When Chen Xuan dragged Wei Nian to the door, she heard Wen Yaying crying from the hall. Chen Xuan didn't expect that she would really make Wen Yaying cry. She quickly took Wei Nian away from Rong Mansion. When they left Dongjiaomin Lane, Chen Xuan said, "She knows how to make fun of others all day long. She cries when someone says something bad about her. She must have gone to Mr. Rong to say bad things about me."
Wei Nian said, "I don't think Mr. Rong likes her very much."
Chen Xuan narrowed her eyes, snorted at Wei Nian, and walked home first. Wei Nian was very attentive and careful, thinking that he was too stubborn to dance with Wen Yaying, which made his daughter Xuan unhappy every time she thought about it. Wei Nian was still a little guilty, and followed Chen Xuan all the way to ask about her well-being.
The young couple Chen Xuan and Wei Nian only groaned a few times, but Rong Yang made Wen Yaying cry until her clothes were wet. Rong Yang closed his eyes and let Wen Yaying cry. He waited until Wen Yaying's cry became quieter before saying lightly, "Your makeup is ruined."
As expected, Wen Yaying covered her face and went to the bathroom to touch up her makeup. Rong Yang rubbed his forehead, turned around and went to the living room upstairs, and the corners of his lips curled up unconsciously. Of course, when Wen Yaying finished her makeup and went to the small living room upstairs to find Rong Yang, Rong Yang was already reading a book. Hearing the noise, he looked up and saw that Wen Yaying had restored her delicate makeup. Rong Yang nodded slightly, "It is polite to dress appropriately."
Wen Yaying snorted and sat next to Rong Yang, "Cousin, you just watched me being bullied without saying a word."
"Because of you, my guests didn't have a good meal. I didn't find fault with you, but you blamed me first." Rong Yang looked at Wen Yaying, "I have reminded you to have less contact with your uncle's family."
Wen Yaying said, "I don't associate with my eldest uncle, but my second uncle still wants to live a good life."
Rong Yang remained noncommittal.
Wen Yaying asked, "Cousin, can't you help my second uncle?"
"No." Rong Yang gave an affirmative answer.
Wen Yaying choked and advised Rong Yang, "Second uncle is more reliable than outsiders, right?"
"Many times, relatives are often not as reliable as outsiders." Rong Yang said, "You are studying at Peking University now, so study hard."
"I think it's a shame that such a good brand like yours is being made by a rough person like Mrs. Wei."
"Okay, I know the business stuff. Is that what you came here to tell me?"
"My second uncle has complained to me many times that his family is having a hard time now." Wen Yaying said, feeling a little sad. "When I was a child, I remember that when my grandparents were alive, the Tian family was also a famous wealthy family in Jiangnan. Now they can hardly make a living in Shanghai, so they came to the north to make a living. If my second uncle had ambition and half the ability of my grandfather, he could also revive the family business."
Wen Yaying had high hopes for her uncle's family. Rong Yang asked her, "You have been at Peking University for more than half a year. How are your test scores?"
"Cousin, I'm telling you about my second uncle."
"Instead of caring about others, you should focus more on yourself." Rong Yang looked at Wen Yaying, "You can study or do something you like, which is more meaningful than wasting your time on others."
"How could the second uncle be someone else?"
"Why not?" Rong Yang said, "Watch your money, take care of your own business first, then worry about other people's business."
"Oh, and one more thing." Rong Yang added, "Mr. Wei and Mrs. Wei are my business partners. Don't look at them as servants. Be polite."
Wen Yaying's lips twitched, and she couldn't help but say, "Do you men have eye problems? You are attracted to a country girl like that! Cousin, do you know that country girl dreamed of becoming a university professor? Now everyone who knows about this will laugh!"
"You think it's funny too?"
"Of course it's funny, it's just a daydream!"
"Ying, although Mrs. Wei comes from an ordinary family, she is a very hardworking person. If you want to make fun of her, you should practice your Japanese first." Rong Yang's calm words made Wen Yaying's face turn pale. "Your family background is a hundred times better than hers. Logically, you should be much better than her in all aspects, so that you can live up to your family background. Now it seems that you have not shown obvious excellence in all these years of studying. It seems more funny for people who are not as good as others to make fun of those who are better than her, right?"
