No matter how much the ladies in the Cao family objected, Cao Defu was determined.
His Cao family was not a family of poetry, calligraphy and etiquette, so raising a concubine to be the first wife did not violate the rules of the Cao family.
Shitou is his only son. If he is good at studying, he will pursue an official career. Even if he is not good at studying, he will inherit the inheritance from his ancestors, and he will not be able to impress others due to his status.
When Shitou grows up, more than ten years later, who still remembers that Aunt Meng was a maid?
After all the guests were seated, Cao Defu walked out of the inner room, stood on the steps, coughed and said, "Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to attend my son's wedding banquet. You are close to my Cao family, so you should listen. He said that my former wife Qi Shi colluded with the housekeeper in an attempt to seize the property of my ancestors of the Cao family, and a month ago she was divorced with a divorce letter."
"The Cao family has such a large fortune and cannot live without its head wife for a day. Now that I am almost at the age of 10, it is impossible for me to marry another lovely lady. After much thought, I decided to make Aunt Meng the head mistress. From now on, Meng will be my wife, Cao Defu, and after she is out of confinement, all the reception and delivery of the Cao family will be handed over to Meng."
As soon as this statement came out, all the guests were in an uproar.
"It is said that Aunt Meng was once the Qi family's personal maid, and she asked the maid to be the mistress. Could it be that Boss Cao is out of his mind?"
"Didn't Aunt Meng give birth to a son? A mother is more valuable than her son. In order to protect her son from gossip and elevate her mother's status, it's not wrong for Boss Cao to do this."
"The eldest son in front of Mr. Cao refused to change despite repeated admonitions. He was rejected by Mr. Cao and sent to Zhuangzi. I am afraid that he will only focus on this younger son in the future."
"Boss Cao regards his concubine's son as his lifeblood, which is in sharp contrast to a certain family."
The lady who said this winked, and the people around her suddenly understood. Everyone looked at Madam Zheng who was sitting not far away.
"It is said that the Zheng family used a lot of tricks secretly to get married to the Lin family, and they did it under the eyes of Sui Ruren, tsk tsk."
"There are so many girls and concubines in the Young Master Zheng's backyard, and one of them is pregnant. Which family dares to marry their daughter?"
"Don't you know that after the Zheng family and the Lin family failed to get married, Mrs. Zheng took it all out on the pregnant concubine, who was kicked out of the Zheng family."
"Isn't she still carrying the blood of the Zheng family in her belly, so she just drove her away?"
"I rushed to the Zheng family village. If the child is born, it will probably be in the name of another member of the clan, otherwise Master Zheng will not be able to marry well."
"..."
Cheng Wanwan, who was sitting not far away, twitched the corners of his lips.
The news about the Zheng family and the Lin family must have spread from Dahe Village. Sun's bad mouth is really the best in gossiping.
She felt embarrassed not for the Zheng family, but for the concubine of the Zheng family. She remembered that she was Granny Zhang's niece, named Li Xiuhong. When Cheng Zhao and the others went to Huzhou to take the exam at the beginning of the year, she met Li Xiuhong on the road. At that time, Li Xiuhong was dressed in silk. Silk Satin is living a good life at first glance. She is living well because of the fetus in her belly. Now she is driven to Zhuangzi to give birth because of this child.
In this life, people are constantly making choices, and they have to walk the path they choose on their knees.
Cheng Wanwan sighed for a while, then turned around and started joking with Mrs. Shen. The other ladies at the dinner table respected Cheng Wanwan and Mrs. Shen, and the meal was very harmonious.
"Sui Ruren." After Mrs. Zheng finished eating, she walked to Cheng Wanwan with a smile, "Last time after appreciating the lotus, all I could think about was the half-opened lotus bud. I don't know how long it will take for the lotus to bloom. I also I want to go see lotus flowers again.”
Cheng Wanwan smiled back: "Dahe Village will start welcoming visitors who appreciate lotus flowers in June, but you need to make an appointment in advance. Mrs. Zheng can send someone to the village to negotiate."
Mrs. Zheng nodded: "Okay, then go to Dahe Village in June to see the scenery of the lake."
She said something else, and then turned around to chat with someone else. The moment she turned around, the smile on her face disappeared, and the corners of her eyes became gloomy.
Now the whole city is talking about the Zheng family's tricks to frame the Lin family's eldest daughter. This news came from Dahe Village. It must be Suiru who deliberately spread the rumors in an attempt to ruin her son's reputation.
Oh, do you really think that after her son's reputation is ruined, Cheng Zhao will be able to stand out? This is not necessarily the case.
After the banquet was over, the guests of the Cao family gradually dispersed.
Zhao Ergou was left to help with the accounts, while Cao Yingying had some things to discuss with Manager Sun. It happened that Cheng Wanwan also wanted to go to Daheyan Restaurant, so she said goodbye and left.
After Dahe Banquet opened, she had never been there, so she just treated it as a shop tour.
It's just past the noon rush hour, so the store is relatively deserted, with everyone busy with their own things.
Wu Huiniang was sitting at a table in the lobby, writing.
This was the first time Cheng Wanwan saw her eldest daughter-in-law writing, and she leaned over curiously: "What are you writing?"
"Why are you here?" Wu Huiniang was startled, and then she said sheepishly, "Isn't Ergou recruiting people to join the restaurant? I just want to write down all the recipes first. I have to have a charter in my mind."
Her handwriting is not pretty and her strokes are awkward, but she dares to write and is willing to write, which is very admirable to Cheng Wanwan.
Cheng Wanwan praised a few words and asked casually: "How well are the customers accepting the new dishes launched in the store?"
"Spicy and sour lotus root strips are more popular than stir-fried lotus root strips." When talking about the dishes, Wu Huiniang said, "There are several signature dishes in the store, the most famous one is roast duck. Many outsiders come here to try the roast duck. Some people also order roasted whole lamb, I wonder when Mom plans to introduce this dish?"
Cheng Wanwan thought for a moment and said, "When the first branch opened, we promoted this dish."
Franchise branches also need to build momentum, and roasting whole lamb can attract traffic and is a very good sign.
While the two were talking, Afu suddenly walked in from the door of the store: "Ah, Auntie is here. Auntie looks really good in what she wears today!"
"Ah Fu, when did your mouth become so sweet?" Cheng Wanwan laughed, "Your young master is studying in Huzhou, why didn't you go with him?"
"The young master said that when I was in Huzhou, I was in the Cao camp and my heart was in the Han Dynasty, so he asked me to stay in Ping'an County to learn carpentry. Master Cheng doesn't have a book boy either." Ah Fu said with a smile, "The county magistrate specially spent money He sent me to a master, and after I learned it, I wrote it down, and then brought it back to Dawang for Mr. Zhao, who likes to study carpentry."
Cheng Wanwan was very ashamed: "You are not afraid of being kicked out of the master's school even if you teach me master's skills."
"I paid the money and became an anonymous apprentice. I learned some common techniques. Of course, they are not common in Dahe Village." Afu raised the paper in his hand and said, "Master taught me this early in the morning. Something, I have to tell Dawang quickly."
Wu Huiniang pointed to the back yard: "Dawang and Xiaolei are organizing the warehouse in the back, you can just go over there."
"okay!"
Ah Fu walked to the back with brisk steps. He had been coming here every day in the past few days, and he was already familiar with the layout of the store.
Cheng Wanwan's expression changed slightly: "Xiao Lei is here too?"
Wu Huiniang nodded: "He came right after noon. Chunhua looked at him, but he pretended not to see it and kept working hard..."
