Chen Xuan always felt that she and Miss Shao were not the same kind of people.
Miss Shao was feeling a little upset at the moment. Given her status, even her own cosmetics business was just a small thing for her to do after graduation compared to the Shao family's financial resources.
However, suddenly seeing the aunt and sister-in-law's shop being made such a big deal in the newspaper, especially the newspaper actually compared the aunt and sister-in-law who opened the shop with Ms. Chen. And the aunt and sister-in-law talked a lot about the "Siqing" brand cosmetics, saying that they missed the motherland. Miss Shao was always a little depressed, especially, Miss Shao would unconsciously think that if she had given the Beijing general agency rights to the aunt and sister-in-law, it might be her "Fenfang" brand that would be in the limelight in the newspaper now.
People like Miss Shao may not care about money, but she cares about reputation!
Miss Shao put the newspaper on the table and became even less cheerful.
Mr. Shao came downstairs and saw his daughter frowning and looking unhappy. He smiled and said, "What's wrong? Why are you unhappy so early in the morning?"
Miss Shao was not the type to deceive herself. She stood up and handed the newspaper to her father, smiling, "I'm not unhappy. Dad, when you said that these two sisters-in-law were amazing, I didn't really believe it. Now, with just a bicycle, they have caused a stir. The whole city of Beijing knows about their store. It was also reported in the newspaper, and they even did an interview."
Mr. Shao sat down, took a quick look, and nodded, "Good luck with the wind. So, did you make a mistake?"
"I was mistaken." Miss Shao admitted, "This newspaper said that Siqing is the brand of Mr. Rong, a Shanghai businessman. Could it be the work of Rong Yang?"
The servant brought the milk and bread, and Mr. Shao looked up from the newspaper and looked at his daughter. Shao Wen put the milk next to his father, and Mr. Shao said, "You, you are thinking wrong again. If the Wei family had a deep relationship with Rong Yang, they would not have wanted to be your general agent in Beijing. The Mr. Rong in the newspaper may be Rong Yang, or he may not be. However, it was after you rejected them that they started to promote the 'Siqing' brand again. Mr. Rong is a famous industrialist in Shanghai. Do you think he has time to give advice for such a small cosmetics brand? If Mr. Rong had this intention, this brand would have been established in Shanghai long ago. Ah Wen, relationships are relationships. If you only rely on relationships to do business, even if you can grow it for a while, it will not last long."
Miss Shao was educated, "These two sisters-in-law are quite capable of organizing things."
"People like this will never be lost anywhere. Awen, don't underestimate them. They are in no way inferior to the friends you made at the dance." Mr. Shao advised his daughter.
Miss Shao said, "A few days ago, I wanted to invite them to the dance party at the Beijing Hotel. They said they were busy and declined."
Mr. Shao flipped through the newspaper and put it aside. "Think about how lively the activities in their store are. They must be very busy with the early preparations. I'm not just trying to please you."
Miss Shao nodded, "That's right."
The next day, shopkeeper Li sent a basket of fresh strawberries and Chen Xuan's sincere letter to the Shao Residence early in the morning. Miss Shao took the opportunity to invite Chen Xuan and Wei Yin again. This time, Chen Xuan and Wei Yin did not refuse. Yes, the Beijing Hotel is known, but what kind of place is this dance? Wei Yin also said, "I heard that the dance hall is a mess. How can Miss Shao, with her status, go to the dance hall?"
It was Wei Nian who knew about this and said to the two of them, "It's not a ballroom, it's a dance party. The dance party at the Beijing Hotel is very famous. Those who go there are people of status, and most of the girls are from celebrity families. It's good to broaden your horizons." Wei Nian said, "I'll go with you." He was worried about Chen Xuan and Wei Yin following Miss Shao like this, as he didn't have any deep friendship with Miss Shao.
Wei Yin was a person who loved to be in a lively place. When he heard that this was such a classy place, Wei Yin asked, "Second brother, what should we wear then?"
"Just dress more formally. You have good figures, so anything looks good on you. There are so many clothes in the store." Wei Nian said, and then he thought of something. He looked at his sister and wife and said to Wei Yin, "Just don't wear jewelry like those in your store. People who have seen a lot of the world can tell the real from the fake at a glance."
Wei Yin was a little worried about not being allowed to wear jewelry from the store. "I do have the gold rings, gold earrings, and gold bracelets that my mother gave me, but they are old and have not been refurbished."
Wei Nian said straightforwardly, "Let's go to the jewelry store and have a look. I'll buy you whatever you like today."
"That's a deal."
"Will I regret it?"
