Hearing Meng Zhao's words, Xu Yunrong frowned slightly, her eyes full of concern. "Zhao Zhao, your parents can't be with you forever. Someone will have to walk with you on the road ahead. Think about it, if your parents are gone, you will be all alone in this world. How can your parents rest in peace?"
Meng Zhao inwardly groaned. She was an orphan, and when she saw those videos complaining about being pressured to get married, she was a little confused. Why not just say you don't want to get married?
Now that it's my turn, I realize how painful it is to be pressured to get married, especially knowing that my parents are actually thinking of my best interests. I can't bring myself to say anything hurtful because I'm worried about hurting their feelings.
Seeing Meng Zhao remain silent, Xu Yunrong couldn't help but feel suspicious. She carefully observed Meng Zhao's expression, hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "Zhao Zhao, tell your mother, are you still thinking about Shen Qinghe?"
Meng Zhao immediately straightened up and shook her head. "I'm innocent! I just don't want to get married, but I'm not a pervert, okay? Shen Qinghe will only be 15 years old in a month. In her eyes, he's not much different from Shen Qingze. Even if she's obsessed with looks, she wouldn't have any feelings for him." So she raised her voice a few decibels.
"Really, no! My feelings for Shen Qinghe are only those of a brother and sister. I'm only nice to him because I see that the Shen family is having a hard time, and I think he can be successful in the future and help me. There is absolutely no romantic feeling between us."
"So you haven't forgotten Shen Qing'an yet? Those two brothers do look somewhat alike. Could it be that you fell for Shen Qinghe back then because you were too heartbroken after Shen Qing'an left, so you transferred your affections to him?" Xu Yunrong said, while carefully observing Meng Zhao's expression.
In no time, Xu Yunrong had already rehearsed a whole drama in her mind. Meng Zhao was speechless, but she also knew that in ancient times, talking about being a single person and never getting married was too unconventional. Even her parents, who always went along with her, probably couldn't accept it, so she could only go along with it.
“Mother, Qing’an was a very good person. Now that he’s gone, leaving behind a family of orphans and widows, how can I go looking for a new lover so soon? You and Father don’t need to worry about me. It’s not too late to think about those things after I’ve fulfilled my filial duty to him.”
When Meng Zhao spoke, her brows furrowed slightly, and a hint of sadness appeared in her eyes, as if mentioning Shen Qing'an had touched a sore spot in her heart.
Xu Yunrong quickly said, "Alright, alright, it's all my fault. Why did I say all this for no reason? If the time isn't right, you can't force it. I won't say it again, and don't be sad."
Meng Zhao secretly rejoiced, thankfully she still had two years to hold out. The mother and daughter chatted intimately for a while, with Meng Zhao implying that she was currently focused on her career and didn't want to think about relationships, hoping that Xu Yunrong would gradually understand her thoughts.
At the same time, she also has to spend the next two years proving to them that women can live well even if they don't get married.
As soon as Meng Zhao left, Xu Yunrong fell into deep thought, Shen Qing'an's appearance kept appearing in her mind. She hadn't seen Shen Qing'an many times, but she vaguely remembered that he was quite tall and strong, not at all inferior to Meng Dashan, with a high nose bridge and sharp eyes. The more she thought about it, the more she felt that her daughter probably hadn't let go of Shen Qing'an.
With that in mind, she planned to tell Meng Dashan when he returned, so that there would be a standard when choosing people.
Even if Zhao Zhao still misses Shen Qing'an now, she will forget him one day. As her parents, they need to prepare someone in advance and find a son-in-law to live with them so that he will listen to Zhao Zhao in everything and Zhao Zhao will not be wronged at home in the future.
With only two days left until the new shop opens, the work clothes ordered by the tailor shop have finally arrived, and Meng Zhao tried them on himself first.
The upper body was a light-colored cross-collar cotton coat. When you touched it, you could feel that the cotton filling inside was extremely thick. However, because of the proper cut and fine stitching, it did not look clumsy or bulky. On the outside, there was a dark-colored half-sleeved shirt. Cotton coats are not easy to wash, so wearing it inside can also prevent it from getting dirty.
For convenience, trousers were chosen for the lower body, with a slightly shorter apron designed at the waist. The length was just right, neither too long to hinder movement, but also decorative and dirt-proof.
"Mom, this thickness is just right. It won't interfere with my work, and the stove in the shop is always burning, so I won't feel cold wearing it." Meng Zhao excitedly moved around in the yard wearing her new clothes.
Watching from the side, Madam Gu gently scolded, "I could make these clothes myself, but you insisted on going out to find someone to make them, which will cost you a lot of money."
Hearing Gu's words, Meng Zhao just smiled and said, "Mother, you are so busy during the day. If you squeeze in time to do it at night, you will sleep less. If you don't get enough sleep, you will easily make mistakes when you are working in the shop during the day, which will affect the business. You do the math yourself. Is it worth it to save a few hundred coins?"
"Besides, money is meant to be spent. If everyone saves their money and doesn't spend it, goods from all walks of life won't sell, merchants won't have any income, and they won't be able to pay their employees. If the employees don't have wages, they won't have money to eat or buy things, and how will our shops do business?"
Meng Zhao put his hands on his hips and continued, "So, appropriate consumption actually keeps money circulating, which is good for our business."
Madam Gu was both amused and annoyed by Meng Zhao's long-winded speech. She reached out and tapped Meng Zhao's forehead, saying, "You always have so many grand principles."
Meng Zhao was playing in the courtyard when Wei Jinglan saw him and, with some enthusiasm, volunteered to help.
"Meng Zhao, the colors of your new work uniform are really nice. I'd like to help you embroider the words 'Meng Ji' on it. That way, it will better highlight that this is a uniform unique to the Meng family shop. What do you think?"
"Wouldn't that be too much trouble for you?" Although Meng Zhao had no talent for embroidery and sewing, she knew that embroidery was extremely time-consuming.
Wei Jinglan shook her head. "You've helped me so much, I'll remember it all. I have no way to repay you. It's just embroidering two words, there's no trouble at all. Besides, it's only two words, it'll be quick and won't delay your opening."
Seeing her insistence, Meng Zhao agreed, and Wei Jinglan immediately beamed with joy, pulling Meng Zhao into the house.
Before long, several sheets of paper filled with different handwriting appeared before Meng Zhao's eyes. Meng Zhao examined them carefully and couldn't help but admire them in her heart. She was indeed a lady from a prominent family; the handwriting on each sheet was very beautiful.
Meng Zhao compared them for a while before choosing the most square one. She then handed the custom-made cotton-padded coat to Wei Jinglan and asked her to embroider it on.
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