Chapter 213: Flee in Panic
When Bai Yibo spoke those words, people around him were not happy, saying, "What kind of way is this to talk? What’s wrong with the guest? Shouldn’t a businessman prioritize his customers? What kind of business are you running then? Clearly, you’re not serious about doing business, just a squandering spouse like your own wife."
This person often came to eat hand-grasped cakes recently, and had witnessed Wang’s arrival with her heavy eating and drinking before, so Bai Yibo’s style of eating and drinking made him particularly disgusted.
There was an old woman on the other side who sold floral kerchiefs, she chimed in, "Yes, today old master Bai is here, we feel uncomfortable to jabber with you, lest you don’t know about your eldest daughter-in-law’s behavior, leading to tarnishing of family manners. Which of the common folks who do business eat and drink heavily first? That’s not right for business, it’s just a waste of money."
The old man next to the old woman was a dough figurine maker, he also joined, "Yes, we see it clear that your eldest daughter-in-law is not a working person. Not to mention how slowly she washes dishes, she could even stumble by herself and still blame it on a broken stool. We all saw it clear, the stool was not broken at all, she just wanted to be lazy and go home."
There was another guy who sold pots and pans joining in, too, "Yesterday, Aunt Bai asked her daughter to take the child home and rest, and your eldest daughter-in-law was unhappy. She’s both taking care of the child and busy with the business, isn’t it hard? It’s quiet in the afternoon, isn’t it normal to take a rest? She also mentioned that the Bai family didn’t feed her, but the whole family hadn’t eaten yet, and no families around here have had their meal yet."
Although Lin Laifu was not a talker, at this time, he said with a resonant voice, "My wife saw her complaints, wanted to advise her a bit, but she started cursing at us. She even dishonored my wife’s innocence. If it wasn’t for the Bai family’s face, I would have sued her at the Government Office. This kind of woman is lazy and offensive, whoever marries her will have bad luck, who knows how she will ruin the family’s reputation!"
Bai Ruozhu gave mental admiration to Lin Laifu inside. Seeing him looking at Fusa with a flattering face after his words, it looked like Fusa had taught him to say these things beforehand. Sometimes when a man speaks up, especially a muscular man, it carries more deterrent power.
Fusa also looked at Lin Laifu tenderly. Their relationship was so sweet that Bai Ruozhu couldn’t help but feel envious.
"Who are you talking about? Dare you say it again?" Bai Yibo started shouting, looking like he was ready to hit Lin Laifu.
Lin Laifu straightened his chest, his tofu-cutting knife suddenly chopped on the cutting board, "What? Can’t people speak the truth? Your wife is scolding people around, I did not hit you is because I gave you face. You can’t take care of your wife, and you still have the face to shout here?"
The old man’s face was as disgusting as if it was smeared with three pounds of shit. He wanted to lose his temper, but he also knew that the people around were saying that Wang’s behavior couldn’t be accepted. Moreover, he had been muttering in his heart just after leaving the hall, wondering if Wang really had done something forbidden.
The old woman was burying her head to eat the cake and drink the soup, but it was not as sweet as usual today, like she was somewhat absent-minded. Suddenly, she slapped her thigh, not caring about the oil on her full hand that got onto her skirt, "I remember it now!"
The old man was startled by her sudden behavior, sharply looking at her, said, "What’s getting into you?"
The old woman’s face looked as if she had stepped on a dead rat, scared and angry, with a hint of disgust.
"I really remember it now. When the eldest daughter-in-law gave birth, she let some old woman to bathe the baby, not letting me do it. Then, a tight swaddle was made. The next day, when she fell asleep and I was changing the diaper for the child, I saw that the child’s umbilical cord was dry and about to fall off. I thought it was good for the child’s cord to heal so fast. I mentioned it to the eldest daughter-in-law later, she said that it might be the good nutrition the child had in her belly." The old woman slapped her thigh, "She must have done something! I was saying how could we have a stupid child at our place? It must be a defective one that others have abandoned."
Hearing the old woman talking about Xiaosi in this way, Bai Ruozhu felt very uncomfortable, but she did not intend to interject. Even if the old mansion thought Xiaosi was an idiot, just let them be. This way they were more likely to give up on Xiaosi. Only if Xiaosi was free from the old mansion and joined her family, could he slowly get better and open his heart to accept others.
The old mansion’s love for him was too scanty, causing him to tightly close his heart.
But Bai Ruozhu was very curious whether Bai Yibo knew this or not. Intuition told her that Bai Yibo did know, otherwise, he would not ignore Xiaosi. However, the old man seemed to ignore Xiaosi just because he thought Xiaosi is an "idiot", without knowing that Xiaosi was not the biological child of the Bai family.
Looking at this, Bai Ruozhu could no longer guess.
The old woman’s voice was not quiet and when Wang heard it, she got anxious, "Mother, how could you believe the outside gossip? How could I do such a thing?"
"People were talking with reason and even swore an oath. Also, I thought of many suspicious points, it seems like you are hiding something. Moreover, our family never had an idiot. They say that idiocy is hereditary, how could the Bai family have an idiot?" The old woman also started shouting.
The old man felt this whole thing was becoming more and more absurd, with a slap on the table, his face red with anger, he shouted, "Everyone shut up, let’s talk about it at home!"
With this slap, the bowls of others sitting nearby almost jumped up. Some people’s soup was spilled out and even splashed on themselves. Unfortunately, the old man seemed not to notice at all, standing up ready to go home.
"The whole family ran here making a fuss, won’t you let us eat peacefully?" People murmured. After all, considering the old Master Bai’s age, they spared him some face.
Lin Ping hurried over and apologized with a smile, "Sorry, very sorry, I’ll refill this soup for you." Some people’s soup was already half finished, hearing they can get a free refill, most of their anger was gone, not minding it anymore. After all, the Bai family’s second branch, who run the business, was still good.
Bai Yihong also comforted the old man, "Dad, don’t be angry and hurt your health, talk slowly."
"Bai Yihong, don’t pretend to be a good man. Isn’t it you who bribed the old woman to say that your sister-in-law had swapped the baby? You look honest, but you are full of tricks!" Bai Yibo pointed at Bai Yihong and started cursing.
"Eldest Uncle, please watch your words!" Bai Zepei’s voice was very cold, carrying an irrefutable deterrent power, which silenced everyone all at once.
The old man noticed that more and more people were coming to watch the drama, he was so angry that his scalp was tingling. He stood up and said, "Go home, everyone, go home!"
Bai Yibo was still not convinced and wanted to continue cursing Bai Yihong, but many people around couldn’t stand it any more and started speaking out. They mainly criticized Wang for causing trouble instead of helping when she came over. How could such person do business? To put it nicely, she was helping others; actually, she was ruining others’ business. They asked the old man to take her home and teach her a lesson.
Old Master Bai almost fled from there. Some guests saw his unfinished hand-grasped cake on the table, didn’t like it, and said, "This is the most expensive Egg and Meat Hand-grasping Cake, such a waste, this is not how people live."