Li Xiang'an looked at Yan Qingqing and asked, "Mother, I heard you're going to build another garden?"
Yan Qingqing nodded and said, "We can't waste that half of the wasteland."
I plan to entrust this matter to your third uncle.
Upon hearing this, Li Xiang'an smiled and said, "Third Uncle has a lot of experience in this area, so it's most suitable to leave it to him."
Yan Qingqing smiled and said, "I reckon your third uncle is facing a problem right now and is quite troubled."
Li Xiang'an was somewhat surprised; what did his mother mean by that?
Seeing this, Yan Qingqing explained, "I was talking about recruiting workers. It's not so easy to recruit workers in our village now. Labor is very valuable."
Li Xiang'an understood immediately after hearing Yan Qingqing's words. Indeed, there were hardly any idle people in their village now.
Moreover, these are physically demanding tasks that the elderly and children cannot do.
Li Xiang'an then asked, "Is Mother deliberately trying to give Third Uncle a little training this time?"
Yan Qingqing said with a smile, "Your third uncle is good in every way. If you train him well, he will definitely be a great help to you in the future."
However, he lacks the courage and is unwilling to engage with more people and things, so he will definitely fall behind our pace of development.
"Everything is difficult at the beginning. Let him start by interacting with the people around him. After this busy period, he should be much better at interpersonal skills when he returns to the workshop."
Yan Qingqing wanted to give Li Sanniu an important position, but judging from his recent entertaining of businessmen, Li Sanniu was still lacking in interpersonal skills.
He never utters a word whenever Li Xiang'an and Yan Qingqing are present.
Yan Qingqing thought he probably wasn't quite used to it, so she took this opportunity to let Li San Niu adjust on his own, and also to tell him that nothing is set in stone, and if you can't keep up with the pace of development, you will definitely be eliminated.
As for how much Li Sanniu can comprehend, that depends on himself.
In addition, Yan Qingqing suggested that Li Xiang'an train more capable people in the workshop so that she could proceed with her next steps.
Li Xiang'an took a deep breath. It seemed he also needed to adjust himself, otherwise he wouldn't be able to keep up with his mother's pace.
After Li Xiang'an left, Yan Qingqing had someone bring A'da over.
Ah Da has become increasingly mature and steady, and he's very capable in handling affairs. Everyone knows that Yan Qingqing relies on him a lot.
Because Yan Qingqing valued him, he held great prestige among the servants, resembling a head steward.
However, Ah Da did not become arrogant because of this. Instead, he became even more diligent and cautious in his work.
Ah Da looked at Yan Qingqing and smiled, "I wonder what business Madam has with me?"
Yan Qingqing replied, "I plan to buy two more shops. Go to the brokerage and see if there are any suitable ones."
Ah-Tian was naturally pleased to be relied upon by Yan Qingqing, but he still asked, "I wonder what kind of business Madam wants to do, and what kind of shop she wants? So that I may have a purpose."
Yan Qingqing smiled and said, "My current plan is to open another cooked food shop, and another one I plan to open as a cosmetics shop."
Take a look and learn more first. If you find something particularly suitable, you're not opposed to doing either of these businesses.
It's said that plans can't keep up with changes, and if the right opportunity arises, Yan Qingqing also plans to do some other business.
After hearing Yan Qingqing's words, A'da felt more confident and then said, "Then I'll go take a look first, and report back to Madam if there's anything suitable."
After A-Da left, Yan Qingqing didn't rest; she started writing storybooks again.
The teahouse is doing very well now, and Yun Zhanggui and his team are already making limited-edition souvenirs.
A few days later, Li Sanniu finished recruiting workers, and construction began on the Chrysanthemum Garden.
When Yan Qingqing had some free time, she thought about going up the mountain again.
Before she could even go to the Xu family's house, they came rushing over.
Seeing her in such a hurry, Yan Qingqing thought something had happened and asked, "Is something wrong?"
Madam Xu smiled and said, "It's a good thing. We were talking about Xinniang's marriage a while ago. I know a matchmaker who is very reliable. I asked her to keep an eye out for suitable young men if she comes across one."
She just told me about a really good young man. Not only is he from a wealthy family, but most importantly, his family has produced a scholar. He's eighteen this year and hasn't married yet because he's focused on his studies. He's a perfect match for our Xinniang.
To be honest, it's only because my second sister-in-law and Xiang Ping are both officials now that they've become officials; otherwise, they really wouldn't be willing.
Yan Qingqing knew that what Xu said was true; in those days, scholars held a very high status.
Back then, Li Daniu was just a student who had passed the imperial examinations and already thought he was invincible. Now that he's a scholar who passed the county-level imperial examinations, and judging from what Xu said, his family is quite well-off.
More importantly, this scholar is only eighteen years old this year.
Yan Qingqing thought the terms were good, so she asked, "Since the terms are good, let's have the matchmaker come over and talk to us another day."
Madam Xu laughed and said, "There's no need to change the date, they're at my house right now."
Yan Qingqing then asked, "Then why didn't she just come over?"
Madam Xu laughed and said, "My dear second sister-in-law, you are now a fifth-rank noblewoman, not someone anyone can just come to visit."
If you think it's suitable, I'll call her over right now.
Xu has already said this much, so how could Yan Qingqing not see it?
So he said, "Since she's already here, let her come. I'll ask about the details."
Upon hearing this, Madam Xu hurried home to fetch a matchmaker.
A short while later, Madam Xu arrived with the matchmaker.
This matchmaker was different from the one described on TV and in books. She wore a neat, slender dress with a diagonal collar.
She looked to be around forty or fifty years old, with her hair neatly tied up in a bun at the back of her head.
Upon seeing Yan Qingqing, she quickly knelt down and said, "This old woman, Xie, greets the magistrate of Mingzhao."
Yan Qingqing smiled and said, "Get up quickly, thank you for making this trip, Xie Bingren."
Matchmaker Xie stood up and said with a smile, "What are you saying? It is my honor to be able to arrange a marriage for your daughter."
This matchmaker Xie truly lived up to her reputation; her eloquence was so impressive that even Yan Qingqing admired her and was completely outmatched.
According to the matchmaker, the scholar's surname was Han. His family lived in the county town and owned a house and a shop. He started school at the age of six and was the only son in the family.
Over the years, many matchmakers have come to propose marriage, but Han Xiucai has refused them all, citing his need to focus on his studies.
The matchmaker, Xie, thought the two were a good match, so she went to their door to mediate. Unexpectedly, this time, Han Xiucai actually agreed.
Yan Qingqing didn't think much of it after hearing this, after all, it's also a man's ambition to establish a career before starting a family.
Seeing that the time was right, Matchmaker Xie seized the opportunity to say, "Renren, now that you know the situation quite well, shouldn't we find a suitable day to finalize this marriage?"
Yan Qingqing: ……
Matchmakers are really unreliable; they're already thinking about engagements before anything's even started.
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