The old man was relieved and followed the man to the charcoal stove. A man warming himself by the fire complained, "Heavens! They don't even give you a heads-up before it rains. I just came out to get some oil, and I've gotten soaked. I should have stayed home tonight, even if I was starving."
"Who says otherwise!" chimed in a woman carrying a bundle. "I just got back from my parents' house, and this rain hit me halfway there. I should have stayed at my mother's for the night."
Listening to the conversation, the old man realized that everyone present had been trapped by the sudden downpour and had been called in by the young waiter.
A moment later, the young waiter brought two copper kettles from the backyard and placed them on the stove. "Boil some hot water so everyone can drink it and warm themselves up."
The rain outside showed no signs of letting up. Seeing this, the young waiter brought out another steamer of steamed buns from the kitchen: "The rain is pouring down, and we haven't prepared much food. We only have some leftover steamed buns from lunch. Share them and have a little something to tide you over."
The starving pedestrians took the steamed buns and ate them heartily. One of them remarked between bites, "Young man, we're really grateful to you; otherwise, we'd still be soaking in the rain."
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning ripped across the sky, followed by a deafening clap of thunder. The timid ones immediately shrank back in fright, thinking, "Such a loud thunderbolt! If someone were walking down the street and got struck by it, that would be truly unjust."
Feeling bad for the young waiter, several passersby who were taking shelter from the rain took out some copper coins from their pockets to give to him: "Young man, consider this money for the steamed buns and charcoal. We can't just eat and drink for free."
The young waiter waved his hands and backed away, saying, "Please don't make things difficult for me. Our manager has already instructed us that everyone passing by is a neighbor, and we should help them out as much as we can. Besides, our manager always keeps his word. If he finds out I'm secretly taking money, he'll definitely fire me. I can't bear to lose this job!"
Seeing the young man's insistence, the crowd had no choice but to give up. When the rain subsided, the young man took out several umbrellas and raincoats from the backyard and distributed them to them.
"How can you do this? What if your manager finds out you lent things to someone else and scolds you?"
The young shop assistant laughed heartily: "It's alright, you can take it and use it first. When the rain stops and you pass by here again, just bring it back. If our manager finds out, he'll definitely only praise me for being clever and won't blame me at all."
Seeing the young shopkeeper's sincerity, the group stopped refusing and hurried home with their rain gear. Later, when Meng Zhao heard about this, he simply asked out of curiosity whether the items had been returned.
The young man replied with a beaming smile, "They've all been returned. Not only that, there's been quite a lot more. An old man brought me a few salted duck eggs he made himself, and they're still runny-yolk, so delicious."
Meng Zhao chuckled and nodded, telling him to continue looking after the shop; there was no rush to open it yet.
On a sunny day, Meng Zhao and Xu Yunrong went out shopping together. The two were selecting hairpins in a jewelry shop when they suddenly saw a woman walk in from the door. Her long, crimson brocade dress made her even more beautiful.
Upon seeing Meng Zhao, the woman asked with a smile, "This must be Madam Meng, right?" Her voice was as clear and melodious as pearls falling onto a jade plate.
Meng Zhao looked up and immediately recognized the person as Dong Heqing, the matriarch of the Xiao family, but pretended not to know: "You are...?"
Dong Heqing covered his mouth and chuckled, then affectionately took Meng Zhao's hand: "That child Youzhi is really something. He's so close to you, but he didn't even bring you home to meet us. Now that we've bumped into each other today, we don't even recognize each other."
Meng Zhao feigned sudden realization, "So it's Madam Dong!" She gave a slight curtsy, "I've often heard Young Master Xiao mention you before, and today I'm finally fortunate enough to meet you. Madam Dong is truly graceful and beautiful beyond compare."
"Oh?" Dong Heqing raised an eyebrow. "What did he say about me?"
Meng Zhao's expression suddenly changed, and she stammered as if she had just realized her slip of the tongue: "This...Young Master Xiao said..." Her eyes darted around, and her voice lowered, "He said you are intelligent and have a knack for business..."
Dong Heqing chuckled upon hearing this, but a cold glint flashed in her eyes. How could she not see through Meng Zhao's insincerity? That little brat must have said plenty of "good things" about his stepmother outside.
"That child, Youzhi, just doesn't get along with me." Dong Heqing sighed softly, her fingertips tracing the jade bracelet on her wrist. She said with a hint of reproach, "If he had told me earlier that he wanted to buy the shop on Zhuque Street, he would have just let me know. Why go through all this trouble?"
Meng Zhao looked surprised: "The shops on Zhuque Street are your property? And who is the young master Xiao Hengyu who I transferred the ownership to?"
Dong Heqing narrowed his phoenix eyes slightly: "You don't know? Hengyu is my eldest son."
Meng Zhao quickly shook her head, a hint of fear appearing on her face. "I've only been in the capital for a short time, and I'm unfamiliar with the place and its people. How could I possibly understand these relationships?" She made a gesture to bow and apologize. "If I had known earlier that it was the Xiao family's property, I wouldn't have dared to haggle. I'm truly sorry."
Dong Heqing scrutinized the woman before him, unable to discern whether she was genuinely confused or feigning ignorance. Meng Zhao continued to complain, "This Xiao Youzhi, I don't know what he's up to. Since it's his own property, why does he insist that I buy it?"
"He made you buy it?" Dong Heqing's phoenix eyes narrowed slightly.
"That's right!" Meng Zhao nodded, feeling wronged. "I originally wanted to buy property in the main city, such a prosperous location. But he insisted on me buying on Zhuque Street. I thought he was doing it for my own good, but Zhuque Street is so deserted that the rent is so low. That three-story restaurant that I had my eye on the most still hasn't opened. We're paying taxes every day and I don't know how much money we've lost."
As she spoke, she suddenly lowered her voice and leaned closer to Dong Heqing: "Madam Dong, tell me the truth, is it because those shops couldn't be sold at all that he tricked me into becoming this sucker?"
Dong Heqing was speechless for a moment. Through years of open and covert struggles, she knew that Xiao Youzhi was definitely a smart man. But how could such a scheming man have taken a liking to such a dull girl? She looked at Meng Zhao suspiciously, but saw that the annoyance and resentment on the other party's face did not seem to be fake at all.
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