Yuanbao was lost. In her desperation, Shen Yuning fell ill. She had a high fever that persisted for several days. Shen Fugui was so worried that he stayed by her side day and night, fearing that his sister might not be able to hold on and just pass away.
After all this turmoil, everyone in the house was listless. At the dye - works and the embroidery workshop, it was entirely up to Cen Xiaoniang, Xi'er and the people from Xiaoshu Village to keep things going.
Xuanzhi was away, and the owner was seriously ill and unable to attend to business. The manager of the dye - works secretly came to find Shen Fugui, saying that the color of the newly produced dye was not very good and wanted the owner to make a decision. But seeing his sister's serious condition, Shen Fugui really didn't want to bother her with this matter.
"It's just a slight color difference. It doesn't matter. Just dye it," he said.
The manager shook his head. "But previously Xuanzhi said that if the color was not correct, we must show it to him or the owner first..."
Shen Fugui was completely at a loss and didn't know what to do.
It was Zhang Dachun, who jumped off the ox - cart beside them. He stepped forward, took the fabric from the manager's hand, examined it carefully, then shook his head and said, "No, this color is quite different from the previous one. We need to redo it."
He was very smart. When he worked in the dye - works before, he had learned a lot from Xuanzhi and was almost like a half - color - testing master.
The manager hesitated and asked again, "Are you sure we should redo it? But the deadline for this batch is very tight. If we need to test the dyeing again, it will probably take about two days. We... can't afford the delay."
Zhang Dachun was puzzled. "So what? We can just work harder. What's wrong with you, Manager? Are you afraid the owner won't pay for the extra work?"
The manager quickly shook his head, and his eyes were even more evasive. After being urged by Shen Fugui and Zhang Dachun for a long time, the manager finally told the truth.
"Something happened to the owner's family, and the workers are all in low spirits. I heard several workers say that they want to find other jobs. Even the old master in charge of the ingredients told me yesterday that if things don't work out here, he has a new place to go."
Hearing this, Shen Fugui got anxious immediately. "What does he mean by that? He's doing this on purpose. Seeing that something has happened to our family, he..."
It was no surprise that people would push when the wall was about to fall. Because of Shen Jingui's arrival, there were already rumors in the shop that he was the real owner. At that time, people were in a panic, thinking that Shen's Embroidery Workshop might close at any time.
Now, the owner was unable to attend to business, and the person in charge hadn't been seen for several days.
Seeing Shen Fugui's anxious look, Zhang Dachun quickly comforted him. "Brother - in - law, don't worry. The workers are all familiar people from the village. I'll go and talk to them. They will understand and won't abandon the shop at this time."
Hearing this, an alarm bell rang in Shen Fugui's heart. He pursed his lips and didn't answer, looking at Zhang Dachun hesitantly.
Zhang Dachun gave a bitter smile and patted Shen Fugui's arm. "I know what you're thinking, but... you're right. Sister Yuning is different from ordinary girls. She shouldn't just stay at home doing laundry, cooking and serving the family. I... I can't give her the life she wants. I don't have any other thoughts. We're all from the same village. Whether it's your family or others', there's no way I can just stand by and do nothing."
Shen Fugui blushed a little. Since he noticed that Dachun had feelings for Yuning, he had never given Dachun a good look. Especially when Dachun's mother was gossiping and speaking ill of Yuning to others, he was so angry that he even quarreled with her.
Unexpectedly, at the most critical moment, Dachun, who had already left the dye - works, was willing to come and help them on his own initiative.
In the evening, it was Zhang Mo who came to visit them and brought news from the dye - works by the way. After all, Dachun was trained by Xuanzhi. When he returned to the dye - works, he first comforted everyone, then scolded the dye master who wanted to leave. As a result, he managed the dye - works in good order.
Zhang Mo clicked his tongue a few times. "In the past in the village, I only thought that Dachun was a capable and diligent boy. I didn't expect that he was also a good business material. Now everything in the dye - works is going smoothly. The dye master doesn't dare to say that he wants to leave anymore. He honestly remixed the dye and didn't dare to be slippery anymore."
Zhang Rong quickly nodded. "It's still thanks to Uncle and the uncles and brothers in the village who are willing to help us. Otherwise, I don't know if we can make it through this time."
Zhang Mo waved his hand. "With Miss Yuning around, we will definitely make it through. Rong'er, tell Miss Yuning not to worry about the dye - works. We in Xiaoshu Village are not ungrateful people. Miss Yuning gives us a chance to earn money, and we will definitely do our best to do the work well."
Old Man Zhang greeted his younger brother to sit down and said helplessly, "That Shen Jingui. Don't think that just because he and your nephew - in - law were born from the same mother, he's a good person. As the old saying goes, even a tiger won't eat its own cubs. Now that the child Yuanbao is missing, Xuanzhi has gone to look for him. It's been several days, and there's still no news. Miss Yuning is sick from worry. Sigh..."
Zhang Mo comforted him for a while and mumbled, "He's Yuanbao's real father. What can we do? Miss Yuning has worried too much. In my opinion, she should find a husband and get married earlier, so that her elder brother won't come to cause trouble again. Miss Yuning is so good - looking. It's just a matter of minutes for her to find a good family. For example, your two nephews, they..."
Old Man Zhang blew his beard and glared at his younger brother, scolding, "Zhang Mo, I thought you came here to deliver news, but it turns out you're here to have ideas about my Miss Yuning?"
He stood up, picked up the long bench, and was about to smash it on his younger brother's head.
