Marriage in the 1980s
After dinner, Mr. Zhao and the members of the Zhao family's second branch sat quietly in the hall, none of them saying a word. There were six of them, which wasn't a small number, but it felt incredibly lonely. Especially after dark, the sounds of children's laughter and adults' chatter from the main house made the second branch's place seem even more desolate and lonely.
"They make noise during the day and at night. They seem to be having a lot of fun and don't care whether others want to rest or not." Zhao Shufen complained dissatisfiedly.
"Just say less. They only make trouble for a few days every year. It will pass if you endure it." Old Master Zhao wanted to drink some tea, but found that the tea had gone cold because he had sat for too long, so he put the teacup on the table.
"I'd like to say less, but if I don't, the house will be eerily quiet." Zhao Shufen glared at Ke Yi and said, "Such a shameful thing happened at home. We don't even have the dignity to visit relatives and friends, let alone invite guests to our house to liven things up."
Ke Yi lowered his head and remained silent. He had been scolded and ridiculed a lot during this period, but he only had two choices, either divorce or endure. His biggest wish in his previous life was to marry Zhao Haoyu and repay him for his help, so he could not choose divorce and could only endure.
Old Master Zhao also glanced at Ke Yi and then sighed. He had been sighing more and more frequently during this period.
Zhao Jianan and his wife were in no mood to speak. Cheng Sheng had taken away a lot of business from the Zhao family's restaurants and hotels. They sent someone to find out why customers were flocking to Cheng Sheng's restaurants and hotels. The inquirer told them that, in addition to the Xiao family winery's wines, Cheng Sheng's restaurants and hotels had recently introduced some exceptionally delicious dishes, and reservations were already booked for six months.
Zhao Jianan and his wife were also worried. With their pawnshop and clothing store business declining, they could only rely on expanding their restaurant business. But if they wanted to win back their lost customers, they had to hire a new chef to make better dishes. But finding a good chef wasn't easy these days, and even if they did, it wasn't easy to hire him.
"Your eldest daughter has come back with her family for so many days, but she hasn't even come to say hello to you. It's okay that she looks down on us, but she doesn't even care about you, her biological father. The first wife has really raised a pair of good children, but she treats her biological father as an enemy." Zhao Shufen was used to instigating trouble. Whenever she talked about the people in the first wife, she would definitely have nothing good to say.
"Dad!" Zhao Manting shouted loudly before she even reached the door, "Dad, are you in there? I'm coming in!"
"I'm here, come in!" When Mr. Zhao heard Zhao Manting calling him, he was stunned at first, then immediately responded to her.
"Oh, they're all here." Zhao Manting pushed the door open and walked in. Seeing that everyone in the second room was there, she said, "It's New Year's Day, and your second room is so deserted. I thought something happened."
As soon as Zhao Manting entered the room, everyone except Old Man Zhao stood up. Although Zhang Shufen looked reluctant, she still stood up and gave her seat to Zhao Manting.
Mr. Zhao wasn't afraid of Mrs. Zhao, but he was somewhat afraid of his eldest daughter. Zhao Manting was practically raised by Mr. Zhao's mother, and from her appearance to her personality and temper, she was too much like his late mother. Mr. Zhao could point at Zhao Xiuning and scold him, or even hit him, but he didn't dare say a harsh word to his eldest daughter. As a result, Zhang Shufen and her son were also somewhat afraid of her.
After Zhao Manting sat down in Zhang Shufen's seat, she looked at Old Man Zhao and asked, "Dad, how are you feeling lately? Are you feeling well?"
"I'm in good health and there's nothing wrong with me." Mr. Zhao replied.
"Really? I'm glad you're fine. I was worried you might be sick, so I haven't seen you in the main courtyard for a few days since I came back." Zhao Manting turned to look at Zhang Shufen and asked, "How is Aunt Zhang these days?"
"Okay, that's fine." Zhang Shufen was also in her forties, but she had no right to sit in front of Zhao Manting. If she dared to sit down, Zhao Manting would make a scene in the second room. Zhang Shufen stood, so Zhao Jianan and his wife, Zhao Haoyu, and Ke Yi naturally couldn't sit.
In the past, Zhang Shufen felt that she had given birth to a son and a grandson for the Zhao family, and she took herself very seriously. She thought that it was a new society and it was not appropriate to call her "aunt". So she asked Old Man Zhao to ask Zhao Manting and Zhao Xiuning to call her "second mother". Zhao Manting pointed at her nose and scolded her for three days.
Zhao Manting is the spoiled eldest daughter of the Zhao family. She is also an educated person, so naturally she can't swear. But it is precisely because she has read books that she knows more words, so she is sarcastic and sarcastic, scolding Zhao Shufen until she cries and screams. She not only scolds Zhao Shufen, but also scolds Old Master Zhao. Old Master Zhao can't stand it and hides away. When Zhao Manting saw that Old Master Zhao actually hid away, she became even more angry, so she asked all the servants in the house to gather together. She grabbed Zhang Shufen's hair and dragged her in front of those people to continue scolding. Not only did she scold her, she also beat her to let her know what the rules are. Zhang Shufen always felt that she was the master in this family. She was beaten and scolded by Zhao Manting in front of so many servants. She was so ashamed and angry that she almost hit her head against the wall.
