This year’s Spring Festival was just as lively as ever.
Probably because Shi Wuxiang had previously hosted Xu Ling and several young ladies, many merchants came to visit the house at the beginning of the year. They secretly learned about Yuan Zhao’s pregnancy, so the gifts they brought all took him into consideration as well.
The saying “one does not hit a smiling face” did not apply to Shi Wuxiang, but if the matter involved Yuan Zhao, then naturally it was another story entirely.
Therefore, throughout the entire New Year, Shi Wuxiang remained fairly mild toward all those people who eagerly came to offer congratulations.
After the new year, Yuan Zhao often went to the restaurant whenever he had nothing to do. Shi Wuxiang knew he was bored, so he simply drafted up some procedures for him and let him take on birthday banquets as practice and entertainment. During this period, he also continuously brought Ranran along with him.
Shi Wuxiang had genuinely taken Yuan Yuan’s words to heart. He specifically sought out Shi Qingran and Madam Shi to clearly express his attitude: whether she married or not did not matter. A young woman was not impossible to support.
Madam Shi did not say much. She herself was busy arranging Shi Qingyue’s marriage, so she simply allowed Shi Qingran to busy herself in the restaurant.
“Sao-sao, how are we supposed to take birthday banquets?” Shi Qingran asked worriedly. “Nowadays, anyone with status hosts banquets at home. Can our restaurant really manage this kind of business?”
“Your big brother already arranged things for us, but I still need to think about it more. Xia Lian, call one of the floor attendants over.”
“Yes.”
The floor attendants ran around the restaurant every day, so they naturally knew many things. Yuan Zhao only needed to ask around slightly to learn whose birthdays were coming soon. Then, under the pretext of offering congratulations, inviting them to the restaurant should not be difficult.
The attendant arrived quickly, bowing respectfully. “Boss, you were looking for me?”
“I have a task for you. Find out and record the birthdays of our restaurant’s regular customers so we can conveniently send gifts in the future.” Yuan Zhao did not fully explain himself. “If you handle this matter well, I’ll reward you separately with silver.”
The attendant immediately brightened and nodded repeatedly. After receiving the assignment, he hurried off to do it.
Shi Qingran thoughtfully refrained from asking questions. After all, before something was completely certain, it was better not to let everyone know. Otherwise, if things failed, it would truly be embarrassing.
Knock knock knock.
“Boss, Miss Xu heard you were at the restaurant. She says she has something she wants to discuss with you.” The attendant downstairs spoke from outside the private room.
“Xia Lian, invite her upstairs.”
“Yes.”
“Why did your principal husband suddenly think of coming out? I had something I wanted to discuss with him… I’ll talk about it once I see him…”
Before Xu Ling herself appeared, her voice could already be heard.
This young woman had always possessed such a fiery and energetic temperament. Although there had once been some unpleasantness between them, later on they had genuinely gotten along quite well.
She was the kind of person Yuan Zhao envied most.
Free-spirited, unrestrained, open-hearted, blazing warm…
Xu Ling pushed open the door and immediately smiled upon seeing Yuan Zhao watching her. “Were you eagerly waiting for me? I first went to your house to look for you, and auntie said you were at the restaurant, so I came right over.”
Yuan Zhao’s eyes curved as well. “What’s wrong? Is it something important?”
“Not really anything important. Three days from now is my birthday, so I wanted to ask in advance whether you can come. If you can, I’ll send you an invitation. If not, then I won’t bother you.” Xu Ling spoke frankly.
She might be somewhat reckless and impulsive, but she also had the temperament of saying exactly what she meant.
Yuan Zhao lowered his eyes and rolled his gaze thoughtfully before looking up with a smile. “Your birthday banquet will be held at home? How about I host it for you at the restaurant instead? You can invite everyone you want.”
“You’ll host me?” Xu Ling stared wide-eyed at his belly. “You really shouldn’t overwork yourself. Besides, the day is approaching quickly. Wouldn’t you end up terribly busy?”
“I’m idle anyway. If you don’t mind holding the birthday banquet at the restaurant, how about it?” Yuan Zhao asked with a smile.
Xu Ling replied indifferently, “That doesn’t matter. It’s not a coming-of-age ceremony anyway. Just arrange it however you like. I’ll only invite some closer sisters.”
She was the sort who spoke plainly. If she truly disliked the idea, she would say so directly. Hearing her answer like this, Yuan Zhao accepted the task without any burden.