Zhang Mo quickly snatched it away. "Just joking, just joking. Look at your hot - tempered nature when you get anxious. You still haven't changed after all these years. You and I both know what your two nephews are like. They're not worthy of Miss Yuning, right?"
Old Man Zhang glared at him, put down the bench and sat on it himself, turning his head away and ignoring him.
Zhang Mo was the kind of person who liked to take advantage of opportunities, but he also knew when to stop. He had benefited from Shen Yuning because of his elder brother, so he inevitably felt a bit inflated. He always thought that good things should be reserved for his own family first.
Moreover, a few days ago, his wife heard Dachun's mother scolding on the street, saying that Shen Yuning was so arrogant. His wife thought that the reason the elder brother's family didn't like Dachun was because of his troublesome mother.
But while Dachun's mother was troublesome, his own wife was not. She was always very kind to Rong'er and Yuning on weekdays.
He just came here to test the waters. Seeing that his elder brother looked down on the idea, he immediately changed his tune.
Not only did his elder brother look down on it, but in fact, Zhang Mo also felt in his heart that if Miss Yuning were to be paired with his two useless sons, it would be a great loss for her.
Zhang Mo gave a silly smile and patted his elder brother on the back. "I was just saying. I was thinking that if you were in a hurry and wanted to marry Miss Yuning off to someone casually, it would be better to marry her to our own nephew... Hey hey hey, don't be angry, don't be angry. I won't say anymore, okay?
I'm telling you, Dachun is a good boy, but with a mother like his, I can't approve of him at all."
Old Man Zhang slapped him on the back of the head. "Mind your own business. Miss Yuning is still sick. If you have the energy to think about all these things, you might as well help to take good care of the shop. And you have the nerve to look down on Dachun? His mother is bad, but he is capable. Go back and discipline your two useless sons. If they can help Miss Yuning even a little bit, I won't look down on them so much."
Zhang Mo quickly nodded in agreement. He decided that he would beat his two sons up when he got home. Anyway, there was nothing to do in the fields in summer, so he would send them to the shop to do odd jobs.
Old Man Zhang didn't want to argue with him anymore. He went into the house to help Zhang Rong serve the meal and sighed, "If we could find a suitable person for Miss Yuning to marry, it would be a good solution. But it's not easy to find a suitable young man in a short time."
Zhang Mo followed him into the kitchen. Hearing this, he interrupted, "The best family for a girl to marry into is one where the boy is motivated, has no parents, no siblings. Hehe, she can be the mistress of the house as soon as she gets there. How happy that would be?"
Old Man Zhang handed him the bowls and chopsticks and scolded angrily, "Nonsense. If that's the case, your two brats will never find wives."
Now that Zhang Mo had repaired his relationship with his elder brother, he dared to say anything. He immediately leaned forward again. "What's wrong with what I said? I don't have a daughter, and Rong'er married a husband who moved into our family. Otherwise, I would look for a husband for my daughter according to those rules. If we really think about it, Fugui, before he found his family, wasn't he just like the conditions I mentioned?"
Old Man Zhang curled his lips. Although he had raised Fugui with his own hands, he knew him very well. It was true that Fugui was honest and dutiful, but he was not at all motivated. If he wanted to find a young man for Yuning who was like Fugui in the past but also motivated.
He was in a daze for a long time. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that this was just describing Xuanzhi.
Xuanzhi had no parents or siblings, no complicated relationships, and he was motivated. Moreover, Xuanzhi had a rough life experience, which was quite similar to Miss Yuning's. The only drawback was that Xuanzhi was three years younger than Yuning.
But it didn't matter. Rong'er was two years older than Fugui, and they were still loving each other.
The more Old Man Zhang thought about it, the more excited he became. He secretly told his daughter about this, praising Xuanzhi as the best in the world. He said that if Yuning missed him, she would never meet such a good person in her life.
Zhang Rong tilted her head and looked at her father, thinking that maybe because he had spent more time with Uncle, her father had become a bit childish.
What was he talking about? What kind of pre - ordained good match between Xuanzhi and Yuning?
"What a bullshit good match! Xuanzhi is only fourteen years old now. Do you think he knows what love is? He only regards Yuning as his elder sister. Aren't you just making a mess?"
Old Man Zhang didn't give up. "Think about it. Weren't you and Fugui like siblings before? Didn't you develop feelings later?"
He walked around his busy daughter, trying to persuade her.
Zhang Rong impatiently pushed him away. "If you're free, go and wake up Huzi. Otherwise, he won't sleep at night and will make a lot of noise. Don't always compare Fugui with Xuanzhi. Fugui has been muddle - headed since he was a child and listened to everything I said. But although Xuanzhi seems to listen to Yuning on the surface, he actually has his own ideas. Can they be the same?"
Hearing this, Old Man Zhang was quite discouraged. Being discouraged, he looked at his younger brother who had instigated him with annoyance and immediately kicked him. "Go, wake up Huzi. You're just in the way here."
Zhang Mo was scolded by his elder brother inexplicably. Reluctantly, he got up and heard the sound of knocking on the door outside.
He quickly went to the door of the yard, opened it and asked, "Who is it?"
The person who came looked very polite. He smiled and looked at Zhang Mo. "Hello, Uncle. We've met before."
Zhang Mo widened his eyes and immediately wanted to close the door, but the person brought a lot of people with him, and they immediately pushed the door open.
Wasn't the person who came in none other than Lord Wan?