Chapter Forty-Seven: The Siblings

Li Dongfeng is growing up now, and sometimes Li Caiyu truly cannot keep him under control. Fortunately, Zhou Ziyang appeared at this moment. Li Dongfeng would not listen to anyone else's words, but he would listen to Zhou Ziyang's.

Hearing Zhou Ziyang speak this way, Li Caiyu immediately found her backbone. She asked Zhou Ziyang to come over for a meal at their home whenever he had the time.

"You have been so good to Dongfeng, and I haven't even had a chance to thank you," Li Caiyu said with genuine sincerity.

Although Zhou Ziyang did not look very old, he had indeed helped Li Dongfeng a great deal.

Zhou Ziyang had originally intended to refuse, but looking at the charming Li Caiyu before him and thinking that he happened to have some matters to discuss with her, he agreed in the end.

People say an elder sister is like a mother. In Li Dongfeng's family, there were only the two of them—himself and his sister. Even though Li Caiyu was just the older sister, she had instinctively taken on the role of an elder.

As a woman who didn't understand much of the outside world, she was fortunate to have met Zhou Ziyang at this time, someone who could lend Li Dongfeng a helping hand.

Both out of reason and propriety, a token of gratitude was necessary.

However, she was six years older than Zhou Ziyang, had little formal education, and essentially belonged to an entirely different generation, meaning they naturally lacked common topics of conversation.

Even when going to Li Dongfeng's house for dinner, Li Caiyu would not dress up in a flashy or dazzling manner like other young women; at most, she simply made sure she looked clean and neat.

The dishes she cooked, however, tasted quite good: stir-fried chicken, braised fish, and a pot of braised pork in soy sauce.

These all belonged to the hearty signature dishes of the Xuhuai region.

Seeing Zhou Ziyang come to his home for dinner, Li Dongfeng was overjoyed and scolded his sister for not telling him in advance.

"When my brother comes over, how can we just eat at home? We should at least go to a restaurant. It's not like I'm lacking money now."

Hearing this, Li Caiyu glared at him and said, "Don't forget who gave you that money in the first place?"

Li Dongfeng chuckled foolishly and replied that it was definitely given by his brother.

"Ziyang, have some food. I don't know if it suits your taste." Although this young woman Li Caiyu had not received much education, she was rather fortunate in that she remained untainted by the turbidity of modern society; she was very dutiful and possessed a wonderful talent for cooking.

After taking just a couple of simple bites, Zhou Ziyang remarked that this was at least of restaurant caliber.

"Hehe, my sister might not be good at other things, but her cooking is truly peerless!" Li Dongfeng did not forget to flatter her.

Hearing this, Li Caiyu let out a sigh of relief. She raised her wine glass and said, "Come, Ziyang, I propose a toast to you, and thank you for all your help to Dongfeng."

Zhou Ziyang quickly raised his own glass and said, "Sister, you are being far too polite."

"Dongfeng and I are like brothers of the same family; there's no need to draw lines between us," Zhou Ziyang said.

Li Dongfeng nodded hurriedly, indicating that it was indeed so.

Yet Li Caiyu understood her own brother's temperament all too well, and she could only hope that Zhou Ziyang would continue to look after Li Dongfeng in the future.

Zhou Ziyang naturally agreed.

In truth, Li Caiyu did not really know how to drink. In the past, when the factory organized gatherings, innocent and pretty girls like Li Caiyu were invariably expected to be brought along to accompany guests at the table.

However, on every such occasion, Li Caiyu had refused.

Fortunately, the people in their village were relatively united, so no one had ever made things difficult for her.

Therefore, Zhou Ziyang was the very first young man whom Li Caiyu had ever voluntarily accompanied in drinking.

With a single glass of wine down, Li Caiyu's cheeks flushed significantly, looking exceptionally pretty under the dim, warm glow of the electric light.

Zhou Ziyang accompanied Li Caiyu in that one drink, but when she attempted to continue, Zhou Ziyang stopped her.

"Sister," Zhou Ziyang said, "in a short while, Dongfeng will probably be going to Jinling. What are your plans for the future?"

"Plans?" This was something Li Caiyu had never really considered. Normally, she would just continue working at the factory to earn Li Dongfeng's tuition fees.

