After sitting down, Li Wanhua felt a bit awkward. Her once-perfectly-satisfactory son-in-law was now being treated like an outsider, all because he was divorced (though not officially, it was practically the same) and had a daughter.

In truth, Li Wanhua was quite pleased with her son-in-law, Yi Anguo. She felt that having a daughter only proved he was a good, responsible man. Besides, her own daughter had been living with him for so long that, even without a marriage certificate, what was the real difference? And so what if Yi Anguo only had a junior high education? He was capable, smart, and knew how to make money. Her daughter's life would undoubtedly get better and better with him.

The only problem was her husband, who just couldn't get over it. He felt that after all their hard work putting their daughter through university, for her to want to marry a man who had only finished junior high felt like a huge loss. Of course, if Yi Anguo hadn't been divorced with a child, her husband's objections probably wouldn't have been so strong.

After a sip of water, Li Wanhua said, somewhat sheepishly, "Auntie is actually quite embarrassed to be here, but your uncle is too proud and just couldn't bring himself to come see you."

"Auntie, please, if you need my help with anything, just say so. There's no need to be embarrassed. If I can help, I will certainly do my best," Yi Anguo said with a smile.

"In that case, I'll be direct," Li Wanhua said, still looking embarrassed. "Since our restaurant opened, business has been incredible. Many of our regulars arrive late and can't find a seat. Some customers have even asked for private rooms, which we don't have. So, I was wondering if you could figure out a way to give us more space so we can expand."

Initially, Yi Anguo had bought the property specifically for them to open Chuan Yu Restaurant, letting them decide how much space they needed. But Li Xiao, afraid the business wouldn't do well, hesitated. This led to a disagreement, as he didn't want to take advantage of Yi Anguo, and since their own funds were limited, they ultimately only took two hundred square meters.

But who could have predicted that after the restaurant opened, business would be so good that finding a table became a challenge? Seeing customer after customer arrive only to leave because there was no space, Li Xiao grew anxious. This is all money! Watching cash flow away right before his eyes would be distressing for anyone.

Yi Anguo couldn't help but smile. He had calculated from the beginning that Chuan Yu Restaurant was too small. He knew Li Sisi's father would eventually regret it and want to expand. He just hadn't expected that day to come so soon, or for Li Xiao to become this impatient and come seeking his help.

Yi Anguo led Li Wanhua directly to the space he had set aside for Chuan Yu Restaurant and gestured toward the vacant area.

"I knew from the start that your restaurant was too small and wouldn't be enough, so I already set aside this space for you to expand. Take as much of this empty area as you need.

"However, you need to make your uncle understand something. Whatever space is left after you take what you need, I'll have to make other plans for it. If you want to expand again in the future, I won't have any more room to give you."

Li Wanhua didn't know what to say. Her husband had driven Yi Anguo away from their daughter, forbidding him from seeing Si Si, yet here he was, holding no grudges and having already reserved a place for them to expand.

Is she really going to let her daughter miss out on such a good man?

"Anguo! Thank you. You're truly a good man. Auntie really likes you, and I promise I'll try my best to persuade your uncle to stop meddling in your and Si Si's affairs."

"Auntie, you're too kind. Uncle has his reasons, and I don't blame him," Yi Anguo quickly replied.

"Really? After how your uncle treated you, you don't blame him at all?" Li Wanhua asked, finding it hard to believe.

"Of course it's true. I'm a father too; I have a daughter. And even though I was once a poor boy myself, if my daughter grew up and fell in love with another poor boy—especially one who was divorced and came with a child—I wouldn't be happy either," Yi Anguo said with a nod.

"By that same logic, you and Uncle went through so much hardship to raise Si Si to be a university graduate. Then she falls for someone like me, a man who only finished junior high and is burdened with huge bank debts. Uncle is worried Si Si won't be happy with me, that I might even drag her down. His opposition to us being together is perfectly normal. I completely understand it, so I honestly hold no complaints or resentment toward him for what he did."

When Li Wanhua returned to the restaurant, she relayed her entire conversation with Yi Anguo to her husband, Li Xiao.

"I think Yi Anguo is a rare and truly good man," she told him. "Our daughter won't lose out or be mistreated with him.

"If you insist on keeping them apart, and she ends up in a bad marriage, you will regret it. I'm afraid our daughter will resent you, and by then, it will be too late."

Li Xiao sighed. "I never said Yi Anguo was a bad person! It's just that he comes with a child. Our daughter would have to be a stepmother the moment she marries him. Do you think being a stepmother is that easy?"

Actually, after getting to know Yi Anguo better over this period, Li Xiao's opposition had already softened. But how could he swallow his pride, casually give in, and allow Yi Anguo to pursue his daughter again? Or worse, encourage his daughter to go find him?

"Besides! I've seen that kid, Yi Anguo, with other girls a few times. It doesn't seem like he's a very faithful man. Even if our daughter does end up with him, there's no guarantee she'll be happy!" Li Xiao added, a bit resentfully.

"You're the one who forcefully broke them up, so can't he see other women?" Li Wanhua retorted. "Good men always have women pursuing them. Did you really think that just because you forbid our daughter from being with him, he can't find anyone else? That he's just supposed to wait around until you deign to give your approval?

"When my parents disapproved of our marriage back in the day, didn't you have other girls around you, too?"

"What's that supposed to mean? After we got married, I never had anything to do with other women!" Li Xiao said, growing agitated.

"Well, Yi Anguo isn't married yet, is he? So what if there are women around him? You forbid our daughter from being with him, so are you also forbidding him from being with other girls?" Li Wanhua countered forcefully.

"So now you're worried about your pride, too embarrassed to back down? Why didn't you think of this sooner? If you don't fix this now, you'll lose the chance entirely, and you'll regret it even more.

"And when that happens, it won't just be our daughter who won't forgive you—I won't forgive you either.

"You're turning away such a wonderful son-in-law. I'd love to see just what kind of husband you think you can find for Si Si."

Yi Anguo had no idea that Li Wanhua and Li Xiao were currently arguing because of him.

「The next day」

Li Xiao swallowed his pride and went to see Yi Anguo to discuss renting the commercial space. His main issue was that while he wanted to take all the vacant storefronts, he couldn't come up with enough money. After all, the remaining space was nearly five hundred square meters. Between the rent and the security deposit, he would need 150,000 yuan, not to mention additional funds for renovations. Even though the restaurant's business was booming, it hadn't been open long enough to have earned that kind of money.

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