"Yes! Of course I want it!"
Zhen Wanwan took a sip of milk tea and stated firmly.
The crowd was still somewhat incredulous and turned their gazes toward Zhuyuan.
With just one glance from Zhu Yuan, they understood that they had to listen to Zhen Wanwan on this matter.
Magistrate Wu gritted his teeth and began to consider which method would be more beneficial to the people of his county.
Because their area has many trees and little mountainous land, most of the land that is slightly suitable for cultivation has already been cleared.
His original plan was to cut down the fruit trees, clear the land, and plant sweet potatoes the following year.
Now that he has received Zhen Wanwan's promise, he is beginning to waver.
After much deliberation, and after Zhen Wanwan inquired about the situation in Dahe County, he finally made up his mind.
"Madam Zhen, I will certainly ensure that the people cultivate sweet potatoes well and take good care of the fruit trees at the same time!"
Zhen Wanwan smiled and said something, then looked at the magistrate of Changshun County.
They chatted all morning, but before they finished, Chen Yong arranged lunch for everyone.
After lunch, Zhen Wanwan put her two children to sleep, leaving Zhang Mama to watch over them.
He then went to the front hall to continue his conversation with the county magistrates.
It wasn't until late afternoon that the county magistrates left their offices with smiles on their faces.
Zhu Yuan looked at the exhausted Zhen Wanwan and felt a pang of heartache.
He stood behind her and massaged her shoulders.
Although his massage technique was clumsy, the pressure was just right, and Zhen Wanwan enjoyed it as he massaged her.
In just fifteen minutes, I felt much of my fatigue dissipate.
"My husband, you've worked so hard today. If it weren't for you, things probably wouldn't have gone so smoothly," Zhen Wanwan said with emotion.
During their conversation today, she discovered that these county magistrates were all thoughtful and calculating individuals.
If she hadn't given so much and had Zhu Yuan backing her up, she probably wouldn't have been able to control those people.
Zhu Yuan's eyes darkened as he looked at Zhen Wanwan, who was beaming with relief. Suddenly, he felt uneasy.
Although he was happy to be his wife's support, in this world, only by being strong enough can one protect oneself.
With him around, Zhen Wanwan and her two children, Guaibao and Tianbao, are naturally carefree, but... what would happen to Zhen Wanwan and her two children if he were gone?
Zhu Yuan considered this point, and an idea flashed through his mind.
Zhen Wanwan didn't receive a reply from Zhu Yuan, but she didn't take it to heart.
She knew that Zhu Yuan disliked being distant with her, so these words were just polite formalities.
"It's getting late, let's hurry back!"
Zhen Wanwan looked up at the sky. The sun had already begun to set, and it was almost time for dinner.
Grandma Li and the others must be getting impatient waiting at home; if they don't go back soon, the old couple will probably be very anxious.
Bathed in the glow of the setting sun, Zhen Wanwan and her group returned to Meizi Village as the sun set.
For several days in a row, Zhen Wanwan was busy planting crops and harvesting grains in her space.
She had never had the chance to go to the county, but when it was time to reconcile accounts at the department store, Zhang Qiaozui arrived as promised.
Currently, Zhang Qiaozui mainly manages the department store in the prefectural city, while the one in the county town is managed by the female housekeeper who won the first place in the election.
Zhen Wanwan returned to the mansion a day early and received Zhang Qiaozui and the housekeeper in the reception room.
After taking the account books from the two people, Zhen Wanwan quietly flipped through them. Seeing that there were no problems, she looked up at the two people sitting below her.
“After deducting costs, Guangling County made a net profit of 30,000 taels of silver last month. Steward Ding, you did a great job. According to the contract, you received 15 taels of silver as commission last month. Bonuses will be settled together at the New Year.”
Maintaining 30,000 taels of silver a month during the off-season is no easy feat.
Moreover, it was in Guangling County, a remote county with low population density.
Zhen Wanwan gestured to A Yue to give fifteen taels of silver to Steward Ding.
"Thank you, Madam Zhen!"
Manager Ding felt a surge of anxiety and unease. She had only been in the position for three months and had only received her base salary once.
The first three months were a probationary period, during which she only received a base salary and no commission. This month was the first time she received money in addition to her base salary.
Despite how composed and tactful she is when facing clients on ordinary days, she was still unsettled on this particular day.
After receiving the money from A-Yue, she couldn't help but shed tears.
Even at this moment, she felt like she was dreaming, completely dazed and confused.
She used to think that being able to work in a department store was a blessing from her ancestors.
