Yu Yuan was afraid that Yu Tang would overact and anger Gu Xi's wet nurse, which would defeat his purpose. He pulled Yu Tang's sleeve and pretended to scold her, "You have such a bad temper. How can I dare to take you out again in the future? Sit down and talk. Everyone is watching us! You are not afraid of being watched, but I am!"
He thought that he could delay the time as much as possible and say a few bad things about the Li family in front of Gu San and his mother.
Yu Tang knew Gu San and his mother better, and felt that her words were enough to make them suspicious and investigate the Li family. Since her goal had been achieved, she no longer wanted to have anything to do with Gu San and his mother. The two bowls of noodles had already been paid for, so they couldn't be wasted. She should finish eating and leave quickly.
She sat down.
Yu Yuan's face brightened up and he said hurriedly, "That's right. The noodles are almost burnt, let's eat first!" After that, he apologized to Gu Xi and Kong Niang, "Don't be angry, my sister is good in every way, but she has a bad temper. But you can't blame her for everything." At this point, he began to complain about Gu San, "Why didn't you tell me you were from the Gu family? If I had known this, I wouldn't have invited you to eat noodles together."
Gu Sanzi had been thinking for several rounds since he stood up from Yutang. He couldn't tell whether the Yuyuan siblings had bumped into him accidentally or were waiting for him here on purpose, but no matter if it was the former or the latter, what they said about the Li family made him feel a little cold.
His mother is the eldest lady's wet nurse, and their family's fate has been linked to the eldest lady from the very beginning. It is a relationship where both prosper and suffer. The eldest young master did not agree to the eldest lady's marriage, but he couldn't stand the eldest man's soft-spoken attitude. He was moved by the wife who wanted to continue the relationship after several times. He wanted to compete with the eldest wife, and he wanted to give up to the three members of the family. The young master found a helper and took a fancy to the young member of the Li family, so he forcefully arranged the marriage for the eldest lady.
If what the Yu brothers and sisters said was true, then it was possible that the family of their eldest daughter's aunt was really as the eldest young master had said at the beginning, with too little financial resources and no foundation, and probably no rules at all.
It is impossible to cancel the engagement, but the young lady’s life will be over!
Gu San was extremely anxious and had no time to eat bamboo shoot noodles. He just wanted to ask someone to find out what happened in the Li family so that he could go back and report to the eldest young master and let him decide what to do about the eldest lady's engagement.
"Mother!" He, who had not spoken a word, winked at his mother, signaling her not to argue with Miss Yu now. Then he smiled apologetically at Yu Yuan and said, "Brother Yu, I saw that you and Yao San'er have been friends since childhood, and I thought he told you about my identity. I made you misunderstand. It's my fault. From what you said, it seems that your Yu family and our eldest aunt's family have some grudges? However, as Miss Yu said, my mother and I are just slaves after all. It's not easy for us to say anything about the boss's affairs. Please forgive us. As for this same table, Miss Yu, I will go to the shop to help after lunch. Just think of it as sharing a table with a stranger. We will leave immediately after eating."
As expected of Gu Xi's right-hand man, he speaks flawlessly and covers every aspect.
Yu Tang was unwilling to give in.
She nodded and sat down to eat noodles.
The noodles in this restaurant are indeed as good as their reputation. Even though she was not in the mood, she took a sip of the soup and the delicious taste immediately whetted her appetite. The noodles were cooked so well that Yu Tang couldn't help but concentrate on eating the noodles.
However, nurse Gu Xi's mood was very complicated.
The Gu family is one of the most prominent families in Hangzhou, but with so many branches, there are many conflicts. Even if the Yu brothers and sisters have a grudge against the Li family and want to ruin their eldest daughter's marriage with the Li family, it is impossible for them to just make up rumors. Although there are not many people who come to this small noodle shop to eat noodles, eight or nine out of ten of those who come here are locals in Hangzhou. The words of the Yu brothers and sisters will spread quickly. If the Li family is really as bad as the Yu brothers and sisters say, then their eldest daughter's marriage will become a laughing stock in Hangzhou, and the eldest son will be laughed at for ten or twenty years?
And the stepmother in the family, who originally disliked the eldest young master because he was capable of doing everything, and could not find fault with the eldest young master, so she bullied the eldest young lady. Who in the Gu family didn't know this? If the Li family was really inappropriate, where would the eldest young master's face be?
How could she sit still? She ate just two mouthfuls of noodles and couldn't eat any more. When her son's noodles were served, she kept winking at him, signaling him to finish eating quickly and leave.
Gu San calmed down.
Now that things have come to this, instead of fleeing and making a fool of myself in Hangzhou, it would be better to ask the Yu brothers and sisters for more information.
He ate a few mouthfuls of noodles and felt that his stomach was about 50% full. Yu Yuan had almost finished eating too, so he spoke: "Brother Yu, what happened to the Li family? Can you tell me about it? I know that you are not the kind of person who likes to gossip, but you also know the relationship between the Li family and our family. I am worried about our eldest daughter - my mother is the eldest daughter's wet nurse. If the eldest daughter gets married, my mother will definitely accompany the eldest daughter to Lin'an City, and I will have to go there to serve. Because of this, the eldest master arranged for me to be an apprentice in various shops. Even if it is for my own sake, I have to ask. Brother Yu, please be generous in telling me. I would like to thank you first." After speaking, he stood up and was about to salute Yu Yuan.
