"I could never have dreamed that we’d be doing business with the Palace. Our grape wine would become famous, business will definitely be better!" Xiao Bei happily said.
Ji Xinhe smiled, patting Xiao Bei’s head, "Didn’t I say before? Your sister is going to make a lot of money! Our good days are coming!"
"Aren’t we already making a lot of money?" Xiao Bei blinked, "To Xiao Bei, being able to eat meat every day already means we’re rich."
"We need to eat even more meat." Ji Xinhe joyfully closed the lid of the wine jar, then casually took her apron and tied it on, "Big brother still hasn’t returned, I’m going to cook dinner, Xiao Bei, stop playing around, go study with Brother Mu Chu. The teacher said classes will start tomorrow, you need to be well-rested, okay?"
"Ok!" Xiao Bei, cheerfully ran off.
Watching Xiao Bei’s gleeful figure disappear, Ji Xinhe couldn’t help but smile. She turned to go to the kitchen.
Who knew that just as she turned, sounds of commotion came from the courtyard entrance. Lady Ding’s voice was shrill and high, easy to identify. Even in normal conversation, her voice carried clearly across the courtyard. When she was arguing or cursing at people, her voice could be heard halfway across the village!
Compared to the past, it seemed like she was trying to be much more low-key, like she was deliberately lowering her voice.
Ji Xinhe looked suspiciously towards the courtyard entrance. Something didn’t seem right. There must be another trick up her sleeve.
Lady Ding and Ji Dashan pushed open the gate and came in. Ji Dashan seemed to be restraining her, but Lady Ding forcefully pulled her sleeve away, shot him a glare and headed straight towards Ji Xinhe’s house.
After a couple of steps, she noticed Ji Xinhe standing in her small courtyard looking at her. Lady Ding was clearly startled, then quickly forced a smile, saying warmly to Ji Xinhe, "Xinhe, what a coincidence, you’re in the courtyard? I, and your dad, we were just about to discuss a wonderful plan with you!"
Ji Xinhe found this both infuriating and amusing. If people needed a face to live, this Lady Ding certainly had an invincible level of shamelessness!
She well knew what kind of relationship she had with Lady Ding. It could be called a deep hatred. But now, she dared to put on an act as though they were a loving mother and daughter.
If Lady Ding had the nerve to say such things, she certainly had no interest in arguing with her. She swept a cold glance over her and turned away.
Lady Ding didn’t expect that Ji Xinhe wouldn’t even bother to talk to her. Infuriated by her aloof attitude, Lady Ding cursed under her breath, becoming more irritable. But she still had important matters to discuss, so she didn’t dare to do anything rash. She quickly prodded Ji Dashan.
Ji Dashan was also in a dilemma. Seeing Lady Ding becoming impatient, he hurriedly called out, "Xinhe, today we met with Master Wang. You know the Wang Family, right? Before your mother passed away, she was a wet nurse for them."
At these words, Ji Xinhe paused in her steps, turned around, and sneered, "Oh? You went to pay respects for my mother?"
Ji Dashan didn’t want to bring this up. He knew Ji Xinhe was angry with him, especially because he’d used her deceased mother as leverage with the Wang family to ask for money. But he also knew, that if he didn’t bring up his late wife, she would probably ignore him entirely, just like she did with Lady Ding, right?
Ji Dashan mustered a difficult smile, "Of, of course we did."
"What did the Wang family say?"
"The Wang family values loyalty and affection. They also value the master-servant relationship of the past," Ji Dashan hastily replied.
Ji Xinhe’s smile was filled with coldness, "Really? How about dad comes inside and tells my mother personally what the Wang family said? Maybe mother will be pleased."
Remembering the last time when he was terrified by the "ghostly" incident inside the house, Ji Dashan immediately recoiled a few steps, waving his hands hastily, "No, no need."
Ji Xinhe sneered, "No need? Oh, then never mind."
She didn’t bother to argue with him and turned to walk away.
Seeing this, Ji Dashan hurriedly said, "The Wang family was very good to your mother in the past. Even though she was a wet nurse, and more than ten years have passed, they still remember their master-servant relationship. It’s clear that the Wang family is kind-hearted. Of course, we can’t be ungrateful. I really didn’t need to discuss this with you, but since it involves your biological mother, I thought it would not be right not to tell you."
Ji Xinhe’s face darkened, and she stopped in her tracks. She wasn’t sure how the Wang family had treated her mother in the past, but the fact that the Wang family could still look after their old master-servant relationship after so many years, and gave the Ji family more than one hundred taels of silver, meant they must have been kind to her mother.
Since they had shown kindness, there was gratitude. Ji Xinhe was by no means ungrateful. Since Ji Dashan brought this up right now, how could she ignore it?
"What do you want to say to me?" Ji Xinhe was direct and straightforward. She wasn’t interested in beating around the bush with him. She knew all too well what Lady Ding and Ji Dashan were like, they never came unless they had something to gain. If even Lady Ding, who hated her so much, could bear to speak to her, it meant they needed something from her.
"It’s like this. The Wang family... wants to do some business with us," Ji Dashan hastily said with an embarrassed smile.
Ji Xinhe gave a cold laugh, "Us?"
Ji Dashan shivered at her cold laughter and quickly said, "You... with you."
Lady Ding quickly chimed in, "The Wang family wants to buy your grape wine. You should know, the Wang family are royal merchants! Being able to cooperate with royal merchants, that’s an unparalleled honor! If it weren’t for... your mother’s sake... they wouldn’t give you this opportunity."
Ji Xinhe’s face was cold and indifferent, with no sense of the glorious honor, she coldly said, "So, what you mean is, you’ve already agreed to this for me?"
"It’s such a good opportunity! Of course, we agreed! These are the royal merchants! You silly girl, you don’t understand! The Wang family gave you this opportunity because of your mother! Don’t tell me you don’t want it?" Lady Ding shrieked.
Indeed the Wang family gave Ji Xinhe this opportunity, but from Lady Ding’s words, it sounded like she was the one who gave the opportunity. One couldn’t help but wonder where this arrogant attitude came from.
Ji Xinhe coldly glanced at her, directly saying, "I have an exclusive deal with Guilinju. My Qinghe small shop’s grape wine, other than selling individually, is only supplied exclusively to Guilinju, we do not provide for any other businesses."
Hearing this, Lady Ding immediately grew irate. She almost stomped her foot, "What do you mean? You’re blind! A small broken restaurant like Guilinju can’t compare to the Wang family! The Wang family are royal merchants! Royal merchants! You’re in business yet you can’t tell the difference in weight? Hurry and sever ties with Guilinju. Here is a rare opportunity given by the Wang family, and you don’t know the value of it?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
