The Wealthy Eldest Sister Rules Supreme

Chapter 385: Chapter 372: Severely Hit

Despite Zhuang Yonghe’s repeated reassurances that Mr. Fan’s willingness to teach Zhuang Mingli must be because he likes him, they need not worry too much anymore.

However, despite his words, Mrs. He also understood this logic.

But every time she thought about the common people like her studying, laughing, and playing together with such unattainable nobles, her heart beat rapidly in anxiety.

Zhuang Qingning didn’t realize this before, being busy with various shops and workshops, so she didn’t think about it.

Now, seeing Mrs. He’s anxious look, Zhuang Qingning could tell how worried she was about the matter.

If they were in modern times, Zhuang Qingning would certainly laugh at her misunderstanding, thinking Mrs. He was overthinking. However, this era was governed by strict social hierarchy and deeply entrenched class consciousness, so Mrs. He’s worries were expected.

“Auntie, don’t think too much about it. Mr. Fan and Young Master Chu seem to be good people. Scholars normally don’t care about these things; they are willing to study together as long as they get along and can converse freely.”

Zhuang Qingning laughed, “They are just children, probably they don’t think so much. Mr. Fan only cares about learning and doesn’t concern himself with the rest. He only considers whether it’s good or bad. If he thinks it’s good, even vegetable buns would pursue him, if he thinks it’s bad, perhaps even abalone, shark fin, and sea cucumber would offend him.”

“Mingli is doing well at home, just now Mr. Fan even praised his reading skills and quick character recognition. Putting aside our hopes for Mingli to attach himself to a privileged person, from Mr. Fan’s academic perspective, being able to read more and understand more is indeed a great thing.”

Seeing Zhuang Qingning speaking so casually and always believing that what Zhuang Qingning says and does is absolutely correct, Mrs. He felt somewhat comforted.

“Yes, just as you said, they are little children, probably they don’t think so much.”

Just like the young children in the village who don’t care about who’s rich or poor, and just play together. It’s the adults who ponder over who’s getting benefits from whom, and who’s closer to whom.

This thought lightened Mrs. He’s heart even more.

“Let it be, let them do as they please. It’s not like we can understand what the children are thinking even if we worry.”

Mrs. He looked at Zhuang Qingning, then stuck her head out to look outside. Seeing that it was getting dark and there weren’t many people on the street, she moved closer to Zhuang Qingning, then lowered her voice, “You’ve been busy these days and I haven’t had a chance to tell you. Do you know what happened at Zhuang Ruman’s house?”

“Auntie, are you talking about my eldest uncle and aunt being sentenced to labor?” Zhuang Qingning asked, “If it’s about that, I heard some things in the county town. I heard that they have already been sent away.”

“Yes, I heard they were sent to the south to repair the river embankments. I don’t know when they will return.”

Mrs. He continued, “Zhuang Ruman and Mrs. Song deserve this for what they did. Everyone is saying they got what was coming to them. Both of them are not good people, so let them be punished. Nobody even feels sorry for Zhuang Yuanren being kicked out of the government school. But what about Zhuang Yuanzhong and Zhuang Qinghe? They’re not in our village anymore.”

“Not in the village anymore?” Zhuang Qingning hadn’t heard about this and was surprised.

“Yes, they’re not there, they should be gone.” Mrs. He sighed slightly, “I heard that when Zhuang Qinghe was sent to the County Government Office, she was shocked after hearing what happened. She seemed stupefied, as if she had lost her mind. Some people saw her wandering around in the county town for a few days, not speaking to anyone. She just kept her head down and walked from the east side of the county town to the west side. Then the next day, she would switch to a different place, and walk from the south side to the north side.”

“After a few days of doing this, she disappeared. And Zhuang Yuanzhong also vanished, with no more sightings of him. I went to their house a few days ago, the door was half-open, and it has remained that way. There was no light in the house even at night a sign they may not have returned.”

“I wonder where the two siblings have gone.”

Zhuang Qingning didn’t respond, she only lowered her eyelids slightly.

Encountering such a thing as being sold by her own parents, Zhuang Qinghe naturally was deeply shocked.

Zhuang Ruman and Mrs. Song may have been sentenced to labor, but it was only for a year. They would eventually come back. Knowing this, Zhuang Yuanzhong wasn’t foolish enough to stay at home and wait for them to return, only to be verbally or physically abused by them.

Before the incident, Zhuang Yuanzhong had stolen all the money from his home. Given his personality and resourcefulness, although he was just a child, he should have been able to find another place with Zhuang Qinghe and live a peaceful life.

It wasn’t as if they would have no food or clothes, but they should have been able to make do.

Because of inheriting the previous owner’s memories, and her own personal experiences after transmigration, Zhuang Qingning disliked the entire Zhuang Ruman family. Even if Zhuang Qinghe currently seemed pitiable, and Zhuang Yuanzhong showed some conscience, she still couldn’t muster any sympathy or concern for them. She certainly didn’t have any remorse or worry.

Seeing Zhuang Qingning silent, Mrs. He knew she must be thinking about the past, so she didn’t say anything more. Instead, she began to talk about what she had been busy with recently.

The supply of mosquito repellent herb sachets was getting low, so they no longer needed to constantly collect mosquito repellent herbs. She and Zhuang Yonghe have been focusing on collecting duck eggs and beans.

After collecting all the beans and duck eggs in the village, they had to go from house to house in other villages to collect more.

But now that the workshop’s reputation was gradually growing, with the fair and reasonable prices offered, and the dependable long-term purchases regardless of quantity, they no longer had to go from house to house. They just waited at home, and the goods to be sold would be continuously brought to them.

Everyone was trying to make a living from the land. These few years have been peaceful with good weather, but the prices for grains have been low. Everyone had surplus eggs every day and wanted to exchange these things for cash at a fair price, which was not easy.

So those who came to sell things, in groups of three or five, saw that they were not picky, even intentionally ridding off small change and giving a few extra items.

In summary, Zhuang Qingning learned from Mrs. He’s conversation that the procurement of raw materials was progressing rather smoothly.

After discussing a few other matters, Zhuang Qingning stood up to return home.

Mrs. He handed her two vegetable buns to take back for Zhuang Qingsui to eat.

Zhuang Qingning didn’t refuse. She took the vegetable buns and went home. She and Zhuang Qingsui cooked some porridge and ate a simple meal, before going to rest.

The next day, Zhuang Qingning didn’t go to town. She just checked on the workshop, saw everything was fine, and then went back home to prepare the sour and spicy noodles and the Guokui for Mr. Fan Wenxuan and Chu Jinzhou’s lunch when they would visit.