My Daughter Is The Family Head Prologue
t.i.tle: My Daughter is the Family Head - 女大當家
Author : Yu Wanwan 余宛宛
Total Chapters: Prologue + 34 Chapters = 35 parts
Catmeme6's notes:
If you dislike violence, this story is not for you. This story will take you on an emotional roller-coaster of love, hate, sadness, despair, heartbreak, and happiness.
This story has a happy ending.......at least to me, it is a happy ending.
Prologue
If one were to ask about the most famous restaurant in the capital city of Dongyan, nine out of ten people would say it is the Hua Ji Restaurants.
Actually, Hua Ji Restaurant is an old shop but these recent ten years, after the only child and daughter of the Hua Family, Hua Ming Zi had taken over the business, all the Hua Ji Restaurant businesses flourished. Each and every restaurant had its own special menus and the old customers not only frequently return but when a new branch of the restaurant opens for business, everyone would make sure to patronize the new restaurant with their friends and relatives.
And for this very reason, the Family Head of the Ying Family, Ying Yang Long had especially insisted on patronizing the new restaurant soon after his return to the city. As the owner of the Ying Medical Halls that trade in medicines, he had just completed the task of delivering medicines to his customers. Although the Ying Medical Halls had no related connections with the restaurants, overall the ways and methods of conducting business were quite similar. There was nothing wrong with learning a bit more about business.
"Dangjia*, when are we leaving?"
(Dangjia is the t.i.tle of a Family Head.)
Steward Zhu poured a cup of tea for Ying Yan Long. Before Ying Yan Long could reply, his younger brother, Ying Xue Wen who was sitting beside him turned his head around with wide eyes and said. "Why do we have to leave so soon? I only just drank a cup of tea and I haven't enjoyed enough of the songs* yet."
(In the olden days, there were people who sing in restaurants for money given by customers in appreciation. The singers would travel from place to place to make a living and the restaurants let them sing in their premises to attract more customers. They usually work in pairs and the singer who is normally a girl would be accompanied by her father or teacher who plays a musical instrument such as the pipa or the erhu.)
"Let us have one more cup of tea before we leave."
Ying Yan Long said lightly and pretended to unintentionally look in the direction about twenty-steps away from where he was sitting. However, very quickly he withdrew his gaze and continued to look around the restaurant.
The Hua Ji Restaurants truly lived up to its famous name. In all their ten-plus restaurants, each restaurant's dishes were exquisite, their staff's service was warm and cordial and the only difference was that the quality of the dishes varied and of course, the prices also varied accordingly.
For example, in this new Hua Ji Restaurant in the city which he was patronizing today, a dish of 'Clearwater Lotus' would have cost an ordinary family's ten days' worth of food expenses. So the quality of attentive service from the staff in the restaurant was naturally extraordinary. From the floral bowls for washing hands to the fine quality green tea served, everything greatly emphasized that the cool spring water used was from Qingcheng Mountain Villa. The brocade covered cushion seats on the chairs, the pictures of different flowers and birds on the walls and the music played by the ladies created an atmosphere that other ordinary restaurants were unable to match.
The only imperfection was that a commotion had started twenty steps away from him at this moment.
Ying Yan Long lifted his head and looked in that direction.
A man wearing a purple-gold embroidered robe was continuously hara.s.sing and approaching a woman whose face was covered by a tulle veil.
Ying Yan Long was actually waiting to see what would happen next. The woman whose face was covered with a tulle veil was obviously the Head of Hua Ji Restaurant, Hua Ming Ji. He wondered how she would normally deal with the city's infamous lecher, Luo Ji Cai when they meet.
"Luo Ji Cai, what do you want?"
She narrowed her eyes and glared at Luo Ji Cai who was so drunk that even his eyelids had turned reddish.
"He, he, he...... What will you allow me to do? Today, I must take a look at you and see your face. I want to see for myself whether you, Head of the Hua Family, are as beautiful as a flower or as ugly as a ghost!" Luo Ji Cai laughed slyly and took another step forward as he swayed unsteadily on his feet.
"What has it got to do with you whether I look as beautiful as a flower or as ugly as a ghost?!" Hua Ming Zi said between her clenched teeth.
"The people in the whole city know that I, Luo Ji Cai, have chosen you as my wife."
"The people in the whole city know that I would rather die than marry you." As soon as Hua Ming Zi said those words, it attracted bursts of laughter from everyone.
This was because the words of Hua Ming Ji were not spoken in jest.