Now she is trusted by her master and holds an important position, becoming a well-known manager of a department store.
She is highly regarded and respected by others, and she often secretly pinches herself when she is not busy at work.
I'm afraid that if I don't feel any pain, I'll think I'm dreaming.
There are still several bruises on her thighs!
After three months of training, she was convinced that she had truly surpassed those men and become the first female manager with any standing.
She was incredibly excited and grateful; she owed everything to Zhen Wanwan's kindness in meeting her.
With tears welling up in his eyes, Steward Ding suddenly felt a tightness in his chest. He knelt down on the blue bricks with a thud and kowtowed several times to Zhen Wanwan.
"I owe everything I have today to Lady Zhen. From now on, I will be your loyal dog. If you tell me to go east, I will never go west. Even if you tell me to die, I will immediately smash my head against a wall and die... And..."
"Stop, stop, stop!!! Steward Ding, what are you doing?"
Zhen Wanwan was stunned by her move and said helplessly, "Your achievements are all due to your hard work. If you want to thank someone, then that person is yourself."
What Zhen Wanwan said was true; the manager Ding in front of her was really hardworking.
She originally thought Wang Basan was the most hardworking and ambitious employee, but she didn't expect that after Manager Ding joined the company, Wang Basan had been ranked behind her.
Moreover, in terms of interpersonal skills, business dealings, and communication, she found that Manager Ding was truly blessed with exceptional talent.
It's so outrageous that they've managed to get passersby to wander around the department store, and some have even signed up for memberships just for it.
Because of her friendly personality, she has many repeat customers, who in turn bring her a lot of new customers.
Nowadays, there isn't a single woman in the department store who isn't familiar with her.
Zhen Wanwan regained her composure and was extremely satisfied with Steward Ding.
Zhang Qiaozui observed silently from the side and realized that the manager Ding in front of him was no less capable than himself.
He suddenly felt very fortunate that he had known Zhen Wanwan before Manager Ding, and that he was the first person to abandon his evil ways and join Zhen Wanwan's small team.
Otherwise, if he had entered the department store with Manager Ding, it's hard to say who would be in his current position!
Zhang Qiaozui's sense of crisis reached its peak at this moment; he had already secretly noticed Manager Ding, this dark horse.
Seeing that Zhen Wanwan had also noticed her, her competitive spirit resurfaced.
He narrowed his eyes, made up his mind, and was determined to make a name for himself this month and leave Steward Ding far behind!
Zhen Wanwan was very satisfied with this scene. With competition, people will improve!
Zhang Qiaozui had a lot of contact with her, and in just a few words, she explained the accounts of the department store in the prefecture city in detail.
"...Last month, due to distributors settling accounts, we had some extra money on top of our existing profits..."
Zhen Wanwan looked at the large, glittering gold characters above her head: a total of 130,000 taels of silver.
This is more than four times the amount in Guangling County. As expected, the county seat and the prefectural city are still incomparable!
The area is large, and the people's spending power is much higher.
Zhen Wanwan noticed that the distributor column only had a dozen or so people, yet they already accounted for half of the amount.
She looked up at Zhang Qiaozui and said, "Selling directly is a bit limiting. We can increase the number of distributors. Manager Ding, you can do the same. Remember, you must understand the specific information of the distributors. Better to have fewer but better ones!"
"This servant understands!"
After having A-Yue see them off, Zhen Wanwan pondered the future plans for the department store.
Now that the department store has established a firm foothold in Anqing Prefecture, it's time to expand outwards.
However, her network is limited, so she can only sell through distributors by recruiting agents.
However, due to the long distance and inconvenient transportation, each distributor only comes to purchase goods once every one or two months.
This greatly shortened her earning speed. If she could set up a warehouse for the department store in each prefecture, she would definitely earn no less than a million taels a month.
Zhen Wanwan thought about it more and more and it seemed feasible, but this matter still needed to be considered further.
First, she didn't have enough money; second, she lacked talent!
Suddenly, Zhen Wanwan understood the troubles of starting a business. If any one of these things is missing, it will be impossible to move forward.
She's so lucky she doesn't have to pay for the product costs.
"Sigh! When will it be my turn to make money while lying down?!"
Zhen Wanwan sat at the table, her hands supporting her chin, a look of regret on her face.
"Madam Zhen! Something terrible has happened!"
Rou'er rushed in, forgetting all the rules that Zhang Mama had taught her.
Zhen Wanwan perked up; she knew very well that Rou'er's personality wasn't that of a reckless person.
