Chapter 25
Lu Jinxian recognized the person: "It's you. Aren't you a servant of the Han family?"
"Yes, Miss asked me to come here to help," Xiao Liu said.
Guo Yihan: "That's impressive. Working two jobs is amazing. Not everyone can do that."
While busy carrying buckets of water, Xiao Liu chatted with them: "The young lady is kind-hearted, just letting a poor person like me earn more money. She always tells me to earn more money now, saying that it will be harder to earn money when the world becomes more chaotic."
Guo Yihan sighed, "She's right. When the nest is overturned, no egg remains unbroken. Today, what your future son-in-law and I are going to discuss is also somewhat related to this."
Lu Jinxian gave him a cold glance.
Xiao Liu casually asked, "Does that mean there's going to be another war?"
Lu Jinxian: "Yes, it will be soon. So I don't understand why your young lady would still open a new store if she already knows that."
"I don't know about that." The boy lowered his eyes slightly, looking down at his reflection in a bucket of water.
He seemed to be reminding himself to see himself clearly, not to overthink, and to recognize who he was, fundamentally different from Young Master Lu and Miss Han.
Guo Yihan: "Sigh, life is already hard for ordinary people. Once the fighting starts, it will probably be even harder. Jinxian, our strength is ultimately limited."
“Everyone’s strength is limited,” Lu Jinxian said.
"So I think we should prepare early and close some shops now. There are other people doing Western medicine and pharmaceuticals, so they don't need our shop."
"What if those people thought the same way you do?"
Guo Yihan chuckled and said, "That's impossible. Not everyone is like me, content with their lot in one place."
“Yes, like me.” Lu Jinxian hesitated for a moment before continuing, “We’ve been childhood friends, and I understand your thoughts, but I feel that doing some things isn’t just about proving yourself.”
Guo Yihan: "I understand you. So what do you plan to do if we can't reach an agreement this time?"
"You do your thing, I'll do mine, from now on..."
"No," Guo Yihan interrupted him. "I'll listen to you, okay?"
"Have you thought it through? Listen to me, there are big risks in the future." Lu Jinxian didn't expect his friend to change his mind so quickly.
Guo Yihan smiled and said, "I recently met someone who told me that if there's ever a war, she'll become a battlefield nurse. She's such a fool."
"I thought it was because of me, but I didn't expect it to be because of someone else." Lu Jinxian glanced at him and smiled slightly.
The two finished their conversation quickly, but the foot-washing service had just begun. Xiao Liu dragged two large buckets and placed them in front of the two men.
He skillfully sprinkled some mugwort into the two foot-washing tubs: "Test the water temperature."
"Young man, what's that you wearing on your chest?" Guo Yihan noticed a shiny object pinned to the boy's clothes and couldn't help but ask curiously.
The boy looked down at his chest. It was a red flower-shaped brooch...? He wasn't sure what it was, but he wore it because it was a gift from his boss.
"It was given to me by my employer," he said.
Although this part-time job is new to him, he has gained a good understanding of the job after a few days of practice, and the customers are quite satisfied with him.
To reward him, Han Meng gave him this little red flower, saying that he could exchange all the little red flowers for a gift he wanted at the end of the year.
Guo Yihan: "The employer you're talking about, is it?"
The young man sat on a low stool, serving a customer without looking up: "It's Miss Han Meng."
Upon hearing this, Guo Yihan turned to look at Lu Jinxian, but Lu Jinxian didn't seem to react.
"Does she come often?" Guo Yihan asked Xiao Liu again.
Xiao Liu: "She hasn't come these past two days. Recently... she's been getting quite close to her school's teachers."
"Oh, it seems the rumors are false. Didn't everyone say that Miss Han Meng got into university by paying her way in and never attended classes?"
Xiao Liu paused for a moment, then said, "...It's not fake."
"You mean, she's different from before, is that right?" Lu Jinxian finally spoke after a long silence, and his gaze fell on the boy.
"Miss has changed a lot."
"When did it start?"
Xiao Liu chose to remain silent on this matter; he didn't want to say—"It seems this change in the young lady started after she met you." Those words were too suggestive…
*
Over the weekend, Han Meng invited Chen Miaoyin to her home.
Han Meng knew that Chen Miaoyin liked reading, and especially liked Xu Shuyi's works, so she wanted to give her the book.
However, Chen Miaoyin did not accept the money, but instead hoped that the two of them would sit in the study and read whatever they wanted.
Perhaps because she had already read Xu Shuyi's works, she picked another book from the bookshelf to read, while Han Meng was somewhat curious about Xu Shuyi's literary level. Since she didn't have any other books she wanted to read, she started reading those two directly.
...
After a while, Han Meng exclaimed, "It's really well written."
Chen Miaoyin looked up: "What?"
"Nothing, I just think this author writes really well." Han Meng suddenly remembered that no one in this era knew those popular internet slang terms yet.