Wei Nian picked out a set of pearl jewelry for Wei Yin at the jewelry store. Although diamonds are also very popular nowadays, girls and ladies definitely use pearls more often than diamonds. Girls’ jewelry is either big pearls from the East China Sea or more delicate pearl jewelry. From hairpins and brooches to necklaces, earrings, and bracelets, this set costs hundreds of dollars. Wei Yin thought it was too expensive. Thinking that hairpins and brooches were not necessary, he said that only the necklace, earrings, and bracelet would be enough. Wei Nian paid the bill directly and asked the shopkeeper to pack it up and gave it to Wei Yin to carry by herself, "You are grown up now, it's time to learn how to dress up."
Wei Yin was still very happy, "Thank you, second brother. Second brother, can we take Ah Shu with us? She also likes the hustle and bustle."
"Okay."
Wei Yin bought some for himself, but he didn't forget Chen Xuan. Chen Xuan said, "Brother Anian bought some for me last time, so I have them all."
Wei Yin smiled, "It was the time when we put on the rings together."
Chen Xuan was very embarrassed and nodded shyly.
Wei Yin followed his brother and sister-in-law back to Wangfucang Hutong, and told Qin Shu about the party. The two also discussed what clothes to wear. After dinner, Wei Nian and Chen Xuan sent Wei Yin back to the old house, and the couple also went back to the old house to take a look. Since Wei Shi went outside the Great Wall, Wei Nian would take Chen Xuan back to the old house to visit his parents from time to time. In fact, Chen Xuan went there every day because she had to take care of the strawberries in the morning.
Old Master Wei is now happy to see his son, daughter and daughter-in-law. He is really proud. In the years of doing business, he has made many friends. Among his friends, Chen Xuan and Wei Yin's shop is the first one to be reported in the newspaper. Although Old Master Wei did not approve of women showing up in public in the past, it is a new society now. Moreover, it is such a proud thing that is reported in the newspaper, and she was named a heroine in Beijing's business community by the newspaper.
Even though Old Master Wei has always been low-key and humble, he still felt quite honored.
Seeing her son and daughter-in-law come home, she was naturally happy. Wei Yin spoke quickly and mentioned that she would attend a dance party at the Beijing Hotel tomorrow night. When Mrs. Wei heard this, she became anxious and said angrily, "How can our daughter go to such a smoky place! You are not allowed to go! Unless I die! You stay at home!" Then, she complained about Wei Nian and Chen Xuan again, especially Chen Xuan. Mrs. Wei said, "You squandered a bicycle worth two hundred dollars! Now you are instigating Ah Yin to go to a dance party! As a woman, you must be a good wife!"
"Mom, please be reasonable. Do you know what the Beijing Hotel is?" Wei Nian said, "Ask my dad, he knows. The most upscale hotel in Beijing, besides the Six Nations Hotel, is the Beijing Hotel. What are you thinking, mom? Do you think we are going to a dance hall? The girls who go to the Beijing Hotel are all from good families, either officials' daughters or rich girls, and they go to upper-class dances. It's not the dance hall you think it is. You really want me to ask my wife and Ah Yin to go to that kind of place!"
Wei Nian was the nemesis of Old Lady Wei in terms of reasoning, and Old Lady Wei also advised his wife, "Don't worry, the Beijing Hotel is only for people of status."
"I heard that the dance is performed by men and women hugging each other! They are a sister-in-law, one is a married woman, and the other is an unmarried girl. How can they dance with men hugging each other?" Old Mrs. Wei's face was frosty and she would never agree.
Wei Nian was helpless, "Mom, I'm not a man! What am I going there for? How can I let them suffer? I'm just taking them there to broaden their horizons." He explained to Old Master Wei, "This time it was Mr. Shao, the daughter of Mr. Shao, the big flour merchant in Baoding Prefecture that Wang's eldest uncle works for, who sent them an invitation. The daughters of such rich families can go, so why can't our girls go? Let's go together to broaden their horizons. Ah Yin is getting older, she can't just stay at home and become stupid."
Old Mrs. Wei grumbled, "How can you just stay at home and run outside all day long?"
"Mom, please stop looking down on our Ah Yin. Our Ah Yin is also a big shot who has been on the newspapers!" Wei Nian gave Wei Yin a thumbs up. Wei Yin was originally very unhappy about what her mother said, but her brother forced her to laugh, "Second brother, stop teasing me." She said to her mother in a nice voice, "Mom, nowadays girls from wealthy families go out often. High-end places like the Beijing Hotel are usually not accessible even if we want to. We are just going to take a look and broaden our horizons. Otherwise, when others talk about us in the future, we don't even know what a dance is like, and we will look so ignorant."
