Su Tang looked at Luo Xingchen’s dazed expression and secretly smiled. In fact, she didn’t have such high morals either. She just didn’t dare to make a decision right now. She knew that the situation in the capital was tense, so she didn’t dare to easily wade into those muddy waters.
It would be best to go back and discuss things with Song Yi before anything else. After all, she also had the identity of “Song Yi’s disciple”, so she needed to be cautious when doing things.
“Anyway, I have to consider whether participating in this imperial tribute will affect my ability to contribute to the people and the country, so I’ll need some time. That aside, I will write the recipe for chili oil for you in a minute and you can send it to your father. That should let him sit still for a while longer. After that, why don’t we go back and eat cold noodles?”
(tl note: From Wikipedia – Chili oil (辣椒油) – Condiment- Description: Chili oil is a condiment made from vegetable oil that has been infused with chili peppers. Different types of oil and hot peppers are used, and other components may also be included. It is commonly used in Chinese cuisine, Southeast Asian cuisine, and elsewhere.)
Seeing Luo Xingchen looking off into space with a dazed expression, Su Tang finally spoke up and interrupted her friend’s thinking. Having been snapped out of her reverie, Luo Xingchen also felt hungry and agreed, “Alright, make sure to add more spice…”
However, her eyes slowly narrowed and she looked over at Su Tang suspiciously, “Why do I feel as if you’re tricking me?”
“How could that be? You should know, I love you the best.” Su Tang blinked innocently and quickly professed her love.
Luo Xingchen wrapped her arms around herself and trembled with fear when she heard that, muttering, “You really tricked me again.”
In her mind, she felt that there was no way Su Tang would be so gentle toward her unless she was tricking her. These were her instincts that had been honed after being bullied by Su Tang so many times.
Seeing Luo Xingchen’s behavior, Su Tang laughed out loud and said, “Why are you acting like that? Come on, let’s go eat cold noodles.”
Luo Xingchen was not so stupid that she wasn’t able to see that Su Tang had been randomly making an excuse just now, so she followed up. “No matter what your reasons are, consider it carefully. For us, as women in business, this is the easiest way to improve our identity and status.”
“You always say that you only believe in me, and I only believe in you, but in reality you should be aware that for both of us the most reliable thing is our own status and strength.”
Luo Xingchen could tell that Su Tang was talking nonsense just now, but she also understood that Su Tang was serious when she said she needed to consider things. Since Su Tang said so, she must have her own considerations.
Therefore, Luo Xingchen felt that Su Tang may have her own plan. But if she just wanted to be a businesswoman and do business it would be difficult. Even for Luo Xingchen, who had the Luo family behind her, relying solely on her business talent to set up the sauce workshop was like walking on thin ice.
After all, there were various officials who needed to be considered when trying to do business that could be great hindrances. Luo Xingchen knew that Su Tang had plans to let Su Nuo take the imperial exam and become an official in order to protect her business interests in the future, but was Su Nuo really reliable?
Even if Su Nuo, as her younger brother, really wouldn’t betray Su Tang for his whole life, didn’t he still need a lot of time to grow? Could his growth really keep up with Su Tang’s current development?
In the end, it was better to rely on yourself than to rely on others. Luo Xingchen had learned this lesson the hard way. In the past, she had still believed that even if her father acted suspicious sometimes, he was still reasonable and would choose the most talented person to inherit the Luo family.
But reality dealt her a heavy blow. No matter how hard she worked, she would never receive trust and reliance, instead she would only receive more anger and suspicion. And, afraid that his power might be snatched away, her father would rather believe in and support her ridiculous elder brother.
Luo Xingchen felt that her own example was clear enough to let anyone see clearly. As long as she was still not the master of the Luo family, the Luo family would always just be the Luo family while she would always be just her. Before she became the head of the Luo family, it could not be her support or safe harbor and, instead, could easily become the knife in her back at any time.
Luo Xingchen was now aware that she couldn’t rely on her father if she ever wanted to be the head of the Luo family. If she really wanted that position, she could only directly take it for herself. Therefore, she was even more invested in improving Su Tang’s strength. After all, the greater Su Tang’s strength, the higher her own odds of obtaining the position of head would be.
Only the power held in their own hands was reliable. This was the reality that Luo Xingchen had come to face, and she believed that Su Tang was aware of it as well. She didn’t know what was causing Su Tang to hesitate, but she believed that Su Tang would consider everything properly and come to the best conclusion.
Su Tang, who had stood up to go find Yu Caihe and to tell them to prepare dinner, heard Luo Xingchen suddenly say those words and, although her expression remained unchanged, her fingers trembled slightly. She whispered, “Thank you.”
.
tl begging corner:
