The Wealthy Eldest Sister Rules Supreme

“Previously, I didn’t care for you, Zhuang Qingning, being a bit prickly. However, upon further thought, I believe I’ve always been quite fair in my dealings and never showed overt bias just because you don’t have an adult minding your affairs. So, about this matter…”

“Listen, we should focus on the issue instead of people. In your case, this arrangement could be quite beneficial. What do you think, Zhuang?”

Zhuang Jingye was a bit nervous, rubbing his hands together. He was afraid that because of his previous lower regard for Zhuang Qingning due to her being a girl running her household, she might hold a grudge and refuse this proposal.

Zhuang Qingning blinked.

If one were to judge him by his character, Zhuang Jingye, who had been the village chief for many years, indeed had a good reputation. Although he sometimes manifested a traditional, patriarchal mindset and care much about preserving face, he had never been deliberately oppressive towards anyone.

Even though he had previously looked down on her as the head of a female household, he hadn’t intentionally made things difficult for her.

Overall, Zhuang Jingye was a common person who had his own strengths and weaknesses.

If they were to focus on the issue at hand, she found this mutually beneficial proposal quite nice.

When you’re high-profile, you attract more attention, and this is even more so for Zhuang Qingning and Zhuang Qingsui, two young girls in an era where criticism could easily be leveled at them. However, with the backing of the village chief and other villagers, things would be completely different.

Building a house is no small task. Hiring people by cash payment would certainly cost a lot. Although Zhuang Qingning had the money for it, she would still need someone reliable to supervise the construction. Zhuang Yonghe was too busy, and she couldn’t take charge while also dealing with the intricacies and detailed considerations of construction.

With Zhuang Jingye volunteering help, Zhuang Qingning felt as fortunate as if she had found a pillow when sleepy.

This situation seemed workable.

“I understand your concerns, Uncle Chief,” she said.

Zhuang Qingning continued, “I also understand the principle of mutual benefit and loss. The situation you have suggested is beneficial for all, and I feel it is indeed a good idea.

“However, I believe I must make it clear that when it comes to our village beans, I will be prioritizing our own villagers. However, this should not mean that I can’t accept beans from elsewhere. Otherwise, some people might be unsatisfied and deliberately inflate the price of the beans, which would threaten the survival of my tofu business.”

“The same principle applies when employing labor. I will prioritize hiring people from our own village, but this doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t hire people from other places, or it will detriment my tofu business. I suppose Uncle Chief understands this. Assuring the smooth running of my tofu business is crucial. I can provide a small income for everyone, but this principle mustn’t be absolute and end up jeopardizing the survival of the tofu business.”

“Hence, whether it is sourcing beans and duck eggs or hiring labor, I will heed your advice and prefer using our village’s resources and people as much as possible. But if I have to go outside our village occasionally, you should not object.”

“I understand,” Zhuang Jingye nodded repeatedly.

I can see your concerns, and that’s why we should keep this arrangement between us. We’ll carry out the work according to what we’ve discussed. To avoid misunderstanding and unnecessary complications, we won’t talk about external affairs.

“Uncle Chief, you have thought this through thoroughly,” Zhuang Qingning said with a laugh.

“Oh, not at all. I simply have gained some insight into handling matters from managing the affairs of the people over the years,” Zhuang Jingye replied. “Just take care of your tofu business, and don’t worry a bit about other things. I will make sure everything is arranged properly.”

“In our current household, there are just two of you girls. I think it would be enough to build three rooms, including side rooms and a hall, a kitchen, and a courtyard. We don’t need a large piece of land. Half the plot should suffice. However, since we are to level the plot, we might as well level the entire plot. If you two wish to live separately in the future, you can divide it into two courtyards.”

“I will look for people to level the land within these two days. I will give you an estimate of where to source the soil from, how many days of work are needed, and the approximate wage so that you have an idea.”

Narrating future plans was less fulfilling than acting on them. Zhuang Jingye prided himself for being a man of action rather than just words. He prioritized getting the work started as soon as possible.

Alright, Uncle Chief, thank you for worrying about this matter for my family,” Zhuang Qingning took out a pack of tea leaves she had newly bought from her bamboo basket and gave them to Zhuang Jingye. “Please take this, Uncle Chief. You can brew it once you get back. The taste of this tea is quite good, as I had tried some in town. It goes down easily.”

“This is a small token of gratitude for helping me with the house-building matter.”

“No, I couldn’t possibly accept this tea. As I said before, I have my own intentions behind helping you, so we can consider this matter settled. There is no need to give me anything in return,” Zhuang Jingye declined again and again, refusing to accept it under any circumstance.

“However, could you leave aside some tofu for my family daily? Not much, just one tael per day would suffice. I’ll pay for it, you can rest assured.”

One has to buy tofu early in the morning or it sells out. If they run out, you can’t get any.

This was acceptable, but he was the village chief after all, which set him apart from the common people. Having to queue every day for tofu made Zhuang Jingye feel like he was losing face.

As a village chief, he should at least stand out a bit, right?

Otherwise, what was the point of being the village chief…

Zhuang Qingning understood Zhuang Jingye’s small considerations and did not tear them apart. She simply said, “Alright, I’ll tell Uncle Yonghe to bring a piece of tofu to you every morning when he comes to get tofu.”

“That’s settled, then. It’ll bother Uncle Yonghe to make this round trip,” Zhuang Jingye said, visibly relieved and proud now that Zhuang Qingning had agreed so readily.

“That’s done then. You girls have just returned from town and must be tired. You haven’t even had lunch yet. You should go back and prepare. I should head back too for my lunch.”

“Safe travels, Uncle Chief.”

Zhuang Qingning watched Zhuang Jingye, hands behind his back, as he left and then entered the courtyard with Zhuang Qingsui.

They picked two newly grown cucumbers and fried some crispy peanuts to make a small cold dish. She cut some pork belly into diced meat and stir-fried it. She served it with egg noodle soup, giving them a delightfully al dente dish. They enjoyed this fragrant and satisfying meal..