CHAPTER 143: CHAPTER 143: DOES THIS MAKE US EVEN?

Qian Shi nodded inwardly. From the moment she entered the door until now, based on her observations, Meng Zhu held an absolute position in her family, similar to hers.

In her experience, men in such families are either timid and can’t take the spotlight.

Or conversely, they are very promising.

If you ask, why would a promising man let the woman take charge?

It’s naturally because the husband or son cherishes his own wife/mother and respects her.

In the Li Family, it’s definitely the latter.

Sure enough, just as Sister Meng said, marriage can’t be rushed. See, even though it was a bit late, a good family has still been presented before her.

Her daughter, Zhenzhen, is truly fortunate.

And besides, this also counts as strengthening the family ties.

"Sister Meng, let the child finish speaking." Qian Shi said with a smile.

"Alright, I’ll listen to Sister Qian." Meng Zhu replied, "What do you want to say, say it quickly."

Li Chang’an took a deep breath and quickly explained the whole story.

Why speak so fast? Isn’t it because he’s afraid his mother would interrupt halfway?

Meng Zhu’s smile froze on her face.

Qian Shi, for a moment, didn’t know what expression to adjust to cope with this.

"Son, are you joking with your mother?" Meng Zhu squeezed out a sentence, "Why, are you seeing me too happy, so you deliberately throw a bucket of cold water on me? Well, you succeeded, now I’m almost unable to control myself from hitting you."

"Mother, I’m not joking, Miss Qian can testify." Li Chang’an said.

Meng Zhu and Qian Shi’s gaze simultaneously turned towards Qian Zhenzhen—

Qian Zhenzhen had her head slightly lowered, making it hard to see her expression.

Meng Zhu, sharp-eyed, noticed Qian Zhenzhen’s shoulders trembling slightly.

After that, Qian Zhenzhen covered her face with both hands and ran out.

Meng Zhu immediately got angry, "You rascal, how could you deceive someone like that? You got the girl involved, and now you’re planning to walk away without taking responsibility, right? Have you forgotten all the teachings your father and I have given you? I’ll beat the hell out of you, you rascal!"

"Wife, I’ll handle it, you take it easy." Li Baixia quickly appeased Meng Zhu.

Li Chang’an was dumbfounded, what’s going on here?

Although the situation didn’t look good, Qian Shi felt that crying out of embarrassment and shame shouldn’t be something her daughter would do.

She knew very well what her daughter was like.

The delicate tears of a young lady, they don’t suit her.

If someone bullied her, she would surely use her fists to resolve it.

Li Chang’an was hit several times by Li Baixia before Qian Shi came to her senses and quickly held him back.

She really liked this son-in-law and would feel sorry if he was damaged.

Furthermore, even if what he said just now was true, it’s clear that Li Chang’an was not tied to any marriage yet, so there was still a chance for him to become her son-in-law.

"Sister Qian, look what happened here, I, I simply failed to teach my son right." Meng Zhu said with a guilty face, "This rebellious son, I’ll certainly not let him off later. Shouldn’t we first go find Zhenzhen? Young girls are thin-skinned, what if she can’t think things through?"

Such a good young lady, she would regret it to death if something happened.

"Yes, yes, Sister Meng is right, let’s go find Zhenzhen." Qian Shi quickly agreed.

Privately, she had to have a good talk with her daughter to seize the opportunity, lest the chance disappears.

Speaking of Qian Zhenzhen, after rushing out, she ran for dozens of feet and was now sitting cross-legged on the crooked neck tree at the entrance of Shanghua Village, eating candied fruit.

Under the tree, a few villagers were raising their heads to look at her.

One would wonder where this girl came from; she climbed the tree so agilely.

If you want to climb a tree, just climb, but what’s the meaning of laughing out loud after climbing?

After laughing, she even sat down.

Isn’t she out of her mind?

When Meng Yao and others arrived under the tree, Qian Zhenzhen had just finished eating the candied fruit she carried with her.

She was about to jump down when she heard people under the tree chattering about her.

This...

Qian Shi covered her face, feeling too embarrassed to face people.

That troublesome girl, never gave her a moment of peace!

Meng Zhu felt relieved seeing that Qian Zhenzhen was alright.

Li Chang’an looked up at Qian Zhenzhen, and Qian Zhenzhen met his gaze without flinching, her eyes filled with cunning and the satisfied smile at the corner of her mouth, what else doesn’t he understand? He was tricked.

"Miss Qian, so, does this make things even?" Li Chang’an asked loudly.

Qian Zhenzhen jumped from the tree and landed steadily in front of Li Chang’an, saying with a smile, "You lied once, I lied once, we’re even. Rest assured, as far as I’m concerned, this matter is settled. I’ve always been one to settle my scores on the spot. Although, this can’t even be considered as a grudge between us."

"These two kids..."

"These two kids..."

Meng Zhu and Qian Shi awkwardly and in unison squeezed out this sentence.

After speaking, both couldn’t help but laugh.

Li Baixia organized everyone to head back.

On the way back, Meng Zhu stealthily pinched Li Chang’an’s waist several times, causing Li Chang’an’s face to twist in pain, yet he had to bear it and not make a sound.

Qian Shi also gave Qian Zhenzhen several fierce looks.

How did she end up with such an unreliable daughter, making her happy for nothing?

Once back at the Zhao Family, Meng Zhu still felt somewhat embarrassed and sincerely apologized to Qian Shi and Qian Zhenzhen again, then took Li Chang’an outside for a friendly exchange, leaving Li Changning behind, and the couple bid their farewell.

"Elder brother, Mother said she’ll talk about my marriage after you get married. I’m not young anymore, even if not for yourself, can you at least think about me, okay?" Li Changning said.

Li Chang’an was a bit surprised; this didn’t sound like something his sister would say.

Li Changning was calm, letting Li Chang’an scrutinize her.

The old her would never say anything like this. She was always well-behaved and sensible and never expressed herself.

But the words Sister Xiaohua said, the more she thought about them, the more they moved her.

She also wanted to be like Sister Xiaohua, a straightforward person.

On the other side, after scolding Qian Zhenzhen, Qian Shi had already entered the main topic she planned to discuss today.

After Meng Yao and others left yesterday, she took some notes her daughter wrote to the bookstore.

What she thought was a sure thing was rejected.

And she was even ridiculed for being crazy for money.

It almost made her destroy the bookstore in anger.

The Qian Family, though not a wealthy merchant family, has been in business for generations, accumulating considerable wealth. To exaggerate a bit, even if the Qian Family stopped all businesses now, as long as they don’t squander it away, they could live comfortably for several generations without running out.

So, she decided to do it herself.

Running a bookstore, how hard could it be? After all, her husband is a scholar!

That’s why Qian Shi came to have Meng Yao join the partnership.

After all, the idea was originally hers.

Meng Yao was quite surprised, it seemed rather sudden, and besides, partnerships are difficult, they easily ruin goodwill. Moreover, not to belittle herself, but she didn’t really have a knack for business.

As for selling patterns, that was just considered taking advantage of an opportunity.