In the backyard, Zhang chased after Tian Sangui, asking what the shopkeeper Gu had shown her and why both sides seemed so angry.
"Mother, stop asking. Let's just pretend that person never came to our shop. Let's get to work, it'll be noon soon."
Unable to get an answer, Zhang felt as if there was a nest of ants crawling around in her heart, causing her great distress.
Tian Sangui had her reasons for not wanting to talk about it. Zhang Shi and Tian Laosi were both honest and simple people, and it would be hard for them not to be tempted by money. Especially her two older brothers, if they secretly contacted Manager Gu behind her back, their family would be living on the edge of someone else's knife.
Rather than taking such a risk, it's better not to tell them in the first place, so they naturally won't think in that direction.
She wants to work hard to earn money so that her family can live a life where they no longer have to worry about money, and then she won't be afraid of these external temptations.
After cleaning the front hall, Tian Er ran to the backyard to join the mother and daughter team, and their dumpling-making speed increased dramatically.
Before noon, Tian Da brought her two younger brothers back to the shop. The fourth and fifth brothers were carrying a lot of candy skewers and ran to their third sister to show them off.
Then they all put the candy skewers to Tian Sangui's lips, insisting that she take a bite before they would stop. Next was Zhang Shi.
She felt sorry for the children but didn't want to hurt their filial piety, so she pretended to take a big bite.
"Mmm, so sweet! Go play!"
The little ones happily ran to the side to eat the candy skewers in their hands. The two brothers looked at each other and smiled especially sweetly.
Tian Sangui taught Tian Da for a few days, and now he can handle half the task on his own, which gives Tian Sangui more valuable time to study recipes.
Only by constantly innovating can we retain customers and make them feel that they will never get tired of the food, thus ensuring the long-term prosperity of the business.
Tian Sangui went to the kitchen to cook dumplings, while Zhang stayed behind to continue making them.
Before long, the school bell rang, and the students headed straight for Jueweizhai as usual.
"Brother Tian, you lost the bet with us today. You promised to treat us, so you can't go back on your word!"
Two students flanked Tian Laowu, patting his chest as a reminder of the bets made during break.
Treating others to meals is a common occurrence among students, serving two purposes: to strengthen bonds between brothers and to impress others by showing off their wealth within their social circles.
Tian Laowu preferred the latter. Whenever he took out his money, his brothers would stare at him with envious eyes, calling him "Young Master Tian" on their lips. Tian Laowu felt incredibly pleased to hear that.
At that moment, he felt like a young master from a wealthy family, so whenever he had money, he was the one who had to treat everyone.
"Sure, you guys name the place, I'll pay!"
As he spoke, he took out a string of copper coins from his pocket and waved them in front of his classmates.
"Look at you, Young Master Tian is so straightforward. Shall we head to Jue Wei Zhai?"
They'd heard there was so much delicious food inside, and their classmates were already drooling over it, but they were broke. Now that the opportunity had arrived, it was definitely their first choice.
"Jue Wei Zhai, let's go!"
Tian Laowu had heard of it before, but he hadn't been there yet because the money hadn't come through. Today he had the chance to go and see just how amazing this Jueweizhai, which his classmates had been praising to the skies, really was.
Undoubtedly, Tian Laowu's action once again drew the praise he craved, and he suddenly felt a sense of euphoria.
Upon entering, they found the room packed with their classmates. Tian Laowu and the other two were astonished, wondering just how delicious the food had to be to be so crowded.
They thought there was nowhere for them to stay, but luckily his friend had sharp eyes and spotted an empty table in the corner. Without time to explain, he pulled them both and squeezed through the crowd, as if they were climbing mountains, until they finally reached their destination.
As soon as they sat down, one of them called out to the kitchen, "Where's the waiter? We have guests!"
"Welcome! What would you three gentlemen like to eat?"
Where can I hear that sound...?
Tian Laowu suddenly turned around: "Tian Er?"
"Fifth...Fifth Uncle?"
Both of them were clearly bewildered, yet each felt a different level of surprise.
