sisters-in-law
Tai Shi Zheng took Cang Yi's arm and went to a secluded place to sit down.
At this time of year, everything was bleak, and the blossoms around them no longer swayed like they did in spring. Yet, the warm sun, after the snow, shone on her shoulders, and Zheng felt incredibly happy. She looked up, peering through the branches overhead, took a deep breath of the humid air, and sighed.
"Ah—what a beautiful day it is."
Cang Yi raised his head and looked at the blank sky with her, but he couldn't make out anything. Cang Yi was puzzled. "Zheng, don't you want to talk to me about something?"
"Oh yes, look at my memory." Zheng raised her hand and patted her head.
Cang Yi smiled slightly and lowered her head. She had learned to joke now. "What's wrong? Are you too happy about Mingyue's incident? But why did I see that you weren't surprised at all when you heard about Mingyue today?"
Zheng turned her head away, and the topic was changed again.
"Surprised, of course I'm surprised. But I was surprised last night. Erlang and I were tormented by the Third Brother and his wife until midnight. Sister-in-law, I don't understand. You said that the two of them obviously liked each other terribly from the moment they saw each other, but why are they so stubborn? Especially Song Laoliu, she is like a stone in a cesspool, smelly and hard. It makes me feel sorry for the Third Brother."
Cang Yi sneered, she thought this was a very good description.
But walls have ears. Someone suddenly approached from the east side of the porch just as Zheng finished speaking, and began to scold her, "Taishi Zheng, how dare you bring your sister-in-law here, hiding in this secluded place, to badmouth others? Sister-in-law, you'd better be careful, don't let her teach you bad things!"
Song Mingyue had been chasing her two sisters-in-law all the way here, but unexpectedly, Zheng was pulling Cang Yi so fast.
She wanted to chase after him, but was afraid of getting hurt.
So after groping for so long, I finally got here. But how come as soon as I got here, I heard people saying bad things about her?
Song Mingyue stood in front of her two sisters-in-law and crossed her arms in dissatisfaction.
Zheng stared at the person in front of her and retorted, "Song Laoliu, you're different now that you're pregnant. Now you don't even call me Second Sister-in-law, but you dare to call me by my first name? In a few days, will I become that person? Look at your 'villainous' attitude. Wasn't it when you were crying in front of me last night? Why did you accept the fact of being a mother so early in the morning? Don't you blame our Third Brother anymore?"
If a villain succeeds, then the villain will succeed.
Upon hearing this, Song Mingyue pretended to rub her tiny belly, feeling very proud in her heart, but she still looked very stubborn on the surface.
She said: "If you don't accept it, what else can I do? I have accepted that I have fallen into the hands of Cui Lao San in this life. But I am pregnant now, and things are different now. No one in our house dares to mess with me. So, remember not to mess with me, let alone say bad things about me——"
"Sister-in-law, you too."
The three sisters-in-law are now familiar with each other and don't have so many taboos when talking to each other.
Cang Yi nodded.
Zheng curled her lips and smiled, then quickly stood up and responded in a gentle voice: "Okay, okay, you are precious now. I can't afford to offend you. Then I will give you my seat, but I can't let you get tired. Otherwise, the third brother will fight me to the death."
When Song Mingyue heard Cui Laosan's words, she became anxious and said, "Don't mention him to me."
"What's wrong?" Zheng helped the man sit down.
Song Mingyue sat down on the stone bench without any hesitation and started to complain sweetly, "That idiot spent the whole night studying my belly, talking to himself foolishly, and I didn't get a good night's sleep. And then this morning the old lady dragged him here to be 'punished'. So now, every time I think of Cui Laosan, I get a headache. What should I do if this child turns out to be like him?"
"What can I do? Just bear it." Zheng said and laughed.
Cang Yi also smiled slightly. Song Mingyue looked at them and turned her head away angrily, "Tsk, I really can't explain to you——"
The three of them met and joked around, and the yard was filled with a warm atmosphere.
But Taishi Zheng still hadn't finished her words, so Cang Yi looked at her again and repeated, "Zheng, what do you want to say?"
This time, it was Zheng who stood in front of the two of them, arms folded. She said, "It's not a big deal, actually. It's just that sister-in-law... I want to open a noodle shop. What do you think?"
"Open a shop!?"
Song Mingyue and Cang Yi responded in unison.
They had never heard of any daughter-in-law of the Bo family opening a shop or doing business.
Song Mingyue turned around and asked first, "Why did Second Sister-in-law suddenly bring up this matter? If you go out and show off, will Second Brother agree? Will Mother-in-law agree? It's hard for me to make a tabloid with my father, so I'm afraid it's unlikely for you either. Mother-in-law and the others have always looked down on these mundane things..."
Song Mingyue kindly reminded.
She had been suppressed a lot in the Earl's Mansion before, so now she has become timid.
But the bold die of overeating, and the timid die of starvation. Zheng, however, didn't think so. "Erlang's side is of course fine. He's in charge of everything, but he just follows Madam's orders. As for my mother-in-law... I run my own business, why should she interfere? I pay for it myself, and the shop is a dowry my father gave me. It doesn't bother her at all. If my mother-in-law really doesn't agree, then I can just find a way to make her agree, right?"
Song Mingyue nodded when she heard this. She still admired Zheng's straightforwardness as always. "After all, it's you, the second sister-in-law, who has a temper. Otherwise, it would be you who married the second brother! Okay, since you don't have those concerns, just do it if you want to."
