pappabearbooks Chapter 573: Unexpectedly Smooth
Chapter 573: Unexpectedly Smooth
Li Zhenmin picked up Li Tieguo and the other two from the compound and explained the cause of the incident on the way.
The old lady panicked a little when she heard this, and was the first to speak: "Then what should we do? Should we refuse directly?"
Li Tieguo was obviously calmer. Based on his understanding of Li Zhenmin, he knew that since Li Zhenmin asked everyone to come out to have dinner with Ma Lanlan, he probably didn't want the matter to be known to the compound, but at the same time he couldn't just refuse directly.
He thought for a moment and analyzed, "It's not a good idea to reject directly. Director Zhao hasn't retired yet, and the real reason why Ma Lanlan wanted to get close to Xiaoyong has not been investigated. If I reject directly, it may arouse the vigilance of the person behind the scenes. If the other party overreacts, it will cause unnecessary trouble."
"Yeah, Dad is right. I think so too." Li Zhenmin nodded in agreement, and then he told everyone some of the things he said to Ma Lanlan last night.
He also reminded her, "The most important thing for us is to stabilize things first, but we can't obviously drag things out, so just follow the normal engagement process. It's reasonable to set the time for two months. If Ma Lanlan shows signs of being anxious by then, my dad will step in and remind her as an elder."
"As long as we follow normal customs, I believe Malanlan won't find a reason to hurry into the city."
"In addition, if nothing unexpected happens, we will definitely meet with Ma Lanlan's parents in the next few days. We will handle it in the same way. In order to prevent the people in the compound from knowing about this, we can meet at their home or at my place instead of meeting in the compound to discuss it."
Everyone understood that this marriage would not be successful in the end, so in order to avoid neighbors spreading rumors that the Li family looked down on Ma Lanlan, they tried to conceal it now.
"Okay, I'm afraid I won't be able to hide my thoughts and say something wrong, so you just make the decision." The old lady tactfully handed the decision-making power to Li Zhenmin and Li Tieguo.
Afterwards, several people analyzed some possible accidents and the corresponding response strategies. At this point, the old lady and Jiang Tao, who were not good at acting and hiding their thoughts, felt more confident and relaxed.
In fact, the things they discussed on the road were basically of no use.
During the next hour or so, Malanlan behaved very politely during the meal. She asked about the old lady's well-being and gave her some inexpensive small gifts, which made the old lady very happy.
Not only that, Ma Lanlan did not make any excessive demands. She only mentioned her idea of marrying Hu Yong, and said she would listen to her elders for everything else.
After dinner, Ma Lanlan helped the old lady to watch a play. After the play, she took the old lady shopping. Her performance was impeccable from beginning to end. She was polite and tactful and did not steal Hu Yong's limelight. She also kept praising Hu Yong for how nice he was.
Li Tieguo, Jiang Tao and the old lady, especially the old lady, felt a strong sense of unreality as they sat in the car on their way home.
The old lady couldn't help but ask, "Zhenmin, do you want to investigate Ma Lanlan's matter again?"
The meaning was very clear. She felt that Li Zhenmin might have had some misunderstandings about the investigation on Ma Lanlan, and that there might be bias in the investigation.
Malanlan's performance tonight was perfect and completely in line with her idea of a granddaughter-in-law.
Li Zhenmin also understood that the old lady really wanted to take Ma Lanlan as her daughter-in-law. To be honest, if Ma Lanlan continued to behave like she did today, it would be a great thing. It would be an honor for Hu Yong to marry such a daughter-in-law.
But the problem is that Ma Lanlan was largely acting, or perhaps she was forced into it.
"I have confirmed it again and again, there is no mistake, and she has confessed many things when she knelt down to beg me last night. Maybe she did behave well tonight, but the real her is just as I investigated before. She was able to deceive you into accepting her, which means that her scheming is deeper than I thought, otherwise she would not have led Xiaoyong by the nose for so many years."
In order to prevent the old lady from having unnecessary hope, Li Zhenmin chose the most direct way of denial.
Then he asked, "Grandma, do you want your future granddaughter-in-law to be a smart person with deep scheming or an honest person who doesn't look so smart but is virtuous?"
After hearing what Li Zhenmin said, the old lady immediately changed her mind and said, "What are you talking about? Can't you be both smart and virtuous?"
Li Tieguo understood Li Zhenmin's idea and said with a smile, "Yes, yes, it's not like we have two choices. Given our family's conditions and Xiaoyong's own conditions, it's not a problem to find someone who is both smart and virtuous."
People are like this, they all like to take the middle value, it’s the same as buying vegetables, since there are choices to make, you naturally have to consider them carefully.
The old lady was also shocked by Ma Lanlan's performance just now, which made her feel lucky. But after what Li Zhenmin said, she was no longer so yearning for Ma Lanlan, and at most she felt a little emotional.
.........
the next day.
Like Ma Lanlan, Hu Yong also went to visit the Ma family. On the one hand, he wanted to meet and talk to them, and on the other hand, he wanted to find out the attitude of his future father-in-law's family.
Of course, everything went smoothly. Although Hu Yong's performance could not be said to be good, he successfully gained the recognition of Ma Zhengguang and Meng Ping. They also asked Hu Yong to pass on the message to the Li family to meet in two days' weekend to discuss matters related to the engagement.
Hu Yong naturally agreed to it according to Li Zhenmin's advance instructions, and successfully set the location at Li Zhenmin's home.
After returning in the evening, Hu Yong told Li Zhenmin and others what happened, but Li Zhenmin was not surprised.
"Okay, then go back to the compound and tell your parents so they can be mentally prepared in advance."
"Okay, I'll go back now."
Hu Yong excitedly rode his bike back to the compound, without thinking about why Li Zhenmin was so anxious for him to go back immediately instead of going back tomorrow.
After Hu Yong left, Li Zhenmin took Shen Wenyin and others to discuss what to do next.
Although other people also knew something, it was not in detail. Only after Li Zhenmin explained it in detail did others understand the real reason behind Hu Yong and Ma Lanlan's engagement.
Xu Jingshan immediately stood up and said hastily, "Why didn't you tell me earlier? I'll handle this matter. I promise to investigate it thoroughly for you and it won't affect Zhao Yuanshan."
Li Zhenmin quickly dissuaded him, "Don't mess around. If you say it won't affect you, then it won't affect you. Besides, we don't need these few days, so let's wait a little longer."
Xu Jingshan was impatient and could not help but say, "Who knows if the people behind the scenes will notice anything? I think we can start investigating now. Leave it to me. I will investigate secretly first. I will not expose the matter before Zhao Yuanshan retires."