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Chapter 49 Greed
"Chen Rang, do you have a moment?"
Uncle Yang suddenly appeared at the clinic entrance and waved to him.
Seeing Chen Rang nod, he smiled and said, "My TV has a problem. Can you take a look? It was working fine last night, but today I don't know which button I pressed, it suddenly stopped working and only shows a black screen."
"The TV turns on, but there's no picture?"
Chen Rang thought for a moment and quickly gave an answer, "You probably accidentally pressed the mode button, right? Uncle Yang, just press the mode button on the remote control, and you should be able to switch back. It's quite simple; you'll see when you get back."
"There are two remotes, how am I supposed to know which one? If I press the wrong one, it'll be even more troublesome. Since you say it's simple, then I'll trouble you to make the trip for me! Sigh! It's mainly because your sister Lily wants to watch TV, otherwise I wouldn't want to bother you."
Uncle Yang was still all smiles.
He walked in from outside, took out a pack of cigarettes, took one out, and was about to hand it to Chen Rang.
Chen Rang saw that although he was smiling, he also looked helpless, so he knew that it was really hard to refuse this.
Neighbors may say it, but Uncle Yang is truly suffering raising such a good-for-nothing daughter. He's raised her for so long, and she can't even do this simple thing, forcing her father to beg others. Yang Lili has long made Uncle Yang the laughingstock of the neighborhood.
She said she wanted to take the civil service exam, but she wasn't someone who could endure hardship. She absolutely refused to go to places like the Northwest or Yunnan and Guizhou. All she talked about was finding connections and spending money to get a good position so she could retire right from her twenties.
What should someone who wants to become a civil servant say?
So everyone knows in their hearts that Yang Lili is just using the civil service exam as an excuse to stay at home and be a freeloader. She eats, drinks, plays, and sleeps all day, but she's not willing to do any housework.
"Aunt."
Upon arriving at Uncle Yang's house, Chen Rang greeted his wife.
Her surname was Yu, and she was a slightly overweight woman. In Chen Rang's memory from childhood to adulthood, Aunt Yu had never been thin. Moreover, he had overheard his parents secretly saying that she was also the culprit who spoiled Yang Lili into her current state.
The reason is simply because that's who she is.
In Chen Rang's memory, this Aunt Yu had never worked. For many years, she had been the head of the Yang family and a regular at the teahouse next door downstairs. Her reputation in the neighborhood wasn't good, but she didn't care.
"Little Rang is here!"
Aunt Yu stood up from the sofa and greeted Chen Rang with a smile.
She looked Chen Rang up and down for a moment, not mentioning the TV repair, but instead called out to the next room, "Lily! Chen Rang's here, come out for a second! Didn't you two used to play together when you were little? Why are you so distant now that you're older?"
There was no reply from inside the room.
"Aunt Yu, shall I fix the TV first?"
Chen Rang spoke cautiously.
He sensed something was wrong, especially Aunt Yu's scrutinizing gaze, which made him a little scared.
This woman had never shown this attitude before! She always looked down on the Chen family for associating with pigs and dogs, finding them filthy and disgusting. This sudden change to such amiable behavior made me feel like Tang Sanzang entering the Spider Cave.
He turned to look at Uncle Yang, who was standing at the door grinning foolishly, unintentionally blocking the way out.
"Is she... interested in me?"
A thought popped into Chen Rang's mind, even though he didn't understand why.
*Click.*
The door to the next room opened, and a slightly chubby and short girl walked out.
She was wearing a light pink nightgown and anime-themed slippers. Her hair was curly, and her face looked like it was made up. She slowly walked out of the room and closed the door. She gave Chen Rang a stiff smile, then stood there motionless, unsure of what to do.
Perhaps due to a lack of guidance, her attire seemed very awkward to Chen Rang. Suddenly, a clear image flashed into his mind.
Puffy Ding.
"wrong!"
Chen Rang blushed, feeling ashamed of his rudeness.
But who told him to have played handheld games for two hours that afternoon! He happened to catch a Pokémon called Jigglypuff and successfully evolved it. This comparison made it impossible for him to resist the urge to play.
"Hey! What are you two standing there like idiots for? Say something!"
Seeing that the two of them were quite embarrassed, Aunt Yu quickly spoke up, "It's not like it's the first time we've met, why are you still shy? Old Yang, go to the kitchen and wash some grapes for Chen Rang. And Lili, why are you still wearing your pajamas? Didn't I tell you to change?"