The commotion caused by Yu Tang just now had just subsided when Gu San took the initiative to ask about the Li family. Yu Yuan didn't want to create any more trouble, so he quickly pushed him to sit on the stool and whispered, "Brother Gu, stop being like this. Let's talk it out." After saying that, he looked at Sizhao as if he was afraid of something.
Of course, Gu San didn't want the matter to get out of hand.
He sat down again and bowed to Yu Yuan: "Brother Yu!"
Yu Yuan sighed, kept the matter of Yu Tu secret, and quietly told Gu San and his mother about what Madam Li had done because her proposal to Yu Tang failed, including the matter of Wei Xiaoshan.
The more they listened, the uglier their faces became. When they heard that the Yu family had asked Pei Yan to be the middleman, they both gasped in surprise. Gu Xi's wet nurse even whispered, "So, Lord Pei also knows about this?"
Judging from the look of it, he seems to be somewhat concerned about Pei Yan's intentions.
Yu Yuan's heart moved, and he quickly glanced at Yu Tang and said, "I know! Not only Master Pei San knows, but everyone in Lin'an City who has a bit of dignity knows it."
Gu Xi's wet nurse's face suddenly turned very ugly.
Yu Tang rolled his eyes, snorted deliberately, and said, "Now you know we are not talking nonsense! If you still don't believe it, you can go ask Master Pei San."
Gu Xi's wet nurse said nothing.
Gu San's smile seemed a little forced. He stood up and greeted his mother, saying, "Brother Yu, it's time for me to go to work. I'll take my leave now. I'll treat you to tea again if I have the chance in the future."
Yu Yuan stood up to see her off, and said in a fake tone: "Brother Gu, my sister has a straightforward temper. If my words have offended you in any way, please don't take it to heart."
"How could that be!" Gu San said humbly.
The two exchanged greetings and then went their separate ways.
Yu Yuan looked at the backs of Gu San and his mother, sighed, and said to Yu Tang in a cheerful tone: "Oh, I'm so lucky today. I finally solved this matter. Otherwise, if you asked me to say bad things about the Li family in front of others, I really couldn't say it."
Yu Tang smiled in understanding and said, "If we talk about luck, it's your good luck, brother. If it weren't for you taking pity on me and bringing me here to eat noodles, how could we have met Gu San and his mother? How could we have talked to them so smoothly? Thank you so much for this time, brother!"
Yu Yuan blushed and was too embarrassed to say anything more. He changed the subject and said, "So what are we going to do later? Should we go back to Lin'an in advance?"
They originally planned to rest here for two days and two nights and go back tomorrow.
Yu Tang thought for a moment and said, "Why don't we go back early tomorrow morning? We can spend the rest of the time wandering around Hangzhou and see how other people's shops are decorated? How do the waiters greet customers? What kind of business is the best? And what kind of patterns do those porcelain shops and tinware shops sell... What do you think?"
"Okay!" Yu Yuan said with a cheerful smile, "We have finished the most important thing, and everything else will be easy."
Yu Tang nodded.
The two siblings went shopping happily.
Gu San and his mother whispered for a long time at the back of the Gu family's silk shop before they separated. Gu San patted his cheeks to make himself look less depressed before going into the shop, while Gu Xi's wet nurse returned to the Gu Mansion with a gloomy face.
The next day, before dawn, someone came out of the back door of Gu's mansion and boarded a boat to Lin'an City.
Yu Tang and his sister were also on this boat.
The two of them sat down in a corner just like they did when they came here, and whispered about what they had learned in Hangzhou City in the past two days. Yu Tang also took the opportunity to urge Yu Yuan to take over the right to speak in the Yu family lacquerware shop: "I don't want you to disobey your uncle, but I think that it is better to put the shop to death and survive than to let it die. If your uncle is willing to hand over the shop to you, let your uncle take charge of it. Go and manage our farm and forest. If your uncle insists on running the shop himself, you might as well run the farm and forest. When the farm and forest are profitable, your uncle will know that you are capable, and your words will naturally carry weight in our family. When you discuss how to run the shop with your uncle, he will definitely consider your opinion carefully. "
In this way, there will be no conflicts between my uncle and my eldest cousin and his son, and my uncle can also slowly hand over the shop.
Yu Yuan seemed to be thinking about something.
Yu Tang continued, "I thought the same as you before. The shop at home is still managed by my uncle, and you came to Hangzhou to do business. But after I followed you around Hangzhou these two days, I found that every shop that can gain a foothold here has its own little tricks, and this is not something that money can solve. Doesn't the book say that governing a big country is like cooking a small fish? We should not be impatient, and we have to take it slowly."
Yu Yuan asked: "Is it like you?"
Yu Wen never asked Yu Tang for his opinion before, but now he asks for Yu Tang's opinion whenever he encounters something. If Yu Tang objects, he will probably give up. Even his father will think carefully if he hears that it is Yu Tang's idea.