dognovel Chapter 50 Feeling like old friends at first sight
Chapter 50 Feeling like old friends at first sight
Although Sun Lan and Madam Yang had different lifestyles and different clothing styles, they were of the same age, so they felt like they had known each other for a long time when they met.
"Are you Zhou Xi's relative? You look so young!" Madam Yang praised Sun Lan as soon as they met.
Sun Lan replied with a smile, "I just got married to Zhou Xi's father not long ago, so I'm considered her stepmother."
"Really? Congratulations!" Mrs. Yang replied with a smile. "The children didn't even tell me, otherwise I would definitely have attended the wedding."
"Thank you, Mrs. Yang!" Sun Lan replied softly. "I really didn't expect that your son is already a grown man, but you still look like a woman in her thirties. You've taken such good care of yourself."
Mrs. Yang was delighted by the compliment and replied with a smile, "I also wish I were thirty, but more than twenty years have passed. My eldest daughter is already thirty, and Yang Yuxuan is still my youngest son. I have two children."
"I see. I thought Yang Yuxuan was your eldest son," Sun Lan replied with a smile.
"By the way, when you got married, didn't my eldest son-in-law and eldest daughter attend the wedding? Logically speaking, since you're from the same village, they should have been there."
"I don't know, I don't recognize everyone in the village," Sun Lan said, shaking her head.
At this moment, Zhou Xi replied, "My sister and brother-in-law aren't home. They've gone on a trip, otherwise we could have met up."
Madam Yang turned to look at her son, Yang Yuxuan, who quickly nodded in agreement.
At this moment, Madam Yang couldn't help but complain, "She's only just finished her postpartum confinement period, why is she running around everywhere? Doesn't she know that babies shouldn't be exposed to drafts and catch a cold?"
At this moment, Yang Yuxuan spoke up for her sister, "Mom, please don't talk about my sister. She's not stupid. She went out to play with her brother-in-law and Su Yuning. She didn't bring the child with her at all, okay?"
"Oh, that's good." Madam Yang was finally relieved.
After that, Yang Yuxuan went to manage the business, and Zhou Xi went to work at the blacksmith shop. Only Madam Yang and Sun Lan were at home. They went hiking together to collect materials, chatting and laughing, and had a very pleasant time.
Sun Lan exclaimed, "I'm so glad we met. Having a good friend like you makes my life so much more interesting."
Mrs. Yang nodded in agreement, "Yes, me too. I'm usually so lonely at home. It's all thanks to you that you came, otherwise I would have been so bored."
"Sister, after Zhou Xi and Yu Xuan get married and have a child, will you take care of the child or will I?" Sun Lan asked gently.
At this point, Mrs. Yang responded with a troubled expression, "Although I am the child's grandmother, I don't want to take care of the child. Otherwise, why don't you come and help take care of him?"
Sun Lan readily agreed, "Sure, I don't have anything to do anyway. My whole family goes out to earn money, so I might as well come and help take care of the kids. We can even go shopping together when we have time."
After returning home, Su Yuning didn't rush to make soap. Instead, she planned to go to the city to deliver some coconuts to Princess Wan'er so she could make soup. She also planned to deliver some coconuts to Ye Beichen.
And so, Su Yuning traveled to the city alone. She first arrived at the princess's residence, where her second brother and sister-in-law were both home. When Su Yuning brought the coconuts, they were all astonished.
"Where do coconuts come from?" Princess Wan'er asked.
Su Yuning smiled smugly and replied, "It was picked from the coconut tree. This coconut is still very fresh, and the coconut juice is sweet and delicious. My older brother and sister-in-law both love it!"
Princess Wan'er asked in confusion, "But coconut trees grow in hot places, where are there any coconut trees here?"
Second brother Su Muyang was even more curious, "Could it be that your eldest brother and sister-in-law took you on a long trip? No, that doesn't make sense. Your eldest brother's child is so young, it's inconvenient to take him out. Your sister-in-law wouldn't go out, and your eldest brother is a quiet person, he would never accompany you on a trip. So you must have bought these coconuts."
"You guessed wrong. My older brother and sister-in-law went to the beach with me. We not only picked coconuts, but also collected seashells and caught a lot of crabs," Su Yuning answered truthfully.
Princess Wan'er became interested upon hearing this, "Are there so many interesting things to do at the beach? Can I take you with me next time we go?"
Su Yuning readily nodded in response, "Of course! You're my last best friend, so even if I don't bring my second brother, I'll bring you along. Without further ado, let's open a coconut and try the coconut juice!"
