CHAPTER 350: CHAPTER 350: INFORMING

Yuan Laorong’s wife realized and said with a laugh, "Sure, I will definitely visit my sister-in-law’s home when I have time to taste Sister Mei’s cooking."

Mrs. Chen, on hearing this, hurriedly nudged Gu Yumei.

Gu Yumei smiled and said, "If Aunt Yuan visits, Sister Mei will definitely prepare several dishes, and if they are not delicious, I hope Aunt Yuan won’t dislike them."

Yuan Laorong’s wife laughed and said, "I won’t dislike them, Sister Mei’s cooking is surely delicious."

Hearing this, the same thought popped into everyone’s mind: Is the Yuan Family taking a liking to Gu Yumei?

Seizing the opportunity, Gu Dagui patted Chang Errui’s shoulder and said, "Brother Rui, also come to our home when you’re free to taste Sister Mei’s cooking."

Chang Errui’s face was already red, and upon hearing this, he blushed even more and nodded, "Thank you, Uncle Da Gui, I will definitely visit and enjoy a few meals if I have the chance."

"Ha ha, good, then it’s settled," Gu Dagui was very happy, feeling that his family would likely be hosting a joyful event soon.

Gu Dafu, hearing what Yuan Laorong’s wife had said, finally felt relieved after a day of worry; he truly feared that the Yuan Family wouldn’t approve of Sister Mei, but it seems his worries were unfounded.

After bidding farewell to Third Grandpa, Gu Dashan, and taking the return gifts specially prepared by Third Grandma, Yuan Laorong and his family boarded the mule cart to head home.

Along the way, Mrs. Yuan Xu hesitated about whether she should tell her mother-in-law what she had seen.

If she told her, would her mother-in-law say she was making a big deal out of nothing? After all, Gu Yumei had admitted her mistake and apologized at the time.

If she didn’t tell, she worried that Gu Yumei might hide her true nature, and once brought into the family, if it turns out Gu Yumei is a troublemaker, wouldn’t her mother-in-law blame her for keeping silent?

The mule cart was fast, and in less than half an hour, the Yuan Family arrived home.

Yuan Sanji, who was at home minding the house, heard the sounds of the mule cart, ran out to open the gate, and greeted his parents excitedly, "Mom and Dad, you’re back! How was the Gu Family’s shop? They must do really well, right? Their stuff must be tasty."

Then he puffed his chubby face and asked, "The Gu Family must have given us braised meats as a return gift, right?"

He could already smell the aroma.

Yuan Laorong’s wife tapped his forehead and said, "Look at how chubby you are, still thinking about eating."

Yuan Laorong, who was very fond of Yuan Sanji, took a roast duck leg out of the mule cart and handed it to Yuan Sanji, "Eat this."

Yuan Sanji yelped in excitement, took the roast duck leg, and started to chew on it.

Yuan Laorong’s wife unhappily said, "You’re just spoiling him. If he gets any fatter, he won’t be able to find a wife."

Yuan Sanji retorted, "I will definitely find a wife. Our family is known as the kindest in the ten miles and eight villages. Families with daughters are keen to become relatives with us."

After saying this, he looked at Chang Errui, who was so annoyed that he gave Yuan Sanji a knock on the head, "Not even food can keep your mouth shut."

Not wanting to stay and be mocked, Chang Errui took out the other return gifts from the mule cart and drove the mule cart to the backyard himself.

Yuan Dayi chuckled, "Little brother is feeling shy."

"How could she not be shy on her first meeting as a bride? Come on, enough about your second brother. Hurry up and bring in the returning gifts," said Yuan Laorong, carrying two baskets of gifts into the hall himself.

Yuan Dayi carried the remaining two baskets in and, looking at the gifts, sighed, "Father, mother, the Gu Family’s returning gifts are indeed generous."

There were three roasted ducks, a basket of meat-based dishes, a basket of vegetarian dishes, a basket of soy products, two jars of wine, two packets of caramel, a jar of duck oil, and a small jar of preserved tofu.

"All these items are worth several taels of silver."

Mrs. Yuan, smiling, said: "Indeed, these returning gifts were not prepared by Mrs. Chen, but by Aunt Gu and Third Aunt Gu. It’s said that the jar of duck oil is quite rare, taking days of roasting ducks to obtain one jar, and Gu Daya offered it without a second thought as a return gift. As for these items, they belong to several families, but no one gossiped; whatever Aunt Gu and Third Aunt Gu decided to give us was fine."

Mrs. Yuan sighed, "These families really deserve credit for sticking together through the famine; their bond is incredibly strong, and I’ve taken a liking to that aspect of them."

To live, one needs the support of relatives and friends. Her son, Er Rui, will continue the Chang family lineage, so his wife’s family can’t be a burden nor have too few members.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Laorong asked, "Does this mean you’ve taken a liking to Da Fu’s family’s daughter?"

His wife didn’t immediately nod but said, "The families are close and Mrs. Chen cares for her. The family is reliable, but the girl seems a bit pampered."

This was why she hesitated; if the girl had a more straightforward temperament, she would have the matchmaker propose marriage tomorrow.

Yuan Laorong trusted his wife’s judgment and said, "Then take some more time to decide. If it doesn’t feel right, then let it be."

Their visit today coincided with the shop opening and wasn’t an official matchmaking visit, so even if nothing came of it, there wouldn’t be any impact on the girl’s reputation.

Mrs. Yuan Xu felt relieved upon hearing this. After Yuan Laorong and Yuan Dayi left for the Brick Kiln, she finally brought up to her mother-in-law how Gu Yumei had kicked Gui Niu aside with her foot.

Mrs. Yuan frowned upon hearing this, "Did you see it clearly?"

Mrs. Yuan Xu replied, "I was right there and saw it clearly. When Gui Niu bumped into her legs, there was a look of disgust on her face... Watching her, she seems to internally disdain Gui Niu and doesn’t like her as much as it appears on the surface."

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Yuan’s expression finally changed. If it was true, then Gu Yumei really shouldn’t be married into their family.

She could accept a somewhat pampered daughter-in-law, expecting to guide her gradually, but she couldn’t accept someone who appeared kind on the surface but harbored malice inside.

Marrying such a person would be a disaster for the family.

...

After the Yuan family left, Gu Jinli and his team closed the shop doors and began to calculate the accounts.

Gu Jin’an and Gu Dexing recalculated twice and finally figured out the revenue for the day.

"Dried tofu, fried tofu, plain tofu, Fried Five-Spice Tofu, bean dregs cake, preserved tofu, seasoning spices, in total we sold forty-five taels. After deducting the cost, our net profit is thirty-three taels."

"Thirty-three taels!" Mrs. Chen covered her chest in joy, "This is the most we’ve earned in a single day in town since we started setting up stalls."

In the past, they could also earn this much, but that included selling plain tofu and seasoning spices to Liang Zhuzi, He Dacang, and others. Otherwise, a day’s earnings from the stall in town would barely reach ten or so taels.

"Having a shop is so much better; not only do we earn more, it also shelters us from wind and rain. Most importantly, selling in a shop brings prestige," Mrs. Chen said with a beaming smile, showing no teeth: "You don’t know how many people in town were envious of us today. Seeing our big shop, everyone was green with envy. Gan Changfa’s wife looked over here so many times today; I think she was almost sour with jealousy."

Mrs. Chen, extremely pleased, spoke proudly.