Chapter 316: Old People Love to Tease Youngsters
"What would they have to retaliate against us for? The thing with Xiaosi was totally Wang Family’s disgrace. Even if my eldest uncle divorced her, they should blame him, shouldn’t they? My eldest uncle got involved with the widow Zhou a long time ago." Bai Zehao was also very angry, but he controlled his voice, not wanting outsiders to hear.
Bai Ruozhu laughed when she heard this, "Mom and brother are right, they have no ground to stand on. So let them carry on, I’m waiting for them to suffer yet again!"
Lin Ping’er furrowed her eyebrows, looking at her daughter confusedly, asking: "It seems like you’re telling me to let them be? Don’t we need to think about a counterstrategy?"
"Mom, this is called ’observing changes through unchanging actions,’" Bai Ruozhu replied, a devious smirk on her face. She winked at her mother, "Our customers have said that Wang Family’s bakery doesn’t taste as good as ours, and they’re only competing with us by lowering prices. If they’re barely making a profit, how long can they keep it up?"
With that, she patted her mother’s hand and said, "Mom, brother, rest assured. I have confidence in our bakery’s taste. Wang Family will never surpass us. Even just reaching our level would be difficult for them. Even customers who are only looking to fill their stomachs and don’t care about taste won’t buy their cakes. It’s both more satisfying and cheaper to buy two big steamed buns."
"Right, it makes sense. If people are willing to spend fifteen wen on a meat pastry, they won’t care about saving two wen by choosing a less tasty option," Bai Zehao said, scratching his head as he chuckled, "Our little sister is showing her smarts."
"But hasn’t this affected our business? There were never this few customers in the afternoon before." Lin Ping’er was still somewhat worried.
"It’s alright, for the first couple of days it will be like this, letting the villagers go to Wang Family to compare. Then they’ll know better," said Bai Ruozhu with a smile, "This way we can get some rest and discuss my brother’s wedding."
Speaking of this, Lin Ping’er slapped her forehead, "I forgot about that. Zehao, you should quickly head to the Wan Family and let them know we’ve moved the wedding to seven days later. Since the villagers have done us a big favor, we plan to invite everyone to the feast. We will host a continuous banquet and bear the costs. The Wan Family just needs to prepare for the ceremony. Afterwards, we also need to go to Fengye Village and talk to your grandpa about inviting them to the wedding wine."
Bai Zehao agreed, then stood up saying, "Why didn’t you mention it at noon? I already said I was going to invite Yichun to the banquet, I didn’t tell them the date yet."
"Look at my memory, I was so happy that I forgot. Later, let Zepei go to the County Government Office to inform Yichun, Officer Li, and Mr. Xie." Lin Ping’er cheerfully chimed in.
Bai Ruozhu twitched the corner of her mouth. She felt that Yichun’s identity should be kept hidden, but as he had promised to attend earlier, her objections would not make a difference now.
She gritted her teeth. She would need to talk to him later and tell him to not be too arrogant. She hadn’t agreed to be his woman yet.
Bai Zehao happily left the stall. He believed he could finally satisfy Caiyue. This time the preparations were thorough, so Caiyue would not be oppressed.
When he arrived at the Wan family and revealed the new wedding date and their plans, Wan Qilao and Mrs. Wan were extremely happy. Wan Qilao patted Bai Zehao’s shoulder and said, "You guys know how to repay kindness. This is the right way to go."
Mrs. Wan was smiling brightly, knowing that a wedding feast being attended by the entire village was going to be grand and respectable. It was also a chance for her daughter to hold her head high, especially since they were going to invite the county chief. All of this would reflect well on her daughter and son-in-law, and in turn the Wan Family.
Being greeted by his wife’s happy face, Wan Pei knew that she shared his thoughts. He laughed and told Bai Zehao, "Don’t say you guys will hold the responsibility for everything. Let’s both of our families make this banquet as grand as possible."
"Yes, we need to contribute as well," Mrs. Wan quickly agreed.
"My mother said that for such banquets, the groom’s family should make the arrangements. But thank you for your kindness, aunt and uncle. You just need to prepare for your daughter’s wedding," Bai Zehao replied, his face reddening. It was really embarrassing for him to be discussing this.
Upon seeing Bai Zehao’s blushing face, everyone in the Wan Family burst out laughing. Wan Qilao said, "At that time, we’ll send our daughters-in-law to help you guys, so you don’t get too overwhelmed."
Mrs. Wan nodded her head, "Right, we can’t let Ruozhu and your mother be exhausted. You can’t argue with us on this."
"Thank you, Grandfather, Uncle, and Aunt," Bai Zehao, extremely happy, bowed to each of them.
Wan Qilao broke out in a hearty laugh, "Why are you still so formal? You should call me grandpa, and them as dad and mom!"
Bai Zehao’s face turned even redder. He knew that elders always had a habit of teasing those with thin skin like his. He could only withstand the heat on his face, lowered his head and softly said: "Grandpa." He then looked at Wan Pei and Mrs. Wan, calling out, "Dad, Mom."
Wan Qilao laughed even louder, "Good, good. Grandpa likes an upright child like you."
Clearly, he had played with Bai Zehao till he was red in the face, and he was still saying, "I like an upright child like you". What a child at heart. Mrs. Wan was trying to hold back her laughter, feeling quite happy at the moment. She thought that her son-in-law and the Bai Family were both good choices.
Bai Zehao quickly mentioned he needed to visit Fengye Village and then left Wan Family like he was running away. Until he had left the main gate, he could still hear the hearty laughter of the Wan Family elders behind him.
...
During the afternoon, several customers came to the Bai Family’s stall. Some seemed to be unaware that another pancake stall had opened at the end of the street. Others, like the previous regulars, still preferred the taste of Bai Family’s pancakes. Although there were fewer customers than before, Bai Ruozhu and her mother were able to handle it.
Soon, Dengdeng started crying out of hunger. Bai Ruozhu picked up Dengdeng and took a nursing cover to feed him, leaving her mother to watch over the stall.
Just as she walked into the back alley to feed Dengdeng, she felt a cold breeze...
She looked up to see Jiang Yichun on the roof of a nearby house. Annoyed, she said, "I thought I felt a ghostly wind. Imagine a ghost in broad daylight. Turns out, it was a person trying to scare me. You nearly scared me dead!"
Jiang Yichun had taken off his mask and held it in his hand. It seemed he especially disliked wearing the mask whenever he faced Bai Ruozhu.
"Kind of a temper, huh? Is somebody giving you a hard time?" Jiang Yichun jumped down from the roof.
Dengdeng, the naughty little boy, although hungry and crying, quieted down when he saw Jiang Yichun. Was the little kid really so unprincipled? Bai Ruozhu couldn’t help but secretly grumble.
"Could that minor issue make me upset?" Bai Ruozhu glanced at him dismissively, implying that he didn’t understand her at all.
Jiang Yichun’s lips curled up at the corners, revealing a mischievous smile. "So it was me who upset you?"
Bai Ruozhu thought to herself, you know it and still ask. But she said aloud: "Yes, I am hiding here to breastfeed my child, and someone has come to peek. It’s strange that my mood is not bad!"