Chapter 636 - Chapter 636: Chapter 623: Tibetan Man (1/2)
Chapter 636: Chapter 623: Tibetan Man
Su Zhengshi visited Qingshi Town every other day, lingering near The First Noodle Shop of the World, yet always ending up eating a big bowl of wontons in the shop across the street before leaving.
At dusk each day, Su Zhengshi would enter the vegetable cellar at home. He always carried a bamboo basket when headed there and would leave with the basket filled with various vegetables.
Su Zhengshi purchased a house in the county town. The combined price of the land and property deeds came to sixty taels of silver.
Recently, Su Zhengshi’s family added a dog to their household. This dog was quite fierce and not very familiar with others. Whoever came to their house would be greeted by its continuous loud barking, discouraging many people from approaching their doorstep.
Zhuang Qingning nodded after hearing Su Mu’s words, dusting off the ash that had accumulated on her hands from eating sunflower seeds, and gathering the seed shells left on the stone table. “It seems I should take a trip to the noodle factory,” she concluded.
After preparing a bit, Zhuang Qingning found a bullock cart in the village and set off for Shijiazhuang.
When she arrived at Su Zhengshi’s noodle factory, he was inside, observing the bustling workers. Seeing Zhuang Qingning, he seemed a bit surprised and hurried to greet her, “Manager Zhuang, what brings you here?”
“A few days ago, you mentioned that there was no news of Manager Shang, and I could not put my mind at ease, so I came to check in,” Zhuang Qingning replied. “I also wanted to see how the workshop is faring.”
“We still have not heard from Manager Shang,” Su Zhengshi sighed. “I’ve been checking in the county and town now and then, but no one has seen him.”
“The workshop still operates as it always has. We follow the procedures that Manager Shang and Manager Zhuang established. We dare not slack. Please take a look, Manager Zhuang.”
Su Zhengshi led Zhuang Qingning on a tour around the workshop.
Zhuang Qingning scrutinized everything carefully.
After she finished her inspection, Zhuang Qingning smiled, “It seems the number of workers has increased greatly.”
“The factory’s business is good, and there was never enough help. So, we hired more workers. These newcomers are quite good at their tasks and are very clever,” Su Zhengshi explained. “But don’t worry, Manager Zhuang, these workers are paid their ordinary wages; they won’t get a share of the village’s silver stock.”
“Yes, Village chief Su is meticulous and thorough. Since the workshop has been handed over to Village Chief Su, you just need to handle it as usual.”
Zhuang Qingning raised her eyebrows, “Speaking of which, there’s another matter that I would like to discuss with Village Chief Su.”
“What is it?” asked Su Zhengshi.
“Well…” Zhuang Qingning glanced around at the busy workers and lowered her voice, “I have a business proposal that I want to discuss with Village Chief Su. But there are too many ears around here, and if word gets out, it might cause others to take the initiative. It would be better if we talk about it back at your house.”