CH 142

They spoke so enthusiastically Cao Zhang couldn’t get a word in. Ms. Hua took a piece of meat and put it into his bowl, “Young Master Cao, don’t just stare blankly, eat!”

Cao Zhang nodded and smiled, “Thank you. Yan’er, where is your business? Can I take a look?”

Lu Junming said, “You don’t have to”, but Mo Yan said, “Sure! It’s where the Shunlai Restaurant was. Manager Liang ran away, so now we rent it.”

It had been a long time since the Cao family had been so lively. The smoke from the hot pot, and a few glasses of wine made Mr. Cao’s cheeks turn red. He looked at the children in front of him and said emotionally, “Tell me, what’s wrong with the countryside? But the missus just doesn’t like it and insists on living in the crowded city.”

Cao Zhang coughed deliberately, as if reminding his father not to overshare. Mr. Cao waved his hand at him, “Don’t worry, they’re all good children, they won’t gossip.”

Everyone was eating happily when Ms. Li’s voice came from the yard, “Sir, I’m back.”

She had asked for leave today. Cao Zhang greeted her, and she entered the room. She immediately exclaimed, “Oh! What are you doing, why is the room so hot? The smoke might damage Madam’s mahogany furniture. ”

While speaking, the woman glanced at Ms. Hua. Lu Junming said disdainfully, “You must be too ignorant to know. Mahogany grows in water, so how can it be afraid of water vapour? It would be more damaged if the weather was too dry.”

Mo Yan and Chi Jie agreed, and Ms. Li said, “Madam’s silks would be damaged.”

This time Cao Zhang said, “She’s not coming back, they’d be thrown away eventually.”

Ms. Liang said anxiously, “But she’s the madam of this family, whether she is here or not.”

Mr. Cao said, “She is the madam, and no one can replace her.”

Ms. Hua’s face darkened, she got up to go to the kitchen to fetch water for the hot pot, Ms. Li turned to her and gritted out a few words, “A little sparrow coveting the phoenix’s nest? Its beak is larger than its stomach.”

Knowing she was talking about her, Ms. Hua replied, “The phoenix is the king of birds, but instead of staying in her forest, she covets the world beyond the sky. Whose beak is larger than their stomach?”

Ms. Li did not expect that the ordinary-looking Ms. Hua to say that. She was speechless for a while before walking out of Mr. Cao’s house.

Ms. Li envied Mrs. Cao from the bottom of her heart. She was beautiful and fashionable, but most importantly, she had a powerful natal family and a doting husband. She didn’t have to life a single finger as Mr. Cao and Cao Zhang would do anything for her.

In Ms. Li’s eyes, Mrs. Cao’s life was the ultimate ideal, and Mrs. Cao herself was her peerless idol. Seeing Ms. Hua at the Cao family’s house, made her disgusted.

Ms. Hua fetched the water and returned. The children were discussing what could be cooked in the hot pot. Spinach in spring, green beans and eggplants in summer, cabbage, radish and winter melon in autumn.

They were talking lively when Cao Zhang interjected, “Preserved bamboo shoots, wild mushrooms, and daylily fungi, can all be cooked.”

Mo Yan nodded, “Since you have nothing to do at home, why don’t you help make a hot pot menu, and then give it to the guests along with the seasonings?”

Zhao’er squinted his eyes and said, “Who said he’s idle, he helps me with my homework and practising medicine every day!”

Cao Zhang lowered his head and smiled wryly. Everyone else was too busy to be idle, and now he has become a layabout.

The meal didn’t end until late at night. Both Mr. Cao and Cao Zhang had something on their minds, so went back to their rooms to rest. After clearing the table, Ms. Hua went to sleep with Zhao’er.

Mo Yan had drunk two glasses of wine. Afraid of being scolded by her mother when she went back, she didn’t dare to drink more. She walked out of Mr. Cao’s house in front, and Lu Junming and Chi Jie followed behind like bodyguards.

At the entrance of her home, she waved her hand behind without looking behind her, letting the two of them go. Chi Jie stopped and whispered to Lu Junming, “Let’s go!”

Lu Junming still followed Mo Yan until she entered the door and expressionlessly closed the doors to her home.

Early the next morning, people left Chenzhong Village, heading for Qianshui Town. The first one to leave was Ms. Hua. She had to clean up the workshop before it opened.

Next were Dagan and Xiaoyue. Xiaoyue carried a patchwork canvas bag she made herself. It contained her own lunch, steamed buns and two salted duck eggs.

“Brother Dagan, what lunch did you bring?”

Dagan raised the small linen bag in his hand, “Salted vegetables! What else do I have?”

“You just got your salary last month, you shouldn’t be eating this every day!”

He smiled innocently, “My family’s too poor, I have to save money to build a house.”

Xiaoyue took out a salted duck egg from her bag and handed it over, “Brother Dagan, this is for you.”

Da Gang waved his hands again and again, “No, you have it, I’ll just eat this.”

The two were only talking, and didn’t notice that Mu Yan was walking behind them. Seeing the two acting like this for a salted duck egg made her suddenly feel very fortunate.

When she just graduated from university, she went to a workshop for an internship. There was a meal allowance included. The workshop had just started and hadn’t made a profit yet, so the workers didn’t have many benefits, but it became better later down the line.

After watching them go to the workshop, she went to the firm.

The shop assistants were already cleaning up. Mo Yan went to light the stove, boil water, and then went to get tea leaves.

She got the Mengding Huangya she liked to drink every day. There wasn’t much left. This tea was very expensive, and there weren’t many tea merchants here. Mo Yan only bought some because she liked to drink it. It was also displayed as a good to show the tastefulness of the firm, and to see if anyone had a discerning eye.

“Little Six, has anyone bought this Mengding Huangya?”

He ran over and replied, “Of course not! You’re the only one who drinks this tea on weekdays, and we don’t even dare to touch it.”

Xiao Chuzi came over and said, “Yan’er, your brother took some of this tea.”

“When did he come here?”

“In the morning. He came and asked me which kind of tea was the best as soon as the store opened. I pointed to it, and he took some. I’m not sure how much.”

“He doesn’t drink tea normally! What is he doing with it?”

Xiao Chuzi shook his head, “He’s your brother, how dare we ask him?”

It’s nothing to take a few tea leaves, but if he starts treating this place as his own home, then he will be in hot water!

Mo Yan picked up the pot containing the leaves tea and put it into the cabinet behind the counter, “If he wants something in the future, try and evade the situation if you can. If you can’t, say that there are better goods. Only give them to him if I’m there.”

Xiao Chuzi was clever, and understood immediately, “Got it.”

Post-translation notes: Finals are next week…I won’t be posting much until the end of this month, but I thank anyone who keeps watching for updates.