Chapter 19
The housekeeper, “Young master, why did you think of pretending to be the uncle?”
He Renyuan, “Bai Qingyu and I don’t have the same household registration.”
They didn’t even have the same last name. If he didn’t pretend to be the uncle, should he pretend to be the father?
The housekeeper thought so too. Besides, nephews often resemble their maternal uncles, it was reasonable.
“Bai Qingyu will definitely ask after taking Xiao Cha back, how do you plan to handle it? Sue them or negotiate privately?”
He Renyuan said, “I will never represent Bai Qingyu in a lawsuit.”
The housekeeper: “…” Still angry? The young master was so adamant that he felt unsure. He made such a big fuss, and then he wouldn’t care?
Did the young master want Bai Qingyu to apologize?
He Renyuan, “Unless—”
“Mr. He.” A middle-aged man in a suit, carrying a briefcase, appeared at the entrance of the police station. His name was Ma Ming, a lawyer specializing in “damage compensation.”
He Renyuan stopped talking and nodded slightly, “You’re here, follow up.”
The housekeeper: “…” Hmm, the young master didn’t personally take action, maintaining a shred of his dignity – but he hired a more specialized lawyer.
He Renyuan said, “Guangzong’s mother is inside—”
Crying her heart out to the police, trying to gain sympathy points.
The housekeeper reminded him, “It’s Yaozu’s mother.”
He Renyuan, “Take Xiao Cha back first.”
The housekeeper tactfully slipped away with Bai Xiaocha.
He Renyuan went in with Lawyer Ma. The Zhang family had also hired a lawyer, but everyone in the industry knew each other. When the other party saw the combination of He Renyuan and Ma Ming, they advised Zhang Yaozu’s mother to negotiate and settle with a better attitude.
Zhang Yaozu’s mother was furious. She was about to yell at He Renyuan. Bai Qingyu was just a housekeeper, where did he get a three-million-yuan jade spoon?
But when she looked up and saw He Renyuan’s appearance, her heart skipped a beat. He looked exactly like a real uncle.
Wasn’t this a common plot on TV? A rich young lady elopes with a poor boy, gives birth to a child, and dies in childbirth. The rich uncle, while disgusted with the poor boy, secretly treats his nephew like a treasure.
The plot perfectly matched… even the part where the poor boy wasn’t present because he was afraid of his uncle matched.
Ma Ming stepped forward and showed the auction record, “Madam, you don’t need to question the value of the jade tea spoon.”
Mother Zhang’s eyes almost popped out, “The auction house inflated the price, it’s not the actual price at all.”
Ma Ming, “Speaking of inflated prices, your thirty-thousand-yuan luxury glass, the price increase is much higher than that of jade. It’s just a glass.”
Mother Zhang, “You brought a three-million-yuan spoon to kindergarten just to extort my son! Just because Bai Xiaocha broke my glass yesterday and I asked you for compensation!”
Ma Ming threw her words back at her, “Where did the extortion claim come from? This is just my young master’s normal spending level.”
He then showed a set of photos, all of the tea spoons and tea trays in He Renyuan’s storage room, a dazzling array of materials: South Red Agate, Hetian Jade, golden nanmu… all kinds of materials, very ordinary.
Mother Zhang immediately seized on what she thought was a loophole and said, “Bai Xiaocha’s father said that he wouldn’t ask for compensation for items he uses as consumables.”
Ma Ming, “The father is the father, the uncle is the uncle. This spoon was taken from the uncle’s house.”
Mother Zhang grabbed her lawyer and questioned him why he wasn’t saying anything, “Tell them this is extortion!”
Ma Ming, “Speaking of extortion, I heard that little Zhang Yaozu just started school last month and wore a luxury scarf to another kindergarten. It was accidentally stained with paint by his tablemate, and you demanded three thousand yuan in compensation and succeeded?”
This was also the reason why Zhang Yaozu transferred schools.
Zhang Yaozu’s mother’s face turned red and white. She often had to attend “high-end social events” and needed luxury brands to save face, so she bought a lot of useless “matching items.”
And her financial situation didn’t allow her to spend like this, so she came up with some good ways to randomly “cash out.”
As soon as Lawyer Ma spoke, Mother Zhang’s previous crying and acting pitiful were useless, because she herself was a “habitual offender.”
“Zhang Yaozu took the initiative to snatch Bai Xiaocha’s spoon. We believe he should bear more than 90% of the responsibility.”
Mother Zhang finally understood that hysterics were useless, negotiation was the key.
“My son only broke one, the compensation shouldn’t exceed 1.5 million at most.”
Lawyer Ma smiled and said, “Mrs. Zhang, you may not understand the concept of a ‘pair.’ The price of a pair of rare items is much higher than the price of a single one. So, half is not enough.”
He Renyuan left after hearing this. The next stage was price negotiation. The compensation should be enough to teach the Zhang family a lesson, but not enough to completely ruin them.
Mother Zhang’s vision went black. There was such a thing!
She hurriedly asked her lawyer for an appraisal, “If I buy this broken spoon, how much can I get back from these broken jade pieces?”
