Cheng Su and her husband had been setting up a stall at the entrance of the village for most of the day and finally managed to recruit the necessary workforce. However, their qualifications still needed to be confirmed with a health check-up in a few days.
Yes, a health check-up. Cheng Su would rather pay out of her own pocket to give these people a thorough examination. She wanted to make sure none of them had any infectious diseases, as she was in the food industry and a health certificate was a must.
"Now we just wait for news from Ning Ge!" Cheng Su said with a smile to Qi Taiguo as they packed up the stall.
Ning Ge had just finalized a business partnership and returned home, sitting and chatting with his older brother on the couch. Beside them, Old Master Ning was wearing a pair of presbyopic glasses and holding a newspaper, but his attention was not on the print; instead, he was all ears to his sons’ conversation.
"I heard you even called on Commisar Tan’s connections?" Ning Gang asked Ning Ge.
Ning Ge nodded, "Yeah, you know about that? Didn’t you say you wouldn’t interfere with my affairs?"
Ning Gang gave him a stern look, "With you bouncing all over the Capital, it’s hard not to know. Have you ever thought of keeping a low profile? Now everyone is asking me if our family’s Xiao Si is in business."
Ning Ge laughed, "What’s wrong with doing business? You and our second brother went into military and politics, and I am doing business — that’s quite fine."
Old Master Ning slightly lowered his head and glanced at his youngest son from behind his newspaper.
"What’s wrong with joining the military?" Ning Gang disagreed.
"Big brother, this is an old topic. Joining the military and going into politics are fine, but don’t you think it’s better if our family has someone who knows how to run a business and make money?" Ning Ge said with raised eyebrows, "In the future, if you and our second brother want to climb higher, I can lend a hand. Of course, I also need to have the money to do so, which I won’t have if I don’t do business."
Ning Gang’s heart skipped a beat, and he shared a glance with the Old Master.
Acting as if he hadn’t noticed their exchange of looks, Ning Ge loudly called out, "Sister-in-law, can you bring me another bowl of soup?"
Ning Gang, seeing his brother’s face looking thinner, couldn’t help but feel a pang of pity, "Running a business, you should also take care of your health. How did you become so thin?"
"Digging into every detail myself, it’d be strange if I got fat."
Ning Gang frowned and asked, "Isn’t it a partnership? Isn’t that Cheng something also working?"
"Cheng Su," Ning Ge said, "Big brother, please don’t put it that way. She has also done a lot of work: refurbishing the factory, recruiting workers, formulating jam, operations, and more — she is handling all that!"
"Cheng who?" Old Master Ning asked as he put down the newspaper.
"Cheng Su," Ning Gang said, seeing Ning Ge reluctant to respond, he took the liberty to answer, "The woman partnering with Xiao Si, her husband is also a military man, stationed at the Qing City army base, I think his name is Qi Taiguo."
"Cheng Su?" Old Master Ning tilted his head in thought and then looked at his youngest son, "Could it be the one with almond-shaped eyes, a face like a goose egg, about 1.7 meters tall, with hair long enough to here..." He gestured with his hand.
Ning Gang was slightly taken aback and looked towards Ning Ge.
Ning Ge was also surprised, "Old Master knows her?"
"I don’t know if it’s the same person, but I met her during an inspection in Flower County two months ago. We only met once. Her husband, quite tall and resolute," Old Master Ning recalled.
Upon hearing this, Ning Gang’s brows furrowed, "Did they know your identity at that time?"
If that was the case, he would have to reassess this couple. Knowing Old Master Ning and getting acquainted with Xiao Si, meeting at different times, in different places — could it really be such a coincidence?
As a long-time leader, he tended to break down everything, pondering it thoroughly before deciding on its significance. If the couple had really been scheming, then the partnership should be immediately terminated. Who knows what they were plotting!