Mo Sang – CH 223

Chapter 223. The Tigress

A group of middle-aged tigresses gathered around, chattering excitedly about the day’s events and the fear that gripped the village and the surrounding idlers towards them afterward. The noise was deafening.

“…You just left like that. Later, Da Chang came back with a ton of silk and started selling it.”

Zhang Mao’s words were interrupted by Sister Gu.

“Boss, do you know how much Da Chang sold your silk for?”

“Look at that question! Did I not tell you? Da Chang and Hei Ma always do exactly what the Boss says. They will set fires, but they will never kill anyone!” Before Li Sangrou could speak, Zhang Mao retorted.

Li Sangrou choked on her tea.

“When Da Chang came back with the silk, Sister Yang had not bought hers yet. I suggested we go find Da Chang to buy some, but Sister Yang was shy. I said I’d go, and I did.” Zhang Mao slapped Sister Gu aside and continued.

“Da Chang is quite decisive. He said you said no retail sales, only a minimum order of 100 bolts, no unpacking, no picking patterns, just take them one by one. It is expensive, but really not expensive at all, much cheaper than the silk shops!

When we got back, we discussed it and decided, 100 bolts it is! Sister Yang will pay the majority, and we will split it among ourselves, but it still will not be enough! So we bought 100 bolts from Da Chang.”

Zhang Mao paused, chuckling a few times.

“It’s no big deal to tell you. Da Chang told us to pick and choose. Your silks are bundled in fives, so we will take five at a time, and all the best-looking silks!”

Li Sangrou glanced at Zhang Mao, pouting.

Zhang Mao smugly snorted, “I still have some face in front of Da Chang.”

“Did I not tell you not to tell the Boss about this? You are the one who said that!” Sister Han patted Zhang Mao.

“I did not tell her, and Da Chang did not hide it from her anyway. What difference would it make if she did?” Zhang Mao’s confidence, which had been building up, began to leak out. She cautiously glanced at Li Sangrou. “Did Da Chang tell you?”

“I just found out you bought silk from me,” Li Sangrou said slowly.

“Look at you!” Sister Han slapped Zhang Mao on the back.

“I just peeked through a small opening; I did not open it completely to choose. It is for Sister Yang’s wedding; I was afraid it would be too plain,” Zhang Mao quickly explained.

“Da Chang went easy on you, and you still dare to say that to my face? You need to remind yourself of this quick-tongued habit,” Li Sangrou gently scolded.

“I’ve got it, I’ve got it.” Zhang Mao breathed a sigh of relief.

Normally, the Boss was always very amiable, with an exceptionally good temper, and even if something went wrong, she was always magnanimous.

But she was still afraid of her, not just a little bit.

“I will keep an eye on her from now on!” Sister Han quickly chimed in.

“How’s the preparation for Eldest Zhao’s marriage going?” Li Sangrou asked, looking at Zhao Rui’s mother, Sister Yang. “The wedding is only a few days away; why are you still here?”

“Everything’s ready!

The in-laws have many relatives. The mother-in-law has had two wives and a daughter/young lady married off; she’s very knowledgeable.

The in-laws told us this is our first happy occasion since moving into Jianle City. We do not understand the customs and traditions of Jianle City. From the time the matchmakers agreed on the horoscopes, everything was settled. The in-laws took care of everything—what to do, relaying messages, making arrangements—and we just followed their instructions,” Sister Yang said with a beaming smile.

“Her in-laws are such good people, incredibly capable, and know how to manage a household. She really chose the right in-laws!” Sister Gu said with envy.

“Rui chose them himself!” Sister Yang laughed. “Several families proposed marriages, and I was interested in a scholar’s family. Their daughter was incredibly beautiful! She was well-educated and wrote beautifully, and her calligraphy was exquisite.

But Rui said that the scholar’s daughter was too delicate and pampered and would not be able to endure hardship. He said this girl is better; she’s been working in the shop since she was little, and she’s capable.”

“When they first proposed, she cried a few times.” Sister Gu pushed Zhang Mao aside and sat next to Li Sangrou. “She heard that the girl had been cursing and fighting in the street, and she thought she was too fierce.

Her eldest son came to see me. Rui is such a good boy; he talked to me for a long time.

He said he had to find someone who could manage the household, just in case…” Sister Gu mumbled the rest of ‘just in case.’

“This wife has to be able to manage the household. I was in tears then; we’ve all been through a lot.

Sigh, Mao’er and I gave Sister Yang a good talking-to.

I said, ‘This is a son’s wedding, right? He can choose whoever he likes. Why are you being so stubborn?’

Later, they settled on this family. Look how good they are!” Sister Gu slapped Sister Yang from across Li Sangrou’s face.

“When my husband passed away, I was sick, and it was me…” Sister Yang’s tears welled up.

“Look, look, look! How did you get to tears? You cry too much!” Zhang Mao slapped Sister Yang and squeezed next to Sister Gu. “Are you going to Rui’er’s wedding? It will be very lively!”

“Yes! Of course I will go! How can I miss such a celebration! How will I give a gift?” Li Sangrou asked.

