"This Chen Jing is truly absurd," Lu Lin couldn't help but say.
The Huaxia store actually belongs to him and Chen Xiaomi. Chen Xiaocai can be considered the young owner of the store. Therefore, Chen Jing's act of robbing things from the store can be considered, to some extent, a family matter.
However, Chen Xiaocai herself didn't know that she was the young owner of the shop, so Chen Jing shouldn't know either.
Just because someone in your family works at a shop doesn't mean you can just take things from that shop for free. What kind of logic is that? It's a wonder Chen Jing is someone who has studied the classics.
Chen Jing was beaten up by Chen Xiaomi and slunk back home, hiding for several days without being seen.
Chen Xiaomi snorted. Chen Jing had taken the imperial examinations for so many years before finally passing and becoming a student. In Chen Xiaomi's eyes, he was just a wastrel who only knew how to waste grain. But the old lady doted on him and believed that this fool was a promising talent. "However, it seems that Lu Chengyu was instigating Chen Jing's trouble-making."
Lu Lin thought to himself: Compared to Chen Jing, Lu Chengyu is more cunning, but neither of them are good people.
Lu Chengyu didn't know where Lu Lin worked until she accidentally discovered that Lu Lin worked at the Huaxia Trading Company in town. Lu Lin even brought Granny Shen and Shen Chi with him to work there.
Huaxia Trading Company has recently gained a high reputation among the college students. Knowing that Lu Lin is the manager of a shop he used to patronize, Lu Chengyu felt very uncomfortable.
Knowing that Chen Jing was going to cause trouble for Chen Xiaocai, he secretly instigated her.
When the old lady of the Chen family learned that Chen Jing had been beaten, she was indignant. However, she was still a little intimidated by the big shot who owned a shop in town.
Since ancient times, the common people have not fought with officials, and the poor have not contended with the rich.
In the eyes of the villagers, those who can live in the town must have some skills, and perhaps some connections behind them. It's best not to provoke them if possible.
Moreover, although the old lady was somewhat unreasonable, she was still quite rational and knew that her grandson was in the wrong.
In addition, Chen Shouren said that when the government officials came by, they did not scold the people from the business, but instead scolded his grandson. In the old lady's opinion, the business was even more untouchable.
After Chen Jinglai caused a scene, he didn't show up for several days. After a few days, Lu Lin completely forgot about him.
After all, Lu Lin has a lot to do every day.
Tang was in a good mood when she learned that Chen Jing had been beaten up by Chen Xiaomi. Tang felt that things had been going badly for her lately, but seeing others suffer misfortune always gave her a subtle sense of psychological balance.
"Son, is Chen Xiaocai working at Huaxia Trading Company?"
Lu Chengyu nodded and said, "Yes."
Mrs. Tang frowned and said, "I never expected Chen Xiaocai to have such an experience."
In Tang's view, Chen Xiaocai was just a little kid. How could such a brat hold an important position in the shop? The boss must be too naive.
Lu Chengyu was also somewhat resentful. He had learned that Lu Lin was in charge of everything at the business, and the female workers in the shop all had to be mindful of Lu Lin's feelings. Whoever Lu Lin wanted to hire, they would hire. It seemed like they were living a very glamorous life.
However, the good days of Huaxia Trading Company are probably coming to an end. As far as he knows, there is a cloth shop owner in town who is planning to open a bag shop recently. Some of the female workers in Huaxia Trading Company may have already defected.
"Has Lu Lin really made a lot of money? He must have made quite a bit lately," Tang said.
Lu Chengyu frowned. Asking the second wife for money was always done by his grandparents; he never had to ask.
Lu Chengyu was a scholar, and many scholars, deep down, love money, but outwardly they are aloof and proud, afraid that money will be tainted by the stench of merchants' children. Lu Chengyu was no exception.
Seeing Lu Chengyu's displeased expression, Tang didn't bring up the matter again, but she still had a plan in mind.
Chen Xiaomi glanced at the ledger, then at Lu Lin, puffing out her cheeks, and said, "Business in the shop has declined recently." And quite rapidly.
“There are similar shops outside.” They don’t just make some inferior products with similar styles. The other shop basically completely imitates their school bags. In fact, for some of the more advanced styles, the other shop uses higher-grade materials and is cheaper.
Lu Lin originally didn't want Chen Xiaomi to know, but Chen Xiaomi checked the accounts every day, so it was impossible for her not to know.
Chen Xiaomi sighed and said, "So fast."
Lu Lin shook his head and said, "There's nothing we can do about it."
Although he had tried his best to prevent the method of making the backpack from being leaked, there were many skilled craftsmen here. If he bought one and studied it carefully, he could quickly learn how to make it. Besides, two of the dozen or so female workers he hired had been incited to switch jobs.
Although he separated the female workers, they still interacted with each other, and over time, it became impossible to completely hide it from them.
Even though there were protective laws in the past, counterfeit goods were rampant. Here, counterfeiting is not considered illegal.
Chen Xiaomi sighed and said with some melancholy, "Making money is really not easy."
Lu Lin smiled and said, "Don't worry, you won't go hungry..." Besides selling bags, there are many other things he can sell. Of course, doing business isn't always smooth sailing.
Chen Xiaomi gave a soft hum, her face slightly flushed.
Chen Xiaomi felt that her appetite was growing. Before, she thought that she would be happy as long as she could live an ordinary life, but now she wanted to eat well and dress well every day.
Chen Xiaomi had previously heard Lu Lin say that when they became very rich, they could consider buying an official position. Chen Xiaomi used to think Lu Lin was bragging, but now she felt that it might be possible. Who knows, Lu Chengyu might not become an official, but she and Lu Lin might.
