Chapter 100 Buying Rouge
"What would you like to eat?" Qiao Mianmian asked Lu Zhao.
"I'll have a serving of minced meat and tofu," Lu Zhao said.
"You really love tofu. Sit for a moment, I'll be right there." Qiao Mianmian went to the kitchen to cook for Lu Zhao and Qingjiu. After a while, her mother came in as well.
As Lin helped cut the meat, she said tactfully, "You're a young lady now, it's not appropriate for you to stare directly at Lord Lu anymore. You need to know how to be reserved, understand?"
"Huh?" Qiao Mianmian didn't think that much about it.
In fact, she often still thinks like a modern person, especially when she speaks. Given that her family makes a living in the city, even at home, she really didn't expect her mother to say something like, "Mom, shouldn't I be polite when people talk to me?"
Looking at the other person when they speak to her is a courtesy that Qiao Mianmian has ingrained in her bones from her past life.
"Just take a look, otherwise it would be bad if people misunderstood." Lin didn't say what the misunderstandings were. She hoped her daughter's marriage would go smoothly. Lord Lu had his merits, but Old Madam Lu clearly looked down on her family. Otherwise, they lived right across the street, and Old Madam Lu had looked at so many families for Lord Lu, yet she had never gone to the Qiao family to sound them out.
Without inquiring, she had no idea. Madam Lin already felt that Lu Zhao's life was dangerous, and with the old lady of the house as an example, she was even less willing to see her daughter have any involvement with Lu Zhao.
Qiao Mianmian pouted, "Okay."
She didn't understand why her mother was so worried, but she would obediently agree on the surface. As for her daily life, she would prioritize her own comfort.
When the dishes were served, the family had almost finished eating, so Qiao Mianmian went back home with her older brother and the others.
Qiao Jiaxing then escorted Cao Fengzhou and his grandson to the inn, saying, "Second Uncle rarely comes here, why don't you stay a few more days? There are spare rooms at home."
"We can't stay here anymore. Nobody knows when it will snow. If it snows, we really won't be able to go back." Cao Fengzhou arrived at the inn's entrance, paused, and then looked at Qiao Jiaxing. "You should be good to Yuan'er. Go back."
He turned and went into the inn. After a while, Cao Guian ran out and said, "Uncle, I will come to see Aunt again next year. I will always be Aunt's family!"
Qiao Jiaxing was both amused and exasperated. After saying goodbye to Cao Guian, he quickened his pace to get home.
He and Cao Yuan are now living in the food shop. Their family members have all gone home. Seeing his wife sweeping the floor, Qiao Jiaxing took the broom and said, "Let me do it."
"Is Second Uncle really leaving tomorrow?" Cao Yuan sat on the stool, looking down at her shoes. Just now, her eldest brother brought over the local specialties that Second Uncle had brought, including cakes, cured meat, and sausages, all of which were foods that could be eaten for a long time.
“I tried to persuade them, but it was no use. Your second uncle seems difficult to talk to. We’ll go see them off tomorrow.” Qiao Jiaxing closed the door, blew out the candle, and went to the backyard. “Mom told me to give your second uncle a little more of our preserved duck and braised meat. The weather is cold now, so the braised meat won’t spoil for a few days.”
He kept rambling on about these little things, and to Cao Yuan, it was a heartwarming expression of his concern.
The young couple closed the door and lay face to face. Qiao Jiaxing said softly, "Go to sleep. Tomorrow we'll see Second Uncle and Gui'an off."
After sleeping soundly until dawn, Qiao Jiaxing got up early, prepared a basket of things, and took Cao Yuan to the inn.
They escorted the Cao family grandfather and grandson to the city gate, and only returned to the food shop long after the Cao family grandfather and grandson had left.
However, Cao Yuan was listless and had no energy all morning. Qiao Jiaxing found his sister and said, "I know that the appearance of Uncle Cao's second brother will make your sister-in-law miss her father. But all morning, no matter what I said, she had no energy to answer me. Fifth sister, what should we do?"
