Chapter 40
With Yun Ge'er making a ruckus at home, Fu'er can't concentrate on making incense.
They simply moved her incense-making tools to the shop on Qingyu Street.
After Granny Yu found out, she often sent Cuiya to deliver meals and pastries to Fu'er.
If someone else offered to give it to her, Fu'er would definitely refuse on the spot.
Faced with the honest and timid Cuiya, Fu'er had no choice but to use the money and then tell her not to send any more.
Cuiya immediately agreed, and she would appear on time every time it was time to eat.
It was all arranged by Granny Yu. Fu'er stopped mentioning it later and just used it as soon as it was delivered.
As the weather got hotter, Fu'er's appetite wasn't as good.
Each time, Cuiya would bring not only meals, but also summer soup and pastries.
Fu'er couldn't finish all the food, so she would let Chen Qiao and his cousin Lu Hua eat it too.
Because the shop was so busy, Chen Qiao couldn't handle it all by herself.
He not only had to attend to the shop's customers, but also had to go to the shops in the east of the city to pick up goods.
Fu'er then told Chen Qiao to find another honest and reliable person.
Chen Qiao then recommended his cousin, Lu Hua, to Fu'er.
His cousin's husband passed away a few years ago, and she has a daughter who has not yet married.
She usually makes a living by selling embroidery work, and I heard that it has ruined her eyesight.
The mother and daughter were also struggling to make ends meet.
Upon hearing this, Fu'er agreed without much thought.
Unexpectedly, her cousin was not only efficient at work, but also very quick-witted.
Chen Qiao had only been with her for two days, but she had already become familiar with the shop's spices and was able to serve guests well.
Before noon that day, Cuiya brought over more food and summer soup.
After chatting with Fu'er for a few moments, she reminded her before leaving, "Sister, you must drink the ginseng soup that Granny says she makes for you every day."
"It's good for your health, we can't waste it."
"If you really can't eat, then don't drink the summer soup."
Fu'er was always obedient, and every day she would first have a bowl of ginseng soup.
Then eat other foods.
After taking ginseng soup today, I can't take anything else.
Even if it's roast goose, which she loves to eat.
She ate too many spring pancakes her mother made yesterday and didn't eat breakfast. She hasn't touched anything all day while making incense in the backyard.
I really can't eat anymore.
He then said to Chen Qiao and Lu Hua, who had just returned from purchasing goods, "Sister Lu Hua, you two come and eat while it's still hot."
"I'm going outside to digest my food."
Lu Hua and Chen Qiao often ate her meals, and they were both a little embarrassed.
It was agreed before I started working that the shop wouldn't provide meals.
The two of them usually made do with some dry food, which made Fu'er feel sad.
Each time, she would rather put in less effort herself than leave half of the food for the two of them.
"Miss Fu'er, we can't accept this. We eat your food every day."
Fu'er laughed and said, "It's alright, I'm eating other people's food too."
After saying this, he left the shop and headed towards the Wan residence.
Her cousin had just given birth a few days ago.
These past few days, whenever Fu'er has free time, she goes to see You Cuicui and her son.
Wanfu is closer to Qingyu Street than to Xieqiao Lane where Fu'er lives; it's just two lanes away.
When Fu'er went in, You Cuicui was having her meal.
The wet nurse was feeding the young master from behind a screen.
This time, You Cuicui finally got what she wanted.
Just two days after giving birth, Master Wan made her his legal wife.
Only after seeing her name on the family tree did You Cuicui agree to open the door for Master Wan and let him in to see the children.
Mr. Wan's two sons from his first marriage were neither good at academics nor martial arts, and they couldn't even run a business.
The children born to the other concubines were almost all girls.
Therefore, Master Wan was very fond of his son, who was born late in life.
These days, he no longer finds the maids he takes in his room appealing, and spends all his time running to You Cuicui's courtyard.
Fu'er always manages to run into him.
He was in a good mood and even joked about finding a good marriage for Fu'er.
Fu'er just smiled and said that he had gone out to socialize today.
“Fu’er, these days the guests have been saying that the pear blossom fragrance you make tastes different again.”
"But what was added?"
Fu'er was holding her nephew's robe in her hand, her eyes slightly red.
As a mother herself, You Cuicui could tell at a glance that she was thinking about her aborted child again.
She gave the maid Huan'er a wink and quickly put away the child's little robe.
So that Fu'er won't secretly be sad again.
Fu'er pressed on, "Sister Cui Cui, do you think my aborted child was a boy or a girl?"
Yu Cuicui was worried that she would dwell on this matter, so she deliberately replied, "That's not a child yet, it doesn't have a human form, it's just a blood clot."
"Just think of it as your period."
Upon hearing this, Fu'er's tears flowed even more freely.
“It’s not menstruation, it’s a piece of my flesh.”
“These days, I often dream of a naked child crying in front of me.”
“Sister Cui Cui, that is the child I miscarried.”
You Cuicui quickly comforted her, "You're overthinking it."
Fu'er shook her head and said, "No, I never thought about these things during the day."
"The adult has passed away, but there is a gravesite, which we can visit from time to time."
"But my child, he left nothing."
"He must be resentful towards me."
After saying that, she covered her face and began to sob.
It was rare to see Fu'er so heartbroken. In the past, she was always carefree, as if the sky were falling and it had nothing to do with her.
However, after experiencing a miscarriage, she was heartbroken and seemed to become a different person overnight.
Even when he's smiling, he doesn't seem as carefree as he used to be.
Before, when she had no feelings for that person, she was very carefree when talking about her child.
I thought she was open-minded and didn't want to stay in my womb, but it turns out she's different.
Perhaps this is a woman's weakness.
