Watching Zhao Jisheng hurry away, Sun Xiaowan asked, "Why does he seem so afraid of you?"
"Does he? Perhaps it's because they're in the wrong," Cheng You said.
Sun Xiaowan and Duan Liping exchanged glances, feeling it wasn't quite like that.
There was a feeling that the Agricultural Research Institute was treating Cheng You with deference.
Duan Liping was a little worried, "Aren't you afraid the Qi family will come looking for trouble?"
Song Qinglan's affection for Zhou Qi was evident to all.
Cheng You shrugged, "What's there to be afraid of? I'm going back to school tomorrow anyway."
Qi Ning usually arrived around nine o'clock, very punctual.
A gust of wind followed her as she entered.
"Sister-in-law, I heard Zhou Qi was expelled from the Agricultural Research Institute!"
Cheng You exclaimed in surprise, "How do you get your news so fast? You don't read books all day, just go around gossiping!"
Qi Ning chuckled, "Not really, I just overheard my mom say something. Why was he expelled? It sounds quite serious."
Cheng You said, "He stole my ginseng. Expulsion is the least of it; there are more serious consequences awaiting him."
"What?" Qi Ning quickly went to the small courtyard and counted. The number of flower pots matched.
"He swapped the ginseng in one pot. If you look closely, you can tell the difference," Cheng You prompted.
Qi Ning observed carefully and indeed noticed a difference.
Through Zhao Jisheng, she had already learned how precious this ginseng was.
How dare Zhou Qi steal this! kuAiδugg
She walked out of the small courtyard, puzzled, "What did he steal the ginseng for?"
"I don't know. Regardless, he still has to pay compensation." Who cared what he did?
Qi Ning silently mourned for him in her heart, why would he provoke Cheng You of all people?
"I don't know how my aunt's eyes are so bad to treasure such a son," she muttered.
Cheng You glanced at her, "You seem to dislike Zhou Qi quite a bit too?"
"In our Qi family, very few people like him, alright? He's so hypocritical. With his personality, it's obvious he's not one of us. He didn't hesitate to kick someone when they were down when Brother Yan had his accident."
Yet, Qi Shengwen and Song Qinglan remained indifferent.
Qi Chengyan was their own biological son. If they didn't care about him, the second and third branches of the Qi family couldn't overstep their bounds and interfere.
Cheng You pondered for a moment and asked, "Qi Ning, do you know Wang Fang?"
"I don't know her, but I've seen her. Just a very ordinary woman. Definitely not Brother Yan's type."
Moreover, she was a comrade's woman. How desperate would Qi Chengyan have to be to get involved with her?
"Do you have a photo?"
Qi Ning shook her head, disgusted, "Who would keep her photo for no reason?"
Cheng You was somewhat disappointed. It was understandable.
"Sister-in-law, why are you asking about her?"
Cheng You replied, "I saw a woman named Wang Fang in the hospital a couple of days ago and wanted to confirm if it was her."
Qi Ning quickly said, "I can draw. I can sketch her appearance roughly. Do you want to try?"
"Great!"
With a general idea of her appearance, Cheng You felt she could recognize her.
Qi Ning needed drawing supplies. Cheng You gave her money to buy a new set.
Sun Xiaowan walked over, "Youyou, you're not still thinking about clearing your man's name, are you?"
Cheng You replied, "It's not exactly about clearing his name. After all, it wasn't a definitively proven case. At most, it's about clarifying things for him."
Sun Xiaowan was speechless. Trying to restore his reputation would be no easy feat.
Qi Ning returned quickly with her supplies.
Watching her hold the drawing brush, Cheng You felt she was professional.
Soon, an outline of a sketched portrait took shape.
Cheng You's eyes narrowed, holding her breath as she patiently waited for her to finish.
Qi Ning had been learning to draw since she was a child, and she continued to study it at the Workers, Peasants, and Soldiers University.
This was also why Zheng Xiuyu didn't expect her to find a job, as employment prospects were not good.
"It's roughly like this. If I had more time, I could make it more lifelike."
Cheng You took the sketch and stared at it, engrossed.
"No need. I'm already certain."
The "Wang Fang" who gave birth in the hospital was indeed the Wang Fang in the drawing.
"Strange..."
Qi Ning looked at her, "Strange about what?"
"When I saw Wang Fang at the hospital, she seemed to recognize me. That shouldn't be the case; I've never met her before."
Qi Chengyan had been in the countryside for over two years. Wang Fang couldn't possibly still be paying such close attention to his news.
Sun Xiaowan guessed, "Could she be nearby?"
Cheng You shook her head. If that were the case, she wouldn't have missed her at all.
Qi Ning put away her drawing brush, looking dejected, "Sister-in-law, even if you find her, what good will it do? Can she help clarify things for Brother Yan? Don't think about it. Someone like her would never help Brother Yan."
Cheng You snorted, "Let me find her, and I'll break her mouth open with money if I have to."
Duan Liping reached out for the portrait, "Let us see too. If we encounter her, we can help you keep an eye out. But Qi Ning, your drawing is really good, like a camera."
"It's still far from being like a camera," Qi Ning replied humbly.
However, her face was full of self-satisfaction.
Cheng You also thought it was good, "How many years have you been studying?"
"I started learning at five years old, so it's been over ten years."
"Can you design logos? Chen Qin mentioned this to me before, saying he wanted to print them on the medicine jars."
Qi Ning shook her head, "I haven't drawn any before, but I can try for Zhen Shan Tang."
Cheng You hadn't found anyone to help yet, so adhering to the principle of making the best use of everything, she let her try.
"If you can design something that satisfies me, I'll give you five hundred."
Qi Ning's eyes widened as if a huge pie had fallen from the sky and hit her on the head.
"How much?"
"Five hundred. Is that too little?"
Qi Ning shook her head like a rattle drum, "No!"
She hadn't expected so much.
Cheng You smiled, "Then it's settled. I'll be going to school tomorrow, so you focus on drawing. In your free time, review the notes I gave you, or find Chen Qin. You can learn a lot from him."
Qi Ning pouted, complaining, "With only me in your pharmaceutical factory, can it even get started?"
She seemed a bit unconvinced.
Cheng You retorted, "It's only you for now. I'll be hiring more people later."
Although she had no leads yet.
Duan Liping thought for a moment and offered a suggestion, "Youyou, have you considered merging the two pharmaceutical factories? Make the Yancheng branch the headquarters of Zhen Shan Tang, bringing over the staff from Yongcheng, and then have the Yongcheng Zhen Shan Tang's medicines supplied by this branch."
This would save her the time and effort of training new staff.
Naturally, it was better to have her original staff.
Recruiting new people meant not knowing their background.
Duan Liping's words sparked an idea in Cheng You, opening up a new line of thought.
"Liping, you're so smart! How did I not think of that!"
Duan Liping blushed at the praise, "You just hadn't thought of it yet."