Tian Er was more frightened than anything else. He was most afraid of dealing with this fifth uncle. He always talked about some grand principles that he couldn't quite understand to fool him, and he always fell for it, every time.
The classmates on both sides were even more delighted than the uncle and nephew.
"Wow, impressive, Young Master Tian! You've been hiding your true abilities!"
"What did I tell you? From the first moment I saw him, I could tell that our young master Tian was a true playboy. He was pretending to be a country bumpkin before, but now he's been exposed!"
"I didn't expect this Jue Wei Zhai to be owned by your family. Young Master Tian, you're really being unfair! Why didn't you invite us to eat here sooner? Don't you consider us brothers?"
Tian Laowu explained vaguely, "It's not that I don't go home often, and I basically don't know anything about what's going on at home. If I hadn't seen my nephew just now, I would have been completely in the dark too."
"So, as an apology, you can order whatever you like for this meal, it's all on me!"
He apologized verbally, but he was secretly overjoyed. He had been agonizing over whether to hire a fake relative to solidify his identity as a wealthy playboy, lest people eventually stop believing him and his lofty position crumble in his eyes.
To his surprise, even God was on his side. Meeting Tian Er today, a real relative, not only solidified his identity but also elevated him to a higher level in his brothers' hearts.
Now he no longer needed to pretend in front of his brothers; Jue Wei Zhai was the best proof of that.
"Alright, since that's the case, we brothers won't stand on ceremony with you, young master. Brother Tian, bring us your most delicious dishes to try."
"Alright, please wait a moment, sir!"
Tian Er turned and went to the kitchen. As he lifted the curtain, a wide, gray-white sleeve blocked his way.
"Fifth Uncle, is there anything else you'd like to order?"
Tian Laowu followed Tian Er into the corridor and stopped him. He looked around to make sure no one was watching before he felt comfortable talking to Tian Er.
"Tian Er, you know that your fifth uncle is not very well-off because of his studies. You can put the cost of the food my buddies ordered on his tab for now, and I'll pay you back when I get the money after my monthly break."
This is something only you and I know. Don't let your mother and the others know, understand?
Tian Er looked troubled: "Fifth Uncle, this shop was set up by my third sister. If you want to buy on credit, you have to get her approval. I can't make that decision."
When Tian Laowu heard that the shop was run by Tian Sangui, he became resentful. Why did his fourth brother's family always fawn over the girl? They had no backbone at all, and they had caused his family in the old house to suffer a lot because of this Tian Sangui.
"No, I'm telling you all, don't let her make all the decisions. She's a girl who'll get married sooner or later, how can we let an outsider run the household?"
Listen to Fifth Uncle, take back the power as soon as possible, lest you regret it later.
"Who are you calling an outsider? She's my sister. If you keep talking about my sister like that, I'll turn on you."
Tian Er was instantly displeased. When did his sister become an outsider? Even if she got married in the future, wouldn't she still be his sister? Family is family, and it's not up to outsiders to interfere.
"Alright, alright, it's Uncle Wu's fault. Let's not talk about it anymore. You just promise Uncle Wu to keep track of the accounts, and I'll make it up to you when I get the money at the end of the month. It's not like I'm not going to give it to you, it's just a matter of a few days later. We're family, would Uncle Wu lie to you?"
He understood the reasoning, but he still felt it was best to tell San Gui about it.
"This... I really can't make that decision. You're an elder, so you can just talk to San Gui. San Gui is busy in the kitchen right now, I'll take you there!"
"Come back here! Where have you been? It's not you... Why are you so old-fashioned?"
Should I say no? It's only a few days later, what's the point of telling her? There are so many people in the shop, how could she possibly know how much money is missing?
"You can keep this from your fifth uncle for now. He'll secretly make it up to you later, okay? Go and serve the food!"
After Tian Laowu finished speaking, he pushed Tian Er, who was still digesting, into the kitchen, and only then did he feel at ease to go to the front hall to wait for the dishes to be served.
When these people see that he leaves without paying, they'll shower him with compliments, haha!
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