Princess Wan'er nodded repeatedly in agreement, then took the coconut to Su Muyang for help. Su Muyang had never opened a coconut before, so he took it to the kitchen to ask the chef for help. After a long time, he finally brought back two cups of coconut juice.
Su Yuning took the coconut juice with a puzzled look. "Second brother, a coconut should contain at least four or five cups of coconut juice. Why did you bring back so little?"
Su Muyang gave an awkward smile, "Even the chef has never opened a coconut before. It took a lot of effort to open it, and more than half of the coconut juice was spilled. This is all the coconut juice left. You two can drink it."
Upon hearing this, Su Yuning pushed the coconut juice towards Su Muyang, "Second brother, you haven't had coconut juice before, have you? Try it! My eldest brother and sister-in-law and I have been drinking coconut juice to quench our thirst the whole way, and we're tired of it."
Since that's the case, I might as well comply. Su Muyang picked up a glass of coconut juice and drank it all in one gulp. In an instant, Su Muyang found the coconut juice refreshing and sweet.
Princess Wan'er, being a member of the royal family, had eaten all sorts of precious fruits and drunk all sorts of juices since childhood. She elegantly picked up the cup and drank the coconut juice in small sips.
"Second sister-in-law, what do you think of the coconut juice?" Su Yuning asked her with a smile.
Princess Wan'er responded gently, "This fresh coconut juice is indeed very good. It's more refreshing and sweeter than the coconut juice I've had before."
“Since you like it, let’s go to the beach to pick coconuts together next time,” Su Yuning suggested with a smile.
At this moment, Su Muyang quickly suggested, "I want to go too! I can climb trees and help the two of you pick coconuts."
“Okay, let’s go together!” the two girls replied in unison.
Then, Su Yuning asked about Ye Beichen's situation, but Princess Wan'er and Su Muyang both shook their heads.
“I’ve been quite busy lately and haven’t been to the Ni Chang Pavilion,” Princess Wan’er answered truthfully. “It’s because my brother and sister-in-law had a falling out, so my husband and I went to try to reconcile them. It took us several days to finally get them back together.”
"What happened? Tell me about it," Su Yuning asked curiously.
"To be honest, my brother fell for another woman while Nangong Xue'er was pregnant, and my sister-in-law found out. That's why they broke up," Princess Wan'er replied, sounding a bit disappointed.
“Oh, this isn’t Nangong Xue’er’s fault, it’s your brother’s problem,” Su Yuning replied.
“Yes, my brother was reprimanded by the Empress Dowager, and that woman who tried to take advantage of the situation was arrested and taken to the authorities.” Princess Wan’er replied happily, “This is a good result; my brother has completely broken up with that woman.”
"Which woman is it? She's got some nerve, daring to provoke a prince," Su Yuning asked curiously.
At this moment, Su Muyang couldn't help but speak up, "This is all your fault. If you hadn't kindly introduced the waiter to the restaurant, would Zhao Shouyi have been able to get together with that woman? Let me tell you, don't be a pushover anymore. Think things through carefully, consider all the consequences, and be more thoughtful in your actions!"
At this moment, Su Yuning was still completely bewildered. "Who was it? I don't remember them. Have I lost my memory?"
Princess Wan'er kindly reminded her,
"You should know this person. She's a young girl, not very old. Her name is Xia Xiaoman."
"Oh, so it was her. She seems like an honest and kind person. How could she do such a despicable thing?" Su Yuning said angrily. "Won't she get her comeuppance for doing this?"
Princess Wan'er nodded and said, "The Empress Dowager has already punished her, otherwise she would have become too arrogant."
Su Yuning breathed a sigh of relief. "It's good that she's been punished. She should learn her lesson!"
Princess Wan'er smiled and replied, "You're right."
"Second brother and second sister-in-law, you two stay at home. I'm leaving. I'm going to visit the Rainbow Pavilion!" Su Yuning said goodbye to them with a smile.
At this moment, the second brother and his wife tried to stop them, saying, "You haven't even eaten yet, you're not allowed to leave! Stop right there!"
Reluctantly, Su Yuning had no choice but to stay and have lunch with them.
The lunch was relatively light: stewed cabbage with glass noodles, rice, shredded potatoes, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and corn and pork rib soup.
At the dinner table, Su Muyang thoughtfully served soup and picked out dishes for his wife, making Su Yuning feel like a third wheel.
"Little sister, I have good news and bad news. Which would you like to hear first?" Su Muyang asked.
