But it would be a shame to lose a friend because of this, so she finally told him the truth. If he blamed her and didn't help her, she had nothing to say.
To her surprise, trouble came knocking before she could even receive the imperial title.
Two people arrived at the entrance of Song Anxin Courtyard early in the morning. They were Zhang Mei's elder brother and sister-in-law, Zhang Daniu, and Zhao Shi.
As Zhang Daniu walked into the courtyard, he called out loudly, "Is anyone here? Meizi, your brother is here. Hurry up and come out to greet your brother and sister-in-law."
The two entered the courtyard and began to look around. They were quite surprised to find that every room in the house was covered with tiles. It must have cost a lot of money.
According to Lin Gangzi, they even bought land in the back and built five large workshops. It seems that Meizi's family has made a lot of money from those rich, oily eggs. A fragrant aroma, like meat, is wafting from the kitchen. They've started stewing meat early in the morning. Tsk tsk, this family is rolling in money now.
Regardless of whether we can get the secret recipe for this rich and oily dish today, we must scrape off a layer of money.
Song Anxin, Song Anbang, and Feng He were cutting red paper and writing blessings in the inner room when they heard the familiar voice and tone. Song Anxin's beautiful eyebrows immediately furrowed.
Fortunately, Meizi wasn't there. Her family had built a shed at the entrance of their workshop courtyard in the back, and they had set a time in the morning for collecting duck eggs from the villagers. Zhang Mei was there collecting duck eggs at that time, and Sister-in-law Lin was also helping the villagers.
The incident with Song Anbang served as a wake-up call for her; she couldn't let anyone with ulterior motives take advantage of the situation. Besides, her family's kitchen was constantly preparing braised delicacies, a closely guarded secret recipe, and having too many people around to see it wouldn't be good.
She gestured for Song Anbang and Lin Fenghe to continue their work, then got up and walked out. Looking at the Zhang couple in the courtyard, she coldly said:
"Brother Zhang and sister-in-law, what brings you here? Meizi is no longer your sister. You know the reasons why. You are not welcome here. Please leave."
Song Anxin issued an order to leave.
Zhang Daniu was about to lose his temper when Zhao stopped him. She put on a smile and said to Song Anxin:
"Second sister-in-law of the Lin family, we are in-laws after all, so we just came to see how Meizi is doing. Meizi has been married into your family for so long, and we haven't heard from her at all. We, as her older brother and sister-in-law, are also worried."
"Sigh, I wonder if she's suffered, if she's had enough to eat and wear. She's our only sister..."
As Zhao spoke, she began to wipe away tears, appearing as a loving sister-in-law.
Seeing his wife like this, Zhang Daniu curled his lip and said, "That's right, we're Zhang Mei's brother and sister-in-law, we should at least come and see what's wrong with her!"
At this moment, Zhang Mei came over from the back room with a worried look on her face. She had just been collecting duck eggs in the back room when she heard a woman delivering duck eggs say that she thought she saw her brother and sister-in-law coming.
As soon as she reached the backyard, she heard her brother and sister-in-law's voices. She quickly went to the front and said, "Brother, sister-in-law, I'm doing very well here, so don't worry."
Upon seeing Zhang Mei, Zhao immediately rushed over and cried out, "Oh dear, my Mei! Why didn't you come home to visit after you married into the family? Your parents were so worried about you!"
Zhang Mei stood there, her eyes slightly moist: "Father, Mother, are you really worried about me?"
Zhao wiped her snot and tears on Zhang Mei's body: "Not only are your parents worried, but your brother and sister-in-law are worried too. It was your brother and sister-in-law who were wrong before. We were too poor to do anything about it. Your nephews and nieces are all waiting for food."
"I apologize to you today. I'm glad you're doing well. Go back and tell your parents, they'll be at ease. Waaah..."
While crying, Zhao winked at Zhang Daniu beside her. Zhang Daniu realized what was happening and rubbed his hands together, saying:
"Yes, Meizi, I was wrong before, please don't take it to heart."
Zhang Mei's tears also fell. It turned out that she could really wait for her own family to apologize, just like Feng Nian and the others, and her brother and sister-in-law had also changed for the better.
Zhang Meilian wiped away her sister-in-law's tears: "Brother and sister-in-law, I don't blame you. You must be tired from traveling such a long way. Come in, sit down, and have some water."
She looked at Song Anxin with hopeful eyes and said, "Mother, is it okay?"
Song Anxin stood at the door watching this scene and was completely overwhelmed. This Zhao was a smart woman who knew to show weakness and apologize first. For someone like Zhang Mei, who was extremely lacking in family affection and yet kind-hearted, this was something she could hardly resist.
Seeing the hopeful look in Zhang Mei's eyes, she ultimately didn't say no and nodded.
Zhang Mei happily led her brother and sister-in-law to the main room.
While holding her hand, Zhao said, "Meizi, is this dress new? Oh my, the color is so beautiful, it suits you so well."
Zhang Daniu said, "Meizi, you've gained a lot of weight. I almost didn't recognize you."
Zhang Mei covered her mouth and laughed: "My mother-in-law's family treats me very well. I have several new clothes, and the food at home is good, with three meals a day. I have gained some weight."
Zhao and Zhang Daniu were both wide-eyed when they heard this. They had new clothes to wear and several sets of them, and they were eating three meals a day. My goodness!
They immediately became even more enthusiastic towards Zhang Mei, constantly showing concern and care, while Zhang Mei herself appeared happy to have regained the love and care of her family.
Song Anxin sighed, hoping that Zhang's brother and sister-in-law wouldn't cause any trouble for her family.
At this moment, Lin Fenghe and Song Anbang appeared beside her.
Lin Fenghe said, "Mother, they're obviously lying to my sister-in-law. They must have come because they heard we made money. Shouldn't we tell her?"
Song Anbang looked at her and said, "But... Zhang Mei seems very happy."
Yes, it was because Zhang Mei looked so happy that she didn't kick Zhang's brother and sister-in-law out directly.
"Let's leave it at that for now. Your sister-in-law married into our family all by herself, and I'm sure she longs for the care and attention of her family."
Lin Fenghe nodded obediently, just like they had done before.
“Meizi, I heard you’re the manager of this duck egg workshop. Why don’t I come work for you? It’s good to keep the profits within the family.” Zhao said from the main room.
Zhang Mei shook her head: "Sister-in-law, that won't do. We just finished hiring and we have enough people. Next time we hire, you can come for an interview. My mother-in-law will hire you if she thinks you're good enough."
Zhao secretly pursed her lips, then turned and smiled:
"Okay, next time you need to hire someone, you have to tell your sister-in-law. I'm quite capable of doing things myself."
Zhang Daniu inhaled the aroma of the braised food wafting from the kitchen, looking utterly drooling.
"Meizi, what are you stewing in the pot so early in the morning? It smells so good! Why don't we eat here for lunch?"
Zhang Mei hesitated for a moment and said, "Brother, sister-in-law, please wait a moment. I'll go ask my mother-in-law."
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