Not long after, Old Fifth Yang came down from upstairs. As soon as he saw Ye Qing, Old Fifth Yang immediately burst into laughter and approached him excitedly, saying, "Ye brothers, it's so good to see you!"
Seeing Old Fifth Yang, Ye Changwen was a bit reserved, while Zhou Hongxia and Yuan Xiaoyu couldn't stop shaking—not out of fear but excitement. To them, such wealthy people were only heard of and never seen, let alone having close contact!
Ye Qing remained calm, stood up, and shook hands with Old Fifth Yang, asking, "Boss Yang, do you still stand by what you promised me?"
"Of course, I do. I invited you to dinner today to talk about that very thing!" Old Fifth Yang gestured dismissively as Lin Mengjie immediately handed over a contract.
"This is the new house contract. Once Uncle Ye signs his name on it, the house will be yours!" Old Fifth Yang handed over the contract.
Zhou Hongxia and Yuan Xiaoyu stared intently at the contract, their faces filled with excitement. A 150-square-meter house in a luxury complex was beyond their wildest dreams!
Ye Changwen was somewhat surprised; he didn't yet know what was happening.
Ye Qing took the contract, looked it over, then passed it to Ye Changwen, "Dad, sign it, and the house is yours!"
"What is this all about?" Ye Changwen asked. "Qingzi, what... what exactly did you promise him? Why would he give you a house? Qingzi, I've told you, never take advantage of others!"
"Uncle Ye, don't worry, Ye brothers did not take advantage," Old Fifth Yang laughed. "Uncle Ye, Ye brothers saved my life—something no amount of money can buy. One house is hardly enough to express my gratitude towards Ye brothers!"
Ye Changwen still didn't know what had exactly happened until Lin Mengjie recounted the previous events. Then, feeling relieved and very joyful, he signed his name on the contract.
Meanwhile, Zhou Hongxia and Yuan Xiaoyu listened to Lin Mengjie recounting the events, both utterly astonished. They hadn't realized that the five years Ye Qing spent in the military hadn't been in vain, especially to have achieved such feats. No wonder Old Fifth Yang treated him so well!
Both felt incredibly excited. Ye Qing saving Old Fifth Yang meant that their relationship would no longer be superficial. In other words, their family had now connected with the big boss, Old Fifth Yang, ensuring good days ahead.
"Uncle Ye, with this contract, no one would dare deny you the house!" Old Fifth Yang turned to Yuan Xiaoyu and added, "Right, and about Xiao Yu's job, Xiao Lin, please arrange it as well!"
Lin Mengjie laughed, "Fifth Brother, it's all arranged already. She starts work this afternoon and she'll be called Manager Yuan!"
The title "Manager" made Yuan Xiaoyu's whole body relax, and Zhou Hongxia too was brimming with joy, excitedly grabbing her daughter's arm.
Although Ye Changwen was very dissatisfied with the mother and daughter, he was quite pleased that Yuan Xiaoyu's job was settled.
"That's great!" Old Fifth Yang nodded, looking at Ye Qing, "Ye brothers, I kept my word, didn't I?"
"Thank you!" Ye Qing nodded.
"Us brothers, no need for thanks," Old Fifth Yang stood up, saying, "Let's go, let's go upstairs and sit. Today, I'm hosting!"
"Not good." Ye Qing shook his head, "My dad always taught me not to take even the slightest advantage from others. Boss Yang, you've repaid your debt to me. Hence, I can't accept this meal from you. However, I can invite you to eat together!"
Old Fifth Yang was startled for a moment, then, looking at Ye Qing, he burst out laughing, "Alright, Ye brothers, you really are a principled man, and I like that about you. Come on, Xiao Lin, go upstairs and bring us down two bottles of wine. The meal is on Ye brothers, but we'll handle the wine. We can't take advantage of Ye brothers, right!"
"Exactly, exactly," Lin Mengjie hurriedly turned to fetch the wine, feeling quite surprised at Old Fifth Yang's behavior. Old Fifth Yang was a very self-centered person, rarely compromising with others. Yet, in front of Ye Qing, he had compromised many times. It seemed that his near-death experience the previous night really changed him a lot!
Being in good spirits due to delightful events, Ye Changwen just got a new house, and Yuan Xiaoyu became a manager; Ye Qing saw his family harmonious and happy. Old Fifth Yang, having escaped death, Ye Qing had helped catch the shooter and even unearthed the conspirator behind it, defeating a formidable competitor—this was his main reason for being so happy today. Several equally happy people sitting together and dining, conversing more, Old Fifth Yang indeed became much closer to the Ye family.
Throughout the process, only Ye Qing remained mostly silent. It was his long-established nature, as he generally disliked speaking.
During the meal, Old Fifth Yang once again invited Ye Qing to work for him. Zhou Hongxia and Yuan Xiaoyu also strongly urged Ye Qing to help Old Fifth Yang, but Ye Qing ultimately declined. For him, finding his brother was still the most critical, everything else was secondary.
Old Fifth Yang was aware of Ye Qing's quest to find his brother and knew he couldn't retain Ye Qing. After the banquet, he pulled out two stacks of money and handed them to Ye Qing, "Ye brothers, I know you must head south, this is a little something from me. Take it. Whenever you return, come straight to Old Fifth Yang, my door is always open for you!"
Seeing the money, Zhou Hongxia and Yuan Xiaoyu's eyes widened. A big boss is indeed different.