Lu Lin walked out the door and unexpectedly ran into Mrs. Tang.
Since marrying into the family, Lu Lin had rarely encountered Madam Tang. Suddenly running into her made him feel rather uneasy.
"Ah Lin," Mrs. Tang said gently.
Lu Lin was surprised that even after things had escalated to this point, Tang Shi still had the nerve to come to him, and even seemed quite friendly. Lu Lin rolled his eyes. Had she lost her way with her previous tactics, so now she was playing the family card? It was truly unexpected.
"Auntie, you flatter me. I'm just trying to make a living. How could I be anything special? If anyone is truly successful, it's my eldest cousin. He's married to a young lady. That's the greatest honor in the village."
Mrs. Tang smiled awkwardly. Knowing about Li Fangyue's sister's situation, Mrs. Tang has rarely boasted about her daughter-in-law lately.
“Ah Lin, I heard you now have two taels of silver a month. So much silver, it must all be kept by Chen Xiaomi. After all, you are a man, and you still need to establish your authority as the head of the household. You still need to be careful in everything you do. Chen Xiaomi doesn’t look like a twin. She probably can’t have children at all. You work so hard, but in the end, it will probably all benefit outsiders.”
Lu Lin glanced at Madam Tang and said, "You're an outsider, Auntie is joking."
Lu Lin secretly rolled his eyes. He hadn't announced Chen Xiaomi's pregnancy, but he hadn't hidden it either. However, news might not travel well between the town and the countryside, or perhaps Tang Shi subconsciously thought that Chen Xiaomi was infertile, so no one knew about it.
Tang looked at Lu Lin and said, "You child, you are too honest. This little guy may seem good now, but once he gets married and has a son, he will naturally have other ideas. At that time, you will have done all the work for someone else. In the end, you can only rely on your own family."
Lu Lin smiled coldly, shocked by Tang's shamelessness. He had been carried out on a door panel, yet Tang still had the nerve to tell him that family members could be relied on.
Looking at Lu Lin's face, Tang smiled awkwardly and said, "Lin, we had no choice but to arrange your marriage with Chen Xiaomi. Chen Xiaomi is not a good match. You're not living well being dominated by him. Once your older brother passes the imperial examination, we will find a way to get you divorced and find you a good wife."
Lu Lin glanced at Madam Tang and said, "This is my business, no need for you to worry about it, Aunt."
Tang grabbed Lu Lin's arm and said, "Lin, don't go. You and Cheng Yu are both members of the Lu family. Blood is thicker than water. If your older brother passes the imperial examination, you'll benefit from it too."
"Aunt, what exactly are you trying to say?"
Looking at Lu Lin, Madam Tang finally revealed her true purpose, "You've made quite a bit of money now, haven't you? Your elder brother needs some money to smooth things over; he's a few taels of silver short."
Lu Lin smiled speechlessly. Tang Shi vaguely felt that Lu Lin's smile was a bit irritating, and pressed on, "If your older brother becomes an official, then you will be a relative of a high-ranking official."
Lu Lin said helplessly, "Auntie, I don't have any money. Xiaomi manages all the money. If my brother needs money, we can sell land. Anyway, if my brother asks, Grandma will always agree."
Tang's face turned pale as she said, "How can you, a grown man, let Chen Xiaomi manage the money?"
"Isn't this me marrying into the family?"
Seeing that she couldn't win over Lu Lin with her family ties, Tang stopped trying to appease him. "Lu Lin, your job isn't very stable, is it? I heard that someone from the Chen family has caused you trouble. Your older brother's brother-in-law is the registrar. He can easily keep you in your job with just a word, but he can also ruin it with just a word."
Lu Lin looked at Madam Tang and smiled calmly.
Previously, Tang kept saying nice things to him, which Lu Lin found hard to get used to. Now that the other party has shown her true colors, Lu Lin has calmed down.
"The registrar is a favorite of the county magistrate and is truly worthy of respect. However, there is something strange about this, and I wonder if my aunt can enlighten me."
Looking at Lu Lin's expression, Mrs. Tang felt somewhat uncomfortable. "What are you trying to explain?"
"I heard that the registrar's wife is a great beauty. However, what's strange is that this lady's surname is Ji. That's odd. Didn't my elder brother marry a woman surnamed Li? How come her surname is Ji? Could it be that the eldest daughter of the Li family originally took her mother's surname?"
Tang glared at Lu Lin and said in a bluffing tone, "You must be mistaken."
Lu Lin smiled and said, "Maybe so. After all, these rumors are a mix of truth and falsehood, and no one can really say for sure."
Tang glared at Lu Lin fiercely, cursed a couple of times, and then left.
Lu Lin shook his head as he watched Tang Shi leave in a disheveled state.
There are always some shameless people in this world who can't get enough of taking advantage of others.
When Chen Xiaomi saw Lu Lin return, she looked up and asked, "Where have you been? Why are you only coming back now?"
"I ran into the Tang family on the way, which delayed me a little," Lu Lin said casually.
"What does she want from you?" Chen Xiaomi asked.
Lu Lin shrugged and said, "They probably heard that I made some money, so they couldn't stand it anymore and said a bunch of nonsense." Fortunately, Madam Tang only thought he received two taels of silver a month. If she thought he earned tens or hundreds of taels a month, she would go crazy.
Chen Xiaomi rolled her eyes and said helplessly, "Shameless."
Lu Lin thought to himself: That's just shamelessness.
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