The Wealthy Eldest Sister Rules Supreme

There’s no need to overthink it.

Fan Wcnxuan nodded, “I agree to this matter, I will arrange for Jinzhou depending on the situation. As for the younger brother of Miss Zhuang you mentioned, I will observe him carefully. You can rest assured, eldest son.”

“Thank you, Mr. Fan.” Chu Jinnian raised his hand slightly, “A fresh batch of tea has just arrived, please have some, Mr. Fan.”

Fan Wcnxuan picked up the tea cup, appearing somewhat thoughtful.

Chu Jinnian responded with a slight smirk.

Zhuang Qingning came to look at the tofu skin and century eggs workshops.

The workshop work is now skillfully done, with the workers methodically carrying out their respective tasks.

Seeing this, Zhuang couldn’t help but nod in approval.

“The weather has gotten a bit cooler these days, and everyone is clamoring to work for a longer time each day,” Zhou Daya laughed.

Zhou Daya was initially assigned to work in the tofu skin workshop. Because she was quick to learn, responsible, diligent and had a very strong sense of responsibility, Zhuang Qingning had entrusted her with managing all matters concerning the tofu skin workshop.

As for Zhou Daya, she did not disappoint Zhuang Qingning’s hopes and carried out this task exceedingly well.

Compared to the timidity she showed when they first met, Zhou Daya is now able to hold her own and displays great confidence. She also speaks with great poise.

As for her comment about people wanting to work more, this is due to new wage disbursement methods Zhuang Qingning had recently implemented based on basic salaries and performance bonuses.

Besides receiving their wages from daily work, according to the overall production of the workshop at the end of the month, additional dividends are given.

This way, to earn higher wages, the workshop’s production must be high. To achieve high output, more work needs to be done and only those who work hard can make it, which leads to many workers wishing for cooler weather so they can earn more wages and double their income.

“I know everyone is in a rush, but I must remind you all that while the weather is cooling down in the morning and evening, it’s still very hot in the afternoon. Don’t only focus on making money and neglect your health,” Zhuang Qingning said with a laugh, “We’re still not in the peak season of tofu skin. Once winter comes, the supply of tofu skin might not meet the demand, so we will need to produce more. Even if you want to take a break, I won’t allow it.”

“I need to remind everyone that there will always be opportunities to make money, but your health is most important. If you get sick from the heat and the money earned can’t even cover the medical expenses, it would be a loss.”

After late autumn, after the frost has fallen, vegetables won’t grow anymore and dried vegetables will be relied on for sustenance. Tofu skin is one of them and because it’s a time of abundance after the autumn harvest, people consume more stewed dishes. Tofu skin is a great addition to these dishes and people won’t mind paying a slightly higher price for it.

When it comes to the Lunar New Year, people will buy these items in large quantities. Firstly, to prepare festive dishes and secondly, there tends to be a higher number of weddings during this time, and tofu skin is an indispensable dish at banquets. So this will be the peak selling period of tofu skin.

Given the current situation where there’s almost no inventory of tofu skin in the workshop, or occasionally a small amount, it’s doubtful they’ll be able to meet demand when the New Year comes.

They will indeed need to put in more effort and produce more.

This is just as Zhuang Qingning said, the money-making period is yet to come, so there’s no need to hurry.

“Yes, I will be sure to tell everyone your words.” Zhou Daya nodded continuously, “You can rest assured, Little Sister Ning.”

“With Sister Zhou here, I am naturally very assured,” Zhuang Qingning replied with a charming smile.

After being praised by Zhuang Qingning, Zhou Daya blushed somewhat awkwardly. However, having received affirmation from the much-respected Zhuang Qingning, Zhou Daya was elated and grew more confident.

“Oh yes, Little Sister Ning, there’s something I want to discuss with you,” Zhou Daya said, “I’m not sure whether it’s right or wrong, so just hear me out first.”

“Sister Zhou, go ahead. This workshop is my first attempt at running a business, and there’s a lot I’m figuring out as I go on. If you have any good suggestions or notice any problems, you can bring them up for me to consider and make improvements on,” Zhuang Qingning encouraged.

Seeing the sincerity on Zhuang Qingning’s face, Zhou Daya’s hesitation started to ease up. She nodded and started,

“I’ve observed the tofu skin workshop for quite a while. The steps – milling, boiling, skinning, and drying, are all connected smoothly. However, I’ve noticed that in the process of boiling, there’s often a long wait. Although those who are free to help can aid in skinning or milling, this does delay the process.”

“I’ve done some calculations and if we could have two more people on milling, and one more on skinning, we wouldn’t have to wait for the boiling process. This way, we can produce more tofu skin. If we can’t sell all, we can save it for the winter. That way, we won’t be too busy and unable to produce enough tofu skin.”

“That is indeed the case,” Zhuang Qingning nodded, “When I came to the tofu skin workshop several times before, I noticed that those waiting to boil were assisting with other tasks. At first, I didn’t pay much attention, but now that you mention it, it’s worth considering.”

“In the next few days, I’ll take a look at the workshop site to decide where to place the added stone mills and arrange for the additional workers.”

Zhuang Qingning thought for a while and said, “Here’s what, I’m afraid I’ll have to negotiate with a merchant in the county town about selling century eggs in the next few days, so I might not have time to arrange these things. Sister Zhou, please examine the situation carefully. Decide the placement for the added items and what else needs to be added. As for the selection of additional workers, you can discuss it with Uncle Yonghe.”

This is effectively entrusting Zhou Daya with full responsibility for this matter.

If one is able to identify a problem, one should also learn to solve it and deal with other issues that may arise in the process of solution.

Zhuang Qingning highly appreciated that Zhou Daya could identify the problems in the workshop’s operation and increasingly felt that Zhou Daya was competent. She had plans to cultivate Zhou Daya into her shop manager in the future.

“This…” Zhou Daya clearly hadn’t expected Zhuang Qingning to entrust so much to her. She was taken aback, then panicked, and started fumbling with her sleeve, “I’m worried…”

She’s worried that she won’t do a good job.

If she doesn’t do a good job and messes things up, wouldn’t it affect Zhuang Qingning’s business?

When she didn’t have any work to do, it was Zhuang Qingning who was willing to give her a job. It was also by chance that her grandmother found a long-lost friend. Now not only does she have a job and a place to live, she also has an elder who dotes on her..