books44 Chapter 116 Tiangang Village
Chapter 116 Tiangang Village
The further he walked in, the more Xue Zhicheng's brows furrowed. When he arrived at the door of Qingju, he looked at the scene in front of him with mixed feelings.
He thought about it and walked over. He reached out and pushed open the shabby wooden door. When he saw the environment of the courtyard, his mood suddenly sank.
Yue Er was still cleaning the small kitchen. When she heard the sound of the door being pushed open, she thought it was the Third Miss coming back. She put down the broom and walked away while saying, "Third Miss, you're back..."
Before she could finish the rest of her words, when she saw the person in front of her, she subconsciously wiped her eyes, as if she couldn't believe who she was seeing. It was not until she saw the person's bad expression that she reacted.
"Yue'er has met the master."
"Well, is Aunt Zhou resting in there?"
When Yue'er heard this and was about to complain loudly, Aunt Zhou's voice came from inside.
"Who are you talking to, Yue'er?"
Xue Zhicheng shook his head at her and walked straight into Aunt Zhou's bedroom.
The moment he saw Aunt Zhou, he felt as if he had returned to his youthful and energetic days, and his heartbeat quickened slightly.
The person in front of me is still the same as she was back then. Her peaceful appearance makes her look like someone who can only be admired from afar and not touched. Her long black hair falls behind her. Light shines in through the gap in the window and falls on her body, making her as beautiful as a beauty in a painting.
"Yao'er."
Hearing the voice of the visitor, Aunt Zhou's expression seemed to come alive. She turned around and saw the middle-aged man in official uniform. She smiled as beautiful as a flower and shouted, "Ah Cheng, you finally came to see me."
This address made Xue Zhicheng feel as if he was seeing Aunt Zhou when she was still a singing girl. The expression in his eyes softened. He walked over and sat down beside the bed, reaching out and holding Aunt Zhou's delicate wrist.
"Yao'er, I've wronged you over the years. Do you blame me?"
Aunt Zhou leaned on his shoulder, a bitter smile appeared on the corner of her mouth, then she raised her head and looked at Xue Zhicheng's profile, "I still blame you. It's not a big deal for me, but Zhiyu is innocent. I am also useless. I couldn't help Zhiyu, and now she is the one helping me."
Xue Zhicheng didn't say anything, but listened silently to Aunt Zhou recounting the past, but his mind had already drifted away to who knows where.
Xue Zhiyu was leisurely listening to the storyteller's seemingly true or false stories in the teahouse, while waiting for Jun Xian to report on the situation in the Xue Mansion.
After listening to it, Xue Zhiyu felt much happier, but the only thing that made her unhappy was that her mother forgave Xue Zhicheng so easily.
"Princess Princess, what are your plans next?"
"Observe in the dark first, don't alert the enemy. I, your second sister, will not surrender obediently. Let's go. Today is a good day. Some things need to be put on the agenda."
Xue Zhiyu glanced at the increasingly lively street market, stood up, went downstairs from the second-floor box and left the teahouse.
Jun Xian followed behind, and he admired Xue Zhiyu even more in his heart. She was an extremely intelligent woman, and always had all kinds of strange ideas.
Shijiu had just ridden his horse at full speed from Tiangang Village all the way back to the capital. He finally arrived at the backyard of the inn. Without even having time to rest, he tied up his horse and headed lightly towards the Charity Hall.
Doctor Ji had just finished writing a prescription for the patient when he suddenly saw Shijiu running in excitedly. He couldn't help but frowning slightly.
"Is the princess here now?"
Doctor Ji's frown relaxed a little after hearing this, but he still looked unhappy and said, "The princess is not here, but you are too reckless, what if you bump into someone else?"
Shijiu looked around, scratched his head and said awkwardly: "Isn't this urgent? Since the princess is not here, I will leave first."
"Oh, let's go."
Doctor Ji waved his hand, turned around and sighed helplessly, then sat back in his seat and continued seeing patients.
As soon as Shijiu came out of the Charity Hall, he was about to go to the Prime Minister's Residence, but then he changed his mind and thought that the princess was probably in the teahouse at this time, so he decided to go there to look for her.
He was lucky because before he reached the teahouse, he saw Xue Zhiyu and her friend on the street and he hurried over.
Xue Zhiyu originally planned to visit Situ Hongru at his residence first and check on the progress of the humidifier fan, but she was delayed on the way.
"The county lord."
Hearing someone calling her, Xue Zhiyu looked in the direction of the voice and almost didn't recognize Shijiu when she saw him.
If Jun Xian hadn't reminded her, she would still be wondering who this person was.
It’s no wonder that Xue Zhiyu was startled. Shijiu looked completely different at this moment.
Shijiu's gray shorts looked like he had rolled in the mud. His face looked extremely haggard and his chin was covered with stubble.
Shijiu brushed off the dust on his body, walked over and said, "Princess, I have already chosen the address, do you want to go and see it yourself?"
"Well, you should go back to the charity hall and rest for a while. You have worked hard during this period. I will go back to the charity hall to find you later."
Xue Zhiyu knew from the look on Shijiu's face that this guy definitely didn't get much rest, so she had to let him go back and have a good sleep.
Shijiu nodded, thinking that he could take a nap, so he didn't say much and turned back to the inn.
Jun Xian accompanied Xue Zhiyu to Situ Hongru's residence. When the attendant saw that it was Princess Kangle who was visiting, he did not wait for Xue Zhiyu to speak and hurriedly said respectfully: "Princess, you are here. Please come this way."
Before I even entered Situ Hongru's workshop, I heard Mrs. Situ's voice coming from inside.
".....I was wondering why you are so stubborn. You have been staring at this thing for so long. Why don't you take care of your own body?!"
