The hall was full of guests and lively.
The men were chatting in the front yard, the ladies were doing household chores in the backyard, and Cheng Wanwan was chatting with the guests in Cao Yingying's room.
Mrs. Shen's face was full of envy: "Why did I only give birth to one son in the first place, but now I have no one to love me, and my home is so deserted. It's not like Wanwan, your place is so lively."
Mrs. Lin smiled and comforted: "When Master Shen gets married and has children, won't the family become lively?"
Mrs. Qian asked flatteringly: "Now that Master Shen has become a public servant, I wonder if the marriage has been finalized?"
"I think it's just that my wife is not allowed to worry about this child." Mrs. Shen was also worried, "Forget it, let's wait until he comes back from the capital."
"Old madam, Master Shen may stay in the capital and never come back." Meng said, "He is Master Yu's favorite disciple. He became a scholar and a scholar in one fell swoop. He might even become a Jinshi. I I heard people say that if you become a Jinshi, you can get an official position in the capital, and then you will be a member of the capital. It would be great to find a granddaughter-in-law from the capital for the old lady."
Mrs. Shen smiled happily: "If he can really become a Jinshi, my ancestors of the Shen family must have burned high incense. I have to go to the temple to buy more sesame oil money."
Just as he was talking, Mrs. Qi came in from outside and reported: "Anren, it's time to start the banquet."
Cheng Wanwan stood up and greeted everyone: "Let's go and take a seat in the courtyard. Yingying, don't go out. Stay in the room and have a good rest."
Now in mid-February, although the spring breeze is a little warmer, it still can't blow. In order to avoid confinement sickness, she usually lets Cao Yingying stay in the room. She doesn't need to worry about anything else except breastfeeding.
The women's seats were arranged in the back yard, with dozens of tables spread out. There were ladies from the city and farmers from Dahe Village.
People in Dahe Village used to feel short when they saw noble people, but this year, every household has made money, and everyone bought new clothes. People will feel confident when they wear new clothes, and they will not be embarrassed in front of noble people. They would be timid, and there were even bold women who came over to chat with Mrs. Qian and others, clink glasses and drink.
After Cheng Wanwan greeted the good ladies in the backyard, she went to the front yard to entertain the guests with her wine glass.
In the front yard, Old Man Zhao and Zhao Dashan are mainly responsible for receiving distinguished guests, while Zhao Ergou receives business partners. As for the guests in the village, they don't need to be entertained at all, they are all considered their own family.
Seeing Cheng Wanwan coming out, the guests from the city stood up involuntarily, and the villagers also stood up.
"What are you all standing for?" Cheng Wanwan smiled and raised his hand, "Sit down, everyone, I'll come out to toast you all. There are many guests today, so please forgive me for any indifference."
Everyone raised their glasses and drank with Cheng Wanwan.
After greeting the guests in the courtyard, she prepared to return to the backyard. She looked around, but did not see Master Zou and his party.
Mrs. Qi whispered: "Master Zou and the others were studying something for irrigating farmland near the experimental field nearby. They said it would be done soon. They didn't even want to delay eating, so the old slave asked someone to set up a table there. I wonder if the adults can spare some time to have a bite of food."
Cheng Wanwan was a little helpless, these adults were really obsessed.
In the history of her original world, it took about a hundred years for a human-powered cart to develop into a waterwheel. It would not be that easy to condense these hundred years into just over ten days.
She'd better take a look. If there was any bottleneck, her words would be enough for these adults to study for several days.
Just as he was about to take a step, he heard laughter coming from the banquet.
Turning back and looking around, she saw Zhao Ergou being surrounded by a group of businessmen at the banquet and fawning over him. The smile on Zhao Ergou's face couldn't be concealed when he talked about what he was happy about.
She was a little curious: "What are you talking about?"
Mrs. Qi smiled and said, "I'm so happy that the second young master has become a father. Those businessmen want to get close to the second young master, so they naturally praise him in all kinds of ways. The second young master is even happier."
Cheng Wanwan frowned slightly.
After she became the imperial concubine, there were more people around her who flattered her, but she knew that these flattering words were not trustworthy and she never took them to heart.
But now, it was obvious that Zhao Ergou took these flattering words seriously.
The second child is smart, but he floats upward when he is praised. This is a taboo in the business world.
She turned around and walked over, just in time to hear the group of people talking.
"Shopkeeper Zhao, it's been half a year since the first branch of Daheyan. Isn't it time for the second branch to open as well?"
"The business of Dahe Banquet in Hekou County is really good. People from nearby counties and towns eat there. It is said that the reservation is three months away. The shopkeeper is too busy this week and has to open another branch quickly."
"Shopkeeper Zhao... Oh no, Mr. Zhao, I came to talk to you about the branch three or four months ago. You said that if the time comes, you will consider our Pan family immediately. I don't know..."
Zhao Ergou frowned: "The inn currently run by your Pan family is losing more than three hundred taels of silver. Where did you get the money to join Dahe Banquet? Dahe Banquet is not a tool for your Pan family to make money!"
Shopkeeper Pan was sweating profusely: "But Mr. Zhao, we agreed three months ago. At that time, the Pan family suffered even more losses..."
Zhao Ergou snorted coldly: "Do you have a certificate? If you don't have a certificate, don't talk nonsense here."
The people on the side immediately pushed Shopkeeper Pan away: "Old Pan, you'd better wipe your butt clean before you come back. Mr. Zhao, look at how I do..."
Cheng Wanwan walked closer step by step, frowning tightly.
She coughed.
The person who was speaking suddenly fell silent. When he turned around and saw it was her, he saluted in unison: "I'm from Sui'an!"
Cheng Wanwan said quietly: "Jingcheng, come with me."
Zhao Ergou put down his wine glass and followed Cheng Wanwan to a quiet place at the Chuihua Gate.
Cheng Wanwan looked at him quietly: "Outside, everyone calls you Mr. Zhao?"
"Yes, they insist on calling me that..." Zhao Ergou had already sensed something was wrong, and explained dryly, "When Yanhong and the others called me Second Young Master, I also stopped them, but the stoppage was ineffective. I also stopped the people outside. Can’t control it.”
"Really?" Cheng Wanwan twitched her lips, "I see that you clearly enjoy the title of Second Master Zhao. Everyone is surrounding you and supporting you. You like to be praised to the sky. Who makes you happy? , you give face to whomever..."
"No, mother!" Zhao Ergou suddenly became anxious, "They all want to get the right to franchise the second branch, so they all surround me and flatter me. I know the importance and will not mess around."
"Today is your son's wedding. I understand that you are happy and indulgent, but -" Cheng Wanwan looked at him sternly, "When doing business, reputation comes first. Even your casual remarks should be counted. , if you can't do it, don't just talk about it in the first place. Also, Ergou, think carefully about where your business is going to be, whether it's just around Hekou County, or all the boundaries of Huzhou, or the provincial capital, Beijing... Vision determines realm. Now you can only be your Second Master Zhao in Hekou County. Without this land and my mother, you are nothing."
Cheng Wanwan withdrew his gaze, turned around and left.
Zhao Ergou stood there blankly. His mother had never spoken to him in such a stern tone. Did he let his mother down so much?
But mother was right. Without Dahe Village, without Dahe Yan, without the title of son of Sui'an people, who would think highly of him?
