As soon as he finished speaking, the villagers started talking. Aunt Li was the first to raise her hand: "My family will contribute ten yuan! Wanqiu, I believe in you. If you lead us to work, we will definitely make money!" Uncle Zhang also said: "My family will also contribute ten yuan! I can help with building the factory and selecting timber. We can deduct the wages first, or we can count it as shares."

"My family will contribute five yuan!" "My family will contribute eight yuan!" The villagers responded enthusiastically, and in no time, more than twenty households had signed up, raising more than 180 yuan. Nian'an carefully wrote down the details in her notebook, her little face full of seriousness. Every now and then, she would look up and ask, "Grandma Li, your family will contribute ten yuan, right?" "Uncle Wang, your family will contribute five yuan, I've noted it down."

Seeing the villagers' enthusiasm, Lin Wanqiu was deeply moved: "Thank you all for your trust! I promise you that I will definitely run the workshop well so that everyone can make money. Once the factory is built, we will start production. In addition to peach shortbread and sesame cake, we will also make cookies and candies, so that we can have more varieties of pastries and a wider market."

After the meeting, Shen Tingzhou helped Lin Wanqiu organize the list of shareholders. Looking at the densely packed names and amounts, he said softly, "With so many villagers supporting us, our workshop will definitely be successful. Tomorrow I'll go to the commune to order bricks, tiles, and timber. You stay home and organize the equipment list, then contact the county food factory to ask when the advance payment will arrive."

“Okay.” Lin Wanqiu nodded, then suddenly remembered something. “By the way, regarding the application for the workshop license, the secretary said we need to go to the commune’s industrial and commercial administration office. We need to prepare some materials, such as identity documents, site certificates, and the workshop’s business scope. We need to get all of these ready in advance to avoid making unnecessary trips.”

Shen Tingzhou put the list away and said, "When I go to order the materials tomorrow, I'll also go to the Industry and Commerce Bureau to ask what materials are needed, and we'll prepare them together. Let's try to get the license as soon as possible so we can start production once the factory is built."

Early the next morning, Shen Tingzhou drove his horse-drawn carriage to the commune. Lin Wanqiu was at home organizing the equipment list. She took out the food tool manual she used in her previous life from her spatial storage and listed the items she needed: three large ovens, twenty iron baking pans, ten earthenware jars, five wooden cutting boards, five flour sieves, ten rolling pins, one hundred sheets of oil paper, five catties of hemp rope... Each item was clearly listed, along with its approximate price.

When Nian'an came home from school, she saw the list and came over, saying, "Mom, can I help you? I can help you count how many baking pans and rolling pins you need." Lin Wanqiu smiled and handed her the notebook, "Okay, then help Mom count and see if anything is missing." Nian'an started counting seriously, pointing to the list with her little finger and reading out each item one by one: "Three large ovens, twenty iron baking pans, ten earthenware jars... Mom, nothing's missing!"

In the evening, Shen Tingzhou returned, carrying an order for bricks, tiles, and timber, as well as a list of materials provided by the Industry and Commerce Bureau. "I ordered a thousand bricks and tiles, and ten pine trees. They should be delivered next week." He handed the list of materials to Lin Wanqiu. "The Industry and Commerce Bureau said they need our identification documents, proof of premises, the name and business scope of the workshop, and a letter of recommendation from the village. We need to prepare all of these and submit the application next Monday."

Lin Wanqiu took the list and looked at it carefully: "We have the identification and proof of premises. Let's name the workshop 'Red Flag Food Workshop,' which fits our village's name and is easy to remember. The business scope will be handmade pastries, biscuits, and candies, wholesale and retail. As for the village's recommendation letter, I'll talk to the secretary tomorrow and ask him to help write it."

Over the next few days, the two were busy preparing materials for the license application. The villagers were also busy. Uncle Zhang led a few villagers to the back mountain to select timber, while Aunt Li and several women helped Lin Wanqiu tidy up the yard, putting away things that were not currently in use in preparation for storing the workshop's raw materials.

On Sunday evening, Lin Wanqiu and Shen Tingzhou organized all the materials and put them into an old canvas bag. Looking at the identification documents, site certificate, recommendation letter, and business scope description of the workshop inside, Lin Wanqiu felt both expectant and nervous: "We're going to submit the application tomorrow. I don't know if it will be approved smoothly. The secretary said the procedures might be a bit complicated, so we need to prepare more explanations."

Shen Tingzhou held her hand, his tone firm: "Don't worry, our workshop is meant to help our fellow villagers get rich, it's in line with the policy, and it will definitely be approved. Even if we encounter some trouble, we can solve it. Once the license is issued and the factory is built, our workshop can start operating, and then our lives will get better and better, and the lives of our fellow villagers will also get better and better."

Lying in bed, Nian'an heard their conversation and mumbled sleepily, "Mom, Dad, when the workshop opens, I want to be your little bookkeeper, help you with the accounts, and also watch over the warehouse so bad people won't steal our pastries." Lin Wanqiu smiled and patted his head, "Okay, our Nian'an is your little helper. Go to sleep now, you have school tomorrow."