Shao Qihai listened with a wooden face and finally found out how the one million yuan had come about.

  It turned out that Xiao Wu had asked out of curiosity after hearing Old Master Ji’s words, but Old Master Ji had taken it seriously.

  Previously, Shao Qihai had been assured that Old Master Ji and Ji Buwang wouldn’t snatch Xiao Wu away. Now, he realized that what was more terrifying than snatching people directly was stealing their hearts.

  He had a really soft heart, so when he was treated like this, Xiao Wu couldn’t help but feel warm.

  Besides, this money was given to Mu Jingzhe. Even if it was given to her through Xiao Wu, it was sort of like giving her an exorbitant betrothal gift in advance!

  Mu Jingzhe made a lot of effort and finally settled the one-million-yuan matter. She was so tired by the end of this that she was covered in sweat and she felt even more tired than when she’d dealt with Shao Qiyun.

  Mu Jingzhe hadn’t expected to experience the exhaustion of rejecting a million yuan one day. In short, it was ridiculous!

  Xiao Wu felt the same way. He hadn’t felt tired or afraid while facing Shao Qiyun, but he was a little afraid of Old Master Ji.

  In the past, Xiao Wu’s grandmother, Zhao Lan, had treated him badly. He had found it terrifying. Now, he had a crazy great-grandfather who treated him really well. That was also terrifying.

  Things were either extremely bad or extremely good. Both scenarios were terrifying.

  After sending Old Master Ji and Ji Buwang away, Xiao Wu told Mu Jingzhe with lingering fear, “Mommy, I think I don’t dare speak casually again.” He wouldn’t, in case Old Master Ji went crazy again.

  “Grandma is still the best.” Grandma was good to them, but not to the extent of going overboard. She made people feel that this was just right.

  “I miss Grandma.” Xiao Wu stroked his chin. “I miss Third Brother too.”

  Mu Jingzhe didn’t know whether she should laugh or cry. Old Master Ji’s love was indeed too fierce and overwhelming. It was as if he hated that he couldn’t make up for everything he had missed out on in the past few years. It was indeed a little scary, but this was better than meeting another bad person.

  After Shao Qiyun left this time, it was unknown if she had really given up or if she was so traumatized that she hadn’t worked through her regret yet. She didn’t appear again for two days.

  \r \r \r

  Mu Jingzhe heaved a sigh of relief, but she didn’t dare relax too much. She still kept Xiao Wu by her side.

  After the incident with Shao Qiyun, her work had been delayed. Unfortunately, everyone liked her formal wear after wearing it out previously, and she had developed a bit of a reputation in this business. Many people wanted to order customized formal wear from her.

  Best Actor Shen Han, who had been frightened by Mu Jingzhe previously, realized that there seemed to be a misunderstanding. After realizing that Mu Jingzhe didn’t intend to seduce him or anything, he finally wasn’t so vigilant anymore.

  Upon seeing Bai Bai in that set of formal wear, he also wanted to order it from Mu Jingzhe. Mu Jingzhe naturally didn’t refuse.

  However, more business meant that Mu Jingzhe got a little busy.

  Xiao Wu and Shao Xi were both there. Although Shao Qihai hadn’t left, she still had to film with Little Bei, so she didn’t have enough time.

  The matter of hiring an assistant was put on the agenda. With an assistant, there would be an additional layer of security at home, which could prevent Shao Qiyun from suddenly going crazy again.

  Mu Jingzhe let people know that she was looking to hire an assistant, telling her neighbors as well as the production team. Quite a number of people came, but none of them was suitable.

  Hence, Mu Jingzhe wrote a recruitment notice and pasted it outside, listing down the requirements in detail.

  Later on, a few applicants came one after another. However, Mu Jingzhe felt that the candidates were lacking in one way or another. Later on, there was even one person who didn’t meet the listed criteria at all: Sister Wei. However, since she had already shown up, Mu Jingzhe had a chat with her. In the end, she actually met Mu Jingzhe’s requirements.

  According to Sister Wei, her family used to embroider as well. Her parents had even helped others make cheongsams[1] before, but the business had been abandoned later on.