He compared notes with Xu Ling, carefully recording all the young ladies’ food dislikes and memorizing their various preferences as well.
Just as Shi Wuxiang had said, being idle was still being idle. Finding something to do was not necessarily bad, especially when it was for a friend’s birthday banquet.
Xu Ling had originally come only to discuss the matter, yet somehow ended up handing him an entire responsibility. She felt somewhat embarrassed and stated that all banquet expenses could be charged to the Xu family. Once the banquet ended, they need only bring the itemized list to the Xu family steward.
Naturally, Yuan Zhao refused. This was originally something he himself wanted to do. Using Xu Ling’s banquet as a trial run already made him feel somewhat guilty. Besides, treating friends to a meal was hardly anything major.
Since he insisted, Xu Ling stopped dwelling on it further.
Because of the Xu family’s close relationship with the Shi family, their cooperative businesses had increased considerably. The threshold of their house was practically being trampled flat.
Like all women, she naturally also held expectations and longing toward marriage.
Yuan Zhao took this matter very seriously. It was not merely because he wanted to use Xu Ling’s birthday banquet as a test case. More importantly, the other party was his friend, so both emotionally and morally, he ought to treat it sincerely.
Over the next two days, he personally supervised the decoration of the private room. During this time, Shi Wuxiang also offered suggestions. Since Xu Ling was ultimately still a young woman, the decorations naturally needed a more girlish style, preferably using pink and pale yellow ornaments and the like.
Yuan Zhao followed every suggestion. The once somewhat old-fashioned private room quickly transformed into something as beautiful and bright as a young girl’s boudoir.
…
Xu Ling’s birthday banquet was extremely lively.
Yuan Zhao even specially erected a small signboard outside the restaurant to congratulate Xu Ling on her birthday while also guiding the invited young ladies to the banquet. Naturally, attendants were also specially assigned to lead them.
Not only was the private room uniquely decorated, but the food was also exquisite and delicious. There were even special little gifts and leaf-card games the girls could play together. They spent the entire day inside the private room playing, not gambling silver at all, simply enjoying sticking paper strips onto each other’s faces.
Yuan Zhao also kept his promise and did not charge a single coin.
Xu Ling was delighted at receiving such a bargain. One of the girls even directly said, “A’Zhao, next time when it’s our birthdays, can we also come to the restaurant? We’ll pay the bill!”
Hosting birthday banquets at home was truly boring. One had to constantly maintain the image of a proper young lady, which was terribly exhausting. A birthday was obviously supposed to be a happy occasion, yet they had to restrain themselves at every moment. It was far more enjoyable to play freely at the restaurant instead.
Besides, birthdays only came once a year. This was the only day when they could indulge themselves a little. For such a small matter, their families surely would not refuse.
This was exactly the reaction Yuan Zhao wanted.
He smiled and nodded. “Of course you can. Just tell me in advance when the time comes. I’ll personally supervise them handling everything.”
“That’s wonderful!”
The young ladies were extremely happy. After cheerfully thanking him, they left.
The birthday banquet concluded perfectly. Yuan Zhao had accompanied them the entire day and was exhausted. After returning to the restaurant to rest his feet for a while, he prepared to head home.
“Boss Yuan, your restaurant even hosts birthday banquets?” some curious busybody asked.
The private room upstairs had been lively all day. The young ladies’ laughter was impossible to suppress, and with the signboard standing outside the restaurant, it was hard not to know about it.
Yuan Zhao smiled and nodded. “Miss Xu and I are friends, so naturally I had to do something for her birthday. But if anyone wishes to hold banquets at our restaurant, naturally that’s no problem either.”
“You host all kinds of banquets?”
“As long as it’s a celebratory banquet, we can host it. Everything will be arranged by our restaurant. The host family only needs to pay the bill.” Yuan Zhao said.
When holding a banquet at home, everyone naturally knew which family was hosting. But holding it at a restaurant could further display a family’s grandeur and style, which was naturally quite appealing.
Besides, who didn’t want to show off a little?
With such a novel arrangement, everyone wanted to be the first to try it. The young ladies had simply beaten them to it, but even being next in line was still something worth taking pride in.
Yuan Zhao smiled. “If any family needs to host a banquet at the restaurant, just come explain things three to five days in advance and register with the manager.”
