Qin Jingru shamelessly arrived at Silly Zhu's home.
Silly Zhu was sitting at home, sighing mournfully.
Seeing Qin Jingru arrive, Silly Zhu put on a smiling face again, forcing himself to do so.
"Jingru, you're here, come in and sit down!"
Silly Zhu invited Qin Jingru to sit. Qin Jingru, with a stern face, asked, "Silly Zhu, didn't you say you would bring me meat today?"
"I've been waiting for you for a long time, where's the meat you were supposed to bring me?"
"I…"
Silly Zhu's face was filled with embarrassment. Where would he get the money to buy meat now?
But Silly Zhu couldn't say that directly, as it would be too humiliating.
After a long period of stammering, Silly Zhu, with a forced smile, replied, "Jingru, don't get worked up!"
"I went to the market too late yesterday, and all the meat was sold out, so I couldn't buy any!"
"Don't worry, I'll definitely buy you meat today!"
Qin Jingru suggested, "The Jia family's food is too bland!"
"Give me a dollar, and I'll go to the canteen to eat myself!"
"I…"
Qin Jingru directly reached out for money from Silly Zhu, pushing him further into a corner.
Silly Zhu had no money left.
The money he spent on meat for Qin Jingru earlier was borrowed from Ma Hua.
Now, Ma Hua was having trouble feeding himself, let alone having money for Silly Zhu.
Although Silly Zhu had found a new job, he wouldn't receive his wages for at least another month.
Silly Zhu didn't know how he would get through the next month.
According to Silly Zhu's own wishes, he wanted to continue pretending to be rich.
Unfortunately, he had the will but not the means, and could no longer keep up the pretense.
"What, are you really unwilling to give me even a dollar?"
Qin Jingru's persistence in asking for money was unsuccessful, and she began to feel anxious.
Silly Zhu hurriedly explained, "Jingru, I've only been working for a short time, and I haven't been paid yet!"
Qin Jingru was furious, "Silly Zhu, you useless piece of trash, you're truly mud that can't be plastered on a wall!"
"A grown man, and you don't even have a dollar on you!"
"With your pathetic state, you dare to brag to everyone that you'll give me a good life?"
After being scolded by Qin Jingru, Silly Zhu truly wished he could find a hole to crawl into and hide for a while.
Qin Jingru thought that by scolding him harshly, Silly Zhu would obediently hand over the money.
Unfortunately, the reality was not as she imagined.
Silly Zhu's last bit of "oil" had already been squeezed dry.
The Silly Zhu of today was no longer the same Silly Zhu of the past.
Silly Zhu lowered his head, silent, like a defeated dog.
Qin Jingru felt bored and stopped scolding Silly Zhu. She went back to the Jia family to drink thin congee by herself.
"Alas!" Silly Zhu watched Qin Jingru leave, slapping his thigh in distress.
If he had even a few dollars on him now, he would never have ended up like this.
Seeing a cooked duck fly away like this, Silly Zhu's heart was filled with bitter tears.
At this moment, He Yushui did not forget to add insult to injury.
"Brother, now you can see clearly, Qin Jingru is a gold digger through and through!"
"She never intended to live with you; she just wanted to get money from you!"
"I…"
Silly Zhu glared at He Yushui and scolded, "In the future, my business is none of your concern, humph!"
"Brother, why are you still so stubborn!" He Yushui stomped her feet anxiously.
Silly Zhu was not stubborn now; his behavior was purely a result of being enraged.
He Yushui was still very worried about Silly Zhu.
But one thing she knew for sure: Silly Zhu was out of money.
No matter how brutally Qin Huairu and her sister sucked him dry, it was now useless.
...
Silly Zhu went to work at the factory with a sigh, while Qin Jingru was also in a very bad mood.
At this critical juncture, Xu Damao came to find Qin Jingru.
"Why are you here?"
Upon seeing Xu Damao, Qin Jingru immediately became extremely vigilant.
Xu Damao, seeing this, smiled happily and replied, "Jingru, don't be nervous!"
"My purpose in coming here today is simply to treat you to a meal!"
"There's no way the Jia family's food has any real substance!"
"Living with the Jia family, you must be suffering a lot!"
Qin Jingru asked curiously, "What, Xu Damao, do you have money?"
"Isn't that obvious?"
Xu Damao replied solemnly, "If I didn't have money, how could I treat you to a meal!"
"Alright, since you're treating me to a meal, I'll go with you!"
The Jia family's meals were all watery and bland, not as good as what Qin Jingru ate in the countryside.
Qin Jingru's purpose in coming to the city was to find a rich man.
Now that Xu Damao was openly "showing off his wealth," it was natural for Qin Jingru to be interested in him.
"Jingru, stop right there!"
Qin Jingru was about to go out to eat with Xu Damao, but was stopped by Qin Huairu.
After stopping Qin Jingru, Qin Huairu said sternly, "Jingru, how can you be so foolish?"
"Xu Damao is not a good person; be careful not to be tricked by him!"
Xu Damao immediately became furious, "Qin Huairu, what are you saying? Who told you I'm not a good person?"
"Just because I found out that you and Silly Zhu colluded to deceive Qin Jingru, you're targeting me like this, right?"
Qin Huairu glared at Xu Damao and scolded, "Xu Damao, I think you don't want to live anymore!"
"If Silly Zhu finds out you're trying to flirt with Jingru, you know the consequences!"
"I…"
Xu Damao roared, "Qin Jingru has clearly rejected Silly Zhu; can't you see that?"
"Qin Huairu, listen to me, this is a new society, your old ways of arranged marriages won't work anymore!"
"Humph!"
Qin Huairu replied with a cold laugh, "Xu Damao, save those grand principles of yours for Silly Zhu!"
"Fine, you win!"
Xu Damao glared at Qin Huairu with resentment and left in anger.
"Xu Damao, don't go, come back quickly!"
Qin Jingru wanted to call out to Xu Damao, but Xu Damao ran away as fast as a rabbit, and she couldn't catch up.
Indeed, Xu Damao's intelligence was far superior to Silly Zhu's.
Xu Damao knew very well that provoking the brute Silly Zhu was not a wise move.
If Silly Zhu got angry, he wouldn't reason with him.
But now that Silly Zhu was drained and unable to pursue a relationship with Qin Jingru, it was the perfect opportunity for Xu Damao to make his move.