Luo Ji Cai is well-known among the people in the capital city as an unfilial son and relied on his Elder Sister who is the Concubine of the Emperor for support. His father is a Prime Minister holding one of the two Prime Minister positions in the Imperial Court and because of his father's important status, he would do as he pleased.
Everyone knew that Luo Ji Cai often caused trouble in all corners of the city and it was common knowledge that a girl from a reputable family would never be willing to marry him!
"After I have taken off your veil and looked at your face, then you will have to marry......" Luo Ji Cai took another step towards her.
Hua Ming Zi tightened her lips with disgust and tried to suppress the rising nauseous feeling caused by his breath that reeked of alcohol.
She took a step back and threw a glance out the window. Then she sneered and said. "Who said that I will have to marry once my veil is lifted? Where did you hear those crazy words? Restaurants? Brothels? Were you sober at that time? Or were you drunk, so drunk that you fantasized everything?"
Hua Ming Zi's words made Luo Ji Cai's face turned red and he shot forward a step to pounce on her. "This one is going to take off your veil today!"
"You are very bold!" Hua Ming Zi sidestepped to dodge him and slammed her hand on the table with a loud sound.
The table collapsed instantly.
Immediately, the entire second floor became silent. Luo Ji Cai looked at the table and his drunkenness had vanished by half.
"What? I just made a move and you're scared. Where has your boldness disappeared to?" Hua Ming Zi glanced briefly behind Luo Ji Cai.
"Who said I am scared?!" Luo Ji Cai widened his eyes and once again stretched out his hands to make a grab for her.
"Luo Gongzi*, please stop!" The Captain of the city's North District Patrol quickly stood in front of Luo Ji Cai.
(Gongzi is an honorific for a son of an official or son of a n.o.ble or wealthy family. It is also a polite way of addressing a man.)
Hua Ming Zi took the opportunity to retreat three steps and stood behind the Captain.
Just now when she saw Luo Ji Cai enter the restaurant, she had sent someone to inform the Captain. After all, Luo Ji Cai was frequently causing trouble and the Patrol was already very tired of his behavior. The Patrol helped Hua Ming Zi not only because they gave her face. Sometimes, when the Patrol patronized the Hua Ji Restaurants, she would still collect the dues according to the bill but the food served to them would always be several times more than what they had ordered and more than the bill they were supposed to pay.
"You dare to interfere with my matters?!" Luo Ji Cai reached out his hand and pushed the Captain.
The Captain jumped away and Luo Ji Cai who was unstable on his feet crashed into the wall and fell on the ground.
"The Patrol hit people!" Luo Ji Cai shouted out loudly.
"Everyone saw you crashed into the wall because you drank too much." Hua Ming Zi sneered as she folded her arms over her chest.
The Patrol team surrounded Luo Ji Cai to help him stand up.
"Get lost!" Once Luo Ji Cai had stood up firmly, he pushed everyone away.
"Luo Gongzi, this way, please! Luo Daren* had instructed us that should Luo Gongzi have a dispute with anyone, we are to request you to leave first." The Captain gave his men a meaningful look and instantly two of his men stood on either side of Luo Ji Cai.
(Daren means Lord or Master.)
"My Elder Sister is an Imperial Concubine! Don't you dare touch me!" Luo Ji Cai glared at the Captain.
"Luo Daren said he wants to see you immediately." The Captain said.
While dragging his feet to leave reluctantly, Luo Ji Cai glared at him fiercely while he muttered and swore and the words that slipped from his mouth shocked everyone around him.
Hua Ming Zi folded her arms across her chest and held back the urge to push Luo Ji Cai down the stairs.
"There is no one that I, Luo Ji Cai, can't have." Luo Ji Cai turned around to look back at her just before he descended the stairs.
"Luo Gongzi, pay attention to your footsteps. Otherwise, you will be like a dog eating s.h.i.t or you will end up being unconscious." Hua Ming Zi taunted.
Luo Ji Cai's face turned pale and his face sank as he walked down the stairs amidst everyone's laughter.
After Hua Ming Zi nodded at the Captain who was walking behind Luo Ji Cai, she went downstairs by another set of small stairs and told the Shopkeeper to send everyone a complimentary pot of tea to calm their nerves.
The moment Ying Xue Wen saw the Dangjia of Hua Family had left, he immediately leaned over to his brother and said. "Oh my G.o.d! When that Hua Dangjia slapped on the table, it instantly collapsed! It can be seen she is very highly skilled in martial arts. She is so fierce and tough, how will anyone dare to marry her in future?"