He tried to comfort her, but Cao Yuan just told him not to overthink it and that it would be fine in a few days. But he couldn't help but overthink it; they spent every day together, and seeing her unhappy made him feel bad too.
“It’s normal for your second sister-in-law to feel disappointed. She must miss her father. But the dead can’t be brought back to life. Otherwise, you could take her back to her parents’ home to visit.”
Qiao Mianmian thought for a moment, "Didn't you get your wages? Buy your second sister-in-law a gift. Women love to look beautiful, so buy her some jewelry or rouge. You have the money, right?"
"Then will you come with me to pick one?" Qiao Jiaxing was afraid that his taste was not good.
Qiao Mianmian said no problem, and the brother and sister took Qiao Jiawang with them when they went out together in the afternoon.
"So I don't need to buy it, right?" Qiao Jiawang asked.
"Big brother, how come you don't understand women's hearts at all?" Qiao Mianmian pouted in disdain. She had to teach them a lesson. "When second brother gives second sister-in-law a gift, won't she be envious?"
Qiao Jiawang shook his head. "I don't know."
"How silly of you! Your sister-in-law will definitely be envious! Besides, she just gave birth to Le Ge'er not long ago. Childbirth is such a difficult thing for a woman. You should buy her a gift for that. Let me tell you, you need to learn how to make your wives happy, and your lives will get better and better, you know?"
Qiao Mianmian took her two older brothers to the rouge shop. When Manager Meng saw her, he subconsciously trembled. Qiao Mianmian smiled and said, "Manager, are you too happy to see me? Don't be afraid. Today I brought my two older brothers to patronize your business."
Shopkeeper Meng chuckled awkwardly. He was genuinely a little afraid of Qiao Mianmian, but when he heard that she was really there to buy rouge, he put on a businessman's smile and began to introduce his own rouge and face powder, "If you ask me, the rouge in this price range is the best. Look at this rouge, how vibrant the red is!"
"It is indeed quite vibrant, but my second sister-in-law's skin is on the darker side, so such a bright color doesn't suit her. This rose color is much better. Shopkeeper, can you give me a discount? I'll buy you two boxes, how about that?"
Before Manager Meng could speak, Qiao Mianmian began praising, "I genuinely think your rouge is excellent. You see, after we bought it, when our neighbors asked about it, I recommended your store to them. And I think you're a very kind person, so generous!"
Seeing Qiao Mianmian give a thumbs up, Manager Meng chuckled, "It's not as good as you say."
"Of course there is! If there wasn't, I wouldn't have come all this way. So let's make it a deal: I'll take two boxes, five coins cheaper per box. Big brother and second brother, please pay!" Qiao Mianmian put away the rouge.
Shopkeeper Meng then came to his senses. "Wait a minute, young lady! I haven't agreed yet. Five coins is too much. If you keep haggling like this, I'll lose money!"
"Is it a real loss or a fake one? I just praised you as the best, you can't lie to a young lady like me!" Qiao Mianmian looked at Manager Meng and, seeing his hesitation, immediately said, "Oh, I know, you must have made a profit. How about this, next time you come to my restaurant, I'll definitely serve you a full plate, I guarantee you'll get your ten coins back, what do you say?"
For the first time, Manager Meng couldn't win an argument, so he waved his hand and said, "Then it's settled. I'll come to your place tonight, and you have to give me lots of food!"
He couldn't let himself suffer a loss for nothing. What if Qiao Mianmian refused to acknowledge it after a long time?
Qiao Mianmian left the rouge shop with a smile, handing the rouge to her two brothers. "Sister-in-law has fair skin, so a water-red rouge will look good on her. This box is for second sister-in-law. When you get back, just say that you begged me to bring you here to buy it. Don't say that I brought it. Especially you, eldest brother, remember that?"
"Oh, okay." Qiao Jiawang nodded, saying he had remembered. "But if Manager Meng really comes to eat, wouldn't we have wasted our time negotiating?"
