The so-called "without balls" was both a crude and nasty term.
Chen Ping knew that when Qi Sui's mother gave birth to her, she had a difficult labor with heavy bleeding. Her health never fully recovered, and she later developed a malignant tumor. She had to undergo surgery to remove her uterus, completely losing her ability to bear children.
In this era, every family wanted a son, even if it meant paying fines for exceeding the birth quota.
But the Qi family only had Qi Sui.
The villagers all knew it was because of Qi Sui's mother. Yet even so, many outsiders said—
It was actually because Qi Sui's father had no balls, no ability to father a son.
From behind the wall came the sound of a man slapping the table. Huang Zhentian was still smoking, his voice muffled and unclear, but even that bit of information was enough to set Chen Ping's mind racing.
The noble and refined Young Master Lin was the only son the Lin family managed to get after five over-quota births. The entire Lin family had fussed over him, even using some high-tech testing for his checkups.
But the results disappointed the Lin family.
Azoospermia.
A 99% probability of infertility. It was essentially impossible for him to have his own offspring through natural means.
Huang Zhentian bared his yellow teeth, his expression almost pitying,
"Really pitiful..."
When did it become his turn, Huang San'er, to pity a Young Master Lin? But that was the truth.
Any man is born with the right to reproduce, but for Lin Shanghuai, it was a fool's dream.
Without descendants, he couldn't inherit the Lin family's various businesses. Then that Lin family, standing atop the mountain peak, would have nothing to do with him.
Li Jianqin, though shocked, quickly suppressed his feelings. Working at Wanzi Qianhong for so long, he had seen it all. It was just that this time, the protagonist of the story happened to be someone they could only look up to.
Huang Zhentian flicked the ash from his cigarette and asked casually,
"Jianqin, when is your wedding again?"
Li Jianqin said, "Mid-next month."
"Alright," Huang Zhentian took a deep drag and sighed, "Send an invitation to Lin Shanghuai too. After all, the old man personally requested it."
"Yes, sir."
Neither of them knew that on the other side of the wall, Chen Ping had pressed his ear against it. He slowly withdrew the shocked expression on his face, replacing it with contemplation.
At first, this information was startling. But Chen Ping thought it over again—wasn't this also an opportunity?
An opportunity to get close to that Young Master Lin.
Let alone the city folks.
But country folks had all sorts of ways to quietly cover up such matters.
He remembered a neighbor in the village who, in order to get a grandson, traveled thousands of miles to a neighboring province to seek a unique folk prescription. That secret recipe could allegedly help an old oyster produce a pearl and even determine the baby's sex. At the time, such prescriptions were hard to come by. It wasn't until the campaign to eliminate the Four Olds that this trend gradually faded.
Of course, Chen Ping knew that having a son or daughter was a natural choice, and whether a pregnancy could take root was physiological knowledge beyond him. But what did he care?
This was a golden opportunity. He didn't believe that Young Master Lin would willingly degenerate, nor that he would simply give up the Lin family's vast fortune.
Most importantly, if he could get close to Lin Shanghuai—even just a little—just a bit of his favor, then he wouldn't have to worry about establishing a foothold in this county, right?
With that thought, he squeezed the crumpled thirty yuan in his pocket, clutching it like a lifeline.
He stood at the door, waiting until the voices from next door gradually faded, then knocked on the door and called out,
"Brother Li, I want to ask you a favor."
...
"Here, Miss Qi, take this money. Young Master Lin specifically asked me to tell you that if there's nothing else, you can leave. As for Wanzi Qianhong, you'd better not come again. The security at the door has been instructed—this is the only time."
The waiter placed a crisp bill in Qi Sui's palm. Watching her carefully fold it up, he breathed a sigh of relief.
At first, he thought Young Master Lin had taken a fancy to this new girl. But when he asked around, no one in the club knew her. She was just some wild girl who had somehow caught their big client's attention.
But thankfully, the girl had only lost some money. Once the money was settled, she had nothing to do with Young Master Lin anymore, making things easier for the waitstaff.
Still—
The waiter remembered that when Young Master Lin took out the money, he had specifically tucked that worn-out old bill into his own wallet and replaced it with a crisp new one. No matter how he thought about it, it felt a bit off.
But Qi Sui had already taken the money and obediently thanked him.
Before leaving, she hesitated, wondering if she should meet Brother Chen Ping. But then she thought he probably had no time to see her, and if they did meet, he might scold her again. So she turned and left.
After getting the money back, Qi Sui felt much more at ease.
As for Brother Chen Ping? She thought to herself guiltily—
Anyway, it was Brother Chen Ping who lied to her first.
At Wanzi Qianhong, she had heard that waiters who wanted to do business mostly relied on winning money at the card tables. She was just afraid that her money would be used for bad things by Brother Chen Ping.
Besides.
Qi Sui pouted. Anyway, they would eventually get married. In the end, the money would be spent on themselves. What difference did it make who held it?
She stubbornly ignored the loophole in her logic. If it was all the same, why couldn't she give it to Chen Ping?