"My clothes haven't arrived yet!"
Yang Lili glared at her mother with annoyance, then continued to scrutinize Chen Rang.
Chen Rang felt increasingly awkward standing there. Seeing that Uncle Yang had finally stopped blocking the door, he quickly said, "Aunt Yu, I still have things to do at the shop! What's wrong with your TV? Let me take a look. If I can't fix it, you can find someone to repair it as soon as possible."
"Oh, okay, then I'll turn on the TV for you."
Aunt Yu sighed helplessly and picked up the remote control from the coffee table next to her.
The TV quickly turned on; it was an old model from over a decade ago, requiring an antenna or digital set-top box. As expected, the screen was completely black with channel numbers flashing around the edges, but no picture appeared.
Chen asked Aunt Yu for the remote control, pressed a couple of buttons on the mode options, brought up the HDMI3 channel, and the picture quickly turned colorful, playing a very old TV series.
"It's fixed already?"
Aunt Yu was somewhat disappointed when Chen Rang handed her the remote control. She hadn't even exchanged two words with Chen Rang yet; how could she let him leave so easily?
Turning to glance at her good-for-nothing daughter, Aunt Yu cut to the chase and said directly, "Chen Rang, sit down for a while. Auntie has something she wants to talk to you about. Don't rush, have some grapes first. Old Yang, can you hurry up a bit?"
"Here it comes!"
As soon as the sound of water in the kitchen stopped, Uncle Yang came out cheerfully. He was carrying a small basket of grapes, and as he walked by, he gestured for Chen Rang to take a few and eat them.
Chen Rang smiled and declined, but Yang Lili reached out and dug up a handful.
Seeing her daughter's unruly behavior and Chen Rang's stubbornness, Aunt Yu decided not to waste any more time. She smiled and pushed the grape basket on the coffee table toward Chen Rang, then spoke softly with a hint of expectation.
"Oh, is that so? Chen Rang, I heard something. Do you know the daughter of General Manager Ni from Tiansheng Group in Shashi?"
"Tiansheng Group?"
Chen Rang was stunned for a moment.
He'd heard of Tiansheng Group; after all, it was a long-established chemical company in Sarawak. But who was Mr. Ni? How could a mere veterinarian like him possibly have connections with the CEO of a prestigious listed company?
That's what they say.
The moment Chen Rang heard the word "President Ni," Ni Youlin's face immediately appeared in his mind.
The surname "Ni" is extremely rare, and Chen Rang knows only a handful of girls. Therefore, the daughter of the "General Manager Ni" mentioned by Aunt Yu must be Ni Youlin.
But she's just an illegitimate child, so why did Aunt Yu set her sights on her?
"Aunt Yu, I don't know any daughter of the CEO of Tiansheng Group. I'm just a pet clinic owner, how could I have such connections! So please just tell me what you want to say, okay? I really have a lot of things to do at my shop!"
Chen Rang impatiently denied what Aunt Yu had said.
"Hehe... Look at what you're saying."
Aunt Yu gave an awkward smile, ignoring Chen Rang's attitude, and said directly, "Oh, it's like this! Chen Rang, your Uncle Yang has always been quite good to you, right? And my daughter Lili, you two grew up together. It's not good for her to stay at home all day without any ambition, is it? Could you do me a favor and ask Miss Ni to arrange a job for Yang Lili? Nothing too fancy, just an office job..."
"Aunt Yu, do you think I'm capable of this?"
Chen Rang interrupted Aunt Yu, saying irritably, "I'm barely scraping by myself, not knowing where my next meal is coming from. How could I possibly have the ability to arrange a job for your Lili? If I had that kind of ability, would I still be working here as a veterinarian?"
"I'm not talking about you, I'm referring to Miss Ni, whom you met..."
"Do I have the nerve to say that?"
Seeing that Aunt Yu was about to continue, Chen Rang interrupted again, standing up as he spoke, "Aunt Yu, you've come to the wrong person about this. I don't have that ability, nor do I know any daughter of the CEO of Tiansheng Group. I'm just a veterinarian; I don't have that kind of impressive connections. If your Lili wants an office job, then let her apply to companies, or try to find connections again. Of course, I think taking the civil service exam is a good option; why give up so early?"
After saying that, Chen Rang ignored Aunt Yu and Yang Lili's ashen faces, as well as Uncle Yang's helpless look, and turned to go downstairs.