At the moment she raised her gaze, Xu Zhen felt an inexplicable sense of warmth in his heart.
He smiled, his eyes narrowing into slits, "Little girl, what made you think of coming here to sell oranges?"
In this villa neighborhood, only a few families lived here, and usually, you wouldn't even see a shadow of a person, let alone street vendors.
This was the first time he'd seen a stall, and he found it rather novel and interesting.
Yu Zhi answered honestly, "The people living here are very rich."
Upon hearing this, Xu Zhen let out a hearty laugh, "You little girl, you're not wrong."
When Yu Zhi saw him laugh, the hand holding the dragon head of his cane trembled slightly, as if he was unsteady on his feet.
She took a plastic stool from her tricycle and handed it to him, "Please sit."
"Alright, thank you, little girl."
Just as Xu Zhen was about to sit down, his driver, who had been standing behind him all along, tried to stop him.
"Sir, this—" The plastic stool isn't sturdy.
Before he could finish, Xu Zhen glanced his way, making the driver immediately shut his mouth and swallow the rest of his words.
"Little girl, how much do you earn in a day?"
"It's my first day selling."
"How old are you this year?"
"Eighteen."
"..."
While chatting with her, the smile on Xu Zhen's face never faded.
The more they talked, the more satisfied he became with this little girl before him.
Though she didn't say much, her honesty was something he appreciated deeply.
"Sir, you should go back to take your medicine," the driver couldn't help but interrupt at this moment.
Xu Zhen glared at him irritably, "Go, pack fifty oranges in a bag."
"Fifty?"
"Do you have an objection?"
"No, no." The driver shook his head quickly; he didn't dare have an objection.
Seeing the driver obediently packing the oranges, Xu Zhen instantly changed his demeanor and smiled warmly at Yu Zhi, asking, "Little girl, are you coming back tomorrow?"
Yu Zhi nodded, "I will."
Yu Zhi stayed here to scope out the area, her goal being to figure out the plum blossom estate owner's schedule and understand the placement of nearby surveillance cameras.
She hadn't finished gathering the information, so it was impossible for her not to come back.
The driver soon packed several large bags of oranges. After helping Xu Zhen into the car, he made a few trips to carry the oranges onto the vehicle.
The car slowly started, and Xu Zhen waved through the glass to Yu Zhi until her figure gradually disappeared from view. Only then did he turn his head away.
"Sir, why didn't you just buy all her oranges?"
"What do you know?!"
If he bought them all, wouldn't that be like charity? It would definitely hurt the girl's self-esteem.
Driver: "..."
He regretted speaking up; it didn't end well for him.
The driver chuckled awkwardly and focused on driving quietly without saying anything further.
After driving straight through the gates, past the golf course, they reached the Xu family's villa.
Xu Zhen had just set one foot down from the car when his eldest grandson came forward to greet him.
"Grandfather, you're back."
Xu Fan was dressed in a gray sporty casual outfit, a towel hung around his neck, and sweat gleamed on his forehead—it seemed he'd just finished jogging.
Xu Zhen responded with a sound and gave Xu Fan a once-over. His eldest grandson looked decent enough, scholarly and refined, with a bit of that intellectual air.
While managing the Xu family's businesses had certainly brought wealth, being already twenty-eight this year made him too old—not suitable for the little girl.
Being stared at like this, Xu Fan couldn't help touching his cheek, "Grandfather, is there something on my face?"
Why else would he be giving him that strange look?
Xu Zhen shook his head, clicked his tongue twice disdainfully, "Since you love exercising so much, carry those oranges inside."