A Good Country Wife
Chapter 351 - 345_1

Chapter 351: 345_1

Ever since the last dispute with Lin Qing at Zhao Erhu’s house, his interactions with Lin Qing had gradually diminished. Jiang Wenshu was a proud man, and if it weren’t for the fact that Lin Qing was Lin Yue’s brother, he would have fallen out with Lin Qing directly. Understanding Jiang Wenshu’s character, Lin Qing found him unworthy of friendship. Moreover, his sister was involved, so it naturally became convenient to distance himself from Jiang Wenshu. He did not expect Jiang Wenshu to come over at this time. Lin Qing glanced at Zhao Erhu half-heartedly, and Zhao Erhu happened to look back at Lin Qing. For the first time, the two men shared a glance that contained something tacit.

"Wenshu is joking. Xiaoyue has always regarded you as a brother, but now that she is married, how could she continue to have relations with other men? With your extensive education, Wenshu, you must understand these principles better than anyone. Such elementary logic surely isn’t lost on you." Lin Qing’s words were spoken diplomatically, but the underlying message was clear to Jiang Wenshu. Lin Qing was particularly dissatisfied with the false accusations Jiang Wenshu had made last time, tarnishing his sister’s reputation and fearing that Jiang Wenshu would spout nonsense in front of everyone, so he preempted with his own comment.

"Aqing, since Xiaoyue sees me as a brother, how could I be an outsider? There’s no need for such formalities." Jiang Wenshu’s smile was somewhat stiff. The situation was different from last time, and faced with his academy peers, he still had reservations. Scholars value their reputations, especially Jiang Wenshu, who always boasted about himself.

"After all, we’re not blood relatives, and propriety must be maintained. Moreover, Xiaoyue has forgotten the past, so there’s no need for Wenshu to dwell on it."

Although the others did not understand the subtleties of the exchange between Lin Qing and Jiang Wenshu, they could tell something was amiss. From the sound of it, could it be that Jiang Wenshu harbored intentions towards Lin Qing’s sister? Though Lin Yue was indeed beautiful and gentle, she was already married and naturally should not be involved with other men. After the meal, their relationship with Lin Qing had improved significantly, and understanding more about his character, they were willing to form an association with him. This led to them stepping in to divert Jiang Wenshu’s attention.

"Brother Jiang is a well-known scholar in our academy. It’s a rare visit, and I’ve composed a few poems and would like to seek your insights."

"Indeed, we all hope Brother Jiang won’t hesitate to enlighten us."

After being led away, Zhao Erhu and Lin Yue lost interest in staying any longer, especially since they had helped Lin Qing with his shopping in the morning and Lin Yue still had her own shopping to do. As soon as Jiang Wenshu left, Zhao Erhu and Lin Yue also departed in their carriage.

"Brother, you’re welcome to visit my home whenever you have the time. You recognize our carriage, and it comes to the city every day. Comings and goings are convenient."

"Understood. I’ll visit once the school holidays begin."

Having been out for some time, although there were people watching over the workshop, they were not entirely at ease without being present. Quickly completing their purchases, Lin Yue and Zhao Erhu headed back to the village in their carriage.

Upon their return, they were informed that several managers from affluent households had come looking for them, and not just one had made the visit. Learning that Zhao Erhu had gone out, they returned to the city, agreeing to come again the following day.

The long-term worker’s explanation was somewhat unclear, but after speaking with Wu Qiang, who frequently helped Zhao Erhu deliver goods to these households, and recognized all the managers, the situation became clear.

"It’s from the Li Residence and the managers of several other households. They’ve come about the procurement of food ingredients. They mentioned that the households want to renegotiate contracts with you to continue supplying goods. Not knowing what you would think, I asked them to come back tomorrow." Wu Qiang dealt with these matters quite aptly, neither giving a clear response nor offending anyone.

"Okay, I understand. Is there anything else for today? How’s everything at the workshop?"

"All’s well. Everything at the workshop is running smoothly, and everyone is working hard."

After Wu Qiang left, Zhao Erhu discussed the renewed interest from the households in their goods with Lin Yue. "Wife, what do you think about this?"

"It seems they weren’t able to replicate our dishes without the recipes last time, and the other households had no choice but to come back to us. However, we need to rush order for the Jiang Family, and supplying these households again could overwhelm us. Also, their previous actions, although understandable, were not honorable. They terminated the contract without explanation, causing you to investigate for so long to find out the truth. Why don’t we delay them for a while? Before, they were leaving you hanging, now it’s your turn to hold them off."

Zhao Erhu nodded in agreement. "We can only do so. Let’s deliver the goods for the Jiang Residence first. That’s the most pressing matter now."

By late November, the goods for the Jiang Residence in Capital City were finally ready. Zhao Erhu informed Manager Liu at Jimin Hall, and the Young Master had already instructed him to dispatch people to transport the goods to Capital City that very night.

Meanwhile, news came from the Capital City that the food ingredients prepared by Zhao Erhu’s family were extremely popular there. The batch that Jiang Ziqi brought back was gifted away in a matter of days, with only some high-status individuals in the Jiang Residence getting some. Even the Empress Dowager and the Emperor found them delightful. This time, the batch Lin Yue sent wouldn’t enter the Jiang Residence but was sent directly to the Imperial Palace. Therefore, Lin Yue had to rush a new batch, with an increased quantity, of course.

Upon receiving the news that the Jiang Residence needed a large batch of food ingredients, Lin Yue and Zhao Erhu began their respective tasks. It was already late November, and with only about twenty days left, including travel time, before the end of the year, they had to rush the order. While the workshop hurried production, they also expanded the facility and recruited more workers.

Lin Yue thought about when her stepmother came asking for help and was refused. Although she didn’t care much, the incident had left some people in Shanglin Village seeing her as unkind. But considering that her brother was a villager of Shanglin, and that they needed more hands, she went to talk to Lin Qing about this. Lin Qing was familiar with the situation in Shanglin Village and would recruit responsibly, avoiding inappropriate hires. It was also a way to grant Lin Qing the chance to do the villagers a favor.

"Brother, I’ll leave this task in your hands, and the sooner it’s done, the better."

"Xiaomei, rest assured, I’m heading home right now and will take care of this matter properly."

Lin Yue also approached Zhang Chunhua and Li Xiaomei to recruit people from their family’s village. She explained to them what to look out for. Zhang Chunhua and Li Xiaomei were fully committed upon seeing Lin Yue’s trust in them to handle such an important task. "Yueyue, leave it to me. I’ll manage it well."

"Yes, Second Sister-in-Law, you trust me with this, and I won’t let you down. I’ll speak to my parents as soon as I get home, they know the people in the village the best."

While Lin Yue arranged for recruitment, Zhao Erhu busied himself with the workshop expansion and added several more rooms beside the long-term workers’ living quarters.

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