  She had worked at the garment factory in the past. All in all, although Sister Wei was in her forties, she was better than all the other candidates she had previously interviewed. She was skilled in cutting, good at needlework, and knew how to use a sewing machine. Her needlework was impeccable, so much so it was impossible to tell that it had been done by a human.

  Sister Wei had only come in the hopes of fighting for her last chance. However, she didn’t dare harbor too much hope. After all, she was much older than the listed age requirement. She didn’t expect Mu Jingzhe to actually agree.

  There was no reason for Mu Jingzhe to disagree. Such an experienced, qualified worker was actually really rare. Previously, she had wanted a younger assistant because she’d thought that it would be easier to teach someone young. However, she wouldn’t let such a qualified worker slip away.

  As they were both women, Mu Jingzhe could tell that Sister Wei wasn’t in a good state. She must have hit a wall while looking for a job previously. It was harder to find a job at this age than at a young age. Mu Jingzhe naturally chose a win-win solution.

  “When can you start?”

  “Are you really hiring me?” Although Sister Wei had felt that Mu Jingzhe seemed quite satisfied with her, she hadn’t expected her to really hire her. She looked at her legs and couldn’t help but stroke her face. “I’m so…”

  Sister Wei’s legs were a little lame, and it was obvious when she walked. There was also a scar at the corner of her eye that didn’t look very good. This was also one of the reasons she’d kept getting rejected while looking for work.

  Previously, she had been rejected every single time. Now that she’d suddenly been hired, she couldn’t believe it.

  “This doesn’t affect your work. You don’t have to work in front of the stage. So, of course it’s true. When can you start working?”

  “Today. I can start immediately,” Sister Wei agreed excitedly.

  Sister Wei was a quick learner and a quick-witted person. She had helped Mu Jingzhe greatly on the first day.

  When Sister Wei said that she didn’t have a place to stay, Mu Jingzhe decided to provide her with food and accommodation. She could only provide her with accommodation in the studio for now, so Mu Jingzhe felt apologetic. However, Sister Wei said that it was good enough.

  She had probably suffered through a lot and she refused to mention her family, so Mu Jingzhe didn’t ask anything else.

  Now that the accommodation had been settled, it was even easier to handle the food. Sister Wei had excellent culinary skills, which surprised Mu Jingzhe. Even Little Bei and the rest liked her cooking.

  Sister Wei applied for the position of an assistant, but because food and accommodation were provided, she also did the cooking. Mu Jingzhe understood the situation and gave her an additional allowance since she was helping with the cooking.

  Sister Wei kept saying that there was no need, but Mu Jingzhe didn’t take advantage of her.

  Later on, Sister Wei didn’t refuse, as she wanted to do more work. She even tried to rush to wash the dishes, but Shao Xi refused.

  “We can wash the dishes. This is what happened in the past too.”

  “Sister Wei, don’t worry about it. Just cook. It’s like that for me too. What’s most important is for you to do your job well.”

  Mu Jingzhe and Sister Wei would cook depending on who had the time. The children quite liked her.

  However, although Sister Wei was close to Mu Jingzhe, she kept her distance from the children and didn’t speak much to Shao Xi and Little Bei. Mu Jingzhe knew that not everyone liked children, so she didn’t think much of it. She only asked Sister Wei to help keep an eye on Xiao Wu and the rest.

  Xiao Wu knew that Mu Jingzhe was afraid that he would be taken away by Shao Qiyun. Recalling his plan to learn how to box previously, he asked Shao Qihai to teach him. Shao Xi and Little Bei also clamored over to learn.

  No matter what, it was indeed better to know some martial arts to protect oneself.

  When Shao Qihai was free, he would teach them. When Ji Buwang saw this, he also joined Shao Qihai, who knew how to practice military boxing, and Ji Buwang said that he knew how to do it too. Hence, this fiery teaching activity began.

  Mm, compared to the way Mu Jingzhe had taught them to hit wherever it hurt or even aim at certain spots, this was even better.

  [1] a close-fitting dress that originated in 1920s Shanghai