Chapter 80: The embroidery workshop must not suffer any mishap.
Zhao Yunjing kept his word and treated Young Master Chen to a whole snake feast. Young Master Chen, whether he had come to terms with things or not, kept drinking throughout the meal. He wasn't drinking alone or in silence; he toasted Uncle Zhao, Aunt Zhao, and Zhao Yunjing, and even encouraged the children, including Xiao Wu, to drink.
"Today, I, this young master, am truly delighted to drink with Miss Zhou and Young Master Zhao. To have you as friends is to have made this life worthwhile. Let us raise a toast! Si Jiu, pour the wine!"
That was real Shaoxing wine, very strong. When it went down, it burned at first, then felt good. After a while, the effects of the alcohol kicked in, and the mind went blank. One minute it was laughing, the next it was crying. One minute it was tapping the rim of the bowl and singing a little tune. The next it was insisting on playing the Flying Flower Order game with Zhao Yun Jing. In the end, it even dragged Zhou Mu Jiao and Zhao Yun Jing together, insisting on a three-way oath of brotherhood in the Peach Garden.
Uncle Zhao reacted quickly, immediately producing an incense burner: "Here, you can worship now!"
Young Master Chen let out a burp, grabbed one of them with each hand, and stood in the middle, with Zhou Mujiao and Zhao Yunjing beside him: "Heaven above, earth below, today I, Chen Liangjin, Zhao Yunjing, and Zhou Mujiao, are sworn siblings, to share blessings and hardships together! May all the gods and Buddhas bear witness!"
He is the eldest, Zhao Yunjing is the second eldest, and Zhou Mujiao is the third eldest sister.
After finishing the introduction and recounting the story of the young master, Young Master Chen drank another bowl of wine and finally lay down on the ground and fell asleep.
Zhou Mujiao remembered that she would drink a cup of hangover tea every time she came back from a social event, so she tried making a cup herself. She didn't know how it tasted, but it smelled terrible.
Uncle Zhao and his son Zhao Yunjing worked together to give Young Master Chen some sobering tea, then helped him onto an oxcart and found two villagers to help take him to the county.
Zhao Yunjing instructed Sijiu: "Your young master's drinking manners are really terrible. Keep an eye on him and don't let him drink anymore."
It's not so much shameful, but every time he gets drunk he has to swear brotherhood with someone. If everyone he meets is like him, who isn't interested in Young Master Chen's identity or the support behind him, it's fine. But he's afraid that some people will take advantage of the situation, become brothers with Young Master Chen, and then do evil in his name.
Si Jiu knew Zhao Yun Jing meant well, but he felt wronged: "My young master never drinks outside, he was just upset today... Young Master Zhao, you're my young master's younger brother now, can you please stop upsetting him?"
Uncle Zhao chimed in, "Since your young master has recognized my son as his younger brother, then he's practically my son now. Don't worry, Yun Jing won't upset him anymore. I'll teach him a lesson. It's only right for a father to beat his son!"
Si Jiu quickly climbed onto the oxcart and hugged his young master tightly.
What kind of devils are these Zhao family members? Why does their young master still not learn his lesson after suffering so many losses, and always want to curry favor with the Zhao family? The son of a dignified county magistrate is fawning over a farmer like this; if the master knew, he would probably be furious!
The oxcart continued downhill and soon disappeared from sight. Zhao Yunjing turned to look at Zhou Mujiao: "What happened?"
She didn't say anything, and she didn't think she showed anything either, so how did Zhao Yunjing know?
Zhou Mujiao raised an eyebrow: "What happened? Are you asking me? I'm fine."
He stared at her intently for a moment, then said firmly, "You have something to say."
"I'm fine."
"You have."
"I don't."
Xiao Wu came out of the house with his small cup in his hand. Hearing his older sister and Zhao Yun Jing arguing, he shook his head. He thought that the two of them were both very smart when they were alone, but when they were together, they both became silly and dull.
Xiao Wu couldn't bear to watch any longer, so he stepped forward and said, "Sister, Brother Zhao, why don't you two have a fight first, and the loser has to tell the truth?"
Eighteen wiped the grease from the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief and denied it in a childish voice: "Brother Wu, are you a devil? My eldest brother is so strong, and you want Sister Jiaojiao to fight him? Are you even my real brother? Sister Jiaojiao, Wu is a fake brother, so let this fake brother fight my eldest brother!"
"I can't beat him." Xiao Wu said honestly. "But when I turn eighteen, I'll be able to beat him. Sister, wait for me for ten more years. After ten years, you can decide whether or not to tell Brother Zhao about it."
"Eek~~" Eighteen pouted, "You can't beat them yourself, so you encourage others to fight. Fifth Brother, you're so mean!"
"Eighteen, remember this: I'm not bad, I'm smart. Smart people can get a lot of fools to do things for them with just a few words."
"...He's so mean! On the sixth and ninth days of the lunar month, you guys were already no match for Brother Wu, and he's still so mean. Don't play with him! Ah! Brother Wu, let me up!"
The little girl was picked up and spun around by Xiao Wu, and she screamed with excitement. When Xiao Wu stopped, she grabbed his leg and said she wanted more.
Zhou Mujiao laughed loudly, and when she laughed, the children laughed along with her.
Hearing the laughter, Yang Xiaoya peeked out and saw the entire Zhao family talking outside the door. She couldn't help but laugh too.
Luo's older sister exclaimed, "The Zhao family is so kind."
The Zhao family's children are all very polite, which makes them seem different from the other villagers. The Zhao family also has a great atmosphere, filled with laughter every day.
Yang Xiaoya laughed: "The Zhao family is doing well, but isn't your Luo family doing just as well now?"
"The Luo family is great, and your family is great too, Sister Xiaoya."
Yang Xiaoya nodded: "Yes, our family is doing well too, so we must work hard and not make any mistakes. We must not let the good life we have worked so hard to earn slip away. Our lives must get better and better! Okay, stop thinking about other things and work hard. Only when the embroidery workshop is doing well will we all be doing well!"
"Understood, Steward Yang!" the embroiderers joked.
Yang Xiaoya hummed in response and remained silent. The embroidery room returned to quiet. She walked around and sat down at the last table of finished products. She whispered to her sister, "I hope the embroidery shop will continue to thrive and that nothing bad will happen."
Aunt Yang tapped her forehead: "Yun Jing is going to study at Huilan Academy. All the children of the Zhao family will also pursue scholarship in the future. If the Zhao family is doing well and Liu Ya is doing well, the embroidery workshop will naturally become better and better."
Yang Xiaoya didn't say anything more, and dared not voice the uneasy premonition in her heart. She looked around and stared at everyone's backs, but couldn't see anything. She could only pray once again that nothing bad would happen to the embroidery workshop.
Zhou Mujiao also hoped that nothing would happen to the embroidery workshop, but since they had already reached in, if she didn't do something to fight back, they would think she was weak and easy to bully, and then everyone would come to kick her while she was down. She would have enough to deal with just these people, so how would she have time to expand her territory?
She told Zhao Yunjing that her design drafts had been altered.
Zhao Yunjing frowned, his face grave: "This person must be found immediately. Do you have any suspects? Come inside, let's discuss the plan."
Zhou Mujiao smiled mysteriously.
"You have a plan?"
"Um."
Zhao Yunjing breathed a sigh of relief: "Then just tell me how you need my cooperation."
"Thank you, Brother Zhao."
"We are family, family, no need for thanks."
Zhou Mujiao felt a surge of warmth in her heart.
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