilian said.

  "Alright!" Zhang Datou got on the Ring City Expressway and headed straight for Baohe District.

  Hearing the conversation between the two, Wang Shanshan felt anxious and said, "Mom, let's not go to that kind of place, just eat something casual."

  "What does a kid know, are you worried he can't come up with the money?" Zhang Guilian not only had some power in her eyes, but also attached great importance to saving face. Since she said she would go to Qinhuai's house, how could she change her mind?

  "But..." Wang Shanshan wanted to say something, but was interrupted by her mother's words.

  "Shanshan, don't think too much, Mom is doing this all for your own good. You're still young and don't understand what love is," Zhang Guilian said. "If he really loves you, he must give you a happy life, and a happy life requires financial support. We also hope you can find a good husband, so that your father and I can bask in the glory."

  "Mom, how can you do this? Isn't this equivalent to selling me out?" Wang Shanshan said with a sense of grievance.

  "What are you talking about, how could I sell you?" Zhang Guilian coldly snorted, "Think about it, if he's a poor guy, can you two afford to raise kids together in the future? You don't have any money, and you still ask us for help, how much money do we have to give you, isn't this just a burden on us?"

  Mother's words made sense to Wang Shanshan, but she didn't want to do that. She said, "We're still young, and there will be plenty of opportunities to make money in the future. Why bother him now?"

  "He just said he wanted to marry you, didn't he?" Zhang Guilian said, "If I had no ability at all, would I be willing to let you two be together?"

  Wang Shanshan knew that continuing this conversation would be futile in convincing her mother, so she gritted her teeth and said: "Mom, if he can really afford to pay for this meal, will you agree to us being together?"

  "If he can really do it, I'll agree to be with you." Zhang Guilian said so, but she didn't think Li Yi could come up with that much money.

  Wang Shanshan was also a stubborn girl, once she decided on something, ten cows couldn't pull her back. She lightly bit her lower lip and said: "Even if I sleep with him, you won't object?"

  Zhang Guilian was stunned, obviously didn't expect her daughter to say such a thing, and said: "What's always on your mind?"

  "I didn't think of anything, I just asked." Wang Shanshan got angry, she was sulking with her mother because she thought her mother's behavior was too much.

  "If he can really satisfy me, you can do whatever you want." Zhang Guilian also let go, she also wanted to see how capable Li Yi was.

  "Mom, you said so." Wang Shanshan said.

  Zhang Dahu somewhat couldn't listen anymore, lightly coughed and said: "Elder sister, I want to say a few words."

  "What did you say?" Zhang Guilian asked irritably.

  "I think if two people truly love each other, then let them be together! It's rare to see a genuinely loving couple these days." Zhang Datou said.

  "Hum! What do you know? Wait until you get married, then you'll realize that money is more important than anything else." Zhang Guilan couldn't stop talking once she started on this topic. All I heard her say was, "Think about it, in the future all your friends around you will be very rich, but you'll be poor. How will your wife feel? Will she be willing to waste her youth on you? Will she be willing to live a hard life with you?"

  Zhang Dahutu was embarrassed and said, "I should be able to!"

  "Absolutely not." Zhang Guilian said affirmatively, "Wait until you get married in the future, then you'll know that Auntie is right."

  About half an hour later, the car stopped in front of a more than 30-story hotel. After everyone got off the bus, they waited for Li Yi to arrive at the hotel entrance.

  Soon, Li Yi also got out of the taxi and quickly came to the front of the crowd, saying: "Uncle, Auntie, I'm sorry to keep you waiting."

  "I chose this hotel, what do you think?" Zhang Guilian suddenly asked, "If you feel that the consumption is too expensive, we can change to another one."

  "Not to mention here, even if we go to a more expensive place, I can still afford it. Otherwise, how can I let Shanshan live a happy life?" Li Yi didn't get angry either, after all, as parents, they both hoped their daughter could live a happy life. Zhang Guilian was also reasonable, but her starting point was also for the good of Wang Shanshan, so why bother getting angry in this situation?

  "Just think of it this way, let's go in!" Zhang Guilian took a step forward and walked into the big hotel.

