Dramatic changes in the movies and TV shows

Chapter 1464 Heartbroken
On this day, to celebrate the successful holding of the Renbin Banquet, Lin Hao and Lao Wu Yin Qi invited Yin An to eat together.

"Come on, elder brother, let me toast you. This banquet was very well organized. Those old fellows from the Jiuchuan Affairs Department have been full of praise for you!"

Lin Hao clinked glasses with him, then said with a smile, "It's all thanks to them!"

"Who is it?" the fifth brother asked with a smile.

"My two wives!" Lin Hao said smugly, "They basically took care of everything at the banquet, so I just picked up the pieces!"

"I really envy you, your family of three is so harmonious!" After saying that, the fifth brother chuckled to himself.

Lin Hao looked at him with pity for someone with intellectual disabilities and asked, "What's wrong with you?"

"Hehe~!" the fifth brother said with a grin: "Sixth brother, you don't know, my Jing and I have been getting along very well lately."

"She's changed a bit. Wasn't I punished by Mrs. Chuan to copy this book a while ago? She voluntarily helped me copy half of it. Don't you think she's amazing?!" She raised her eyebrows as she spoke, quite pleased with herself.

Hearing Lin Hao and Lao Wu showing off their affection, Yin An suddenly said, "I owe you money~!"

"Run!" Lin Hao added.

"No, what nonsense are you two talking about!" Hearing the third and sixth brothers teasing him, Yin Qi wasn't angry; instead, he joked back:
"Not only are you ugly, but you're also wicked!"

Yin An said impatiently, "Do whatever you want!"

Seeing Yin An's unhappy expression, and knowing that the third brother was still upset about his twenty-four solar terms girls, he raised his glass and urged him:

"Third Brother, so many days have passed, and you still haven't come to terms with it?"

Yin An downed a glass of wine in one gulp, then said angrily, "I just don't understand, I've been so good to them, why did they treat me like this?"

It turns out that before, when the third brother was sulking alone at home, he asked his attendant Xi Yan to bring him wine.

It turned out that when Bai Lu left, she hired five donkeys to take all the wine away, and the other girls also took a lot of things.

Although he didn't brew the wine, the grain and yeast were all his, so he wasn't really short of money.

But as they left one by one, they kept saying they wanted to be self-reliant, yet they still took food and other things with them when they left.

He was already furious that the girls had left him, but the real problem was that his wife, Dong Haitang, not only financially supported them but also hung out with them all the time, never coming home.

"Sixth Brother, why do you think that is?" Yin An looked at Lin Hao with some envy and said:

“You’ve taken a concubine too, but Yuan Ying and Li Wei both love you so much, and the three of you live in harmony!”

"But why do they hate me so much when it comes to me!" With that, Yin An took another gulp of wine, then said indignantly:

"When I took them as concubines, I was saving them from dire straits. It's one thing that they weren't grateful, but why do they hate me?"

"I admit that I went a bit too far in some things before, but it was all for their own good!"

"Take last time, for example, in order to repay the loan from Jinchuan, everyone tightened their belts, and the amount of money and food they spent each day was fixed. As a result, Haitang actually fainted from hunger!"

"I even argued with the head of the Sichuan government about this, but when I checked later, guess what? They ignored the daily quota and just ate whatever they wanted for the first few days!"

"She ate all the allocated silver and food, which led to her going hungry for the next few days. That's how she fainted from hunger. Now everyone's saying that I skimped on their food, which is why Dong Haitang fainted from hunger. Who can I complain to?!"

"I was afraid they wouldn't be used to living in the palace, so I didn't even ask them to change their palace registration, just so they could have more freedom. Now they say they're not free here..."

Yin An had someone to talk to, so he poured out his heart, good and bad, and vented his frustrations.

Lin Hao stayed with him, quietly listening to him vent, and didn't want to tell him that if someone is ugly, they shouldn't have so many demands!

But saying that would be too discouraging. What if the third child suddenly does something rash? Right?
But it wasn't appropriate to tell him that there was a mastermind behind everything.

Just like Lin Hao told Yuan Ying and Li Wei before, they are husband and wife, and this is their family matter.

Excessive interference will only result in pleasing neither side. If you speak ill of Dong Haitang, and they reconcile later, you will be caught in the middle.

