He picked up his teacup, took a small sip, and then smiled and said, "I heard that your Treasure Pavilion is very popular lately, and everything is in high demand. Many people have come to me, hoping to ask me to run errands for them."
"Then why haven't I seen you come to me to place orders?" Anyone who can find Xiao Youzhi must be an extraordinary person; they are VIP customers who need to be carefully maintained.
"You're being heartless. When have I ever failed to give directions? Otherwise, how could so many people come to your little shop in that remote corner to place orders?"
Meng Zhao immediately put on a fawning smile, "I know, I know. If it weren't for Young Master Xiao, my shop wouldn't be doing so well. I've wanted to thank Young Master Xiao properly for a long time, but I just couldn't find him. Now that I've met him, how would Young Master Xiao like me to thank him?"
The room was warm and cozy, with a charcoal brazier burning inside. Soft cushions were laid on the chairs, and Xiao Youzhi felt very comfortable after sitting down. He was too lazy to think and couldn't say anything for a long time.
When Meng Zhao grew impatient, he finally spoke slowly, "Make me a few dishes on New Year's Day."
Cooking was a piece of cake for Meng Zhao, but she was a little curious: "What, aren't you going back to the Xiao family for the New Year?"
Xiao Youzhi shook his head, his expression somewhat indifferent. Seeing this, Meng Zhao remembered what Lu Yuanshi had mentioned before, that Xiao Youzhi's father was seriously ill, so he casually asked, "I heard your father was sick. Is he feeling any better lately?"
Xiao Youzhi sneered, his tone laced with sarcasm: "What a pity, he didn't die."
Meng Zhao was speechless. She had only been making conversation, and this made it even harder to respond. Seeing this, Xiao Youzhi leaned forward and looked directly at her. "Are you cursing me in your heart?"
Meng Zhao pursed her lips. "I really thank you. Am I an unreasonable person? You didn't do anything to me, why would I curse at you?"
“Ordinary people would call me a traitor if they heard what I said,” Xiao Youzhi said, then lay back in his chair and laughed self-deprecatingly.
"Since you know that saying such things will be criticized, why do you still say them?"
Xiao Youzhi remained silent for a moment, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes. He was usually good at pretending, but for some reason today, perhaps because the surrounding environment was too comfortable, he didn't want to pretend anymore and just wanted to say what was on his mind.
"Sigh, don't worry, I won't scold you for this." Seeing Xiao Youzhi's dejected expression, Meng Zhao couldn't help but sigh, her tone softening a bit. "If you can say such things, your father must have done something wrong too. Don't advise others to be kind if you haven't experienced their suffering."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Youzhi's eyes flashed with surprise. "Since ancient times, the father has been the superior and the son the inferior. If the inferior offends the superior, he shall be executed by slow slicing. However, if the father kills the son, he may receive a reduced sentence and be released in court. There are cases where this has been done. Your theory is quite novel."
"Although there is a saying that there are no parents in the world who do not love their children, having children is not like taking the imperial examination, where you have to go through a test beforehand to see if you are suitable. So there are always some parents who do not do well, especially fathers. Without going through ten months of pregnancy to establish a relationship with their children, many of them have a weak emotional bond. Whether you want to be filial or not is up to your own heart. Anyway, you are my friend, and I will definitely stand by you."
Although Meng Zhao herself had been fortunate enough to have wonderful parents, she couldn't guarantee that others would be, so naturally she wouldn't criticize others for being filial.
After hearing these words, Xiao Youzhi felt a mix of emotions. From a young age, he had been taught to be filial, both by the words of sages and by the law. Even his mother was the same way. Even when he felt sorry for his mother and shed tears every day and had some complaints about his father, his mother would immediately stop him and say, "Youzhi, he is your father. No matter how wrong he is, you cannot say such things."
Therefore, in front of outsiders, he was always very filial. After his mother passed away, he stayed at the Xiao family home alone and acted out a play. When the person fell ill, he served him by his bedside. On the surface, he dared not be perfunctory in the slightest. He deliberately starved himself to become thin, just so that people would call him a filial son. But in his heart, he hoped that the person would ascend to heaven as soon as possible.
He never expected that the first person to say he could be unfilial would be the woman beside him.
Xiao Youzhi's gaze softened, but his personality wouldn't allow him to show weakness. So he looked at Meng Zhao and said with a hint of teasing, "And then you'll tell everyone you're my friend?"
Meng Zhao immediately knew that Lu Yuanshi had told him, and cursed inwardly, thinking, "He really is a bad friend." Then, he gritted his teeth and said, "What, isn't that right?"
After saying that, she stared intently at Xiao Youzhi, as if he would be kicked out the next second if he said "no".
Xiao Youzhi was very good at reading people's expressions. He was so comfortable here, with a heater and hot tea, that he didn't want to leave. So he quickly nodded and said, "Yes, yes, of course."
"That's more like it." Seeing that he was sensible, Meng Zhao's expression softened, and she added some more tea to his cup.
In a short while, the snow outside fell even heavier, and even if Meng Zhao wanted to send people away, it was too late now.
She suddenly remembered the matter of wages from earlier, and also the matter of asking Xiao Youzhi how to manage so many chain stores. Since she had nothing to do at the moment, she asked him.
To everyone's surprise, Xiao Youzhi immediately judged her after hearing what she said, "You are very smart and capable, but you won't be able to build a large business."
Upon hearing this, Meng Zhao immediately protested, "Why!"
"Because you are too kind-hearted. Like that Boss Qin you mentioned, you just said that he can meet all your requests, and even bring you the highest profits among all the shops. So why do you care how much he pays his employees? In business, profit comes first. You are meddling too much."
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