Cute Wife Gourmet

Chapter 180 You are the stingy one
Seeing his wife getting angry, the old marquis felt guilty. Although the Xia family was a family of dukes and marquises, his ancestors and fathers only focused on martial arts. The men of the Xia family were invincible on the battlefield, but they were not good at business. They relied only on the salaries and rewards from the court, and did not accumulate a lot of wealth. They became truly wealthy after Youshi came into the family. In addition, he was away from home all year round, and Youshi was the one who ran the household. She could be said to have worked hard and made great contributions.

The third brother's wife's behavior was indeed not very good this time, so the old marquis had no choice but to coax his wife: "Okay, okay, I'll do whatever you say. I'll just pretend to be confused next time."

Looking at the Marquis's perfunctory attitude, Xia Youshi suddenly envied the second son's wife. Chunyu was so determined to protect his wife, and he seemed to be fighting for her. Alas... she had spent most of her life with this man, but had never enjoyed such treatment once.

Comparing yourself to others will really make you angry!

However, at least this time the Marquis was willing to give you a perfunctory response. This is a great improvement compared to the past when he would glare at you whenever he mentioned his brother, as if you were the murderer of his father.

Xia Youshi sighed helplessly, wondering what evil ideas Zhou was up to at the moment and whether the second son's wife could handle it.

After Ye Jiayao and others came back from the new house, Zhou went to rest first, and Ye Jiayao went to Xia You's room to reply.

"She is so bold to say that!" Xia Youshi felt that she had completely lost track of Zhou's bottom line.

"My wife said that all the good things have been put in Chunfeng's house, and the storehouse is empty. If they want to get some good decorations, let my brother accompany them to the antique jade shop." Ye Jiayao said. She had just made up a story before, so she had to quickly inform Xia Youshi to avoid being exposed.

Xia Youshi nodded and said, "I do have this plan. You and Chunyu Cheng got married too hastily, otherwise I would have prepared some for you. Go to the storehouse tomorrow and pick out a few good ones."

Ye Jiayao said: "Mother has prepared thirty-six loads of dowry for my daughter-in-law. I am very grateful and really don't need it."

A gentleman loves money and gets it in a proper way. It is not so easy to get something from one's parents. If it is given to her, the eldest wife will have something to say. If it is given to Chunfeng, it is legitimate and Qiao dare not say anything. Moreover, she already has Tianshangju. How much money Tianshangju makes is only guessed by outsiders. Only she and Chunyu know the real data. If it is told to others, it will definitely scare people to death. Therefore, she really doesn't care about this little thing.

Xia Youshi was stunned for a moment. She didn't expect Ye Jiayao to refuse.

In fact, the thirty-six loads of dowry were just for show; she didn't put any real good stuff in them. At the beginning, the master took the initiative to prepare even the bride's dowry, and she complained about it for a long time. Now thinking about it, she felt a little regretful.

The second son's wife is a capable householder. She is not greedy or stingy, and is tactful and experienced. I believe that if I hand over the family to her in the future, things will be better.

Xia Youshi suddenly felt tired and really wanted to let her take charge of the household chores as soon as possible so that she could have a good rest. She was really exhausted after these years.

But Liuli still has to live in the Marquis' Mansion for three years before going to her fiefdom. If she lets the second son's wife take charge of household affairs too early, there will definitely be a lot of resistance. Well, it's better for her to work hard for another three years!

Over there, Zhou was asking Chunwen questions.

"What's wrong with the second son's wife? She's just the daughter of a Tongzhi. How could your aunt agree to let her marry in? It's really strange. Besides, this woman is so cunning." Zhou was very dissatisfied with Ye Jiayao.

Chunwen said: "Mother, you only know one side of the story. Although my second cousin is the daughter of a Tongzhi, she is favored by the old princess of the Helian Palace. She is recognized as her granddaughter. This time, she is still married from the palace."

Zhou gasped. What? Did she hear it right? The second son's wife actually had such ability?
"Mother, not only that, my second cousin's wife is also the imperial kitchen attendant appointed by the emperor himself. She is in charge of Tianshangju, the most famous restaurant in Jinling City. I heard that the business is booming and they are making a fortune every day!"

"What? She is a cook?" Zhou was shocked again.

"Yes, his cooking skills are amazing. A few days ago, a Sichuan chef came to challenge him and he was severely punished by his second cousin's wife. These days, wherever you go out, you can hear about his deeds." Chunwen said with sympathy, secretly glad that he did not do something stupid like his eldest cousin, otherwise he would not know how he was punished.

Zhou had to re-examine Chunyu's wife in her heart. This seemingly pretty and quiet woman was actually a powerful character. Her relationship with the old princess alone should not be underestimated.

"Son, I heard another thing." Chunwen said.

Zhou was curious: "What's the matter?"

"I heard that my second cousin's wife had a feud with Princess Liuli who was about to marry into the family. The Queen Mother originally wanted to marry Princess Liuli to my second cousin, but my second cousin ended up marrying my second cousin's wife."

Zhou carefully recalled the entanglement, her eyes gradually lit up, and she smiled with gloating: "Then there will be something interesting to watch."

She had heard that Chunyu's wife was a powerful character, and she was a little scared. But now she was not afraid anymore. No matter how powerful Chunyu's wife was, could she be stronger than Princess Liuli who had the Queen Mother's support?