  Old Wang's face was calm and composed, he gave Li Yi a slight smile and quickly followed up.

  Wang Shanshan and Li Yi walked at the back, the former pulled his head and said in a low voice: "Li Yi, it's too expensive here. If you don't have money on you, I still have a few thousand in my pocket."

  These words sounded very moving, Li Yi tightly grasped Wang Shanshan's hand and said: "I won't take your money."

  "This isn't my money either. Before I came, I secretly took it from those 200,000," said Wang Shanshan, "Tell me the truth, do you have the money to pay the bill?"

  "Yes!" Li Yi replied.

  Wang Shanshan still didn't believe it and said, "I just heard the master say that eating a meal here costs tens of thousands of yuan. How could you possibly have so much money? My mom is doing this to make things difficult for you, to make you lose face. If you really eat at the luxurious restaurant, the police will definitely arrest you."

  Li Yi gave Wang Shanshan a reassuring look and said, "Don't worry! I really have money."

  "Where did you get so much money?" Wang Shanshan saw that Li Yi didn't seem to be joking, and she was very suspicious.

  "You'll know later. I don't have that much money, but I can afford to pay for the meal here." Li Yi chuckled and pulled her towards the hotel entrance.

  Zhang Guilan was apparently visiting this high-end hotel for the first time, and after entering, she was amazed by the ultra-luxurious decorations inside. Thinking of her purpose for coming, she put on a rich person's demeanor and said to the lobby manager who walked over: "Do you still have private rooms available? Prepare the largest one for me."

  The lobby manager was a woman in her thirties with a professional smile and asked, "May I ask how many of you are there?"

  "Five people." Zhang Guilian replied with a guilty conscience, after all, she couldn't be certain if Li Yi had any money either.

  "Alright, I'll arrange it. Little Hong, take them to the top floor." The lobby manager took out a room card and handed it to a nearby service staff member.

  Zhang Guilian was stunned, and the other party didn't ask anything else, but actually took them upstairs directly?

  Arriving at the top floor, Zhang Guilan was stunned again, and the luxurious degree here had exceeded his imagination.

  The decoration in the room is outrageous, with famous paintings on the walls, many of which are masterpieces. If that's not enough, the dining table in the room is even inlaid with glittering gems, a glance reveals an astonishing number, including diamonds, agate and other precious stones, and even rare cat's eye stone.

  Not to mention the expensive food here, just the decoration of this room alone would cost tens of millions. Eating a meal in such a place, even if you use your toes to think about it, you'll know how much money you'll have to spend. Zhang Guilian regretted coming here as soon as he saw it, and was afraid that even tens of thousands wouldn't be enough, but things had already developed to this point, and he had no room for choice, so he could only find a seat first.

  Zhang Guilian's deep emotional changes were seen by Li Yi, who also knew what the other person was thinking. It seems that Wang Shanshan's mother is not unfeeling, but just wanted to give him a warning, but didn't expect things to get out of hand and exceed her expectations, so she showed a regretful expression.

  These thoughts flashed through his mind, and Li Yi walked to the front of Zhang Guilian, saying: "Auntie, eat well and drink well later, just order whatever you want..."

  If she had heard these words before, Zhang Guilan would have smiled and agreed, but now she felt it was a huge irony. She had ruined Li Yi to such an extent, yet he didn't show any anger. At this moment, Zhang Guilan sat together with him, suddenly feeling like sitting on pins and needles. She quickly stood up and said: "Li Yi, I want to talk to you alone for a few words."

  "Alright!" Li Yi nodded and said.

  The two quickly walked into the compartment next door, sat down on the sofa, and Zhang Guilan apologized: "Li Yi, I shouldn't have brought you to this kind of place. Let's get out of here!"

  "Now that we're here, why should we leave?" Li Yi shook his head and said, "Even if we leave now, they'll still ask us for a lot of money."

  "Are we really going to eat here?" Zhang Guilian gritted her teeth and said, "I admit, before I came, I wanted to make you look bad, but now..."

  Li Yi interrupted her and said seriously: "Auntie, what you said earlier is right. If I don't even have this ability, how can I marry her?"