Ye Qing pushed the money back, "Boss Yang, I appreciate your gesture, but I cannot take this money!"
Old Fifth Yang was about to speak again but was stopped by Lin Mengjie tugging at his sleeve.
"Fifth Brother, Mr. Ye is a principled man. It's best not to push," Lin Mengjie said with a smile.
After lunch, Old Fifth Yang arranged a car to take the Ye party of four home, while he himself went up to the rooms to rest.
Lin Mengjie followed him to the room. Old Fifth Yang looked at Lin Mengjie and said, "Why did you stop me from giving him money just now? He's about to head to the South, and if I don't show my intentions now, there won't be many chances later!"
"Fifth Brother, to show goodwill, it's not necessary to use money!" Lin Mengjie said with a smile: "Haven't you noticed? This Ye Qing is actually quite impervious to bribes. His only weakness is his father. And his father is not much different, but it's much easier to control the mother and daughter in his family."
Old Fifth Yang nodded and said, "That's right, those two are the easiest to deal with."
"So, why bother with Ye Qing when you can just focus a little on his family members?" Lin Mengjie said lightly: "Besides, if you don't give him money, when he goes to the South and runs out of money, he'll come back. But if you give him that much money, he'll stay longer in the South, isn't that asking for trouble?"
Old Fifth Yang suddenly realized and nodded repeatedly, "You're right about that, lucky you reminded me."
"Fifth Brother, I've also found out what you asked me to investigate." Lin Mengjie took out a stack of papers and said, "This is Ye Qing's military record. Both of us are Special Forces, but he was one of the most outstanding soldiers in the army, far exceeding the average Special Forces soldier. This man is an exceptional talent; the military even tried to retain him multiple times before his discharge!"
"Since he's a talent, we must seize the opportunity!" Old Fifth Yang nodded and said, "As for the Ye family, you handle it. Spend more if you must, but the key is to tie their family to me, making him obliged to work for me when he comes back!"
Lin Mengjie said with a smile, "Don't worry, Fifth Brother. With just the mother and daughter, this will be easy!"
After dining with Old Fifth Yang and resolving the matters of the house and Yuan Xiaoyu's job, the family became much more harmonious.
Back home, even Yuan Xiaoyu and Ye Qing were talking and laughing. After all these years, it was the first time she had smiled at Ye Qing.
Ye Qing's expression remained unchanged throughout. He had always been like this since childhood, never much for words. However, when people are happy, everything seems pleasant. Seeing Ye Qing's expression, Yuan Xiaoyu was not angry but instead felt that her brother had character.
"Brother, when you come back from the South, I definitely have to introduce a pretty girlfriend to you!" Yuan Xiaoyu suddenly said.
Ye Changwen was overjoyed and said, "Xiao Yu, you really need to take this matter to heart for your brother."
"Don't worry, Uncle, he is still my brother after all, how could I not care!" Yuan Xiaoyu said with a smile.
"That's good, that's good." Ye Changwen was exceptionally happy, trembling with excitement, he tried lighting a cigarette several times without success.
"Xiao Yu, don't just sit there, hurry up and find some clothes." Zhou Hongxia was rummaging through the room and shouted: "It's Manager Yuan this afternoon, you can't dress like before, come quickly, find something nice."
"Mom, I'm getting a uniform this afternoon, there's no need to worry." Yuan Xiaoyu said with a laugh.
"Oh, you have a uniform." Zhou Hongxia paused and said, "But you still need to wear something on the way there this afternoon, we can't be shabby now, your status is different after all. Quick, quick, don't be idle, come and search."
Yuan Xiaoyu was also extremely excited and ran into the room to join Zhou Hongxia in organizing.
Ye Qing sat with his father, watching the harmony in the house; a weight in his heart finally lifted. His only wish was that the family could be together in harmony. Now, only his brother Ye Jun was missing!
While the family was enjoying a harmonious moment, a figure walked into the yard, it was Yuan Xiaoyu's brother who was still in high school, Yuan Xiaozheng.
Yuan Xiaozheng kept his head down as if he hadn't seen Ye Qing or Ye Changwen. Ye Qing was used to this; since entering this family, he had never greeted Ye Qing.
"Xiao Zheng, why are you back?" Ye Changwen stood up and asked.
Yuan Xiaozheng didn't bother with him and went straight into the bedroom, saying to Zhou Hongxia, "Mom, give me fifty yuan."
"What for?" Zhou Hongxia was surprised, "Didn't I just give you thirty yesterday?"
Yuan Xiaozheng: "The school needs to buy materials."
Zhou Hongxia said indignantly, "Why are you buying materials again? How many materials has your school bought this year!"
Yuan Xiaozheng kept his head down and remained silent; Ye Changwen hurriedly said, "It's okay, he needs materials for school. He's in his second year of high school now, and he'll be taking the college entrance exams next year. It's proper to buy more materials."
Although Zhou Hongxia was somewhat angry, she still loved this youngest son and handed him fifty yuan, saying, "This school is really something else, still making you come home to get money for materials during class? Ah, these teachers, are they all blinded by money?"
Yuan Xiaozheng took the money and left without a word.
Ye Qing watched intently. When Yuan Xiaozheng reached for the money, the wrist hidden in his sleeve was exposed, showing some bruises.
Ye Qing frowned slightly, and seeing Yuan Xiaozheng walking away, he stood up and said, "Dad, Aunt, Xiao Yu, I'm going out to buy some things."