"How could that be, brother?"
Qiao Mianmian said with a smile, "Look, he comes to eat, so he's paying for it, isn't he? Even if we give him a larger portion, it's only the first time. If we can satisfy him with the taste, when he comes again, won't he be treated the same as everyone else? Besides, if we give him a larger portion, it's like he's giving us a discount. All things considered, we're the ones who make a profit."
Before Qiao Jiawang could figure it out, Qiao Jiaxing was already praising his sister, "Fifth sister, you're amazing. By the time Manager Meng realizes what's going on, who knows when."
“This is a win-win situation. We get more customers, and Manager Meng gets to enjoy delicious food. Alright, you guys go find your wives.” Qiao Mianmian went into the food shop, found her mother, and then tucked a hair tie into her hands with a grin.
"Why are you giving me this?" Lin looked at it. "I'm already this old, I can use the old ones."
"How old are you? I can't tell." Qiao Mianmian said she also bought a new one for herself, "My daughter and I will each have one, so we can both look pretty."
Lin looked at the hair tie and laughed, "Honestly, you spend money recklessly without being told. Fine, fine, since you bought it, I'll use it. But don't buy me anything next time, there are flowers in it too, seriously, don't buy me anything!"
As she spoke, she asked Qiao Mianmian to tie it on for her to try, "It's a pity there's no bronze mirror in the food shop, so I can't see what it looks like?"
"Of course she looks beautiful!" Qiao Mianmian shouted, "Dad! Come and see, isn't my mom especially beautiful?"
Her shout made Lin blush instantly. She slapped her and said, "You brat, what are you yelling about? Everyone's looking over here!"
Feeling embarrassed, Mrs. Lin took the broom and went upstairs.
Qiao Mianmian nodded to her father who had come over, and Qiao Mancang followed her upstairs.
On the other side, Hu Qianqian was surprised to receive the rouge. "Why did you buy me this?"
Qiao Jiawang told the truth, "Mianmian dragged me there. She said you've worked hard, and since Jiaxing wanted to buy something for his sister-in-law, I should buy something for you too."
Hu Qianqian chuckled. "Then I'm not surprised. Otherwise, how could someone as dense as you have thought of that?"
Thinking of how considerate her sister-in-law was, Hu Qianqian wanted a daughter. "No wonder Sister-in-law Xu wanted to have a daughter. I want a daughter now too. If I raise her to be just like Mianmian, she will definitely be very lovable."
“Okay, let’s have one then,” Qiao Jiawang said seriously.
"I'll go pray later, and ask the Bodhisattva to bless our next child to be a daughter." Hu Qianqian had just finished speaking when she heard her son crying. She hurriedly ran behind the counter. The little guy was eating more and more, and he kept crying with his mouth open.
She carried her son upstairs and saw her father-in-law comforting her mother-in-law. Blushing, she went to another private room.
When Cao Yuan saw Rouge, she immediately hugged Qiao Jiaxing.
She knew that from now on, this was the only person she could rely on and trust.
"Jiaxing, thank you." Cao Yuan rarely took the initiative like this. Qiao Jiaxing was stunned for a moment, then hugged her.
The two were cuddling inside the house until a gust of wind blew down a bamboo pole in the yard, and everyone ran out to see what had happened.
Lin said the wind was blowing, "Looking at the sky, it looks like it's going to snow. May the family prosper and flourish. Take some more thatch and cover the chicken coop, and remember to weigh it down with bricks."
There are more than twenty chickens and ducks in the yard, all of which were given to them by the Lin Jinshan brothers. Their family has never lacked chickens and ducks.
Qiao Mianmian followed, but she didn't go to work; instead, she went to see if there were any chicken or duck eggs.
When the siblings arrived at the chicken coop, they heard a "clucking" sound. When Qiao Mianmian squatted down, she actually saw two eggs, which were still warm when she picked them up.
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