The Wealthy Eldest Sister Rules Supreme

It was a flower made of silk, sewn in the style of a peony, in the unique red of a peony. If worn by someone of Zhuang Qingning’s age, it would appear a bit garish, but on a girl of Zhuang Qingsui’s age, it was absolutely adorable and added to her youthful charm.

“Gorgeous.” Zhuang Qingning laughed as she attached it to Zhuang Qingsui’s hair. “It looks even better on you.”

Zhuang Qingsui chuckled: “I chose the same kind for Sister Qiuyue. We agreed to wear these flowers tomorrow. Anyone would think we were sisters.”

“At first, Sister Qiuyue didn’t want to accept it, but when I mentioned it was a birthday gift for her, she accepted it and said she would give me a flower for my own birthday.”

No matter what, the flower was now accepted. It was a done deal.

“It’s great that she took it.” Zhuang Qingning laughed, “Go freshen up, you’re sweaty. I just went to Aunt He’s house to pick up some herbal medicine, Minghao gave me a grasshopper cage. I left it in the house for you to play with.”

“Rest up for a little while. I’ll make dinner later. How about vegetable buns for dinner?”

Two thin pancakes filled with nepeta, bean sprouts, diced tofu, and the like. They would come out golden brown on both sides after being fried, and you could roll them up to eat. They are absolutely delicious when paired with scrambled eggs and chili peppers.

“Sure!” Zhuang Qingsui excitedly agreed, put away her flower, played with the grasshopper cage for a while, and then went to wash her face.

Zhuang Qingning began to knead the dough and prep the vegetables for the vegetable buns.

“Oh yeah, Big Sister.” Zhuang Qingsui began to sift through the nepeta leaves and spoke up: “I was in the tofu shop today and Big Brother Lian Rong came in. He said he was looking for you, but I told him you had some things to attend to at home today.”

“Big Brother Lian Rong didn’t mention anything else, just said he would find you tomorrow. Since he didn’t mention why, I didn’t ask.”

“Uh-huh, I’ll go to town and ask Big Brother Lian Rong what’s going on tomorrow.”, Zhuang Qingning said, working with the rolling pin in one hand and answering with the other. Her actions paused for a moment.

What did Lian Rong want with her?

After she had argued with Feng Yongkang that day, and Zhang Yongchang had subsequently removed the large bowl of pork knuckles from the menu, there had been complete silence from the Fushun Tower, and she hadn’t seen Feng Yongkang again.

Now Lian Rong was looking for her, did Feng Yongkang and Zhang Yongchang have another dispute?

Zhuang Qingning pondered, her brows furrowed.

If that was the case…

Then she would have to see what Zhang Yongchang’s attitude was to decide how to handle it.

The next day, Zhuang Qingning arrived at the town early as usual. After a series of busy work, Zhuang Qingning looked up at the sky outside and asked in surprise: “Huh?”

“What is it, Big Sister Ning?” Zhang Qiuying asked: “Is something wrong?”

“No, nothing like that. It’s just that Big Brother Lian Rong usually delivers our tofu around this time. Why hasn’t he shown up today?”

Remembering Zhuang Qingsui mentioning Lian Rong looking for her yesterday, Zhuang Qingning furrowed her brows again: “I’m going to check on what’s causing the delay.”

Zhuang Qingning untied her apron and was about to go out when a young man with a round face and small eyes walked into the shop: “I’m here to pick up the goods for Fushun Tower. Are they prepared already?”

Zhuang Qingning was taken aback: “You’re here to collect the goods for Fushun Tower?”

“That’s right.” The young man glanced at Zhuang Qingning: “Didn’t we go over this yesterday? Why are you asking again today?”

“You guys really run an interesting shop here. Don’t you communicate with each other or tell each other what’s going on? Always asking the same questions. I really can’t figure out how you manage to stay in business.”

“But I was under the impression, the person who usually comes to pick up the stuff is Big Brother Lian Rong.” Zhuang Qingning said patiently.

“Didn’t I tell you yesterday? It used to be Lian Rong; from now on, I’ll be here. Do you understand?”, the man impatiently pointed at Mrs. Cao, “You there- tell her what’s going on!”

“Ning girl.” Mrs. Cao pulled Zhuang Qingning aside and spoke softly: “I’ve just started my shift and been so busy I haven’t had a chance to clue you in. After Qingsui and Qiuying left yesterday, that lad called Tong Fei came to pick up the stuff for Fushun Tower. I was also a bit perplexed initially, I’d gotten used to Lian Rong coming for the collection, and then suddenly it was someone else.”