With that said, Yang Mei turned to lie back on her bed, ready to go back to playing on her phone and eating snacks. Before she could, Feng Chunling stopped her.

"He wasn't here before, I get that, but he's back now, so hurry up and go!" Feng Chunling urged. "Go win over Er Gou and make him your boyfriend! It's best to just sleep with him tonight and make it a done deal. Then, nobody can say a word! Do you hear me?"

Hearing her mother's shockingly blunt words, even the thick-skinned Yang Mei couldn't help but blush. "Jeez, Mom, what are you even saying!" she protested, embarrassed. "What's all this about making it a 'done deal'? If anyone else heard you, they'd laugh their heads off!"

Feng Chunling sighed helplessly at her daughter's bashfulness. "Oh, you foolish girl. Don't you have any sense of urgency? Don't you know that Er Gou seems to be dating that college graduate, the new village official? If those two get together, what will happen to you?"

To Feng Chunling's surprise, even after she'd laid it all out, Yang Mei still looked completely unconcerned. "Oh, that's it?" Yang Mei said. "I've seen them out together before. I thought it was something serious!"

Seeing her daughter's nonchalant attitude, Feng Chunling nearly jumped out of her skin with frustration. "Yang Mei! Do you have a brain in your head? If some other woman snatches Er Gou away, forget about your job—even my job won't be safe! Do you really want to go back to screwing bolts in a factory?"

At the mention of screwing bolts, Yang Mei visibly flinched, a flicker of fear in her eyes. But she still retorted stubbornly, "What's wrong with screwing bolts? That job is great! You don't have to think, just do the same thing over and over. It's not like my job now..."

Feng Chunling was so exasperated she wanted to shake her daughter. But she knew that if Yang Mei had her mind made up, nothing she said would get through. Helpless, she resorted to patient persuasion. "Yang Mei, can't you just listen to your mother for once? When has my judgment ever been wrong? I'm telling you, that Liu Ergou kid is going places, and he's definitely going to make a fortune!"

Yang Mei rolled her eyes. "Oh, give me a break, Mom. Liu Ergou, make a fortune? He acts like an absentee owner, disappearing for days on end and leaving everything to Hu Jing. Sooner or later, she's going to sideline him completely!"

"Sideline him, my ass!" Feng Chunling couldn't hold it in any longer and shot to her feet. "Do you have any idea that Liu Ergou is the one who funded Hu Jing? That means Hu Jing works for him! How the hell is she supposed to sideline him? What employee sidelines their own boss? Have you been watching too much TV?"

Feng Chunling's outburst left Yang Mei stunned. She had never imagined there was such a backstory; she'd been completely in the dark.

Seeing the shocked expression on her daughter's face, Feng Chunling pressed on. "Listen to me, you silly girl! Liu Ergou is partnered with a big company. He won't have to worry about selling his medicinal herbs at all! By the time those herbs are ready for harvest, it'll be too late for you to try and seduce him! So hurry up, understand?"

After hearing all this, Yang Mei, who had been so indifferent just moments before, now started to get nervous. Still, she didn't move immediately. "Mom," she said in a small voice, "it's the middle of the day. Isn't that... a little inappropriate? Maybe we should wait. I think tonight would be..."

Before Yang Mei could finish, Feng Chunling cut her off. "Tonight, my ass! By tonight, your chance will be gone! Go on, get going! Go now!"

With that, Feng Chunling gave Yang Mei no more room to argue and stormed out of the room.

「A few minutes later.」

Feng Chunling returned, tossing several articles of clothing onto the bed in front of Yang Mei. "Wear this when you go see Liu Ergou! You hear me?"

Yang Mei nodded subconsciously and picked up the clothes to look them over. A second later, her face flushed beet red. "No way, Mom. Can I really wear this out in public...?"

Before she could finish, Feng Chunling cut her off irritably. "You bought it, so why are you asking me? Stop making excuses and hurry up!"

Hearing the forceful tone in her mother's voice, Yang Mei knew there was no point in arguing. She reluctantly changed into the outfit.

Soon, she was standing in front of the mirror, staring at her reflection. She was wearing a black tube top, a thin, gauzy white shirt, and a pair of denim shorts that barely covered her backside. Her face flushed red all over again. The woman in the mirror was dressed far too sexily.

"Mom, isn't this fabric a little too thin?" Yang Mei muttered.

Feng Chunling just rolled her eyes. "Shut up! You're the one who bought it, so don't ask me!"

That shut Yang Mei up. She wanted to protest, but one look at her mother's serious expression made her swallow her words.

Then, Feng Chunling spoke to her daughter earnestly. "Xiao Mei, this outfit is perfect for seeing Er Gou! When you get there, just 'accidentally' lean against him. Be bold. It won't take more than a few minutes before he gets ideas! Then you tell him to come find you at our house tonight. I'll make sure the room is empty for you two. You get what I'm saying, right?"

Yang Mei's cheeks were burning hot with embarrassment, as if she had a fever. Before she could say another word, Feng Chunling started pushing her toward the door and, in a flash, shoved her right out onto the street.

A gust of wind blew past, and Yang Mei instinctively wrapped her arms around herself. She glanced around, and seeing that the street was empty, she let out a long sigh of relief.

If anyone else saw me dressed like this, I'd die of embarrassment. I only bought this outfit to look at in private; I never actually planned on wearing it out. But today... The thought made Yang Mei's stomach flutter with nerves all over again.

Standing behind her, Feng Chunling watched her daughter freeze on the spot and couldn't help but press a hand to her forehead. Why is this daughter of mine so cowardly? The old saying is true: a man chasing a woman must cross a mountain, but a woman chasing a man only needs to part a veil of gauze. If it were me, I would have had Liu Ergou wrapped around my finger ages ago. Why is she dragging this out? Thinking this, Feng Chunling sighed again. My daughter is just far too timid!

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