After thinking for a while, Song Tianyao still couldn't think of a proper way to settle the three girls. He thought that the three girls were pretty enough that even if he couldn't eat them at home, they would still be a beautiful sight when his mother was playing mahjong outside the pharmacy and he came home after finishing his work. So he spoke up.
The three girls had lived in fear ever since Ning Zikun imprisoned them in this slum in Yau Ma Tei. The middle-aged woman, Song Sidi, threatened them daily, saying she would sell them to Brothel if they didn't obey. Now, hearing that Song Tianyao had rescued them and even offered them jobs at the pharmacy with daily wages, room, and board, Shu Yan Shi Yin was still somewhat incredulous, stealing timid glances at Song Tianyao. However, Fu Xinniang felt that Song Tianyao didn't seem like a bad person; no matter how bad he was, he couldn't be worse than Song Sidi and Ning Zikun, who were using them as a bargaining chip.
"Thank you, sir." Fu Xinniang wiped away the tears from her large eyes and thanked Song Tianyao with a slight sob.
Now that Song Tianyao had gained two laborers, Song Sidi and Ning Zikun, who could train workers for free, most of his previous irritation had dissipated. He smiled and started the car, "No need to thank me, I'll take you to the pharmacy."
When Song Tianyao returned to Tai Wo Street, he thought his mother would be playing mahjong with the neighbors in the Wind-and-Rain Corridor outside the shop, as usual. However, after parking the car, three girls got out of the car hand in hand. Song Tianyao looked at the two tables of people playing mahjong in the Wind-and-Rain Corridor and did not see his mother.
Did Zhao Meizhen feel she had been too decadent lately and decide to return to work diligently at the pharmacy?
Leading the three girls into the pharmacy, Song Wenwen was pouting and impatiently flipping through a recently popular Hong Kong comic book, while simultaneously picking up some dried fruit and putting it in her mouth. Lou Fengyun, her face still damp with sweat, stood behind the counter, her abacus clicking away, her pen making entries in the ledger, softly saying, "Wenwen, next time you buy dried fruit, don't just take money directly from the account. Even if you do, remember how much you took so I can make up the difference for you. Otherwise, whether it's Auntie Zhen or you, when settling the accounts..."
Before Song Tianyao could even greet the two of them after entering, he overheard Lou Fengyun's words to Song Wenwen, and his face immediately darkened.
Song Wenwen was the youngest daughter in the family and was somewhat spoiled by Zhao Meizhen and Song Chunliang. From childhood to adulthood, even when Zhao Meizhen and Song Chunliang went out to work, her older brother Song Tianyao would cook for her and take care of her. Although Song Wenwen had previously been introduced by Zhao Meizhen to work as a dim sum waitress in Women’s Teahouse, the dim sum waitress job in the Women’s Teahouse was the easiest job. She didn't have to worry about male customers touching her inappropriately, she didn't have to make the dim sum herself, and she didn't even have to collect money. She was only responsible for delivering the dim sum to the customers' tables. It was considered the easiest job in the Women’s Teahouse, and it could be said that Song Wenwen had never experienced any hardship.
Song Tianyao didn't take Song Wenwen's vanity and slight laziness to heart. After all, she was his own sister. He could earn money on his own, so why should his sister worry about it? How much could a girl spend? Therefore, Song Wenwen never disciplined Song Tianyao.
But judging from Song Wenwen's behavior, she clearly took the money from the pharmacy counter and used it directly, without making up the difference. Lou Fengyun had been sent to North Point to inspect the factory these past few days, and judging from the sweat still on her face, she had just returned. After all that hard work, she still had to help the other party with the accounts and then pay out of her own pocket to make up the difference?
"Brother!" Upon hearing Song Tianyao's words, Song Wenwen's impatient expression immediately turned into a smile. She stood up from her seat behind the counter and greeted Song Tianyao.
Song Tianyao then looked at Lou Fengyun: "Give her the accounts, let her figure out how much she spent, and let her go to my mother to get the difference!"
Lou Fengyun saw three little girls, about the same age as Song Wenwen, following behind Song Tianyao. Looking at Song Tianyao's dark face, she wanted to speak up to ease the tension, but after being glared at sharply by Song Tianyao, she immediately lowered her head, stood up, and gave up her seat.
"You!" Song Tianyao pointed at Song Wenwen, who was still in a daze, and roared, "I asked Sister Yun to go to North Point to help me with some work. She came back tired and you didn't even pour her a cup of tea to let her rest. I don't blame you for that. I asked her to teach you how to do the bookkeeping and you can't even do that? You took money from the counter to buy dried fruit? And then you asked Sister Yun to make up the difference for you?"
Normally, a glare from Song Tianyao would be enough to make Song Wenwen lower her head and get back to work. But today, for some reason, after being yelled at by Song Tianyao 'Song Wenwen eyes reddened, and she actually retorted defiantly:
"Isn't the money in the pharmacy Song Family's money? Does that mean I'm not considered a Song Family? That I can't spend the Song Family's money? Fine, I won't spend it anymore! Consider that money a loan from Sister Yun; Sister Yun and I have a good relationship..."
If Song Wenwen had kept her head down and didn't retaliate, Song Tianyao might have let it go with a shout. But Song Wenwen abruptly shifted the conversation to her connection with the Song Family, which startled Song Tianyao at first, then ignited his fury. "She's close to you?... Just because she's close to you doesn't mean she can help you cover up the debt? You killed someone and she's taking the blame for you? I'm hiring you to do things, not to talk back to me! Get upstairs, you're no longer needed at the pharmacy!"
Actually, Song Tianyao wanted to blurt out, "She's close to you? Her deadbeat husband almost sold you to Brothel!" But in his anger, the words rushed to his lips, and he changed them at the last minute. He knew that if he said that, Lou Fengyun would be embarrassed and hurt.
"You want to force me to leave like Mom did? I'm not getting married!" Song Wenwen threw down this nonsensical remark, covered her mouth, and ran crying towards the small storage room behind the pharmacy.
Chapter Twenty-Three: Relatives Visit
"I just won't marry him?" Song Tianyao was taken aback, then looked at Lou Fengyun and asked in confusion, "What did Wenwen just say?"
Lou Fengyun rolled her eyes at Song Tianyao, trying to ignore the three obedient girls behind him who were now staring at her with wide eyes. "You act like a big shot, scaring me so much I didn't dare say a word with just a glare. Now you finally understand to ask clearly? Your uncle's family came to visit, and Auntie Zhen and Uncle Leung are upstairs with them. It seems your uncle and aunt were talking about Wenwen's marriage. Wenwen overheard and came downstairs in a huff. Uncle Leung came out to get some water and saw Wenwen was angry, so he told her to go to the counter to get some money to buy some food to calm down and wait for you to come back and stand up for her. But when you came back, the first thing you did was scold your own sister."