"Second sister-in-law, are you alright?" Zhang Xiao Ju arrived and saw this scene, quickly walking to Liu Yue Min and asking about the situation.
"Gu Xing Min, how dare you hit me? I'm telling you, this is not over between us!" Liu Yue Min clutched her cheek, dropped a sentence, and ran away.
"Sigh, what is all this about? I thought the two families were getting along well, who would have thought..." An onlooker sighed. Although he didn't finish his sentence, everyone understood what he meant.
"Alright, alright, we still have to do business, everyone disperse."
Zhang Xiao Ju frowned, chased away the onlookers, then turned to Gu Xing Min and said, "Second brother, no matter what, you shouldn't have laid hands on my second sister-in-law. Go after her quickly."
"It's all her own doing. If she has the guts, she can leave and never come back." Although he felt guilty after slapping her, Liu Yue Min had embarrassed him in front of so many people. Gu Xing Min simply sat back down in the shop.
"Brother Gu, it's all because of me that you and your wife are arguing. When sister-in-law returns, I will personally apologize to her." The woman hesitated and said, her eyes full of guilt.
Zhang Xiao Ju looked at the woman in front of her, about thirty years old, average looking, but with fair skin. As the saying goes, fair skin hides a hundred flaws. She was more pleasing to the eye than Liu Yue Min.
They all opened shops in the same market. Especially after bumping into Gu Xing Min giving her money before, Zhang Xiao Ju had paid special attention. The woman was named Yang Mei, and with her husband Zhou Yu, they ran a fruit stall.
However, her husband didn't seem to come often. She had subtly asked Liu Yue Min before, and intuitively felt that this woman was not simple.
"It's not your fault," Gu Xing Min said after a moment's hesitation. "You go back first. Leave those two boxes of fruit there, and I'll come help you move them later."
"No need, Brother Gu. Sister-in-law, she... never mind, I'll move them myself slowly." The woman bit her lip and turned to leave.
"Today's incident was purely your second sister-in-law's unreasonable tantrum. You don't need to worry. She's just usually noisy and cheerful. She's probably gone home, and your shop can't be left unattended. Fourth sister-in-law, you go back first."
Zhang Xiao Ju listened to him, hesitated, and turned back to her shop.
However, she was still worried. After a while, she closed her shop and went to Gu Xing Min's home.
Gu Xing Min and Liu Yue Min rented a house not far from the vegetable market. After knocking on the door several times upon entering the courtyard, Liu Yue Min finally came to open the door.
Her eyes were red, she must have just been crying.
"Second sister-in-law, are you alright?" Zhang Xiao Ju asked with concern.
"Third sister-in-law, you saw how your second brother treated me today, right? I really can't go on living like this. He's having an affair with another woman outside, and he even dared to hit me. I'm going to divorce him."
Zhang Xiao Ju persuaded, "Second sister-in-law, things aren't set in stone yet. Besides, you and my second brother have been together for so many years, you know him best. Divorce is not something to be said lightly."
"I'm not saying it lightly," Liu Yue Min said resentfully. "Third sister-in-law, you don't know, but the other day I saw her stuffing money into that vixen's hand with my own eyes. When I asked him what was going on, he wouldn't say, just that it wasn't what I thought. He's talking nonsense. If it wasn't what I thought, why would he be stuffing money into another woman's hand behind my back?"
Zhang Xiao Ju had also witnessed this matter, but she was just a sister-in-law. If she said anything, the couple would definitely argue, so she hadn't told anyone.
Seeing the situation between them now, she definitely couldn't say anything.
"There might be some misunderstanding in the middle. Besides, you're with my second brother every day, he surely doesn't have the time. So, you should sit down and talk properly."
Liu Yue Min lowered her head and said nothing upon hearing her words.
After persuading Liu Yue Min for a while longer, seeing that it was almost time to pick up the children from school, the sisters-in-law left together.
Chen Li Shu rested at home for one night and went to the factory the next day with renewed vigor.
The street photography advertisement had worked well, bringing a large wave of orders to the factory.
Now that they had secured sponsorship for the Spring Festival Gala, the Shu Se brand had naturally risen in value.
"The factory's orders have been a bit overwhelming these past few days, and the employees have returned to a three-shift system."
Nan Hai Tao reported the factory's situation during her absence.
"After the factory announced a price increase for the previous batch of accumulated inventory, more than half of it was successfully sold. There are still over three thousand pieces in stock."
Chen Li Shu thought for a moment and said, "Then we'll announce externally that inventory is tight and implement purchase limits. Each customer can only buy a maximum of five hundred pieces."
Nan Hai Tao smiled, "You thought of the same thing I did."
"The Spring Festival Gala costumes are the top priority. I have a detailed record of the communication with the program team here. The design team can take it back and review it carefully, and then we'll discuss the details."
Nan Hai Tao: "The children's wear market is developing well. I want to set up a separate department specifically for designing and producing children's wear. What do you think?"
Chen Li Shu hadn't really considered this matter due to being busy with sponsorship. Hearing Nan Hai Tao's suggestion, she strongly agreed.
"I'll leave this matter to you to be in charge of."
After the morning meeting, Chen Li Shu returned to her office and continued to review the reports submitted by each department.
Time passed quickly, and an entire morning was gone without notice. In the afternoon, she met with the design team again and finalized the specific details of the Spring Festival Gala costumes.
After a busy day, when she returned home from work, she found that her family was quite complete.
Gu Xing Min's family of five, and Gu Xing Ye's family of three were all there. The children were running and playing in the living room, while the adults sat on the sofa with serious expressions.
Gu Xing Dong looked up, saw her enter, and stood up. "Why are you back so late today?"
Chen Li Shu said while changing her shoes, "There were many things at the factory. Second brother, second sister-in-law, fourth brother, fourth sister-in-law, you are all here."
"Third sister-in-law, you don't know..." Liu Yue Min was about to complain to Chen Li Shu when Gu Xing Dong interrupted, "Mom, Li Shu has had a tiring day. Why don't we eat first?"
Li Xiu Lan reacted and said, "Let's eat first. We can talk about anything after the meal."
Zhao Qiu Yue heard their words, came out of the kitchen, and began to set the table.
Liu Yue Min, still harboring resentment, did not sit with Gu Xing Min.
Seeing this situation, and recalling what Li Xiu Lan had said yesterday, Chen Li Shu guessed that the couple had quarried again.
Gu Xing Ye and Zhang Xiao Ju's couple noticed that Gu Xing Dong didn't want to bother Chen Li Shu with these unpleasant matters. They intentionally brought up other topics at the dinner table.
"Third brother, third sister-in-law, when are you going home for Chinese New Year this year?" Gu Xing Ye asked.
Gu Xing Dong: "Your third sister-in-law is very busy this year, probably around the twenty-eighth or twenty-ninth."
Zhang Xiao Ju: "Our mall shops are also closing late this year, but for those whose homes are far away, some close early after the Minor New Year.
"I was originally thinking of letting Xiao Ju close her shop earlier if we were going back soon. Since third sister-in-law, you're going back around the twenty-eighth or twenty-ninth, then we don't mind waiting a few more days. Let's all go together then."