林晚秋又惊又喜：“真的？那太好了！这样一来，林茉莉就再也不能找咱们的麻烦了！”
Shen Tingzhou nodded, then spoke of Zhao Jianjun: "Although Zhao Jianjun's father was arrested, he is still not resigned to his fate and is always looking for an opportunity to take revenge. I heard that he has recently been spreading rumors in the village that the supplementary food in our workshop is not clean and will make people sick, which will affect our business. I will go to the village tomorrow and have a good talk with him to make him behave himself."
"Don't confront him head-on." Lin Wanqiu was a little worried. "Zhao Jianjun is a scoundrel. If things get out of hand with him, he might do something even more extreme."
“I know what I’m doing.” Shen Tingzhou held her hand, his tone gentle yet firm. “I won’t fight him, but I won’t let him continue spreading rumors. We can’t let him ruin the reputation of our workshop.”
The next morning, Shen Tingzhou went to the village. He didn't go directly to Zhao Jianjun, but instead went to the village secretary's house first. He told the secretary about Zhao Jianjun spreading rumors and presented some villagers' testimonies. The village secretary had long been dissatisfied with Zhao Jianjun's shameless behavior, but hadn't dared to intervene because of his father's former status. Now, with the evidence provided by Shen Tingzhou, he immediately went to find Zhao Jianjun, gave him a severe scolding, and warned him that if he dared to spread rumors again, he would send him to the commune for education.
Zhao Jianjun initially wanted to argue, but seeing the testimony in the village secretary's hand and remembering Shen Tingzhou's fighting prowess, he immediately backed down, quickly nodding in admission of his mistake and promising never to spread rumors again. After leaving the village secretary's house, Shen Tingzhou went to the workshop and learned about its production situation from Brother Zhou and Sister Liu. Seeing that the workshop was orderly and the workers were working diligently, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Brother Shen, you're finally back!" Brother Zhou's eyes reddened with excitement when he saw Shen Tingzhou. "Sister Wanqiu suffered a lot of grievances while running the workshop all by herself. Now that you're back, we have someone to rely on!"
"Thank you for your hard work." Shen Tingzhou patted Brother Zhou on the shoulder. "From now on, we'll discuss the workshop's affairs together, and Wanqiu won't have to suffer alone anymore."
Sister Liu smiled and said, "It's good that Brother Shen is back. With you here, we're no longer afraid of anyone causing trouble. By the way, the county food factory sent someone yesterday to ask when we'll send the samples over."
Shen Tingzhou looked at Lin Wanqiu: "Are the samples ready? Do you want me to go to the county food factory with you?"
"It's all ready, we can send it over tomorrow." Lin Wanqiu nodded. "I feel much more at ease with you coming with me."
Early on the third day, Shen Tingzhou and Lin Wanqiu, carrying samples, went to the county town in a horse-drawn carriage driven by Brother Zhou. When the director of the county food factory saw Shen Tingzhou, his attitude was noticeably more respectful than when he had treated Lin Wanqiu last time—he had long heard of Shen Tingzhou's identity and knew that he was an officer in the army with real power, so he dared not offend him easily.
Shen Tingzhou didn't beat around the bush with the factory manager; he directly presented samples and had the factory's chefs try making them on the spot. Following Lin Wanqiu's recipe, the chefs produced jujube paste and walnut paste with a delicate texture and sweet flavor, far superior to the factory's original products. After tasting them, the factory manager's eyes lit up, and he immediately signed a cooperation agreement with Lin Wanqiu, even proactively increasing his commission to 7%, his attitude incredibly attentive.
After leaving the food factory, Lin Wanqiu finally felt relieved: "I didn't expect the factory manager's attitude to change so much. It must be because of you."
Shen Tingzhou smiled and said, "He's afraid I'll cause him trouble. After all, Lin Moli's uncle will be investigated soon, and he doesn't want to get involved with Lin Moli, so naturally he'll be polite to us." He took Lin Wanqiu's hand and walked slowly along the streets of the county town. Red lanterns were hung on both sides of the street, and the festive atmosphere was getting stronger. "Wanqiu, I have another idea that I want to discuss with you this time I came back."
"What are your thoughts?" Lin Wanqiu asked curiously.
“Our workshop is doing well in the village, but it’s limited in scale, and our customers are mainly from the commune and nearby villages. It’s difficult to expand further.” Shen Tingzhou’s gaze fell on a bustling food store on the side of the street. “There are more people in the county town, and their spending power is stronger than in the village. If we could open a food store in the county town, specializing in our baby food products, plus some of the new snacks you’ve developed, business would definitely be great. This way, we can not only expand our business, but also let more people know about our brand. In the future, even if someone wants to cause us trouble, they’ll have to think twice.”
Lin Wanqiu's eyes lit up; Shen Tingzhou's idea coincided with hers. She had long wanted to expand her business to the county town, but before, with Shen Tingzhou away, she had to take care of the children and manage the workshop alone, leaving her with no energy to prepare. Now that Shen Tingzhou was back, with his help, this idea could finally be realized.
“I’ve also thought about opening a food store in the county town!” Lin Wanqiu said excitedly. “I’ve also developed several new snacks, such as sesame brittle and peanut brittle, all made with ingredients from my space. They’ll definitely taste better than what’s on the market. If I open a store in the county town, I can not only sell baby food, but also these snacks. That would definitely attract a lot of customers.”
“Then it’s settled!” Shen Tingzhou said with a smile. “Let’s find a suitable shop in the county town first, then renovate and complete the procedures, and try to open the shop before the New Year to catch the good business of the Spring Festival.”
The two drove around the county town for a while and finally settled on a shop located in the middle of the street. The shop wasn't big, just one storefront, but it was in a good location, next to a supply and marketing cooperative and a hospital, with high foot traffic, and the rent wasn't expensive. The owner was planning to return to his hometown and was willing to transfer the business at a low price, so Shen Tingzhou immediately signed a transfer agreement with the owner and paid a deposit.
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