Even though Dongfeng earned quite a bit of money through his part-time jobs, after all, they were only part-time.

Li Caiyu did not quite understand what Zhou Ziyang was driving at.

Realizing he hadn't made himself clear, Zhou Ziyang continued.

He said he would not let Dongfeng keep working at the factory forever.

"From now on, Dongfeng will follow me. I will cover all his tuition and living expenses. Furthermore, Sister Caiyu, I think you are very bright; it's simply a waste for you to keep working on a factory assembly line. Why don't you come with us to Jinling instead?" Zhou Ziyang proposed.

"This is a brilliant idea! Sis, why don't you let my brother find you a job and come with us to Jinling!" Li Dongfeng grinned widely.

Upon reflection, Li Caiyu thought it sounded like a good idea.

She knew that Zhou Ziyang possessed vast connections and that arranging a job for her would be no problem at all. Even if it were just temporary work, as long as the pay was high, she would gladly accept it, and her heart began to flutter with anticipation.

With a smile, Zhou Ziyang quickly added, "Since we're stepping out into the wider world, how could I possibly let Sister Caiyu keep toiling away in a factory?"

"Sister Caiyu, you are very intelligent and have beautiful handwriting. It really is a shame for you to stay stuck in a factory. My idea is to enroll you in a computer training course so you can learn the basics, and afterwards, you can work right by my side. I will pay you a monthly salary of five thousand yuan."

Perhaps due to the two glasses of wine he had consumed, Zhou Ziyang spoke with exceptional grandeur and boldness.

Only then did the expression in the eyes of Li Caiyu, who had hitherto maintained such composure and poise, suddenly undergo a subtle shift.

"Brother! Are you serious?!"

Li Dongfeng blurted out in astonishment. He did not like studying, but he was not a fool.

In this life, he felt that the person he had wronged the most was his own sister; she was so intelligent, yet she ended up working on a factory assembly line all because of him.

It was a pity that he lacked the ability to let his sister rest.

Yet right now, Zhou Ziyang was actually offering to bring her out into a better life.

This truly moved him deeply.

Feeling a sudden sting in his nose, he stood up abruptly.

Seeing such an intense reaction, Zhou Ziyang found it somewhat amusing.

"What do you mean, am I serious or not?" he said.

"We've hired over a thousand temporary workers now, and we always need people to keep records. I happen to be short-handed, and using our own people is always better than recruiting outsiders."

Zhou Ziyang spoke quite casually.

Yet Li Dongfeng gazed at Zhou Ziyang with shimmering eyes.

Standing tall and built like a sturdy guard, he looked even more intimidating now that his face was flushed red from the alcohol.

Then, in a completely unexpected move,

Li Dongfeng suddenly dropped to his knees, catching Zhou Ziyang completely off guard.

Given Li Dongfeng's posture, it looked as though he was about to kowtow, which startled Zhou Ziyang so much that he quickly stepped forward to support him, asking, "Dongfeng, what is the meaning of this?"

With utmost sincerity, Li Dongfeng declared, "Brother, in this life I have only one family member, which is my sister. I don't have many merits, but I do have some strength. As long as you can properly take care of my sister, I will do whatever you ask me to do from now on!"

Li Dongfeng's tone was resolute.

Finding this both amusing and touching, Zhou Ziyang replied, "Listen to yourself. Does that mean if I don't take care of your sister properly, you won't do whatever I ask?"

"Uh!"

Li Dongfeng was momentarily tongue-tied. "I didn't mean it that way."

"All right, get up first," Zhou Ziyang said.

Then, Zhou Ziyang looked at Li Caiyu, silently asking for her stance.

Unlike the initial glimmer of yearning in her eyes earlier, Li Caiyu had regained her composure by the time Li Dongfeng dropped to his knees. She first motioned for Li Dongfeng to get up, then smiled at Zhou Ziyang and said, "Ziyang, I know you are doing this for my own good."

"However, this matter is far too sudden after all. I need to take some time to think it over carefully."

Zhou Ziyang nodded to show he understood.

"There's no rush, take your time, Sister. Whenever you've thought it through, it won't be too late to let me know."