Chapter 49 - 49: Betting with Third Uncle Xu
Chapter 49: Chapter 49: Betting with Third Uncle Xu
Xujia Village had experienced a long period of rain—it had lasted a whole week.
But this rain also served as a wake-up call for Xu Ying.
Thinking about the pitiful fate of Xujia Village in her previous life, she knew she had to make plans early.
She had one more year and was eighty percent confident.
Restless at home, Xu Ying turned and went to Third Uncle Xu’s house.
From a distance, Third Uncle Xu saw his niece approaching and ran into his house at breakneck speed; his niece was notoriously harsh when hitting others.
If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes last time, he wouldn’t have believed his niece could be so cruel.
Just the thought of his niece hitting someone made Third Uncle Xu shiver.
Xu Ying called out to him, “Third Uncle, I came to see you. Why are you running?”
Upon hearing her, Third Uncle Xu braced himself and turned around, “Yingying, what do you need from Third Uncle?
I’ve been listening to you these past few days, doing a lot of work at home, and even went to work in the fields.”
Xu Ying was quite pleased to hear this and followed Third Uncle Xu into the courtyard.
Third Aunt Xu, seeing Xu Ying’s cheerful face, knew that the man’s change was all because of his niece, which had significantly lightened her burden these days.
Now seeing her niece, she felt as if she was seeing a benefactor, “Yingying, have you eaten yet? Come have a meal at your Third Aunt’s place.”
Xu Ying waved her hand, “No need, Third Aunt. I’m just going to talk to Third Uncle and then I’ll leave.”
She gestured for Third Uncle Xu to come closer.
Third Uncle Xu was so terrified that he was nearly in tears, realizing that his niece didn’t look as cute as she appeared.
She was entirely a tough and ruthless young girl.
Xu Ying had a baby face with a bit of baby fat, and exceptionally beautiful eyes—almond-shaped, a straight nose, and dimples when she smiled, appearing weak and eliciting a desire to protect.
But when Xu Ying didn’t smile, her face looked fierce.
“Third Uncle, have you been terribly tired from working in the fields lately?” Xu Ying asked with concern.
Third Uncle Xu didn’t feel the warmth from her words, instead, he was on guard, “Yingying, just say whatever it is, Third Uncle will not shirk.”
Xu Ying looked at him approvingly, “I saw that you’ve been working hard recently, so I specifically came to check on you. There’s nothing really up!
Here, this is for you, eat it.” Xu Ying pulled out an egg and handed it to Third Uncle Xu.
Third Uncle Xu looked incredulously at the egg, realizing she really did come to check on him!
Without any courtesy, he peeled the egg and was about to eat.
Xu Ying stopped him, murmuring, “Third Uncle, look at my sisters.”
Forced, Third Uncle Xu turned his head and saw his two daughters staring at him with longing eyes.
Among the Xu brothers, Third Uncle Xu was the one who led the poorest life; he never seriously worked, and only Third Aunt Xu did.
A woman could barely earn full work points by herself.
But to support a whole family when Third Uncle Xu was unhelpful and only caused trouble, always dreaming of striking it rich,
He would go gambling, losing every time he played, yet stubbornly believing he could turn his fortunes around.
His gambling had driven the family deeper into poverty.
Forget eating wheat flour eggs; they couldn’t even fill their stomachs with coarse grain rice.
At this moment, a pristine white egg was considered a precious food in their eyes.
Xu Ying just watched. She wanted to see if Third Uncle Xu genuinely didn’t care about any family affection, if he was truly a hopeless case.
Fortunately, Third Uncle Xu didn’t disappoint her. He swallowed hard, glanced at the egg, and then at his daughters.
After making a tough decision, he handed out the egg, “What are you looking at? Dad’s eating an egg and you’re fighting over it? I should never have had you.”
Third Uncle Xu said viciously, but still gave the egg to the children.
The two kids didn’t dare to take the egg, and Third Uncle Xu, in a bad temper, said, “What are you staring at, waiting for me to peel it for you?”
“Third Uncle, you’re being so fierce, you’re scaring them!” Xu Ying hadn’t said a word, but as soon as she did, the two little ones pouted grievously, tears swirling in their eyes.
Seeing this, Third Uncle Xu felt a headache coming on. He glared fiercely at the children, “No crying, hurry up and eat the egg!”
The tears the children were about to shed instantly retreated.
Xu Ying watched from the side, utterly perplexed about how her uncle managed to be a father.
Poor Xuexue and Bai Bai, being daughters of Xu JianShe.
“Third Uncle, don’t you want to go to work? As long as you want to, I’ll find you a job.”
Listening to his niece, Third Uncle Xu felt like she was just boasting.
Is it that easy to find a job? Nowadays, if anyone can find a job, they’re a ‘big shot.’
People do everything—begging, spending money, using connections—just to land a job.
His niece, however, seemed to think all it took was a mere mention to secure a job.
Come on, he wasn’t a naive three-year-old fooled so easily.
Xu Ying glanced at her uncle, “What, you don’t believe me?
“Would you believe it if I told you I’d be working as a chef at the State-owned Restaurant in less than two months?”
Third Uncle Xu, showing his front teeth, said, “Yingying, don’t make jokes at your uncle’s expense. You becoming a chef at the State-owned Restaurant?
“You’ve got the connections? Setting aside that the State-owned Restaurant is highly sought-after, let’s talk about being a chef. Everybody knows Chef Ge’s great skills, his ancestors were Imperial Chef Masters.
“Do you think the State-owned Restaurant would hire you over a real Imperial Chef Master?”
The saying goes, ‘Every position has its candidate.’
Jobs aren’t so easy to find; even if his niece could cook well, he thought it still sounded far-fetched.
Xu Ying had no grand skills, but loved proving people wrong—the more others doubted her, the more she wanted to succeed.
Xu Ying snorted, “Third Uncle, you underestimate me. How about we make a bet? If I land a job at the State-owned Restaurant, you have to work diligently at home for a year.
“Each day, you must earn at least seven work points, and from then on, you do as I say. If I don’t get the job, I’ll give you ten yuan.”
Hearing this, Third Uncle Xu’s face lit up with joy. What a deal this was, practically handing him money!
If his niece really did manage to work at the State-owned Restaurant, he wouldn’t just take her word; he’d do anything she asked—even if it meant eating shit.
Third Uncle Xu looked at his young niece—youthful bravery was good, but blind arrogance was problematic.
He clapped his hands decisively, “Alright, Yingying, you said it. If you don’t get the job at the State-owned Restaurant, don’t forget to give me ten yuan.”
Xu Ying nodded, that job was as good as hers.
Third Uncle Xu was quite capable himself. In another life, because of her, Third Uncle Xu’s family had also been implicated.
His family had to flee calamity, but he made something of himself, becoming a big boss not just of one large company but of several stores.
Dong Wenzhong and Chen Yanran, in her past life, had climbed to the position of big company bosses—she didn’t believe there were no successors.
So now she needed to really strive, build connections, pull in the clever minds for her cause.
The road ahead was long; who knew if new competitors would emerge like zombies from her past life? The higher she climbed, the stronger the opponents she’d meet.
Thus, she couldn’t stop or even wanted to stop.
Xu Ying magically pulled several more eggs from her pocket and let her family share them.
Then she turned and headed for the main door.