The next morning, Jiang Bai saw Granny Wang hurrying after Wang Zhongyi with her bound feet.
Upon seeing her, Aunt Wang's eyes lit up, and she quickly walked over and took Jiang Bai's hand.
Jiang Bai was also happy: "Auntie, you're here."
"Hmm." Aunt Wang tightened her grip, as if she wanted to say something, but then looked back at her son and shut her mouth.
Wang Zhongyi handed a large bag of silver to Jiang Bai, his smile honest and simple: "Jiang Bai, count it yourself, it shouldn't be wrong."
"I trust Brother Wang's money." Jiang Bai handed the silver to Xu's wet nurse without even looking at it.
Xu, the wet nurse, moved to Zhao Yi's house with Jiang Bai. She had just returned from dropping off Zhao Xile and came over to help Jiang Bai. She took the silver, smiled at the mother and son in front of her, and went next door with her bundle.
She was going to secretly count them next door.
Jiang Bai didn't care, but she didn't. The Wang couple's act of reaping the benefits behind her back disgusted her.
Aunt Wang looked at Wang Zhongyi: "Are you going to the restaurant to help with the business?"
Wang Zhongyi nodded: "Yes, Mother, come with me..."
"No, Brother Wang," Jiang Bai refused on behalf of Aunt Wang, their hands still clasped. "Aunt Wang and I haven't seen each other in a long time. Let her eat here today. After we eat, we can have a good chat. Don't worry, I'll definitely send her back to you safely."
Upon hearing Jiang Bai's words, Wang Zhongyi had to abandon his idea of having his mother come over to help clean up the restaurant. He smiled and said, "Alright, I'm at ease leaving my mother in your care."
The two watched Wang Zhongyi leave.
As soon as her son's figure disappeared from sight, Aunt Wang immediately said, "Child, I'm sorry."
"What's wrong?" Jiang Bai asked in surprise.
Aunt Wang sighed, "I knew perfectly well what kind of people they were, but I still insisted on introducing you to them. It was my fault."
"How could that be!" Jiang Bai then realized that the old woman felt guilty. She didn't know how much Wang Da Niang knew about the intricacies of the situation, so she didn't dare to offer any words of comfort.
Aunt Wang said, "Yesterday, they told me that you had lost money running the shop and had to terminate the lease, and that they had decided to take over and reopen it. I knew something was wrong then."
"That couple is extremely stingy and shrewd. They never act unless they see a clear benefit. How could they possibly reopen a loss-making shop?"
"Jiang Bai, tell me honestly, did they force you to leave?"
Jiang Bai smiled awkwardly and took Wang Da Niang's hand: "Let's not stand here and chat. Let's go next door. I've moved next door now."
The two sat down in the reception room. Xu, the wet nurse, served two cups of tea and then stepped aside, giving Jiang Bai and Aunt Wang some space to whisper to each other.
Jiang Bai didn't answer but changed the subject, and Aunt Wang already knew the answer in her heart.
Sitting in the rosewood chair, she asked curiously, "Zhao Yi is back?"
Jiang Bai paused in her tea-drinking motion, realizing that it must have been Wang Zhongyi and his wife who told her, and could only nod.
Aunt Wang breathed a slight sigh of relief: "It's good that he's back. What couple can be apart all the time?"
"With him by your side, you no longer need to go out and work hard to earn money. It's like the end of hardship has finally brought happiness."
With that thought, the guilt she felt about her son and daughter-in-law doing such a thing lessened by half.
This can be considered a relief for Jiang Bai.
Jiang Bai just smiled and didn't reply.
The two chatted about everyday things, and Jiang Bai told them about Zhao Ping'an and Zhao Xile's recent situation, which elicited a sigh from the other party: "Sure enough, things are getting better and better since Zhao Yi came. The children still need their father."
After the two finished their meal, Jiang Bai took the person home. When he got home, Zhao Yi happened to be returning.
Seeing her just enter, Zhao Yi was taken aback: "She went out?"
Jiang Bai described Wang Da Niang's story to him.
Zhao Yi walked into the house side by side with her, listening to her say, "At the time, I felt that it was a bit strange for Granny Wang to live alone in the countryside. If her children were truly filial, why would they leave their widowed mother alone?"
Even when her heart condition flared up and became life-threatening, Wang Zhongyi only came back briefly to check on her and did not intend to take her away.
Zhao Yi chimed in, "It must be Wang Zhongyi's wife who was unfilial and drove him away."
Jiang Bai rolled her eyes at him: "You men only know how to find fault with women. Can his wife control him and prevent him from supporting his own mother?"
Zhao Yi was completely innocent, not knowing what he had done to offend Jiang Bai. He explained his meaning: "Wang Zhongyi usually manages a restaurant, so he must neglect to check on things at home. Therefore, he doesn't understand why his wife sometimes makes things difficult for his mother."
Jiang Bai said, "How could I not understand? Is his mother mute and unable to speak? He's usually blind, can't he see that his mother and wife don't get along?"
"Since Madam Wang was able to send Aunt Wang back to the village, she must have gotten Wang Zhongyi's consent. You can't have two kinds of people sleeping in the same bed."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Yi felt that Jiang Bai's words made sense.
He was usually surrounded by men, and this was the first time someone had refuted him from a woman's perspective, so he found it very novel.
He nodded and said, "We've said this before: if you want to do business with a businessman, go and see his house and meet his wife. If the house is stable and the wife is wise, then the business can be done and the person can be befriended."
Even if he made a mistake, his wife, being understanding and righteous, would pull him back from the brink.
Conversely, no matter how reliable a person may seem, if his wife is incredibly stupid, trouble will inevitably break out sooner or later.
He used to think that one should marry a virtuous wife because the affairs of the household should be handled by the wife. Now that Jiang Bai said this, he suddenly realized that if a man can still get by with an unvirtuous wife, then it proves that the man is no better than the other way around.
Jiang Bai was still sighing for Granny Wang: "It seems that Wang Zhongyi wants Granny Wang to help out at the medicinal cuisine restaurant."
"Grandma Wang is so old, but she can't enjoy her old age. She still has to worry about her children."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Yi immediately put himself in their shoes and said, "I suppose Ping An and Xi Le wouldn't be like that."
“What don’t you know?” Jiang Bai glanced at him. “Raising children is all about worrying. Now you have to worry about their studies, in a few years you’ll have to worry about their marriage, and after marriage you’ll have to worry about their children, and the cycle continues endlessly.”
Even after they die, they will still burn paper money for you and ask for your blessings.
Upon hearing these words, Zhao Yi suddenly shivered.
He frowned: "Where did you hear that from?" Thinking like that is too pessimistic; there's always something to worry about.
Jiang Bai thought to himself: It's just an internet joke from thousands of years later.
That evening at dinner, Zhao Yi looked at Zhao Ping'an and Zhao Xile with a scrutinizing gaze.
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