Mrs. Wei was really worried. She glanced at the old man and saw that he didn't seriously object. She sighed and took her little girl's hand and told her, "Just go and take a look. But you are not allowed to dance with a man. Do you understand? That's not the duty of a decent girl."
"I know, I know." Wei Yin said, "My second sister-in-law and I, neither of us can dance, so we're just going to sit for a while."
Only then did Mrs. Wei stop talking.
After sitting in the old house for a while, it was getting late, so Wei Nian took Chen Xuan back to Wangfucang Hutong.
After returning home, Wei Nian said to Chen Xuan, "Do you know why Mom is so picky about you? She always blames you for everything, whether it's right or wrong, and finds out your faults?"
Chen Xuan brought some warm water and asked Wei Nian to wash up. Chen Xuan's temper gradually relaxed and she dared to say something. After Wei Nian washed his face, Chen Xuan handed him a towel and tilted her head to look at Wei Nian, "I'm going to talk, don't be unhappy?"
"Go ahead. I don't know the old lady's temper."
"What can I say? The old lady has always been like this. Aren't all mothers-in-law like this?" What Chen Xuan wanted to say was that all mothers-in-law in the world are like this, and they are all mean to their daughters-in-law. Wei Nian was speechless. Wei Nian said, "If you ask me, mothers-in-law are mean to their daughters-in-law because they were treated meanly when they were young, and because the daughters-in-law are too good, which puts pressure on the old ladies."
Chen Xuan looked at Wei Nian, who pulled her to sit next to him. "Big sister's temper is just like mom's. She's tough at home, but she's useless outside. Do you know why mom came to Beijing? I heard from big sister that she lived in the countryside when she was a child."
"Because my grandfather made a lot of money in Beijing, he brought his whole family to Beijing to enjoy a good life."
"No. Dad and his generation didn't care about bringing the family out after earning money. At that time, the men of Dad and his generation earned money outside, and the women took care of the family. When they couldn't make money outside in the future, they had to go back to their hometown. So you see, our family has been in Beijing for many years, but we haven't bought our own house." When Wei Nian talked about family matters, Chen Xuan didn't know much about them. She just listened to Wei Nian saying, "When Dad was a child, he was adopted by Grandpa as his son. Grandpa's wife, we have to call her grandma. Grandma didn't treat Dad very well, after all, she was not his biological son. Dad went out to be an apprentice very early. Later, after Grandpa died, Dad married Mom. That grandma was really no ordinary person. Compared with her, Mom was a fool. At that time, Grandpa was gone too, and that grandma hooked up with the bandits in the village. Dad made money outside, but she always complained that she didn't give her enough. Once, she asked the bandits to kidnap Mom. Mom was scared, and Dad saw that it was not going to work, so he brought the whole family to Beijing."
Chen Xuan didn't know there was such a story, so she asked, "Does that grandma still exist now?"
"She died a long time ago. Think about it, I was also born in my hometown, I don't remember anything about my hometown, we were all infants at that time, it's been so many years." Wei Nian said, "Sometimes when I look at mom's generation, I feel that they have no knowledge, and when it comes to reason, they don't understand any great principles except for their husbands and children. Mom's life has been like this. You are different, you can manage the business now, you can learn foreign languages, and we are going to the dance together tomorrow. I feel that mom must be envious of you. But she can't say it, so she is particularly mean to you, always saying bad things. Don't have the same views as her, you are two different people, we have moved out again now, don't be unhappy about this."
Wei Nian's voice was low and gentle, and Chen Xuan felt warm in her heart. She said to Wei Nian, "What are you thinking? How could I be unhappy about such a small matter? The old lady likes to nag about small things, but she is sensible about big things." Chen Xuan really would not be unhappy because of Old Lady Wei's bad mouth. In the previous life, Wei Nian brought a woman back, and Old Lady Wei scolded him eight times a day, scolding Wei Nian and the woman from Beijing to Tianjin. Although she was panicked by this matter in the previous life, Chen Xuan felt very relieved when she thought about it now. Chen Xuan felt that old-fashioned people like Old Lady Wei, although they may not understand much, but in many things, old-fashioned people are often more persistent than new-fashioned people. Even if this persistence seems stupid and stubborn to new-fashioned people, but this is what old-fashioned people are, isn't it
The author has something to say: ps: The third update is here~~ Good afternoon everyone~~ Thank you for the second long review from Angry Matcha Wang, the long review will be updated~~~~ The first update tomorrow will still be at 9 am~~~~~~~