"I've heard about your second wife's affairs. To be honest, there's no need for you to be depressed over such a small matter. For all the immoral things you've done, greater retribution is still to come. If you can't bear such a small matter now, what will you do in the future?"
If Zhao Xiuning had said this, Old Master Zhao would have told him to get out. But when Zhao Manting said this, Old Master Zhao didn't dare to say a word, let alone anyone else. Only Ke Yi was thinking in his heart, Cheng Sheng won't live much longer, and he'll see if you can still say this retribution in the future.
Zhao Manting looked at each of them. No matter how she looked at them, she felt that the second family was mean and full of evil intentions. Even the newly married Ke Yi didn't look like a good person either.
Zhao Manting resisted the urge to roll her eyes, turned to look at Old Man Zhao and said, "Dad, I only come back once a year, and I was thinking of having your grandchildren and grandchildren wish you a happy new year, but you didn't even bother to enter the main courtyard. Do you not want to acknowledge me as your daughter?"
"...What are you talking about?" Mr. Zhao said with evasive eyes.
"Since you don't want to acknowledge me as your daughter, then go over and get together with everyone. You are the head of the family, and when guests come to your house, you hide away and don't go to entertain them. Is that acceptable?" Zhao Manting looked at him and asked.
"You know we have a feud with the Cheng and Xiao families. How can I entertain them when they come..."
"When you're at odds with others, the fault lies with you, not them. That's why they can visit you with a clear conscience, while you can only hide in your own home. But have you ever thought about whether you'd rather hide like this for the rest of your life and watch your family's business fail, or whether you'd rather take this opportunity today to make peace with both families and make your family's business flourish?"
Mr. Zhao was moved by what he heard, but he was still worried about losing face.
"I'm doing this for my mother and my brother. I want the Zhao family's business to get better and better, so they can get more of the family property in the future. It's not for you," said Zhao Manting.
"If I go, your second brother will definitely be angry with me again. By then, I will be driven away by him before we can even say a few words." Old Master Zhao expressed his worries.
"With me here, he definitely won't dare talk back to you today. I told him before I came here that I'd invite you and everyone from the second house over, so we can all have a peaceful meal together. We're all grandparents now, so let's not dwell on the past. Harmony brings wealth. If he dares to anger you today, I'll be the first to not forgive him."
"Dad, what my eldest sister said makes sense." Zhao Jianan invited them over as soon as he heard it, and immediately stepped forward to persuade Mr. Zhao, "Those were just small matters in the past, not some deep blood feud. How can we hold a grudge for a lifetime? Let's go over together, have a drink with them and apologize. Let's not dwell on the past. It would be great if we could do business together in the future."
"Let's go." Zhao Manting didn't want to stay here any longer, so she stood up and walked out.
Old Master Zhao and Zhao Jianan looked at each other, then stood up and walked out.
Zhao Haoyu didn't want to go at first, but Zhao Jianan pulled him, so he had no choice but to follow. Since they were all going, Ke Yi naturally had to follow.
Because they had dinner a little early and played with the children for a while, Zhao Xuning and the others were hungry and were ready to have a midnight snack.
Zhao Xiuning had already greeted everyone else, so no one felt confused or surprised when Old Master Zhao and the people from the second house appeared in the main hall.
After everyone sat down, Zhao Xiuning exchanged glances with Zhao Manting, and then invited everyone to eat. Since he asked Zhao Manting to specially invite Old Master Zhao and the people from the second house, he naturally had his purpose, but the purpose certainly could not be the so-called business of the Zhao family.
"Come on, fill up everyone's glasses. This is Xiao Ling's newly brewed wine. He hasn't even decided on a name for it yet. You definitely can't get it outside right now. Let's try it and see how it tastes." Zhao Xuning asked the maid to pour wine for everyone.
Except for Tao Yuan who was pregnant and couldn't drink, the maids standing by gave everyone a glass of wine. Of course, the children couldn't drink either, but they sat at a separate table.
Zhao Haoyu wasn't a big drinker, but the aroma of the wine in the glass in front of him made him want to pick it up and take a sip to see what it tasted like. He was stunned when the wine first entered his mouth. He actually found it delicious. This was the first time he'd thought wine was delicious.
"Are you producing new wine?" Old Mrs. Zhao looked at Tao Yuan and said, "You're not feeling well right now, so don't overwork yourself."
"I'm not tired, it's just that it's too boring to be idle, so I brew some wine to pass the time. I haven't decided whether to sell this wine yet." Tao Yuan said with a smile.
As soon as Mr. Zhao and Zhao Jianan took a sip, they felt their mouths were full of fragrance, like drinking nectar. They were sighing in their hearts that this was really a top-grade wine. When they heard that Tao Yuan only brewed the wine to kill time, they felt a surge of regret in their hearts, thinking how great it would have been if they had not canceled the wedding with the Xiao family.
Zhao Haoyu wanted to have another drink, but was too embarrassed to ask for someone to pour it for him. He looked up in Tao Yuan's direction. After seeing Tao Yuan's smiling face, he couldn't help but be stunned for a moment. He had to admit that Tao Yuan really had a very good-looking face. He had only heard that pregnancy would make people fat and ugly, but he didn't expect that some people would look better after pregnancy.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
