Lu Yunfeng wanted to return to Wangjia Village, and Zhao Fang wanted him to take Xiao Si back with him. "Xiao Yan has to guard the counter and collect payments these two days, and Xiao Zhou is also busy. There are a lot of people coming and going in the store, so let's send Xiao Si back."

She overheard a woman in the shop who was having trouble conceiving and was very anxious. She thought that if someone took her youngest son away when no one was looking, where would she find him? It would be safer to send him back to Wangjia Village. His mother-in-law could keep an eye on him, and Da Yun and Er Yun were also there. Everyone in the village knew her, and outsiders wouldn't dare to steal a child in the village; they would be beaten to death.

Knowing he was being taken home, Lu Xiaosi cried out that he didn't want to go back and tried to run away, but Qin Xiaozhou grabbed him and said, "Be good, the village is so much fun. Your older brother and I will take you home together."

Zhao Fang asked, "Xiao Zhou, are you going back too?"

"I've already found a shop to open a clothing store, and we've agreed on an opening date of half a month. I need to go back to the village to recruit embroiderers," Qin Xiaozhou teased Lu Xiaosi. "I need to recruit embroiderers in the village, and I'll have to ask the village chief for help."

Recruiting embroiderers would give the village girls a way to earn money, and if they could earn money, the villagers would become rich. How could anyone refuse such a good thing? The village chief excitedly agreed, "Great! Great! Your Lu family is going to become the most prominent family in our village. Lu family, you are clever and resourceful, and your business is growing bigger and bigger. You even thought of recruiting embroiderers in our village first, which shows that you care about the villagers. From now on, I will stand up for you in the village, and no one will dare to bully the Lu family."

Qin Xiaozhou went to the cloth shop across the street and bought ten bolts of cloth to take back to Wangjia Village. It was already evening when he got back to the village, and the sun hadn't set yet. The fields were lush and vibrant with life. Although the rainfall wasn't plentiful this year, at least the rice seedlings and peanuts he planted had sprouted and hadn't been killed by the drought. They looked much better than the previous two years.

The villagers were in high spirits as they worked. Right now, the women were watering the vegetables in front of and behind their houses and then taking the vegetables home to cook, waiting for the people working in the fields to return. When they saw the village chief returning with Lu's eldest son and wife, they called out from afar, "Village chief, you went to the city today? Da Yun is back too! I saw you and the village chief go to the county town this morning and thought you weren't in a hurry to come back. If I had known you were coming back today, I would have brought you a tael of salt. We've run out of salt at home, and we won't have anything to eat tonight."

A pound of salt costs 100 coins, and an ounce costs 20 coins, which is more expensive than pork. It's common for villagers to go without salt for several meals.

Lu Yunfeng responded, tied the boat to a wooden stake on the shore, slung his bamboo basket over his shoulder, and headed home, bidding farewell to the village chief. The village chief walked home with his head held high, put the things he was carrying on the table, and instructed his wife, "Give some to the children; these things can't be left out in this heat."

The village chief's wife opened the paper package. "Oh, what is this? It looks strange, but it smells sweet."

Several grandchildren gathered around, drawn by the aroma, saying, "Grandma, I want to eat some."

"And flowers, I want flowers, Grandma, I want flowers."

The village chief had a meal with the people from the yamen today and also saw the Lu family's shop, so he felt quite honored. "These are the things the Lu family sells in the county town. This palm-sized one is called a cake, and it costs sixty-six coins."

Wang Chao heard this as soon as he entered the room. He ran over to take a look and saw that the thing was indeed the size of a palm, decorated with flowers and sliced ​​red peaches. It looked pretty. "Is this thing really meant to be eaten?"

The village chief called his granddaughter over, "I remember you studied sewing and embroidery for a few years. Get ready, go to the Lu family tomorrow morning to apply for a job as an embroiderer."

Wang Yehong is fourteen years old this year, which is the age for marriage, but she is not engaged yet. She works in the village and is short and not slender. Her face is flat and round, which is the appearance of many girls and women in the village. This kind of figure is easier to find a husband in the countryside. The villagers think that she is strong, can work and bear children, and is very popular with the elders of her future husband's family.

"Grandpa, is the Lu family looking to hire embroiderers?"

The village chief relayed what Qin Xiaozhou had said today: "The Lu family is different now. Being an embroiderer is a way to make money. You're fourteen this year, so you can postpone your marriage for a year or two."

The village chief's wife was delighted, "It would be great to be an embroiderer!"

Being an embroiderer means earning a monthly salary, and it's a respectable profession. These skills are valuable assets when it comes to marriage, helping one secure a better match.

Before dawn the next day, the area outside the Lu family's fence was already crowded with people, making a lot of noise. Zhao Chunhua rubbed her hands together, saying, "Don't let my short and thick hands fool you, I'm quite skillful with needle and thread."

Guo Que pushed her eldest daughter, saying, "You're so old, why are you still competing with the girls for work? Don't you have any shame?"

Zhao Chunhua retorted, "Who are you calling shameless? I am thirty-six years old, but I am skillful and good at embroidery. The longer you embroider, the better you become at it. I supported my family with embroidery when I was still a young lady."

The commotion at the door almost escalated into a fight, so Wang Lan quickly got dressed and came to mediate. "Stop arguing, stop arguing, village chief, please try to calm things down."

Qin Xiaozhou came out of the house. The village chief had already calmed the people outside, so he said briefly, "I want to recruit embroiderers. I only want embroiderers who know how to embroider. Those who don't can go back."

Not all women knew how to sew or embroider. Poor families didn't have the fabric and thread to teach women these skills; farming was the priority.

Many women retreated outside dejectedly. Wang Yehong, who knew how to sew, stepped forward and said, "Sister-in-law Lu, I know how to sew."

Qin Xiaozhou invited people who knew how to embroider into the courtyard and found some leftover fabric scraps for them to embroider on the spot. Wang Lan also knew how to embroider, so she selected a few who looked good, including Zhao Chunhua, Li Zhen, and Wang Yehong, as well as three or four other people.

There's still another selection to be made here. Qin Xiaozhou is going to make clothes for the young lady and lady. The fabric must be silk or the softest fine cotton. Her hands must not have calluses that could snag the fabric.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!