Seeing the old lady remained silent, the younger Mrs. Zhang felt displeased. This old woman was truly something, willing to spend money on outsiders but not on her own son?
"We farmers don't do such things," the old lady said lightly.
The younger Mrs. Zhang pouted, silently calling her stingy, but she didn't say anything more.
A short while later, Fei Xu brought in the pastries, still steaming hot.
"Grandmother, Eldest Aunt, Second Aunt, Little Aunt, please try Fei Xu's handiwork," Qi Zhenzhen called out.
The younger Mrs. Zhang, smelling the fragrant aroma, couldn't help but reach out and grab two pieces. They were a bit hot, and she fumbled with them several times, hissing as she drew in air. When they were no longer so hot, she eagerly stuffed them into her mouth.
"Delicious, delicious, truly delicious, even better than the pastries sold in town," the younger Mrs. Zhang praised with her mouth full. "This girl is not only good-looking, but also skillful with her hands."
The old lady utterly disdained the younger Mrs. Zhang's ravenous appearance. She snorted coldly. After a while, she began to eat the pastries, which were just right, neither too hot nor too cold.
"Miss Fei Xu's skills are indeed excellent. Not only are they delicious, but they also look beautiful," Lin Ruixue also praised.
"They're just made a bit small. I can eat two or three pieces in one bite."
Pastries from wealthy families were usually made very small, basically bite-sized, making them convenient to eat and appear refined.
"Fei Xu, make some larger ones for Auntie next time," Qi Zhenzhen smiled and instructed Fei Xu.
Fei Xu responded, indicating she had noted it.
Soon after, Er Xi brought in fruits, and the younger Mrs. Zhang again rushed to devour them.
The old lady and the elder Mrs. Zhang felt their faces lose color. The younger Mrs. Zhang ate like a glutton, as if she never had enough to eat. Fortunately, there were no other people present. If there had been an uninformed outsider, they would have surely thought the Lin family treated this pregnant daughter-in-law harshly!
"Zhenzhen, can you ask them to bring a pot of tea? I'm quite thirsty!" After the younger Mrs. Zhang had eaten more than half the plate of fruit by herself, she felt her mouth was sweet and sticky, and she wanted to drink some tea.
Fei Xu, receiving a nod from Qi Zhenzhen, quickly brewed a pot of tea.
Gulping down three bowls, the younger Mrs. Zhang wiped her mouth, satisfied.
Having eaten and drunk her fill, she began to feel sleepy. Her head nodded, and her body started to sway precariously. It looked quite alarming. If she lost her balance and fell from the heated brick bed, wouldn't she get seriously hurt?
"Fei Xu, take Auntie to the guest room to rest. Stay in the room and look after her. If Auntie needs anything, take good care of her," Qi Zhenzhen instructed.
The younger Mrs. Zhang didn't want to leave. She wanted to stay and listen to their conversation. But she was truly sleepy, her eyelids feeling as heavy as a thousand pounds, unable to open. It was pointless to force herself to stay awake here. It would be more comfortable to go back to her room and sleep.
"Did you see that? This woman's face is thicker than a thousand-layered sole. She thinks highly of herself all day long. Look at her, she really thinks she's a lady of a rich family," the old lady said irritably. "I'll tolerate her for now. If she's still like this after giving birth, she can go wherever it's cool!"
Qi Zhenzhen understood the old lady's feelings, but this kind of matter...
"Grandmother, you can't ignore Second Uncle's feelings, nor the two children!" Qi Zhenzhen said. "Second Uncle is in his prime. If he were to send Second Aunt back to the Zhang family, wouldn't he find someone else? If he finds another one, who knows what she'll be like? What if she's not good to the children? Although Second Aunt has many flaws, at least you can control her. She's afraid of you, and with good guidance, she'll improve."
"We'll see how she behaves in the future," the old lady said softly after a long pause.
It all depended on the younger Mrs. Zhang's future conduct. A family like the Lin family now had no trouble finding wives.
With the younger Mrs. Zhang out of the way, the conversation naturally turned to what the Lin family's eldest and second sons would do for a living in the future.
"We're close to the sea, and there's plenty of seafood. Why not go into the seafood business? We don't have to go out to sea ourselves. Find two reliable families and buy their seafood," Qi Zhenzhen pondered and suggested.
Old Mrs. Lin waved her hand. "The seafood from our area is already collected by people. If your eldest and second uncles do this, they'll offend people for no reason, and they might not find good channels. Seafood, when fresh, can fetch a good price. If it's not fresh, who will want it?"
"We won't sell fresh seafood, we'll sell cooked seafood," Qi Zhenzhen said with a twinkle in her big eyes and a smile on her face.
"Cooked? For dishes like stewed fish, if there are no restaurants, where can we sell it? Ask them to open restaurants? That doesn't seem right!" the elder Mrs. Zhang also didn't understand Qi Zhenzhen's meaning.
"We'll sell smoked fish," Qi Zhenzhen said confidently. "Smoked fish can be preserved for a long time. Most importantly, it tastes good and is convenient to carry. It's fine for home consumption, it can be sold to restaurants, and it's also okay to sell in grocery stores. In short, we can sell it however we want."
The old lady and the elder Mrs. Zhang looked at Qi Zhenzhen with sparkling eyes. If it were truly as she said, it would indeed be a good business.
"We don't have any fish at home, so I can't demonstrate it for you. After tomorrow, let Eldest Uncle and Second Uncle bring back some seafood. I'll teach Eldest Aunt how to make it. Then you can all taste it and see if this business is viable," Qi Zhenzhen said after thinking.
"Alright, we'll do as Zhenzhen says," the old lady decided and agreed to the matter.
The mother and daughters chatted for a while longer. Seeing that it was getting late, Qi Zhenzhen got up to prepare dinner.
The old lady held her back and didn't let her move. The elder Mrs. Zhang also smiled and said, "I'll cook. Zhenzhen, you stay and talk with your grandmother."
Their thoughts were the same. She was now a young lady from a wealthy family, with maids serving her. How could they let her prepare meals for them?
Qi Zhenzhen couldn't refuse the two of them and had to sit down obediently.
The elder Mrs. Zhang was a straightforward person, efficient in her work, and her cooking skills were also good.
In just over half an hour, she came in to call them, saying that the table was ready for dinner.
The table was laden with dishes, very abundant.
Gu Sinian sat with the old man and the others, and wine had already been poured. The old man's face was full of smiles, showing he was very happy.
Gu Sinian also had a faint smile on his face, occasionally chiming in with a few words.
One was the high and mighty Young Master, the other was an old man from the countryside. These two unrelated people looked exceptionally pleasing to the eye at this moment.
Old Mrs. Lin also nodded as she watched this scene, increasingly feeling that Gu Sinian was a good match. He could put aside his status to talk with them, common folk. Wasn't it because he valued Zhenzhen? If not, why would he patiently spend the afternoon talking with them? Thinking this, the old lady found Gu Sinian more and more pleasing to the eye, her mouth splitting into a wide grin.
It wasn't just the old lady who was observing Gu Sinian. The younger Mrs. Zhang, who had woken up from her nap and come out for dinner, was also watching him.
He was handsome, well-dressed, and came from a good family. What a fine young man! If her family's niece could be married to someone like him, how wonderful it would be! Then her family would surely prosper.