Chapter 406: Chapter 393: Very Happy

Before leaving, Zhuang Qingning collected two rather tasty mung bean cakes from her table.

Once Fan Wenxuan had left, Chu Jinnian finally took out a piece of jade Bi he had hidden in his sleeves, caressed it in his hand for a long while.

How could he make the decision to recruit Zhuang Qingning as part of his staff?

Chu Jinnian shook his head with a light smile.

That smile, spreading slowly across his face, carried a warmth that softened his usually icy demeanor, giving him a more gentle and handsome look.

—-

Zhuang Qingning and Zhuang Qingsui arrived home and after tidying up, they visited the workshop in the afternoon.

Along with Daya, they coordinated the distribution of jujube mooncakes and century eggs they had purchased from Ruyi Pavilion in the town, among other things, as employee benefits for the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival.

Everyone in the workshop was extremely grateful for these gifts.

By the evening, many people came by to bring Zhuang Qingning gifts in return.

The reason was simple, Zhuang Qingning was good to them, so they naturally needed to return the favor and not just take things for free.

Homemade mooncakes, pears from their trees, apples, pomegranates, walnuts, dates – whatever they had at home was what they brought.

Those, whose husbands had some skills, brought some self-made trinkets – things like small baskets woven from bamboo strips, brooms made from sorghum stalks, and so on.

Zhuang Qingning understood their intentions, so she didn’t refuse their gifts excessive but accepted most of them.

After chatting with and seeing off the last wave of visitors, Zhuang Qingning and Zhuang Qingsui closed the courtyard door and began to organize the gifts that everyone had brought.

“These are apples from Aunt Zhang’s home, these are pears from Sister-in-law Miao’s home, these are pomegranates from Sister Dongmei’s home…”

The two sisters sorted out everything and made note of each gift in their hearts.

Communication and exchanges were daily occurrences; who gave what and when had to be clear.

By the time they finished sorting through everything, it was already dark. After having dinner, the two sisters each went to bed.

The following day was the 15th of the eighth lunar month.

Since it was Mid-Autumn Festival, Zhuang Qingning let the workshop staff have a half-day off, and she and Zhuang Qingsui went into town in the morning.

They brought mooncakes for Mrs. Liu’s family and for Uncle Zhang and others.

Most importantly, Zhuang Qingsui had been busy studying lately and hadn’t had a chance to catch up with her little sister, Zhang Qiuying. As there were no classes during the two days of the Mid-Autumn Festival, it was a good opportunity for her to spend some time with Zhang Qiuying.

Mrs. Liu and Mrs. Cao were both thrilled with the arrival of Zhuang Qingning and Zhuang Qingsui.

“We thought you might not come for the Mid-Autumn Festival.” Mrs. Liu was happy, her face full of wrinkles resembled the goldenrod, and she quickly offered food to entertain Zhuang Qingning and Zhuang Qingsui.

Ever since they joined Zhuang Qingning and started working in the shop in the town, their life has improved, but it’s still not affluent. They barely survived, and there were seldom any nice foods at home. Even on the Mid-Autumn Festival, they couldn’t afford to buy mooncakes from the pastry shop. Instead, they stirred dough with brown sugar, burned some sugar cookies, and treated them as mooncakes for the family.

Feeling it was discourteous to serve this to Zhuang Qingning and Zhuang Qingsui, Mrs. Cao decided to go to the street to buy some snacks for them. But she and Zhang Xiangrong couldn’t leave the shop right then, so she took out some copper coins from her bag, handed them to Zhang Qiuying, and said, “Go, buy some crispy twists, and sesame candy.”

Zhuang Qingsui, pleased to see her little sister Zhang Qiuying, wanted to be with her all the time, so she grabbed Zhang Qiuying’s sleeve and pulled up Zhang Qiuyue’s little hand. “Let’s go together.”

She had some spare change that Zhuang Qingning had given her, just enough to buy some snacks for the two little sisters as small gifts.

Mrs. Cao saw Zhuang Qingsui’s gesture and knew that she was going to pay. She hesitated for a moment.

However, Zhuang Qingning laughed and said, “It’s okay, let the girls go. They’re not children anymore.”

“If you want something, just buy it. Just remember not to wander off into any side streets. Be back in half an hour.”

“Alright.” The trio responded crisply. Holding hands, they left, chattering and laughing like sparrows fluttering out of their nest.

“Miss Ning, have lunch here.” Mrs. Liu invited warmly, “How have you been all these days? How’s everything in the workshop?”

“Everything’s good.” Zhuang Qingning laughed, “For today’s lunch…”

“Lets Qingsui eat here. I plan to go to Ruyi Pavilion and visit Uncle Zhang.”

If she visited Ruyi Pavilion, given Zhang Yongchang’s temperament, it would inevitably lead to her being invited to dine there.

Mrs. Liu understood and laughed, “Then you should go first. I’ll tidy up and prepare a nice meal for Miss Sui.”

“Don’t go to too much trouble, Aunt. I’ve been so busy lately that I haven’t had much time to make decent meals for Qingsui. If it’s possible, may you make her a bowl of steamed noodles? She’ll probably love it,” Zhuang Qingning laughed.

“Alright, I’ll make steamed noodles.” Mrs. Liu untied her apron, “I’m going to the meat shop to buy a piece of pork belly.”

Pork belly, with alternating layers of fat and lean meat, is ideal for making broth to go with steamed noodles. It can produce a certain amount of oil, which makes the noodles more flavorful.

“You hurry to Ruyi Pavilion. Leave Qingsui to me.”

“Alright,” Zhuang Qingning smiled, “Remember to try the mooncakes I brought. I made them myself, and they taste pretty good. Remember to try them when you have dinner tonight.”

“With your cooking skills, they will undoubtedly be delicious.” Mrs. Liu smiled, and left the shop with Zhuang Qingning. After Zhuang Qingning entered Ruyi Pavilion, Mrs. Liu went towards the meat shop.

Zhuang Qingning went straight to the back entrance of Ruyi Pavilion.

At this time of the morning, the backyard was busy with wait staff cleaning vegetables and preparing ingredients for lunch.

Since this was a market day and also the 15th of the eighth lunar month, many people would celebrate in the restaurant at lunchtime, whether they had relatives coming or wanted to entertain friends. Therefore, the private rooms of Ruyi Pavilion were all booked the day before.

Business was booming, and the wait staff was extremely busy.

Lian Rong and Ma Tong were particularly overworked. Their heads were down, and they were too busy to even speak. They didn’t even have a moment to wipe the sweat off their foreheads.

Only when they noticed someone next to them helping them remove the spoiled leaves from the vegetables did they stop and look up in surprise.

“Miss Zhuang!” Lian Rong exclaimed in surprise, and then in joy, “It’s been a while since your last visit to Ruyi Pavilion.”