Rong Yang said that to Wen Yaying, whose face turned pale, and they parted unhappily.
There was a banquet at Taifeng Tower the next day, and Rong Yang had something to do in the evening, so he planned to go there at noon.
Because there were only three of them, Chen Xuan didn't order many dishes, just six dishes, one soup and two snacks, and asked Taifenglou to arrange a quiet private room for them to have a leisurely meal. Chen Xuan didn't mention Wen Yaying at all, and enthusiastically introduced Taifenglou's dishes to Rong Yang, "Brother Anian said that this is a Shandong restaurant. However, our northern dishes are not all very rough. This Yuanyang soup is so delicate. When I ate it for the first time, I saw that one side was white and the other side was green, and there was a Tai Chi diagram, so I didn't dare to put the spoon in. Later I found out that they had ham and chicken on one side and bean paste and spinach on the other side. Whether it's meat or vegetables, it's delicious. Mr. Rong, please try it."
Rong Yang smiled, "It can be seen that Mrs. Wei is not angry anymore."
Chen Xuan was a little embarrassed, but she still said, "I didn't suffer any loss. I was just mad yesterday. I mean, Miss Wen doesn't even bargain when she buys things. How can she know how to run a small business? If she wants to do something, it should be a big business. People like her can't do a small business." Then Chen Xuan said, "Miss Wen was like that yesterday. Mr. Rong and Brother Anian are both men. You men have to save face and it's not easy to reject a woman directly. I was not happy with her in the first place, so I came out to be an 'ugly person'. Who told Miss Wen to look down on me? I used to be uneducated, but since I read the book list that you helped me to make, I feel that I have made progress. And my brother Anian is also going to start learning French."
Chen Xuan was very happy when she said this. She had urged Wei Nian to learn French a long time ago, but Wei Nian was not making any progress in his studies. As a result, Chen Xuan had a quarrel with Wen Yaying yesterday. Wei Nian felt guilty and was very considerate to Chen Xuan when he got home. He immediately proposed to invite a French teacher to come to their home to learn French. Chen Xuan was very satisfied with this. When she met Rong Yang today, she couldn't help but tell him the good news.
Wei Nian smiled and picked up a piece of steamed duck with chopsticks for Chen Xuan, "I'm afraid if I don't learn, I'll fall behind you."
Chen Xuan put a piece of pot-roasted pork elbow in Wei Nian's bowl with a smile, "Although you are smarter than me, it is very likely that you will be lazy if you continue to be lazy."
Rong Yang couldn't help but smile when he saw the couple showing off their affection to each other.
This matter was thus revealed.
Chen Xuan had decided not to associate with Wen Yaying for the rest of her life, but she unexpectedly ran into Mrs. Wen in a bookstore in Xuanwumen. Mrs. Wen was selecting books in the bookstore, and when she saw Chen Xuan, she couldn't help but smile and said, "Mrs. Wei, what a coincidence."
Chen Xuan was a little surprised, "Madam is here to buy books?"
"What are you doing in the bookstore if you don't want to buy books?" Mrs. Wen laughed.
Chen Xuan also felt that she had said something stupid, so she added something even more stupid. She said, "I'm here to buy books, too."
After Chen Xuan finished speaking, she wished she was dumb. If she didn't want to buy books, why did she come to the bookstore? Chen Xuan didn't want to talk anymore. She blushed and said to the shopkeeper, "Shopkeeper Fang, did you bring me the book I asked for last time?"
Shopkeeper Fang smiled and said, "I was just saying to send the clerk to deliver it to Mrs. Wei, and then Mrs. Wei came." He took out a brand new book from a drawer in the counter and handed it to Chen Xuan.
Chen Xuan took the book and opened the first page to read. Shopkeeper Fang said to Chen Xuan, "I originally wanted to tell the bookseller when I purchased the book, but I ended up looking for it for a long time. This is a reprint. Is it okay for Mrs. Wei to read it?"
