Mrs. Qin rushed forward and pleaded with Mrs. Sun in soft tones. Only then did Mrs. Sun relent.
"I really have no money left. Well, I'll take you to the second branch and ask," said Mrs. Sun, leading the mother - daughter duo towards the courtyard of Li Yuzhu and the others.
"Thank you, Mother!" Mrs. Qin showed a smile. Although Li Yuzhu's ice - jelly business was not doing well recently, she must have earned quite a bit before.
The courtyard gate was locked. Mrs. Sun called out several times but there was no response. Presumably, they had all gone out to work. So Mrs. Sun said, "Let's come back and check in the evening."
Mrs. Qin agreed. After bidding farewell to Mrs. Sun, she took Li Yuju to the town to find Li Yulan.
As soon as Li Yulan heard this, she flew into a rage. "I've already said not to go against Uncle's family, but you just wouldn't listen. Now look, are you satisfied? I can't do anything about it."
Li Yuju thought Li Yulan's words were harsh and turned her head away, looking elsewhere.
Mrs. Qin, with red - rimmed eyes, grabbed Li Yulan's hand. "Yulan, can you just stand by and watch your sister be tortured by Mrs. Liu? After all, you two are husband and wife. Isn't it easy to say a few words to plead for mercy?"
Li Yulan sighed. "Mother, it's not that I don't want to help. I really can't. My husband hasn't come to my courtyard for a month. How can I help?"
Mrs. Qin knew that the life of a mistress who was out of favor, had no son, and had no background in a big mansion was not easy. But she still said firmly, "Mother knows you have it hard, but a lean camel is still bigger than a horse. You must have some idle jewelry. Why don't you give some to your sister for an emergency? When she marries into a wealthy family, she'll return it to you two or three times over."
Li Yulan stood up abruptly, so angry that she was speechless. She pointed at Mrs. Qin and then at Li Yuju. "You... you..."
Mrs. Qin lowered her head and said nothing, while Li Yuju continued to hold her head high and ignored Li Yulan.
Li Yulan took out the only hairpin from her head and slapped it heavily on the table. "This is the only valuable piece of jewelry I have. If you don't mind, take it. From now on, don't come to see me again!"
Li Yulan was angry not only because they didn't listen to her advice, but also because Li Yuju came to ask for help but still put on a condescending attitude. She was even more angry with Mrs. Qin. Her mother clearly knew how difficult her life was, but still came to ask for help again and again regardless of her situation.
Li Yulan's mother - in - law already didn't like her, and now she despised her even more. She often sneered at her, and even the servants dared to laugh at her.
Mrs. Qin reached out and put the hairpin into her sleeve. She wanted to ask Li Yulan for some silver, but before she could find the right words, Li Yulan issued an order to leave.
"You two can go. I'm not feeling well today." Li Yulan slumped into the chair. She propped her elbows on the table and supported her face with her palms just to barely hold herself up.
Mrs. Qin and Li Yuju had to get up. Before going out, Mrs. Qin asked cautiously, "Is this the only hairpin you have? Do you have anything else...?"
Two lines of tears welled up in Li Yulan's eyes. She didn't know what to say. She just softly called out, "Mother..."
Seeing this, Mrs. Qin quickly wiped the tears from Li Yulan's eyes with her sleeve, but the tears seemed to be gushing out from a spring and couldn't be wiped clean.
"You two go back," Li Yulan said wearily.
Mrs. Qin nodded. She felt a bit regretful. She was so desperate that she forced Li Yulan like this. When she reached the door, she turned back and instructed, "Take good care of your health. Mother will come to see you when she has time."
Li Yulan nodded weakly and said nothing more.
After leaving the Zhao family's courtyard gate, Mrs. Qin took out the hairpin and sighed.
Li Yuju took the hairpin and looked at it. She was a bit disappointed. "Sister's hairpin is not that great. It's not as good as the one I pawned just now. It probably won't be worth much."
Mrs. Qin snatched the hairpin back and put it back into her sleeve. "Your sister has it hard too. This is also her kind - hearted gesture."
Li Yuju pouted but said nothing.
"By the way, Mother! Isn't Grandpa's family quite wealthy? Why don't we ask them for help?" Li Yuju had a sudden inspiration and thought of what she considered a good idea.
Mrs. Qin's natal family was indeed not bad, but only compared to the Li family. Moreover, she was a married - out daughter now. Even borrowing a silver ingot would probably be difficult.
She had two older brothers who were doing well, but they always looked down on the gambler Li Yunguang and probably wouldn't lend money to Mrs. Qin.
Sure enough, as soon as Mrs. Qin mentioned this when she got back, her father scolded her head - on. The scolding was even harsher than Mrs. Sun's. Li Yuju couldn't help crying from the scolding.
Finally, when they were about to leave, Mrs. Qin's mother couldn't bear it and secretly stuffed a piece of broken silver into her hand. Mrs. Qin weighed it. It was at most one tael.
The mother - daughter duo returned home with gloomy faces.
As the saying goes, while some are happy, others are sad. The sad ones were Mrs. Qin and Li Yuju, while the happy ones were still Li Yuzhu's family.
Li Yuzhu finalized the formula for the new drinks yesterday. The three of them also came up with nice names for them together, namely: Purple Qi Rising from the East Ushering in Good Fortune, Peach Oolong Beauty's Smile, and Lustrous Black Mulberry Drink.
Li Yuzhu decided to make Purple Qi Rising from the East Ushering in Good Fortune the signature drink. After all, this grape drink was not only delicious but also had a good meaning. It was a good choice.
Before setting up the stall today, Li Yuzhu took the three of them to A Qi's courtyard first. She asked A Qi to write the names of these drinks and the name of the roasted sweet potato skin on bamboo slices to hang on the stall later.
Looking at the signboard written by A Qi, Xiaodai read it out.
Everyone was surprised and asked, "Xiaodai, can you read?"
Xiaodai laughed傻傻ly. "I can also write."
A Qi quickly handed the pen in his hand to Xiaodai. Xiaodai picked up the pen and smoothly rewrote the words that A Qi had just written.
Li Yuzhu exclaimed, "Not only can you write, but you write quite nicely."
"Brother Xiaodai, when did you learn to write?" Li Yutao was very puzzled. Brother Xiaodai clearly stayed with her every day. When did he learn to read and write?
Xiaodai scratched his head and tried to recall, but he couldn't remember himself. "I don't know either."
Since everyone still had things to do, they didn't have time to dwell on this matter and went about their own business.
Li Yuzhu's newly launched drinks really attracted a lot of customers. Especially Purple Qi Rising from the East Ushering in Good Fortune, which was loved by a large number of customers. After all, who doesn't like auspicious words!
Peach Oolong Beauty's Smile was loved by many female customers. It was pink and cute - looking.
"This is the first time in my life I've drunk a drink like this. This... this straw is so useful. Take a sip, and there's tea, ice - jelly, and that... sago in my mouth. Delicious! Delicious!" A customer took a sip with the straw and was amazed. He even stood up to express his feelings.
A man beside him pulled him back to sit down and said earnestly, "Brother Wang, the purpose of using a straw is for elegance. If it's for elegance, how can you be so noisy?"
Brother Wang blushed from the rebuke and sat down embarrassedly to explain, "Sorry, sorry. I was so happy that I lost my composure for a moment."