Xue Zhiyu and Jun Xian looked at each other and thought it would be better to avoid her. Before they turned around and took a few steps, Madam Situ's surprised voice came.
"Princess, you are finally here. Please help me persuade this old man. He is torturing himself like this. He will probably have to go to see the ancestor."
Xue Zhiyu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She turned around and bowed to Madam Situ, then walked over and said to comfort her, "Madam, don't worry. I think Master Situ knows the answer himself. I'll go over and take a look."
"Then you have to persuade him well. This old man is very stubborn."
Xue Zhiyu said something again, and only then did Madam Situ feel relieved to leave.
Situ Hongru walked out of the study, peeked in and saw Madam Situ leaving, then he breathed a sigh of relief, then looked at the princess and said excitedly: "Princess, I'm almost done with the humidifying fan you mentioned, come in and take a look."
Xue Zhiyu walked over and saw that the room was almost full of humidifier fans. After looking at a few of them, she admired Situ Hongru even more.
"Mr. Situ, you have worked hard during this period. I will pay you back the money after the restaurant opens."
Xue Zhiyu knew Situ Hongru's personality very well, and knew that he might not care about this little bit of silver, and then added: "If you don't accept this silver, I won't look for you again if I want to make something in the future."
This sentence immediately made Situ Hongru's refusal go back into his stomach. He pursed his lips and spoke after a long while, "Everything is up to the princess. But if you come up with a good idea in the future, remember to come to me, an old man."
The two chatted for a while. Situ Hongru and his wife wanted to invite Xue Zhiyu to stay for dinner, but Xue Zhiyu declined.
After leaving Situ Hongru's residence, Xue Zhiyu looked at the sky.
Before they knew it, it was already dusk. Xue Zhiyu didn't dare to delay any longer and hurried back to the Charity Hall with Jun Xian.
Shijiu slept more soundly this time, but he didn't dare to fall into a deep sleep. He had already sat up from the bed in the backyard and tidied himself up.
Doctor Ji sent the last patient away and was about to get up to stretch his muscles when he saw Xue Zhiyu's figure and a light flashed in his eyes.
"My princess, you are back. These days, those ladies have been asking us for our facial mask cream again, and we dare not accept new orders privately."
"Well, we can start preparing now. I estimate that all the previously signed orders will be sent out in a few days."
Xue Zhiyu came to the backyard, and Shijiu took out the drawings he had compiled over the past few days from his sleeves.
"Princess, I have already found several village women in Tiangang Village to help with the production. The workshop is almost built, and the utensils from Boss Qin have also been delivered."
Tiangang Village?
Xue Zhiyu kept looking for this village on the map of Yan State in her mind. It seemed to be a small village on the edge of the capital, sparsely populated. Most of the people who stayed were old people and women at home, and all the young and strong men had left.
"You lead the way, before it gets dark."
"Yes."
Shijiu tied the horse in front of the carriage from the backyard. He and Jun Xian sat in the front, and Xue Zhiyu got into the carriage and headed towards Tiangang Village.
Xue Zhiyu watched as the bustle on the street was gradually replaced by one-meter-high reeds all around, revealing a desolate atmosphere. The road was bumpy and she finally arrived at Tiangang Village after a bumpy journey.
"Princess, the workshop is in front."
Xue Zhiyu lifted the car curtain and saw a house with lights on not far away.
After Shijiu parked the carriage, Xue Zhiyu followed, took a look at the brand new wooden door, then pushed it open and walked in.
I could see several village women lighting oil lamps and getting ready to work, and suddenly I heard the sound of a door being pushed open.
Several village women stopped what they were doing and looked up at the newcomer, their eyes full of confusion. One of them hesitated and asked, "Miss, are you here to look for someone?"
Shijiu had just parked the carriage in the thatched shed at the back and heard these words when he came in. When he was about to step forward to explain, Xue Zhiyu spoke first.
She glanced at the bewildered village women, then raised the corners of her lips and introduced: "I'm not here to look for you. I'm the one who recruited you. I came here today just to see if you can adapt."
After hearing this, the woman said in fear: "Miss, are you dissatisfied with us? This is our first time and we are not familiar with each other, but..."
Xue Zhiyu shook her head, still smiling and explaining: "Madam, you misunderstood what I meant. Unless he makes a big mistake, I will not let him leave."
The village women finally felt relieved and began to have a better impression of the young lady.
Xue Zhiyu told them to continue working and not to pay attention to her, then she walked out and wandered around the workshop.
The location chosen for Shijiu was indeed good. There were not many villagers living around, and there happened to be trees that provided some shade, so there was no need to worry about other people visiting.
"What do you think, Princess?"
"Have you investigated your family background?"
"Well, the women here are all from Tiangang Village. Their husbands have gone out, and they are the only ones left here to take care of the elderly and children. As soon as they heard that I was recruiting people, they came here."
"I think they are getting the hang of it. How about this? Let's send all the facial masks and creams they make to the charity hall. This will just be a good way to give away the orders they have accumulated."
After Xue Zhiyu finished speaking, she walked back in and picked up the prepared facial mask.
The jars of this batch of facial mask creams are all plain in color. Although they look inconspicuous, they appear very simple and elegant, which is the effect she wants.
I have to say that Qin Yuming is very smart. If he were in modern times, he would probably be the richest man.
Jun Xian was also shocked by what he saw. He watched the village woman making the mask more and more skillfully, and then looked at the finished facial mask cream. His admiration for her reached a new level.
Shijiu leaned against the door frame. While helping to choose a location these days, he became even more excited about Xue Zhiyu's next move.
Although he was somewhat reluctant to follow Xue Zhiyu at first, he now felt that following her was not a bad thing.