Chapter 30 Mother-in-Law and Daughter-in-Law Bet (0921 Bug Fixing) Chen Junbo for...
Hearing her soft movements, Chen Junbo turned his head to look at Li Yang.
The young woman stood beside him, her eyes slightly red as she stared blankly at Chen Zhangshi. Her pink nose twitched as she breathed in and out, pulling at the corners of her tightly pursed lips, like a small pear blossom quietly blooming on a branch in spring, glistening with dew.
He wrinkled his eyes, then reached out to cover Li Yang's wrist. As she turned her head, he smiled and winked, as if to reassure her.
Li Yang suddenly felt a warm force enveloping his wrist. Turning his head, he saw the tenderness in Chen Junbo's eyes, and his heart softened. He smiled back at him with gentle eyes.
On the other end, Old Master Zhang, panting heavily, said, "My mind is made up on this matter, and you have no choice."
These words were tantamount to a verdict. Enraged, Chen Zhangshi threw the sweet date in her hand to the ground. "Father, am I not your daughter?! How could you treat me like this! I don't agree!"
"What do you intend to do?" Zhang Maolin knew his daughter's temperament all too well. In her eyes, the entire Chen family was nothing more than a money bag that she could take whatever she wanted. If she couldn't get what she wanted... then, just like with the marriage back then... if she was unhappy, she would have to stomp on the other party's face a few times to vent her anger.
Hearing that he had relented, Madam Chen chuckled. "Father, didn't you say that slut..." She paused, rolled her eyes, and continued, "Can that girl manage anything? Perfect timing. The brothel on East Street has been losing money. All the money I got from the tea shop has been invested in the brothel. If that girl can turn it around, it will prove she has some ability. Then, I'll listen to you and transfer the tea shop to her name."
The flower shop in the East Market was another property that Chen Zhangshi strongly advocated for purchasing.
The Zhang and Chen families have always focused on the salt industry. Salt affairs are related to the government's taxation and the people's livelihood, and neither can be neglected. Therefore, Chen Junbai followed the teachings of his grandfather, Zhang, and only focused on this one business. As for other industries, no matter how profitable they were, he never coveted them.
Unfortunately, this old master's biological daughter, Chen Junbai's biological mother, was an anomaly. She dabbled in every business in town—tea, flowers, silk, rouge—a diverse array of things.
But she didn't have time to manage it herself, so she left it all to the shopkeepers, who only needed to come to the Chen residence once a month to report the accounts.
Every month, when the Chen family's accounts were due, shopkeepers would flock to the door to report their debts, practically wearing down the threshold. These shrewd businessmen all pretended not to understand, hoping to take advantage of the Chen family's influence to squeeze into the salt business and get a share of the profits.
Some of the more unruly ones had already been dealt with by Chen Junbo. Now, Chen Zhangshi only had about a dozen shops and estates left. Among them, the tea shop and the flower shop were the main businesses, and the rest were either small fry or small, law-abiding businesses. Chen Junbo was too lazy to touch them anymore, leaving them to Chen Zhangshi to keep to pass the time.
Other businesses were alright, at most resulting in some financial losses. But the tea business was different, much like the salt administration, involving a wide range of people. From tea warehouses and tea shops to tea merchants and tea traders, and many other secondary intermediaries, the layers were intertwined, and the transactions were extremely complicated, with intricate connections, as dense and difficult to unravel as a web.
Chen Junbo discussed giving up the tea shop business with his mother many times, but Chen Zhangshi, for some reason, was unmoved by any persuasion or coercion and remained adamant in her attitude.
The Chen family's tea plantation had a small output and no ambition to expand, so each year they simply handed over their production to a few fixed tea shops and merchants for sale and settlement. The key was that the accounts had to be crystal clear, and they had to avoid having any dealings with smuggled tea dealers.
With losses this year reaching half the company's value, it's no surprise that smuggled tea dealers were involved. This is why Zhang Maolin was so determined to take the tea shop away from his daughter; otherwise, who knows what kind of trouble the lawless Chen Lingshuang would have caused.
He also knew that Chen Junbo and Bi Fang were already overwhelmed. The tea shop was such a small business, yet it was extremely complicated. If they were to take on even more of the burden, it would be putting the cart before the horse.
Now, Li Yang's appearance has truly solved Old Master Zhang's urgent problem.
Therefore, after a moment's thought, he said, "That's feasible. Let's set a timeframe of six months."
"Half a year? Father, what kind of skill is half a year? Three months. If there is still a loss after three months, then she shall get out of the Chen family!" Madam Chen was determined to drive Li Yang away and wished she could set a deadline of one month. However, she also knew her father's temper. After weighing the options, she set a deadline of three months.
Hearing her say that, Li Yang's fists clenched under her sleeves. This mother-in-law, who herself managed the flower shop and caused it to lose money year after year, actually expected her to turn it around in three months... How could she be so arrogant and shameless!
Grandpa Zhang didn't respond to that. His gaze swept over the young couple standing to one side. Li Yang felt a tightness on his wrist and turned his head to look. The man nodded slightly in acknowledgment.
Is he trying to get me to agree?
Flower arrangement...
Well, a flower shop shouldn't be any more difficult than a tea shop, right?
