Transmigrated into a seven-year-old child, my fate is in my own hands, not in the heavens.

Starting from the third day of the Lunar New Year, everyone began working in the fields, busily preparing the land and planting all the necessary crops before the workshops opened on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

During the Spring Festival, the rice cake shop did very well, mainly managed by Da Ni and Jiang Si.

Zhaolian has started to have new plans for the workshop. Starting in April or May after the Lunar New Year, she will gradually introduce new seasonal products.

Otherwise, relying solely on rice cakes, fried dough twists, and jujubes wouldn't be enough to sustain the business; these are only suitable for New Year's gift packaging.

When spring and summer come, new products will be needed; those who don't innovate will be eliminated.

When selecting products, we must not only consider sales volume, but also whether they can be mass-produced and are popular with the public.

No new products had been developed yet. The workshop could only continue production according to the original plan.

As the end of March approached, the thing Zhao Lian had been worried about finally happened.

Due to seasonal changes, sales of products like rice cakes plummeted, causing the workshop's business to decline drastically and warehouse inventory to pile up.

In an effort to promote the product, Zhao Lian tried many methods, but with little success.

Seeing that the product couldn't be sold, but the workshop kept producing, the more they produced, the more inventory the factory accumulated.

Products piling up won't generate cash, and these things can't be kept for long, otherwise they'll spoil.

To alleviate this situation, Zhao Lian and Liu Jinzhu discussed and decided that the workshop should temporarily close for the holidays.

This move caused widespread anxiety among the workers in the workshop. No one wanted to lose their job, which they had worked so hard to find.

With nearly 10 days without work, the workers couldn't take it anymore and went to the workshop to demand an explanation.

Early that morning, Liu Jinzhu came to report: "Zhaolian, go and see quickly. Many workers are saying they want to go to work, or they want their wages settled."

Each worker was owed 10 days' wages initially, which wasn't much. However, for those urgently needing money, this amount was enough to solve their immediate problems.

Zhao Lian arrived at the workshop quickly. A number of workers were gathered at the entrance, and judging from the number, they were all there. It seemed that these workers had all agreed to come together.

The workers were all talking at once, and Liu Yinzhu and Liu Tongzhu stood at the door explaining incessantly.

"Listen to us, the workshop's business is fine. It's just temporary. We're giving everyone a break so you can go home and rest. When things get busy again, we'll have to catch up on work."

Someone in the crowd said, "If you say there's no problem, then let us start working! Don't lie to us."

"I've heard all about it. Nothing in the shops is selling. The workshop warehouses are overflowing with goods."

"If the workshop can't stay afloat, then quickly return all the wages to us."

"That's right! Give us back all our wages."

"Yes! We're waiting for this money to buy food!"

"Hey~ Look, the boss is here." When someone saw Zhao Lian arrive, they quickly turned around and surrounded her, pouring out their grievances.

"Boss, please have pity on us. I'm just waiting for this money to eat. If the workshop really can't stay afloat, please settle the debt with us."

"Exactly, we're not like you. You're rich and carefree, you don't have to worry about food or drink. But you have to think about us, we have elderly parents and young children to support."

"Stop talking, everyone stop talking." Zhao Lian looked around at everyone and gestured for silence.

Although Zhao Lian was young, she was the owner after all, and her face was serious, with an imposing expression. Everyone quickly quieted down.

Seeing that no one was saying anything, Zhao Lian raised her voice: "Listen up, everyone, the workshop is indeed facing some difficulties right now, but I believe these difficulties are only temporary."

"It was a mistake to withhold everyone's wages for 10 days. Now I announce that everyone can take their wages today."

"Those who have received their wages and wish to continue working in the workshop, please leave your names and wait for further notice. Those who do not wish to continue working in the workshop, please also state your names."

"In addition, since everyone has worked here for a while, today, besides settling everyone's wages, each person will also receive a gift. This is my way of compensating you all. I'm truly sorry for the trouble I've caused." After saying this, Zhao Lian bowed to everyone.

Seeing how sincere Zhaolian was, everyone felt embarrassed.

Immediately afterwards, Zhao Lian said to Liu Jinzhu and the others, "Uncle, you arrange this matter and pay them their wages."

"Second Uncle, Third Uncle, one of you is in charge of registration, and the other is in charge of distributing gifts to them."

"Zhao Lian, do we really have to do this?" Liu Yinzhu asked hesitantly.

Zhao Lian's eyes shone brightly: "Of course, everyone has their own difficulties, and we can't let them feel disheartened. If you're willing to stay, please remember this."

The Liu brothers admired Zhao Lian from the bottom of their hearts. They saw that she was young, but she was calm and composed in the face of adversity. Moreover, she did not act arrogantly, which was truly rare.

Liu Jinzhu glanced at everyone and raised his voice: "Alright! Everyone come with me, line up and get your wages."

Upon hearing this, the workers rushed over in a swarm.

Liu Tongzhu hurriedly called out, "Don't rush, don't rush, everyone gets a share, quickly line up!"

While they were busy, Zhao Lian went to the warehouse and looked at the mountains of goods piled up inside, feeling somewhat worried.

This warehouse probably still has tens of thousands of units of inventory, and now it's all tied up in our hands. That's no small amount of money.

With the weather getting hotter, the taste of these things will change if they are left out for too long, so we need to sell them as soon as possible.

She also needed to develop new products to fill the summer gap, but after thinking for a long time, she still couldn't come up with anything. Some things aren't that they don't exist in this era, but they're just difficult to preserve.

……

Ruyi City entrance

During this period, the imperial selection of concubines never stopped, and Song Wenjie was extremely busy.

With so many people entering and leaving the palace, he had to conduct thorough checks to prevent any foreign enemies from sneaking in. Therefore, he was constantly on edge during this period.

They almost always personally guarded the area, patrolling and inspecting back and forth at the Nine Gates.

Early that morning, not knowing where Liu Yu had gone, Song Wenjie didn't dare to be careless and checked the Nine Gates once.

After wandering around for a while, I finally had time to sit down and have a drink of water. Just as I sat down, I saw Liu Yu return.

Seeing him return, Song Wenjie frowned: "Liu Yu, where have you been so early in the morning? I couldn't find you anywhere."

Liu Yu didn't answer him, but instead said mysteriously, "Sir, it seems that Miss Zhaolian has encountered trouble."

"What trouble? How did you know?"

Upon hearing Liu Yu's words, Song Wenjie unconsciously raised his voice.