Chen Xuan smiled, "Of course, very good. I've been looking for it for a long time." She took out the money from her pocket and paid the bill without hesitation. She put the book in her bag and was about to leave. When Chen Xuan left, she saw Madam Wen looking at her with a smile, and she felt a little embarrassed. Although Madam Wen was only Miss Wen's stepmother, when she and Miss Wen had a quarrel, Madam Wen would not take the side of the right person instead of the relative. Therefore, Chen Xuan felt that it was very awkward to see Madam Wen. Madam Wen said, "If we meet by chance today and if Mrs. Wei is free, I will treat Mrs. Wei to coffee. A few days ago, Yaying came home and smashed things all over the house."
Chen Xuan had no choice but to drink coffee with Mrs. Wen and explain the matter to Mrs. Wen so that she would not misunderstand. She was not afraid of Wen Yaying, but she heard that Mr. Wen was a high-ranking official, so Chen Xuan had to make it clear. It was not that she bullied Wen Yaying, but it was Wen Yaying who first wanted to interfere in her family's business and did something wrong to her husband.
Mrs. Wen invited Chen Xuan to ride with her in the car back to the Wen Mansion in Dongjiaomin Lane. The two drank coffee freshly brewed by the maid in the sun room on the top floor of the Wen family. Chen Xuan was still a little nervous, wondering if Wen Yaying would suddenly show up to give her a hard time or something. The smell of coffee brought back some of Chen Xuan's rationality and logic. She thought, Mrs. Wen's status is so high, and Mrs. Wen is not like Wen Yaying, an unreasonable lady.
Chen Xuan took the coffee made by the maid and some freshly baked Western biscuits from the kitchen, which were crispy and fragrant. Mrs. Wen looked at Chen Xuan quietly. Chen Xuan said first, "Actually, you can't blame me entirely. It was Miss Wen who insisted on interfering in our business. I just said a few honest words, but who knew she would get angry? Besides, what is she angry about? She just laughed at me for coming from the countryside and for my love of eating pork elbows and big steamed buns with mixed sugar."
Mrs. Wen's eyes were gentle, "Why does she want to interfere in your business?"
Chen Xuan is a little angry now when talking about this matter. She started from when they cooperated with Rong Yang to create a cosmetics brand, and talked about the hardships in it, until now they finally achieved some small results. Then, when they were having dinner with Mr. Rong, Miss Wen arrived and wanted to introduce her uncle to work there. Chen Xuan said, "When we signed the contract, we agreed that Mr. Rong would not directly interfere with the employment of people in the cosmetics factory. Until now, we are short of staff here. When I talked about this matter with Mr. Rong, Mr. Rong asked us to recruit and train people ourselves, and did not arrange anyone here. This is not Miss Wen's business at all, but she wanted to intervene and arrange people. She also looked down on me and always felt that she was extremely noble. Brother Anian and Mr. Rong are both men, so it is not easy to refuse her directly, so I told her the truth. She wanted to overturn the table at that time, but it was at Mr. Rong's house. How could I afford to offend her? I left with Brother Anian in a hurry without eating a good meal. Tell me, can I be blamed for this?"
Madam Wen said, "No."
Chen Xuan felt relieved and said, "Yes. I used to like you very much, Madam, but because of the quarrel with Miss Wen, I didn't know what to say when I saw you, and I was worried about the embarrassment."
"Not really." Madam Wen smiled, "I am me and she is she. I admire Madam Wei very much. This is how a person should be. You should say 'no' when you should. Otherwise, you won't be able to make a career."
"Yes." Chen Xuan was very happy to see Mrs. Wen's obvious reaction. She took a sip of coffee and found it was terribly bitter. She quickly added three spoons of sugar and three spoons of milk. Mrs. Wen said, "I'm used to black coffee. Let's change it to Italian coffee for Mrs. Wei."
Chen Xuan stirred the coffee in her cup and smiled, "No need, this is good enough."