“The fact that the Boss can come is an honor; there’s no need for a gift!” Sister Yang’s face lit up immediately.

“A gift is a must! Even if she cannot be there, the gift is still important! She’s so rich!” Zhang Mao slapped Sister Yang’s hand away. “Everything is prepared, all kinds are available, even plenty of silk; nothing is lacking, you just need to give the money; it is very practical!”

“Alright! When should I give it? Now? Or on the wedding day?” Li Sangrou readily agreed.

“On the wedding day! The customs in Jianle City are quite interesting.

They say that if you give a gift on the day and there’s extra, you have to shout it out loud; the more the gift, the louder you shout.” Sister Gu leaned out and laughed.

“How much is too much?” Li Sangrou raised an eyebrow and asked.

“Usually it is a hundred large coins, but they say it used to be much less, fifty or eighty. They say even the gift money has gone up in the last two years.

We’ve discussed it. Those of us from Jiangdu and Jiangning will each give ten taels,” Zhang Mao chimed in.

“We all have children. This is Yang’s family’s first happy occasion. After this, it will be weddings and other celebrations. According to custom, any amount is fine. But, as Sister Gu said, since any amount is fine, let’s make it lively and grand!

Anyway, we have the money!”

Li Sangrou raised an eyebrow, looking at the swaggering Zhang Mao.

……………………

After listening to the gossip and looking around the workshop, Li Sangrou came out. Zhang Mao tugged at her sleeve. “Why not eat here before you go? I will make you some pancakes; I have something to ask.”

Zhang Mao’s voice was extremely low as she said the last five words, “I have something to ask.”

“Alright,” Li Sangrou immediately nodded in agreement.

She did not have anything else to do; she was fine eating anywhere.

Seeing Li Sangrou agree, Zhang Mao beamed and called over Sister Han. The two of them went to the main kitchen to cook a small meal.

Their workshop provided one meal at noon. There was a large kitchen with about ten people dedicated to cooking and preparing meals.

Zhang Mao, Sister Gu, and a few others ate with Li Sangrou. Sister Han and Sister Yang cleared the dishes and gave the others a look. They then found something to do and left, leaving only Zhang Mao, Sister Gu, and Li Sangrou in the room.

Sister Gu made tea, which Li Sangrou took and sipped, waiting for the two to speak.

“This matter,” Zhang Mao began, clicking her tongue with a troubled expression.

“Let me tell you,” Sister Gu moved closer, “It’s about what happened after we hired the escort agency to beat someone up last time.

We needed too many people that day, and one escort agency was not enough, so they hired another. That other agency was led by their instructor, and this instructor said he took a liking to Miss Qi that very day.”

Li Sangrou raised an eyebrow.

Miss Qi had come from Jiangning City on the same boat as Sister Gu and the others. She remembered Miss Qi from the first time Sister Gu visited them in Jiangning City.

Miss Qi was delicate and pretty, quiet, loved to laugh, and blushed easily. She was said to be exceptionally good at needlework.

“We did not know about this at the time; we only found out last month. Sigh!” Sister Gu sighed deeply.

“Miss Qi said she wanted to get married, and that’s when we found out! Really!” Zhang Mao grumbled indignantly.

Li Sangrou raised her eyebrows.

“This matter, well, it is just…sigh!” Sister Gu clapped her hands. “Miss Qi has a son, you know; he’s ten years old this year. He came to Mao’er and me. I do not know who told him, but he said that the man is after their family’s wealth and that his mother is bewitched. He wants us to persuade his mother to control her.”

“Not bewitched, she’s bewitched by a man!” Zhang Mao added bitterly.

“Really deceived?” Li Sangrou’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“I asked, and Miss Qi said that the bodyguard, oh right, his surname is Yu, and his name is Yu Sheng.

Yu Sheng lost his father when he was four or five years old. His mother raised him in poverty by sewing. Next door to his house was the security escort agency where he now works as an instructor. As a child, he often helped out at the agency, secretly watching and learning martial arts.

Later, the agency manager saw his intelligence and potential, so he took him in as a trainee, starting as a handyman and working his way up to chief escort.

Because he was always away on the road, he never got married. He was once engaged, but the woman died before the wedding. The following year, he was involved in an accident while escorting goods. The goods were not lost, but he was seriously injured. After recovering, he could not use one leg and could not continue escorting goods. Because of his martial arts skills, he became an instructor at the escort agency.

The time he became our henchman was after he recovered from his injury; he had only been an instructor for six months.

Back then, when I heard how much detail Miss Qi knew, I knew they were not lying to each other; it was like two peas in a pod, both eyeing the same thing. So I told Mao’er about it.

Look at them! I have no idea how they got together! Miss Qi is really something; she can keep it all bottled up, not uttering a sound!

Tell me, she’s almost forty, her son is about to get married, and she’s doing this! What kind of woman is she?

What’s so good about men? Are there any good men? No man is ever good!” Zhang Mao was furious.

“Mao’er is so angry. I’ve thought about it over and over, and this matter… sigh. Miss Qi said she will listen to me. If I think she should not marry him, she will not. Oh well, she says she’s fine.

