Chapter 15 first quarter

It was not until 1:05 in the afternoon that Anxi Jingzi walked out of the house.After all, it was only five minutes away from the destination, and she really didn't want to go there early. Think of it as a once-a-month errand, Shizuko thought.Only by thinking like this can we get through that depressing time. Walking on the road across the community from east to west, Shizuko's footsteps were far from brisk. There are more than 300 families living in this emerging residential area, and most of the men in the families work for the home appliance manufacturer "ABC Electric".This company is only a ten-minute drive from the community. It is no exaggeration to say that this piece of land is developed exclusively for the company's employees.

Shizuko's husband naturally also works for ABC Electric, which belongs to the research and development department, and has finally been promoted to a management position recently. They bought a house here a year ago.When she just bought the long-awaited single-family house, Jingzi was very happy every day. About a month after moving to the new house, Shizuko found out about Mrs. Tomioka's tea party.This is what Wenhui Torikai told her. Wenhui also lives in the same community, and her husband works as the IC design section chief at ABC Electric. Mrs. Tomioka, named Sadako, is the wife of the director of ABC Electric Tomioka, and the director of Tomioka happens to be in charge of the research and development department and the IC design department.In other words, for Shizuko and Wenhui, Mrs. Tomioka is "the wife of her husband's immediate boss".

Fumie Torikai told her that Mrs. Tomioka holds a tea party every month, and the participants are all "wives of her husband's subordinates", so you should come to attend too. When she first heard about this, Jingzi found it very troublesome, and even had some resistance, thinking that if she wanted to socialize with her boss, it was enough to be in the company, why should she even involve her private life?My husband also said that I don't want to go to that kind of place. But in the end Jingzi decided to attend the next party.She believes that doing so can contribute somewhat to improving her husband's impression points.

However, to this day, Shizuko deeply regrets her original decision.If he didn't participate from the beginning, although Mrs. Tomioka's impression of her husband would not be increased, there was no need to worry about losing points. Now that she participated recklessly, it would be difficult to quit halfway. I'm afraid I'll have to go to that party for many years to come.The thought of this made her feel heavy.If it is depicted in manga, there must be black lines all over her forehead, Shizuko imagined. Four wives have already arrived in the reception room of Tomioka Mansion, among them Fumie Torikai, Junko Machida, and Yoshie Furukawa are all old faces, and there is also a young woman whom Shizuko has never seen before.Torikai Fumihui introduced that she is Hiromi Tanaka, who just moved here last month and is attending this party for the first time today.

"Please take care of me." Hiromi Tanaka saluted. "You are too polite." Jingzi smiled back, thinking that there was another victim. Sadako Tomioka is here.She glanced at the clock on the wall, and then at everyone present. "Ms. Yamada and Mrs. Sato don't seem to be here yet." Her eyes under the rimless glasses seemed to be shining brightly. Torikai Fumie straightened her back nervously, and turned to the director's wife. "Oh, Mrs. Yamada, I heard that one of her relatives passed away, so she asked for leave. That, I'm really sorry."

"Oh, is that so? That's really a big deal." Mrs. Tomioka immediately frowned sympathetically, "Who is that deceased relative? Does my husband know about this? Let me ask him to see the situation." Sent a message of condolence." "No, no, that's just a distant relative... Ah, but you still have to attend the funeral... So, you don't need to bother sending a message of condolence." Tokai Wenhui spoke incoherently, and managed to squeeze out these words. "That's it. If that's the case, it's better not to send a message of condolence for the time being. So, what about Mrs. Sato?"

"Mrs. Sato's child has a fever, so she asked for leave." This time Machida Junko answered, and she lived next door to Sato's house. "Oh, have a cold?" "I think so." "I heard that this year's cold is not as severe as usual. I'll go see her later and bring some snacks by the way." When Madam said this, Machida Junko panicked. "But Mrs. Sato said that the condition is not very serious, please don't worry about it..." "Really? But a cold can't be taken lightly." Madame thought.Seeing her like this, Jingzi thought, this one must still go to visit and bring "handmade" snacks.

After Mrs. Tomioka finished roll call, the tea party finally started.Jingzi and others helped to serve black tea and snacks. Today's dessert is chiffon cake. "I think the test is very good, and the children also praised the food." Madam proudly puffed out her chest, and Shizuko smiled back, cutting off a piece with a fork.As soon as she touched it, she couldn't help thinking, what is this?Chiffon cake is characterized by its texture as light as a sponge, but this cake is hard.Shizuko immediately concluded that it was not only poorly prepared, but also overcooked.Put it in your mouth and taste it, the taste is really bad.

"Well, it's delicious." Fumie Tokai's expression was completely different from Shizuko's, "So soft and plump, it just melts in your mouth." Madam narrowed her eyes with a smile: "Really? Mrs. Gu Chuan, what do you think?" She asked Furu Chuan Yoshie who loved dim sum among the crowd. "Hmm...yes, it's delicious." Furukawa Yoshie finished hesitantly, and turned to Shizuko for support, "Are you right?" "Yes, it's delicious." Jingzi had no choice but to say this. After getting the expected response, Mrs. Tomioka drank her black tea contentedly.

At this moment, Hiromi Tanaka, who had been eating the cake with a complicated expression, suddenly said: "Ah, I almost forgot." She picked up the small paper bag that was put aside and handed it out, "I baked cookies today Bring it here, if you don’t mind it, please try it.” The atmosphere in the reception room became tense in an instant.Everyone remained silent, watching each other's words and expressions, and finally peeked at the expression of the lady.The madam still had a smile on her lips, but the eyes behind her eyes showed anger.Shizuko lowered her head, secretly blaming the new Hiromi Tanaka for making such an uninteresting move...

At last Mrs. Tomioka broke the awkward silence. "Oh, is it? This is your handicraft? It's baked very well. Since I brought it specially, let's try it." "Please, you're welcome." Hiromi Tanaka, oblivious to the tense atmosphere, pushed the paper bag to the center of the dining table. "Then I'll try a piece." Machida Junko said tremblingly, reaching out his hand. "I'll take a piece too." "I also……" "I'll try it." Jingzi also picked up a piece. Delicious, this is her first impression.The taste is crisp, accompanied by the aroma of lemon, and the right sweetness spreads in the mouth.But she couldn't tell Hiromi Tanaka this compliment, at least not here. "Well, what do you think?" Hiromi Tanaka asked worriedly, perhaps seeing that everyone was silent. "I think it's okay." Torikai Wenhui said, "It's also considered delicious." "It's well baked," said Tanaka Junko. "It's not bad." Furukawa Yoshie said. When talking about impressions, everyone was a little vague. Hiromi Tanaka was quite disturbed when he saw this, so he tasted it himself, and immediately showed a displeased expression, as if to say, I thought it was my proud work.Seeing this, Jingzi couldn't help feeling pity. "Speaking of cookies," Torikai Fumihui said, "the one my wife served a few days ago is the best!" The wife she was talking about was naturally Mrs. Tomioka.Ever since she tasted Hiromi Tanaka's cookies, the lady has kept her face stern and silent, until she heard this sentence, she smiled again.