Chapter 450: Chapter 437: Good Things

“In short, Uncle, help me gather everyone, I’ll talk to them all.”

Zhuang Jingye lowered his head to ponder for a moment.

Zhuang Qingning didn’t say anything and just asked him to gather the people. This somehow made people feel uneasy.

But then again, this was something that Zhuang Qingning wanted to do, and it certainly wouldn’t be anything bad.

If she said she would explain after doing it, there must be a reason, and pressing for answers might not be appropriate.

Once Zhuang Jingye understood this, he nodded, “Alright, when the rain stops, I’ll gather everyone. Whatever the matter is, you can talk to everyone properly.”

“Thank you, Uncle Village Chief.” Zhuang Qingning smiled.

To be entirely trusted like this, without regard for the consequences, it felt exceptionally good.

However, she would never let this trust be betrayed.

With a smile, Zhuang Qingning bid Zhuang Jingye goodbye and went home.

—-

The autumn rain was continuous, pouring for two full days.

As soon as the rain completely stopped, and the clouds began to clear, Zhuang Jingye blew the bamboo whistle according to Zhuang Qingning’s instructions, even before the ground had a chance to dry, and summoned all the villagers to the entrance of the ancestral hall.

“Why are we rushed to gather at this hour? What’s going on?” someone asked.

“I don’t know.” a person shook their head beside, full of excitement, “but I think it’s not a bad thing, mostly something good.”

As soon as they uttered these words, everyone around them nodded in agreement.

Take the recent example, the last time the bamboo whistle rang, it was to confront the people of Zhaojiazhuang. Even though it didn’t seem like a good thing, it preserved the workshop in the village, showing outsiders their strength.

After that, the news spreading about Zhaojiazhuang people coveting their workshop’s prescription made Enji Village famous overnight. The surrounding villages all said, “We knew there was a workshop in Enji Village and it seemed profitable, but we did not expect it to make so much money that it would make Zhaojiazhuang envious.”

In the village, the workshop gives priority to hiring villagers and taking supplies mostly from the village. In the future, if anyone’s daughter married into Enji Village, or their son married a girl from Enji Village, they would be relatives. They’d get more benefits if they wanted to sell beans, salted duck eggs or work in the workshop, compared to those with no connections at all.

So these two days, there were many more people coming to greet the village than before. You have to pick and choose before you can settle down. Overall, these are the benefits of confronting the people of Zhaojiazhuang.

If we go back further, the last time they were summoned was to discuss the workshop expansion and the need for more workers.

The time before that, it was about giving everyone dried tofu and mooncakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival.

And the time before that…

Anyway, every time it was something good.

Everyone had reason to believe that this time Zhuang Jingye summoned everyone to the front of the ancestral hall, there must be some good news.

As for what the good news is…

Before villagers could discuss more, Zhuang Jingye stood on the bench and cleared his throat, “Everyone quiet down. Today, our young miss Ning has something to discuss with you all. Stay quiet and listen carefully.”

Zhuang Qingning has something to discuss with them?

Well, that’s even more certain. It’s absolutely good news.

The crowd suddenly got excited, all their ears perked up, and even subconsciously extended their heads forward to hear Zhuang Qingning clearly.

Seeing the eager eyes of the villagers, Zhuang Qingning steadied herself, took a deep breath, and announced loudly, “Today, I’ve gathered you here to discuss something and ask to borrow some money from you all…”

Borrowing money?

As soon as these two words were heard, everyone present was stunned.

Isn’t it wrong? Is Zhuang Qingning really asking to borrow money from them?

“Why does Ning suddenly need to borrow money? It seems that her workshops are doing very well and should not be short of money,” someone asked.

“I don’t know, but even good business can’t guarantee there is no shortage of funds. You know, doing business seems to always lack money at hand, maybe that’s the situation with Ning?”

“Possible, maybe someone took the goods and didn’t pay her, and that’s why the funds couldn’t keep up…”

While some were guessing why Zhuang Qingning needed to borrow money, some others asked how much she needed.

“Miss Ning, is there a problem with your business? I can lend you around five taels of silver, would that be enough?”

“I can lend six taels!”

“I have three taels…”

Naturally, some people were surprised why Zhuang Qingning wanted to borrow money, and were curious about where the money would be used and when it could be returned.

In a short time, the people nearly surrounded Zhuang Qingning, all talking and debating whether or not to lend money and how much to lend.

Zhuang Qingning went back to the bench, “Quiet, quiet,” she said loudly, “Regarding the borrowing, I’m unable to disclose the reasons and usage for now, so don’t ask. To put it bluntly, I’m asking for this based on my credibility. As for repayment, it will probably be after the new year.”

“Those with spare money at home that they can lend to me, whether it’s one or two taels or even ten or eight taels, any amount is welcomed. If you have spare money but it’s not convenient, that’s also fine. In short, those willing to lend to me, report the amount to Uncle Village Chief’s house, and let him make a note of it.”

Zhuang Qingning looked up at the sky and continued, “let’s set a limit to this, if you need to discuss this with your family, go discuss…”

Zhuang Qingning didn’t explain further. After she finished, she jumped down from the bench and left with Zhuang Jingye.

Leaving the villagers behind, who are still discussing in small groups whether to lend or not, and how much to lend to Zhuang Qingning.

Zhuang Qingning returned to her home, sat on the bench in the courtyard, and took a long breath.

Borrowing money without any explanation, this behavior full of uncertainties, should be a great mental challenge for the villagers.

For farmers who hardly made a few taels of silver in a year, this request was indeed a bit hard on them.

But Zhuang Qingning had no choice. If she wanted to accomplish the system task and successfully trigger the wheat seeds task, this was her only option now.

The word was out, now she just had to wait to see if she could successfully get the remaining 30% of the support value within an hour.