The lawyer said honestly, “This jade tea spoon is slender, its value lies in its length and flawlessness. After your son broke it into four or five pieces, it can only be ground into small beads at most, its value greatly reduced.”
Mother Zhang’s fingernails dug into her palm. She indulged her son in treating expensive items carelessly, putting them in a situation where they could be easily damaged by others. She didn’t expect that one day it would backfire on her.
More than a million, more than a million… It was over.
She didn’t expect Bai Xiaocha’s uncle to be so rich and ruthless, deliberately choosing jade, and a slender spoon at that, everything was calculated!
…
Bai Qingyu met the housekeeper sending Bai Xiaocha back on the way and had a guess about who the “uncle” was.
He scratched his cheek, “Cha Bao’s uncle is…”
The housekeeper said, “An uncle who doesn’t want to reveal his name.”
Bai Qingyu: “…”
Bai Xiaocha, “Dad, I saw Uncle Boss at the police station!”
“Was Uncle Boss arrested?”
But he didn’t shake milk tea outside.
Bai Qingyu, “No.” You were almost arrested.
Bai Qingyu gave Bai Xiaocha a sesame ball to keep him busy eating so he wouldn’t listen to the adults talking, and then said, “Uncle Qi, the young master’s tea spoon…”
Just hearing the price, he knew it was a pair of extremely beautiful jade spoons. It was a pity to damage them for a glass.
Housekeeper Qi whispered, “Don’t worry about it. Perhaps, thinking about it in a despicable way, the young master took the opportunity to cash out millions, and there’s still one left for Cha Bao to play with and break.”
Bai Qingyu, “You can’t say that, the young master doesn’t lack millions.”
But he suddenly owed He Renyuan a lot.
“Can you get the broken spoon back? I know a little bit about repair techniques. I think the spoons are very beautiful.”
Bai Qingyu thought that if one day he got bored with the human world and planned to return to the divine realm, he could unscrupulously repair the spoon and run away.
The housekeeper didn’t think too much, assuming his repair technique was the traditional gold-inlaid jade. But since Bai Qingyu explicitly said the spoons were beautiful, that was the young master’s opportunity.
He immediately informed He Renyuan, concisely: “Bai Qingyu likes the spoons and wants to repair them.”
Young master, it’s up to you.
He Renyuan received the message after walking out of the police station. He thought disdainfully, what did Bai Qingyu liking them have to do with him?
But his fingers honestly sent a message to Ma Ming: “Concede fifty thousand, and get the spoon fragments back.”
He Renyuan got in the car and saw his face in the rearview mirror. He couldn’t help but ponder.
His acting was quite intimidating, wasn’t it?
No one suspected that he wasn’t Bai Xiaocha’s uncle.
A message popped up on his phone, it was Jiang Libo asking about the progress of the case.
He Renyuan casually replied, “It’s resolved.”
So, Jiang Libo was the rich fellow villager Bai Qingyu was relying on? And he was living at his house? Was the Mercedes-Benz owner who picked up Bai Qingyu last time Jiang Libo’s friend?
No, Jiang Libo’s parents were locals, their hometown was tens of thousands of miles away from Bai Qingyu’s.
He Renyuan frowned and gripped the steering wheel. Not a single word from Bai Qingyu’s mouth was true. He had been repeatedly angered and fooled into believing him.
He immediately turned around to ask in person.
There weren’t enough parking spaces in the old residential area, so He Renyuan parked outside and walked in.
Just as he was about to ask the security guard for the specific address, two aunties who were picking up their children from school walked towards him.
“The new housekeeper at Professor Jiang’s is quite responsible. I see him cleaning the chicken coop four or five times a day, and there’s no smell at all. Old Wang’s family walks their dog and doesn’t pick up the poop, the green belt stinks to death, and they still have the nerve to talk about others.”
“You wouldn’t know it, the young man is quite down-to-earth. Is Xiao Bai only in his early twenties?”
“His son, Cha Bao, is really cute. I saw him up close when I went to chat with Old Jiang…”
The two of them walked away, leaving He Renyuan standing there.
Housekeeper?
Bai Qingyu jumped ship from his place to be a housekeeper at the Jiang family?!
He gave up a position where he could slack off with a team and chose to be a housekeeper all by himself?
He Renyuan really wanted to open Bai Qingyu’s head and see what was inside.
He took a deep breath, and probably it would be empty inside.
A minute later, He Renyuan, with a dark face, caught Bai Qingyu, his son, and the housekeeper at the Jiang family’s door.
The housekeeper didn’t understand why the young master’s face was even worse than when he heard about Bai Qingyu being extorted. He habitually tried to smooth things over, “Is Cha Bao hungry? I’ll treat you to a meal.”
In order to resolve this matter quickly, only Cha Bao had lunch.
Bai Xiaocha, “Grandpa, Baby is not hungry.”
The housekeeper: “…”
Bai Qingyu felt guilty as soon as he saw He Renyuan. After all, he had run away so shamefully last time, saying such hurtful words, yet He Renyuan still came to help him without holding a grudge.
