Chapter 499: Chapter 499: The Scent of Jealousy

Taohua walked out with a sullen face.

Seeing her second sister-in-law, Liu Yueer, by the shop’s ice basin snacking on melon seeds and fanning herself with two clerks, Taohua’s face grew even darker as she went up to scold her second sister-in-law, Liu Yueer.

Liu Yueer, seeing her sister-in-law’s unpleasant expression, did not dare to speak.

Although she’s the sister-in-law, her sister-in-law is the second in command of the family, and she dares not offend her.

Moreover, she really had stayed by the ice basin for too long.

"Sister-in-law Yueer, Taohua is really fierce, even dares to scold you." Said Li Hua, a girl from the Gu family who worked as a clerk at the supermarket, sticking out her tongue. She knew Taohua was tough, but there weren’t many people who would publicly berate their sister-in-law like this.

"What do you know? This is work, and at work, she’s my boss. It’s only right for her to scold me." Although Liu Yueer was unhappy, she dared not complain in front of her clan sister, or it would seem like she’s admitting she’s afraid of her sister-in-law.

"Taohua usually isn’t like this. Did someone provoke her? She’s venting." Said Lan Hua, another girl from Qinghe Bay.

Although Taohua usually carries the authority of a deputy owner, she never loses her temper with the clerks in the shop.

Liu Yueer thought about the way Taohua stomped her feet earlier, and a lightbulb went off in her mind.

Taohua scolding people today didn’t seem like a boss scolding a worker; it was full of girlish petulance, just like how she used to be when she saw Dashi talking to other girls in the village before their relationship was made clear. At that time, she couldn’t argue with Dashi directly, so she would go home and sulk with her siblings.

Could it be that her sister-in-law has fallen in love with some young man?

Since her sister-in-law came to Pingchuan, she hasn’t interacted with anyone other than family and supermarket clerks.

Who could her sister-in-law possibly like?

Liu Yueer ran through the clerks in the supermarket in her mind. The shopkeeper was too old, his eldest son was already married, the accountant was married, and most of the other male clerks were either married or engaged. Among the few who weren’t married, some were quite handsome.

Liu Yueer slapped her thigh. She certainly didn’t want her sister-in-law to fall for one of the clerks.

In her view, a strong woman and a weak man were no different from marrying into the family. If the man married into the Gu family, and they had a bunch of kids, wouldn’t the main family assets be controlled by Taohua?

Now, Liu Yueer hopes more than anyone that Taohua falls in love with a successful young man from a prestigious family. A young man from such a family would certainly not marry in, wouldn’t compete with Yaozu for the family assets, and could also bring benefits to their household.

Young girls in love are the most vulnerable to being coaxed; her sister-in-law absolutely must not be tempted by the clerks in the shop.

Dream on about that, like she’ll ever agree to it.

If she discovers anyone courting Taohua, she’ll definitely find an excuse to fire them.

Liu Yueer perked up; she’s the head clerk. Watch how she makes these eligible single male clerks focus on the customers, keeping them too busy to pursue Taohua. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Thus, the single male clerks in the shop were mobilized by Liu Yueer.

Taohua had no idea that her expression led her sister-in-law to think so much.

She went to the shop’s backyard, feeling very upset.

No amount of icy wind blowing from the ice basin could cool the agitation in her body, so she ended up frantically fanning herself over a basin of ice.

It’s still because she’s too fat.

Actually, since spring, Taohua’s body had slimmed down a bit; while not slender, she’s no longer considered fat either.

Her bad mood was all Su Chengmin’s fault.

He was with the Gu family, why did he want Nie Xiaofeng to keep an eye on Second Miss Lian, what was his ulterior motive?

Couldn’t Mom figure it out, why was he so eager?

Since Su Chengmin had Nie Xiaofeng keep tabs on who Second Miss Lian met and what she said, it had made her feel uncomfortable.

"Taohua, I’ve been looking everywhere for you! What are you doing here?"

Su Chengmin, after leaving Tong Huaqiong’s place, turned around and found Taohua was gone.

The heat was increasing, and Taohua feared the heat. He bought sour plum soup in the morning, filled a ceramic jar with it, and chilled it in ice. Now he took it out for Taohua to drink.

After looking for a long time throughout the inside and outside of the supermarket, Su Chengmin finally saw Taohua in the courtyard at the back of the supermarket.

Taohua was fanning herself furiously over the ice basin; she must be extremely hot.

Seeing Su Chengmin, the anger in Taohua that had just subsided flared up again,

"What is wrong with you? Didn’t you say you’re staying in Pingchuan for these days? Why are you going back to Qinghe Bay? If you go back and there’s trouble at the supermarket, what then?" The more Taohua thought, the angrier she got, and she vented at Su Chengmin.

"Xiao Long is my elder brother and sister-in-law’s son; how could they possibly mistreat him? You’re just being narrow-minded."

Taohua lashed out at Su Chengmin.

These past days, it’s always been Su Chengmin accompanying her when she goes out, how could he just leave? Where does that leave her as the deputy owner?

Su Chengmin mused that Xiao Long was just pretending to be her elder brother and sister-in-law’s child. How did they pretend so well that Taohua believed it? Being part of the same fate, he knew that apart from him, others were also secretly ensuring Xiao Long wouldn’t be harmed, but he felt uneasy if he didn’t return for a long time.

Su Chengmin smiled apologetically, "Taohua, how can you think of me like that? Think about how I’ve treated you and your family these past days, haven’t I always been at your disposal?"

Taohua muttered, "Not really."

Seeing Taohua’s angry expression was kind of cute, with sweat on her forehead, he resisted the urge to wipe it; instead, he extended his hand and said, "I know you’re afraid of the heat, so I brought you sour plum soup."

This "knowing you’re afraid of the heat" infuriated Taohua.

What does that mean?

Who is afraid of the heat?

Fat people are afraid of the heat, isn’t that a veiled hint that she’s fat?

Taohua gritted her teeth in anger. Her mother told her not to care about other people’s looks, unless being fat affected her health, she didn’t need to lose weight. She endures extreme heat and exhaustion every day, relying on meals to get by. Now that her body fat has turned into muscle, with a good shape and looks great in clothes, she’s still being called fat.

Can she tolerate that?

"How dare you call me fat? I didn’t eat your rice, what does it matter to you if I’m fat." Taohua was furious.

Su Chengmin was bewildered, unsure what specifically he said to make Taohua feel he was calling her fat.

Besides, being fat was good; Taohua had a sturdy build, strong in times of hardship or war, she could probably even wrestle an enemy to death.

Su Chengmin said, "Has someone else called you fat and you mistook it for me? I tell you, you’re fine as you are, even better if you’re a bit plump, really."

As soon as Su Chengmin spoke, it made Taohua even angrier.

He claimed he didn’t say it, but wasn’t it obvious he was calling her fat.

Taohua angrily kicked the ice basin.

"Second Miss Lian is slim, no wonder you’re so attentive to her."

Taohua herself didn’t even know why she brought up Second Miss Lian.

It made her seem as if she was jealous of Second Miss Lian.

She absolutely wasn’t; she wasn’t jealous of someone as beautiful and slender as Lu Zhaozhao, much less Second Miss Lian.

Taohua stomped her foot and left, not forgetting to snatch the sour plum soup from Su Chengmin’s hand.

The air was filled with a faint scent of jealousy.

"How did this turn into something about Second Miss Lian?"

Su Chengmin scratched his head, confused.