Chapter 875: The Completion of the Charitable Hall

Editor: Henyee Translations

On the left side of the main building, there was a door that led to an inner courtyard surrounded by houses, resembling a quadrangle courtyard. Each house was spacious and bright.

This area included the children’s living quarters, Elder Zhang’s room, areas for daily activities, a kitchen, a dining room, and everything else that was needed.

The flower beds in the inner courtyard could be planted with flowers and plants, or, if one preferred something more practical, fruits and vegetables.

Chu Qingzhi inspected each room, performing a formal acceptance check. Finally, she went to the front courtyard and said to Nie Huiyang, “Brother Nie, the house is well-repaired. Please inform the children that they can move in.”

Nie Huiyang responded with a smile, “Alright, I’ll go right away.”

It happened that He Wenyong and Duan Qidao had just finished organizing various record books and brought them over to her.

Chu Qingzhi flipped through the account books. Trust was one thing, but it was still necessary to check the accounts to be sure.

Tang Jinghong saw that there were a few more books and picked one up to help.

The record books weren’t thick, and it took about half an hour to go through them.

Chu Qingzhi signed her name in each book. The matter of the Charitable Hall was finally settled. However, she added an entry to the accounts, donating one hundred taels of silver to the Charitable Hall.

These children were all of good character, hardworking and progressive. It was appropriate to give them some support.

Elder Zhang, holding the one hundred taels of silver, was moved beyond words, “Miss, rest assured, I will definitely spend this money on the children.”

Chu Qingzhi trusted Elder Zhang, “It’s for the Charitable Hall, just spend it as you see fit.”

Hearing that Chu Qingzhi was leaving, the children of the Charitable Hall stopped their moving activities and came to the gate to see her off.

Zhang Lingmei gave Chu Qingzhi a deep bow, “Sister, thank you.”

The other children also bowed to Chu Qingzhi to express their gratitude.

Chu Qingzhi patted Zhang Lingmei’s shoulder, “From now on, you have to walk your own paths. However, if you encounter anything you can’t solve, you can come to Chu Village to find me.”

Zhang Lingmei gratefully said, “Sister, we understand.”

Chu Qingzhi said, “Weave well, I have taught you all the patterns. If possible, you can try to innovate, you don’t have to follow the rules. Do you understand?”

Zhang Lingmei nodded, “Sister, I understand.”

Chu Qingzhi didn’t know that the handicraft skills she casually taught the children would one day be developed by Zhang Lingmei into the largest weaving supplier in Dalin.

The children continued moving. After they finished, they cleaned up. Chu Qingzhi returned the keys to the owner of the house, then went to the county office to write a notice about the completion of the Charitable Hall, including the accounts and record books for everyone to see, before returning to Chu Village.

…

At the Qingwan Women’s Clothing Store.

The manager handed an account book to Chu Qingyue, “Madam, here are the total accounts. Please have a look.”

Chu Qingyue sat down, opened the account book, and saw that the calculations were already done. She could just look at the summary.

The store had made a total of three thousand taels since it opened, with one thousand eight hundred taels as cost, making a net profit of one thousand two hundred taels.

Chu Qingyue was very happy. A clothing store making so much money was very rare, with less than ten such stores in the entire county.

Earlier this year, her fifth sister sent her a batch of high-quality fabric, and she mentioned giving her sister a share of the profits. Now, she could give it to her.

Chu Qingyue gave fifty taels to the manager to distribute among the store’s staff as a New Year’s gift, leaving one hundred fifty taels for store operations, and took the rest of the money back to her maternal home.

“Quick, come here,” Chu Qingyue pulled Chu Qingzhi upstairs.

“Second sister, be careful with your stomach, don’t walk so fast,” Chu Qingzhi quickly reminded her. It would be bad for the child if she bumped into something.

Chu Qingyue slowed down, smiling, “Right now, the baby is small, so I often forget.”

Chu Qingzhi was also worried, “The Ning family values this child very much. If something happens, it might be difficult for the second sister at your in-laws.”

Chu Qingyue’s expression became serious, “I was careless, I will be more careful.”

Seeing that Chu Qingyue took her advice, Chu Qingzhi changed the subject, “Second sister, did you need something?”

Chu Qingyue handed five hundred taels of silver to Chu Qingzhi, “What do you think? Are you surprised?”

Chu Qingzhi looked at the silver note, puzzled, “Second sister, what does this mean?”

“This is your share of the profits. I’ve always remembered.” Chu Qingyue took Chu Qingzhi’s hand, placing the silver note in it, “Don’t refuse. I’m really grateful for your support and the fabric you gave me. It’s all sold out now…”

Hearing Chu Qingyue’s words, Chu Qingzhi reluctantly accepted the silver note, “I wish the second sister’s business will become even better.”

Chu Qingyue nodded with a smile, “It definitely will.”

“By the way, Qingzhi, on the 28th of the twelfth lunar month, Yuting has reserved a private room at Hongyun Restaurant, inviting everyone for a reunion dinner.”

“Jinghong will also come. Yuting has already told him. Remember to bring him along.”

Chu Qingzhi agreed, “Okay.”

…

A courier from the post station came to Chu Village, handing Chu Qingzhi a letter.

Chu Qingzhi opened the letter, her lips curving into a smile. It was a thank-you letter from the charitable hall in the capital city.

They mentioned that by selling marinated meat, they had successfully lived a prosperous life. Some children had gone to learn crafts, and others had become small managers in stores…

The letter, filled with over two thousand words, described the changes in the charitable hall.

Chu Qingzhi read it carefully, from beginning to end. The letter ended with wishes for Chu Qingzhi to become more beautiful and to have a happy Chinese New Year.

Chu Qingzhi smiled softly and wrote a reply to the children.

She didn’t expect them to write her a letter, which was a pleasant surprise.

After finishing the letter, she asked the delivery team to take it to the capital city for the children of the charitable hall.

…

At Tang Jinghong’s home.

Tang Jinghong approached the emperor, who was painting in the courtyard, “Young master, I will go to the county town for the reunion dinner tomorrow. How will you arrange your day?”

The young prince eagerly replied, “That’s not even a question. We’re going too.”

The queen hastily said, “Don’t listen to Qi’er. Tomorrow, you go to the county town for dinner, and we’ll cook for ourselves.”

She had always wanted to experience the life of ordinary people while in the palace, and now that they had the chance, she wouldn’t miss it.

The emperor understood the queen’s thoughts, “I’ll listen to Yuni.”

Tang Jinghong hesitated before asking, “Do you… know how to cook?”

The queen glanced at the emperor, “We know some simple dishes. Don’t worry, Brother Tang, we can take care of ourselves.”

Tang Jinghong didn’t say anything else, “If there’s anything, you can go to the village chief. I’ve already talked to him.”

“We know,” the queen couldn’t help but smile. Why did they seem so unreliable to others?

The young prince ran to Tang Jinghong, “Is Sister Chu going?”

“She is,” Tang Jinghong bent down, smiling and asking, “What about it?”

The young prince puffed up his cheeks, sighed, “I want to go too.”

Tang Jinghong laughed, “Next time I’ll take you.”

The young prince reluctantly agreed, “Okay then.”

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