Traveling through the farm, I just want to earn money by farming

"Where is Qingning? I couldn't find her after school these days. Where did she go?" Meng Erxun asked the brothers of the Chen family.

The Chen brothers were also confused, all shaking their heads. Their foundation was weak, and they had started late, so they were under their teacher's watch every day, with only a small amount of time available to help.

Seeing that they knew nothing about anything he asked, Meng Er went straight to Chen's house. This girl's handwriting had returned to its original state in the past few days. She had become a bit thick-skinned now. If he didn't keep an eye on her, she might even be worse than these beginner students.

They were still taught by Yu Wu and Yu Qi, and with the addition of Xue Shu and Xue Luo, the sisters from the Chen family still studied for half a day as before, but the brothers took longer. They were not stupid, they just started late, so Yu Wu was willing to put in more effort.

"Meng Er, are you going to look for Qing Ning?" Yu Jinan patted him lightly from behind.

Meng Jinhuai turned around and saw that it was his second cousin. He smiled and said, "Yes, she has been getting more and more lazy recently. I'll go see what she's busy with."

Yu Jinan pulled him along and said, "Come on, I'll go with you to take a look. It's been a while since I've seen that little girl do something new."

Meng Er felt a little helpless. His second cousin was really lively.

Qing Ning was currently discussing matters concerning the workshop with Guo Xian. The workshop was now growing in size and had more and more people. If regulations were not put in place soon, the situation would be chaotic and would not work.

"Sister Xian, here's what I'm thinking. We currently have four large workshops, each with smaller branches. For example, the mushroom workshop handles everything from cultivation and harvesting to drying and preservation to making food. The food workshop has even more, with dim sum, braised food, pickles, and so on. I'll appoint two managers for each branch, one for internal operations and one for external operations, and then appoint a single manager for these four major workshops. Do you think this is feasible?"

Qing Ning drew as he spoke, putting the process down on paper.

Guo Xian said, "Of course it's feasible, but we need to break it down a bit. For example, should the purchases be assigned to a single person, or should they be split up, or should they be handled by the managers? Have you thought this through? This is where problems are most likely to arise."

Qing Ning had considered this issue. Purchasing was always a lucrative and troublesome job. Right now, she didn't have many trusted people, so daily purchases were still handled by Chen Ming and Chen Fu. With fewer orders, they were able to handle the workload.

Alternatively, you can go to county towns and directly cooperate with merchants to have them deliver the goods, but this also requires reliable people to check.

Qing Ning explained her idea to Guo Xian and said that there was no reliable candidate.

"What are you two doing here?" Yu Jinan saw the two of them huddled together as soon as he entered the yard.

The two were startled, looked up and saw that it was them, so they called them over.

Guo Xian said, "Sister Qing Ning is discussing the workshop with me. She doesn't have many people available right now and is worried."

Meng Er said, "Why don't you buy some slaves with death indentures?"

Qing Ning felt a little conflicted after hearing this. It was not something she had not thought about before, but she just felt a little uncomfortable.

Seeing her embarrassment, Meng Er asked, "Are you worried that these servants you bought won't be to your liking?"

Qing Ning nodded and shook her head. How to explain it?

She thought for a moment and said, "First, I'm afraid it won't suit my taste, and second, I'm a little uncomfortable. Who in a farming family like us has ever used slaves?"

After that, the three of them chuckled. Guo Xian said, "It takes some discerning eye to choose someone. It's hard to guarantee that you won't pick someone you like. It's not a big deal, we'll just send them off when the time comes. As for those who haven't been ordered around before, you'll get used to it after a while."

Qing Ning thought for a long time before saying, "First, recruit people from the surrounding area. If there are any suitable ones, they can stay. I'll ask Uncle Xu and the others to keep an eye on the recruitment. It's autumn now, and Mid-Autumn Festival is just a month away. We need to recruit people as soon as possible. Especially with the snacks and food, my eldest sister and the others are busy and I'm afraid we won't be able to handle it."

"Mid-Autumn Festival? Sister Qingning is talking about the Moon Festival?" Guo Xian asked puzzledly.

Qing Ning was silent but did not deny it. It seems that the Mid-Autumn Festival at this time is called the Moon Worship Festival.

Yu Jinan immediately became excited when he heard about snacks and food: "Sister Qingning, do you have any new food for the Moon Festival?"

Qing Ning was startled by the sudden enlargement of her face, and she leaned back and almost fell off the stool. Fortunately, Guo Xian was quick to pull her away.

Guo Xian frowned and glared at his second brother, "Second brother, can't you be more steady?"

Yu Jinan was glared at by his sister. Knowing that he was being unreasonable, he didn't say anything back. He said awkwardly, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it."

Qing Ning smiled and said, "It's okay, it's okay."

Then he said, "By the way, Sister Xian, what do you eat during the Moon Festival?"

Before Guo Xian could speak, Yu Jinan said hurriedly, "Me, me, me, let's try moon soup, pomegranate, taro, sweet-scented osmanthus duck, water chestnut, pomelo, pumpkin, lotus root, crab, etc."

Meng Er and Guo Xian were somewhat helpless, as he remembered these foods clearly.

"No mooncakes?" Qing Ning asked tentatively.

"Mooncake? Is it the round cake introduced from Tubo?" Guo Xian had heard of it but had never eaten it.

These round cakes were tribute from Tubo. Except for those in the palace and some important officials, they were not allowed to eat them.

No wonder the food at that time was not as abundant as it is now. It seems that the Great Xia Dynasty did trade with foreign countries.

Qing Ning slammed the table and said, "Let's make mooncakes. We'll make some sweet, salty, and snowy mooncakes."

The three of them were stunned by her posture. This girl is courageous and no one can match her when it comes to eating.

"After talking about food in the workshop, can we start today's lessons?" Meng Er was really good at pouring cold water on things. His words instantly extinguished Qing Ning's ignited enthusiasm, leaving no spark at all.

Qing Ning looked at Meng Er with resentment, and said hesitantly, "Second brother Meng, how can you be so heartless?"

Meng Er laughed: "Is this how you can be ruthless? Don't look at me like that. Just looking at your handwriting these past few days has given the teacher a headache. If it weren't for the fact that he has a few more students these days, he would definitely punish you."

"Can you write it later?" Qing Ning still wanted to struggle.

Meng Er firmly denied it, and Qing Ning sighed heavily: "Poor child, no one loves him!"

The three of them shook their heads helplessly. Guo Xian nodded and said, "You, hurry up and finish your homework for today. Besides, it's rare for a girl to have good handwriting."

After saying that, he called Yu Jinan and left together so as not to disturb them.

Qing Ning cleared the things on the table, spread out the pen and ink, and picked up the pen with concentration. Because Meng Er, the big Buddha, was watching over her, she didn't dare to be lazy, so she finished it quickly.

Meng Er watched the entire process. When she finished, he carefully examined it and was satisfied, but he still said, "Qing Ning, don't blame me for being nosy. There are very few people who can afford to read these days. If you don't cherish the knowledge of a famous professor, you will regret it one day."

Qing Ning also knew that she had lost her composure in the past few days and was taking her lessons seriously. Meng Er was very pleased to see her like this.