Song Mingyue echoed.
Cang Yi, standing beside her, was a little more worried. She asked uncertainly, "Zheng, are you serious? I thought you were just saying it casually when you mentioned opening a noodle shop..."
Zheng looked at Cang Yi and said seriously, "Really? But I didn't open this shop entirely for myself."
"Why is that?" Cang Yi was puzzled.
Zheng then explained the whole story to them. The two sisters-in-law were kindhearted people, and after Zheng's retelling, they both said in unison, "You're doing a good deed."
Seeing that the two of them had no objection, Zheng quickly took the opportunity to express her own thoughts.
"Sister-in-law, Mingyue, it's not just that! I've also decided that from now on, all the people we hire for work in our noodle shop will be women like Sister Bao Nian, who are struggling financially and need to supplement their family income, or who want to be self-reliant but have trouble finding people to work for them. I want everyone to see that they are not just good at giving birth and serving others as they say. I know they are no worse than anyone else, and they are all very capable people. If they are any worse, it's just that they lack an opportunity!"
"Good! That's so well said, it makes my blood boil. So I've decided to verbally express my support to you, my second sister-in-law." Zheng spoke righteously and sternly. Song Mingyue stood up and applauded, which scared Zheng. She thought Song Mingyue was going to jump up and hit someone...
"Thank you very much, thank you very much. Don't get excited, or you might get a miscarriage. Come on, sit down." Zheng came back to her senses and replied. Song Mingyue smiled and leaned over to sit down, "Don't worry, our little third child is doing very well."
Zheng turned around to seek Cang Yi's opinion, "What about you, sister-in-law?"
It seems like these two people hit it off immediately.
What else could Cang Yi say? Although she was filled with worry, it was Taishi Zheng who wanted to do this. So she decided to be brave and say, "I support you unconditionally. If you need any help, just let me know. This isn't just for you, Zheng. I'm also happy to help that mother and son find a foothold in Bianjing. After all, I've received a lot of help in the past."
Zheng smiled knowingly, happy that no one had discouraged her, let alone denied her ideas. On the contrary, they enthusiastically responded to her every word. Zheng felt it was wonderful to meet them. "With Mingyue's verbal support and sister-in-law's words, I'm reassured. After all, if we want to open our shop, we'll need a master chef to support it—and, among all of us, it seems that sister-in-law is the only one who knows how to run a shop... So, I really have to rely on sister-in-law."
"It seems that our master chef will be very busy in the future--" Song Mingyue raised her elbow and nudged Cang Yi's shoulder.
Cang Yi smiled shyly. She was very happy to be needed. Although she was worried about whether she could do it well, she would do her best no matter what.
This time, it’s not just for Zheng, but also for myself.
The weather was warm at noon, and Zheng felt there was no time to lose. She asked, "In that case, are you two free today? Could you quietly accompany me out to look at the shop? I've only sent people to collect rent there; I've never even been there myself."
"quietly?"
Song Mingyue grinned, "I'm fine, and my sister-in-law should be able to make it too. But it's impossible for the sisters-in-law from the first house to go out together quietly..."
Zheng smiled slightly when she heard this and said, "I have a way."
-
Baohefang, west of Tokyo City.
It is a street that mainly sells medicinal materials and medical clinics.
Taishi Zheng had forced her elder sister-in-law and younger sister-in-law onto the carriage under the pretext of seeking medical help for Song Mingyue's pregnancy. But how could this be considered a secret? Song Mingyue was puzzled. But she happily followed them out onto the street.
Come to think of it, this is the first time the three sisters-in-law go out together.
After getting off the carriage outside the market, Song Mingyue stood beside Zheng, pointing to the three gorgeous shops to the east and curiously asked, "Second sister-in-law, are these all yours?"
Zheng put her hand back and shook her head. Song Mingyue then pointed to several magnificent small buildings in the west and took a breath of cold air, "Hiss, can't it be these——"
Zheng still shook her head.
"Ah, that's here..." Song Mingyue frowned, turning her head to look at the shabby little shop not far away. This time, Zheng didn't answer. She just helplessly grabbed Song Mingyue's shoulder and gently turned her in the direction, "Sixth Brother, this is Anningfang. None of the shops belong to me. The three of us are standing on the wrong side."
“…”
The three sisters-in-law stood on the busy street and smiled awkwardly.
But when Song Mingyue looked up again at Baohefang, a place so completely different from Anningfang, she was stunned. She said bluntly, "Second sister-in-law... I'm not saying this, but why did your father buy this shop? It's just across the street from the one next door, and the level of activity is so much lower. Your family isn't short of money. If you opened your noodle shop here, wouldn't you be facing bankruptcy..."
How could this person say such depressing things? Zheng was so anxious that she walked around the street corner looking for wood.
It wasn't until she touched the sign outside Ci'en Hall and knocked three times that Zheng finally spoke back to Song Mingyue, "Pooh, pooh, pooh, Song Laoliu! Don't curse me! I tell you, good wine needs no bush. As long as we're willing to think of a way, I think our business will be no worse than the one across the street at Anningfang!"
For a while, the two sisters-in-law each held their own opinions.
As the eldest sister-in-law, Cang Yi was afraid the two would cause trouble in the street, so she quickly changed the subject. Then she looked around and said, "Zheng, Mingyue, both of you, stop arguing. Now that we're here, let's go check out the shop first..."
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