Cao Shigen smiled and rubbed Song Wenyin's head, then waved to Huang Wanzhen, picked up the suit jacket from the shelf, and strode away.
After Cao Shigen left, Song Wenyin became even crazier and asked Huang Wanzhen to eat this and that.
"We're having lobster for lunch. The fishmonger delivered it this morning. It's alive and super fresh."
Huang Wanzhen responded with a smile, "It's alive, how can it not be fresh?!"
Song Wenyin pretended to twist Huang Wanzhen's arm, "You heartless little thing! I told you to eat well, and you're still laughing at me!"
Huang Wanzhen reached out to stop Song Wenyin from twisting her, and said softly with a smile, "Come to my house tomorrow and I'll treat you to something delicious."
"That's more like it! By the way, have you looked at any shops these days? Where do you plan to open one?"
Huang Wanzhen put down the orange soda in her hand and said, "I've looked at Binsha Foreign Trade Store. There's one on Ruijin Road, very close to where I rent. I thought Xiuzhu and Haili would be close to work in the future, so we could save a lot of time on the way there. The street is not narrow, so it's a good place for business."
Song Wenyin nodded and shook her head. "Where is Ruijin Road?"
"The area around Xujiahui in the French Concession. Have the driver take you there tomorrow. I'll have Zhao Dahua make you something delicious."
"Okay, I'll take a look at it when the time comes. If possible, we'll rent the shop as soon as possible. I'll write a few notices every day during this period, and send them to them as soon as our shop opens. Although I don't know how many people will receive them, my face, Song, is still worth two cents!" Song Wenyin said, raising her chin slightly.
Huang Wanzhen watched and thought that as long as the Song family remained standing, it would always be able to serve as a support for her friends, so she was afraid that something sudden might happen.
"How's it going? Have you met any men you like at parties lately?"
"Hey! There really is one!"
Song Wenyin's words immediately made Huang Wanzhen stand up straight, "Who is it?"
"His name is Ho Chao-lai. He just graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and works at the Gonghe Foreign Trade Company on the Bund."
Huang Wanzhen hesitated for a few seconds after hearing this, then asked quietly, "Where are you from? Are you married or engaged?"
"I heard he was from Guangdong. His father died young, so he grew up with his brother and sister-in-law. He was a classmate of my eldest cousin. I asked my eldest cousin, and he said that He Chaoli wanted to marry a woman who didn't have bound feet, but he had never been engaged."
"That's good!" It's no wonder that Huang Wanzhen thinks too much. Women with a family background like Song Wenyin are most likely to be targeted by Phoenix men.
"Oh! It's not that good. The connections and family business left by his father were inherited by his brother, so he came to Shanghai to work hard. He doesn't even have his own house and lives in a dormitory arranged by the company. I'm sure my parents won't agree." Song Wenyin, who was talking excitedly just now, turned around and sighed again.
"Oh! So that's it! What should we do then?" Huang Wanzhen didn't dare give Song Wenyin any advice on relationships. In this era, marriages are mostly lifelong, and divorces are rare. If a woman is unhappy after marriage and wants a divorce, she needs the man's approval. If the man doesn't agree, and the woman's family doesn't support it, the divorce is likely to fail.
Even though Huang Wanzhen is divorced now, that was the result of her drinking herself to death and causing trouble. Furthermore, her reputation within the clan was extremely bad at the time. Her husband's family despised her, looked down on her, and didn't want a daughter-in-law like her, which led to the divorce. A woman of this era would hardly drink herself to such a degree.
"Well! We haven't even started dating yet. We've only met twice. I just think he's good-looking, has a decent personality, and doesn't have all the bad habits men have. Let's wait and see."
Seeing that Song Wenyin was not caught up in the long-lasting love, Huang Wanzhen skipped the topic and turned to talk about the shop.
"Oh! Is that shop closed? It's very likely that it's been taken over by the Municipal Council. If we have to wait too long, we can stop waiting and look somewhere else."
Huang Wanzhen agreed immediately, "Okay, tomorrow morning we'll go to Binsha Foreign Trade Company to ask about the situation. If that doesn't work, we'll look elsewhere."
At lunchtime, it was just the two of them. Before Huang Wanzhen could ask, Song Wenyin explained, "My uncle and cousins all have their own things to do, and my aunt is also very busy. She's either playing cards or going shopping with the ladies she knows. Not only does she not come home for lunch, she rarely even comes home for dinner."
After a pause, Song Wenyin continued, "During the day, there are only two concubines and a little cousin I don't know well at home. They don't live in this building, but in the two-story building to the east."
As she spoke, Song Wenyin leaned her head closer to Huang Wanzhen and whispered, "Actually, my fourth cousin wasn't born to my aunt either. He was born to the deceased second concubine. My aunt only gave birth to my eldest cousin and my eldest cousin. My eldest cousin is studying at the Shanghai Women's Vocational School."
Huang Wanzhen turned her head and gave her a questioning look, "Shanghai Women's Vocational School?"
Song Wenyin nodded. "Don't you know? It was done by three powerful women. One was divorced by her husband in the newspaper, one's husband died of lung cancer, and one's father died, and after that, she fought with her brothers for the family inheritance. Although she only got a tiny fraction, it was still half a million yuan."
Huang Wanzhen stared with wide eyes and asked, "So powerful?"
Song Wenyin nodded seriously. "Yes, three of the most courageous women in the country set up a school. My cousin went there as soon as she heard about it. I heard their backgrounds are all amazing."
Huang Wanzhen took the opportunity to encourage her, "Have you seen that women can also achieve great things? We have to work hard too."
Unexpectedly, Song Wenyin curled her lips and said disdainfully, "I'm fucking at a disadvantage because of my gender. If I were a man, although I wouldn't get 500,000 yuan, at least I'd have 50,000 yuan, and I wouldn't have to worry about food and drink for the rest of my life. Why would I work so hard? I could just count money at home every day, how happy! In this world, if a woman wants to make a name for herself, she has to work a hundred times harder than a man! There are only three of them in the whole country, it's a low-probability event. I don't think I'll have a chance! My background can't match those three, and my gender can't compare to a bitch. I'll never make it anywhere!"
Huang Wanzhen quickly put her index finger to her lips and said, "Shh! Keep your voice down. If someone hears you and misunderstands you, it will be bad." She did not forget that Song Wenyin had just said that her fourth cousin was also born to a concubine. If this were to get to other people's ears, it would definitely be disadvantageous to Song Wenyin.
"You can't think like that. You're already luckier than a lot of people. Just look around on the street and you'll see most people have less fortunate backgrounds than you. If everyone thinks like that, then why are you still alive? You might as well just die."
Song Wenyin sighed deeply, picked up a fork, stabbed a large piece of steak into her mouth, chewed it vigorously a few times to vent her anger, and after swallowing it, she said, "I may be a little afraid of men. Whenever I come into contact with men, I feel a sense of fear. I always feel that if I get married, I can see the end of my life as hard as ever."
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