Chen Xuan hated Wen Yaying as much as she liked Madam Wen.
In Chen Xuan's opinion, Wen Yaying really can't even catch up with Madam Wen even one tenth of her.
Chen Xuan and Mrs. Wen chatted until noon before they thought of leaving. Mrs. Wen smiled and said, "If you have nothing to do, just have lunch with me. I don't have anything to do today, and I will be back to Nanjing tomorrow."
Chen Xuan quickly said, "I'm not busy."
"Okay." Mrs. Wen called the servants to arrange lunch and invited Chen Xuan to visit her study in her Beijing residence.
Mrs. Wen's study is a real study, not a place for handling official business, so the study is full of solid wooden bookshelves, with rows of books on the bookshelves. Some of the books are even half-old, which shows that the owner used to read them frequently. Chen Xuan's eyes were wide open, and she kept saying, "There are so many books. Apart from the library, I have only seen so many books in Mr. Wen's place."
Mrs. Wen smiled, "For several years, I borrowed books to read. Apart from that, I went to the library to borrow books. At that time, I thought that if I had money in the future, I would build a big study room at home and buy all the books I wanted to buy and keep them as treasures."
"Me too. I bought many of the books Mr. Rong listed for me. Some books were hard to find, so I borrowed them from the library. Some were always borrowed by others in the library. Fortunately, I met many great scholars at Mr. Wen's place. I shamelessly asked them to lend me books, and they were all very generous. As long as I took good care of the books, they would lend them to me." Chen Xuan said, "I still need to save money for future studies. When I become rich, I will buy many books like my wife. If I sleep in this room every day, I can live at least 20 years longer."
Madam Wen chuckled and said to Chen Xuan, "At that time, I met Sister Wen, Mr. Wen's wife. She had a large collection of books at home. She took me to her collection and let me borrow books."
Chen Xuan's eyes widened when she heard this. Madam Wen said softly, "Generation after generation, the current environment has made a lot of progress for women, but if you want to achieve something, you still need to work hard day after day. In the beginning, I received help from Sister Wen, and I think now I have met someone who can help me. Some of the books I have here are pretty good. If you like them, you might as well pick a few to read at home."
Chen Xuan's heart was pounding, but she hesitated, "Madam, you are going back to Nanjing tomorrow. I borrowed your book, but when can I return it to you?"
"Someone will stay to look after my house, and Armand will always be here. After you finish reading a book, you can come over and read another one." Mrs. Wen looked at Chen Xuan with a smile, as if she saw herself many years ago.
Chen Xuan was pleasantly surprised and said, "Then I won't be polite to Madam."
"You're welcome." Mrs. Wen smiled. "I hope there will be more women like Mrs. Wei who can work hard and make a place for themselves."
"Madam, what you said made me blush." Chen Xuan rubbed her face, "I am far worse than you, Madam."
"That's because I'm older than you." Madam Wen laughed, "My ambition back then was to stand out from the crowd, but not as much as yours."
Chen Xuan thought about her ambition to become a first-class professor and asked Mrs. Wen, "Do you know about my first-class professorship?"
"That's great." Madam Wen encouraged, "You just started later than others, but you're no worse at studying. As long as you persevere, I believe you'll achieve something one day. As for those who laugh at you, don't take them to heart, as most of them are mediocre people."
Chen Xuan nodded. "It is indeed good to read more books. At least it can make people smarter."
Mrs. Wen smiled, left Chen Xuan to choose the books she liked, and went downstairs first.
Chen Xuan felt that she was so lucky that she always met so many people who were willing to help and guide her. She spent half an hour in Madam Wen's study and finally picked out three books. She took them down for Madam Wen to read. Madam Wen nodded and asked the housekeeper A Mang to record them. She said to Chen Xuan, "After you finish reading these three books, come and exchange them with Chen Mang for other books. Just remember to keep them well."
"I will definitely keep it carefully." Chen Xuan promised.
"Books are meant for people to read, so you don't have to be extra careful. If you have any thoughts, you can also mark them on it." He casually flipped open a book that Chen Xuan had borrowed and pointed it to Chen Xuan. "This is one of the books I bought when the Tian family was dealing with their collection of books. Look, there are comments on it from people who have read it. Some of the comments are right, and some are just so-so. There are also some of my notes. If you have any thoughts, you can also write them down in the book. If someone like you and me borrows this book in the future, it will also be a wonderful fate."
"As for a book, if you read it carefully, that is the greatest way to cherish it." Madam Wen's voice was gentle and amiable. Chen Xuan nodded her head. "I feel very enlightened after meeting you, Madam."