Alas, Xia Youshi will have no peace of mind from now on, Zhou was very excited.

"Mom, when are we moving there?" Chunwen asked.

Zhou said casually, "Why are you in such a hurry? Take your time. Move all the things over first, and don't put them out. Put them in the warehouse and lock them up. Then find an excuse and say that the back garden needs to be renovated. It will take a month or so. It would be even better if it can be delayed for several months."

For a big family like this, the seven necessities of life, such as oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, rice, grain and tea, are a huge expense. Every day we can stay here counts.

Chunwen was puzzled. It was already done, why did they need to renovate it? Wouldn't it be good to live in the new house? However, since his mother had decided so, he couldn't object, so he went out and instructed the servants to move the things to the new house first.

Zhou was a cunning woman. When she arrived at the mansion, she told everyone to take only some clothes and personal belongings. All valuables were left at the dock and the housekeeper was asked to keep them. Then they would quietly move to the new house. However, her little trick did not escape Ye Jiayao's eyes. She had already sent someone to keep an eye on her. Not long after, Song Qi came back to report.

"Second Young Madam, you're right. The Third Madam said that the Third Master was incorruptible, but in fact, he took a lot of money from the people. There were fifteen carts of boxes, several of which were very heavy. It was very hard for four big men to lift them. I guess there was either gold or silver inside. They were all secretly transported to the new house."

Ye Jiayao sneered when she heard this. She did this for no other purpose than to see how rich her third uncle was. Now that she saw it clearly, she despised this family even more.

"I understand. You are not allowed to tell anyone about this." Ye Jiayao said.

Xia Youshi hosted a dinner to entertain her third uncle's family.

There was one table for male guests and another table for female guests. However, Chun Guo and Chun Si were still children so they squeezed into the female guests' side.

Normally, two children of similar age can play together best, but they just glared at each other, as if they were incompatible.

However, no one took it seriously. The child was like an enemy one moment and then fine again the next.

Xia Youshi chatted with Zhou about family matters in a lukewarm manner.

"I remember Jinlian and Yulian are sixteen years old this year! Have they been betrothed to someone?" asked Xia Youshi.

Zhou said, "Originally, there were several families who came to propose marriage, but the master was planning to come back, and I didn't want my daughter to marry so far away, like my second aunt, whom I rarely see for several years."

Xia Youshi nodded slightly. She agreed with what was said. Like her, Jinling was not far from Hangzhou, but she had only returned twice after getting married. One time was to attend her father's funeral, and the other time was to visit her mother who was seriously ill. Alas, marrying far away was really inconvenient.

"When the time comes, I'll have to ask you to take care of Jinlian and Yulian's marriage. Please find a few good candidates. After all, I've been away for many years and am unfamiliar with the people and things in Jinling City." Zhou said.

Xia Youshi thought to herself, I don't know what your daughters' personalities are like yet, so I dare not act as a matchmaker casually, lest I be blamed by others, so I said perfunctorily, "I will keep an eye on it."

The maid came and cleared away the tea and started serving the dishes.

Zhou looked at Ye Jiayao and said with a smile: "I heard that Chunyu's wife is an excellent cook! When can I let Third Aunt taste your cooking skills?"

Ye Jiayao was about to answer when Zhou said, "I also heard that Tianshangju is Chunyu's property. Otherwise, let's go to Tianshangju tomorrow."

Xia Youshi sneered and said, "It's always inconvenient for a woman to go in and out of a place like a restaurant. Why not let Jinxuan cook two dishes for you to try some other day?"

Zhou said disapprovingly, "What does that matter? At most we can rent out the restaurant. It's our own restaurant anyway."

Xia Youshi began to feel uncomfortable again. It was so easy to say, booking a whole theater? Do you know how much money it costs to book a whole theater? Besides, can you pay?

"Jinxuan, how much silver does it cost to book your restaurant?" Xia Youshi asked deliberately.

Ye Jiayao thought for a moment and said, "If we only book the VIP seats on the third floor, the eight rooms will cost at least five thousand taels. If we book all of them, it will cost sixteen thousand taels. If we are family, we can give them a 30% discount! Prices are high now, and a 30% discount can only break even."

Zhou smacked her lips and said, "Wow, this is robbery!"

Didn't Youshi understand what she said? Family members had to pay for a meal? And several thousand taels? This mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were really shameless!

Xia Youshi smiled and said, "Third sister-in-law, booking a restaurant is something that only people with too much money to spend do. Let's just eat at home."

Zhou said angrily, "That's true, Chunyu wife, you can prepare two tables of wine and food tomorrow, so that everyone can see the cooking skills of the imperial kitchen."

Ye Jiayao was thinking that there was a cooking competition tomorrow, so how could she have time?
Xia Youshi smiled and said, "Jinxuan has been busy these days. Right now, Jinling City is holding a cooking competition, and Tianshangju has chefs participating. Jinxuan has to keep an eye on it. She also has to prepare for Chunfeng's wedding banquet. Let's wait until we have some free time before we talk about it. You guys are coming back to live here permanently this time, so there are plenty of opportunities."

"You're the cheapskate."

"You are a scoundrel."

"What did you say about me? You are just a child of an aunt, how dare you scold me?"

Suddenly, the two little guys opposite started quarreling.

(End of this chapter)