Jiang Bai was at least a stepmother to two children; as far as she knew, Boss Zhao had four sons and one daughter.

Jiang Bai asked with a smile, "How does it feel to be a stepmother to five children right after you step in the door?"

Yingying forced a smile: "You and I are different, Master Jiang, and Sister Li has already taken the children away."

Jiang Bai shrugged: "I'm different from you. Zhao Yi has money, and I can spend it however I want."

Mr. Zhao didn't want to hear them talk about the children. He wanted the children; after all, they were his own flesh and blood. He wasn't short of money now, and raising as many children as he wanted wouldn't be a problem.

But Li threatened to kill herself to force him and Yingying to swear that they would never have any more children. How could that be possible?

Li was just a country woman; how could her child compare to that of Yingying, who came from a scholarly family?

Besides, how cruel and vicious is it to prevent a woman from having children? He never imagined that Madam Li would make such a request. Sure enough, once a woman has a little money, her mind becomes utterly wicked.

The previous negotiations were unsuccessful, and the two of them had basically broken off relations with Li. What they didn't expect was that all five children expressed their willingness to stay with Li, which made him lose face.

He couldn't help but think bitterly: Sure enough, peasant women can only give birth to ungrateful wretches. Even if I keep these children and raise them, they will be of little use. It would be better to let Li take them away and see how an ignorant woman can raise five hungry children.

When they finally understand the harshness and hardship of this world and come to him for help, he will surely humiliate this mother and her five children severely.

Thinking of this, Boss Zhao said, "Manager Jiang, I won't waste any more time arguing with you. Just tell me, do you agree to the price increase? If you agree, how much can we raise it by?"

“If you had spoken to me properly, I might have agreed, but now, I’m sorry, I don’t agree.” Jiang Bai smiled. “I won’t even mention it.”

"Aren't you afraid the milk tea shop won't be able to open tomorrow?" Yingying asked incredulously.

"It doesn't matter if we can't open the store, it'll only take a few days to repair it," Jiang Bai said. "Besides, with Zhao Yi here, how do you know I can't find a backup milk supplier?"

“Zhao Yi isn’t in the county town right now,” Boss Zhao blurted out.

Jiang Bai narrowed his eyes: "How do you know Zhao Yi isn't in the county town?"

This person left secretly, and within a few days, word of it could be heard even in the countryside dozens of miles away.

Mr. Zhao was speechless. He cleared his throat and said, "I have my own sources of information."

Jiang Bai nodded: "Who sent you to make things difficult for me?"

"Zhao Yi's enemies?"

"—Or perhaps they are my enemies?"

Yingying laughed and said, "Master Jiang is joking. Who would make things difficult for you by risking their own food and clothing? If it weren't for the fact that winter is coming and we're really short of clothes, we wouldn't be in such a hurry."

"How about this, you give us a bottom line, and we'll accept whatever price you can raise the most."

Boss Zhao nodded repeatedly: "Manager Jiang, this business is important. We must not let it end in a lose-lose situation."

Jiang Bai raised his eyes, stared at the two of them for a few seconds, and sighed: "I just happen to have this bad habit of being petty and narrow-minded like a woman. Even if you sell me your milk source at the original price, I won't buy it anymore."

"Since the discussion today was so unpleasant, who knows what tricks you might play in the milk supply?"

She smiled gently: "Mr. Zhao, it's not that I don't trust you, it's just that in business, you always have to be a little more cautious, don't you think?"

"You can understand why I'm so neurotic."

As soon as she finished speaking, Boss Zhao's face changed immediately. He trembled and said, "Don't do this, Manager Jiang, let's talk this out..."

Jiang Bai stood up: "That's enough for today. Starting tomorrow, you don't need to continue delivering milk to the milk tea shop. I wish Boss Zhao a prosperous business and a happy new year."

After saying that, she turned and walked out.

The coachman was drinking in the lobby downstairs when he saw Jiang Bai come down. He quickly put down his wine cup, wiped his hands, which were covered in peanut crumbs, on his clothes, and hurried forward: "Master Jiang, shall we go?"

Jiang Bai glanced at the direction of his table and saw that he had only ordered a pot of wine, a plate of edamame, and a plate of peanuts.

The driver smiled sheepishly: "The waiter brought it to me. I... I didn't originally intend to drink, but he said drinking would warm me up..."

"It's alright, it's not your fault." Seeing that the man hadn't ordered any meat dishes, Jiang Bai tossed a small piece of silver to the waiter and paid for the driver's drinks.

After paying, the two walked out, and Boss Zhao chased after them, shouting at Jiang Bai, "Manager Jiang, I'll give you another chance. Let's sit down and have a good talk. Everything is negotiable."

Jiang Bai walked out without looking back.

Boss Zhao said fiercely, "You'll regret it if you don't dare."

After saying that, he spat on the ground and kicked the stair railing hard.

Jiang Bai got into the carriage, and the driver drove the carriage back.

Just as they reached the village entrance, Jiang Bai's voice rang out: "Wait, stop first, I have something to do."

She slowly got out of the car and saw some women sitting and chatting in the afterglow of the setting sun at the village entrance. She walked over and asked, "Excuse me, I'd like to ask if Mr. Zhao, who owns a dairy farm, is divorced?"

"What do you want?" An older woman lifted her eyelids to look at her. Seeing that she was dressed in fine silk and satin and had an exceptionally pure and beautiful appearance, she asked with suspicion, "What do you want with this person?"

Someone chimed in, "He remarried a long time ago. That woman moved in before the divorce. You probably don't have a chance."

After he finished speaking, the group burst into laughter.

Jiang Bai wasn't angry. After everyone finished laughing, he explained, "I met his ex-wife once. She helped me before. I heard she got divorced and is raising her child alone, so I came to see if there was anything I could help with."

"But I don't know where she lives now."

After she finished speaking, she looked distressed.

The women looked at each other in bewilderment.

Boss Zhao's family is very powerful and wealthy, and we can't afford to offend them. Besides, when Li was still alive, she didn't hire anyone to do the work. She was very hardworking and managed everything inside and outside the house very efficiently.

Now that the youngest son has entered the Zhao family, the first thing he does is bring all his uncles and cousins ​​over to help at the dairy farm. These people are lazy and take wages for nothing, so Boss Zhao has hired a few more people from the village to herd cattle.

Among the women sitting here today, the men from two families all rely on Boss Zhao for their livelihood.

They dared not go against the other side.

Do these women hate Boss Zhao and that vixen? Of course they do.

Imagine yourself in their shoes: if your husband becomes rich and then abandons you and your children, you'd have to fight him with a kitchen knife.

They sympathized with Li, but that sympathy was of no use whatsoever.