Chapter 133: Rejection (Part 1)

Chapter 133: Chapter 133: Rejection (Part 1)

"...Minzhen, wait. Second Sister-in-law heard you’re planning to sell steamed buns?" Fang Juxian had been standing off to the side for a long time, making her intentions obvious, but her sister-in-law acted as if she hadn’t seen her, showing no signs of asking what she wanted. Now that she was in a hurry to leave, a flash of annoyance crossed Fang Juxian’s face and she quickly grabbed her. ’So unobservant,’ she scoffed inwardly. ’No wonder her husband didn’t want her.’

"Yes, I am. What is it?" Zhang Minzhen stopped.

"Well, it’s like this. What do you think about us partnering up?" Though Fang Juxian was cursing inwardly, her face bloomed into a smile like a chrysanthemum. She looked at Zhang Minzhen fawningly, afraid she would refuse, and put on a pitiful expression. "Look, now that the family has split, your second brother and I only got a little bit of money. We have to build a house and raise three children. How are we supposed to live on just the small harvest from our land and the tiny bit of money your brother makes doing odd jobs? It’s perfect! You’ll be too busy to run the business alone anyway and will need a helper. If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be better to partner with family? We can all make money together. Isn’t that great?"

"Second Sister-in-law, I can’t agree to that. This is just a small venture for me, aiming for low profits and high sales volume. I can manage it on my own just fine. If another person gets involved, I’m worried things could get complicated and neither of our families would end up making a profit." ’So that’s what she’s after?’ Zhang Minzhen laughed inwardly. ’Heh, Nuannuan’s meat bun filling must be really good...’ Without a second thought, she decisively shook her head and refused her sister-in-law’s proposal.

"Minzhen, we’re family. We should help each other out. Look, I’m not trying to take advantage of you. We’ll be partners. Whatever you put up for the initial capital, I’ll match every cent. It’ll even reduce your burden. Plus, with more hands, we can make more every day. The more buns we sell, the more money we make, right?" Fang Juxian wasn’t about to give up so easily when she saw an opportunity.

"Second Sister-in-law, if you really want to run a small business to help your family, you don’t have to partner with me. It’s just a small-scale business. The startup cost isn’t much; I can handle it all myself. Besides, the biggest problem with small businesses is having too many people involved. When I’m alone, I can do whatever I want. But with more people, who makes the final call when we disagree?"

"Of course, we’ll listen to me... I mean, I’ll listen to you, alright?" Fang Juxian grit her teeth. ’I’ll put up with you for now. Once I get the recipe, why the hell would I still partner with you?’

"Second Sister-in-law, selling meat buns isn’t the only small business out there. Second Brother knows how to make quite a few pastries, doesn’t he? Why don’t you have him teach you one of them, and you can sell that? That would be great, too. And if you feel embarrassed about showing your face in public to hawk your wares alone, we can keep each other company. How about that?"

Zhang Minzhen was determined not to agree to partner with her sister-in-law, no matter what. She didn’t even have to think about it to know what would happen. If she agreed, she’d likely end up working for her sister-in-law for free. Her sister-in-law would definitely demand the recipe, then insist on managing the money. In the end, after all her hard work, it was doubtful she’d even see a scrap of the profits.

Seeing her sister-in-law being so stubborn, Fang Juxian’s face hardened. "Minzhen, do you have to be so unreasonable?"

"Second Sister-in-law, I’ve already explained everything I can. It really won’t work. Besides, I won’t be living here for much longer. Once the house in Lihua Village is ready, Nuannuan and I have to move. If our families were partners, what would we do when we live so far apart? Rather than partnering up just to split up a few days later, it’s better not to go through the trouble in the first place." Zhang Minzhen’s expression soured at her sister-in-law’s words. Although she still refused in a soft voice, her tone was much firmer.

"Then give me the recipe for the buns. We don’t have to be partners; we can run our own separate businesses. Just do it as a good deed. Let your second brother, your sister-in-law, and your nieces and nephews have a bite to eat." Seeing that her sister-in-law was dead set against it, Fang Juxian finally just came out with her true goal, staring at her like a common rogue.

"How is that possible? First of all, I don’t even know the recipe yet; it’s something Nuannuan came up with. And even if I did know it, I couldn’t just go telling other people." Zhang Minzhen almost laughed at her sister-in-law’s shamelessness.

"Isn’t what’s Nuannuan’s yours? Don’t try to make excuses. Are your second brother and I ’other people’? If you really want to disregard the bond between you and your brother, if you want to be selfish and hoard it for yourself, just say so. Why waste so many words?" Fang Juxian was about fifty or sixty percent sure her sister-in-law would cave if she said this, so she looked at her smugly, just waiting for her to break down in tears and offer up the recipe. But to her surprise, after waiting for a long time, all she saw was Zhang Minzhen suddenly smile.

Fang Juxian’s heart skipped a beat, and a bad feeling washed over her. "What are you smiling about?"

"Second Sister-in-law, don’t you know that for families that have them, recipes like this are always of the utmost importance? Many families have rules about passing them down only to sons and not daughters, or vice versa—let alone between siblings, even between parents and children." After saying this, Zhang Minzhen paid no more attention to the furious expression on Fang Juxian’s face and turned to leave.

’Hmph, how ridiculous. What does it have to do with me if my sister-in-law wants to be angry? She can’t possibly think that just because she wants something and asks for it, I’m supposed to hand it over on a silver platter, can she? The nerve on her is something else. It must be because I’ve always given people the impression that I was too weak in the past. Otherwise, my sister-in-law wouldn’t be so brazenly blocking my way and making such an unreasonable demand.’

The more Zhang Minzhen thought about it, the angrier she became—mostly at her past self.

"Eldest Uncle, Mom’s back." In the kitchen, Gu Nuan Nuan, who had heard everything, was all smiles. She tugged on her uncle’s arm, pulled him aside, and whispered what she had overheard into his ear.

"Good. She should have done this a long time ago." After hearing the story, Zhang Wei Qiang was also beaming as he praised his younger sister for so decisively rejecting their second sister-in-law.

"Eldest Uncle, don’t you think we should find a chance to praise her so she’ll keep up the good work and stay on the right path?" Gu Nuan Nuan suggested excitedly, sparing no effort in finding allies to support her mother. She wanted her mother to be deeply convinced that her rejection of Second Aunt today was the right thing to do and that she had support. That way, the next time she encountered a similar situation, she wouldn’t hesitate and shrink back into being a pushover again.

"Mmm, we should definitely find a chance to praise her properly and encourage her to keep it up." Zhang Wei Qiang said this very seriously while winking playfully at Gu Nuan Nuan, which made her giggle non-stop.