Madam Liu said, "I only have one daughter-in-law, and I just hope that the young couple can live happily together. I must cherish her."
When Jin Xiaoxiao saw the sincerity in Madam Liu's eyes as she spoke, she couldn't help but feel envious. In fact, most women know that a woman's quality of life largely depends on her mother-in-law.
If the mother-in-law is easy to get along with, even if the husband is a bit unreliable, life won't be too hard. But if the mother-in-law is troublesome, being a daughter-in-law will be more bitter than bitter herbs.
After a while, Jin Xiaoxiao also made an excuse to come out. Her mother didn't think much of it; girls usually like excitement and rarely stay still.
Jin Xiaoxiao came out naturally with her maid. Wu Yiming had nothing to do, but he still went to the second floor. The third floor was the auction venue, but there were no auction items at the moment, so it was all private rooms. Therefore, Jin Xiaoxiao went to the second floor.
The second floor was actually quite large, and the interior decoration had a completely different style. Jin Xiaoxiao admired Wu Yiming very much. She had heard that Wu Yiming had opened the shop himself, which showed that Wu Yiming's housekeeping, aesthetic taste, and other aspects were all on point.
Jin Xiaoxiao wandered around the second floor and occasionally saw one or two familiar faces. She had recently attended some banquets with her mother to meet potential partners, so she naturally knew more people.
Jin Xiaoxiao thought about the people she knew, and aside from anything else, their families were all well-off. Seeing that the maids following behind them were carrying quite a lot of things, Jin Xiaoxiao was quite shocked when she thought about the prices she had seen upstairs.
Jin Xiaoxiao was quite shrewd and naturally understood that the cost of many things was just so-so; what she was selling was novel technology and a gorgeous appearance. After thinking about it for a while, Jin Xiaoxiao realized that this shop could really make money.
She was raised as a matriarch and naturally wouldn't regard gold and silver as dirt like ordinary "noble" women. She understood the value of silver and admired Wu Yiming even more.
Jin Xiaoxiao happened to see Wu Yiming and thought about going over to say hello, but she was stopped by someone.
Jin Xiaoxiao looked up and felt a headache coming on.
"Zhao's cousin."
The woman whom Jin Xiaoxiao called "Jiaojiao" truly deserves the title.
Zhao Jiaojiao asked with a surprised look, "What are you doing here, Cousin Jin?"
As for the relationship between Jin Xiaoxiao and Zhao Jiaojiao, their family backgrounds are not exactly equal. They are relatives, albeit distant relatives, but they do have some connection.
Jin Xiaoxiao's father was the headmaster of the academy. He was a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) and had the status of an official, but he lacked the ability to do so. Therefore, he resigned from his post to teach and founded the academy. Jin Xiaoxiao's father came from a distinguished family and could be described as "noble." His family was not short of money, but they were definitely not extravagant.
The Zhao family and the Jin family are related by marriage, and both are very wealthy. The Zhao family is in business, and her father and brothers are quite talented in business, so they are never short of money.
Despite their different social statuses, Zhao Jiaojiao always felt that Jin Xiaoxiao looked down on her as the daughter of a merchant. In fact, Jin Xiaoxiao did not. She treated Zhao Jiaojiao like a relative's daughter, but Zhao Jiaojiao was convinced that she was hypocritical and deceitful.
Jin Xiaoxiao wasn't someone to be molded from dough. She might have thought she was young once or twice, but after it happened a lot, she got annoyed.
Because of her status, she could only try to avoid it.
Who knew I'd be so unlucky today, running into this place. I wish I'd never come out.
Jin Xiaoxiao said, "This shop sells things, so naturally I came here to buy something."
Zhao Jiaojiao smiled sarcastically and said with ill intent, "Cousin Jin, why don't you go downstairs to buy things? The things on the second floor aren't cheap. Is your wallet big enough?"
Jin Xiaoxiao had been provoked by her many times and knew that she was sharp-tongued.
"There's no need for my cousin to trouble herself with that."
Zhao Jiaojiao said, "How can I not go to the trouble? You are my cousin, after all. If you can't afford it, I will lose face too."
Jin Xiaoxiao: "No, not at all. I didn't plan to move everything in the shop. When buying things, you should buy what you like. Sometimes when you have too many things, you don't know which ones you like. So please don't worry about me, cousin."
Zhao Jiaojiao scoffed, "My cousin is truly educated; look at what she's saying, so high and mighty."
Jin Xiaoxiao: "Does my cousin think I'm wrong? Or does she want to move everything in the shop home?"
Zhao Jiaojiao's family had some money, but it was nothing in the capital. The capital was not short of people with power, influence, and money, so it was even less of a concern for someone like Zhao Jiaojiao who only had money.
Therefore, it's impossible to move the entire department store back.
Zhao Jiaojiao felt uncomfortable after hearing Jin Xiaoxiao's words, but she wasn't very good at speaking. One of Zhao Jiaojiao's maids spoke up: "Miss Jin, our young lady treats you like an older sister, so why do you have to be sarcastic towards her?"
Jin Xiaoxiao was somewhat speechless. She knew this maid; she was always the one who was sharp-tongued, and Zhao Jiaojiao trusted her completely.
Jin Xiaoxiao said to Zhao Jiaojiao, "I'm talking to your master, why are you interrupting? Besides, I was just going along with my cousin's words, how did that become mocking your young lady?"
Zhao Jiaojiao wasn't feeling sorry for her maid; she just felt that her dignity had been humiliated.
“My cousin looks down on me and I look down on her. What’s the point of using my maid as a ritual object?”
As she spoke, Zhao Jiaojiao looked pitiful. She was born delicate and soft, and her current behavior made it seem as if Jin Xiaoxiao was bullying her.
Jin Xiaoxiao coldly observed Zhao Jiaojiao's coquettish behavior, feeling that she was extremely pretentious. This kind of trickery was the kind of behavior that young ladies from respectable families would despise, and she didn't seem like a proper woman.
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