But the way she is, this matter… Sigh, this woman… Sigh…” Sister Gu sighed repeatedly.

“Miss Qi and her previous man were quite loving?” Li Sangrou looked at Sister Gu knowingly.

“Yes. What the Boss said…” Sister Gu forced a dry laugh.

“Mao’er and her man have never been happy. She does not know the bitterness of being alone in an empty room,” Li Sangrou said calmly.

Sister Gu’s embarrassment deepened. Zhang Mao glared at Li Sangrou, wanting to speak, but was stopped by Li Sangrou’s raised hand.

“Whether Miss Qi remarries or not is none of your business,” Li Sangrou said, pointing from Zhang Mao to Sister Gu.

The two women froze, then glared at Li Sangrou.

“She and that bodyguard have taken a liking to each other. What’s wrong with who supports whom? Miss Qi is just using her money to support her man, so what? Is it wrong to support a man? The money she earns can support her children; why can she not support a man?” Li Sangrou continued.

Sister Gu choked on her words, her neck stretching as she choked.

“What’s the difference between you stopping her from marrying and binding her, forcing her into a man’s bed, and compelling her to marry?” Li Sangrou shifted her gaze from Zhang Mao to Sister Gu.

“If she’d been deceived, scammed, or tricked, you’d expose him and punish him if necessary. But now, she and the man are mutually in love; he wants to marry her, she wants to be married—why are you stopping her?

What if this man betrays her one day? Maybe they will live a life of love and happiness together forever?

You all work so hard; is it not all for the sake of being able to make your own decisions? Now, you are stopping her from making her own decisions—what kind of nonsense is this?”

“Her son…” Zhang Mao was a little bewildered by Li Sangrou’s scolding.

“That little brat is worried that if his mother remarries, the family fortune will not be his alone anymore, so this is it? And you are still helping him?” Li Sangrou sneered.

“If one day, your Dazhuang bosses you around, complains that you took in Guo’er, and forbids you from giving her or Cui’er a part of your dowry, when you are old, if you want to eat meat, you will have to depend on his attitude. Would you be willing?” Li Sangrou pointed at Zhang Mao.

“Dazhuang would not dare; what right does he have…” Zhang Mao did not finish his sentence before shrinking back, not daring to continue.

“Miss Qi is only in her early thirties, in the prime of her life, as fresh as a spring onion; it is the age when she should be thinking about men, wanting a man. What’s wrong with that? What’s wrong with that?

You two are closer than sisters, both wanting the best for each other, but you need to understand what ‘the best’ truly means. You are both adults now. Whether you want a man or not and what kind of man you want is like asking whether someone else prefers meat or fish—is that something to be concerned with?”

Sister Gu and Zhang Mao hung their heads and shrank back, not daring to utter a sound.

“And what’s wrong with keeping men? I’ve kept men my whole life, countless men, so what? Is that a problem?

If you want, go keep male concubines. One is not enough; keep two, three, or four.”

Sister Gu coughed, and Zhang Mao leaned back, eyes wide.

“Keeping male concubines, sigh, it is just that getting pregnant is troublesome,” Li Sangrou sighed.

Sister Gu coughed violently, her face turning red from the choking. Zhang Mao froze for a moment, then burst out laughing, covering her face with her hand as she laughed.

The Boss truly lives up to his reputation, having risen from humble beginnings in the south of the city!

Zhang Mao and Sister Gu saw Li Sangrou off. Sister Gu watched Li Sangrou walk away unhurriedly, then slowly exhaled, patting her back.

“You know, the Boss did not do anything much; her voice was not even that loud, so why did I break out in a cold sweat?

Feel my back. Is it not all wet? I am not exactly a coward,” Sister Gu said, fanning herself with her clothes, letting out a cool hiss.

“Have you ever seen the Boss kill someone?” Zhang Mao asked in a low voice.

Sister Gu shook her head.

“So efficient! Much more efficient than you killing a chicken, just a flick of the wrist! After she’s killed someone, you would not even know she just did it. You would not believe it unless you saw it with your own eyes!” Zhang Mao whispered to Sister Gu.

“I heard Boss He say she’s killed quite a few people!” Sister Gu also leaned in and whispered in Zhang Mao’s ear.

“Da Chang once said that the Boss has killed countless people. Her murderous aura is terrifying!

My Guo’er, when she first came home, often had nightmares. You know, she’s a poor child. Later, I put one of the Boss’s old clothes under Guo’er’s pillow, and she really stopped having nightmares so much. See? Even ghosts are afraid of her.”

“Killing is killing, but the Boss is a good person.” Sister Gu said, shaking her clothes.

“That’s right!

You know, if Miss Qi is really getting married, should we not have a celebration?” Zhang Mao jumped to the subject quickly.

“That’s up to her. Her son, you take him to your house and have your Xiu’er teach him; he listens to Xiu’er. Also, her son came to us about this. Do not tell Miss Qi,” Sister Gu said in a low voice.

“Alright, I will pick him up on my way home tonight; he might as well stay at my house for a few more days. And there’s Man’er too; she’s good with words. Let those two girls teach him,” Zhang Mao readily agreed.