pjbooks Chapter 46: [Physical Examination]
Chapter 46: [Physical Examination]
"...No matter what they say, just say that I earn my money through hard work."
Liu Zhuohao didn't even need his parents to say anything; he blurted out, "It's like this: they say that once a person gets better, they'll start to encounter all sorts of obstacles."
Indeed, before a person recovers, there may be very few people who even bother to talk to them, let alone make things difficult for them.
"..."
The parents remained silent.
"Your uncle and his family just came to offer their congratulations; they didn't say they wanted to interfere in your business," the mother finally spoke, her tone tinged with displeasure. "And don't misunderstand them just because they didn't lend you money last time. Actually, they..."
"It's not because they didn't lend me money," Liu Zhuohao interrupted her, his voice calm but leaving no room for negotiation. "I'm afraid they'll get involved in my affairs."
There is no room for discussion on this point.
Even if they are one's mother's own brothers and sisters.
"They didn't mean that," the mother tried to explain. "Your eldest uncle even said that he didn't know you were so resourceful. If he had known you were so capable, he would definitely have lent you the money."
"Also, he asked if you're short of money right now. Your cousin is also in business, running a small shop. If you have any questions, you can ask him..."
She talked on and on, her tone as natural as it had been that night before Liu Zhuohao played the recordings for them.
It was as if all the disappointment, embarrassment, and brief moments of clarity had been worn away over the past month.
After all, they were her blood brothers and sisters.
Liu Zhuohao didn't rush to refute, but listened silently, occasionally glancing at his father.
My cousin who ran a small shop? It only happened in the last year or two, and then the shop went out of business.
In the future, people will either shop online or go to big shopping malls; they won't go to those small, dilapidated shops.
What's more, my lazy cousin—I heard my father mention him in my past life—was so lazy that he didn't even know the expiration dates of the goods. He was reported for selling expired food, fined, and his shop was shut down.
Liu Zhuohao didn't want to talk about these things anymore.
As for getting involved in their own business, yes, not yet.
At least it hasn't been mentioned directly yet.
Given their limited perspective, they'll probably only open that door once they actually own a shop and become real bosses.
The arrangements will likely involve getting my cousins positions like acting store manager or cashier—the kind of "decent jobs" where they don't have to lift a finger but can still manage others and maintain a respectable image.
According to their logic, he's a college student after all, so he should be given a decent position.
Even now, Liu Zhuohao finds it unbelievable when he thinks about this incident.
To earn money to open the shop, I worked day and night for who knows how long.
And what happened? They just came and comfortably sat there waiting to collect their wages every month.
Not only does he occasionally cause trouble for himself and other employees, but he also sometimes uses his status as a cousin to offer advice to himself.
Later, I realized something was wrong and wanted to fire them, but it was difficult because of our relationship as relatives.
"In short..."
After his mother finished speaking, Liu Zhuohao finally spoke, his tone still as hard as a rock, "No matter what they say in the future, there is absolutely no way they will let me arrange a job for them."
He paused, looked at his mother's hesitant face, and then sealed his sentence completely:
"Even if they come back to you and try to persuade you, saying things like 'When your business gets bigger, you need someone close to you,' or 'We're all relatives, they definitely won't harm you,'... things like that."
"Or, don't believe a single word they say, and don't spread their word."
"Either you spread it, I won't listen to a single word."
The living room fell silent again, with only the ticking of the old-fashioned wall clock.
The mother was somewhat at a loss regarding her own tough stance.
The father, who had been silent the whole time, pressed his lips together as if he was holding something back, and finally revealed a very faint, almost mocking smile.
"Your business hasn't even taken off yet, and you're already thinking about the future." The father finally spoke. "We'll talk about the future later..."
He paused, then added, "However, if that kid Ah Long wants to get involved in your affairs, I really don't agree."
The mother immediately glanced at him sideways.
"You forgot? We went to Shufen's house for tea earlier and thought we'd stop by her little shop to buy some things to take home," the father said, shaking his head slowly. "But the things were covered in dust, and when we checked the production date, they were almost expired!"
The mother stopped talking and turned her face away.
"Ah-hao is exhausted enough now. So many times when he comes back, he can't even take a shower and just falls asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow." The father's voice deepened. "He has his own ideas and doesn't want to get involved, so let's not make things difficult for him."
After the words were spoken, the room became even quieter.
He said something similar in his past life.
Liu Zhuohao even heard about his father mentioning that his cousin's shop had its license revoked after being reported by a customer.
After all, he himself had never gone to his cousin's small shop to buy anything.
"Oh, right."
He runs a stall during the day and works at the night market at night. Although they live in the same house, Liu Zhuohao had a rare opportunity to sit and talk with his parents. He took the opportunity to mention, "I've scheduled a full medical check-up for you next week."
Upon hearing this, both the mother, whose face was pale due to the matter of relatives, and the father, whose expression was serious, were stunned.
"What a waste of money!"
They spoke in unison immediately.
"...I mainly need to go for a medical check-up, so I also booked a medical check-up for you."
Liu Zhuohao came up with the explanation he had prepared beforehand: "I've been staying up too late lately, and sometimes I feel like I can't breathe."
The parents' expressions immediately changed, becoming extremely ugly!
……
……
The air in the hospital's physical examination center smelled faintly of disinfectant.
Liu Zhuohao sat on a plastic chair in the waiting area, looking down at his phone screen.
The surrounding area was filled with people talking in hushed tones, electronic voices calling out numbers, and nurses pushing medical carts past.
He slowly typed in the memo:
"Fourteen years ago today, we started with a 35-yuan street-side steak..."
His fingers paused, he deleted the slightly sentimental opening, and rewrote it:
"Street-style steak" is currently a completely new category. Our core goal is to allow more people to experience the joy of teppanyaki steak at the lowest possible price without any financial burden.
"We chose a mainstream cooking process, which ensures a consistently smooth and tender texture, which is what customers need most right now."
"But that's far from enough..."
While taking leave to accompany his parents for a medical check-up, Liu Zhuohao was thinking about his future marketing career.
In the distance, Huang Weixiong was holding an action camera, taking pictures of himself waiting from the side.
Footsteps came from the other end of the corridor.
Liu Zhuohao looked up and saw his parents walking out of the inspection area, followed by another of his employees, Li Zekai, who was also carrying another action camera and recording the scene.
His parents completely ignored the camera behind him; both of them still looked tense. As soon as they saw him, they quickened their pace to approach.
"How is it?" the mother asked urgently, her voice a little tense. "The doctor...didn't say anything, did he?"
The father didn't speak, but his eyes were fixed on his face.