Chapter 116: Three Victories. (First update)...
"How is that possible?" The smug look on Third Sister's face froze instantly, her eyes widened, and her voice changed tone: "How is that possible!"
"Stupid! You're such a fool who acts on your own!" Mr. Guo was so angry that he trembled all over when he saw her like this.
He still remembered that they were still in the donkey cart, and he understood the seriousness of the matter even more. Therefore, Mr. Guo suppressed his voice and gritted his teeth to explain the seriousness of the matter: "The imperial examination is a national ceremony to select talents. How can we tolerate such reckless behavior? Do you know that if people knew that you secretly purchased the exam questions, not only would I be doomed to fail the imperial examination, but even my father-in-law would be implicated by you."
He grew angrier as he spoke, his chest heaving violently. "I thought you were just impatient, but I never imagined you could be so clueless, even messing around with something so concerning your life and property!"
The third sister shrank her shoulders at his yelling, but she remained stubborn, "How could I do anything wrong? I just... I just wanted to help you. Besides, no one knows about this. You, you have to be so fierce?"
"Not worth it?" Mr. Guo sneered and turned away, no longer looking at her. "I know everything about the imperial examinations. You don't need to worry about it."
After saying that, he closed his eyes and leaned against the car wall. No matter how much his third sister hinted at him or complained in a low voice, he pretended not to hear and refused to say a word.
The carriage suddenly became quiet, with only the rumbling sound of the wheels rolling over the cobblestones, which was so dull that it made people feel uneasy.
The third sister looked at Mr. Guo's cold and hard profile, feeling aggrieved and anxious. She sat stiffly in her seat, really not understanding why all this happened.
It was obvious that at this time in her previous life, Mr. Guo was very considerate to her, but the two of them gradually drifted apart after he was demoted.
She had clearly worked very hard, so why was this life so much harder than her last? Her fourth sister's family had fallen on hard times, the exams had been changed, and even her husband was so cold to her. Ever since arriving in Bianjing, the third sister had felt like nothing was going her way.
The third sister bit her lip, her fingers unconsciously touching her belly, and suddenly her eyes lit up: she remembered that in her previous life, she found out that she was three months pregnant on the way to Yongfeng County to take up her post. After calculation, she thought that she should be pregnant with her eldest daughter now.
If I tell you that I’m pregnant the day before the results are announced, wouldn’t that be a double blessing?
The Third Sister's frustration was mostly relieved. She returned to the inn and called her trusted maid Chen Xiang, asking her to find a doctor. She just said she had a headache and fever and asked her not to tell anyone.
Chen Xiang agreed verbally, then turned around and handed the matter over to the maid below, who then turned around and handed the matter over to the servant An Shun.
Anshun thought his wife was ill, so he hurried to report to Mr. Guo.
When Mr. Guo heard this, he thought his third sister was just being unconvinced and refusing to listen, so she was deliberately throwing a tantrum for him to see. He became even more furious: "She has such a temper, and she's from an official family! People say you should marry a virtuous woman, but I feel like I've married a disaster!"
Anshun wanted to persuade him to go see his wife, but seeing how angry he was, he quickly retreated without daring to say anything more.
Anfu, the servant next to him, rolled his eyes, and when they were the only two left in the room, he came forward and lowered his voice, telling the rumors he had heard when he was in Taiping Prefecture.
Mr. Guo was horrified: "Is this true?"
Anfu knelt on the ground and said, "How dare I lie to my lord?"
"When someone below you makes a mistake, you should just deal with it at home. Instead of causing such a scene in the whole city, you've caused an uproar." Guo Guanren's face darkened, filled with hatred and anger. He raised his leg and kicked Anfu, "You fool! Why didn't you say so earlier?"
"At that time, the two families had already engaged, and my younger sister was serving in the master's study. I didn't dare to gossip about my wife, so I kept hiding." Anfu hurriedly explained.
Mr. Guo thought about it and it made sense, but he still couldn't believe it: "Sending her personal maid out on the street... This, this is not the behavior of a wife of an official. No, even an ordinary family wouldn't do such a disrespectful thing!"
"That's right." Anfu kowtowed to Mr. Guo and said pitifully, "I've been terrified every day, afraid that my sister would also be sent out to marry by my wife, so, so..."
After listening to this, Mr. Guo believed it to a certain extent, but he was still a little confused. Although Xi was quite jealous after marrying into his family, she did not send the people in the courtyard away.
"Do you know how the Xi family handled it?"
"I heard that the girl and her family redeemed themselves and left Taiping Prefecture with the man. There was no further news after that."
Mr. Guo sat on the chair and pondered for a while. In the end, he did not write about the incident of his third sister secretly buying the exam questions. He only picked up a pen and wrote a letter saying that he had heard some rumors at his brother-in-law's house. He also asked his mother to help inquire about the situation in Taiping Prefecture and to ask his mother to send two people close to him to discipline his third sister.
After finishing the letter, he asked Anfu to go to the delivery shop and pay someone to take the letter back home.
Not to mention that Mr. and Mrs. Guo each had their own thoughts and the family was in turmoil. On the other side, Chen Yan happily took a car back home, washed up, and fell into a deep sleep. It was not until the next day that he went to Linzhiji with full energy.
As soon as I arrived at the shop door, I saw that it was crowded with people, some standing and some sitting. Song Jiaoniang and Yu Niangzi were welcoming guests at the door, exchanging a few words with them from time to time.
If there were no red silk hanging and no wedding banquet, it would have been as lively as a wedding.
Chen Yan's heart instantly rose to his feet, and he didn't care about Manager Jiang behind him. He hurried forward, and was seen by Song Jiaoniang and Yu Niangzi as soon as he reached the door.