After much deliberation, Li Yang decided to listen to his employer, clenching his fist and gritting his teeth, "Then let's make it three months."
As soon as the words left her mouth, she immediately lost her confidence and couldn't help but look up at Chen Junbo.
The other person didn't look at her, but the strength in their wrist held her firmly, a warm sensation spreading from her wrist to her heart, instantly giving her confidence. Li Yang relaxed; no matter what, she had already agreed to the bet, so she would trust him.
With Old Master Zhang's final decision, the three-month bet was settled.
Chen Zhangshi left with a smug laugh. As she passed by Li Yang, her gaze swept across her face as if she were looking at a dying dog, her eyes and brows revealing an undisguised sense of victory.
"Ziheng, you personally take her to the flower shop." After pondering for a moment, Old Master Zhang added, "Steward Bi, please inform everyone at the flower shop and tea house that anyone who is negligent will be permanently banned from the Chen family."
Bi Fang chuckled awkwardly, "Oh, old man, you should just call me rascal. I feel so embarrassed that you call me Butler Bi."
He understood what was happening today; the old master's true intention was to warn him and also to elevate the young mistress. He feared the latter was the old master's primary goal.
Having figured out what had happened, and feeling ashamed for half a day, he relaxed and dared to flatter Zhang Maolin.
Zhang Maolin was amused by his words and slapped him across the body, laughing and cursing, "You little brat, get lost! Keep a close eye on what I told you to do, or if you mess up again, you can go back to your hometown and farm."
"Yes, yes, the old man is right! I'll go right now." With that, he went out the door with a grin.
Seeing this, Chen Junbo also went out with Bi Fang.
He had to accompany Li Yang to the flower shop later. They were originally scheduled to discuss road repairs with Li Yuhan and others at Ruyi Pavilion this afternoon, but now he needed Bi Fang to do it for him.
A gentle breeze blew through the courtyard as Li Yang helped Zhang Maolin slowly recline into a rocking chair. The Pekingese dog beside them stretched its front legs, hopped onto the low table, and continued sleeping.
Li Yang looked delighted and reached out to gently stroke the dog's back a couple of times. The dog seemed quite comfortable and lay down, exposing its belly, gesturing for her to rub its belly.
Seeing this, Zhang Maolin chuckled and said, "Girl, it seems my 'Snowball' likes you too. You'll have to come to the Zhang residence more often to keep this old man company."
"Grandpa, I'll come often from now on. As long as you don't mind, I'll come every day." Li Yang's words were sweet and clever, making people feel comfortable.
“Girl.” Zhang Maolin’s gray eyes were half open. “Lin Shuang… she has been willful all these years, don’t blame her.”
"Grandpa, please don't worry." She paused, then brought her hands back to her knees and said softly, "My mother-in-law is the elder in the family, she will always be my mother-in-law, and she is Chen Junbai's mother."
Zhang Maolin looked up into the void with cloudy eyes, "I understand that you don't want to forgive her. My daughter is beautiful and charming. When she was young, even if all the young ladies in town gathered together, they couldn't compare to her."
My husband and I are quite old, and we only had this one daughter recently. Her mother passed away early, so I naturally cherished her like a precious treasure, spoiling her in every way. Ultimately… this resulted in her developing such an unruly and unruly personality.”
He sighed, his breath slightly unsteady. "Before she married into the Chen family, she was childhood sweethearts with that boy from the Li family. It's just a pity... that boy from the Li family was cunning and had no interest in romance. He only wanted to climb to the position of the chief merchant of Lianghuai and bring glory to his family. So he turned around and married a daughter of an official family as a matchmaker."
"After Lin Shuang found out..." he slowly closed his eyelids, "he acted like a madman, disregarding everything, and even stormed into someone's wedding banquet, causing chaos..."
She felt relieved and vented her anger. But her reputation was ruined because of it. If it were just the power of the Li family, I, this old man, wouldn't care. I would do everything in my power to find her a good marriage.
But with her causing such a scene at the wedding banquet, who in the city would dare to marry her?
Left with no other choice... she married Ziheng's father. Over the years, the Li family's son and his wife lived a harmonious and prosperous life, but with the passing of time, things became increasingly... alas..."
At this point, the old man's voice grew lower and lower, his eyelashes moist, filled with unavoidable bitterness, which finally turned into a long sigh.
The old man before me, who once dominated the salt industry in Lianghuai, had to crush his pride and beg for forgiveness from an unknown junior in his twilight years for the sake of his daughter.
Li Yang felt a lump in his throat and thought to himself: A parent's love for their child is a deep and boundless love that lasts until death.
A parent's love for their child may eventually fade, but a parent's love for their offspring will never be regretted.
But when she thought of Chen Junbo's parents, her heart tightened... Chen Junbo, you have everything that others don't, yet everyone else has parental love, while you can't even have it...
A note from the author:
----------------------
The next chapter will be available for purchase! Thank you for reading, my darling! [heart emoji]
My column has pre-orders for "After Transmigrating, I'm Haunted by My Yandere Younger Brother Every Day," "A Makeshift Crew (Group Transmigration)," and "The Soul of a Book Amidst the Flames of War." Interested readers can visit my column to select them. Thank you! [pink heart][green heart][yellow heart][orange heart][cyan heart][purple heart][heart]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com