Chapter 198: Chapter 198: Innate Divine Power

Translator: 549690339

After Lian Rong gave his praise, he scratched his ear and thanked Zhuang Qingning earnestly: “I really appreciate it, Miss Zhuang. It’s getting late, I need to rush and move these vegetables to the kitchen.”

“I’ll help you, these two baskets of vegetables are too much for you to carry alone.” Zhuang Qingning bent down to lend a hand.

“No, no, no, I can’t let you do this kind of heavy labor,” Lian Rong hurriedly stopped her. “I’ll do it myself. I can make two trips if I can’t finish in one. You don’t have to do anything…”

As Lian Rong spoke, he grunted as he lifted one of the baskets.

The basket, loaded with cucumbers and pumpkins, was indeed heavy. After Lian Rong lifted it, he stumbled, and the basket fell “thump” onto the ground.

“Damn, it’s quite heavy.” Lian Rong gasped for breath and chuckled at Zhuang Qingning: “But it’s fine. I’ll call a couple of guys over to help me carry it.”

“There’s no need for that. You carry the lighter one, I’ll handle this.” Zhuang Qingning tried to hide a smile, took hold of the both sides of the bamboo basket, and hoisted it up.

She appeared relaxed, not showing any signs of strain or breathing heavily.

The extraordinary strength she gained from leveling up genuinely came in handy. Such a heavy object was lifted so easily.

Zhuang Qingning hadn’t deliberately tested her strength since she leveled up. In normal life, there wasn’t much heavy work for her to do. Today, while moving the vegetables, Zhuang Qingning found it interesting. As she picked up the basket, she gauged its weight.

Huh, she seemed to be capable of lifting even more…

Zhuang Qingning purposely let go with one hand, and found that she could easily lift the basket full of vegetables with one hand.

Not bad, if she encountered any danger in the future, she could take on three people with one punch!

She could throw a punch as heavy as a sandbag!

The idea made Zhuang Qingning smile broadly.

Meanwhile, Lian Rong was standing there, completely dumbfounded.

What was happening? A basket he, a young and robust man, couldn’t lift was hoisted up by a seemingly weak and delicate young lady. And with one hand? Was this even possible?

Lian Rong managed to retract his bulging eyes, staring at Zhuang Qingning in disbelief: “Miss Zhuang, you…”

Ah… she forgot her gifts went beyond regular limits.

“Well, urn…” Zhuang Qingning coughed lightly: “I’ve been naturally strong ever since I was a child, and I used to do farming work back home, which made me even stronger…”

“Please don’t mention this to others, Brother Rong…”

Zhuang Qingning pretended to blush.

Hearing this, Lian Rong immediately nodded.

There were people with divine strength, right? Didn’t storytellers always tell tales about people who could kill tigers with a single punch and kick an ox into the air? Zhuang Qingning must be one of those people.

If such strength was possessed by a man, it would be an admirable and praiseworthy thing. But if a girl like Zhuang Qingning had it, she might attract a lot of chatter and it could even affect her marriage prospects. After all, no one would want to marry a wife who was so strong she could knock out three men with a single slap.

Zhuang Qingning didn’t want to make a fuss about it, probably for the same reason.

“Don’t worry, Miss Zhuang, I’m not a blabbermouth.” Lian Rong hurriedly assured her: “Later, you just need to help me carry the baskets to the entrance of the backyard. I’ll call someone to drag them in.”

If anyone saw the full vegetable baskets, it would be no big deal, as they wouldn’t know how heavy they were. But if someone in Deshun Building were to casually lift them, it would instantly expose Zhuang Qingning’s extraordinary strength.

Lian Rong thought it would be better to be cautious since he’d promised Zhuang Qingning.

“Okay.” Zhuang Qingning smiled, took the vegetable basket and walked towards the back of the Fushun Tower with Lian Rong.

Meanwhile, Feng Yongkang walked into the back yard with his hands behind his back, and went into the kitchen.

The water on the stove was bubbling, but the rice that was supposed to be put on the stove to steam was left aside. Although the fire in the stove was lit, due to the lack of firewood, it was not burning very vigorously.

Feng Yongkang emerged from the kitchen with a furrowed brow and saw Ma Tong in the yard. He asked, “Where is Lian Rong? Why isn’t he looking after the kitchen? Has Chef Zhang come back yet?”

“Uncle Zhang isn’t back yet.” Ma Tong responded, holding his broom in hand: “I did see Lian Rong earlier, I think Miss Zhuang from the tofu shop came over to ask him to help move something.”

Feng Yongkang’s face darkened instantly. Annoyed, he said, “Does this Zhuang Qingning not consider herself an outsider? Instead of doing her own work, she comes to Fushun Tower to take our people away. What does she think this place is?”

“I always thought she was greedy and always takes advantage of others. Just because Chef Zhang helps her sell products, she bothers him every day. Now, she’s even making use of Lian Rong.”

“This is also Chef Zhang’s fault for not only being indulgent but even encouraging Lian Rong to keep fawning over her. They’ve neglected their own work, haven’t they ever thought about who pays their wages and whom they should be dedicating their efforts to?”

Seeing this, Ma Tong immediately shrank back.

The shop manager seemed to be particularly unhappy with Zhuang Qingning. Every time he heard about Zhang Yongchang or Lian Rong having interactions with her, he became irritated. In hindsight, he should have said he didn’t know or didn’t sec anything.

Otherwise, knowing Zhang Yongchang’s temperament, when he comes back, he might accuse Ma Tong of gossiping behind his back.

But the manager was also strange. Zhuang Qingning was a nice girl and she took care of both Zhang Yongchang and Lian Rong. In addition to the food ingredients she delivered to the restaurant every day, she would always add a little extra. These extras were made into dishes by Zhang Yongchang and Lian Rong for the staff to eat.

Ma Tong felt that he was benefitting from Zhuang Qingning’s kindness and naturally appreciated her. And all these things saved Fushun Tower a lot of money. No matter how you looked at it, it was a good thing.

In Ma Tong’s eyes, Zhang Yongchang and Lian Rong often helping her was a simple exchange, completely ordinary. He really didn’t understand why the shop manager was so angry and so displeased with Zhuang Qingning.

Although he was confused, Ma Tong didn’t express this on his face. He just smiled awkwardly and began fiddling with his hands uneasily.

At this moment, Lian Rong and Zhuang Qingning, who were chatting and carrying the vegetable baskets, arrived at the backyard entrance.

When they saw Feng Yongkang and Ma Tong in the backyard, Lian Rong greeted them cheerfully: “Shop manager.”

“Ma Tong, come over and lend a hand. Miss Zhuang brought over two baskets of vegetables, they look really fresh. Especially these pumpkins, they look plump and sweet.”

As Lian Rong spoke, he placed his basket on the ground and reached out to take the basket from Zhuang Qingning..