However, from an emotional and human nature perspective, a brief discussion is still acceptable, so after he finished speaking, Lin Hao said calmly:

"Actually, I think that the reason why you and the others have ended up where you are today is that you each have your own problems, but there are two prominent issues!"

"Which two?" Upon hearing this, Yin An immediately sat up straight, ready to hear exactly which two questions were being asked.

"Firstly, it's your problem. Putting aside the minor issues for now, your biggest problem is that you've never truly loved them!"

"You've positioned yourself as a superior savior, but you've never given them true love!"

"I~!" Before Yin An could retort, Lin Hao waved his hand to interrupt: I know what you're going to say, you want to say that you love them very much!

"But what you call love is more like charity to others. In this kind of relationship, even the greatest gratitude will be worn down over time!"

"Secondly, it's their own problem. They take the luxurious life you've given them, and everything they enjoy now, for granted!"

"Because you've protected them too well, making them forget the suffering they endured in the past and feel that they deserve all of this!"

Lin Hao only gave a brief analysis, but Yin An felt as if he had been enlightened after listening to it, and then said with shining eyes:

"I see. So it's not my problem; they're the ones who are ungrateful!"

To be honest, even though Lin Hao was only analyzing things rationally, he still felt that these women were somewhat ungrateful, typically talking about money with poor people and feelings with rich people!
Moreover, she takes other people's efforts for granted. If you stop making contributions, she will accuse you of being ungrateful and even call you an irresponsible scumbag.

Lin Hao felt it was necessary to let these girls, who were observing the solar terms, experience the cruelty of feudal society.

It's one thing in modern society, but to have Girls Help Girls in ancient times is utterly absurd.

However, considering that the original novel of this drama was written during the period when women were introduced to China, it is not so surprising.

Especially those so-called all-female hotels, bars, mountain climbing, travel, and so on, in the end it turns out they are all just businesses, leaving a mess for the whole society to pay for.

······
Meanwhile, Yin An, after listening to Lin Hao's analysis, became increasingly angry and wanted to teach them a lesson.

He plans to compete with Jiuchuan Food Fair by buying a shop opposite them and opening his own Jiuchuan Food Fair.

There was no need to stop Lin Hao; he should just let things develop naturally until the pool dried up and then they would know who was swimming naked.

Just as Lin Hao had predicted, their Jiuchuan Food Hall had barely achieved some success when internal disagreements arose due to differing business philosophies. It turned out that after taking over the Tuanyuan Restaurant, they retained the original manager and staff.

Now that all preparations are complete, Manager Zhou came to seek their opinions on the opening.

"Dear business owners, according to the almanac, five days from now is an auspicious time to open for business. I wonder if any of you will show up then!"

Seeing that none of the owners spoke, Manager Zhou said somewhat awkwardly:
"Although there are rumors that the owners of Jiuchuan Food Court are women, seeing them setting off firecrackers to welcome guests outside the restaurant is a different story!"

"I have no prejudice against the abilities of the masters these past few days, but outsiders are short-sighted after all, and if there is much discussion, it may not be good!"

Upon hearing this, Dong Haitang, considering her special status, knew it was inappropriate for her to appear, so she said:

"The shopkeeper is right. Word is spreading that Jiuchuan Food Fair is run by a woman, which makes people very curious!"

“But if we actually show ourselves, it will definitely cause controversy!” After saying that, he looked at Yuan Ying and Shangguan Jing, whose situations were all the same.

After all, it's definitely inappropriate for the young master's wife to solicit customers in a restaurant. It's a minor concern that it might attract criticism, but the real danger lies in the new lord's wrath, which would leave him in deep trouble.

Therefore, she didn't want to be unable to show up; she wished Yuan Ying or Shangguan Jing could do it, which is why she made those probing remarks.

However, having grown up in Danchuan, where women engaging in business was nothing new, she was immediately displeased upon hearing this and bluntly stated:
"Everyone has been busy for so long, and we don't even have the chance to open the restaurant doors ourselves. This is just too unreasonable!"

Looking at Shangguan Jing's innocent face, Yuan Ying shook her head and said:

"Business is unpredictable. If we open the restaurant ourselves, people will only focus on the fact that we are a woman doing business, and won't pay attention to the specialties of the dishes. This will not help the restaurant to survive in the long run!"

