Chapter 389: Chapter 376: Frustration

Seeing Hu Er desperately explaining himself, as if afraid of being misunderstood, Zhuang Qingning inwardly sighed with exasperation.

How big of a trauma did the last incident with the scale bar inflict on the three Hu brothers?

To the point where they feared her like the devil.

“Alright.” Zhuang Qingning gave a slight nod, “If they’re not at home, then you can talk to your older brothers when they come back.”

“Ask them whether they are willing to work with the cavalry to transport goods. It’s a tough job, running around in all kinds of weather, it won’t be easy. But I did ask around, the wages are not bad. If you three work hard for two to three years, you should be able to settle down.”

“If you don’t want to do it, then pretend I never said anything. If you are willing, go to the county town tomorrow and look for the manager of Zhuang’s cloth shop in the town, Zhuang Yutian. Tell him I recommended you, Manager Zhuang will arrange everything for you.”

“That’s about it. You three discuss it among yourselves. I have some things to take care of in my shop, so I won’t stay any longer.”

“Ah, right, take your time, Manager Zhuang.”

Hu Er had clearly understood what Zhuang Qingning had said, but the proposal was sudden, and for a while, he was flabbergasted as he sent Zhuang Qingning off.

After leaving there, Zhuang Qingning went to Zhuang’s shop, waiting for Zhuang Sifu to come in the afternoon so they could go home together.

Once she got home, she started to prepare the mooncakes for the fifteenth of the lunar month.

In addition to the usual date paste and five-nut mooncakes, Zhuang Qingning had also made some with salted egg yolk and ice skin mooncakes, which combined both taste and aesthetics.

Making various mooncakes truly took a lot of Zhuang Qingning’s time and energy. It wasn’t until it was dark that she finally finished making a batch of mooncakes.

The date paste was sweet, the five-nut was fragrant, the salted egg yolk was unique, and the ice skin was soft and delicious. Each type was scrumptious.

“This mooncake is delicious.” Zhuang Qingsui couldn’t stop praising, eating one after another, trying all four types of mooncakes before rubbing her round belly with satisfaction and letting out a satisfied burp.

Zhuang Qingning, watching from the side, laughed, “It’s a good thing I made these mooncakes small, otherwise, wouldn’t you stuff yourself?”

“It’s worth getting stuffed with such delicious mooncakes.” Zhuang Qingsui made a face and helped Zhuang Qingning pack up the finished mooncakes. “Are these the ones for tomorrow?”

“Yes, these will be brought tomorrow. These are for Aunt Wen and Sister Zhou and Mrs. Han. These are for Uncle Yonghe’s family, and these are for the village chief. The remaining mooncakes will be taken by Brother Sifu tomorrow, some for Aunt Cao’s family, and some for Uncle Zhang.”

Zhuang Qingning had been incredibly busy lately and hadn’t gotten around to having a proper conversation with Zhang Yongchang. This time, sending mooncakes could constitute a form of compensation, couldn’t it?

Although the mooncakes might not be as good as the ones he made, they were handmade by her – a manifestation of filial piety.

Zhuang Qingning thought the arrangements were quite appropriate. She asked Zhuang Qingsui to go to Zhuang Yonghe’s house, and she herself went to Mrs. Wen’s and Zhuang Jingye’s houses to deliver the mooncakes.

Zhuang Jingye, of course, had nothing to say. Anything given by Zhuang Qingning was good, and moreover, it was an extremely face-saving matter.

After all, Zhuang Qingning was now a guest of high reverence for Master Ding. A word from her likely carried weight even before the county prefect. Being remembered and given mooncakes was of great honor, wasn’t it?

Zhuang Jingye thanked Zhuang Qingning profusely and even gave her a small basket of apples and pomegranates when she was leaving, asking her and Zhuang Qingsui to enjoy them at home.

Zhuang Qingning selected a few apples and pomegranates, along with the mooncakes, and went to Mrs. Wen’s house.

Upon arriving at Mrs. Wen’s house, she found the courtyard was rather lively.

Mrs. Wang was there, smiling broadly and chatting with Mrs. Wen. There was a bamboo basket near her feet, seemingly filled with eggs, mooncakes, and cakes. “Auntie’s clothes have been worn for a while now, right? There’s a market day coming up soon in town. I’m planning to go to the market and look around, maybe buy a few yards of cloth to make some new clothes for Auntie.”

Mrs. Wang’s smile was radiant, her eyes nearly squinting into slits, “Your shoes could also do with a new pair. I’m currently making shoe soles. When they dry in a few days, I’ll carve out the shoe soles and sew a new pair for Auntie.”

“Talk is cheap. The more you talk, the less you do.”

Mrs. Wen glanced at Mrs. Wang, her tone nonchalant, “If you really want to do something, just buy the cloth, make the clothes and bring them over. There’s no need for all this chatter. If someone didn’t know better, they would think you’d already done what you said you would.”

Isn’t that right? You end up doing nothing but spend your time talking about it. People around you hear about it, even if they don’t see you do anything, they’ll think you had the intention. In the end, they’ll perceive you in a good light.

Eventually, you end up owing a favor without reaping any benefits. And if there’s a conflict, people will accuse you of being ungrateful.

It’s such a frustrating situation.

And it’s something that Mrs. Wen dislikes.

Especially when it’s Mrs. Wang who’s doing all the talking and boasting. Mrs. Wen was growing even more impatient, her tone turning sour, “Isn’t that right?”

“We’re not children who can be swayed easily. Doing practical things is better than anything else.”

Mrs. Wang’s face turned red and white as Mrs. Wen’s words sank in. She was somewhat annoyed, but she didn’t dare to argue with Mrs. Wen. She could only put on a forced smile, her face twisting in embarrassment.

Zhuang Qingning, who was outside the courtyard, watched this scene unfold and blinked her eyes.

This Mrs. Wang used to show Mrs. Wen respect.

But to be precise, it wasn’t respect, but fear.

Firstly because all of Mrs. Wen’s land was farmed by her family. She feared that if she somehow offended Mrs. Wen, the land would be reclaimed.

Secondly, she was afraid of Mrs. Wen’s temper. It wasn’t something one wanted to provoke.

Even though she was fearful, Mrs. Wang only ever showed politeness on the surface. She’d never stooped to this much bootlicking before. Remembering how overtly enthusiastic Mrs. Wang was towards her last time…

You can’t be serious.

“Ning, why are you standing at the door and not coming in?”

Mrs. Wen’s voice interrupted Zhuang Qingning’s thoughts.

Zhuang Qingning brought herself back to reality, picked up the little bamboo basket in her hand, and went into the courtyard, “Aunt Wen, Aunt Wang.” “Ning is here?” Upon seeing Zhuang Qingning, Mrs. Wang’s eyes lit up and the smile on her face became more enthusiastic. “Did you bring something for your Aunt Wen again?”

“Aunt, Ning and Wencheng are similar, they are both filial children.”

“Indeed, they’re cut from the same cloth. They bear the same surname and if you trace back a few generations, they share the same ancestry. Being of the same lineage, it’s natural for them to have similar characters.”