Mrs. Wen smiled and said, "I am older than you and have more experience than you. I hope you don't mind me being long-winded."
"How could that be? Madam is so knowledgeable, I like to associate with knowledgeable people like you. Sometimes, when I talk to you about my difficulties, I feel like I suddenly get clearer." Chen Xuan's eyes were bright, full of joy, and she was full of yearning for Madam Wen. "How could there be someone in the world who is as beautiful, smart, sensible and capable as you?"
Mrs. Wen couldn't help but smile, "You flatter me."
"I'm speaking from the heart," Chen Xuan said. "When I first saw you at the Six Nations Hotel, I thought you were very elegant. At the time, I told Brother Anian that you were so beautiful."
Mrs. Wen smiled, "I heard that you were celebrating your third wedding anniversary."
Chen Xuan was a little shy. "I guess so. Brother Anian and I had an old-fashioned marriage. We had never met before we got married, and we didn't have much affection for each other. Aren't modern marriages popular now?"
Madam Wen said, "It's rare to find an old-fashioned marriage as good as yours."
"Brother Anian is a very good person. Apart from being a bit too proud, he has no flaws. Moreover, he is very enthusiastic. Basically, if you ask him for help, he will help you. Now he is planning to continue learning French." Chen Xuan would tell everyone about Wei Nian's hard work. She also planned to go home and tell Wei Nian that she had told Madam Wen about Wei Nian's French study. If he didn't learn French well, he would be embarrassed.
“It’s great that young couples are making progress together.”
Chen Xuan nodded and said to Mrs. Wen, "We have all agreed to hold each other's hands and grow old together." So, Wen Yaying and the others can take a break.
Madam Wen saw Chen Xuan's narrow-mindedness and smiled, "Don't worry, Yaying has always been arrogant. She looks at people's family background first, and she is very shallow. She will not be interested in Mr. Wei."
Originally, Chen Xuan should have been happy to hear Madam Wen say that Wen Yaying had no interest in Wei Nian. But in the end, she felt that Wen Yaying had no taste. Chen Xuan couldn't directly say that Wen Yaying was wrong, so she sighed and said, "Madam, you are such a person, and Mr. Wen who can marry you must be different from ordinary people. Alas, Miss Wen, we really can't get along with her."
"Then don't force yourself to get along." Mrs. Wen was so considerate that Chen Xuan was moved.
When the kitchen had prepared lunch, Chen Xuan saw that most of the food was northern flavors. She felt even more grateful to Madam Wen. She thought that Madam Wen, of her status, would take such good care of her. It was true that people are different. Madam Wen, for example, was noble to the core.
Chen Xuan likes all meats. Fortunately, she is not the type to eat gluttonously. She just likes it and is not greedy. Therefore, it is not impolite to eat at Mrs. Wen's place. After lunch, Chen Xuan politely said goodbye. Mrs. Wen did not keep her any longer and asked the driver to take Chen Xuan to the store.
Chen Xuan showed Wei Nian the book she had borrowed from Madam Wen that night, and then formally discussed with Wei Nian the matter of hiring a servant for the family. Wei Nian was surprised, "How did you suddenly figure it out?"
Chen Xuan said, "It was Madam Wen who reminded me. Now there are more and more business matters, and I have to take care of the family and study, so I don't have enough time. Madam Wen is right. Time should be used wisely. Brother Anian, didn't you advise me before? I couldn't understand it before, and felt that our family was not that kind of family tradition. However, Madam Wen is right. Things have priorities. In addition to saving money, money must be used. Brother Anian, I have figured it out now. Let's hire a servant. Take care of the house cleaning and cooking for our family. From now on, I won't cook in the morning and evening."
Wei Nian really thought Chen Xuan was a god. She had just quarreled with Wen Yaying, and now she was willing to listen to Madam Wen. Wei Nian was afraid that she was deceived, so he asked Chen Xuan in detail about her encounter with Madam Wen. Wei Nian sighed, "Madam Wen and Miss Wen are really two different people."
"Needless to say." Thinking of Madam Wen's manners and conversation, and how she was so generous, noble, elegant, and approachable, Chen Xuan couldn't help but say, "Brother Anian, how can there be such a good person as Madam Wen in the world? Not only good, but also so capable. Although I wanted to be a first-class professor in the past, I was actually not so confident. But now that I know Madam Wen, I feel that there are people like Madam Wen who have succeeded through their own efforts in the world. With Madam Wen as a role model, I feel very motivated."
The author has something to say: ps: The second update is here, good night everyone~~~~~~~~~~~~~