Chapter 348 - Chapter 348: Chapter 335: So Angry

Chapter 348: Chapter 335: So Angry

They worked tirelessly from dawn to dusk in diligent and painstaking efforts to accumulate labor value.

Despite her strong desire for self-improvement, incomprehensibly, she was still not satisfying the demands of a certain system, which found fault with her every move, a truly exasperating occurrence.

Factually speaking, in this period, the system hasn’t assigned her any tasks that could help accumulate labor value fast, which is the epitome of incompetence.

What gives an incompetent system the right to criticize its host?

Zhuang Qingning voiced these questions in her mind, but there was no

response.

Clearly, the annoying system had made an escape once again.

This was… very frustrating!

Zhuang Qingning clenched her small fists tightly, taking her frustration out on the snow globe a few times when she got home, which greatly eased her ill temper.

After having a meal of braised pork over rice and eating a couple of crisp, sweet peaches, Zhuang Qingning felt her inner joy return.

Just finished dealing with the leftover peach pits, burying them in a corner of the flower bed in hopes of growing a new peach tree.

Immediately after she finished these tasks, Ding Gaochang arrived with Village

Chief Miao and Miao Hongjin.

■Tm sorry to bother you, Miss Zhuang,” As soon as Miao Hongjin alighted the carriage, he repeatedly bowed to Zhuang Qingning, showing great respect and politeness.

How could he not show respect?

She was set to be the village’s God of Wealth.

Ever since Ding Gaochang went to him, told him about the red sweet potato noodles, and let him taste the clear soup noodles and hot and sour noodles, Miao Hongjin felt that Miao Village’s future was looking bright.

Especially after Ding Gaochang discussed partnering with him to build a workshop in the village, Miao Hongjin felt a premonition of prosperity, like green smoke rising from their ancestral tomb, and the Miao ancestors showing divine favor from heaven.

Such tasty noodles will definitely sell well in the future. Moreover, dry noodles can be stored and transported easily. In the future, they could be sold wherever they wanted, even the possibility of selling them in the capital city wasn’t beyond reach.

And this workshop, though seemingly complex and not easy to set up, Miao Hongjin managed to catch onto a key concept – silver stock.

What was silver stock? It meant that each villager had a stake in this. Those who contributed more owned more, and those who contributed less owned less. Regardless of the amount, everyone owned a part of it. In other words, in the future, if villagers worked in the workshop, it would be like working for their own family. The more diligently they worked, the more silver they could earn. So, wouldn’t everyone give their all?

The initial phase would essentially be a collective effort. The workshop could be established without any family contributing too much, thus saving a lot of effort. And to be honest, even if the workshop couldn’t be established, they wouldn’t lose much. So, the villagers considered the costs carefully and were ready to venture into this undertaking.

Even more importantly, Zhuang Qingning was willing to take out the prescription to help their village set up this workshop.

Regardless of whether Zhuang Qingning held silver stock or not, even if she did, it was her right. Her willingness to set up the workshop with Miao Village instead of seeking out other villages was already a significant favor shown to them.

Miao Hongjin understood the difference between what was required and what was a favor. Therefore, while admiring Zhuang Qingning’s feat of making delicious sweet potato noodles and coming up with the brilliant idea of founding a workshop, he also felt immense gratitude towards her.

“Master Miao, stop being so formal. Please come in,” Zhuang Qingning led the two men into the courtyard, called Zhuang Qingsui to bring stools and prepared tea for them herself. “I don’t have much to offer in my humble home to entertain you, I am truly sorry.”

“Not at all, not at all, Miss Zhuang. Since I came without any prior notice, I’m the one who’s being rude. As long as you don’t mind, that’ll be enough,” Miao Hongjin laughed. “This tea you brewed is excellent. I haven’t had such a delightful cup of tea for a long time. Miss Zhuang, your skills are truly unmatched.”

“We’re like family now, Master Ding and Village Chief Miao, you do not need to be so formal,” Zhuang Qingning brought over crispy peaches that were cut into pieces. “These are from my aunt’s house, they are crisp and sweet. Please help yourselves.”

Ding Gaochang and Miao Hongjin didn’t stand on ceremony and each took a piece to taste.

“We came here today because Village Chief Miao and I have been discussing the details of the workshop over the past few days. We wanted to discuss them further with you,” said Ding Gaochang, getting straight to the point.

“Yes,” Miao Hongjin nodded, “I briefly explained the matter of the workshop in the village. Some villagers are sceptical and prefer to wait and see, but most are highly supportive and optimistic. They’ve started asking about the amount of sweet potatoes they can offer in exchange for silver stock.”

“Over the past few days, I’ve located a site in the village. It’s a piece of wasteland at the entrance of the village. With a bit of cleanup, it can be turned into a place for the workshop. Having said that, it’s an open space. It needs to be enclosed and the ground levelled. Even if we hurry, it will take at least half a month.”

“So I thought, if it’s convenient for Miss Zhuang, why don’t we teach the workers how to make the sweet potato glass noodles while the workshop is being built?”

“Sure, that way many things could be done simultaneously, saving a lot of time,” Zhuang Qingning agreed enthusiastically with Miao Hongjin’s proposal.

This way, things could start early. By the time this year’s sweet potato harvest comes in, the workshop will be up and running, the workers will have mastered their trade, and everything could get into full swing. By the time of the New Year, they would have made quite a bit of money.

For her personally, starting early could mean earning her debt-repaying labor value sooner.

Zhuang Qingning agreed so readily, Miao Hongjin was ecstatic. “It would great if Miss Zhuang would agree. In the coming days, I will make a list of individuals in the village who are interested in buying into the partnership and gathering their resources. The suitable workers will also be selected. We need to ensure that everyone in the workshop has a good work ethic and that no one is slacking off.”

“Once everything is ready, and we have everyone and everything that we need, we can then ask you to teach everyone how to make sweet potato glass noodles. Of course, if it’s not convenient for you here at your place, I could bring people over here daily to learn from you.”

Given Zhuang Qingning recent abduction ordeal, Ding Gaochang had insisted on keeping this a secret to ensure the reputation of all involved parties, including Zhuang Qingning, remained intact. Miao Hongjin was unaware of this matter and just felt that they needed to show sincerity and proper courtesy as Zhuang Qingning was helping their village set up the workshop.

“I’ll go to the workshop site instead. This way, I can check the site and discuss matters with Village Chief Miao. There’s a saying, ‘Three cobblers with their wits combined can outsmart Zhuge Liang.’ By talking together, we may come up with better ideas,” said Zhuang Qingning.

Having so many people coming over here to learn how to make sweet potato glass noodles, the distance was a concern and so was the space. Moreover, moving from a familiar environment to a new one might impact the learning

outcomes..