Gu Changwu's words served as a reminder to Meng Zhao: to make people feel at ease working for him, he had to ensure they had no worries about the future.

The second uncle was worried about his wife and children, so he naturally wanted to bring them over to live with him. Although Xu Ping's grandfather was in good health, he was all alone, so it would be better to bring him over as well.

It just so happens that the workshop is short of a gatekeeper. He can eat and live in the workshop and keep an eye on the people coming and going, which won't be too tiring.

Thinking of this, Meng Zhao went to tell Xu Ping about it, since the person's wishes still needed to be heard.

Upon hearing this, Xu Ping's eyes lit up instantly. "Cousin, of course I'd be more than willing! If you could bring my grandfather over, I could rest easy."

But her joy was short-lived, and she hesitated again. "I just don't know if my grandpa is willing. He's the most stubborn person. I was worried that he wouldn't trust me since I came all this way with you, but he's not worried at all. Instead, he wants me to come over as soon as possible."

"You silly child, your grandfather is definitely worried about you. He just hopes you'll grow up quickly and be able to take care of yourself." Meng Zhao looked at Xu Ping's appearance, feeling both amused and heartbroken.

"Since you've learned to write, why don't you write a letter? I'll take it with me when I go back and see if your grandfather is willing to come. If he's not willing, that's fine too. I'll have someone check on him often. You can just stay here and work in peace."

After hearing Meng Zhao's words, Xu Ping nodded gratefully. With his cousin there, he had nothing to worry about.

Yu Mei's husband also had his own job in the workshop in Shenjia Village, so he couldn't take over. All he could do was train the person well and let Yu Mei go back.

With everyone gathered today, and Meng Zhao and the others leaving tomorrow, the evening was truly lively, with food and drinks continuing until very late.

The next day, it was already broad daylight when Meng Zhao got up, and Meng Dashan and Li Zhuzi loaded the newly bought carriage together.

It's easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. After riding in the Xiao family's carriage twice, Meng Zhao no longer wanted to ride in an ordinary cart and get dusty.

So yesterday, she went to the county with Meng Dashan to buy a carriage. Originally, she wanted to buy a horse in one go, but seeing that those horses cost hundreds of taels of silver, and the subsequent feeding would also cost a lot of money, she couldn't bring herself to do it.

It seems that if we want to live a good life, our current wealth is far from enough. We need to work harder and earn more money in the future.

Meng Dashan struggled to put the packages into the car, then leaned on the shaft, panting, "Daughter, what did you buy? It's so heavy."

"These are all gifts I picked out. I've been away for so long, and it's not easy for me to come back, so I have to bring something as a token of my appreciation, right?"

Meng Dashan was puzzled. "Why do we have to buy this here? Wouldn't it be the same if we just went back to the county to buy it? It's such a hassle to go back and forth like this."

Meng Zhao rolled her eyes at her own father. "How can something bought at home be the same as something bought outside?"

"There's no difference. Look at the cloth shops in our county, they have a wide variety of styles, no less than those in Hongnong County."

"Hmph, when we get home, I'll tell Mother that I picked out all these things for her myself, bit by bit. You should go back to the county and buy a couple of pieces of cloth from the cloth shop to give to Mother, and see if she'll let you into the house." Meng Zhao gave a playful snort and prepared to get into the car.

Meng Dashan naturally objected and quickly pulled Meng Zhao away, saying, "Don't say that, my dear. If you tell your mother that, how will I live when we get back? You must tell your mother that we picked these things together."

Seeing her father's anxious look, Meng Zhao found it amusing. "Then it depends on my mood."

Li Zhuzi tied the last box to the back of the carriage, walked to the front, and said to Meng Zhao, "Master, I just tested it, and I'm afraid this mule might not be able to handle it."

Meng Zhao was somewhat surprised, "Last time we had Chef Zhou on the bus, and we still managed, didn't we?"

The chef looked quite plump that week; the things he bought shouldn't be that heavy, right?

"The materials used in this carriage that the owner bought are too good. It's much heavier than the one we rode in last time. Also, the distance to Qingshi County is much longer than that to Qinyang County. I'm afraid the mule will get tired halfway there."

That won't do. We spent a lot of money to buy this mule. How about we get another mule cart to haul the goods?

While they were hesitating, Li Zhuzi said, "Why don't we get a double mule? That way, the two mules can take turns resting on the road, so it won't be too tiring."

Meng Zhao asked doubtfully, "This double-horse cart might be difficult to drive. Brother Zhu, do you know how?"

Li Zhuzi nodded. "Don't worry, boss. I've done this a few times before when I was hauling goods with others. Although I'm not particularly skilled, I can still manage."

Meng Zhao's eyes lit up, and he nodded, "Brother Zhuzi, you know this too? That's great!"

After saying that, he led another mule out of the workshop and tied it up with the mule. The reason he had asked Li Zhuzi to come along was because he knew how to operate the drying oven, and Meng Zhao thought he would come and teach people.

Since we've taken good care of this person, we'll naturally go back with them. Unexpectedly, he knows quite a lot.

With everything prepared, Meng Zhao bid farewell to everyone and got into the car first, with Shen Yun and Xiao Chuan sitting on either side of her.

Meng Dashan and Li Zhuzi then turned over and sat in the front, ready to catch the train and set off.

All the original goals have been achieved on this trip. The day I met Xiao Youzhi, the order volume increased by another two thousand catties. The workshop's warehouse is now full of finished starch, just waiting for the delivery date.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!