Early the next morning, Xiao Mufan couldn't wait to call his friend and said that he wanted to invite someone to dinner. When people asked him on the phone whether he was having breakfast or dinner, he felt abrupt and hurriedly said, "Dinner, dinner." ”

For a whole day, he was like an ant sitting on a hot pot, fidgeting and unsettled. Every once in a while, he glanced at his pocket watch, which was still walking unhurriedly. In the afternoon, he began to wonder if this pocket watch was no longer accurate, otherwise it had been such a long time after lunch, why it was just two o'clock? He pushed open the door and looked out, and the sun that blinded him told him that there was nothing wrong with the pocket watch, and that it was still early before the sun set.

Finally stayed up until more than five o'clock in the afternoon, he pushed away everything at hand, got in the car, and went straight to Quanjude.

At Quanjude's dinner table, Xiao Mufan finally inquired about Dong Yaqing's whole situation.

Xiao Mufan's friend is Song Huaiwen, a national entrepreneur who opened a factory in Tianjin. Not long ago, because I was planning to set up a branch factory in Beiping, I was introduced by a friend to Xiao Mufan, who has strong funds. Although the Xiao family mainly operates shops, Xiao Mufan has always been interested in setting up a factory. He admired Song Huaiwen's insight and courage in starting a national industry, and the two hit it off at first sight.

Song Huaiwen's wife and Dong Yaqing are cousins, and they know Dong Yaqing well. Therefore, Xiao Mufan knew that Dong Yaqing was 39 years old this year, her husband died a year ago, and she had a sixteen-year-old daughter. Her husband was a diplomat during his lifetime, and he traveled to Britain, France and other countries, so she lived in Europe with her husband for more than four years. Her maiden family is a scholarly family in Beiping, her father worked as a Hanlin in his early years, and she is also a qin, chess, calligraphy and painting, omnipotent, and is a rare talented girl. It's a pity that her husband died young, and he was widowed at a young age, living alone with his children in Beiping. She was smart and studious since she was a child, and she was deeply loved by her father, and all the guests who came to ask for advice or visit the old master Dong would invite Miss Dong to come out, or to write poems and paintings, or to play the piano and play games. After getting married, she traveled with her husband and saw a lot of the world, so she was different from ordinary widowed women at home. She has many friends, often participates in some social activities, is well-informed and generous. (Xiao Mufan already has a deep understanding of this.) ）

As soon as he came out of Quanjude, Xiao Mufan fell into contemplation again. Unlike last time, his brain is now completely back to normal thinking.

The news he heard that night was a mixed blessing for him. Happily, his guess last night was very correct, Dong Yaqing did not have a husband. Although she was wearing a ring on her hand, with Xiao Mufan's experience and judgment, he guessed that she was celibate nine times out of ten, otherwise what man would be willing to leave such a beautiful lady behind for a long time? But he didn't dare to ask, first, for fear of being too presumptuous; Second, I am afraid that if the facts are different from my judgment, won't I disturb such a beautiful night?

The worry is that Dong Yaqing's experience is too unusual, he has never been in contact with such a woman before. Most of the women he has seen in his life are husbands and children at home, although they are not out of the door, but they can only go out with their husbands to see the scene during the New Year's holidays, or on the days of weddings and funerals of relatives and friends. On weekdays, the most I can do is to find a few close female relatives to chat about family life, play mahjong, and socialize outside, which are all the patents of men.

Xiao Mufan used to be the most proud of her original wife Zhao, who was knowledgeable and courteous, dignified and decent, modest and generous, that is, she had the coquettishness of a small family jasper, and the upbringing of everyone's ladies, which won the praise of relatives and friends, and earned enough face for Xiao Mufan when he was young.

In fact, no matter what, Xiao Mufan is also a successful businessman, and most of the people who come and go on weekdays are friends in the business field, but there are also some high-ranking officials and nobles, and I have also met some young ladies and wives of official eunuchs. But it was the first time he had met a sociable and dignified woman like Dong Yaqing.