"She used her brains and not martial arts to deal with the matter. Didn't you see her look out the window just now? She was actually waiting for the Patrol to arrive." Ying Yan Long looked at the broken table - that table always seemed to be unoccupied, so there must be a problem with the table.
"Did she?" Ying Xue Wen asked with a frown.
"You only stared at the girl who was singing and she smiled at you several times. Then you felt so happy that you floated in the air. How would you be able to observe other matters?" Ying Yan Long said with a dead-pan expression and he has long been accustomed to his brother's att.i.tude which was always not serious.
Ying Xue Wen's expression turned gloomy but very quickly he recovered and said. "Elder Brother, this Hua Dangjia is so fierce.......was Elder Sister-in-law as fierce as her the last time?"
"Hua Dangjia knows how to deal with matters according to the situation." The moment his late wife got emotional, she would disregard all feelings even in public.
In the beginning, he and his deceased wife were well matched and she had good business sense. Their marriage was celebrated with a grand wedding. Who knew that the moment she married into the Ying Family, both of them would always quarrel due to differences in opinions. After being married for less than a year, his wife requested to leave with a group of businessmen who were venturing overseas. Unexpectedly, the group encountered a sea storm and his wife lost her life in the deep sea.
"Elder Brother, if you were to marry again, would you choose to marry a female Dangjia again?" Ying Xue Wen asked.
"It is enough for a family to have one capable person." A peaceful home is a blessing. He just wanted a gentle woman to take care of the family and give him peace of mind.
"That is not necessarily true. Maybe you just love females who are Dangjia........"
After Ying Yan Long threw a glance at his brother, he stood up and walked towards the stairs. If it was not for the reason he wanted to see how Hua Ming Zi was going to deal with that matter just now, he would have long left to make preparations to enter the palace. The Ying Medical Halls had the trust of the royal family and therefore, once a month he would have to report to the Emperor on the current health status of a few of the Emperor's royal treasures.
When Ying Yan Long walked out of the Hua Ji Restaurant, there was a carriage standing in front of the entrance that was about to leave.
Sitting in the carriage, Hua Ming Zi, who had taken off her veil, was holding up her swollen right hand for her maid, Cui Xuan, to apply a layer of the medicine, White Gra.s.s Ointment from the Ying Medical Halls.
"That ghost Luo Ji Cai! Sooner or later, I will definitely have a showdown with him to see whether he will dare to cause me trouble again!"
After she had said those words, she closed her eyes to take a rest.
She did not want to waste time on Luo Ji Cai. She had to make use of every second she could to take a rest so that she could allocate more time to do more things for the Hua Ji Restaurants. After all......
For a woman to be the Dangjia of a household is definitely not easy!
In addition to dealing with the restaurants' businesses, she had to deal with her marriage matters. Furthermore, she had to obey her father's orders to look for someone to go to the Ying Family to propose marriage to their Dangjia, Ying Yan Long.
Interesting notes:
In the olden days, it is normal for the Male's Family to propose to the Female's Family but if the Female's Family is of higher status and richer, and the Female takes a liking to a Male of lower status, sometimes the reverse will happen although it is rare.
As in Hua Ming Zi's case, since she had pa.s.sed the marriageable age and with her excellent business capability, it would be difficult for her to find a suitable match as no man would dare to marry her.
A suitable match would be 'wooden door faces wooden door, bamboo door faces bamboo door' meaning both families of the same level in status and wealth.
So, the Hua Family proposed marriage to the Ying Family instead of waiting for a suitable proposal to come along as no one seemed to be brave enough to ask for her hand in marriage.
An interesting point to note is when a woman marries into a family as a 'Tian Fang' she would not have the same status as the deceased First Wife and would be regarded as the Second Wife with the t.i.tle Second Madam. She will not have any status in the household and is looked down upon by other members of the family. This situation is even worse if the Tian Fang is a young woman married to an old man.
'Tian Fang' literary means 'fill up the house or room' and from the words, one can deduce the woman's low value as she would only be filling in the vacant position of a wife.
For this reason, normally a reputable family will never allow their daughter to be married as a Tian Fang unless under unavoidable circ.u.mstances. The women are merely taken in as a Second Wife to satisfy the husband's physical needs, serve the husband and look after the household. They do not even have any say in the upbringing of the children of the deceased First Wife if there is any. The women chosen are usually widows, divorcees, or a poor girl that is sold into the family as these women do not have strong family backing and they are obedient.