Chapter 12 Mother’s Family
The Chen family and the Xu family were not far apart, and the carriage arrived at a leisurely pace, taking only about half an hour.

On the way, Xu Shuhe wanted to chat with Chen Zhi, but Chen Zhi closed his eyes and rested as soon as he got in the car. In addition, the journey was not long, so Xu Shuhe gave up.

I was also worried. This child is very quiet and I didn't know how to start.

It's the third day and the task hasn't really started yet.

"Young Master, Young Madam, we're here." Xinyue's voice came from outside.

Xu Shuhe drew aside the curtain and looked outside, and saw that the Xu family's mansion had appeared in front of him, which was the same as the information given by the system in his mind.

To be honest, the Xu family's house looks more imposing than the Chen family's.

I guess, when my father was alive, the Xu family's business was bigger than the Chen family's, Xu Shuhe thought.

While he was thinking, the carriage had already stopped steadily, and a joyful voice of a middle-aged woman was immediately heard outside.

"The girl and her husband are back, hurry up, bring the stool!"

Just by listening to the voice, you can feel that the person coming to greet you is very happy.

Chen Zhi had also opened his eyes at this moment. He straightened his clothes a little and got out of the car first.

The person who came to greet them outside was Xu Shu and his mother Zheng's personal maid, who was called Mama Yan in the mansion.

"Your servant greets your son-in-law." Mother Yan bowed with a smile, but her eyes were always looking behind Chen Zhi.

Obviously he was looking forward to Xu Shuhe.

Originally, Chen Zhi came down and stood still, with no plan to make any further moves. However, seeing how much the Xu family cherished their daughter, he began to be tempted.

Then he turned around and extended his hand to Xu Shuhe who was about to get off the car.

He'd better help her, otherwise it would seem like he is being mean to the girl.

Xu Shuhe was also quite surprised. She didn't expect that Chen Zhi, who looked dull, could be such a gentleman. But she didn't think much about it. She smiled, took his hand, and walked down slowly.

When Mother Yan saw this scene, her smile suddenly deepened.

"Sir, young lady, the lady has been waiting in the hall for a long time, let's go in quickly!"

Xu Shuhe also raised the corners of his lips, "Mother Yan even came out to greet us personally, and asked her to wait for us. She really made us, the younger generation, feel embarrassed."

"What are you talking about, young lady? Madam is looking forward to your return!" said Mother Yan.

"I've been looking forward to coming back to see you since last night, and I actually didn't stay in bed this morning!"

Xu Shuhe also followed suit and made a joke, which made everyone present laugh.

The group entered Xu's house in a lively manner. As soon as they entered the flower hall, they saw Zheng, who was waiting inside, had already stood up.

"Mom!" Xu Shuhe called out, then quickly stepped forward.

When Zheng saw her daughter, her eyes suddenly turned red. She also walked forward a few steps, took Xu Shuhe's hand, and looked her up and down.

"It's only been a few days since I last saw my daughter. She's doing fine. She's not fat or thin, just the same as before!" Xu Shuhe comforted her.

Zheng then glared at her, "Isn't it okay for mother to worry? You are a girl, you are already married, but you still talk so frivolously, you don't act like an adult at all."

"The son-in-law greets the mother-in-law." Chen Zhi bowed very respectfully.

Zheng immediately waved her hand, smiling kindly, "Good boy, no need to be so polite, come on, come on, take a seat, I have asked someone to prepare some refreshments, let's sit down and talk."

As he spoke, he also looked at Chen Zhi carefully again.

On Xu Shuhe's wedding day, she was alone and very busy. She was also worried about her daughter and had not taken a good look at her son-in-law. Now that she had seen him, she was satisfied. He looked quite calm and good-looking.

"Shuhe is naughty and has a rather outgoing personality. I hope she hasn't caused you any trouble in the past two days?" After sitting down, Zheng spoke softly to Chen Zhi.

Chen Zhi hurriedly shook his head, "Of course not. My mother-in-law taught me well, and everyone in the Chen family likes Shuhe very much."

The last two words sounded like he was biting his tongue.

The lady couldn't scream out, so after a pause, she imitated Zheng's scream.

In fact, let alone him, Xu Shuhe also felt uncomfortable listening to it, and was trying to smooth things over.

"Mom, don't worry about it. I'm doing fine."

"Don't worry, mother-in-law. Shuhe will never be wronged in the Chen family." Chen Zhi also said.

He just doesn't like socializing, but at least his family is in business and he has lived two lifetimes, so he still knows how to speak.

After hearing this, Zheng smiled and didn't ask any more questions. She started chatting with Chen Zhi about other things.

However, the two were not familiar with each other, and Chen Zhi was not a very friendly person. Even with Xu Shuhe laughing and making noises beside him, the atmosphere soon became dull.

It's not anyone's fault. The main reason is that in ordinary families, when the son-in-law comes, he is accompanied by a man in the family, either the father-in-law or the brother-in-law. But the Xu family has no male members, only mother and daughter. No matter how capable Zheng is, she doesn't know how to talk to her son-in-law.

So now he said, "Shu and Ping love to eat the beef tongue cakes I make the most. It happens that you stay overnight today and will go back tomorrow. Since we have time, why don't I make some myself? You can take them back and let your family taste them. It's just right that Shu and you can accompany Sanlang to walk around the mansion."

When she said this, Xu Shuhe immediately guessed what she meant.

This was because Zheng was worried that she had not entertained them well enough, so she simply left and left the young couple alone.

It just so happened that I never had the chance to have a good chat with Chen Zhi at the Chen family before. Now that I’m back in her territory, Chen Zhi has nowhere to hide. This is a perfect opportunity.

So Xu Shuhe smiled and said, "Okay, let's go around and come back to help mom later."

"There's no need for you two to ask for anything. Just have fun and wait for the food." Zheng smiled gently.

Then he got up and left with Yan's mother.

As soon as Zheng left, Xu Shuhe looked at Chen Zhi with a smile, "Want to go out for a walk?"

"Okay." Chen Zhi nodded obediently.

The two of them stood up and went outside together.

There is also a small garden in the Xu family's house, which is perfect for strolling. Now it is early May, the season of spring flowers blooming, and the garden is very delicate and beautiful.

"You're going back tomorrow, but are you going to continue working in the shop?" Xu Shuhe took the initiative to speak.

Chen Zhi nodded, "Second brother usually doesn't pay attention to the family. He usually goes out to meet friends. Dad and I are in charge of the family business. If I don't go, Dad will be hard-working."

"That's right." Xu Shuhe nodded. "I just came in, so I don't know how many businesses our family has now. Can you tell me about it?"

The basic situation still needs to be understood clearly.

They were already husband and wife, and Xu Shu and Ben were also daughters of merchants, so Chen Zhi didn't think there was anything wrong with asking these questions, so he told them the truth.

"The family now has two cloth shops, two clothing shops, a teahouse, and five shops, all of which are rented out. In addition, there are some farms and orchards in the suburbs, but the harvest is under the control of the wife, so I don't know."

Nowadays, men are in charge of external affairs and women are in charge of internal affairs, and the fields and farms are mostly managed by the women.

"No wonder my father-in-law wants someone to help him. It's really tiring to manage all this by himself." Xu Shuhe smiled, and then asked, "So do you need to help manage all these businesses? What do you do in the shop every day now?"

(End of this chapter)