Mrs. Wen said softly, "Back then, when I was studying abroad, I relied on coffee to stay awake, especially this kind of black coffee. After drinking a cup, it was so bitter that I couldn't even fall asleep. After getting used to it, I felt that this kind of coffee tasted good."
Chen Xuan wanted to study abroad, so she couldn't help but ask, "Did your wife also study abroad when she was young?"
"I went abroad when I was in my twenties. At that time, I had only studied three elementary English textbooks. During my first year abroad, I took language classes, prepared for entrance exams, and worked part-time to earn living expenses and future university tuition."
"You are so awesome." Chen Xuan said sincerely.
"In this world, if a woman wants to succeed, she has to work a hundred times harder than a man." Madam Wen said, "Mrs. Wei is so fluent in English. I just saw the book you bought, which is also in the original English. Do you plan to study abroad?"
Chen Xuan nodded, "I've always wanted to. However, my foundation is too poor. I'm only learning junior high school courses now. I need to finish high school courses at least before I can try the entrance examination for foreign universities. My brother Anian and I are doing business now to save money so that we can study abroad in the future. Many professors at Peking University are scholars who graduated from foreign universities. I envy knowledgeable people and want to be like them."
"That's great." Mrs. Wen asked, "How are your grades now?"
Chen Xuan said, "I just finished this year's high school final exam yesterday. I asked the principal to ask the school teachers to grade it for me, but I don't know the grade yet. However, I'm not very good at physics."
"If you have any problems, you should find a teacher to teach you. You shouldn't have any financial problems now."
Chen Xuan nodded. "Brother Anian used to teach me before, but he has to start learning French. If his grades are not good this time, I will have to find a physics teacher."
Madam Wen said, "I received the strawberries you asked Ash to send me last time. They taste great. Thank you."
"Madam also gave me cakes." Chen Xuan smiled, "The cakes you gave me are also delicious. I tasted them once when I went to Shanghai. The cakes Madam gave me were more exquisite than the ones I had in Shanghai."
"As long as you like it." Mrs. Wen asked casually, "I heard from Ah Shu that you are very good at growing strawberries. However, I heard that you grow strawberries yourself. So you have to grow strawberries and manage the business, learn other languages, and take junior high school courses. Your time must be very tight, right? Oh, and you have to prepare three meals a day. Do you have enough time to study with so many things to do every day?"
Chen Xuan said, "I always study at night."
"There are things to do at night. As your business grows, you will have more social events than before. There will always be occasions that require both husband and wife to attend."
I have to say, Mrs. Wen's words really hit the nail on the head for Chen Xuan's current predicament.
Chen Xuan didn't lie to herself, nor did she force herself to say that she was fine. She said, "Yes, I also feel that there are more and more things to do now. In the past, I could find time to study during the day except for three meals a day, but now I don't have so much time. Fortunately, I have become a little smarter now, otherwise, I might even regress."
Mrs. Wen smiled and said, "Have you ever considered hiring a servant?"
Chen Xuan's face showed a little surprise. She said, "Brother Anian mentioned it, but isn't it only people of a status like Madam who would hire servants?"
Madam Wen laughed, "What is my identity?"
Chen Xuan was embarrassed to say, "I'm a government official's wife." Mrs. Wen seemed to have seen what she was thinking. Mrs. Wen said, "When I was abroad, I worked many jobs. Later, I saved more than a thousand dollars and bought a shop to do some small business. When I had five thousand dollars, I hired a servant to take care of my daily life. At that time, I had not married Mr. Wen yet. This is not a luxurious life, but I have more and more things to do. I need someone to share the trivialities of my life so that I have more time to deal with more important matters. Whether in life or work, you must distinguish between priorities."
"Not only should you know how to save money, you should also know how to spend it. Spending money on wine and women and being extravagant and wasteful is not how to spend money. Spending money well means spending it on meaningful things."
The author has something to say: ps: The first update is here, a little late, the second update will be at night, I haven’t corrected the typos yet, I have to go to the movies and go shopping... Good evening everyone!!