Becoming the Villain's Discarded Wife
Chapter 337 Buying Ice_1

Ever since Shen Miaomiao talked to Li Lian, Li Lian stopped being so malicious and just stayed in her room each day.

She was just waiting for her young sister-in-law to bring her the silver.

If Shen Zhong didn’t let her go, she wouldn’t mind staying to handle his remains.

Shen Zhong had long been unable to live without her now, even if he was reluctant to write the divorce letter, she wouldn’t be that bad herself and could wait a few more months, as he would eventually die.

She had already endured for two years, what was a few more months to wait for?

Once Shen Zhong died, she could just take the silver and leave as she wanted.

After all, being a widow would sound better than being divorced.

Li Lian was in good spirits, leaning against the window and humming a song.

Aunt Guihua’s hope was completely shattered. Seeing her pretentious son, her heart felt as if someone had crushed it into pieces and couldn’t take any more pain.

"Mother, Miaomiao’s been spoiled by you and father." Shen Zhong was full of resentment when Shen Miaomiao hadn’t come home all night.

Shen San glanced at him and didn’t speak, simply sitting at the door with his dry tobacco pipe.

Not receiving any attention, Shen Zhong’s face grew even more unpleasant.

He was the backbone of this family, Shen Miaomiao was only a woman, destined to be married off one day, but why were his parents behaving like this?

"Father, Mother! Miaomiao is already eighteen, not only is she not staying home properly, but you’re allowing her to show her face outside, what’s that all about?" Shen Zhong grumbled about his dissatisfaction, but his eyes were secretly watching their reactions.

Aunt Guihua paused while cleaning the dishes, but didn’t say anything.

Seeing that his parents didn’t refute, Shen Zhong felt somewhat pleased inside.

What could Shen Miaomiao, the little girl, do as a restaurant owner?

After all, he was the male in the family, and his parents naturally favored him.

Thinking of the debt he owed, Shen Zhong softened his tone.

"Mother, Miaomiao’s not getting any younger."

"Miaomiao will decide her own matters." Aunt Guihua replied nonchalantly and was ready to go to the kitchen with the dishes.

Shen Zhong quickly followed her with his walking stick, looking rather ridiculous.

"Mother, as her older brother, I naturally have to look out for her, right?"

Fearing that his mother would not believe him, Shen Zhong filled his tone with melancholy.

"Miaomiao is already eighteen. If we keep waiting, she’ll become an old maid! And which rules say that a woman should go out and conduct business! If people heard about this, wouldn’t they laugh at us?"

Shen Zhong’s words were sincere, but when they fell into Aunt Guihua and Shen San’s ears, it sounded incredibly ironic.

Over the past two years, their son had died at the hands of mountain bandits that very night.

"When you get better, take Ms. Li and leave." Aunt Guihua said lightly, washing the dishes in her hands.

"Mother!"

Shen Zhong never expected that his mother would utter such words.

"I should have said this two years ago, you’ve married now, we should each live separately."

"But, Mother. If we split up, what will happen to you and Father?"

Shen Zhong pleaded, his heart filled with fear and anxiety.

He was supposed to shoulder a debt of one hundred taels of silver. If, if he separated from his parents, what should he do with the silver he owed?

"Your father and I won’t be a burden to you. You just need to live well by yourself. If you have the heart, come back and visit during the holidays. If you’re busy we won’t force you." Aunt Guihua’s tone, in discussing such a major matter as splitting the family, was as casual as if she was discussing today’s vegetable prices with Shen Zhong.

"Mother, there’s only me as a son in our family. If we split up, are you planning to rely on Miaomiao to get by? She’s going to get married sooner or later. Or, or are you guys thinking of bringing in a son-in-law?"

Shen Zhong suddenly felt as if he was facing a great enemy, how could it not have occurred to him that his younger sister, who was now a restaurateur, could make dozens of taels of silver a month?

If my parents really decide to divide the property, isn’t it possible for that little girl to marry a man who moves in with her?

At that time, I would end up with nothing.

Upon thinking this, a trace of cruelty flashed in Shen Zhong’s eyes.

He could not

let Shen Miaomiao bring home a husband, he had to do something.

Miaomiao stayed at the Lin Family for three days while Master Zheng and his apprentices worked very hard in the yard.

When Nanzhi went to see the progress with Miaomiao, the staircase was taking shape.

"Master Zheng, you must be tired." Nanzhi took a cup of cold tea from Liao Da’s hand and handed it to Master Zheng.

"Miss Lin, you are too kind." Master Zheng wiped the sweat from his forehead and politely accepted the cold tea from Nanzhi.

He was genuinely pleased with Miss Lin.

Over these few days, the little boy from next door treated them like royal guests.

Every hour he would bring tea, in two hours he would bring some cakes and pancakes, and in four hours he would bring meals.

The food was incredibly delicious, and it was rare to find such a considerate employer.

Despite his reputation, the people who hired him were usually from wealthy families and were not as polite as Miss Lin.

No wonder such a young girl could run such a big restaurant.

He heard that his project was for the business of the female floor.

His wife had once made a fuss about visiting it.

At that time, he thought it was merely a gimmick to make money from women. Now he realized they were far from superficial.

"Miss Lin, Miss Shen, you all can rest assured. I will make sure the work is done beautifully. " Master Zheng patted his chest, laughing so hard that his gums were exposed.

"Good." Shen Miaomiao nodded, handed out cold tea with Nanzhi, and then they returned to Sanweiju.

It was getting hotter, and although there were many people coming to the restaurant, some people were too hot to go out.

They hadn’t bought any ice yet, but Zuitingxuan and Hongfu Building had already begun to place ice blocks in the hall to cool it down.

At least at Sanweiju, the food was cheap, and some customers with modest means still liked to come here to eat.

However, there were far fewer customers in the private rooms on the second floor.

"Sister Nanzhi, should we buy some ice as well?" Shen Miaomiao fanned herself with a fan, her forehead slightly damp.

After Miss Zeng mentioned the ice, they had also approached Mr. Zeng.

Mr. Zeng left it up to Miss Zeng, but the Zeng Family’s ice cellar would not be able to supply ice until June 10th.

"We have to think about this." Nanzhi too felt very hot, but their restaurant mainly relied on small profits from high sales. The maximum profit they could make from the main hall was ten taels of silver per day. If they bought ice to cool the place down, they would need at least four blocks of ice which would cost four taels of silver.

Plus, each private room on the second floor would definitely need a block of ice, which, replaced during the day, would amount to fourteen blocks of ice.

Just the expenditure on ice for the Main Hall and the private rooms would cost between eighteen to twenty taels of silver per day,

which was half of the daily turnover. After deducting various costs, they might be pleased to manage to get five taels of silver per day.

Now that she thought about it, Nanzhi felt a headache.

Indeed, dealing in business required a lot of thought.

If Wenchen were here, he would have figured it out. Since he could build a biogas pool, he might even know how to produce ice from saltpeter.

While eating noodles at a stall, Shen Wenchen sneezed sharply.

Shi’er laughed out loud, "Brother Shen, you didn’t catch a cold, did you?"

Shen Wenchen frowned, rubbed his nose, saw Shi’er laughing, and kicked him.

Shi’er’s laughter stopped abruptly. By the time he recovered, he was already sprawled on the ground.