You Cuicui and Huan'er couldn't help but tear up.
You Cuicui stood up, pulled her into her arms, and whispered, "Cry, and it will all be over after you've cried."
"His arrival is ill-timed and will only bring him suffering."
"When you find someone you can entrust your life to in the future."
"You'll have a child."
Yu Cuicui thought to herself, "Luckily, Fu'er isn't so stubborn."
Otherwise, there will be many more times when you're sad.
After a moment, Fu'er calmed down.
She heard her cousin ask again about the changes in the aroma of the spices.
He then replied, "These days, Zhu Ping and I have picked a lot of wildflowers in the suburbs."
"I added some in, and of course the aroma is different."
"My sister is so clever; she knows to change the scent."
"Otherwise, if it's always the same fragrance, customers will easily get tired of it."
At first, Fu'er just wanted to save costs by adding more wildflowers.
The lush blooming of summer flowers inspired Fu'er.
Whether it's fruit tree blossoms or other wildflowers in the mountains and forests.
The main ingredient is still pear blossoms, but she adds different types of flowers depending on the season.
In this way, even if she runs out of the flower petals she has saved, she won't need to buy any more.
Materials can be sourced locally, which can save a lot of costs.
Since it was just a trial run, she didn't dare to do too much and only bought five boxes a day.
Surprisingly, the guests liked it.
When the topic was changed to incense making, Fu'er was able to temporarily forget her sad thoughts.
"Zhu Ping seems to care about you a lot. I heard he even introduced us to another supplier."
Fu'er got excited when this was mentioned and laughed, "Yes, we really should thank him for this."
"The shopkeeper of Ruyuexiang Shop gave us a purchase price that was 20% lower than other places."
After Fu'er's pear blossom fragrance became famous, it also boosted the sales of other fragrances in the incense shops.
Every day, as she manipulated the abacus and watched her shop earn money day by day, she was naturally happy.
You Cuicui smiled knowingly, "So how do you plan to thank Zhu Ping?"
Fu'er hadn't yet grasped the implication in her cousin's eyes: "In a couple of days, I'll have my mother cook something delicious and invite him over for a meal."
You Cuicui frowned slightly, knowing that this silly girl was clueless. "You're the one thanking them, why did you let your aunt do it?"
"You should make something yourself; that's what true gratitude is."
Fu'er was taken aback. "I only know how to make incense, and Zhu Ping doesn't like using incense either."
“He doesn’t use incense, so you sew a sachet by hand and see if he likes to use it.”
Now that things had come to this point, Fu'er understood what her cousin meant.
Fu'er understood what it meant when a woman gave a man a sachet.
He shook his head and said, "No, I'm not good at needlework, so let's forget about it."
Seeing that she didn't care about Zhu Ping, You Cuicui knew that this matter couldn't be rushed.
We have to take it slow, the two sisters talked for a while.
Fu'er then returned to Qingyu Street.
As soon as she entered the backyard, she saw that the storeroom door, which was usually open, was tightly closed, and she could hear ambiguous and rhythmic sounds coming from inside.
At first, Fu'er didn't react, until Lu Hua's panting grew heavier and heavier.
Her cheeks flushed red, and she immediately ran out of the backyard.
After some time, Fu'er finished entertaining the guests and bought two or three boxes of spices.
The two of them then came out from the backyard.
Seeing that Fu'er, who was usually so amiable, now had a cold expression, the two guessed that what had just happened could no longer be kept secret.
Lu Hua and Chen Qiao both turned pale.
Fu'er was afraid of affecting the shop's business, so she simply closed the front gate.
Both men knew in their hearts that this action meant their jobs were probably in jeopardy.
Upon arriving at the backyard, Lu Hua felt guilty, realizing that she had let Fu'er down.
It even implicated his cousin.
Before Fu'er could speak, he knelt down in front of her and choked out, "Miss, I have disappointed you. I will leave on my own."
"Please don't blame my cousin, it's all my fault."
She couldn't help but cry at the end.
Seeing Lu Hua crying like this, Chen Qiao also knelt down in front of Fu'er, bowed his head and said, "Miss Fu'er, let me go."
Fu'er is kind-hearted and rarely deals with such matters.
She hadn't noticed it before, but after this incident, she realized that her cousin was right to disagree with Luhua coming to the shop.
At that time, she did not heed You Cuicui's concerns and only felt sorry for the reeds.
Looking back now, it was indeed inappropriate to let Luhua come to my shop.
The two, a single man and a single woman, spent all their time together.
Moreover, Luhua is a widow, and if this goes on for too long, it will not only bring trouble to their shop.
The two are also prone to developing romantic feelings for each other.
What happened today perfectly proves that she didn't think things through.
Anger surged within her, but seeing Lu Hua's tear-streaked face, she was moved with compassion.
Her tone softened considerably, "How many times have you two done this in the shop?"
Lu Hua and Chen Qiao both looked aggrieved.
Lu Hua truthfully replied, "Since my husband's death, I have never had any physical intimacy with a man."
"If my in-laws find out, I'll never live."
Fu'er, of course, didn't believe it. "Then why today?"
Both Lu Hua and Chen Qiao looked troubled.
Seeing that the two remained silent, Fu'er immediately said angrily, "You two look so honest, how could you do such a thing?"
Then he pointed at Chen Qiao and said, "How can you face your wife at home?"
"Since neither of you is willing to tell the truth, don't blame me for being ruthless."
"Both of you should leave."
"I will give you the monthly silver now."
After saying that, he got up and headed to the incense-making room.
Lu Hua was unwilling to give up. She grabbed Fu'er's skirt in a panic and shouted, "Miss, someone has put medicine in your hot soup!"
Someone wants to harm you.
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