Chapter 369: Chapter 356: Heartache

She’s young, she has got plenty of time to work hard and be a diligent helper.

Very well, very well!

Is she of proper age?

Zhuang Yutian was suddenly taken aback.

Could it be that Zhuang Qingning….

However, it’s not impossible.

After all, Zhuang Qingning is one of the few intelligent and wise people in the world. If he were to marry her, she would undoubtedly be an excellent helper at home.

Although the Cheng family has a decent background, they are merely of a merchant’s origin, but Zhuang Qingning is more than equipped to match Cheng

Ruize.

Zhuang Yutian suddenly felt as if he had stumbled upon something extraordinary.

“It’s just a pity that…”

Zhuang Qingning suddenly shook her head.

Zhuang Yutian once again paused, “Pity about what?”

If she regrets her humble origins, Zhuang Yutian thinks that Zhuang Qingning shouldn’t blame herself, after all, one cannot choose one’s origins.

“It’s a pity that Manager Cheng is a man. If he were a girl, we could have become intimate friends and have endless heart-to-heart chats,” Zhuang

Qingning sighed.

She really regretted it deeply.

Cheng Ruize truly has a business mind, far surpassing ordinary people of this time. If she could chat more with such a person, she would certainly gain a lot, which would greatly help her earn diligence points.

But in this era, strict boundaries exist between men and women. Normal business interactions can be carried out with many people accompanying, but too much personal exchange could lead to excessive gossip.

Therefore, Zhuang Qingning truly regrets the fact that Cheng Ruize is a man.

So…

Zhuang Yutian glanced at the disheartened Zhuang Qingning, his eyes widened, and he touched his nose and shook his head helplessly.

Indeed, the only thing Zhuang Qingning thinks about is making money.

It was he who overthought things here.

For a while, Zhuang Yutian felt embarrassed because of his wild thoughts, and

his pace unconsciously slowed down a bit.

“What’s wrong, Uncle Yutian?” ZhuangQingning noticed Zhuang Yutian’s slightly surprised gaze and asked with a smile.

“No, nothing. I just drank too much tea just now, and now I feel hungry. I was just thinking about what to eat at noon.”

Zhuang Yutian thought for a while and said, “For lunch, let’s have your aunt make some steamed buns, she’s really good at it, and we can have it with some pickles and a bowl of ribs soup. What do you think?”

“Good.” Zhuang Qingning smiled, “I can’t wait to taste my aunt’s cooking at noon.”

Seeing Zhuang Qingning agree, Zhuang Yutian no longer thought about the previous matter and was now just considering what to eat for lunch.

On Cheng Ruize’s side, after sending Zhuang Qingning and Zhuang Yutian away, he went into the new shop to check everything again.

He then instructed his staff on what to pay attention to when they were

working in the future.

“Manager.” The junior Fang Hou handed over a cup of tea with a smile, “Just made it, Manager, moisten your throat.”

“Hmm.” Cheng Ruize took it, took a sip of the tea, held it in his mouth for a while, and after his throat felt moisturized, he swallowed it. “By the way, has the person who delivered the gifts to my parents come back?”

“He’s back.” Fang Hou smiled and said, “He came back in the morning. Knowing that the manager was busy, I had him put the things straight into your inner courtyard.”

“That man said that the old master and madam were very happy, especially the madam. She praised you a lot, says that everyone is away from home yet you show the most filial piety, always remembering to send things back every now and then. Unlike the eldest and second young masters who once they are out, there’s no news from them.”

“The Madam also sent two new silk quilts for the manager, saying that it will soon be August and the nights can be chilly. She told you to cover up more at night to prevent catching a cold.”

“The madam also told us to take good care of you, not to let you overwork yourself, and to remind you to return home early before August 15th. At that time, the madam wants to personally make mooncakes. She will make your favorite date paste mooncakes.”

“She also said that she wanted you to eat a lot, eat up the portions for both the eldest and second young masters, let them regret not having mooncakes to eat in the future.”

“Mother has always been worried about me.” Cheng Ruize’s mouth was filled with a smile, “Tell the man to take a message back to my mother, I will be home on August 14th. That will put her mind at ease.”

“Yes.” Fang Hou replied and then went to arrange for someone to take the message back as per Cheng Ruize’s instructions.

After finalizing the matter of the century eggs shop with Cheng Ruize, in Miao Village, Miao Hongjin came back to say that the workshop was almost ready. He invited Zhuang Qingning to come and take a look and if everything was in order, they could start preparing to teach everyone how to make the sweet potato glass noodles.

The next day, Zhuang Qingning went to Miao Village.

As Miao Hongjin said, the workshop was almost built. Like what he said before, it was a very spacious workshop.

Though the walls of the courtyard were made of adobe bricks, because they were new, they looked neat and tidy. The ground in the courtyard was also rolled out with a stone roller, making it very solid. Even if it rained for several days, the ground would not be muddy.

Many sheds were set up. Although they were thatched sheds, they looked very sturdy and were enough for shelter from wind and rain. Large stoves and other equipment were also prepared.

“I’ve already had someone measure the size of the pot. They said it would take another two or three days. If you just want to demonstrate the method, there are small stoves and pots prepared here. You can show everyone first.”

As Miao Hongjin took Zhuang Qingning around the workshop, he explained, “In the past few days, we’ve made a lot of sweet potato starch. Manager Zhuang, you should take a look and see if it’s good enough or if it needs to be ground more.”

With that, he took out two small bags of sweet potato flour for Zhuang Qingning to check. One bag contained the product obtained after drying the settled and solidified sweet potato starch, which was a small piece. The other bag contained finely ground flour, as fine as wheat flour.

Zhuang Qingning examined each one and nodded her head, “Yes, it’s done well and can be used.”

Seeing Zhuang Qingning say this, Miao Hongjin breathed a sigh of relief, “As long as it can be used, I was worried that the workers, being clumsy, might not be able to produce a good product.”

“Village Chief Miao is being humble. Making these sweet potato glass noodles is not like making a sophisticated cake after all, being close to good is enough. Village Chief Miao doesn’t need to be so nervous.”

Since Zhuang Qingning arrived, she realized that Miao Hongjin had been in a state of nervous tension. It was clear that he was worried that if something was not done well, it would delay the workshop construction, or even lead to a failure in starting the workshop.

Being slightly nervous can stimulate one’s spirit, make one more focused when doing things, and also more responsible.

But if one is overly tense, such a state cannot be maintained for long and problems will arise.