Chapter 294: Chapter 281: Still Got the Nerve?

Translator: 549690339 |

“Miss Ning, I’m truly at my wit’s end. If my family were managing, I wouldn’t have resorted to such a low action… Please, aunt pleads for your mercy, spare me this time, I beg you.”

“Stealing the marinated soup from my shop and selling it to others is a mistake. And for every mistake, one must face the consequences.”

“For the part that Aunt Qian has worked in the tofu workshop for such a long time, I am not going to ask you for any compensation. Uncle Village Chief is outside. He has heard every word we have said, and he will take you to meet Master Ding, the County Magistrate, later. The whole matter will be thoroughly investigated, and whatever the law stipulates will be the outcome.”

“However, you should not come to work here any longer.”

Aunt Qian’s face grew paler upon hearing these words. She knelt and walked a few steps, then reached out to clutch Zhuang Qingning’s leg, “Miss Ning, Miss Ning, I beg you, please spare me this time. I was truly out of options.”

“Please spare me this once due to my sincere hard work in the tofu workshop in the past.”

“Look at your tofu workshop, though not overwhelming profits, it’s booming. It doesn’t matter if others make a slight profit from you. My family is in this situation now, can you pity me?”

“I’ve heard earlier that the mother and daughter who manage the shop in the town with you were treated kindly by you because you pitied them. Since you can show sympathy to others and treat them well, you should also look at my pitiful situation and spare me this time.”

Zhuang Qingning’s expression gradually cooled down and she managed to free her leg from Aunt Qian’s grip.

“Aunt Qian, you were indeed diligent in your work, but I also paid you more than others usually do, which should count as a fair trade.”

“As for the prosperity of my tofu workshop, it is indeed the case, but that’s my business, what does it have to do with you? Does it mean that just because others are well-off, they should take care of you?”

“Also, it’s my business who I treat well. I can choose to be good to whomever I want, does it imply I must be good to you?”

“I’ll repeat, for every mistake, you have to take responsibility. You better not argue with me now, save it for the County Magistrate.” Zhuang Qingning responded coldly, stepped out of the tofu workshop.

Zhuang Mingliang quickly followed her out.

And that Zhuang Jingye, with a darkened face, walked in, pointed at Mrs. Qian and began to curse, “A single mouse droppings spoils a whole pot of soup- how well you’ve been treated in Ning girl’s tofu workshop, how much money it has made for our village! Instead, you help outsiders earn money, sabotaging the business in your own village. Do you still have the face to beg Ning girl?”

“She’s just kind-hearted. If it were my decision, I would’ve slapped you already. If you were a man, I would’ve broken your legs!”

“Your shortsightedness really is incredible; you solely focus on your family’s immediate troubles—you ever thought about how you’re going to live in this village after doing such things? Aren’t you afraid the whole family will be drowned in public insults? See if your children leaving home can still get married or bring a daughter-in-law in. The whole family loses face because of you!”

With Zhuang Qingning’s previous words and Zhuang Jingye’s scolding, Mrs. Qian collapsed on the ground, crying out of regret.

Zhuang Qingning, on the other hand, left the tofu workshop.

“Big Sister Ning.” Zhuang Mingliang caught up, and in a low voice said, “Big Sister Ning, don’t be too angry.”

“Encountering such a thing will inevitably cause some unhappiness. After all, I always thought that I was fair to everyone, only to have such an incident. However, being angry about it seems unjustified.””

Zhuang Qingning laughed and said, “Seeing and dealing with so many people every day, inevitably there will be some who are insincere. It’s common, don’t worry, I won’t take it to heart.”

“Speaking of which, how’s the tofu skin workshop recently? How is Sister Zhou doing, has she learned well?”

“The tofu skin workshop is just like when Big Sister Ning saw it last time, everyone has gotten quite proficient. Sister Zhou seemed clumsy at the beginning, but she picked it up very quickly. I think among the people there, Sister Zhou is the fastest and best worker, and she also knows how to take care of others.”

Zhuang Mingliang added, “Didn’t Big Sister Ning previously say to observe the tofu skin workshop and see who is suitable to manage it in the future? I think Sister Zhou is a good person, diligent and able to work hard, and very responsible. What do you think, Big Sister Ning?”

Zhuang Qingning nodded slightly.

In recent days, although she hadn’t been to the tofu skin workshop frequently, she could see that Zhou Daya was indeed industrious and responsible. With some further training, it seemed that Zhou Daya would be able to run the tofu skin workshop.

Unexpectedly, completing Xiaowu’s previous task brought so many benefits, that it even solved the problem of finding an employee.

[That’s right. I am a high-quality system…]

Hold on, I don’t know whether you’re high-quality or not, but I do know that a certain system only provided me with the first half of a recipe for a previous task. Now the second half is yet to appear, and I have no idea when I will find it.

[Cough, good meal should not be rushed, host, don’t be impatient, there’s plenty of time…]

Suddenly, there was no voice in her mind. Obviously, someone just fled away.

A system can be quite quick to flee when it can’t answer the question, but when it’s time to take credit, it rushes out fast.

Ooh, systems…

After talking with Zhuang Mingliang about the management of the tofu skin workshop for a while, Zhuang Qingning went home to see her siblings and Snowball and see how they were doing at home.

“Excuse me, miss…”

She set foot in her home only to hear a voice behind her. Turning around, she saw an older man standing in front of her.

From a first glance, the old man in the satin gown seemed not to be of ordinary origin. But at present, perhaps due to walking a long way, he was panting heavily, his forehead full of sweat mixed with dirt, making him look rather haggard.

[Ding, congratulations to the host for activating the ‘Lending a Hand’ task. The host can acquire substantial rewards upon completion of the task. Good luck.]

Lending a hand must mean helping this old man who looks like he’s lost.

That wouldn’t be a problem.

“Excuse me sir, may I ask who you are? Are you asking for directions?” Zhuang Qingning asked politely.

Seeing that Zhuang Qingning in front of him was polite and Attentive to his current predicament, Fan Wenxuan was overjoyed. “Young lady, you are very perceptive. I am surnamed Fan, a retired scholar. I stepped out for a leisure walk today, but lost my way when passing through this area. I have walked for a long time now, and I am thirsty. May I ask for a bowl of water to drink and a little rest, and perhaps inquire about the route from you?”