Huang Wanzhen smiled and said, "Oh? How do you work hard?"

"My eldest cousin married in the local area. Her husband's family also runs a small embroidery workshop. My brother-in-law and his family are all very lazy. My eldest cousin raises silkworms, reels silk, dyes, weaves cloth, and embroiders by herself. She does so much work by herself. When I asked my brother-in-law to run a shop, he refused. When I was a child living with my grandmother, she fainted from exhaustion. Now she is only 36, but she is so tired that she can't even have her period. My brother-in-law and his mother actually despised my cousin for not being able to give him a son and divorced her."

Huang Wanzhen frowned, "Does your cousin have children?"

"Yes, I have three daughters. The third one was given to my sixth cousin's family."

Huang Wanzhen said disdainfully, "Your cousin is too confused."

Hongying quickly tried to make amends for her cousin, "There's nothing I can do. My grandmother's family doesn't want my cousin to get a divorce, saying it will affect their daughter's reputation. My cousin has no choice but to swallow her anger in order to support her daughter."

"Don't they say a mother is strong? She should be strong for her daughter."

Hongying was puzzled and said, "She had to compromise just for her daughter. How can she be strong as a mother? It would be fine if the child was older. If the child was younger, it would easily die. It would tie the mother down."

Afraid that Huang Wanzhen wouldn't believe it, Hongying opened her eyes wide and said very seriously, "Really? It's just like my cousin's husband and his family, they never take their daughters seriously. My two nieces who were raised at home are thinner than the other. When they were little, if my eldest cousin hadn't looked after them, they would have starved to death."

"Although my eldest cousin was divorced and returned home, she still found husbands for her two nieces. The eldest is seventeen, which is not a bad age, and the second is only fourteen. If it weren't for the last resort, my eldest cousin would not have been willing to marry her off so early."

Huang Wanzhen leaned forward slightly against the counter and asked, "We finally managed to raise her to the point where she can work. Will your cousin-in-law agree to marry her off?"

Hongying said as a matter of course, "To get married and have a son! His family is a bunch of lazy guys. Without my eldest cousin, how could they afford to marry? The betrothal gifts for both daughters were withheld by his family. The second son got married within two months and he married another virgin."

Huang Wanzhen listened to the gossip for a while and sighed, "Wow..., that's amazing——"

Hongying observed Huang Wanzhen's expression and asked, "Manager, what do you think of my cousin? Now that she's here, she's definitely a good worker."

Huang Wanzhen bent her fingers and tapped on the counter a few times. "Pa——" she slapped the counter. "Okay, let her try. I want to see what such a coward looks like."

Hongying was so happy that she didn't know what to say. "She's not a coward, she's just a little too traditional and too kind."

Huang Wanzhen straightened up, stretched out her hand, pointed, and said, "Your grandmother and aunt taught you all these things. Things like being virtuous, thrifty, and managing the household are all shackles that bind women. Look how much they've harmed your cousin, haven't they?"

Hongying hummed, agreeing, "My grandmother is the best at raising girls. My mother and my aunt are all very capable, and they don't eat much! My eldest cousin was also raised by my grandmother. When I was a child, I lived with my grandmother. Whenever my eldest cousin came home, she wouldn't eat and would work all day. Everyone praised her, especially my grandmother. While praising my eldest cousin, she would also belittle me, saying I was too lazy and no one would want me in the future."

"Pa—" Huang Wanzhen approached the counter again and slammed it hard. "Don't listen to her. Is having a man such a big deal? Only a fool would rush to be a free servant! Your eldest cousin was trained into a fool by your grandmother. She has ruined her granddaughter's life and she's still gloating over it..."

At this point, Huang Wanzhen remembered that this was Hongying's grandmother. It was not nice to speak ill of her elders in front of her. "Ahem, you go back to work. I have things to do..."

"Hello, Manager Huang."

Huang Wanzhen's embarrassment was immediately relieved by a male voice. Huang Wanzhen hurriedly turned around and saw Gao Zhixiang standing at the door of Jixiang Hall, looking at this side.

"Come in, you have something to talk to me about, right? Let's go to my office and talk." Huang Wanzhen raised her hand and waved it randomly in the air twice, then turned to Hongying and said, "Work hard. If you have anything, go find Xiuzhu."

Huang Wanzhen didn't need to count to know that the two days she had agreed with Gao Zhixiang had long passed. He hadn't come for such a long time, he must have been looking for another way out. He must have suffered another blow and only remembered her little temple. However, Huang Wanzhen didn't mind. After all, this would help to improve Gao Zhixiang's recognition and loyalty to the company, but the treatment given before had to be renegotiated.

"Manager Huang, I've made up my mind. I'm going to Beijing to work with you." Gao Zhixiang straightened his chest and raised his head, looking at Huang Wanzhen in front of him, as if he had made a great decision.

"Oh! Unfortunately, we've already hired a manager, and we've also hired Ms. Lin, the daughter of the Shanghai Education Bureau's secretary, as a senior manager. Her monthly salary is set at forty yuan."

"Hey! You know, more women are going to school and looking for jobs now. Our store is a women's business, so we are naturally more willing to hire female employees. Mr. Gao, please find another job. A college graduate like you is really wasted in our company."

Gao Zhixiang's expression suddenly changed. He clenched his hands, which were hanging at his sides, tightly, as if he wanted to crush all the hesitation and cowardice in his fists. "Manager Huang, please give me another chance. I don't want fifty dollars, just forty. I will work hard. I don't have much experience with cosmetics, but no one is born knowing everything. I can start as a clerk and gradually understand the products in our store. I studied chemical engineering, which is not unrelated to this industry."

Although Shanghai is a big city, the cost of living is also high. What's more, Gao Zhixiang has an elderly mother to support. He has just graduated from university for more than a year and has not saved much money. He has been unemployed for nearly half a year and his family is already stretched to the limit. Now, let alone finding a job elsewhere, he can't even afford the travel expenses to other places.

"Ah!" Huang Wanzhen sighed deeply. "I know Mr. Gao is a first-rate talent. Forty dollars is really unfair to you."

"I will not yield, I will!"

Huang Wanzhen knew Gao Zhixiang was currently going through a difficult period. To prevent him from switching jobs later when he'd recovered, she offered him a promise. "Hey! Since Mr. Gao doesn't feel wronged, and I have quite a few shops in Beijing, I'll let you work there for a while to deepen your understanding of the products."

"Let's set a probationary period. Now, when apprentices join the shop, the probationary period starts at one year. Let's not set it for one year, but just six months."