Su Yuning was taken aback. What was going on? Why were there two conflicting outcomes? So she replied, "Let's start with the good one."
At this moment, Su Muyang happily replied, "Your sister-in-law is pregnant."
Su Yuning was overjoyed and quickly replied, "Congratulations! How many months pregnant are you, sister-in-law? Do you prefer sour or spicy food?"
Princess Wan'er replied shyly, "I like both sour and spicy food. I'm exactly one month pregnant."
Su Yuning muttered, "They like both sour and spicy food, looks like they're twins! What great luck!"
Princess Wan'er replied softly, "Thank you for your kind words. They really are twins, a dragon and a phoenix. The imperial physician has already taken their pulses."
Then, Su Muyang announced another piece of news, "The bad news is that my gift shop has closed down."
Su Yuning asked, puzzled, "What's wrong? Is business bad? Or is your rent due?"
Su Muyang replied, "No, it's just that I renovated the gift shop and am preparing to sell household items, such as towels, toothbrushes, cups, and soap. I put some soap in the shop a while ago, and it was sold out in an instant. I think this is a business opportunity."
Su Yuning then asked, "Second Brother, you're not selling osmanthus-scented soap, are you?"
Su Muyang nodded. "How did you know?"
Su Yuning was both amused and exasperated. "Because I made those soaps. The shop owner gave me one tael of silver for each bar of soap and asked me to keep making them, providing her with thirty bars of soap every month."
Su Muyang immediately became angry, "This person is really treacherous and cunning. I bought a bar of soap for twenty taels of silver, and she only gave you one tael? This middleman is too outrageous!"
Su Yuning realized something was wrong, so she quickly asked her second brother, "It seems I've been tricked by the landlady and her cousin. What should I do?"
Su Muyang bluntly said, "Why don't you just quit? Give me any soap you have, and I'll split the profits 50/50 after I sell it. How does that sound?"
Su Yuning nodded and agreed, but then she considered that she hadn't finished learning how to weave mats yet, and was a little reluctant to resign.
"What's wrong? You look so unwilling. Do you still want to be made a fool of?" Su Muyang asked angrily.
Su Yuning shook her head. "I haven't finished learning how to weave mats yet. I want to stay and continue learning."
“That was your brother who paid your tuition, okay? If you want to learn, go to another school and focus on learning knitting. Don’t stay there,” Su Muyang said with a serious expression.
At this moment, Princess Wan'er walked over and gently asked, "Little sister, did you sign a contract with the proprietress? The one about making soap."
Su Yuning shook her head and replied, "Not yet, sister-in-law."
Princess Wan'er replied with relief, "That's good, that's good. You can just resign now, she can't do anything to you. Otherwise, I'll go with you."
Su Yuning nodded in agreement, and then the two sisters went to the shop together. The proprietress happened to be there as well.
Su Yuning responded directly, "Boss lady, I'm here today to resign. I won't be coming to work anymore."
"What?! You just leave like that? What am I going to do with my soap? I signed a contract with my cousin, how am I supposed to explain this to her now that you're gone?" the shop owner retorted angrily.
"This is between you two, and has nothing to do with Yu Ning. Don't force her!" Princess Wan'er reprimanded sternly from the side.
"Heh heh, this is my territory. Believe me or not, I'll make sure you two never leave this shop!" the proprietress threatened fiercely.
“I am Princess Wan’er. My husband, my brother, and the guards are all at the door. What can you do to me?” Princess Wan’er replied without the slightest fear.
The proprietress was speechless. Her business was clandestine, and the other party was powerful; she couldn't afford to offend them. She had no choice but to obediently let them pass.
"I guess I'm just unlucky; I can't afford to mess with you! Goodbye, you two, don't bother seeing me off!"
Princess Wan'er and Su Yuning exchanged a smile and happily left the shop.
In reality, neither the prince consort nor the prince came, but Princess Wan'er was quick-witted and clever. In her anxiety, she came up with a good idea, and it was a useful one at that.
“Let’s go to the palace to see Nangong Xue’er. She’s gained weight recently and is a little anxious about her figure,” Princess Wan’er suggested. “We’ll comfort her and bring her a small gift while we’re at it.”
“Okay, I’ll buy her some good food. What does Second Sister-in-law plan to buy?” Su Yuning asked with a smile.
“A woman’s wardrobe is never complete without one more outfit, so I’ll go buy her a few more!” Princess Wan’er replied.
And so, the two sisters leisurely began their shopping spree. Before long, they had finished buying their gifts and then headed towards the palace.