After drinking some tea and resting a little, he returned home.
These past few days had been busy nonstop, and today had been especially lively and exhausting. Now that he suddenly relaxed, his whole body immediately lost strength. He lazily leaned against the couch, utterly unwilling to move.
When Shi Wuxiang entered the room, he saw Yuan Zhao half-squinting his eyes in a lazy daze, while Ranran and Yuan-ge’er sat nearby practicing calligraphy, neither making any noise to bother him.
The moment he entered, the two children noticed him. They sensibly greeted him in quiet voices, but ended up waking Yuan Zhao.
“A’Xiang? You’re back. I waited for you until I was almost asleep.” Yuan Zhao yawned while stretching both arms toward him.
Without hesitation, Shi Wuxiang sat directly beside his feet and pulled him firmly into his arms, lightly patting his back. “Sitting and reclining here can’t be comfortable. Why didn’t you wait on the bed instead?”
The moment Shi Qingran heard that, her face instantly turned red. She hurriedly gathered her things and dragged the confused Yuan Yuan away. These adults truly had no shame—how could they say such things in broad daylight?
Watching them flee, Yuan Zhao burst out laughing. “I think you did that on purpose. You just had to say something like that in front of them.”
Shi Wuxiang clicked his tongue lightly. “I was annoyed they still hadn’t developed any awareness. They saw I’d already returned, yet they still didn’t leave.”
“Ranran definitely understands. Stop bullying them all the time. Oh right, today I hosted Xu Ling’s birthday banquet. Before I left, a lot of people also wanted to host celebratory banquets at the restaurant, so I had them register with the manager.” Yuan Zhao looked at him proudly, as though saying he was very capable.
“Really? That’s impressive.” Shi Wuxiang smiled.
Originally, he had only hoped Yuan Zhao would not feel too bored while pregnant, so he casually offered suggestions and gave him something to pass the time with. He had not expected Yuan Zhao to genuinely turn it into a real business.
He truly had to praise him a little now.
Yuan Zhao felt his reaction was somewhat too mild. He suddenly sat upright and cupped Shi Wuxiang’s face, carefully examining him. “Your tone is a bit cold. I’m this amazing—shouldn’t you praise me more?”
“That’s naturally because I already knew you could do it.” Shi Wuxiang’s cheeks were being squished as he answered without much dignity. “It was something I expected. I already knew you were amazing.”
Yuan Zhao was satisfied.
Afterward, Yuan Zhao specifically instructed the restaurant manager that every celebratory banquet booking had to receive his approval first. He would personally explain how the banquet should be arranged, and anything they were uncertain about could be brought to the house to ask him directly. They were absolutely forbidden from making decisions on their own.
With Xu Ling and the other young ladies enthusiastically spreading the word everywhere, the restaurant soon received banquet bookings. Under Yuan Zhao’s supervision, not a single mistake occurred.
Yuan Zhao had just seen the manager out when he noticed Madam Shi bustling in and out while packing things. He stepped forward and asked, “Mother is leaving already? Why not let me go with you? I don’t have anything to do anyway.”
“That absolutely won’t do. You stay home and properly rest. I’ll take Xia He with me. Nothing will happen.” Madam Shi spoke softly. “Running back and forth is exhausting. This trip should settle everything once and for all, and then there’ll be nothing more to worry about.”
After thinking about it, Yuan Zhao agreed. In his current condition, even if he went out, he would only end up being taken care of. Not only would he fail to help, he would instead make Madam Shi look after him too. He would merely be causing trouble.
After lightly packing up and bringing the gifts she had prepared earlier from the storage room, Madam Shi hurried back to town.
The two families had been discussing marriage for a year now. During that time, the two children had met from time to time and frequently exchanged gifts, clearly harboring feelings for each other. Naturally, the marriage should be arranged as soon as possible.
“The future in-law has come!” Mother Tao immediately welcomed her with a smile upon seeing her. “I was just thinking of picking a day to go into the city and ask about the children’s matter. I didn’t expect you to come first.”
Being able to form marriage ties with the Shi family was something others would envy to death. She had also feared that after the Shi family spent a year in the county city, they might arrange another girl for Shi Qingyue, so she had been anxious as well.
Madam Shi smiled. “How could I let your family worry about this matter? I came precisely for this reason. Since both our families are willing, why not settle the wedding date as early as possible? What do you think?”
