Jiang Bai didn't stay at Li Xinxiang's place for a whole day. The collapsed old house of the Zhao family in the village had been renovated. When Zhao Yi was eating breakfast, he repeatedly told Jiang Bai to come over for a feast at noon.
Jiang Bai was getting old and didn't understand why it was necessary to invite the whole village to dinner for building a new house.
Zhao Yi didn't explain.
Jiang Bai said, "You just want to show off your new house to everyone."
Zhao Yi's face stiffened for a moment, and he did not reply.
That means they've figured out what I was thinking.
Jiang Bai said, "Then I'll go over at noon."
Zhao Yi was overjoyed to have his wish fulfilled. Jiang Bai was indifferent to the house, and he always had a feeling that the other party might leave at any time.
He couldn't help but lean closer and said, "The meal wasn't for nothing. Most of the villagers will help us with our houses and give us small gifts. Remember to give them gifts in return when they have a happy occasion."
Jiang Bai took a deep breath, his mind full of questions, and after a long while nodded: "Okay, I understand. I'll bring a good accountant with me."
“Take the butler with you; he can keep accounts too,” Zhao Yi said. “Bringing an accountant will delay business, and besides, he might not want to work overtime.”
Zhao Yi said, "The house was built according to my wishes. You can arrange the furniture, and I will cover all the expenses."
Jiang Bai didn't want to take on too much work, so he declined, saying, "You decide. I don't know anything, so I'll listen to you."
Zhao Yi didn't notice her reluctance and simply said, "I think you were quite good at pretending at the medicinal cuisine restaurant."
So it turns out he was attracted by the decor of her medicinal cuisine restaurant!
Jiang Bai rolled his eyes. He really had a good eye. The medicinal cuisine restaurant was something she had painstakingly created. Every place was carefully decorated, full of little details and thoughtful touches. You might not notice it if you came once or twice, but Zhao Yi went there to eat every day and even brought his business associates with him. He had noticed it long ago.
He couldn't quite explain what was so good about the renovation, but he felt it was very comfortable and convenient, and he really wanted Jiang Bai to put in the effort again and renovate the old house like that.
He wrapped his right arm around Jiang Bai's chair back and said, "This is where you and I will retire in the future, so we can't be careless about any part of it."
Zhao Yi has the mindset of an old farmer, wanting to return to his roots.
Jiang Bai nodded and had no choice but to agree.
When she arrived at noon, it was a bit late. Zhao Yi's expression was rather unpleasant. Ordinary people wouldn't notice, but Jiang Baitian had been with him day and night and had long seen through his pretense.
She quickly went over and asked, "What's wrong? Did something happen?"
"It's nothing." Zhao Yi's face was still stiff, but he didn't get angry at Jiang Bai. He just said, "Go and greet them."
Seeing that he couldn't get any information from them, Jiang Bai turned to the surrounding villagers and made some perfunctory remarks. He then led a dozen or so elderly women on a tour of the entire house before finally letting out a sigh of relief and sitting down.
Before she could even settle in, the Zhao family came over to greet her.
The second son's wife smiled insincerely and said, "Sister-in-law, congratulations! This house is really grand."
Jiang Bai was too lazy to get up, so he nodded and said, "It was all handled by Zhao Yi."
Zhao Lao Er and Zhao Lao San nodded to her, then turned to talk to Zhao Yi. The third brother's wife said, "Big brother is still capable."
The two sisters-in-law sat on either side of Jiang Bai without any hesitation. Suddenly, the third sister-in-law asked, "How's business at the milk tea shop?"
Jiang Bai paused for a moment, then nodded and shook his head, answering seriously, "We haven't launched any new products recently, so they're neither good nor bad."
She hasn't been focusing on the bubble tea shop lately; she just glanced at the accounts and found that the profits were about the same as in the previous months.
The three of them were silent for a while. The second son's wife and the third son's wife looked at each other, both feeling somewhat incredulous.
They all took the initiative to ask Jiang Bai about the business of his milk tea shop. Shouldn't a normal person ask back, "How about yours? How's it going?"
The second son's wife immediately felt that Jiang Bai was deliberately not asking. This man was the best at pretending to be ignorant when he knew the truth. He must have heard about the Zhao family's milk tea shop's predicament and didn't want to help, which was why he was so indifferent.
She said, "Sister-in-law, aren't you going to ask how things are at home?"
Jiang Bai was still preoccupied with Zhao Yi's anger. He looked very cold, perhaps because he had arrived late and hadn't said much to her earlier.
Hearing his second son's wife ask that, Jiang Bai was stunned for a moment before he came to his senses and asked, "How is things at home?"
The third son's wife gave a wry smile: "Not good."
She was reserved, but the second son's wife was anything but, saying bluntly, "The milk tea shop isn't doing well. We've invested all our money in it, and we're almost starving."
Jiang Bai then turned his attention to the two people in front of him and exclaimed in a low voice, "How could it be so serious?"
The two of them lowered their heads and remained silent.
Jiang Bai asked, "What are your plans now? Are you going to sell the milk tea shop or continue operating it?"
She pondered for a long time before saying, "If you want to make a move, you can do so to me, and I will reimburse you for all the money you have spent."
She doesn't have any plans to open a branch for the time being, mainly because she's already too busy with her two existing stores to handle everything.
After all, her purpose in transmigrating was not to make money. Before, she was forced to work hard because of life's hardships. Now that she has no worries about food and clothing, she wants to enjoy life more.
But the Zhao family has already told her about this, so it wouldn't be appropriate to ignore it.
When Jiang Bai said that, the second son's wife rolled her eyes: "Of course we have to keep doing it, otherwise all our previous work would have been for nothing."
The third son's wife also said, "We've rented out the land to others for a year. We sold the milk tea shop, so we have no income."
Jiang Bai really wanted to shake their heads and get rid of the water that had gotten in.
Are we now considering income issues? Aren't we going to lose everything just because we're already operating at a loss?
The most important thing is to recoup the costs, right?
However, the worst thing you can do when interacting with people is to speak too much with someone you don't know well. Seeing their attitude, Jiang Bai could only comfort them by saying, "It's good to keep going. Winter is the off-season now, and fewer people are buying milk tea. When the weather gets warmer, I'll teach you how to make some new products, and business might pick up again."
She's right. In winter, most milk tea is offered, but people in rural areas are short on money and just drink hot water instead. Hot drinks aren't that appealing to them. Summer is when milk tea shops make the most money, because not everyone has ice at home.
After finishing work in the fields, you can spend a few coins to buy a cup of iced milk tea. One sip and the coolness spreads from the top of your head to the soles of your feet. No one can resist that refreshing feeling.
The second son's wife and the third son's wife exchanged a glance, both thinking that Jiang Bai was stingy.
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