"Brother Yan is back?"
"Long time no see, Mr. Shen."
"Aunt Song, Madam Yu." Chen Yan greeted them first, then looked ahead: "What happened today?"
Madam Yu covered her mouth and smiled: "Mr. Chen hasn't been here these few days, so he doesn't know about the happy event that happened in our Linzhiji, right?"
Chen Yan's body stiffened: "Happy, happy news?"
Madam Yu loved teasing young people, so she winked and said, "Mr. Chen, guess what the big news is?"
Chen Yan froze in place and opened his mouth.
Seeing this, Manager Jiang quickly replied, "Master, the government has sent a congratulatory letter this year, Linzhiji is ranked among the top 50."
"Manager Jiang, you're such a jerk! Let me tease you again."
"Top 50?" Chen Yan was slightly startled, turned around and muttered: "Why didn't you tell me earlier, the gift——"
Manager Jiang pointed behind him and said, "The gifts have been put in the car and sent to the backyard."
Chen Yan just breathed a sigh of relief, and then asked curiously: "Are all the people inside here to congratulate?"
"That's not the case." Madam Yu smiled. "Many of them heard that Sister Zhi was going to participate in the selection for the deputy head of the guild, so they came over to say hello and have a chat."
Chen Yan's eyes lit up when he heard this: "I haven't been here for just a few days, and Sister Zhi is about to become the deputy head?"
As soon as Lin Zhi went out, she heard Chen Yan's exclamation, and she was immediately at a loss whether to laugh or cry: "Don't listen to Madam Yu's nonsense, it's just that the government's list has just come down, and the vote hasn't started yet."
"Don't worry, Chef Lin, I will definitely vote for you!" Several shopkeepers who followed Lin Zhi out immediately responded.
"That's right! We will definitely vote for you!"
"Our foot shop has never had much say. If you can become the boss, you can also fight for some benefits for us!"
Most of these shopkeepers were contestants from the previous Newcomers' New Year Party, and when Linzhi won first place, they were proud of it. Now, upon hearing that Linzhi was running for vice-president, they immediately united and rallied the shopkeepers of other shoe shops to support them.
You have to know that for dozens or hundreds of years, no one from a foot shop could become the deputy head of a guild. In the past, the deputy heads of guilds were usually the head chefs or managers of large restaurants, and the chefs from foot shops were just supporting roles.
The activities they organized were exactly the same as the New Year's parties for newlyweds. Even if the chefs from the shoe shops and restaurants were invited, they were just there to serve as a supporting role.
Now that we have the opportunity to break the convention, we can be said to be united in our efforts. At first glance, everyone's enthusiasm is stronger than that of Linzhi.
Lin Zhi's cheeks flushed slightly and she nodded: "I'll do my best."
Chen Yan looked at her serious expression and secretly encouraged himself: Sister Zhi is working so hard, I can't let her fall behind.
After sending most of the guests away, Lin Zhi invited Chen Yan and Manager Jiang to come in and sit down. She spoke the truth, embarrassed, "Actually, I hadn't originally planned to run. It was Chef Wei who reminded me that I was interested. I didn't expect everyone to be so excited and rush over right away."
Originally, she just wanted to give it a try, but now, because of what everyone said and recalled the injustice at venue A and B, she really felt the fighting spirit.
"Sister Zhi, you underestimate yourself." Others may not know this, but Chen Yan, who once worked as a clerk, is well aware. He smiled and said, "Although the head of a guild is a merchant, not an official, and has no power, he serves as a bridge between the government and ordinary merchants. In fact, he possesses power no less than a 'clerk' and influence no less than many local officials."
"What's more, the catering business in Bianjing City can recommend talents to the palace, participate in various festival banquets, and even have the right to express opinions on the selection of ingredients for tribute."
"The most important thing is reputation." Chen Yan thought for a moment and said, "The afterglow of the Newcomers' New Year Party will only last about a year. Newcomers will appear in the spring of next year. Even if someone like Zhi Jie'er is a prodigy who hasn't been seen for decades or even centuries, it will be easy to be overshadowed. With this opportunity to become the deputy head, we must fight for it."
Song Jiaoniang nodded and looked at Lin Zhi again: "I remember Chef Wei said the same thing that day, right?"
Linzhi nodded.
Chen Yan raised his eyebrows: "Speaking of which, Chef Wei is——"
"He's the head chef at Haoweizhai," Linzhi explained. "He also placed in the top five at the New Year's party."
"Oh~ He's the one defeated by Sister Zhi."
"Cough cough." Lin Zhi wanted to laugh and coughed again.
"Don't worry." Chen Yan smiled, "I definitely won't tell him in front of him."
Linzhi covered her mouth and laughed secretly again.
Song Jiaoniang also had a strange expression on her face, and she bowed behind Chen Yan.
Chen Yan then realized something was wrong. He turned around and saw a man with a forced smile looking at him. It seemed that this man was the chef Wei that Lin Zhi mentioned.
Chen Yan looked at Chef Wei from top to bottom: he was not as tall as him, so he had one advantage; he did not have a better figure than him, so he had two advantages; he was not as young as him, so he had three advantages.
He raised his chin slightly, looking very proud.
Chef Wei could see what he was thinking. His face darkened slightly as he glanced at Chen Yan from head to toe. He couldn't find any way to outshine him. He felt even more frustrated, but he still smiled and asked Lin Zhi, "Chef Lin, who is this? Why haven't I seen him at the New Year's party?"
"This is Mr. Shen. He's not a chef, but a friend of ours. He currently works at the Dali Temple," Lin Zhi introduced. "This is Chef Wei I just mentioned."
The two smiled at each other, but there was no sincerity on their faces. Their fake smiles made Lin Zhi shudder.
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