Chapter 36 Tu went to the shop to get the cloth with a clear conscience!
The Lu family courtyard.
Lu's father, his figure gaunt and thin, sat huddled on the stone bench, clutching the bamboo scroll of "Tao Yuanming's Collection" that Lu Zhaoruo had sent back a few days earlier.
The ink on the bamboo slips was still fresh; it was copied by Lu Zhaoruo herself.
Madam Tu stared at his hunched back and said shrilly, "Your good daughter is now the mistress of the Shen family, how can she still see me as her mother? She can't even bear to give me a few winter clothes!"
Lu's father rubbed his fingertips on the bamboo slip without saying a word.
Madam Tu continued to berate her: "I raised her all these years for nothing! She enjoys a good life while completely ignoring her parents and brothers at home."
Mr. Lu remained silent.
She had been arguing for a long time, but he seemed not to hear her at all. Tu was both angry and frustrated, feeling like there was a ball of fire burning in her chest with nowhere to vent it.
She snatched the bamboo slip from Lu's father's hand and threw it hard on the ground.
The bamboo slips made a crisp sound and scattered all over the ground.
Still not satisfied, Madam Tu lifted her embroidered shoe and slammed it hard onto the bamboo strip.
"All you do all day is look at this stale, decadent stuff! What's wrong with me wanting a few winter clothes? We raised her all these years, and now that she's married into the Shen family and is the matriarch, shouldn't she be filial to her parents?"
Mr. Lu finally spoke, his voice hoarse: "Don't step on it... give it back to me quickly."
Seeing that he only spoke because of a broken bamboo slip, Tu Shi picked it up in a fit of anger, rushed to the kitchen, and shoved it into the stove.
Flames suddenly shot up.
Lu's father rushed over, his withered hands reaching into the fire, and forcefully pulled out the burning bamboo slips.
The charred bamboo strips pierced his palm, but he didn't feel any pain; he just hurriedly wiped them with his sleeve.
Standing to the side, looking at him like this, Tu suddenly felt a tightness and pain in her chest.
Twenty years! A full twenty years!
"Lu Yuanming!"
Her voice suddenly rose, as if she wanted to shout out all the grievances of the past twenty years, "Twenty years! You'd rather look at these dead things than give me a second glance!"
She suddenly grabbed the teapot from the table and smashed it hard on the ground.
Porcelain shards flew everywhere, one of which grazed the back of Lu's father's hand, leaving a small bloodstain, but he only hugged the bamboo slip tighter.
Tu's voice was hoarse: "Am I, Tu San Niang, really that despicable? That you haven't wanted to have a single intimate word with me for twenty years? Is this home just a study to you? Am I just a wall to you?"
She could hear the whispers of her neighbors outside the courtyard wall, but she couldn't care less.
She snatched the bamboo slips from Lu's father's arms again and threw them all on the ground.
He grabbed the door bolt and smashed it against the bamboo slips, yelling, "I'll show you! I'll show you!"
Mr. Lu looked up, but his cloudy eyes were still fixed on the east side of the window behind her.
Suddenly, Tu collapsed to her knees as if all her strength had left her: "Lu Yuanming, if it weren't for me, you would be in your grave by now!"
Lu's father's chapped lips moved for a long time before he finally managed to squeeze out a sentence: "A-Ning is having a hard time in the Shen family...you, her mother..."
What's wrong with me?
Tu suddenly stood up and grabbed his collar. "Last time I went back to my mother's house, I wanted to bring a few decent winter clothes to make a good impression! But my sisters-in-law looked at my empty baggage and laughed at me. I lost face!"
Father Lu: "A few days ago, Aning brought home five taels of silver and a lot of things."
Tu suddenly shoved him away, the force so strong that he staggered a few steps: "What are those five taels of silver for? How much are those things worth? She is, after all, the matriarch of the Shen family, managing two shops. Let alone ten sets of winter clothes, she could easily come up with fifty or even five hundred taels."