He unconsciously picked at his fingernails and lowered his head, “Baby, Dad is hungry, let’s go eat.”
This wasn’t a good place to talk, they needed to change locations.
Bai Qingyu took Cha Bao’s hand and walked towards the community gate, looking back at He Renyuan.
He Renyuan didn’t say anything and followed. He deliberately looked around, not at Bai Qingyu.
Damn it, why did his heart ache when Bai Qingyu said something pitifully?
“Turn left.”
Seeing that Bai Qingyu didn’t know where to go, He Renyuan said, “The car is on the left.”
Bai Xiaocha immediately recognized it, “It’s Uncle Boss’s car!”
He Renyuan sighed. How come he had become Uncle Boss again after two days?
He directly drove the three of them to the Shu He headquarters building.
Bai Qingyu hadn’t been to a commercial building since he arrived in Nancheng. The old residential area only had nine floors, the He family villa had four and a half floors, and neither he nor Cha Bao had ever been inside a building with dozens of floors.
“Such a tall building, Dad.” Bai Xiaocha and Bai Qingyu looked up at the building together.
He Renyuan said, “Uncle Qi, take Bai Qingyu to the 7th floor for dinner, and come find me after you finish.”
He bent down, squatted in front of Bai Xiaocha, and slowed down his speech, “Cha Bao, aren’t you hungry? Uncle will take you to the top floor to play.”
Bai Xiaocha, “Okay.”
Bai Qingyu hurriedly said, “I’m not eating either.”
He Renyuan, “Cha Bao, your dad hasn’t had lunch.”
Bai Xiaocha immediately hugged his father’s leg, “Dad, go eat.”
He Renyuan chuckled and picked up the little boy, entering the elevator.
Bai Qingyu: “…” Did he have to be so obvious about wanting to get information from Cha Bao?
Cha Bao, you can’t expose our secret this time.
Bai Qingyu was taken to the company cafeteria by the housekeeper. He got his food and found a seat.
After taking a bite, he suddenly woke up – no, how could he be so relieved to let He Renyuan take his child away?
To be fair, he would never agree if it were anyone else.
Top floor.
He Renyuan had Bai Xiaocha sit across from him, personally brewed a pot of light tea, poured two cups, and placed one in front of Bai Xiaocha.
There was a negotiation table between them. He Renyuan often negotiated big projects here.
He wanted to have a good talk with Cha Bao, with a clear head and calm analysis, excluding the instantaneous adrenaline rush that Bai Qingyu inexplicably brought him. Asking Bai Xiaocha was better than asking Bai Qingyu, it was more truthful.
He Renyuan sat upright, gestured, and said, “Smell it, it’s very good tea.”
Bai Xiaocha: Oh?
He lowered his head and sniffed, his amber eyes reflected in the amber tea, the light and shadow flickering.
It smelled okay.
“Is your dad working as a housekeeper?”
“Yes.”
“Why isn’t he working as a housekeeper at Grandpa Housekeeper’s house?”
“Because of the chickens!”
He Renyuan repeated, “Because of what? Chickens?”
Bai Xiaocha answered fluently, “Because Grandpa Qi’s house can’t raise chickens, Grandpa Jiang’s house can.”
He Renyuan: ?
It was so absurd that it sounded true.
“Grandpa Deng’s house can also raise chickens.” Bai Xiaocha counted his grandpas, the baby fat on his cheeks drooping with confusion, “Why can’t Uncle’s house?”
“Because you are Uncle Boss?”
He Renyuan gritted his teeth. Yes, your Grandpa He’s house could also raise chickens, but Uncle He’s house couldn’t.
After asking, Bai Xiaocha didn’t insist on an answer from his uncle and continued, “Uncle, it’s okay if you don’t want to raise them. Baby only needs three hens, Baby has eggs to eat every day.”
Although it was a very sensible statement, He Renyuan’s heart was greatly touched.
Such a small child, and he already knew how to compromise.
Bai Qingyu’s cooking was so bad, how could he survive on just eggs every day?
He heard himself say, “You can raise them.”
Bai Xiaocha’s round eyes looked at his uncle in surprise. He remembered that Dad always said that Grandpa Jiang’s house was on the first floor, and the flower bed wasn’t big enough. Building a loofah trellis would block the sunlight in the bedroom, so they couldn’t plant loofah.
“Then can we plant melons at Uncle’s house?” Bai Xiaocha pressed his hand on the table, leaned forward slightly, and looked at Uncle Boss with bright eyes.
The little boy’s posture looked strangely familiar.
He Renyuan: “…”
Bai Xiaocha, “Can’t we plant them? It’s okay…”
He Renyuan, “We can.”
Why did he bring Bai Xiaocha to the negotiation table and lose?
————————
A little spoiler, back in the divine realm:
He Renyuan: My wife is so honest and innocent, if he goes out to live in the human world, he’ll be bullied by everyone and cry every day.
He Renyuan: “Come, let’s practice. Refute me, deceive me.”
Tea Deity: ???
In short, you reap what you sow.
