When Zhao Guihua and her group returned to the restaurant, they were carrying a large bag of rouge and face powder. Zhou Laoda shook his head repeatedly, saying, "Are you trying to switch careers and sell rouge? You work in the fields all day long. If you wear this rouge, your face will be covered in rouge when you sweat. What are you doing buying so much useless stuff?"
"What are you yelling for? We're buying it, what are you going to do about it?" Zhao Guihua's temper flared up. All these things were gifts from Madam Zhong. She said she didn't want them, but the other party insisted on giving them to her. She couldn't refuse, so she had no choice but to take them all back.
Honestly, it's hard to imagine her spending so much money on rouge. You can't eat this stuff, so why would a woman who toils in the fields put it on her face?
However, what she thought was one thing, but she was indignant that her husband started nagging without asking any questions. There were so many women in the rouge shop, why could those women buy it, but she couldn't?
"What do you mean? You look down on us, think we're not worthy of wearing rouge, do you look down on me because I'm a farmer, or because I'm old?" Is he deliberately trying to upset her? Does he think she's a pushover just because he hasn't shown his teeth?
Today she's going to let the child's father know that when she gets ruthless, even she herself is afraid.
Seeing that the situation was not good, Zhou Laoda's expression changed and he quickly softened his tone, "Calm down, wife of the child, calm down, I didn't mean it that way, you misunderstood, let me explain."
"We didn't misunderstand, you were just deliberately mocking me..." Zhao Guihua persisted, determined to teach him a lesson.
"Mom, so many people are looking over here! They've all gathered around the door!" Xingxing reminded them in her clear voice.
Uh, I momentarily forgot whether we were in the county town or in the lobby of a restaurant. She couldn't control her voice just now, which attracted a lot of people from the neighborhood. They were all waiting to see what would happen.
Zhao Guihua blushed, glared at her husband, picked up a packet of rouge and walked towards the backyard. As she passed Zhou Laoda, she whispered, "Come in here. This isn't over."
With a bitter face, Old Zhou resigned himself to his fate and followed his wife.
"Brother-in-law's going to get what's coming to him today. Why is he meddling in women's affairs? He rambled on without even asking any questions. He's asking for trouble." Zhao Guizhi covered her mouth and laughed.
“Dad’s so silly. Mom didn’t spend any money. The rouge was all given to us by Grandma Zhong. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have brought so much back.” Xingxing nodded in agreement.
“Speaking of Madam Zhong, I remembered she said she’d be coming to the shop for dinner tonight. I need to go to the kitchen to prepare the ingredients. Tongzhen, come and help me out.” Zhao Guizhi turned and went to the kitchen.
Chen Shunping followed her in and asked her who Madam Zhong was and why she had given them so much rouge.
"It was when my sister and I came to the county town to buy a shop that we met..." Zhao Guizhi told Chen Shunping about what happened that day in detail. Actually, she had mentioned it briefly when she went back, but no one paid any attention to it, and no one expected to meet Madam Zhong again.
The other party was a very wealthy merchant's wife. Today, I vaguely heard Madam Zhong mention that the Zhong family's business was quite large. They had shops not only throughout Nanyang Prefecture, but also in other prefectures and even two shops in the capital.
"So the Zhong family isn't just an ordinary wealthy household, they're a major merchant family," Chen Shunping said thoughtfully.
"It seems they also run restaurants, jewelry shops, fabric stores, and other businesses beyond our imagination, but I think it's probably not as big as the Chen family's," Zhao Guizhi replied.
The Chen family was a prominent family, and while prominent families also engaged in business, they had more connections and stronger backing. Children of prominent families could take the imperial examinations, but children of merchants could not.
Chen Shunping chuckled softly. They had already left the Chen residence, and he couldn't be sure what the Chen residence was like now, so there was no point in bringing it up.
I never expected that my brother-in-law's family would know such a big merchant family as the Zhong family, and it seems they are on good terms with them. They are quite lucky; this is an excellent connection.
As dusk fell, Madam Zhong arrived in a sedan chair, accompanied by the manager of the rouge shop and several other managers from the Zhong family. These were all managers in the county town, and Madam Zhong brought them all with her.
At Zhao Guihua's suggestion, Zhou Laoda arranged the largest private room on the second floor for Madam Zhong, and Zhao Guizhi went to great lengths to prepare several signature dishes.
The Zhong family was wealthy and powerful, and Madam Zhong's family was also a rich family. They had tasted all kinds of delicacies, but they were still amazed after tasting bayberry wine and bayberry stewed with meat.
"This wine and braised meat are both superb, and this spicy rabbit is also quite good. Wonderful! I never expected that your restaurant's chefs would have such superb skills," Madam Zhong praised.
At this moment, Zhao Guihua and Zhao Guizhi were in the private room keeping her company. Hearing Madam Zhong's praise, the two of them grinned from ear to ear, feeling both proud and somewhat smug.
Seeing the subtle expression on their faces, Madam Zhong raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong? It seems you two have something to say?"
The two sisters smiled at each other. Zhao Guihua gestured to Zhao Guizhi, who understood and her smile deepened. She cleared her throat and said, "Thank you for the compliment, Madam Zhong. I am the chef at Meizhou Restaurant right now."
Upon hearing this, Madam Zhong gave her a deep look, her eyes filled with undisguised surprise. "Really? I was just about to ask you where you found such a skilled chef, but I didn't expect the chef to be sitting right next to me."
"I dare not accept such praise," Zhao Guizhi said modestly.
"Come on, come on! You can make such a delicious dish. Your skills are extraordinary. May I ask who your teacher is?" Madam Zhong was genuinely curious, not trying to get information out of him.
"Well, it's hard to say," Zhao Guizhi said, pressing Zhao Guihua's hand to stop her from interrupting.
Although Madam Zhong seemed kind and easy to get along with, they had only known each other for a short time, and they couldn't be sure if she was an upright person. If she was cunning and revealed too much, who knew what she might do? The matter of the bamboo slips couldn't be told to outsiders.
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