Chapter 12: Can you bear the price of greed?
Seeing Tang Xiaoling apologize to him, Shi Huai pretended to wipe away her tears, put on her usual coquettish look, and whined, "I was thinking of throwing you a big birthday party."
Hearing that Shi Huai was going to host a grand birthday party for them, Tang Xiaoling and Tang Qiaoguo's eyes lit up almost at the same time: "Really?!"
Shi Huai took out a card from her bag.
"How can I lie to you?"
She gently placed the golden card on the table.
The mother and daughter immediately recognized the words on the card: Jinbihuihuang Hotel SVIP Membership Card
It was so magnificent that only top-tier members were eligible to hold banquets there. Even in Changjing, there were only a handful of such places.
Tang Xiaoling quickly took the card in her hand like a thief, carefully guarding and checking it, fearing that it would be snatched away in the next moment.
The greedy look is what Shi Huai wants to see most. As long as he gives this card to Tang Xiaoling, Tang Xiaoling and Tang Qiaoguo will definitely call all their relatives and friends to show off.
Ever since they married into wealthy families, they've been desperately trying to break into the upper class. Perhaps they've made friends with quite a few wealthy wives and daughters of wealthy families recently?
However, can you afford the price of greed?
Shi Huai also specifically mentioned: "Please prepare a guest list in advance and submit it to the hotel."
Tang Xiaoling and Tang Qiaoguo looked at each other from a distance and couldn't help but feel secretly happy.
After holding a birthday party in such a magnificent place, those rich ladies and celebrities who looked down on them will probably be eager to make friends with her this time!
And those friends and relatives in the circle of friends who think that they are fake socialites pretending to be rich were all invited over to give them a slap in the face!
Shi Huai looked at the excited expressions of the mother and daughter, sighed again, and complained: "With this card, you no longer care about me, your daughter?"
Tang Xiaoling put the card into her orange-skin crocodile bag and quickly said in a gentle and flattering tone, "How could that be! Although you are not my biological child, you are more important to me than Qiaoguo."
When Tang Qiaoguo heard her mother say this, she said sourly, "Sister, you should not be so ungrateful for the blessings you have."
In her previous life, it was because she believed Tang Xiaoling's PUA words that she felt a little sorry for Tang Qiaoguo. She tolerated her everywhere and gave her all the good things with a flattering smile.
Now that I think about it, this mother and daughter must have conspired together, right?
The waiters brought up tea sets, kettles, and snacks one after another. Shi Huai looked at the mother and daughter who were already eager to try something, and the corners of his lips curled up.
Not long after, several young ladies that Tang Qiaoguo knew came to the teahouse one after another.
They saw Tang Qiaoguo and the other three at a glance.
"Qiaoguo~"
Tang Qiaoguo was overjoyed and waved to them.
"Wow, Qiaoguo, I didn't expect you to come to Angsana for tea!"
"I've always wanted to come to Angsana for tea, but my dad thinks I'm a child who doesn't know how to appreciate tea and will only ruin it. Today is my first time at Angsana!"
"Thanks to Qiaoguo~"
"Thank you, Qiaoguo! You are worthy of being our daughter of the Tang Dynasty~"
"It's just a Yue Chun restaurant, how expensive can the tea be?" Tang Qiaoguo felt very happy to be flattered by these rich girls.
But she still pretended to be reserved, not daring to grin. Instead, she acted like an elegant, worldly-wise woman, leisurely greeting her socialite sisters as if she were the host.
These daughters of rich families are not easy to deal with. Tang Qiaoguo specially called them over not just for a few teas.
Several women sat down one by one and greeted Tang Xiaoling.
"Hello, Auntie~"
Tang Xiaoling responded to each one with a smile: "Okay, okay."
Their gazes fell on Shi Huai, and they paused for a moment, their expressions changing dramatically. Disdainful and sarcastic glances shot towards Shi Huai like thorns, but Shi Huai didn't take these counterfeits to heart.
Tang Qiaoguo must have exaggerated a lot when telling them about her current identity.
She could guess with her toes how it all worked out, including seducing Mr. Zhou and getting married with a pregnant wife.
Shi Huai was too lazy to care about it. He just needed to make good defense by fighting the enemy with soldiers and blocking the water with earth.
"Sister, the Zhou family motto is well-known throughout Changjing. I'm sure you've learned a lot of etiquette during your month at the Zhou family. I'm sure practice makes perfect with the tea-making process. My sisters and I have never been to Yuechun Restaurant. Can you show them how?"
The ladies scoffed and laughed, their words full of sarcasm and contempt. Of course, this was just a superficial phenomenon. How could Shi Huai not know what they were thinking? They were just jealous of him.
