20 years of restarting life

Chapter 3505 Fan Fanghong's Double Standards
Zhao Chang'an and Wen Ye returned to their room. Zhao Chang'an laughed and said, "Your mother-in-law is not easy to deal with. Her double standards are outrageous. She treats her own son like nothing is a problem—everyone's been young and arrogant—but she's a completely different person towards you, her future son-in-law. She keeps using moral blackmail, as if she's afraid you'll sleep with Xiao Chu before we get our marriage certificate. Is she going through menopause and trying to become a universally disliked nun?"

Wenye, meanwhile, took the watering can, turned on the tap, and continued watering where he hadn't finished. In the midday sun, the water droplets looked like dozens of crystal necklaces shimmering with beautiful luster, a truly magnificent sight.

Wen Ye said calmly, "This is not normal. Most parents in the world, and even the vast majority of people, including you and me, don't they all let their own interests dictate their thinking?"

"Double standards are acceptable, but complete irrationality is not."

Zhao Chang'an said, "Look at Fan Chufei. At first, I thought that even if the two sisters didn't have the same worldview, they wouldn't be too different. But now I see that I was too naive."

"They are more than ten years apart in age and were not born to the same mother, so it's not normal for them to be different."

Wen Ye said, "Some things, if you ignore their existence, then they don't exist. If you take them seriously, then it's like putting lice on your head. In any case, she's just an irrelevant person, and it's not worth it for her to affect you."

"Other people treat their mother-in-law like a princess, but you treat her like she doesn't exist."

Zhao Chang'an actually wanted to use the word "fart," but since she was likely to be Wen Ye's future mother-in-law, she chose a more elegant term.

However, in his mind he was using the word "fart," and said with a hint of amusement, "You have a good attitude. If it were me, I would definitely be very unhappy. The more you stop me from doing it, the more impatient I am to do it, to do it obediently and do it well, and to make this old woman furious."

"Let's not talk about her anymore. What are your plans regarding settling things with Shan Qiang at Green Garden?"

"This is easy to handle. We'll divide it according to the percentage of shares held by the Rose Group after the expansion. You get 45%, she gets 55%, it's a no-brainer."

Wen Ye glanced at Zhao Chang'an in surprise: "What made you think of this?"

"This is to give you some dowry, otherwise a son-in-law who lives with his wife's family will be looked down upon."

Zhao Chang'an said with a smile, "Actually, as you know, after we decided to go all in with Shan Qiang, it's inevitable that Green Garden's shares will continue to be diluted significantly. They can't withstand it with just Shan Qiang, or even Xiao Xuecheng. In that case, you can use it as a pledge of allegiance to the Chu family. As for whether your mother-in-law wants to stand up to Shan Qiang, exchange benefits, or cash out to protect Xiao Chu, all of those are fine."

"That's too much trouble, completely unnecessary."

Wen Ye shook his head: "You're not such a boring person, why do you have to change? If you really want to use it for a bargaining, you can do it yourself. Although you can brag and say you don't need it, this is still a society based on personal relationships."

"Fine, this will allow you to see your mother-in-law's true colors more clearly."

Zhao Chang'an also found it troublesome, and it was unknown whether giving the shares of Green Garden to Wen Ye would cause trouble in the Chu family again. After all, assets worth over a billion yuan could definitely make many people take risks at all costs. As long as Wen Ye didn't care, maintaining the status quo was the best option.

In fact, after Shan Qiang reshuffled the shareholder structure of Luyuan Group, Zhao Chang'an completely lost any intention of controlling and designing the future of Luyuan Group. At this point, Luyuan Group was just a tool for him and Yi Nanmi to make profits.

The problem is that he doesn't have much more or less than a billion dollars, and standing on this section of the river, he can clearly predict the water patterns downstream.

If Shan Qiang were to open this floodgate, the carnivorous fish swimming outside the reservoir would swarm in. If the bald man can touch it, why can't I? Shan Qiang must have had her own plans for this, which was to use her abilities and power, combined with Zhao Chang'an's abilities and influence, to reject the schemes of those forces.

The problem is that Zhao Chang'an isn't stupid enough to fight with outside profiteers for the sake of the current stock market value of over a billion.

You, Shan Qiang, chose to confront them because Green Garden Group is practically your entire business. You're over forty and have finally managed to build such a real estate business behemoth. Now that you want to let more ambitious people board the ship, you certainly can't agree to it.

If Green Garden Group ultimately loses control of its shares, how could Shan Qiang possibly have the energy and ability to build such a new business empire?

However, for Zhao Chang'an, at this point, Green Garden had become a huge burden, worth billions, but also one that required him to take the blame.

He must be so full of himself to give away roses like that.

"Her true colors are actually quite clear. Don't be fooled by Chu Guangwen's persistent infatuation with Jiang Lai; his family has already found him a partner. The reason Fan Fanghong has come here twice is because the Chu family has already found him a partner. It's just that Chu Guangwen has never had a proper job. Even if he were to get a job, no matter how good the department, how much could an ordinary employee earn in a month?"

Wen Ye watered all the plants that needed watering, then put down the watering can: "The ways he's made money these past few years have been too sordid, nothing more than buying and selling things like brokers and rent-seekers, which are not respectable. I heard from Chu Guangying that her family is marrying up, and that woman has a good reputation in the circle. Fan Fanghong really wants this daughter-in-law."

"I understand now. The son-in-law is actually an add-on and a bonus to the daughter-in-law. You benefited from that woman who did good deeds; otherwise, you and Xiao Chu would have had a lot more trouble getting along."

Wen Ye smiled but didn't say anything.

In this peaceful era, many things are like an old riverbed that has flowed for hundreds of years, beginning to show signs of stagnation.

Where the water flows swiftly and where it flows gently, what kind of fish are caught in what season and at what time, and how much and what quality they are, which section of the river has silt or ore washed down from upstream and beginning to settle, and which section is suitable for power generation, water extraction, irrigation, gold panning, iron ore extraction, and gem screening—all of this is clearly recorded in the water ripples.

For ordinary people like Wen Ye and Zhao Chang'an, winning the heart of a princess is incredibly difficult.

Moreover, this is a man versus a woman; if it were a woman versus a man, it would be even more difficult.

A man from humble beginnings, through his own efforts, talent, and opportunity, becomes a wealthy and influential person, and a princess can marry into his family, bringing them abundant economic resources.

Princesses married for either money or something else. During the prosperous Tang Dynasty, princesses either married into wealthy families or were sent to marry foreign rulers for political reasons.

After all, a married daughter is like water spilled from a cup, and nephews and nieces should take a different surname.

But a prince's marriage is not something that can be done casually. So, through his unremitting efforts, Wen Ye was able to marry the rich second-generation princess Chu Guangying, while Jiang Lai, despite her beauty, could not enter the home of the rich second-generation prince Chu Guangwen.

Fan Fanghong could allow her son and Jiang Lai to sleep together, saying it was "just youthful frivolity," but she could never allow herself to have such a humble daughter-in-law.

It's not that she's snobbish, it's that she's following the rules.