Sir Song, do you want to pledge yourself to me?

Chapter 267: How Can You Pick a Master?

After leaving the grain store, it was already completely dark. Ji Nuan got on the carriage and handed the cakes on the small table to Xue Bi. "Are you hungry? Take this and fill your stomach with Xue Qing first."

"Thank you, Miss!" Sprite took the plate with a smile, sat down with Xueqing, and started eating the pastries happily.

Ji Nuan got out of the carriage and sat side by side with the driver Jin Deshun.

She handed Jin Deshun a meat pie and said, "Cousin, eat something first."

Jin Deshun took the meat pie with a smile, took a bite, and said with satisfaction: "This pie is so delicious!"

Ji Nuan took off a small piece of the pancake and put it in her mouth while chatting with Jin Deshun: "How did my cousin stick to working for Boss Liu for so many years?"

"The grain store was originally Madam Liu's dowry shop. She passed away some time ago, and then Boss Liu took over." Jin Deshun smiled and continued, "It's good to have a stable job. Why would I be picky about the owner?"

Ji Nuan nodded, expressing her understanding. Indeed, for ordinary farmers, whose livelihoods depended entirely on the harvest from the fields, being able to have a job in town was considered a promising career.

Ji Nuan asked again: "What are your plans for the future, cousin?"

A trace of melancholy flashed across Jin Deshun's face. "I'm going to see if I can find a new job and start over."

Ji Nuan smiled slightly and said casually, "Is that so? How about my cousin come to the capital to help me?"

In fact, Ji Nuan had already had this idea the moment she met Jin Deshun. Jin Deshun had been the shopkeeper of a grain store for many years. Aside from being a little soft-hearted, his experience and cleverness were impeccable.

It wasn't that Ji Nuan couldn't hire someone from the gardening company to help, but someone who knew how to run a business wasn't always available. Furthermore, the person she bought would likely be like Jin Deshun, with no experience in gardening and would need time to learn the ropes.

Jin Deshun thought Ji Nuan just wanted to ask him for help, so he didn't think too much about it and readily agreed: "I have nothing to do now anyway, so if there is anything I can help you with, please let me know."

Ji Nuan looked at him and said seriously, "I have a garden in the city, and I'm about to open it soon. I'm currently in need of a manager. I think you, cousin, are very suitable for this position. Why don't you be the manager?"

"What?"

Jin Deshun was stunned at first, then his face showed an expression of disbelief. Then, as if struck by gold, he smiled with surprise, but soon calmed down.

"Cousin, you don't have to take special care of me. The garden is ready to open, and it's not wise to suddenly change the owner. Just stick with your original arrangements. I'm not in a hurry. I can find some temporary jobs first, and then slowly find a proper job later."

After Jin Deshun lost his job at the grain store, his eagerness to find a new one was palpable. Yet, when Ji Nuan offered him the job, he was so considerate of her. Why did Ji Nuan suddenly find him endearing?

"Cousin, are you overthinking this?" Ji Nuan chuckled, her eyes brimming with mischief and tenderness. "I'm not going out of my way to take care of you. Just now at the grain store, I told Boss Liu that if he wanted revenge on me, he could go to Fu Sheng Lou. I wasn't trying to intimidate him by using Fu Sheng Lou's influence. In fact, now that Fu Sheng Lou is truly in my hands, it's really easy for me to find a job for you. And I do need a manager here, but managing a garden is a little different from managing a grain store, so it does take time to get familiar with it again."

Ji Nuan's words were sincere and frank. She hoped Jin Deshun would understand that she hadn't hired him out of sympathy or consideration, but rather that she truly felt he was suitable for the position. She also hoped Jin Deshun would accept the situation without any psychological burden.

"Really? Really?" Jin Deshun showed a surprised expression again, and his eyes could see the flickering light in the dark night.

Ji Nuan looked at him with amusement and nodded, "It's more real than real gold and silver!"

Jin Deshun chuckled, his face filled with joy and anticipation, "Then I'll go! I will definitely work hard and try my best to help my cousin earn a lot of money."

Ji Nuan smiled and briefly told him about the current situation of Yingfang Garden.

The carriage moved slowly forward in the night, neither hurried nor slow, and soon arrived at my uncle's house in Jingang Village.

It was already late, and after a brief conversation with the Jin family, Ji Nuan said goodbye. Uncle Jin was worried about the girls walking at night and wanted to personally take her back to Taohua Village, but Ji Nuan declined.

Sitting back in the carriage, Xue Bi raised the whip and drove the carriage up. In just a quarter of an hour, it stopped steadily at the gate of the Ji family.

Ji Nuan got off the carriage and walked into the courtyard. The lights in the front hall were still bright, and there were occasional bursts of voices. She was curious. At this time of the day, everyone usually went back to wash up. What was the reason for them to gather together to discuss today?

She didn't go back to the backyard directly. The laughter coming from the front hall involuntarily attracted her attention.

After entering the hall, Ji Nuan found that everyone in the Ji family had a happy look on their faces, and she knew at a glance that something good had happened at home.

She asked curiously, "Dad, Mom, is there something happy happening at home? Everyone looks so happy."

"I know!" Yindouer, sitting in Ji's father's arms, excitedly raised her little hand and rushed to answer.

Ji Nuan looked at him with a smile and asked gently, "Then Yindou'er, tell me, what good thing happened?"

Yindouer's chubby face was rosy, his eyes curved into two little crescents, and he said in a baby voice: "Auntie, there is a little brother in my belly. Douer, I'm going to be a big brother." He patted his little chest as he spoke, looking extremely excited, as if he had been upgraded to the eldest brother in the family.

His appearance made the whole family laugh, and Ji Nuan couldn't help but be infected by his innocent smile.

Ji Nuan looked at her second sister-in-law with joy and asked, "Second sister-in-law, is this true? I'm going to have nephews and nieces again?"

The second sister-in-law's face was filled with a happy smile, and she nodded gently: "Yes, it's almost three months. It was also my carelessness that made me almost faint today. Mother asked the doctor to check and found out that I was pregnant."

Ji Nuan sighed. Ever since her second sister-in-law started working with the Chen family, she had gone from hiring one or two people to setting up an embroidery workshop, constantly busy, almost without a break. No wonder she hadn't noticed her period hadn't come for months.

She advised with concern, "Second sister-in-law, you are in poor health now. Let others handle the embroidery workshop. Don't overwork yourself. Which doctor did mother see today? What did the doctor say?"

- 😊(?????)Thanks to Xuanying Baoer for the gift! Mmmmm!