Lin Fugui was preoccupied with his ox cart and, after chatting with Uncle Wang for a while, hurried away.
Lin Yuan and Xiao Linshuang escorted him to the door together. Lin Yuan’s eyes inadvertently glanced and caught sight of a familiar figure slipping into Mo Sanniang’s fabric shop across the street.
Lin Yuan had a bad feeling about this and had a particular distaste for people who were as persistent and annoying as flies. Sending Xiao Linshuang back to their own shop to wait, Lin Yuan quickened her pace and entered Mo Sanniang’s shop.
Inside, there were not only Mo Sanniang and Lady Xie, but also two young ladies who were picking out fabric.
The moment Lady Xie entered, Mo Sanniang’s smile froze. ’Why is this old hag here again?’ she thought.
Seeing Mo Sanniang looking at her, Lady Xie, for the first time, did not put on her usual haughtiness. Instead, she gave a rather embarrassed and somewhat ingratiating smile. This left Mo Sanniang dumbfounded. ’Could it be that the old woman had fallen ill and it had affected her brain?’ she wondered.
However, seeing that she did not chase off the customers as she had done before and was instead standing politely to one side waiting, Mo Sanniang’s hanging heart settled somewhat. As long as she did not embarrass her in front of the customers, she could accept the old woman staying in her shop for a while.
Lin Yuan, at the doorway, seeing no trouble from the old hag, said nothing and quietly stood to one side, wanting to see what she was up to.
The two young ladies each chose two rolls of fabric, paid with silver, and left. In the past, Lady Xie’s eyes would have been fixed on the silver Mo Sanniang received, but this time she did not even glance at the silver. She either stood respectfully with her head bowed or looked at Mo Sanniang with a complicated expression, unsure of what to think.
Even Mo Sanniang, who had known her for many years, hardly recognized this old hag.
Once the customers had left, Mo Sanniang began tidying up the fabric on the counter. All of a sudden, Lady Xie cheerily came over and started to help, "Sanniang, here, let me help you with that."
Mo Sanniang gave her a cold look and gently brushed aside the hand she was offering to help with, "Madam Xie, this is my shop’s business, please don’t trouble yourself."
"No trouble at all, Sanniang. I, I’ll help you. Maybe, I could sweep the floor for you, see, there are so many fabric scraps on the ground." While speaking, Lady Xie grabbed the broom beside the counter and began sweeping.
Mo Sanniang certainly did not want her to touch anything in the shop and quickly grabbed the broom from her, placing it to one side.
"Madam Xie, if you have something to say, just be straightforward, don’t beat around the bush," Mo Sanniang looked at her, her manner unusually cold, "Carrying on , others might think I’ve bullied you."
Lady Xie appeared somewhat uncomfortable under Mo Sanniang’s gaze; in the past, had this girl not always been as meek around her as a mouse around a cat? Always flattering and pandering. But now? Ah, it was all the fault of her damn son!
"Sanniang, well, I came today to talk to you about something," Lady Xie hesitated as she glanced at Mo Sanniang. She nervously twisted her hands together, and even her feet seemed to awkwardly move closer together.
"If you have something to say, then say it," Mo Sanniang put the broom aside, moved a stool over for Lady Xie to sit, and didn’t forget to turn around and pour her a cup of tea.
This would have been common practice in the past; in fact, Mo Sanniang always offered such hospitality with each visit. However, the Lady Xie of the past took all this for granted to the point of not even noticing these gestures. But now, she actually felt this woman was truly polite!
Lin Yuan, standing at the entrance, watched as Mo Sanniang poured tea for Lady Xie and caught sight of her. Lin Yuan shook her head and gave a wry smile.