For her to lose her composure, that would be a very serious matter!
"Rou'er, don't panic, drink some water and calm down first!"
Rou'er was panting heavily, her forehead covered in sweat.
Her eyes were filled with fear as she stammered, "Outside...they've broken in!"
"What has broken in?"
Zhen Wanwan frowned, not understanding what she meant.
Rou'er was anxious and also hated herself for being so physically weak that she kept kicking after running just a few steps.
She decided that she must control her diet and do aerobics every day from now on.
Zhen Wanwan saw her pound her chest hard, and after she recovered, a series of big messages popped up.
"The Northern Hu people have attacked! I heard that they attacked Anqing Prefecture last night and killed many wild animals for food!"
"Furthermore, the master has ordered increased security along the border of Anqing Prefecture, making it difficult for anyone to enter or leave the prefecture!"
Zhen Wanwan's eyes widened; she hadn't expected this to happen so quickly.
She was also very flustered, but when she thought that Zhu Yuan already had a solution and that no bad news had come home, she felt much more at ease.
"Rou'er, don't panic! Even if the sky falls, there's always someone taller to hold it up. Besides, the Northern Hu people aren't necessarily stronger than us!"
Rou'er blinked her big eyes and looked at the calm and composed Zhen Wanwan, which calmed her down a lot.
"Wanwan! What's going on?"
Outside the courtyard, Old Lady Li arrived at her home with several families.
Zhen Wanwan hurriedly stepped forward to help the unsteady-footed old lady, Li.
Zhen Wanwan glanced at the people who had come; both the Zhou family and the Dongzi family had arrived.
It seems the news has already spread.
Dongzi held his newborn daughter in his arms, followed by his wife who had just finished her postpartum confinement and his elderly mother.
"Brother Dongzi, you guys know too!"
Zhou Dashan had just come out of the field, his clothes still covered in mud, and asked with a worried look, "I heard that the barbarians from the north have attacked. Is that true?"
Zhen Wanwan glanced at everyone and nodded somewhat reluctantly: "That's right, this matter should be true."
However, Zhen Wanwan does not know the specifics.
She suddenly remembered that A-Yue had told her that morning that Zhu Yuan had gotten up in the middle of the night.
She hadn't taken it seriously at first, but now that she thinks about it, it must be about the Northern Hu people attacking the city.
"You don't need to worry about this. My husband has already ordered the defenses to be set up, and our weapons have all been reforged. Those northern barbarians might not be a match for us!"
The people present did not lower their guard because of Zhen Wanwan's comforting words.
They were all people who had experienced war and understood the cruelty of the battlefield.
They could escape when they were in Xinyang Prefecture, but now they have nowhere to run.
There is no peaceful place left for them to live in peace.
Perhaps due to postpartum depression, Dongzi's wife was thinking about things from the past.
She covered her mouth, tears streaming down her face, her body trembling slightly.
She finally couldn't hold back her tears and cried out, "Waaah... This is leaving us no way to survive! We might as well just hang ourselves on a rope and leave, then we wouldn't have to suffer those barbarians!"
Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent, especially the women present, whose eyes reddened.
They had all heard about the behavior of the Northern Hu people afterward; in the past, when they conquered a city, they would play with and torture the women.
Every time I think about it, I break out in a cold sweat, as if the Northern Hu people were right at the foot of their city gate.
That woman's fate will most likely be their fate as well.
Thinking of this, Wang Cuihua, who was usually most afraid of death, also felt a bit fierce.
"If that day ever comes, I will tie a large rock to myself and fall into the river myself, rather than let those people insult me!"
Da Ni is already old enough to understand things, and in a few years she will be getting engaged. She can already understand what the adults are saying.
Although she didn't say anything, her chastity and integrity revealed her true thoughts.
At the same time, she secretly decided that if that day ever came, she would not only die herself, but also take Erni with her.
It's better to walk the road to the underworld together than to leave her to suffer alone.
The men endured their anger, the veins bulging on their foreheads betraying their fury.
Their parents, wives and children, friends... their whole world is here.
No matter how ferocious those Northern Hu people were, they would definitely stand in front of their families and create a safe space for them.
Zhen Fugui, Zhou Dashan, and Dongzi, three strong men, exchanged glances, their eyes revealing their determination.
Dongzi looked tenderly at his baby daughter, who was still in swaddling clothes. The baby smiled warmly at him, and Dongzi felt both happy and sad.
He was willing to give his life for his daughter.
The same applies to the rest of the people.
"My lady! The officials have arrived!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com