In the end, Lu's father said nothing, but simply squatted down and picked up the charred bamboo slips from the ground one by one.
Seeing his expression, Tu turned and rushed out the door.
Cloth shop.
Tu entered the shop, her eyes darting around.
Manager Chen was looking down at his abacus when he looked up and saw her. His face immediately lit up with a smile, and he rushed over to greet her, saying, "Oh, my dear in-law! What brings you here today? Please, have a seat!"
He hurriedly wiped the chair, poured himself a cup of tea, and served a plate of osmanthus cake.
These are all snacks for honored guests...
Tu lifted her eyelids, snorted, sat down casually, picked up a piece of pastry, and stuffed it into her mouth.
The plate of pastries was emptied in no time.
Having eaten her fill, she picked up her teacup, took a sip, frowned, and spat it at Manager Chen's feet, shrilly, "Manager Chen, what kind of tea is this? It's so astringent and bitter. Are you trying to fool me with dishwater? I'm your boss's mother, do you think I deserve to drink this kind of inferior stuff?"
Manager Chen bowed repeatedly: "My dear in-laws, please calm down! It was my oversight. I'll get you a replacement right away!"
He turned and went into the inner room, where he found the Shuangjing Baiya tea that Lu Zhaoruo had bought a few days ago for a few taels of silver. He usually couldn't even bear to smell this tea, saving it specifically to entertain those customers who spent a fortune.
Madam Tu took the new tea, pretended to taste it, glanced at it sideways, and said with forced politeness, "That's more like it."
After taking a couple of sips, her eyes lit up, and she tapped the table again: "I like this tea. I'll wrap up the rest and take it home to enjoy slowly."
Manager Chen was inwardly groaning, but dared not offend anyone, so he could only force a smile, wrap up the tea, and hand it over.
Madam Tu stuffed the tea leaves into her sleeve before slowly saying, "Bring me the best cloth from your shop so I can take a look."
Manager Chen hurriedly agreed, turned around and took a bolt of Quanzhou silk from the top of the counter, carefully presenting it to her: "My dear in-law, look, this is the finest silk, with a fine texture and a soft luster."
Madam Tu grabbed the silk, rubbing it with her fingers, her eyes gleaming, and clicking her tongue in admiration: "Hmm, not bad, it's a fine piece of material..."
Just then, another customer came in from outside the shop. Manager Chen had no choice but to apologize and turn around to greet him.
Seeing that he had turned his back, Tu quickly wrapped the silk in her bosom and tried to slip away.
Manager Chen turned around and saw that she was almost stepping out the door. He was so anxious that he was covered in sweat. He chased after her and grabbed her sleeve: "Dear, madam! You haven't... you haven't paid for the silk yet!"
Madam Tu abruptly shoved him away, glaring at him: "What? My daughter's shop, and I have to pay for a bolt of cloth? Have you lost your mind!"
Manager Chen stumbled a couple of steps after being pushed, his face contorted with pain as he repeatedly bowed: "My dear in-laws, please calm down... it's just... it's just that the master didn't inform us..."
Tu seemed slightly guilty: "You know? I just happened to be passing by today."
Manager Chen hesitated, "But...the accounts..."
"Accounts?"
Suddenly, Madam Tu raised her voice, attracting the attention of several peddlers carrying loads on the street. "Just go and tell Lu Zhaoruo that her mother, who was about to freeze and starve to death, took a piece of cloth from her to save her life!"
She deliberately emphasized the word "help," spitting all over Manager Chen's face. "I want to see if the neighbors will call me a shameless old woman or call her Madam Lu unfilial!"
Just then.
Shen Lingyi's plump figure appeared, and she laughed gruffly, "What's wrong with the lady of the house taking a bolt of silk? This is the master's own mother!"
When Manager Chen saw it was her, his face darkened even more: "Miss Shen."
Shen Lingyi walked to Tu's side and affectionately took her arm: "If you ask me, whatever good stuff this shop has, it should be given to my in-laws first."
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