The Wealthy Eldest Sister Rules Supreme

“Big Sister Ning, we thought you guys wouldn’t come back to the shop today.” Zhang Qiuying hurriedly went into the backyard house, bringing out two rolls of cloth: “These were sent by Manager Chai of the Ruyi Pavilion after you and Sister Sui left in the morning. He said these were for you, Big Sister Ning. Knowing about this, my mother and I accepted them first and intended to give them to you when you returned.”

“Yes, I know about this, I did Manager Chai a favor, so these two rolls of cloth are his way of showing gratitude.”

Zhuang Qingning took off the cloth she was carrying on her back and laughed, “It just so happened that we have a lot of cloth today. This fabric is light and appropriate for summer clothing. Even if Qingsui and I make clothes, we probably won’t be able to use it all up. This roll should go to Auntie and Qiuying. Take it back and see if you can make some summer dresses.”

“This…”

Mrs. Cao hesitated for a moment and quickly waved her hand, “Absolutely not, this cloth looks good, a roll might cost several taels of silver. It’s too expensive, we cannot accept it.”

Zhuang Qingning and Qingsui gave them a high-quality fabric, which was more than she and Zhang Qiuying could earn in a year. It was absolutely unacceptable.

“Auntie, please just accept it.” Zhuang Qingning stuffed the cloth into Mrs. Cao’s hand, “If you don’t want to make clothes with it right now, you can save it for the future. In any case, you must accept it. Qingsui and I have no lack of clothes to wear.”

“This… that…”

“Auntie, don’t say anything, just accept it for now. I will need to ask you to help me with something in the future. If you don’t accept this now, I won’t be able to ask for your help.” Zhuang Qingning laughed.

“I haven’t yet prepared for that matter. As soon as I’m prepared, I’ll talk to Auntie. Consider this cloth as advance payment for your effort.”

“If you put it like that…”

After hesitating for a while, Mrs. Cao finally nodded, “Alright, I will accept it for now. But I’m making this clear, if there’s nothing for us to do later, I’ll return the cloth.”

“Don’t worry. As soon as I get things ready, I will tell Auntie about it. However, we must wait until Uncle Rong’s legs are better, I’m afraid it won’t work right now.”

“Speaking of which, how is Uncle Rong’s leg? Is it better?” Zhuang Qingning asked with concern.

“It’s alright. He has seen a doctor, who said the bone should be healed and hasn’t grown askew. Right now, he can’t walk without feeling pain, and he can’t exert any force. However, if he uses crutches, he can take a few steps without putting too much pressure on his feet.”

Mrs. Cao said, “These days, he can manage things at home by himself, there’s no need for my mother to help him every day. My mother can focus on making the fried chop rice cakes at home, and let Qiuying sell them outside the shop in the morning.”

“But the weather has become a bit hot, so the rice cakes can’t last long. If the weather gets hotter, I’m thinking about temporarily stopping the production until it cools down.”

“If Aunt Liu and Qiuyue have nothing to do at home, they might as well pick some mugwort leaves around the house. I’ve promised a man from the county town to sell the mosquito repellent herb sachets I gave you last time. I estimate that we will need a lot of dried mugwort leaves during this period. It’s better to collect them from people nearby, at the same price as those sold in the pharmacy, instead of letting the shop take a cut.”

“However, these mugwort leaves must be small pieces that are thoroughly dried under the sun. They will be weighed when they are sold, I will buy as much as you have,” Zhuang Qingning laughed.

“That’s not a problem.”

Mrs Cao nodded repeatedly, “At this time of the year, the mugwort grows abundantly. There are clusters of wild mugwort growing everywhere by the river near our place. No one cares for it. At most people would cut a bunch of it during the Dragon Boat Festival to hang at the door to ward off evil spirits. On normal days, people would pick a little to repel mosquitoes at home, but mugwort alone does not work. Many people are too lazy to cut it.”

“If you need other herbs, I really can’t guarantee it. But if you need mugwort, it’s not a problem at all. We will tell mother when we go home tonight. If she has time, she will pick some. If Qiuying and I get up early in the morning, we will also go and pick some. We can dry them at home.”

“Auntie, you can arrange it as you see fit. I’m not in a hurry here. I will buy some from the pharmacy first, and you can bring it when it’s dry.”

After explaining to Mrs. Cao, Zhuang Qingning went to see Zhuang Jingye on her way home to discuss the preparations for the herbal sachets.

“Mugwort, calamus, mint, buy as much as you can, offer the pharmacy’s price, but also control the quality. Do not accept leaves that are not properly dried or those that have deteriorated,” Zhuang Qingning briefed Zhuang Jingye, “This can be considered as providing a way for the villagers to earn some money. After the autumn planting, there’s a chance for them to earn some silver.”

“Yes, yes, yes.” Zhuang Jingye nodded like a pecking chicken, with his lips stretched to his ears.

“After autumn planting, apart from some time spent weeding, there is not much work left. It’s a good time to work a bit harder and earn some more money. Moreover, anyone, young or old, can do this task of cutting mugwort. It’s a real piece of good work.”

It’s almost like giving away money!

How did he put it before? He said that this girl Ning had a different mind from others, and she will be the God of Wealth of the village in the future.

“In three or four days, I will have to deliver the first batch of goods. If Uncle Li Zheng is not busy, he can tell everyone today. If someone is diligent and the sun is enough these days, they can catch up with the first batch. If they can’t, there’s no need to worry. They can accumulate slowly and sell regularly.”

“In short, we will buy as much as we can, paying immediately in cash, without any delay.”

Seeing Zhuang Qingning speaking so confidently, Zhuang Jingye was somewhat worried.

“Girl Ning, don’t blame me for saying this, but the riverbank here is full of wild mugwort. You are promising to buy as much as they can provide. If we end up with too much mugwort that can’t be sold in the form of herbal sachets, what are we going to do?”

“Won’t we lose money then?”

“Uncle Li Zheng, don’t worry, we will certainly sell as much as we have.” Zhuang Qingning continued to smile.

Zhuang Jingye’s big mouth remained wide open for a long time.

We can sell as much as we have?

This…

Zhuang Jingye was a little afraid that Zhuang Qingning was getting ahead of herself due to the success of the tofu shop, but after thinking carefully, he realized that Zhuang Qingning always had a good reason for everything she did and usually did it successfully.

Just like when he didn’t think that Zhuang Qingning could manage a household as a woman before, didn’t she prove her ability by managing everything beautifully?

Zhuang Jingye thought about it and decided to keep his mouth shut and not raise the issue again.