"Are you the ungrateful sister Qiaoguo who turned her back on you after climbing up the tree?"
"Hey, you can't say that. I'm pregnant with the Zhou family's grandson. You don't understand the principle that a mother's status is determined by her son, but doesn't your sister understand it?"
"Even if I use all my tricks to squeeze onto the branch, can that ugly gray sparrow really turn into a true phoenix?"
"Sister Shi Huai, as the wife of the Zhou family, you can't even do the most basic thing of making tea, right?"
"How is that possible! Although Sister Shihuai is not a match for the Second Master of the Zhou family, look at her temperament. There's no way she's a fool, right?"
Their blatant teasing clearly showed they didn't want to give Shi Huai a way out. Furthermore, their laughter was loud, and the teahouse was already quiet, with conversations low. Now, with their shouting, everyone couldn't help but look towards Shi Huai with curiosity.
Some people even went to watch this scene closely, and they were surprised by the moment she appeared. The beautiful lady who was as beautiful as the misty rain in the south of the Yangtze River turned out to be Zhou Jibai's dandy wife?
But no matter how dissolute Zhou Jibai was, he was still the second young master of the richest family in Changjing. I heard that the wife he married came from an ordinary family and was only beautiful.
Everyone was eager to see if Mrs. Tuesday, the teahouse's proprietress, was a complete idiot. Even more people were anticipating her embarrassing moments.
Shi Huai glanced at the people around waiting to watch the fun, and the corners of his lips curled up slightly, "Let me make tea for you, are you worthy?"
When these words were spoken, everyone present was stunned.
Shi Huai chuckled softly, his eyes filled with contempt. "Qiaoguo, I didn't expect you to be true this time. This is indeed the first time for these people in this teahouse. Didn't you know they have a dedicated tea artist?"
Generally speaking, who would come here to drink tea and make tea by themselves?
Tang Xiaoling, who was standing by, was eager to protect her daughter. She coughed lightly and said, "Huai'er, how can you talk like that?"
Shi Huai pretended to be helpless: "Mom, I'm right. The Zhou family has a solemn family tradition and strict family precepts. But they won't let me do all this myself. Besides, Zhou Ji spent a lot of money to invite a tea artist to the teahouse, is it just for show?"
She didn't do these things in the Zhou family, and you guys still have no shame?
Shi Huai's few sharp and straightforward words made the people opposite him fall into deep shame.
Their faces flushed, they bit their lips and glared at Shi Huai, but they couldn't say a word.
Tang Qiaoguo smoothed things over with clever words and said with a smile, "Oh, sister, I know you don't know how to make tea, but please don't make it so difficult for me. Okay, okay, let the tea artist come up."
Pretending to say it casually, Shi Huai was cast in the role of a villain and fool.
In his previous life, Shi Huai didn't know how to make tea, which was why he fell into Tang Qiaoguo's trap. Just like today, he made a fool of himself in front of the teahouse patrons.
Everyone laughed at her. If she didn't know how to make tea, she could just ask the tea artist to come up. Why bother trying so hard to be a master and bring shame to the Zhou family? Shi Huai was a very serious person. After this incident, she practiced tea making diligently just to prove herself in front of others.
Later, she foolishly invited Tang Qiaoguo and her group of celebrity friends to have tea at Yuechun Building for the second time. They drank with gusto and finally said a few words with a smile.
[Sister, as the wife of the Zhou family, why does she still make tea herself? Don't you think it's cheap?]
[What happened that day was just a joke. Sister, you really can't afford to make such a fuss. What's the point of being so serious?]
Shi Huai would not grant her wish this time. Instead, he tilted his head and asked in confusion, "Didn't you guys want me to make tea for you in front of everyone? How did I become the one making things difficult for you?"
"And wasn't I telling the truth?" Shi Huai said with those pure and innocent eyes flashing, pretending to be arrogant, "The second wife of the Zhou family, Zhou Jibai's wife, personally made tea for them? Do they deserve it?"
She repeated this sentence, making these fake socialites feel embarrassed and ashamed. They gritted their teeth and kept cursing Shi Huai in their hearts for being a pretentious person.
"Yeah, after all, she's Mrs. Zhou, and she's personally making tea for you youngsters? Hahaha, you guys are really a bit shameless."
"Don't forget who owns this teahouse. After all, she's the proprietress of this shop. You guys, tsk, are so tactless."
The wind direction gradually changed, and everyone started to speak up for Shi Huai and began to laugh and tease Tang Qiaoguo and the others.
Tang Qiaoguo's face froze, and she forced a smile: "Sister, you don't know how to make tea. It's all my fault for having good intentions but doing bad things..."
"Yes, if the Second Madam of the Zhou family really knew how to make tea, she wouldn't be so harsh in her words, right?"
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