Huang Dong, who had been holding on all the way, suddenly felt weak when she saw her daughter. She suddenly felt pain in her feet and could not walk. Huang Wanzhen looked at her feet worriedly and frowned, saying, "It must be broken. She is so old, why is she still not a worry?!"
After saying that, he squatted down in front of Huang Dongshi and said, "Come up, I'll carry you."
Huang Wanzhen carried Huang Dongshi directly to the west room in the backyard of Pigeon Hutong, put her on the bed and said, "I am living in the east room where you used to live. You can rest in this room for a day. When you feel better tomorrow, I will move you to another room." In old Beijing at that time, people paid attention to the hierarchy of seniority. The person with the highest status in the family had to live in the east room. Whether it was feng shui or lighting, the east room was the best.
It turned out that Huang Wanzhen lived in this room. When Huang Wanshu came, Huang Wanzhen, who didn't care about these things, was afraid that Huang Wanshu would become arrogant, so she moved to the east room and let Huang Wanshu live in this room.
After Huang Wanshu left, Huang Wanzhen felt that it was troublesome to change houses, so she didn't choose where to live and stayed in the east room.
To be honest, she didn't feel that the east room was more comfortable than this one, but people in this era were particular about style, so she just followed the local customs. Being too individualistic would attract gossip. Although Huang Wanzhen didn't care, there was no need to force her way into it.
"No, I won't be able to stay for many days. I have to go back to Shanghai. The company's holiday is on the tenth day of the first lunar month. I guess we have to leave on the fifth day." Mrs. Huang leaned her hands on the edge of the bed, her eyelids drooping with fatigue.
Huang Wanzhen whispered, "It's not too late to leave on the sixth day of the New Year. I'll take you to the train station then."
Mrs. Huang raised her eyelids and glanced at Huang Wanzhen in annoyance. "Why are you so fussy! I have a job and I'm in charge of several people! If I don't go back to watch over them, they'll slack off. Then Mr. Song and Manager Lin will scold me. What if they demote me?"
Huang Wanzhen quickly gave her a thumbs-up and flattered her, "Great! My mother is really capable, managing so many people! You must go back soon. At your age, you've experienced a lot, understand the ways of the world, and have enough work experience. It's a good time to get a promotion and a raise. You have to work hard. Last time, President Song said he wanted to open a branch in Shanghai. If you work hard, you might be able to become the branch manager!"
"Really?" Mrs. Huang suddenly raised her head, her drooping eyelids suddenly opened wide, and she shouted at the top of her voice, "Did Mr. Song say that? He wants me to be the store manager?"
Huang Wanzhen accidentally drew a bigger pie. She tried hard to remember the principle of drawing a pie in her previous life: if it's too big, it's too big. You must never go back and redraw it. "Yes! Mr. Lin likes Ling Xue, and Mr. Song likes you."
Mrs. Huang curled her lips. "Of course, President Lin favors Ling Xue. Ling Xue is her assistant. What's the difference between Ling Xue becoming the store manager and her being the store manager? I'm telling you, you can't hold me back this time. If President Song asks you for your opinion, you must say you favor me!"
Huang Wanzhen pretended to be reluctant and said, "How can we do this? It depends on which of you two is more suitable! Let's talk about it with strength!"
Huang Dong's voice suddenly rose in vain. "You little girl, how can you not tell the difference between insiders and outsiders?! When you were short of money, did you ask me or Ling Xue? I'm your real mother. After I got a promotion and a raise, shouldn't I help you reduce the burden of supporting the family? Those dollars that go into my pocket also go into your pocket, right?!"
"But, but Ling Xue can speak foreign languages, and there are many foreigners in the French Concession." Huang Wanzhen looked like a young wife being scolded by her mother-in-law, with an extremely aggrieved look on her face.
"Not only do I speak English, I can also speak French! In the entire store, besides Sidonie, I'm the only one who speaks French well!" Mrs. Huang raised her chin proudly, reacted for a moment, and then changed her tone, "No, Sidonie isn't an employee of the store. I speak the best French in the store."
Huang Wanzhen had never heard Huang Dongshi speak French before. After hearing what she said, she asked her directly in French, "How do you speak French?"
Huang Dong proudly replied in French, "I learned it from Sidonie. I taught her Chinese and she taught me French. How's it going? You speak it pretty well, right?"
Huang Wanzhen nodded and gave her a thumbs up, "It seems that you are the best candidate for the position of store manager of this branch."
Mrs. Huang immediately laughed out loud.
At this time, Xiuqing stood at the door with a basin of water, "What did the Second Miss say to make Madam so happy?"
When Mrs. Huang saw Xiuqing, she waved to her affectionately, "Xiuqing, come here quickly, let me take a good look at you. I haven't seen you for several years, and you've lost weight."
Xiuqing came over with water and placed the basin on the ground. "I thought your feet would be uncomfortable from walking so much, so I'll heat them for you and help you fix them."
Huang Dongshi happily held Xiuqing's hand and said, "Hey! You're still thinking about me. What's the point of raising a daughter? She's always ungrateful."
Huang Wanzhen pretended to squat down and said, "Let me wash your feet."
Mrs. Huang cried out, "Ouch!" and grabbed Huang Wanzhen. "You've been waited on since you were a child. How could you have done such a job? You're deliberately trying to make me feel distressed!"
Xiuqing squatted down silently and swiftly helped Huang Dongshi take off her shoes and untied her foot bindings. "Ah! It's really worn out. It's a good thing the weather is cold, otherwise it would have pus."
Mrs. Huang glared at Huang Wanzhen unhappily, pulled her aside, and then said to Xiuqing, "It's only because of my age that I suffer. Otherwise, I would have gone to that foreign hospital and had my feet fixed."
"Xiuqing! A person's fate is predetermined. Just because you were born into a good family doesn't mean you'll have a good life. Look at me, I've had my feet bound since I was four years old. I've suffered for forty years. Just think about it, it was so difficult for me. I don't know how I survived."
Xiuqing has made a lot of money in the past few years. Money is a person's confidence. She has also gained a lot of experience, which has made her bolder. She is not as afraid of her master Huang Dong as she was a few years ago. "You can't choose your birth, but if you can, I will definitely choose a high-ranking one. At least I won't be sold."
Huang Dong touched Xiuqing's head with heartache and said, "You are a good girl. It is the Huang family that has let you down."
Xiuqing smiled and said, "It's not that the Huang family is sorry for me. The second young lady and the mistress are very good to me."
Mrs. Huang Dong clenched her hands tightly, finally mentioning Huang Wanshu. "I didn't want to mention Wanshu. My life is too hard. I gave birth to a child who can't tell right from wrong, blind and heartless. She makes me so sad. But only children ignore their parents. How can parents bear to ignore their children? She is grown up now. Let her live on her own in the future. As long as she lives well, I won't care about her anymore."
Huang Wanzhen saw that Xiuqing looked unhappy, so she quickly interrupted Huang Dongshi and said, "Alright, that's enough. You've been tired on the road, Xiuqing will help you warm your feet. After that, you can have a good sleep. I'll call you when dinner is ready."
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