Upon hearing this, Shangguan Jing immediately retorted, unconvinced:

"It's perfectly normal for women to travel and trade in Danchuan, and it's even more so in Jinchuan. Why should we succumb to the pressure from Xinchuan!"

Yuan Ying shook his head and said, "But Xinchuan is Xinchuan after all, and that's just how the environment is here!"

"And it's certainly a source of pride for a woman to open her own business, but what I want is for this restaurant to thrive for a long time!"

Upon hearing this, Shangguan Jing was immediately displeased. In her opinion, all places should be like Danchuan, where women are superior to men.

Therefore, upon hearing Yuan Ying's discouraging words, he immediately retorted with dissatisfaction, "Do you think I want the restaurant to go bankrupt?"

"I just don't understand. Do you mean that women doing business will make the restaurant's business short-lived?"

After Shangguan Jing finished speaking, her face was filled with seven expressions of dissatisfaction, eight expressions of resentment, and eight expressions of discontent—all her emotions were written on her face.

Others also had a heated discussion about whether or not they should personally preside over the opening ceremony.

At this moment, Yuan Ying felt more and more that her husband was right; she shouldn't have gotten involved in other people's affairs in the first place.

Now she's caught in the middle, unable to move forward or backward. Going left is wrong, and going right is also wrong!

At this moment, Li Wei noticed the awkward atmosphere and quickly stood up to smooth things over, saying:

"Shangguan, Yuanying doesn't mean that the business will fail if it's run under a woman's name; she just wants to mitigate the risks!"

"Of course, we absolutely do not believe that women doing business is risky!"

"I personally believe that it is absolutely right to criticize women doing business!"

After appeasing both sides, seeing Yuan Ying's dissatisfied expression, Li Wei then advised Yuan Ying:

"Yuan Ying, Shangguan isn't concerned about saving face; she just feels it's unfair, that's why she's so agitated!"

Before Li Wei could finish her advice, Yuan Ying waved her hand and said, "Alright, I understand!"

The atmosphere in the living room was still somewhat awkward, so Li Wei continued to persuade her:

"Oh dear, when running a restaurant, the worst thing is that a woman running it becomes a gimmick!"

"If you want to make this business last, the most important thing is whether the food at this restaurant is delicious and worth coming to!"

"Even if it's discovered that the owner of this restaurant is a woman, we're not afraid to show ourselves!"

"But if we show ourselves, we're afraid it will seem deliberate, and others will think we're really trying to use this as a publicity stunt!"

He then served Shangguan Jing and Yuan Ying a cup of tea each, and then touched Shangguan Jing's hand in the air, as if to bury the hatchet.

On the way back, Yuan Ying and Li Wei sat in the carriage, neither of them looking at the menu or discussing any follow-up arrangements.

"Sigh!" Yuan Ying sighed, then murmured:

"I regret it now. I shouldn't have listened to you and helped these seasonal girls!"

"They completely forgot that the original purpose of opening the restaurant was simply to provide a way for the girls of the season to make a living."

"So whether the female owner shows up or not is not a big deal. As long as they can keep the restaurant open for a long time, they will have achieved their goal."

"But now, as things have progressed, it's become a question of whether or not the female manager should step in, and we've completely forgotten our original goal."

“Yes!” Li Wei said, looking unhappy as well.

"Moreover, in order to avoid being discovered by Haitang, they were busy managing the restaurant every day, pretending to be very supportive of them, and also trying to mediate their relationship!"

Yuan Ying looked at Li Wei and said, "I feel more and more that we should get out of this vortex as soon as possible to avoid causing trouble for my husband."

"Indeed, and I've found that the more people involved in doing business together, the more troublesome it becomes!"

"Everyone has their own ideas, and those who manage businesses not only have to manage the businesses, but also have to take care of their emotions!"

"Otherwise, helping one person will offend another. It's like trying to solve one problem only to have another pop up. There will always be someone who's dissatisfied, which will put us in a difficult position!"

"But Sister Haitang~!" Thinking of the always composed Dong Haitang, the two exchanged a glance and immediately noticed the difference between them!

"Indeed, my husband was right!" Yuan Ying said with a wry smile, shaking her head.

"This is clearly a matter concerning the Third Young Master's residence, yet now we two outsiders are being forced to take charge and clean up this mess for them, while the person in charge is just watching from the sidelines. What kind of situation is this!"