Chapter 568 Joyful Expression
Zhuang Qingning pursed her lips, not wanting to know whether what Aunt Dong said was true or just flattering to please her. She just glanced at Xiangqiao and said, "Since you are famous and this name sounds good, you don't need to change your name in the future. Just call her Xiangqiao."
Normally, women who were bought to be maids would be given new names by their masters in order to show that they had completely severed ties with their previous families.
She was originally bought by someone, and both her life and body belong to the owner. Being able to keep this name is the last bit of gratitude to her parents.
"Thank you, young lady." Xiang Qiao knelt down and kowtowed to Zhuang Qingning.
Zhuang Qingning smiled, helped Xiangqiao up, followed the clerk to pay the silver, took the deed of Xiangqiao's sale, and walked out of the pawnshop.
The waiter warmly escorted Zhuang Qingning out and said, "There should be new people coming in the next few days. If you don't like the others this time, you can come back in a few days to take a look."
"If there are any good ones, I will leave some for you."
"Thank you." Zhuang Qingning thanked him and led Xiangqiao back.
"My name is Zhuang Qingning. You can just call me Miss from now on. I originally have a younger sister at home, but she has been studying at the academy these days and is not at home. Now I live alone. I have to take care of business on weekdays and I am too busy to handle many things, so I plan to buy a maid to help me with some chores."
Zhuang Qingning briefly described his situation. "I don't have any special requirements on weekdays. As long as the housework is done properly, and I am honest and hardworking, that's enough."
"Yes, girl." Xiangqiao responded.
"Who else is in your family?" Zhuang Qingning asked, "Do you know where they are now?"
When asked about this, Xiang Qiao's eyes darkened. "Originally, I had parents, two younger brothers, and a younger sister at home, but the family suffered from drought. On the way to escape the famine, my youngest brother caught a cold. We couldn't afford medicine, so we could only use some folk remedies, and my brother didn't survive..."
"My parents' health is getting worse and worse. They can't find work. My brothers and sisters don't have enough food to eat every day. So I asked my parents to sell me. In exchange for a few taels of silver, we can find a place to settle down, buy a few acres of land, and live a good life."
"My parents were reluctant at first, so I went to the pawnbroker on my own. They had no choice but to agree to it, and took my brother and sister with them to find a place to stay."
"But don't be afraid, young lady. My parents know the rules and won't come to me to ask for money all the time. The money is enough for our family to find a village and buy a few acres of land."
This fragrant chocolate is indeed very good.
Zhuang Qingning pursed her lips and nodded slightly, "I understand."
Zhuang Qingning hardly stayed in the county town. He only bought some daily necessities and then took Xiangqiao home.
In addition to her and Zhuang Qingsui's room, there was another empty room in the house. Zhuang Qingning asked Xiangqiao to clean it up and make it her own room. Then she brought a piece of ordinary fine cloth and said, "Use this cloth to make clothes for yourself and a pair of shoes for yourself. I also want to see how good your needlework is."
"Thank you, young lady." Xiangqiao took the material with many thanks and put it in the house. She first helped to sweep up the fallen petals in the yard, then went to fetch water and pick vegetables, preparing to cook lunch.
The dumplings for lunch were stuffed with sauerkraut and pork. Xiangqiao did everything by herself, from kneading the dough to mixing the stuffing to wrapping the dumplings.
Zhuang Qingning tasted it and although it was not amazing, it tasted pretty good.
After dinner, they cleaned all the pots, pans, and utensils thoroughly. They even saw that there was too much wood ash in the stove, so they cleaned some out.
In the afternoon, I cleaned the house inside and out and washed some of Zhuang Qingning's clothes.
At night, Xiangqiao cooked some rice and candied date porridge, added some sweet potatoes sent by Miaozhuang, fried some spicy cabbage, and scrambled some meat slices.
The spicy cabbage tasted good, but the braised pork slices were a little undercooked. But considering Xiangqiao's previous living environment, this was probably the limit of her cooking skills.
Overall, after two days of getting along, Zhuang Qingning felt that this Xiangqiao was quite good.
The noodle workshop has been running in recently after its initial opening and is now running very smoothly. Noodles have also begun to be supplied and sold to the outside world in a steady stream. One of the shops selling noodles is Zhuangji Tofu Shop, and the second one is Chengji in the county town.
There aren't many shops in this town that sell dried noodles. After all, it's an expensive item, and it takes some effort to roll it out at home. But Cheng Ji's business in the county has become more prosperous because of this.
The first one to place an order for noodles from Cheng's was the shopkeeper Lu's family. Because they had a team of horses that traveled all over the country delivering goods, they were on the road for twenty-nine days in a month. If they could meet their deliveryman in a town or county, it would be fine. But if not, they would have to sleep in the open air.
Escorting is already very hard work, especially when you are making do in the wild. You can only eat some dry biscuits and drink hot water. Even if you can eat your fill, you still feel uncomfortable. It is different with the noodles. You can use the iron pot or clay pot you carry with you to cook them. Even if you just sprinkle some salt on them, it will be a bowl of hot noodles with soup. It tastes different from dry biscuits and water.
Therefore, the first thing that happened was that the shopkeeper Lu's family took a lot of these noodles, which were easy to carry and durable, so that his subordinates could take a lot of them with them when they went out.
The second person who placed an order with Mr. Cheng was not someone else, but the owner of Hanfenglou.
The reason is that if a customer wants a bowl of noodles, it can be served at any time, and there is no need to roll the noodles at the last minute, thus saving the money of a kitchen assistant who specializes in rolling noodles. Besides, the noodles are made in one piece and have the same thickness, which is much better than the noodles that are kneaded too soft or too hard, or the noodles that are rolled too thick or too thin, which are easily criticized by customers.
Besides, these noodles are chewy and smooth, with each strand distinct. An ordinary kitchen helper really can’t make such noodles.
Ever since Hanfenglou ordered the noodles here, the reputation of this noodles spread quickly. Everyone wanted to try how delicious the noodles that Hanfenglou had to buy were.
For a while, these noodles became the best-selling item in Chengji, even overshadowing the preserved eggs.
It can be said that Cheng Ruize has a smile on his face every day.
Zhuang Yutian and Meng's faces have been filled with joy in recent days.
Because Cao Mengde suffered a series of setbacks, and knowing that Zhuang Yutian and Zhong Yingcai had the same boss and seemed to have some backers, he dared not cause trouble again.
Without Cao Mengde, the annoying fly, the preparation process of the weaving workshop went very smoothly. Soon the loom was assembled, and after finding reliable and honest people, they started weaving.
Thanks to "Xiaojuan621" and "Qingfeng Shuye" for their monthly votes. Thank you for your support~ (End of this chapter)
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