Chapter 326 - 328: Congratulations from All Sides
Du’s words and actions sent a chill down the spine of everyone watching, to say nothing of the underling whose face was being touched.
The underling stumbled back three steps, his lips trembling as he said, "Boss... uh... I... I’m an artist, I don’t sell my body."
"My mom is still counting on me to carry on the family line."
The underling said this with a troubled look, on the verge of tears.
Du San, standing behind them, couldn’t help but laugh. He brought his hand down with a SMACK on the back of the bald underling’s head.
"Keep dreaming! As if you’d be so lucky."
Du San had meant the comment to lighten the mood, but it only earned him the attention of everyone present, including an icy glare from Du.
’Crap, that came out a little ambiguous.’
Du San coughed and tried to salvage the situation. "The boss and his wife’s love is stronger than gold. You guys don’t even come close."
Du withdrew his murderous gaze and beckoned to the good-looking underling.
The underling hesitated before stepping forward with a sheepish grin.
"Boss... what’s the head shaving for?"
"It’s for a gift."
Du explained what the underling needed to do. After he finished, the same burly man from before raised his hand.
"Speak."
"Boss, what about the funeral wreaths and dung buckets that Third Brother ordered? Are we still sending those?"
"What?"
Du leaped into the air and aimed a flying kick at Du San.
"Du San, you son of a bitch, you ordered those too?!"
"Fuck! Boss, I forgot! I’ll go take care of it right now!"
Du San truly ran for his life. If he didn’t, that wreath would be on his own grave the next day.
The Du Brothers were busy all night, trying to fix their mistake.
All the brothers, all those burly, thick-waisted men, did nothing else all night but arts and crafts.
Men, one after another, standing six feet tall or more, were busy all night with embroidery needles. The scene was just so touching.
「The next morning」
On East City Street, a crowd was already bustling in front of Green Land. Many people had formed a long line for the one-cent eggs.
At that moment, goods were also being unloaded at the shop’s back door.
An Guoming had specifically driven a truck back to the village to bring in fresh vegetables and strawberries.
Other trucks also arrived from different places, delivering the eggs needed for the day.
An Guoming had arranged for people to go into the countryside and collect all these eggs door-to-door.
At 8:00 AM, people began to arrive one after another with deliveries. Numerous vibrant flower baskets were placed by the entrance, all bearing festive messages like "Congratulations on your grand opening," "Wishing you a booming business," and so on.
The well-wishes themselves were nothing special, just the usual refrains, but the names signed to them were quite noteworthy.
The entire Machinery Factory, a personal gift from Factory Director Zhang of the Machinery Factory, a personal gift from Zhang Qihua, a personal gift from Director Li of the Textile Factory, the entire Textile Factory.
The Transportation Team, the captain of the Transportation Team, the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, the Shoe Factory, the Bag Factory...
Nearly every factory in the county had sent a flower basket, either on behalf of the entire factory or even from the director personally, to congratulate Green Land on its grand opening.
The opening ceremony hadn’t even begun, but the flower baskets were already arranged in four rows.
At the entrance to Green Land, An Guoming and Liu Yiyi stood on either side, welcoming the factory directors, who were all rarely-seen figures. As for the main person of interest, An Ning, she remained seated calmly inside and did not come out.
However, not a single one of the visiting directors was the least bit dissatisfied. On the contrary, they all thoroughly approved.
’With such a crowd, it’s best she stays out of the way. Someone might bump into her.’
In their eyes, An Ning was their God of Wealth.
’Why would the God of Wealth need to work? She just needs to be put on a pedestal and worshipped. We can do the manual labor.’
And so, a bizarre scene unfolded in front of the not-yet-opened Green Land.
Several factory directors were arguing, red in the face, over a single cleaning rag.
Director Li: "I’ll clean the windows."
Factory Director Zhang: "No way, I have to be the one."
Not to be outdone, Director Zhu reached out his hand. "Let me, let me! I do this kind of work at home all the time, I’m good at it."
While the three directors were fighting over the rag to see who would do the work, Mr. Zhang Sr., who was standing to the side, calmly pulled a cloth from his own pocket.
"They’re all too young, not thinking things through. Who comes unprepared?"
As he spoke, Mr. Zhang Sr. took his impromptu rag—a handkerchief—and eagerly began doing the work of a shop clerk.
An Guoming watched these lively scenes unfold, unsure of how he could possibly intervene.
He had no choice but to turn to An Ning for help. An Ning just said calmly, "Let them have their fun. You don’t need to feel bad about it."
The blueprints An Ning had drawn and the projects she had created for them had brought them incalculable profits. She had earned this kind of treatment.
An Guoming still felt a bit awkward, but with no better solution, he could only let the crowd of factory directors keep themselves busy.
「Time continued to pass」
An Ning had set the opening for 9:58 AM, a time she had divined with her "Half-immortal" abilities.
At 9:00 AM, the gifts from Jiang Xia and the village arrived, delivered by Jiang Xia himself.
For the first time, An Ning came out to greet someone. Looking at the unique flower basket from Jiang Xia, she couldn’t help but ask, "Did you guys pick the entire mountain clean of flowers?"
Jiang Xia glanced at the basket, which was woven entirely from wildflowers and wild grass, and shrugged. "It’s fine. We’ve got a big mountain."
An Ning gave Jiang Xia a smile that left him completely stunned.
Master Tang, who had come along with him, couldn’t bear to watch and gave Jiang Xia a hard pinch from behind to snap him out of it.
Master Tang took a step up, and as he passed by Jiang Xia, he whispered, "You’re welcome."
Jiang Xia was in pain but didn’t dare say a word, which only made Master Tang, now in front of him, even more smug.
Walking ahead, Master Tang handed An Ning a small, classical-style red box about eight inches in diameter.
"An Ning, congratulations."
"Thank you, Master Tang."
An Ning had just taken the box when Master Tang said, "They’re some pastries I made for you. Best to eat them now."
An Ning’s eyes lit up. If there was one thing she missed most about being away, it was definitely Master Tang’s cooking.
She immediately opened the small box. Inside were small, multi-colored dumplings.
"They’re sweet glutinous rice balls. I just made them in different colors."
After Master Tang’s explanation, An Ning couldn’t resist picking up one of the little dumplings and popping it into her mouth.
A single bite felt like tasting spring itself.
The soft, chewy texture filled An Ning with a sense of bliss.
"Master Tang, when I go away to school, I know I’ll miss your cooking more than anything."
Hearing this, a glint appeared in Master Tang’s eyes, but he put on a troubled expression. "Tell me about it. And you won’t be able to eat it when you’re away."
"Sigh... if only there were someone who could learn the skill."
Jiang Xia, trailing behind them, couldn’t help but want to roll his eyes.
’He obviously wants to take me on as an apprentice, but he has to pretend to be all high and mighty.’
But when Jiang Xia saw An Ning’s look of complete agreement, he thought that maybe it wouldn’t be so bad after all.
Master Tang, who had been watching the entire exchange, looked completely satisfied, as if victory was already in his grasp. The sight made Jiang Xia grind his teeth in frustration.
’But when he thought of An Ning, accepting the idea didn’t seem so difficult.’
The three of them walked up the steps together, about to go inside.
Just then, the deafening sound of gongs and drums erupted from the north.
A troupe of drummers, all averaging nearly six feet tall, led the way. Behind them, a long red banner was held high, followed by—incredibly—dancing lions.
The sheer scale and grandeur of the procession made it impossible to look away.