For the first time in his life, Xiao Mufan felt a loss of self-confidence.

Xiao Mufan was born in a merchant family in the capital, he went to school since he was a child, learned a lot of four books and five classics, and occasionally liked to play some poetry and songs as a literati, and his family also collected some calligraphy and paintings of celebrities. His deceased wife is a woman with a good family background, and since she was a child, she has also learned some three-character scriptures and disciple rules from the teacher at home. Xiao Mufan also once had a sweet life of husband and wife, love and sweetness. It's a pity that Mrs. Xiao's body has become weaker and weaker since she gave birth to her youngest son, and she has been sick and tired for three or four years, and finally died when her youngest son was less than 5 years old.

His wife's death was a heavy blow to him. Xiao Mufan is a solid-eyed person, although he has been crawling in the mall for more than ten years, he has seen a lot of deception, but he has always maintained a sincere attitude towards friends and family. The young couple has been in love for more than ten years, and the sudden departure of the wife made Xiao Mufan suddenly feel the fence, and his heart was very cold.

For a long time, Xiao Mufan lived in seclusion, except for the things he had to deal with every day, the rest of the time he stayed in the study, sometimes he would sit under the eaves of the porch and watch his two young sons play in the yard, as if he saw their mother from his son's body again.

As the saying goes: a motherless child is like a grass.

The youngest son is only 6 years old, and the eldest son is less than 10 years old. Although they are big families, they don't worry about food or clothing, and they have a large group of maids, but they finally lost their mother's love, which makes Xiao Mufan feel distressed when he thinks about it. Fortunately, there are still Hui Niang to take care of them, whenever they see the two children around Hui Niang coquettishly, Xiao Mufan's heart finally gets a little comfort.

Hui Niang is Xiao Mufan's aunt's wife. She was originally Mrs. Xiao's personal maid when she was in her mother's house, because she grew up with Miss since she was a child, she knew her intellectuality and was like a sister, and she was really reluctant to marry when Miss got married, so she brought her to Xiao's house together. Although she is just a maid to marry, because of the unusual relationship with his wife, the Xiao family, including the old lady, respects her very much, and almost no one treats her as a maid.

Mrs. Xiao is kind by nature and has a very soft heart. After marrying into the Xiao family, this deep mansion compound, with dozens of people up and down, is inevitably a little difficult to manage, fortunately, Xiao Mufan is in town there, no one dares to be too out of line, but it is inevitable that there will be times when one or the other is lost.

But Hui Niang is just the opposite of Miss Miss's temperament, she is shrewd and capable, dare to speak and dare to do, and she is extraordinarily exquisite, smart and clever. Mrs. Xiao always liked to discuss with her whenever she encountered something when she was in her mother's house since she was a child, and she helped her over the years when she married into the Xiao family, and finally nothing big went wrong. Mrs. Xiao had a difficult birth when she gave birth to the second young master, although she saved her life, but since then she has been weak and sickly, and she has not stopped taking medicine for three or four years, how can she still have the energy to manage such a big family, eight out of ten things have been pushed to Hui Niang, so Hui Niang has actually become the housekeeper of Xiao Mansion over the years. It is difficult for her to take care of her sick wife and young master, and to care about the old lady's life and daily life from time to time, and also take care of the affairs of the back house in an orderly manner, even the old lady and Xiao Mufan are very satisfied.

Mrs. Xiao's health is not as good as day by day, although Xiao Mufan is considerate and caring in every way, but she always feels uneasy, worried that her husband will marry a little one again, in case she can't afford to get sick one day, it will not be good for the children in the future. But her body is not competitive, not only can she not take care of her husband, but in turn, her husband thinks about her all the time, and she feels really sorry for her husband. After thinking about it, I thought of Hui Niang.

