Before leaving, Zheng Yusang gave Huang Wanzhen an urgent training, telling her how to place her hands and how many times she should kowtow. He also held a cushion and demonstrated it to her twice until Huang Wanzhen nodded, and then he let her go.
Zheng Ruqing generously called two taxis. He had planned to have one taxi for him, his wife, and his daughter, and one for his son and daughter-in-law. However, Zheng Liushi wanted to ride in the same taxi with her son.
"Sure, I can do anything." Huang Wanzhen said, and got into the taxi in front quietly.
Yes, she didn't go out in a wheelchair this time.
In this era, women with bound feet rarely had the opportunity to stand for more than an hour at a time unless they were maliciously punished.
"Mom, please let me go. Wanzhen is a woman. It doesn't look good for her to take a taxi alone. I have to go with her." Zheng Yusang looked at Zheng Liushi helplessly.
Zheng Liu curled her lips, "Son! You can't spoil your daughter-in-law. Look at how spoiled she is. She doesn't even take you seriously."
Zheng Yusang explained, "There are only two men in our family, so one in each car is just right."
"If you and I were to ride in the same car, what would it look like if my dad and Wanzhen were to ride in the same car?"
Zheng Ruqing glared at him angrily, "You're as clueless as your mother. Go away, both of you go sit in the front. Yuli, come here. We, father and daughter, will take this one."
"Oh!" Zheng Yuli obediently got into the car quickly.
Zheng Ruqing helped her close the car door, without even looking at his wife and son, turned to the other side, got in the car, and drove away.
The taxi driver in front stuck his head out and shouted, "Are you guys getting in? If not, I'm leaving too."
Zheng Yusang opened the passenger door unhappily, "Get down and sit in the back."
Huang Wanzhen rolled her eyes rudely. She didn't want to argue with him in front of Zheng Liu.
Zheng Liu was used to being mean to her. It was nothing, she could even find fault with everything. If she saw Huang Wanzhen arguing with Zheng Yusang, she would never stop.
Fortunately, everything went smoothly during the incense burning, and at noon, several people had lunch at a halal restaurant outside Fuyou Temple.
"What do you want to eat? Lamb chops? The lamb here is excellent." Zheng Ruqing asked.
Zheng Liu looked up at the silent Huang Wanzhen and said, "Sang's wife doesn't like mutton. Just ask for a bowl of vegetarian noodles. The vegetarian noodles at this halal restaurant are delicious."
Zheng Yusang glanced at Huang Wanzhen secretly and muttered softly, "Mom, don't be like this. Eating out doesn't cost much."
Zheng Liushi reached out and poked him, "If you don't manage the household, you won't know how expensive firewood, rice, oil, and salt are. If you don't save some money, what will you eat and wear in the future?"
"Brother Sang's wife doesn't like mutton, so just ask for a bowl of dumplings for her. Brother Sang, show the menu to your wife and let her order by herself." It was noon, and the restaurant was crowded. The commotion at his table attracted the attention of the surrounding diners. Zheng Ruqing didn't want to be laughed at by others, so he took the initiative to smooth things over.
Unexpectedly, the son is very obedient, but the daughter-in-law is not sensible.
Zheng Yusang handed the recipe to Huang Wanzhen, who took it and put it aside. "Mom might have remembered it wrongly. I really like lamb, so I won't make it special. I'll just have the same as you guys."
"Puchi——" A young master wearing a silk robe and a mandarin jacket couldn't help laughing out loud.
The diners, who were originally laughing, were drawn into laughter by him.
Zheng Ruqing's face darkened instantly. In his heart, he blamed his daughter-in-law for not knowing her duty and his wife for being too nosy. He made up his mind that he would never take them out to eat again. It was so embarrassing.
Seeing that Zheng Ruqing looked unhappy, Zheng Liushi didn't dare to say anything. When she returned home, she called Huang Wanzhen to the front hall and scolded her harshly.
Huang Wanzhen lowered her head and listened to the lecture quietly. She returned to the yard and saw a letter on the desk. She thought it was sent by the newspaper, so she opened it and started reading without even looking at the envelope.
"Shirley? Shirley!"
"I'm coming, I'm coming. What's up, Miss?" Xiulan was doing needlework in the house. When she heard the young lady calling her, she trotted into the main room.
"Where did this letter come from?" Huang Wanzhen asked, holding up the letter.
"The gatekeeper, Qiangzi, brought it over and said it was your letter. What? Is there a mistake?"
Huang Wanzhen shook her head. "No, my mother had someone send it to me. Come back to Santa Alley with me tomorrow."
Before, Xiao Shitou would hand letters from the newspaper to Mrs. Zheng at the back door, and Mrs. Zheng would deliver them to Shuxiangyuan. Xiulan would always hand over two copper coins every time.
"Then aren't you going to Miss Shen's class tomorrow?" Xiulan looked at Huang Wanzhen and said.
Huang Wanzhen touched her chin and thought for a while, "It depends on the time. If I go early, I won't go if it's late."
The next morning, Huang Wanzhen went out through the front door as usual, while Xiulan quietly went to the back door, gave two copper coins to Mrs. Zheng, and hurried to the entrance of the alley to meet Huang Wanzhen.
The two men stopped a rickshaw on the street and headed straight for Santa Lane.
"Mom, I received the letter you sent me. Has the house been sold?" Huang Wanzhen asked immediately when she saw Huang Dongshi.
Mrs. Huang reached out and nodded at her. "I asked your second uncle to send you that letter a week ago. Why did you only get it today?"
Huang Wanzhen said aggrievedly: "I just received the letter yesterday afternoon. If you don't believe me, ask Xiulan."
Xiulan quickly explained, "Yesterday was Qingming Festival. The young lady went to Fushou Temple with her husband's family to burn incense. She only saw the letter when she came back in the afternoon."
Huang Wanzhen continued, "That's how the post office works. Deliveries within the same city take a week. Next time you send me a letter, send it directly to the back door of the Zheng residence and hand it to a woman named Zheng. Say it's for me. That's how newspapers send me letters."
Huang Dongshi then realized that she had wrongly blamed her daughter. "Oh! So that's it! But you came back too late. The house has already been sold. Your second uncle's friend in the society, I heard he's a Hu merchant from Zhejiang, very wealthy, gave this amount."
Mrs. Huang Dong stretched out four fingers and waved them in front of Huang Wanzhen.
"Forty thousand dollars?" Huang Wanzhen asked back, stretching her neck.
Huang Dong nodded happily, "Now we are rich. I plan to give you some extra dowry. I gave your sister a thousand yuan."
Huang Wanzhen frowned and asked, "Have you told my sister about selling the house?"
Mrs. Huang shook her head hesitantly. "No, I just said I sold the family fortune. I wonder if she would guess it."
Huang Wanzhen breathed a sigh of relief. "This money is your pension for the rest of your life. Don't let my sister know. If she finds out, she'll come to you every day to ask for it. If you give it to her, she'll come again next time. If you don't give it to her, she'll definitely make a fuss. If my grandfather finds out and reports it to the authorities, it'll be a disaster."
Huang Dongshi smiled and nodded, "I know, I wouldn't be that stupid."
Huang Wanzhen shook her head in disbelief. "I know you're not stupid, but you really don't have any bottom line when it comes to my sister. Keep some money on you, and I'll put the bulk of it in the bank for you."
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