The Wealthy Eldest Sister Rules Supreme

“By adding more tofu hot pots, more people are needed, meaning there is more work and more money to be made, doesn’t that lead to a wealthier village?¹‘

Zhuang Jingye animatedly added, ’’See, I told you Zhuang Qingning could do it. We sure made the right choice choosing her.”

Mrs. Ye looked at him and couldn’t help but curl her lips.

Oh please! You weren’t always like this; aren’t you the same one who complained so much when she was made the head of household? Now all of a sudden, you’re singing her praises.

Only because Zhuang Qingning is open-minded and knows what’s best for herself. If it was some narrow-minded girl, she might not have taken on this job. And you’d still have the nerve to celebrate like this?

Although Mrs. Ye was quite put off by Zhuang Jingye, she had no say since he was the head of household.

And besides, isn’t everyone like this? They belittle you when they don’t need you, and praise you when they do. It’s the same everywhere, just accept it. If you’re too critical, you’d find no one worthy of using.

From this perspective, Zhuang Qingning is indeed impressive. Even at her young age, she understands the logic behind all this.

Mrs. Ye’s appreciation for Zhuang Qingning grew.

However, she couldn’t hold back her sarcasm, “Oh, fine! Now you’ve got the say in everything! Did you forget who reminded you about this in the first place?”

“So that’s why you’ve been giving me weird looks these past couple of days! Did you think I was taking credit for your idea? Don’t worry, I remember that this was your brilliant idea. Without it, I wouldn’t have thought of Zhuang Qingning.”

“That’s right.’¹ Zhuang Jingye wasn’t stingy with his praise, and Mrs. Ye raised a brow, ’My judgement never fails. I told you before that Zhuang Qingning isn’t ordinary. Now you finally believe me.”

Mrs. Ye is rather pleased with her keen judgment.

“Indeed, you’re right. After all, she is the village chief’s wife. She’s far superior compared to others.” Zhuang Jingye said proudly, ’’You’ve gained a lot of insights thanks to me over the years. You’ve grown much smarter.¹‘

“Others just have long hair and short insights, simple-minded village women; whereas you’re so well-rounded, and I think it’s because you married well. If a husband is wise, that allows his wife to progress…”

Oh please! At the end of the day, you’re just praising yourself.

Mrs. Ye’s smile quickly faded. She didn’t want to waste her breath arguing with Zhuang Jingye, let alone listen to his self-important lecturing. She headed back to the kitchen to continue cooking breakfast,

Zhuang Jingye continued his rambling about the benefits of being the village chief without noticing her reaction.

Mrs. Ye halfheartedly responded with a couple of sentences, her tone cold and detached.

“Oh, right! I got so caught up in talking that I almost forgot the matter at hand.”

Zhuang Jingye said, “Zhuang Qingning mentioned that it’s almost time to start filling holes. You should go back to your parent¹ s home and inform Dayong. Let’s get work started. Moreover, it prevents further procrastination.”

“Also, check and sec how many people are working here. Even though they’re paid, it’s not like they’re doing favors for the village. We don’t need to provide their lunch, but Dayong is your nephew. It wouldn’t be right to let him eat dry rations. We can prepare lunch and tea here if lunch on site isn’t possible.”

“Also, we need to discuss lunch. If it were just Dayong, I wouldn’t mind, but he’s bringing others as well. Ultimately, they’re outsiders, and we can’t be too generous. They should bring their own food, and if they want to eat the vegetables in the field, they can exchange their food for it.”

“Alright, I get it.” Mrs. Ye finally added a hint of warmth to her tone.

Feeding the workers at home is a show of respect to her and an advantage for Dayong, at least it allows him to have a good meal and take a break. It’s much better than eating dry steamed cornbread after hard work.

As for the food exchange with workers, it’s naturally expected of outsiders. But it will be up to her whether or not she accepts when Dayong hands over their food.

Zhuang Jingye loves face-saving, especially at home where he is the ultimate authority. Sometimes, it frustrates her, but isn’t a husband supposed to be a woman’s world? All women feel the same way, right?

Moreover, there’s also a good side to being face-saving. For instance, wanting to keep up appearances, he deliberately takes care of others in front of her nephew, doesn’t he?

In the end, she’s benefiting from all of this, isn’t she? What’s there to say?

Mrs. Ye lowered her head, continuing to sip on the egg soup.

Zhuang Qingning returned to the tofu mill to oversee the distribution of tofu.

“Miss Zhuang.” Dong Dazhu blushed as he looked at Zhuang Qingning, a wide smile on his face. “The shop managers asked me to discuss something with you.”

“What is it?”

“With the weather getting hotter, the tofu we pick up in the morning, though not spoiled, doesn’t taste as fresh by evening. So, we wore thinking of making two tofu pickups a day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. This means your workload will increase, but it also comes with an increased demand. What do you think?¹‘

Before Zhuang Qingning could answer, Dong Dazhu continued, “There’s one more shop who would like to get tofu from you, forty kilograms in the morning and forty in the afternoon. If this arrangement works out, it would add another transaction to your business.”

“Not to hide anything from you, Miss Zhuang, but the restaurants in the county town tend to do better business in the evening. If we could got fresh tofu in the afternoon, I think it could greatly boost your tofu sales.”

“That won’t be a problem. We’ve just hired more workers and can keep the tofu hot pots going around the clock. You can tell the shop managers that we can start this new arrangement tomorrow.”

Zhuang Qingning laughed, “However, for that shop that wants an additional eighty kilograms of tofu, they may have to wait a few more days.”

“I just rented a tofu shop in town and business has been good. Uncle Yonghe’s tofu sales in the village have also been booming, and we’re running short on tofu. So, I’ve been considering adding two more tofu hot pots for the past few days..”