Hui Niang grew up with Mrs. Xiao since she was a child, and she was intimate with her, and she didn't say anything about her loyalty. A few years ago, I wanted to find a good family for her to marry, but there has been no suitable one, and she is sick again, so this matter has been delayed again and again, and now that she is 23 years old, it is not easy to find a good family affair. It's better to let the master take over the house, help her manage the housework honestly, and wait for her husband, which not only follows Hui Niang's wishes, but also solves her own heart disease, isn't this the best of both worlds?

So she first asked Hui Niang's opinion, and then went to the old lady to discuss.

Hui Niang is willing to do everything, but after all, it is the girl's family, she is thin-skinned, she blushes and does not say a word, and finally, seeing that Mrs. Xiao is really anxious, she said in the voice of mosquitoes: But Miss is in charge. Mrs. Xiao naturally understood what she meant, in fact, in the early days, most of the dowry maids of large families became the concubines of the master. Since Hui Niang came to the Xiao family, she has been respected by the young and old of the Xiao family, especially the young lady who has special trust and reliance on her, and she has long regarded this place as her own home in her heart, and has done her best to support the young lady and take care of the young master, never thinking that she would leave the Xiao family one day. As she grew older, she grew from a yellow-haired girl who had little to do to a big girl. In the past eight years, from eating to washing, from clothes and hats to shoes and socks, Xiao Mufan has been worrying about her service, and every habit and hobby of the master is in Hui Niang's heart. And Xiao Mufan, a person, has gradually reflected in Hui Niang's heart like a shadow in this little bit of the day.

Mrs. Xiao is a careful person, how could she not see this little bit of Hui Niang's thoughts? She is not a narrow-minded woman, she grew up in a large family with three wives and four concubines, and she has long been accustomed to these things. She also tried to probe her husband's tone, but Xiao Mufan had no intention of accepting Huiniang as a concubine. Over the years, he just regarded her as a caring maid for his wife, and even regarded her as his wife's maiden relative, and respected her very much. He is a businessman, he has long been aware of the hypocrisy and hypocrisy in the business field, and he also knows the nature of people very well, and he has already recognized Hui Niang's loyalty and diligence, and he also trusts her very much, so when his wife proposed to hand over the house to her, Xiao Mufan did not object, but that's all, he did not have the idea of accepting her as his aunt's wife.

It is said that men are rational animals and women are emotional animals, but Xiao Mufan believes in the feeling very much, how can a woman who has lived together for eight years and has never attracted his attention become his wife? Although it is his aunt's wife, Xiao Mufan thinks that as long as he is called his wife, she is his Xiao Mufan's daughter-in-law, so he has to look at it and like it. Therefore, when the wife cautiously mentioned the matter of taking Hui Niang as a concubine, he did not hesitate to block her back.

But this time, Mrs. Xiao made up her mind to let her husband accept Hui Niang. She didn't reveal anything to her husband, and went to the old lady first.

When Mrs. Xiao heard this, she was also very happy. Hui Niang likes this girl in her heart, she is shrewd and capable, well-behaved, loves the young, respects the elderly, and is a well-behaved and sensible girl. In the past few years, her daughter-in-law has been sick and crooked, and she has long felt sorry for her son, but seeing that their relationship between the young couple is so good, it is inconvenient for her to say anything when she is old. Now, the daughter-in-law has brought it up herself, and she is certainly happy. It's just that she is also worried that her son will not agree.

"Knowing her son Mo Ruo's mother", how can Mrs. Xiao not know her son? The son is not like some men, who stick flowers and grass outside, and he is not at ease when he returns home, and he will not let go of any of the beautiful maids around him. The son is a self-respecting person, and he has always been very serious about women's affairs, and when he married his daughter-in-law, he also took a fancy to him and nodded before marrying home. How can a girl like Hui Niang do what he wants? But if it goes on like this, if you bring back a goblin one day, will there still be a peaceful life in that house? Thinking of this, Mrs. Xiao made up her mind that she had to help her daughter-in-law do this.