The moment Mother Tao heard this, she nodded repeatedly. “Good, good!”
“I already had someone calculate several auspicious dates. The nearest ones are the nineteenth and twenty-eighth of the fourth month.” Madam Shi thought for a moment. “How about the twenty-eighth of next month? The nineteenth and twentieth are my son-in-law’s birthdays, and I’m afraid we’d be too busy.”
“Alright.” Mother Tao showed no displeasure.
If it were someone else, they might think a birthday could never compare to a wedding. But what Mother Tao thought instead was that Madam Shi even remembered Yuan Zhao’s birthday, which only proved what a good mother-in-law she was. Naturally, that meant she would also treat her daughter well in the future. This was a good thing.
Besides, it was better to settle the marriage earlier to avoid complications later.
Madam Shi smiled. “Good, then when A’Yue gets his holiday, we’ll come deliver the betrothal gifts.”
“You’ll come yourselves? But what about the matchmaker…” Mother Tao looked somewhat confused. The matter between their families had always been handled through the matchmaker. Skipping over the matchmaker now seemed improper.
“That matchmaker has a loose mouth. Before this, she caused some trouble already. Now that our two families are close, there’s no need to involve her anymore. I’ll send her the customary gift money afterward.” The moment Madam Shi mentioned the matchmaker, she became irritated.
Mother Tao said no more. Their side was the bride’s family. As long as they clearly stated their conditions and requirements, and the groom’s family provided them, the rest naturally depended on how the Shi family wished to handle matters.
“Alright then, we’ll follow your arrangements.” Mother Tao smiled.
“Good, then it’s settled. I’ll come again next time.” Madam Shi prepared to leave after speaking. “I also brought some things for you all. Remember to use them.”
Mother Tao looked surprised and tried to persuade her to stay. “You’re leaving already? At least stay for a meal before going. I’ll have Yue-jie’er come out to keep you company. No matter what, you’re her future mother-in-law!”
“Don’t trouble the child. With our relationship, I naturally won’t stand on ceremony with you all. It’s just that Zhao-ge’er is pregnant, and if I’m not there keeping an eye on things, I won’t feel at ease.” Madam Shi spoke frankly, completely unashamed of showing how much she valued Yuan Zhao.
“That’s true enough. Then I won’t keep you.” Mother Tao called out for Tao Xiangyue, and a pretty young girl with flushed cheeks stepped out from inside the room.
She obediently greeted, “Hello, Auntie.”
Madam Shi was very satisfied with this behavior. It was proper for a girl to be shy, but if she became timid and failed to greet people at all, then that would be overly awkward.
Smiling, she said, “No need to see me off. Children have their own thoughts. I’ll leave now and come again next time.”
“Auntie, I’ll escort you.” Though Tao Xiangyue addressed her that way verbally, she knew very well in her heart that this was her future mother-in-law, so naturally she wanted to please her more.
“Alright.” Madam Shi did not refuse again.
Tao Xiangyue watched her leave before finally turning back into the courtyard.
The moment she returned inside, Mother Tao instructed, “This is an exceptionally rare good family. Mother means your mother-in-law specifically. She isn’t treating Zhao-ge’er well just because he’s pregnant, so she also won’t mistreat you simply because you don’t have children immediately.”
“I understand what Mother means. I’ll also properly honor Mother-in-law.” Tao Xiangyue’s cheeks were still red. For an unmarried girl, saying such things was naturally embarrassing.
“That’s exactly as it should be. Mother also has another thing to remind you about: don’t think about competing with Zhao-ge’er. You can’t surpass him. As long as you properly live your life with A’Yue, honor your mother-in-law, respect your elder brother, care for your younger sister, and also care for Yuan Zhao’s younger brother, that’s enough.” Mother Tao herself had once been troubled by her own mother-in-law. This was likely a necessary path for every married woman and ge’er.
So now that her daughter had encountered such a good mother-in-law, no matter what, she had to firmly grasp this opportunity. As long as she treated the Shi family members well, naturally she herself would not be bullied either.
Tao Xiangyue nodded blankly. “I understand. I’m marrying into that family to become part of it, and I’ll properly fulfill my responsibilities.”
“That’s good. When you marry in, Zhao-ge’er still won’t have given birth yet. Even if you can’t help much, don’t do nothing at all. The Shi family values him greatly, so don’t offend him.”
“Alright, I’ve remembered everything.”