Chapter 491 Awkward
"No, no, we had breakfast at the government office before coming here." Shen Quan declined hastily, "Miss Zhuang, there was a murder case in Majiazhuang in the north of the county, and Lord Ding was busy investigating the case, so he asked us to apologize to Miss Zhuang. Today, the two of us brothers will accompany Miss Zhuang to the home of Lizheng Feng."
"It's okay, the case is important."
Zhuang Qingning said, "Lord Ding has already greeted me before. I think this Li Zheng Feng also knows why I'm here. This makes things much easier."
"Today, we will go to Fengjiazhuang to take a look. There is no need to trouble Lord Ding. We must go there. I will tell Lord Ding when I go back. Don't worry about it."
Previously, because of the basic noodle recipe, Zhuang Qingning went to find Ding Gaochang and asked if there was any village that could open a similar workshop like Miao Village.
Ding Gaochang proposed Fengjiazhuang.
Fengjiazhuang is different from Miaozhuang which was rich in sweet potatoes but did not bring any profit. It can be said that Fengjiazhuang is not rich in wheat. To be precise, because the village is backed by a mountain, the surrounding wasteland is mostly gravel and many crops cannot survive.
For this reason, people here either live off the mountains, go into the mountains to hunt, kill rabbits, pheasants and the like, and exchange them for food, or simply go out to work as farmhands and earn wages.
Because of this, most of the laborers in the village are often away from home, and most of the people left in the village are the elderly, the weak, women and children.
Ding Gaochang told Zhuang Qingning very clearly the reason why he proposed this place, which was because this place was too poor.
Since it doesn't matter where the workshop is opened to Zhuang Qingning, then just choose a place where you can do the most good and accumulate virtue.
Zhuang Qingning fully agreed with Ding Gaochang's proposal and agreed to it on the spot.
Who doesn’t want to do good things?
What's more, it is a good thing that can help poor households get rid of poverty and become rich. The sense of accomplishment just from watching the huge changes in the village is something that cannot be found anywhere else.
Seeing that Zhuang Qingning agreed so readily, and remembering the contribution Zhuang Qingning had made in helping Miaozhuang open a sweet potato vermicelli workshop, Ding Gaochang discussed with Xu Zhengping and decided to exempt Zhuang Qingning, as a female household member, from all taxes for the coming year as well as the taxes for the shop and several workshops she opened as a thank you.
Originally, it was agreed that when they were free, they would go to Fengjiazhuang to discuss the matter with Feng Lizheng. However, a major case occurred in Majiazhuang in the north of the county, and Ding Gaochang informed Zhuang Qingning in advance that he might not be free, but he had already told Feng Lizheng about the matter in general, so Zhuang Qingning just had to go.
Zhuang Qingning could be said to fully understand that Ding Gaochang was too busy to go today.
After packing up a little, Zhuang Qingning followed Shi Bao and Shen Quan to Fengjiazhuang.
Fengjiazhuang was farther away than Miaozhuang they had visited before. Even though they did not stop much along the way, it still took them an hour and a half to get there.
Shi Bao had been to Feng Yongfu's house with Ding Gaochang before. He knew the way and went straight to Feng Yongfu's door without asking any questions.
Feng Yongfu, who had already known that Zhuang Qingning was coming, warmly invited the three people into the house and quickly made them some hot tea.
Although it is called tea, it is not real tea, but some leftover tea foam. It seems to have been stored for some years and has a musty smell when you drink it.
That would have been fine, but when making the tea, Feng Yongfu was not sure if it was because he was too happy to have guests, or because he was used to drinking strong tea on a daily basis, but the bottom of the coarse porcelain bowl was filled with tea foam, and it tasted so bitter that it was difficult to swallow.
But Zhuang Qingning and the others all knew that Fengjiazhuang was an even poorer village than Miaozhuang. Especially when they saw Feng Yongfu's cotton-padded jacket was covered with patches, no one complained and just pretended to be calm while drinking tea.
He really couldn't drink it, but he didn't show it on his face. He just put it aside with a smile, pretending that he was not thirsty at the moment.
"Li Zheng Feng, Lord Ding must have mentioned this workshop to you before." Zhuang Qingning said with a smile, "I came here today to discuss with Li Zheng Feng how to build this workshop in detail."
"Yes, Lord Ding has said it."
Feng Yongfu rubbed his hands excitedly. "When Lord Ding told me this, I was so happy. I felt that our entire Fengjia Village would finally have a way out in the future."
"I don't know if the shopkeeper has heard of this before. In Fengjiazhuang, we live by the will of God all day long. If the weather is better today, maybe the hunters who go into the mountains can pick up one more rabbit, and the people at home can have an extra meal. But if the weather is worse, the hunters who go into the mountains may not get anything, let alone a full meal. Maybe they won't even have a meal today."
"We in Fengjiazhuang are having such a hard time these days..."
When Feng Yongfu talked about this, he sighed deeply.
This sigh was full of melancholy, sadness and helplessness, which made Zhuang Qingning and others present feel uncomfortable, so they wanted to comfort Feng Yongfu.
Before Zhuang Qingning and the others could speak, Feng Yongfu raised his head and grinned, "But now it's good. With Lord Ding and Manager Zhuang coming to support our Feng Family Manor, we can finally see some light in the future."
"This Lord Ding and Manager Zhuang are really sent by the Bodhisattva Guanyin, who saves people from suffering, just to help us, Fengjiazhuang, escape from this sea of suffering."
"Feng Lizheng is in a serious condition."
Zhuang Qingning was a little overwhelmed to be praised for saving people from hardship and distress. He said hastily, "I also have an idea and a recipe. I want to find a place to open a workshop. If this workshop can be successfully opened, it will be a win-win for both sides."
"Yes, Manager Zhuang is right." Feng Yongfu nodded hurriedly, "It's about this workshop. If Manager Zhuang can open a workshop in our Fengjia Village, then we in Fengjia Village will be able to live a comfortable life in the future..."
If it had been said that he was sent by the Bodhisattva to save the suffering, Zhuang Qingning could still accept it, but when he heard this, that as long as the workshop was opened, Fengjiazhuang would be able to live a good life, Zhuang Qingning felt quite uncomfortable.
Opening a workshop is all about trying. If it succeeds, everyone will be happy. But if it fails...
There is no guarantee of success in everything. If something fails, it is understandable and we should not be too harsh on it.
But this village head Feng obviously placed the future fate of Fengjiazhuang on this noodle workshop.
(End of this chapter)
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