Lu Xiaoyang looked at He Jiuniang and said, "Something happened to Auntie!"
Has something happened to the Yu family?
He Jiuniang frowned immediately and asked, "What's going on? Isn't my sister-in-law learning to cook at the restaurant?"
"Yes, but at noon today, my sister-in-law accidentally broke a vase while helping to serve the dishes. The restaurant owner said the vase was worth over a thousand taels of silver and made my sister-in-law pay for it!"
Lu Xiaoyang took a breath and continued, "My sister-in-law said that the vase was just placed in the lobby as decoration and didn't look like it was worth a thousand taels of silver. She wanted me to ask someone who knows about porcelain to take a look. I didn't know where to look for one right away, so I went home to tell them first!"
So, according to Madam Yu, if the person she invited said that the vase was really worth a thousand taels of silver, she would have to return it even if it meant going against her wishes.
However, this approach was correct, as she did indeed break the vase accidentally.
But just as Mr. Yu suspected, the vase couldn't really be worth a thousand taels of silver.
After all, who would be willing to leave such an expensive vase lying around in the lobby?
The people coming and going in the lobby are easily consumed; is this the kind of financial strength a restaurant owner in an ordinary county town could have?
"Come on, I'll go with you to take a look."
He Jiuniang immediately walked forward, and Lu Xiaoyang hurriedly followed. Sun Shi also wanted to go with her, but He Jiuniang said, "Mother, you and Second Sister-in-law wait for news at home. I'll go and take a look. If it's really some valuable antique, we'll just accept our bad luck and pay compensation."
He Jiuniang twitched the corner of her mouth, thinking to herself, "But if not, then I'll be in for a beating."
The eldest son's family now has about the same amount of money as the second son's family, or even less. The eldest son's son, Lei Zi, is studying and Ting Ya Tou is learning embroidery, both of which cost money. The eldest son and his wife are apprentices, earning only a few hundred coins a month.
However, the second wife's situation was different. Only Jiezi was still studying. Qin Shi had temporarily stopped working at the workshop during the early stages of her pregnancy, but after her condition stabilized, she went to work at the workshop every day, earning a considerable amount of money each month. Lu Lao Er, on the other hand, never rested. Every day, he either went to the wasteland on the mountain or to work on the land they had bought, all of which were paid according to wages.
Moreover, there's the income from Lianhua and Youya. These two girls earn a lot, including commissions. Currently, the two girls and Lu Xiaoyang are the highest-paid employees in the family.
Although Madam Qin did not accept all the money from the two girls, she would still accept a token amount, as a way to save up for their dowries.
From this perspective, the situation in the newly developed Dafang branch is somewhat lagging behind, so they really can't come up with a thousand taels as compensation.
Even if she really had to pay it back, He Jiuniang would have to lend her some money.
However, He Jiuniang felt that something was amiss, so she decided to go and see for herself first.
Mrs. Sun was naturally distressed by the large sum of money she had spent; earning that kind of money wasn't easy. She said, "Wait for me a moment!"
She turned and ran into her room, and soon came out with a small box, which she handed directly to He Jiuniang: "This is the dividends that my husband and I have received during this period. Although it is not much, please take it all in case of emergency!"
Qin then realized what was happening and hurriedly said, "Third sister-in-law, wait a minute. My sister-in-law probably doesn't have that much money on her. I have some here, please take it with you to help her out in an emergency!"
She was about to go back to her room when He Jiuniang quickly stopped her, saying, "I know you're anxious, but we don't know the specifics yet, so don't worry. I have money on me, and I'll help you if you need anything. You should all take it back."
He Jiuniang shoved Sun's small box into her hands and left without saying a word.
Just as they were about to leave, Old Man Lu and Lu Baichuan returned. Seeing this, they didn't have time to ask what happened and got into the car with their wives first.
Old Lu watched the carriage speed away, then saw his wife and second son's wife chasing after it. He asked in confusion, "What happened?"
Mrs. Sun lowered her brows and sighed, "The eldest son's wife is in trouble. The third son's wife should go and see her."
"Isn't the eldest son's wife learning to cook at a restaurant? How did she get into trouble?"
Old Lu pressed for answers, but Sun was in no mood to talk to him and went back in a huff.
Now I'm just hoping for a safe outcome. As long as everyone is alright, money... money can be earned back!
Old Lu was filled with curiosity. Since his wife wouldn't tell him, he could only ask Qin Shi. Qin Shi then explained the situation. When she heard that he had to pay a thousand taels of silver in compensation, she gasped in shock.
On the other side of the carriage, He Jiuniang had just finished telling Lu Baichuan the general situation.
“I think this is not just a simple case of extortion; the restaurant owner may know the woman’s identity.”
He Jiuniang analyzed the situation rationally and felt that this matter was probably not that simple.
"That's what I was thinking too. Let's go check the situation first and then adapt accordingly."
Lu Baichuan patted her hand, telling her not to worry.
He Jiuniang said, "I'm not in a hurry. I just feel like I'm destined to be a busybody. Even after resting at home for two days, I still run into so many things. I hope the restaurant owner doesn't have any bad intentions, or I'll beat the shit out of him."
Lu Baichuan: ...
At this time, the entrance to Shengkang Restaurant in the county town was bustling with activity, with crowds gathered three or four deep, all eager to get a first look at the excitement.
Standing in the middle of the crowd, Yu looked somewhat helpless. Fortunately, Lianhua and Boss Lu arrived shortly afterward. After clarifying the details of the incident, they said they would wait for the craftsman's appraisal. If the pot was worth a thousand taels of silver, they would have no choice but to accept the loss.
"It's okay, don't be afraid."
The eldest brother held her hand and comforted her, saying that although the family didn't have that much money now, they could still borrow from their younger brothers. Fortunately, the family was in business and could still come up with that much money. If it were before, they wouldn't have been able to scrape together that much money even if they stripped them naked.
With tears welling in her eyes, Yu said softly, filled with self-reproach, "I didn't mean to. I was just carrying the dishes over; I didn't expect the vase to break..."
Since the vase broke, she's been completely dazed. She still can't figure out how the perfectly good vase broke, even though she accidentally knocked it over. But she doesn't seem to remember touching the vase at all...
"Okay, okay, don't be sad. Money can be earned back. As long as you're okay, that's all that matters."
Boss Lu wiped her face, feeling a little sorry for her.
His wife suffered quite a bit after coming to this restaurant. She was busy from morning till night every day, but the staff were unwilling to teach her properly. They treated her like a lowly maid. He tried to persuade her many times, but she thought that if she was really wronged, she should just go back home. Anyway, the family's financial situation was not bad, and she was already quite skilled. Even if they opened a small restaurant, she would definitely be able to run it well. There was no need for her to learn the main dishes of the restaurant.
But his wife was very strong-willed and felt that if she came here, she should work hard and learn real skills so that it would benefit her when she opened her own shop in the future. As a result, things turned out this way.
The restaurant owner had been standing across the street for quite a while, and was getting impatient. He had someone bring him a stool to sit on before asking impatiently, "It's been so long, how have you come to an agreement?"
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