The Spirited Daughter-in-law and the Mountain Man

Chapter 635: 635 Who is more capable

Su Qingyue picked up each of the five gold bars to examine them closely. “It really is genuine gold,” she said after looking at them. She put them back, turned around, and caught a disappointed look in Tao Meijiao’s eyes. “You must be thinking that money is more important than friends right now, huh?” she said with a light laugh.

The look on Tao Meijiao’s face stiffened, revealing that her thoughts had been exposed.

Su Qingyue didn’t hide anything from her. “Xiao Jiao, honestly, I do really love money. You must be calculating that if I take the money, our budding friendship will be over. If I’m not moved by wealth, you’ll continue to be friends with me. After all, we’ve only met twice, so our so-called friendship might not even be worth these fifty taels of gold. By taking these fifty taels, it would be more practical for me to part ways with you. But, I plan on being friends with you. As for the fifty taels of gold, I won’t take it. I, Su Qingyue, love money, but there is a method to my madness.”

With a shift in her tone, she continued, “However…”

Qingyue’s eyes became sharp, “This is the only time you test me like this. If it happens again, don’t talk about being friends or not.”

Tao Meijiao was amazed at her intricate train of thought. “I…”

Su Qingyue glanced at her indifferently, “From our brief encounters earlier, Miss Tao seemed innocent and sincere, admiring me so much that you wanted to be friends with me. You’re not a foolish merchant. For merchants, pursuing profit is eternal, unchanged. The Tao family runs restaurants, with three large restaurants in the town and two in Liuan Town 300 miles away. I heard your family’s restaurants were doing well, but after the Drunken Immortal Pavilion opened its branch in town, the business of the Tao family’s restaurants plummeted. Rich Source Tavern couldn’t compete with Drunken Immortal Pavilion either. I sold the stir-fry recipe twice to Rich Source Tavern, helping their struggling business improve. And you, Miss Tao, if you become friends with me, you’d definitely be the first to know about any new stir-fry recipes I come up with.”

“I…” Realizing her thoughts had been revealed, Tao Meijiao’s face showed embarrassment. “I won’t deny that I had such thoughts, but I really do want to be friends with you…”

“I just hope our friendship doesn’t involve anything else in the future.”

Tao Meijiao’s eyes lit up, “You still want to be friends with me?”

“I’ve already said it, as long as you don’t make the same mistake next time,” she replied, “Who knows, maybe one day I’ll become homeless and need you to shelter me.”

“How could that happen?” Tao Meijiao looked at her admiringly, “You’ve already sold two recipes for three hundred and fifty taels, and caught a thief, even daring to cripple Lai Tou’s legs. You are very well-known in town. I definitely don’t have your abilities.”

“You’re already quite capable. You single-handedly support your family’s business as a woman.”

“My family’s business was passed down from my ancestors. Moreover…” she said with a melancholy expression in her eyes, “When my elder brother was alive, our restaurants were prospering. But in my hands, they have barely managed to stay afloat. If not for the fact that we own the land deeds for the restaurants, and don’t have to pay rents, we would have long stopped operating. On the other hand, you started from scratch. I’ve heard about the situation with the Xiao Family, and how your three husbands have been unwell, with one being bedridden and the other suffering from leg problems. Despite being in debt for over six taels, you’ve managed to repay the debts and support your family in such a short amount of time. I’ve never heard of any woman as capable as you. If I were in your position with nothing, even with some knowledge of how to run a restaurant, I wouldn’t have any ideas on what to do.”