Chapter 382: A Sense of Accomplishment
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Su Binglan went to discuss things with Luo Kang and Qiu He when the oxcart left. She took some potatoes and sweet potatoes from the warehouse and some tofu for Luo Kang and the others. Then she packed a few more bags of noodles and took some silver.
“This is the money for this month’s cooking. Go to town and buy some meat and vegetables. Cook according to what I taught you last night, then tell everyone to bring lunch boxes, and you can get them food.” Su Binglan had also given them many instructions last night.
Luo Kang and Qiu He cared for many wealthy families in the past, so Su Binglan believed they could take care of the cafeteria with Luo Juan.
“Don’t worry, Miss Su. We’ll do as you instructed.”
“We’ll have Juan keep the accounts,” Qiu He said. She knew Su Binglan trusted them enough to manage the academy’s cafeteria. Moreover, they could be together as a family.
Typically, three people could run the cafeteria and monitor each other. However, Su Binglan allowed the family of three to work alongside each other in the academy. The family felt touched and did not know how to thank Su Binglan.
“I believe in you three to do your jobs well. If you encounter any problems, you can come home and tell me about them,” Su Binglan said.
“Yes, Miss Su.”
Luo Juan and Du Xiaoju made meatballs at the tofu shop for the hotpot restaurant. However, Luo Juan had to leave and work at the academy’s cafeteria, so Du Xiaoju was the only one in charge of the meatballs.
Typically, there would need to be three people making meatballs. Hence, Du Xiaoju would get overwhelmed. Su Binglan thought of this and went to the tofu shop. She intended to transfer Li Mei over to help Du Xiaoju temporarily.
She wanted Li Mei to help with the meatballs because Li Mei was a quick learner, earnest, and efficient. As for Li Mei’s bonus and wages, Su Binglan would pay her the same amount as when Li Mei made tofu.
After making these arrangements, Su Binglan and Su Wenxiu began preparing for their afternoon consultation sessions.
Ding Wan also busied herself on the same day and went to Su Binglan’s old house after breakfast.
Su Binglan had planned to use her old house as a temporary embroidery shop and renovate her parent’s old house into a temporary clinic. Therefore, she could put the two old houses to good use instead of leaving them unattended.
Ding Wan took the key Su Binglan gave her and opened the door. The interior was spotless. Then Ding Wan placed two big bags and some needles and thread on the brick bed.
Afterward, she took some firewood from the yard and burned them at the stove to warm up the brick bed.
Soon after, Zhou Wen’e, Shi Cui, and Sun Damin would come in a group of six or seven. They would sit on the warm brick bed and practice their needlework to stay cozy.
Su Binglan had said that no one would feel bored or tired if working was fun. They could talk while working as there were few strict rules to follow.
Ding Wan was ecstatic when she went over. She knew it would be fun to practice embroidery while chatting with everyone. It would be like when Ding Wan was younger, she would not feel lonely. That was because she was mainly passionate about needlework and embroidery.
She felt accomplished whenever she looked at the things she had made and embroidered. The things she made were naturally pleasing to the eye and gave her a sense of achievement.
The sky had just brightened, and Ding Wan thought everyone would arrive immediately after sunrise. She wanted everyone to familiarize themselves with each other on the first day, but she did not rush anyone to come earlier than necessary.
As she heated the brick bed, she heard footsteps outside. She saw Shi Cui tapping on the door bolt and asking, “Is anyone here?”
Ding Wan heard Shi Cui’s voice and happily ran toward the door to enter the yard. “Hello, Shi Cui. Quick, come in. I’m still warming up the brick bed. Why are you here so early?”
Shi Cui smiled. “I woke up early and had nothing to do, so I thought I’d come earlier to check things out. I thought I might be of help too. I see you were earlier than me. I didn’t know if anyone was here, so I knocked just in case.”
Ding Wan pulled Shi Cui in as Shi Cui spoke. Then Ding Wan said smilingly, “I had breakfast this morning and couldn’t stay idle, so I decided to come here
early. ”
“Are you warming the bed up, Madam Ding?” Shi Cui asked as she looked at the stove.
“Yes, Binglan said she hasn’t been to this house in a long while. The house is cold, so she told me to make a fire to warm up the brick bed. She said we should work in a warm place to avoid catching a cold.”
Ding Wan’s words about her niece touched Shi Cui. “Miss Su is such a nice person.” She spoke from the bottom of her heart without intentions or flattery.
Shi Cui used to go to town to find work, but it was challenging. She could only wash clothes for her family and did not care about her injured hand, even if it froze. She thought that no one would care about her if she died.
Ding Wan said, “Indeed, my niece has a good heart. She’s on duty this afternoon, so I’ll take you for a consultation then.”
“All right, Madam Ding.” Shi Cui nodded. Then she squatted down and rushed to help Ding Wan with the fire.
Sun Damin and the others arrived soon after, and Zhou Wen’e arrived with her daughter, Dong Xiaolei. Madam Niu also brought her daughter, Su Nong, over.
Su Nong’s father had the surname Su because he was once a servant for the Su family in their earlier years. Still, he was unrelated to the family by blood, merely adopting their surname.
The Su family’s ancestors were once a prominent family. Later, something happened to the Su family that made them settle in Su Teng Village.
Many Su family members resided in Su Teng Village, but only Su Binglan’s grandparents were part of the prominent family. Some members either changed their surnames or kept them.
Madam Niu and Su Nong were very respectful when they saw Ding Wan. Su Nong and Dong Xiaolei were about the same age, so Ding Wan arranged for the duo to sit together.
After serving warm water to the younguns, Ding Wan said, “There’s no need to feel restrained here. Although we’ll work together in the embroidery shop, we’re only helping each other. After all, we’ll only be successful if we have teamwork.”
“Thank you, Madam Ding.”
“Thank you, Madam Ding.”
“Madam Ding, you don’t have to wait on them. They’re not children anymore, ” Madam Niu said.
Zhou Wen’e chimed in, “That’s right. They cook, wash, and pour water for themselves at home. Now that they’re here to learn how to do things, why would they need you to serve them too?”
Ding Wan poured the boiling water into a kettle and placed it on the table beside the brick bed. “Don’t worry about it. I was already passing by. There’s warm water here, so you can serve yourselves.”
Ding Wan nodded and called everyone to get on the brick bed. Everyone had been curious for a long time and wanted to know what Ding Wan would say.
Ding Wan wanted to make something new, different from any embroidery she had done in the past. She knew it would be fine if they knew how to sew.
She looked at everyone’s curious faces and revealed a bag. “We have to make some bags first. They should look like this one..”
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