Chapter 27
Shen You came downstairs at 12:45 PM with two dark circles under her eyes, wearing pajamas. After collecting her takeout delivery and eating lunch, she planned to go back upstairs to continue sleeping.
She also felt that her sleep schedule was terrible and harmful to her health.
She said she would change it every day, yet she could only maintain discipline when business was good.
She had just lain down and was scrolling through videos for a while when an urgent voice message came through, sounding like someone with their pants on fire.
It was from Gu Shaoyu, the rich guy from their student organization reunion.
“Save me, save me!”
Shen You replied: “??? Are you playing battle royale?”
“No, I drank too much last night and accidentally knocked over and broke something my sister brought back from the Empire where the sun never sets last month. She’s going to kill me!”
Gu Shaoyu’s voice came through.
Next, he sent a picture showing a gold filigree crown.
Additionally, there was a phoenix hairpin with embedded gemstones and pearls that had been shattered.
The largest gemstone in the center already had existing cracks, but the fall had made them worse. Moreover, the pearls embedded in the gold beads had broken connections where the gold rings had snapped.
Looking at this condition, his sister beating him to death wouldn’t be unjust.
“She searched for two years to find a pair of phoenix hairpins that could match this crown set. She said she’d wear them when she gets married later. Can it still be repaired?” Gu Shaoyu lowered his voice.
His family ran a gemstone and jade business, so he did know people with good craftsmanship.
However, this was an antique, and people said that if one wanted restoration to be perfect and undamaged, it was safer to find specialists in this field.
The best antique restoration masters were all in museums, where they couldn’t even finish repairing national treasure-level artifacts, so how could they be hired out?
“If you can repair it, you’ll be my lifesaver. Name your price!”
Shen You spoke honestly:
“This item is particularly complex. If I want to repair it properly, I’ll need to first recreate the craftsmanship. I need to research materials and study it. Give me some time, and I’ll quote you a price once I’m certain I can repair it.”
The most difficult problem with antique restoration was that modern materials were different from ancient ones, and some techniques had been lost.
If it couldn’t be repaired properly, then the antique would become a modern craft piece.
“Alright, but please hurry! My sister will be back in a couple of days.” Gu Shaoyu sent a pleading emoji.
“I’ll do my best.”
Shen You also asked him to take several more detailed photos and send them over.
Gu Shaoyu carefully placed the broken hairpin back into its original box, arranging it to look complete, then clasped his hands together in prayer that it wouldn’t be discovered for now.
If it couldn’t be repaired, he might as well buy a plane ticket overnight and flee abroad to hide.
Shen You napped until after 3 PM, then saw a message on her phone from her sister-in-law saying that they had already departed.
Her mother had also sent a photo of things for her sister-in-law to bring.
There was a large bag full of dumplings her mother had made by hand, pre-frozen, packed with ice packs and insulated foam boxes. In this weather, they could be preserved for seven or eight hours without problems.
There were also her favorite local handmade vegetable noodles from home.
Her parents said eating too much takeout wasn’t good, so they brought her some dumplings and noodles that were convenient to cook and healthier than the frozen wontons sold in supermarkets.
Shen You chatted with her mother for a bit about her recent situation. After another half hour passed, thinking she would need to go out soon and so would be unable to settle down to continue repairing that silver hairpin, she lay in the rocking chair playing with her phone for a while.
When the time was about right, she changed clothes and went out.
Driving there wasn’t far, and when traffic wasn’t heavy, it was about a forty-minute journey.
She parked her car, then went up to the private dining room to order dishes first. She ordered all her favorite foods and also requested a glass of freshly squeezed corn juice.
Soon after, she received a call from her sister-in-law saying that they had arrived. She told them the floor and room number.
Seven to eight minutes later, people came in. Her aunt greeted her with a smile while simultaneously taking a glance at the room’s decor.
It was decent and conventional—the place was acceptable.
Shen You greeted everyone politely, pretending not to notice her uncle and cousin’s haughty, chin-up attitudes.
Among relatives, her family had little presence.
Her uncle had a son, while her second uncle’s family had moved to a coastal metropolis years ago and rarely returned to the county town.
On her mother’s side, except for her eldest aunt’s family, the rest were similar, looking down on her family from the bottom of their hearts.
During holidays and festivals, whenever there was running errands or grocery shopping to be done, they would naturally call on her parents to do it.
Seeing that her parents were agreeable and wouldn’t refuse people, sometimes when her aunt’s family didn’t want to go buy things themselves, even though they owned a car, they would ask her parents, who only had a small scooter, to help them shop.
The county town was just this small, with all the relatives living nearby. Her parents had grown up under the old generation’s manipulative mindset, always thinking that since they were all family, being too distant wasn’t good.
While she was thinking about this, the server came in to serve the dishes.
“Xiao You, how’s the renovation of your shop going?” Her sister-in-law asked with concern.
“Your mother is always worried about you, a girl living alone outside, getting mistreated. She asked us to come check on you.”
Shen You believed this statement, but whether they were checking on her as a person or something else, only they knew in their hearts.
“I’m doing well. The shop walls have just been painted.” Shen You served herself a bowl of chicken soup.
Her sister-in-law continued pleasantly: “The things your parents sent are still in our car trunk. After we finish eating, we’ll drive you back.”
Shen You smiled: “No need to trouble yourselves. I drove here, so I can move everything myself later.”
Hearing this, all four people looked up at Shen You.
Her aunt was the first to react, her eyes flashing shrewdly as she asked quickly:
“You bought a car already? Your shop’s business must be quite good, right?”
Talking about the car, her cousin also became somewhat interested: “What kind of car is it?”
“An electric car worth a few tens of thousands. There was a promotion—down payment of a few thousand, one year interest-free.” Shen You peeled two more shrimp for herself.
Her sister-in-law nodded: “That’s good. Having an electric car makes travel convenient. Mainly, your parents were worried, so we said we’d come take a look.”
The conversation had come full circle back to the original point.
Shen You pretended not to understand and continued eating heartlessly: “I video-called my parents this afternoon.”
Seeing that she was impervious to hints, her sister-in-law’s smile began to falter.
Her uncle, that old fool, put on airs and heavily placed his chopsticks on his bowl with a snort from his nostrils:
“When elders show concern for you and sit in a car for so long to come here, you mean you won’t let us through your door? That’s improper!”
The seniority attack came late but arrived nonetheless. When she was still in school and not earning her own money, she endured it, but now things were different.
“That’s quite harsh.” Shen You deployed a cheeky smile that left her uncle speechless.
“It’s really inconvenient. That place is far from here, and there’s no place to stay.”
Since Shen You wouldn’t budge on this matter, her sister-in-law made some diplomatic remarks, then shifted the conversation to a house they had viewed on an app.
She listed various reasons why it was suitable for Shen You and mentioned the child’s schooling needs, although the price was a bit expensive.
Shen You also knew that her sister-in-law was trying to sound her out, so she just nodded without engaging in the conversation.
Since no alcohol was ordered at the table, everyone ate quickly. Finally, her sister-in-law couldn’t keep up the pretense anymore.
“Xiao You, look, your shop is doing well and making money. We really have limited financial means, so we’re approaching you about this.”
“You’re not married yet and don’t have many places to spend money. How about lending the money to your cousin and me first so your nephew can come to Jiang City for school?”