Chapter 273 Who Are You

Translator: 549690339 |

“If we’re going to hire people for this tofu skin workshop, then it must be something that can last long-term. Our luck today is good; we have encountered a benefactor.”

“I think so too.” Zhou Daya nodded approvingly, “Just look at Manager Zhuang’s clear and sincere eyes, as if they can speak for themselves. I knew right then she wasn’t a simple person.”

“Well, grandma, we shouldn’t delay any longer. Since we have agreed with Manager Zhuang, we should hurry to the tofu shop. We can’t keep her waiting, otherwise, it won’t look good.”

“That’s right, let’s go.” Mrs. Han grabbed her bundle and followed Zhou Daya to the tofu shop.

Zhuang Qingning returned to the tofu shop, having already mentioned to Mrs. Cao and Zhang Qiuying that she had invited Zhou Daya back to the village tofu skin workshop. Seeing Zhou Daya and Mrs. Han come in, she invited them into the backyard and brought out some tea.

“Thank you, thank you.” Zhou Daya was somewhat overwhelmed, and hurriedly stood up, “I can do it myself, no need to be so polite…”

“No, it’s you who shouldn’t be so formal, Sister Zhou.” Zhuang Qingning said, grinning happily and sitting down beside them. “I can tell from your accents that you are not from around here?”

Although the system had asked her to help, it did make sense. But if she employed people without asking anything about them, it would make her seem like a slightly foolish employer, not to mention making the other party nervous, thinking she had ulterior motives. That wouldn’t be good.

“Yes, we are originally from the west side. Our son and daughter-in-law left home early, leaving just me and Daya to fend for ourselves. We originally planned to go to Zeng county to look for Daya’s aunt and seek refuge with her, but once we got there, we heard that her aunt and uncle had moved their entire family to the city. Unable to find anybody, we decided to come back.”

“But when we left, we sold all our property, and going back now would be somewhat embarrassing. So we thought we would just find a place to settle down. After looking everywhere, we found this town to be a rather nice place. Daya came looking for work and we happened to encounter Manager Zhuang, who was kind enough not to discard us, grandmother and granddaughter.” Mrs. Han turned to Zhuang Qingning and said, “Thankyou, Manager Zhuang.” “No need to be so formal, Mrs. Han. The tofu skin workshop that I just opened is short of workers. Most of the employees in this workshop are from the village. I have always wanted to hire a few outsiders to work together. Firstly, outsiders can help set a norm among the village employees, and secondly, it could prevent any problematic situations where the village employees might hesitate to speak or act because of familiar faces.”

Zhuang Qingning continued, “I was just contemplating where I could find people from outside the village to come and work here when I ran into Sister Zhou looking for work. It is quite a coincidence, and a big help to me.”

As for the living situation, it would be inconvenient for you to live in the tofu skin workshop. We just finished building new rooms in my house, there are a few empty ones. You can temporarily stay there, and in a few days, I will figure out a permanent arrangement.”

Ever since she and Zhuang Qingsui moved to their new house, the courtyard and house owned by Butcher Hua were vacant.

Considering the money she had paid at that time, the lease was far from due. Mrs. Han and Zhou Daya could certainly move in. But Butcher Hua’s property is in the heart of the village. Zhuang Jingye had agreed to rent it to her because after ah, she was still a villager. Given Mrs. Han and Zhou Daya are outsiders, even if Zhuang Jingye will let them stay because of roommate’s face, she should inform him in advance to avoid being the subject of village gossip.

“Thank you so much, Manager Zhuang.” Mrs. Han tried to stand up to give thanks again.

“Please, Mrs. Han, no need to be so formal…” Zhuang Qingning quickly stopped her.

After a brief conversation, Zhuang Sifu brought the goods into the shop. Zhuang Qingning then took Zhuang Qingsui, Mrs. Han and Zhou Daya together back to the village.

“This is my house, and this is the tofu skin workshop.”

Arriving at the place, Zhuang Qingning briefly introduced, “The tofu skin workshop is scheduled to start full operations the day after tomorrow. In the next few days, some workers will be explaining the job to the new hires. Tomorrow, I will bring you here to learn and get a sense of what you are supposed to do.”

It s getting late now, let’s go back home for dinner, then have a good rest for the night…”

“Qingning, I’ve been looking for you.” Mrs. Wen rushed over, interrupting Zhuang Qingning.

“What’s wrong?” Zhuang Qingning saw Mrs. Wen’s worried face and frowned. “What’s happened?”

“What are you talking about? Can’t I come to you if there’s nothing wrong?” Mrs. Wen pursed her lips, “I just haven’t seen you for a few days and I wanted to see what you are up to.”

“Now I see. You have thrown all your attention into making money and lost sight of everything else?” Mrs. Wen then noticed Mrs. Han and Zhou Daya standing next to Zhuang Qingning, “Who are these people?”

“These are the people I brought back from town, planning to arrange them in the tofu skin workshop…”

As Zhuang Qingning was about to finish her sentence, Mrs. Han’s bundle fell to the ground with a thud.

Mrs. Han suddenly became emotional, her lips trembling as she reached out and grabbed both of Mrs. Wen’s hands, stammering out, “Are you…Xiangqiao?” Mrs. Wen was taken aback for a moment, but then her expression became very serious, Who are you, and how do you know my name?”

Ever since she got married, everyone here had addressed her as Mrs. Wen. Suddenly hearing someone call her by her maiden name made Mrs. Wen feel slightly unsteady. The memories of her past emerged, and after looking at Mrs. Han again and again, she finally recognized her. She couldn’t contain her surprise, “Are you Xi Hong?”

“If I’m not Xi Hong, what would I be? Green Xi?” Mrs. Han laughed, her wrinkle-filled face resembling a blooming goldenrod as she cracked a joke, “But what about you? It’s only been a few years, and you’ve almost forgotten me. If I hadn’t recognized you first and called out your name, even if I stood in front of you, you wouldn’t have recognized me.”

“How could that be?” Mrs. Wen held her chin high, “It’s just that Xi Hong, you’ve become much more beautiful than before, and I didn’t dare to recognize you for a while. Even if you were to turn to ash, I would recognize you.”

Your words seem to have changed when you said them?” Mrs. Han smirked, In that case, I shouldn’t turn to ashes. If even in ash form, you would recognize me, that would mean that even in death, I would not rest in peace, and you’d keep digging me up to recognize me…”

Zhuang Qingning watched as Mrs. Wen and Mrs. Han, who seemed to be old friends reunited, chatted warmly. She couldn’t help but raise her eyebrows.

Was completing the system’s ‘help others’ mission not only about helping Mrs. Han and Zhou Daya find jobs but also included reuniting old friends?

[Bingo! You’re correct.]

[Congratulations to the host for completing the ‘Help Others’ mission. The host has obtained the beginner’s secret century egg recipe. The system has helped the host bind and unlock the beginner’s secret century egg recipe. You can start making century eggs anytime.]