Shen Qing merely glanced at the ink stain on his sleeve, said nothing to Shen Yu, and continued discussing the contract details with Boss Lu.
“Mr. Lu, I always ask for a 50% deposit upfront, but since you are a friend of my father’s, I’ll only ask for a 30% deposit, which is 10,000 taels. We’ll deliver the goods in the tenth month of the lunar calendar, and you can pay the remaining 70% after that. What do you think?”
Boss Lu readily agreed, "No problem! Write it down! I'll sign it for you!"
As he spoke, he pulled out a stack of silver notes from his purse, counted out ten thousand taels, and placed them on the table.
Everyone stared in shock at the thick stack of silver notes.
Although the Shen family was large and wealthy, they usually paid their female relatives a monthly allowance of a few taels of silver, which amounted to about a hundred taels a year. No one had ever seen such a large sum of money as ten thousand taels.
Shen Qing quickly stuffed the stack of silver notes into his purse, his eyes red with envy.
That's ten thousand taels of silver! That's a hundred years' worth of their allowance!
No one will ever have the chance to see so much money in their lifetime.
All the women present had tears in their eyes, feeling both envy and jealousy towards Shen Qing.
Shen Yu was so angry that his teeth itched and his face was contorted with rage.
After signing the order, Boss Lu carefully folded his copy in half twice and hid it in his pocket.
After the business was over, he remembered the real reason he had come today and looked at Shen Liang: "Old Shen, which young lady did you say you were introducing to my son?"
Shen Liang immediately beckoned to Shen Yu: "Yu'er, come here."
Shen Yu immediately put down the inkstone, smiled and walked over, snuggling up to Shen Liang.
Shen Liang said, "My third daughter is twenty-two years old. Although she is three years older than your son, isn't it said that a daughter three years older brings good fortune?"
Boss Lu sized up Shen Yu, then looked at Shen Qing, and asked, "Boss Shen, who is he?"
Shen Liang said, "Qing'er is the fifth child."
Boss Lu felt that since the third and fourth sons were still unmarried, the fifth son, Shen Qingding, was also still unmarried.
But then he noticed her hair was styled in a large bun, a symbol of her married status, and her forehead was smooth and full. He became uncertain again and boldly asked, "Is this Fifth Miss married?"
Shen Liang sighed: "Fifth daughter is already married, but her husband passed away more than a year ago."
Mr. Lu looked slightly disappointed and asked, "Does Miss Fifth have any children?"
Shen Liang glanced at Shen Qing, who had no expression, and shook his head: "Sigh... no offspring."
Boss Lu was immediately delighted and said, "How about betrothing Miss Wu to my son?"
Shen Liang was startled and looked at his friend, not knowing what to say for a moment.
Upon seeing this, Shen Yu broke down and screamed, "Uncle Lu, Shen Qing has been married! She's a widow! Is your son going to marry a widow who's cursed to bring misfortune to her husband?"
Boss Lu laughed and said, "Everyone is born, grows old, gets sick, and dies. It's all fate. How can you say that Miss Wu is a jinx to her husband? I think Miss Wu is quite nice. She's about the same age as my son. I think she's a good match!"
Shen Liang was conflicted.
He had been doing business with Lao Lu for decades and had watched Lao Lu's son grow up. The young man was handsome and of good character, which was why he did his best to facilitate the marriage between Shen Yu and Lao Lu's son.
Unexpectedly, Old Lu had his eye on Shen Qing, a widow, for his son's sake.
This left Shen Liang unsure of which option to accept.
He wanted both of his daughters to get married.
However, some time ago, a more suitable marriage was arranged for Shen Qing, and the son of the Lu family was betrothed to Shen Yu.
Now both daughters can get married.
Thinking of this, Shen Liang said to Boss Lu, "Old Lu, I've already arranged a marriage for the fifth daughter. The third daughter and your son are a better match."
Mr. Lu immediately refused, saying, "No! Our Lu family prefers Miss Wu!"
Shen Qing watched all of this silently.
She knew why Boss Lu insisted that his son marry her: because she had machinery and a factory. Marrying her was like marrying a hen that lays golden eggs.
Shen Liang's insistence on marrying Shen Yu into the Lu family was undoubtedly an attempt to use business connections to resolve Shen Yu's lifelong marriage.
And she, as a widowed daughter, has a widower to keep her company.
The two old, feudal men were each busy with their own calculations, but neither of them asked her whether she was happy or not.
Shen Qing slowly put away the order, adjusted his cloak, and bowed to the old lady and Shen Liang: "I'm not feeling well, so I'll go back to rest first."
As soon as she stepped out the door, Jiang Shen immediately opened his umbrella, sheltering her as she walked into the wind and snow.
Wearing a pink cloak, she resembled a blooming plum blossom, standing proudly in the wind and snow, exuding an extraordinary aura.
As Mr. Lu looked at it, he liked it more and more.
Shen Liang chimed in, "Old Lu, it's settled then! We'll have the matchmaker come to our door on a chosen day, and we'll finalize the marriage between my third son and your young master!"
Boss Lu was still watching Shen Qing's retreating figure when he shook his head: "Our family still prefers Miss Wu. If a matchmaker comes to our door, it will only be for Miss Wu."
With that, he cupped his hands in a respectful gesture to Shen Liang and said, "Old Shen, I'll take my leave now!"
Watching Boss Lu leave, Shen Yu stamped her foot in frustration and cursed, "Father! Since you arranged for someone to come see me tonight, why did you send that girl Shen Qing? Now they want her but not me! What are we going to do!"
After saying that, she ran to the old lady and started crying and making a scene: "Grandmother, Shen Qing's mother stole my mother's man, and now her daughter is trying to steal mine too! Does the Shen family owe them anything?! Waaah..."
The old lady gave Shen Liang a reproachful look: "You can't even manage things properly! If you're going to find a husband for Yu'er, you should arrange it privately. What kind of place is it to bring Boss Lu to a place full of women?"
Shen Liang explained, "I was talking to Lao Lu this afternoon, and only after we finished did I find out that his son wasn't married yet. I thought it would be perfect to introduce him to Yu'er! When I asked, I found out that Yu'er was with you, so I just brought her over!"
Upon hearing this, Shen Yu immediately blamed the old lady: "It was Grandmother who sent Shen Qing over!"
The old woman glared at her and said, "I was just trying to get revenge for your mother and humiliate her! It's all for your sake!"
Upon hearing this, Shen Liang immediately retorted angrily, "What? To humiliate? Why humiliate Qing'er?"
The old lady choked and fell silent.
Shen Yu cried even louder.
Upon seeing this, Shen Liang turned and left.
...
Shen Qing had just entered the room when Shen Liang followed him into the courtyard.
Chen called her out and said to her, "The marriage arranged by the Lu family is for your third sister, so don't even think about it. They may say that now, but they won't really be interested in you!"
Shen Qing smiled indifferently: "I have no interest in the Lu family. You can let them marry Shen Yu."
Although she appeared calm on the surface, she was genuinely angry inside.
These people constantly reminded her that she was a widow and unworthy to marry an unmarried man.
After thinking it over, she was still unwilling to give up and said to Shen Liang, "You don't need to bother finding me a widower. I will not marry a widower! If I want to get married, I will marry the most capable man who has never been married before!"
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