Chen Miaoyin was delighted, feeling as if she had found a kindred spirit: "Of course! I've heard my godfather say that Mr. Xu's books and short stories sell very well!"
"Do you really like this author that much?" Han Meng asked, turning another page of the book as she read and chatted with Chen Miaoyin.
If she remembered correctly, Chen Miaoyin really loved Xu Shuyi's works in the original book. She would even shed tears while reading them, and Shen Jianhe would even get jealous when he saw them.
“I really like his work, but I don’t know much about him as a person. My godfather said he has a strange temper, and I’ve also heard that he has ambiguous relationships with several girls. I don’t know if it’s true or not.” Chen Miaoyin said, her eyes looking a little sad, as if she was regretting it.
Han Meng recalled for a moment: "He was the vice principal of my school. He had a strange temper? I didn't notice that. I don't know much else about him."
"Knock knock knock".
Just then, there was a knock on the study door.
Han Meng found it strange. First, the study was unlocked, and second, Han Xianfei or Tang Ying rarely knocked before entering the study. So why would a stranger come to her house and knock on the door of the study?
After she opened the door herself, the answer was revealed—it was her little cousin, Tang Xiaomei.
The little girl's round eyes were looking at her timidly, her lips moving slightly as if she wanted to say something but dared not speak.
"What's wrong? Xiaomei, is there something you need from me?" Han Meng bent down, looking almost at the girl's eye level.
The little girl's voice was soft and sweet: "Your auntie is calling you for dinner..."
"Oh dear, time flies, it's lunchtime, I should go." Chen Miaoyin snapped out of her reverie and stood up immediately.
Han Meng persuaded her, "Why are you leaving? Stay at my house for a meal before you go!"
Chen Miaoyin looked troubled: "No, it's not appropriate for me to come to your house for the first time... that wouldn't be right."
She was just an ordinary person, and she was already very lucky to be good friends with someone like Miss Han Meng. How could she dare to contact other big shots like the Han family? She was afraid that she would bring unnecessary trouble to Han Meng.
Han Meng noticed Chen Miaoyin's hesitation, walked in, patted her on the back, and coaxed her gently, "What's wrong with that? My parents used to criticize me for associating with shady friends, but now that I've met you, you're different from those people. They'll definitely be very happy. My parents aren't tigers that will eat people. Go meet them, what are you afraid of?"
While Chen Miaoyin was still hesitating, Han Meng didn't hesitate and pulled her out of the study together. By this time, Tang Xiaomei, that socially awkward girl, had already disappeared in a flash.
At the large round table, Tang Ying and Han Xianfei sat together, chatting without having started eating.
Han Meng had just arrived and overheard a few words. She sensed that the two had a minor disagreement about Tang Xiaomei's education.
Han Xianfei advocated for the girl to study at home: "She's the way she is, she doesn't talk to us much. If she goes to school, she won't be able to keep up with the lessons, and she'll be too quiet to talk to the teacher. It's better to hire a private tutor for her. It's not like we can't afford it!"
Tang Ying disagreed with his point of view: "But it's September now, the start of the school year. If she goes to school, she won't miss many days of classes. Besides learning knowledge, she can also make good friends at school. Maybe it will even help her improve her speaking skills."
“Teachers at school have to take care of so many students. What if they neglect Xiaomei? She’s not talkative to begin with, and if she suffers any grievances, she might not even tell us.” Han Xianfei still maintains his original point of view.
Tang Ying knew she couldn't persuade her husband on her own, so she turned her attention to Han Meng. "Mengmeng, what suggestions do you have?"
Han Meng glanced at Tang Xiaomei, who was sitting silently to the side, and noticed that the girl's expression was not very good, and she looked embarrassed.
It seems that Tang Xiaomei is quite uncomfortable with others discussing her.
Han Meng smiled and replied, "Mom and Dad, let's stop arguing now. Let's talk about it after we finish eating! We have guests at home!"
Despite their disagreements, Han Xianfei and Tang Ying loved each other very much, so they completely followed Han Meng's advice.
Not only that, they also took the initiative to serve food to their daughter's good friend, Chen Miaoyin.
"Here, Miss Chen, have some fish."
"Does Miss Chen like to eat shrimp? If so, please eat more."
...
The couple seemed to be in sync, putting down their chopsticks one after the other and saying, "I'm done eating."
Then they continued to sit together, waiting for Han Meng and Chen Miaoyin to finish eating.
Chen Miaoyin was the third to finish eating. Thinking about making money, she told Han Meng that she had to go to the pharmacy to take care of the old Chinese medicine doctor who hadn't been feeling well lately, and then she left immediately.
"Alright, Mengmeng, let's continue our discussion!" Tang Ying said with a slight smile after Han Meng had finally finished eating.
Han Meng glanced at Tang Xiaomei: "But Xiaomei hasn't finished eating yet, we should ask her opinion too!"
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