Entrusting matters to Zhao Jisheng, Cheng You felt at ease.
He suspected Zhao Jisheng cared more about the ginseng than he did.
Cheng You was happy to be free.
After teaching Qi Ning at home for two days, Sun Xiaowan and Duan Liping finished their military training and came to find her for dinner.
Cheng You decided to let her hands go and take them out to eat.
She also needed to deliver the medicine ordered by the boss of Dong Shun Lou.
Sun Xiaowan, being boisterous, saw Qi Ning and instinctively said, "Is this the sister-in-law who was deceived by Yuan He?"
Qi Ning rolled her eyes at her, "I've already dumped Yuan He, he didn't deceive me."
She said the same thing to everyone. She absolutely refused to admit that she had been deceived by someone like Yuan He.
The four girls were as close as family and walked into Dong Shun Lou arm in arm.
The boss of Dong Shun Lou was overjoyed to see Cheng You visit again after so long.
"Today, I absolutely must treat you, or I'll be unhappy."
Cheng You smiled, "I came here specially today precisely to freeload a meal!"
It wasn't an everyday guest who got to be served by the boss of Dong Shun Lou himself.
It had to be said that as a woman, being able to run a restaurant on her own was truly impressive.
Six dishes were served for the four of them.
After all the dishes were on the table, Sun Xiaowan brought up the matter.
"Song Jingtang did not report to school."
As soon as she spoke, Cheng You and the other two lost their appetite.
How could someone just give up on a university they had worked so hard to get into?
Sun Xiaowan still felt upset about it. She had bottled up her feelings for the entire duration of her military training, almost to the point of getting sick.
So, as soon as the military training ended, she dragged Duan Liping over.
Qi Ning stared blankly and couldn't help but say, "The Song family must be in chaos then?"
Song Jingtang was the youngest son of the Song family and was very doted upon.
When he finally got into university, his parents were ecstatic.
Sun Xiaowan nodded, "Indeed. His mother came to school looking for me many times, asking me to persuade him."
"Did you go?" Cheng You asked.
Sun Xiaowan nodded, as she also felt it was a shame.
It wasn't her intention to break up with Song Jingtang; she had wanted to stay with him.
But reality didn't allow it.
He had rented a place outside the home and moved out.
That room had no windows and no light, making it almost impossible to see anything inside during the day without turning on the lights.
When she visited, she hadn't expected Song Jingtang to endure such hardship.
He told Sun Xiaowan not to interfere.
"I've already burned the admission letter, just in case I regret it. Xiaowan, I still have some money, and I've decided to use it to start a business. I don't know if it will succeed, but I'll work hard. Can you wait for me for two years? If I haven't made money in two years and bought you a house outside, you should find a good man and marry him."
Sun Xiaowan spoke, tears streaming down her face, not from being moved, but from heartache.
Song Jingtang had never endured so much hardship in his entire life.
"I can marry him and we can rent a place together outside; I never said I must have a house."
Cheng You interrupted her, "Since he has made up his mind, it means he genuinely wants to give you a good future. Don't back down now."
Otherwise, it would be no different from pouring cold water on him.
Sun Xiaowan wiped her tears, "I know. I didn't tell him that."
"Did he say what kind of business he wanted to start?" Cheng You asked.
Sun Xiaowan shook her head, "He probably hasn't figured it out yet."
He had never done business before, so he was starting from scratch.
Cheng You said, "Why not let him try the clothing industry? Although I haven't been involved in it, he'll need to explore it himself, and it might not work out. I only heard Cheng Yan mention it a few times before."
Sun Xiaowan nodded, "I'll tell him."
After dinner, Cheng You took them to the pharmacy.
Apart from the pharmaceutical factory, the pharmacy was fully equipped.
It truly looked quite impressive.
Sun Xiaowan looked around and found it to be very spacious.
Especially the backyard, which was even larger than Cheng You's courtyard house.
"Cheng You, the rent must be quite expensive, right?"
Cheng You smiled, "There's no rent because I bought it!"
"What?!"
Three shocked faces.
Qi Ning quickly asked, "Sister-in-law, how much did you pay for it?"
Such a large place would definitely not be cheap.
Cheng You didn't intend to hide it and extended one finger, "Fifteen thousand."
She said it so casually, as if it were only fifteen hundred.
Qi Ning pinched her thigh. It hurt, so it wasn't a dream.
"Sister-in-law, fifteen thousand, was it cash?"
Cheng You glanced at her, "If this property were yours, would you come with me to handle the procedures without me paying you cash?"
Qi Ning shook her head, "Of course not."
But to come up with fifteen thousand to buy a storefront, probably very few people could do it.
For a moment, she couldn't tell if this was Cheng You's own money or if she was using Qi Chengyan's money.
However, given Qi Chengyan's doting on Cheng You, whose money it was didn't matter.
Sun Xiaowan asked, "Are you planning to set up a pharmaceutical factory in the back?"
"Yes. Although the place is small, it's better than the one in Wujing Village."
The place in Wujing Village couldn't be called a "factory"; it was merely a small workshop.
Before she left, she had left all the condensed dew from the spiritual spring in Wujing Village. Coupled with the medicinal materials purchased from Qili Village, it was enough to last for a while.
However, once the pharmaceutical factory here started operating, the supply of condensed dew would be greatly reduced, and it might not be enough to sustain the operations of both stores.
She was actually worried about it.
Before they had even left the pharmacy, they saw Chen Qin approaching.
Cheng You had left him a key last time and told him to come and see whenever he had time.
Chen Qin saw her and said, "Perfect, you're here. Shall we go and see how to plan the pharmaceutical factory?"
Cheng You quickly agreed and followed him inside.
The area of this pharmaceutical factory was less than a quarter of that of Huichun Hall.
However, as his new starting point, Chen Qin was still very diligent, explaining the process of setting up a pharmaceutical factory to Cheng You.
"Huichun Hall is a large pharmacy, renowned across the country. Since the reform, it has become state-owned and has introduced many advanced pieces of equipment, including washing machines, cutting machines, processing, and concentration equipment. If you want to make your pharmaceutical factory big, you should try to acquire these machines to improve production efficiency."
Cheng You: "..." She didn't need very high efficiency.
Because there wasn't enough condensed dew.
"I'll think of a way. Please help me plan it first."
After listening to Chen Qin's explanation, she felt that some machines were indeed necessary to ensure that the medicines produced met sanitary standards.
Seeing that she knew nothing, Chen Qin couldn't help but ask, "Do you really have a pharmacy in your hometown? Why do you seem to know nothing about this? How did you make medicine before?"
Cheng You nervously touched her nose, "The process of making medicine is basically the same. In a room, everyone divides the work."
In rural areas, there weren't even proper doctors; there were only barefoot doctors. They naturally didn't have the conditions of big cities, so they couldn't be too particular.
Chen Qin frowned and continued to measure the space.
He didn't believe Cheng You. When it came to opening a pharmaceutical factory, she was a complete novice. It was best to handle these matters personally.