Mother Shen was stunned for a moment, then proudly raised her head, "They didn't give a single penny, and what about the 'Four Big Items'? I've never even heard of them."
"Then why did you get divorced?"
Someone immediately objected.
Others nodded in agreement: "Exactly, isn't that girl from Beijing? Or does she have some kind of disability?"
Mother Shen scoffed, "You're so narrow-minded. My son works at a research institute, and plenty of people want to go on blind dates with him."
"So he's reduced to going on blind dates!"
Shen's mother's behavior aroused public anger. Everyone stopped eating and surrounded her to condemn her.
"Exactly, your son is such a good person, why would that girl still divorce him?"
"How novel! Look at how aggressive this old woman is. How outstanding can the children she raises be?"
"Exactly, his mother argued with someone for ages, and he didn't dare utter a single word."
"Comrade, why aren't you leaving yet? Didn't you hear what the old woman said? His family didn't spend a penny to get a wife, so your mother's four essentials are out of the question!"
The girl who went on a blind date with Shen Qingwen blushed deeply, her head practically disappearing into her stomach, feeling both ashamed and angry.
She glared at Shen Qingwen, pushed through the crowd, and ran away.
Seeing this, Chen's mother cursed at the crowd: "What kind of people are you, pointing fingers and making noise here? My son's blind date was going well, and you've ruined it all."
"No, you old woman, how can you be so unreasonable? You were the one who started this fight with that woman, and you even said you don't know who you are, that your son can't afford the four essential items, that's why the girl left!"
"Yeah, you're as dense as mush. No wonder your son got divorced. You deserve it!"
Shen Qingwen was so harassed that he couldn't lift his head. He grabbed his mother and hurriedly fled the restaurant.
As Chen's mother left, she was still muttering, "You're all wrong. My son is capable of marrying one wife, and he's capable of marrying a second. Not only did he not give the first one a penny, he even paid her extra! That's all thanks to my son's abilities! You people can only watch!"
Deep down, Shen's mother believed that the reason Li Shuhe treated the Shen family so well was because Shen Qingwen was outstanding and capable.
She did it voluntarily.
If things don't work out with Li Shuhe, there are thousands upon thousands of other "Li Shuhes" waiting in line for his son!
The fact that her son can support his family, live in a big house in Beijing, and find such a good job is all thanks to the good upbringing he received from her and Shen Qingwen's father!
The incident between Shen Qingwen and his mother at the state-run restaurant quickly spread throughout the compound.
These past two days, when the Li family members went out, everyone looked at them with pity.
Some people even went to the Li family specifically to comfort Li's mother.
Of course, after learning about Li Shuhe's divorce, some people in the compound were also eager to make a move.
In the past, no one in the compound dared to propose marriage to the Li family because the Li family was of too high social standing, and Li Shuhe herself worked in the cultural troupe and was also beautiful.
The people in the compound all knew their own limitations and felt that the person they had chosen was not good enough for Li Shuhe.
But things are different now. Li Shuhe has been married and divorced, and her former in-laws are still so unbearable.
Some people feel that the timing is just right.
Within a few days, the threshold of the Li family's house was practically worn down by the crowds.
Most of the people who came to propose marriage were from the same neighborhood, and they introduced their own relatives, such as nephews, cousins, and a whole bunch of other relatives.
The Li family never gave a clear answer; they neither refused nor accepted. They would offer guests a seat when they arrived, and then see them off once they had had enough.
Li's mother greeted them all with a smile.
Li Shuhe, however, did not appear at all.
She and Xu Ruantang had important business to attend to.
Li Shuhe mentioned wanting to start a business last time, and after discussing it with Xu Ruantang, she decided to open a clothing store.
Xu Ruantang hesitated for a moment, then agreed.
Knowing that Li Shuhe spent most of her money on the Shen family, she took out half of it and opened a shop with Li Shuhe.
"Ruan Tang, aren't you afraid I'll do a bad job and lose money?"
Li Shuhe looked at Xu Ruantang with teary eyes.
Xu Ruantang smiled indifferently, "It's okay, if I lose money, I'll come to your house to freeload every day."
When she wanted to buy a house to start a business, Li Shuhe took out her savings without hesitation, which Xu Ruantang still remembers.
Li Shuhe smiled through her tears, "Okay."
The clothing business was booming at the time, and Li Shuhe's decision was sound, which is why Xu Ruantang dared to joke with her like that.
When Li Shuhe returned home and spoke to her father, he assumed that she was trying to improve herself after being heartbroken in love.
The child was already in a bad mood due to the divorce.
Li's father agreed without hesitation.
With the help of Mr. Li, a shop was found the next day, and he even took care of the business license procedures for her.
Although most licenses are not required these days, and many business people have never even heard of them, having one is always better than not having one.
Xu Ruantang asked Huan Yuanliang for a few days off and has been following Li Shuhe to the store every day to supervise the renovation.
After inspecting the renovation, Xu Ruantang drove Li Shuhe to find suppliers.
The two traveled to many places, and when it got hot, they ate countless popsicles.
Li Shuhe's energy and spirit are different from before.
Occasionally she would ask a question or two about Shen Qingwen, but every time Xu Ruantang talked about the Shen family, she would just listen without saying a word.
The shop was quickly cleaned up.
In those days, there were no fancy decorations. As soon as the goods were brought back, the two of them worked through the night to organize and hang them on the shelves.
The opening day was a Sunday, and Chen Ji, Xu Hanli, and Li Shuyang all came.
Xu Hanli somehow managed to buy the most fashionable flower baskets of the moment.
Li Shuyang hired the most famous lion dance team in Xicheng.
Chen Ji then bought firecrackers and fireworks.
The scale of the event was so large that anyone who didn't know the situation would think there was some major event taking place in Xishan.
To Li Shuhe's surprise, many of the women from the compound came. Wang Xiuxiu led Lu Xiaozhao, and Lu Shishen, who had recovered from his illness, Ye Lan, his godmother, and Aunt Liu all came!
Even Qiu Liang and Sister Juan came.
Li Shuhe burst into tears on the spot, and as she cried, she realized that her mother and father had also arrived!
Everyone is here to buy clothes, or to help out.
On the first day of business, the restaurant closed at 7 p.m. Li Shuhe and Xu Ruantang took a group of people to Quanjude to eat Peking duck.
After everyone left, a few uninvited guests arrived at the shop.
As soon as Shen Qingwen got off work, he was pulled away by his mother and younger brother, who were waiting at the entrance of his workplace.
The two were acting mysteriously, refusing to say what they wanted to say when asked.
Shen Qingwen is on the verge of a breakdown lately. His mother is arranging too many blind dates for him, so many that it's affecting his work.
The important thing is that none of the many blind dates I've been on have resulted in a relationship.
In Beijing, there are almost no families who don't ask for a bride price.
Even if they did encounter them, the moment they heard the Shen family's terms, they would pack their bags and leave.
That wasn't all; Shen Qingwen also discovered that the quality of the blind dates his mother was finding for him was getting worse and worse.
Some girls are just plain ugly.
Some are twice his size.
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