As a woman, Liu Jiuniang never felt that she was inferior to men in any way.

But no one trusts you like that.

My brother and sister-in-law treat me like a piece of gold, moving me around as they please. They treat me like a sister when they need me, but ignore me when they don't.

In order to survive, this widow was fierce and intimidating, but she still couldn't stop those who peeped at her while she bathed.

But what could she do?

She was a woman, and when she returned to her parents' home, she was sold again.

Staying in that dead man's house offers a glimmer of hope.

But Liu Jiuniang never expected that this glimmer of hope would be given by Gu An'an.

The two had a lot of unpleasantness at the beginning, but now Gu An'an trusts him so much.

Seeing that Liu Jiuniang was about to give her all, Gu An'an quickly stopped her, saying, "We just need to do business. You don't need to say anything else. I already know everything."

The so-called filial piety and loyalty between ruler and subject, father and son, are actually shackles that the emperor himself puts on people.

Feudal dynasties were most cruel and unreasonable in their oppression of ordinary people and women.

Gu An'an couldn't overthrow the dynasty, nor could she rise up and lead the people into a new era. What could she do?

It was just helping to take care of those lonely and helpless women to the best of my ability.

That's all.

...

Jiang Mingyi was quite enthusiastic about helping write the job posting. "Does that mean you only want women?"

"No need," Gu An'an thought for a moment, "This doesn't need to be written down."

Anyway, I'll have to do an interview later, so I can just kick them out during the interview.

Jiang Mingyi nodded, and finished writing the job advertisement on the bright red paper in one stroke. He read the advertisement aloud word by word, which made Jiang Mingzhu laugh.

Chen Bei asked, puzzled, "What are you laughing at, Pearl?"

I laughed at my brother, saying that Mother is not illiterate, she just doesn't know how to write very well.

There's no need to recite it like that.

The young master of the Chen family couldn't help but laugh, "If Sister Gu wants to practice calligraphy, I can teach you. Actually, practicing calligraphy can help you calm your mind and is quite simple."

In the past few days, Chen Bei has become familiar with the children in the family. As a young master from a prominent family, he knows a lot of things and is very patient in teaching the other children.

Of course, except for Jiang Mingyi.

There's probably some distance between boys of similar age.

Jiang Mingyi and Chen Bei's relationship has always been rather cold.

Chen Bei didn't mind at all. He got along very well with Jiang Mingzhu and her siblings, and even became good friends with Jiang Mingxu and Bao'er.

Now that he's offering to teach Gu An'an calligraphy, Gu An'an is both amused and exasperated. "Thank you, A'bei, but I'm a bit busy lately and I'm afraid I won't be able to."

Is there anything I can help you with?

This young master of the Chen family, who is skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, is not from a civil engineering background, so he really can't help Gu An'an with this matter.

She still needs to find someone who knows how to do construction work to carefully remove the bricks, so as not to collapse the house again.

Jiang Mingzhu seemed thoughtful after hearing this. "Mother, what... when are you planning to do it?"

"Let's look for someone tomorrow, there's no rush. The incense shop still needs some tidying up, and I also need to prepare new recipes."

Gu An'an didn't plan to make any complicated dishes; simple and easy-to-make dishes would be fine.

However, anything too simple is easily copied by others.

I need to think about it carefully.

"By the way, Yi'er, it's your birthday the day after tomorrow. Is there anything you'd like to eat? I'll make it for you later."

Jiang Mingyi shook his head upon hearing this, "There's no need for that."

I'm already busy with the new shop, so how can I take care of my family?

"Then I'll make you a bowl of longevity noodles later." Gu An'an thought for a moment; the things she had asked someone to bring from the capital should arrive tomorrow.

That was a birthday gift for Jiang Mingyi.

The boy should like it.

Gu An'an went to the kitchen to study recipes, while Jiang Mingyi continued reading.

Chen Bei, on the other hand, was in the courtyard making little rabbits with Bao'er.

Jiang Mingzhu found an excuse to go out, and seeing that no one was following her, she slipped into the courtyard diagonally opposite.

This courtyard is much more spacious than her house.

She also heard the voice of someone she knew.

"Here is a thousand taels of silver, enough for you, Boss Hong, to make a living in Jiangnan."

The incense shop owner hurriedly accepted the silver note, his eyes filled with excitement. "Thank you, sir. May I ask your name?"

"That's not your concern. Let's go."

Mr. Hong was humiliated and didn't know what to say, so he quickly took the money and left.

In reality, that shop could only sell for a maximum of 150 taels of silver.

The old man asked him to sell it for 120 taels, and he did.

So, besides the 120 taels for Madam Gu, there's an extra 1,000 taels of silver, which is enough.

One of his cousins ​​worked at a shipyard in Jiangnan, and he made quite a bit of money doing overseas trade.

I invited him to do this together a while ago, but Boss Hong didn't have the capital.

With over a thousand taels of silver in hand, one could set up a small business in Jiangnan and still have a considerable amount left over. It would also be good to engage in maritime trade.

Boss Hong was lost in his daydreams of making a fortune, completely oblivious to Jiang Mingzhu standing there.

The people in the courtyard quickly came out and smiled when they saw Jiang Mingzhu, "Zhu'er is here, come in quickly."

Upon seeing this burly man, Jiang Mingzhu politely greeted him, "Uncle Liu, is my father home?"

Who else could it be but Lao Liu who was talking to Boss Hong just now?

"He's not here. He went out and I don't know when he'll be back. What's wrong?"

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