PFC Chapter 310
Chapter 310
On the fifth day of the New Year, the family took gifts to Master Xiaoman's home in Yangliu Village.
A young woman opened the door and was a little surprised to see them. "Who are you looking for?"
Chen's mother stepped forward and said, "Excuse me, is this Master Zhou's home? Our child is his student, so we came here to visit during the New Year."
The young woman's tense face finally relaxed and she called out something inside, which should be Master Zhou's name.
Soon, a young man came out.
Very different from the stereotype of Zhong Ruyi, this teacher does not look like a weak scholar at all. Instead, he is tall with a square face, and his muscles can be seen through the jacket he wears.
He doesn't look short when standing next to Chen Dongzhi, and their heights are actually almost the same.
Who said that scholars are good for nothing?
She said that Mr. Zhou's physique showed that he was good at farm work.
Seeing that the visitors were his beloved students and their families, Master Zhou revealed a faint smile on his serious face and welcomed them into the main hall to sit down.
The young woman was Master Zhou's wife. She served hot tea to everyone and sat down.
When Master Zhou came out just now, there were already two elderly people sitting in the main room. They were quite old, and Master Zhou introduced them as his father and mother.
Zhong Ruyi looked at the smiling old couple calmly, thinking that it was indeed very difficult for a farmer's family to support a scholar in ancient times. Excessive labor made them look more than ten years older than Mr. and Mrs. Zhong.
Chen's mother had already started chatting with them, and Mr. Zhou's wife also talked to her with a smile.
"...The students in the private school are all very obedient children. Even Zhuang Yuan, who quarreled and made trouble with his classmates all day long, was like a mouse seeing a cat when he saw Hua Ming." Tian Hui said with a smile.
Hua Ming is Master Zhou's name.
Zhong Ruyi, "Xiao Man always says that the teacher is knowledgeable and he understands everything he teaches. We are uneducated people, so if the children say it is good, then it is really good. Why don't we take advantage of the New Year to let the children come and pay New Year's greetings to the teacher."
Tian Hui was very happy. She enjoyed hearing these words praising her husband. She chatted more enthusiastically with Zhong Ruyi.
Chen Dongzhi did not chat with Master Zhou. This master was as taciturn as he was. After coming in, he asked a few questions about how Xiaoman was doing with her homework, invited everyone to have tea and snacks, and then had nothing else to say.
Xiaoman's face was flushed, and although he looked a little reserved, you could still tell that he was very happy.
"...This year's harvest is good, and the crops in the fields are growing more than last year. The famine a few years ago was really scary!"
Chen's mother and Mr. Zhou's parents talked about things in the fields, and all three of them had sighs on their faces.
Before leaving, Tian Hui asked several people to stay for lunch, "We have finally come here, how can we go back without having lunch?"
Zhong Ruyi smiled and shook her head, "Thank you for your kindness, sister-in-law, but I have something else to do at home so I won't stay any longer."
Mother Chen called Xiaoman over and said, "Kowtow to the Master and say a few auspicious words."
Xiaoman simply knelt down in front of Master Zhou, kowtowed, stammered a few auspicious words, and was quickly pulled up.
After they walked away, Xiaoxue smiled and said, "This Master Zhou seems to be very fierce, but he is very gentle when talking to people, not at all like the master that Shitou mentioned."
She also heard from Shitou Xiaohe about another teacher, who was not only strict, but also very good at judging people. He would speak more softly to those whose family background was better.
Xiaoman retorted to her sister somewhat unhappily, "Master Zhou is of course the best! Other masters are other masters and cannot be compared with Master Zhou."
After arriving home, Chen's mother went to prepare lunch, but was stopped by Zhong Ruyi, "Mom, let me do it. We've eaten too much fish and meat. Let's eat something light today. Do you want noodles?"
No one had any objections and the noodles were quickly served to the table.
Each person sat at the table with a bowl of noodles. The only sounds that could be heard were the sound of children in the village setting off firecrackers.
The New Year passed quickly, and even those in the village who were supposed to work in the fields still had to go to work during the New Year.
The workshop officially started working on the eighth day of the Lunar New Year. As the boss, Zhong Ruyi gave red envelopes to all the workers. Although it was not much, it was a token of his thoughtfulness, and the aunts were all very happy.
The private school also started early, and Shitou Xiaohe went to school happily.
But after a few days, the family members noticed that there was something wrong with the two children. They were always listless. They were usually very happy when going to private school, but these days they suddenly became resistant for some reason.
Zhong Ruyi was not at home and didn't know about these things. She has been quite busy recently.
Boss Zhao from Wuzhou came to her again, still wanting to order canned food from her for a hundred coins.
"That won't do! Wouldn't that mean I'm just giving the cans to you for free, Boss Zhao?" Zhong Ruyi shook her head vigorously, trying to dispel Boss Zhao's unrealistic request.
"Boss Zhao, please don't embarrass me. I'm just a small businessman. I run a small workshop to sell canned food. I really can't give you the price you've pushed down so low."
The two of them were now sitting at an empty table in the restaurant talking. When she heard him bring up the issue of prices again, she felt speechless but did not show it.
But it was obvious that Boss Zhao felt that the price was not low. He glanced at the customers sitting and eating in the restaurant. After one table left, another came in. Business was always good.
If the negotiation fails this time, he will go back and open a canning workshop to produce and sell his own food.
Zhong Ruyi and he didn't reach an agreement in the end. Before leaving, Boss Zhao asked her if the store had three kinds of canned food.
She nodded, not understanding what he meant. When she saw him stand up and leave after asking, she didn't take it to heart.
*
The mason's wife looked a little pale as she waited under a tree at the entrance of the village.
She has been waiting for more than ten days, but has never met the person she is waiting for.
She originally thought that she would not be able to wait today, but just as she was about to turn around and go back, she heard someone talking in the distance. She would never forget this voice, it was the person she was looking for.
Zhong Ruyi followed Zhang Mingzhu and listened to her chattering about what happened in the Zhang family during the New Year. While listening, she thought about what Madam Yu had told her.
Mrs. Yu said that recently a wealthy businessman in Wuzhou also built a canning workshop, which also made chili sauce, and even canned meat floss and canned pork jerky.
Of course, except for chili sauce, meat floss and pork jerky, the ones made in the rich businessman's canning workshop are very different from those made in her workshop.
After all, the methods used by the two are very different. Although their products can be sold, they are still far inferior to hers.
But even so, it is inevitable that some market share will be taken away.
Many vendors who are looking for a bargain will buy this cheaper canned food. The ingredients are the same anyway, the only difference is the taste.
This will not have much impact on the Yu and Fang families, at most it will just be a minor incident.
But to Zhong Ruyi, it was so disgusting that she even suspected that this wealthy businessman might be Boss Zhao who had failed to reach an agreement with her.