Making a living by performing
The shopkeeper paused and looked at Su Qingli carefully, especially her pair of hands as beautiful as jade, which showed that she was an expert at playing musical instruments.
He showed an admiring look in his eyes, "Girl can also play the pipa?"
Qingzhu proudly added to the chorus, as playing musical instruments was her young lady's greatest skill.
"My young lady not only plays the pipa, she also plays other instruments. It's definitely worth it for the shopkeeper to have my young lady come."
Su Qingli smiled slightly and volunteered, not afraid of the shopkeeper's test to see if she was truly capable. "If you don't believe me, you can let me give it a try."
"Chunhong, get up and let this girl try." The shopkeeper ordered the vague female figure behind the screen.
"Yes." The woman named Chunhong stepped aside.
Su Qingli entered behind the handan screen, sat down and placed her green fingertips on the strings of the pipa. Holding the pipa in her arms, a very infectious music slowly flowed.
Chunhong and Su Qingli played the same song in completely different ways.
The shopkeeper was delighted to hear this and immediately made the decision to keep Su Qingli as the musician of his tavern. "I wonder what to call you, young lady."
"My surname is Jiang." Su Qingli neither revealed her full surname nor concealed her real name.
"Then Miss Jiang, please stay in our restaurant as a musician today. You can sell sachets in our restaurant. Selling sachets does not conflict with our restaurant's business." The shopkeeper readily agreed to this.
"Thank you for your understanding, shopkeeper."
Su Qingli bowed slightly as a token of gratitude.
Playing the pipa in Wanhe Building is not an easy task. One has to play for the whole day, and his wrists are tired. Su Qingli can only stop working when Wanhe Building closes at night.
"Miss Jiang, this is your salary. Take it and come back tomorrow. We at Wanhe Building are in need of a skilled musician like you."
Although the shopkeeper was giving money, his mouth was closed with a smile.
On the first day Su Qingli arrived at Wanhelou, she attracted a wave of diners and business became better, so the shopkeeper paid her more wages than Chunhong.
"I will come again tomorrow. Thank you for letting me stay." Su Qingli smiled with her cherry lips and expressed her gratitude again.
The master and servant walked out of Wanhe Restaurant in the moonlight, and used the money they earned to hire a carriage and rush back to the Prime Minister's Mansion.
In the carriage, Su Qingli asked about the sales of the sachets. She had been playing the pipa and had no time to take care of the sachets business, so she had to leave it to Qingzhu to sell. "Qingzhu, how are the sachets selling?"
"Miss, we have only sold half of our sachets. Can this Wanhe Restaurant really keep our sachet business going?" Qingzhu expressed doubt.
The first batch of sachets clearly sold very well in the market, so why did their sales take a sudden turn for the worse when they arrived at Wanhe Building?
Did they pick the wrong place?
"Qingzhu, there are few quick successes in this world. We were lucky to have the first batch of sachets, as we didn't run into dandies like Gu Jiuxiao and Li Que. We are already lucky to be able to sell this batch of sachets bit by bit through our own efforts."
Su Qingli did not expect the sachet business to make a profit immediately. It was only her first day playing the pipa at Wanhe Building. In a few days, this batch of sachets might be sold out one after another.
Today, she attracted a group of diners with her musical skills, and perhaps she will be able to attract more diners tomorrow and the day after tomorrow.
If more people come to Wanhe Building to shop, her sachets may sell faster.
"My lady, your hands cannot withstand such hard work. I am worried that your body cannot bear it."
Qingzhu sighed. Su Qingli played the pipa for a long time in Wanhe Building, sitting there for a whole day. If she continued playing for a long time, her frail body, who was still taking medicine, would probably be exhausted.
"I can still hold on, don't worry about me." Su Qingli patted Qingzhu's hand. Although she was exhausted, she could earn money with her own hands, which brought her one step closer to paying off her debts and leaving the Prime Minister's Mansion.
The round moon was shining brightly outside the carriage as it bumped along the way towards the Prime Minister's Mansion.
Soon, Su Qingli fell asleep leaning on Qingzhu's shoulder.
Qingzhu hugged Su Qingli with heartache, holding her body so that she could sleep better leaning on him.
When I returned to the Prime Minister's Mansion, it was already late at night.
Qingzhu reached out to wake Su Qingli, "Miss, we are at your house, please wake up."
Su Qingli rubbed her sleepy eyes and yawned.
"Who's knocking on the door late at night?"
The gatekeeper of the mansion came over impatiently to open the door. If the sound had not been so urgent and lasted for a long time, really disturbing his sleep, he would not have bothered to make the trip.
Qingzhu frowned and scolded, "It's the Madam who's coming back home, why don't you open the door quickly?"
"There is only one wife in the Prime Minister's Mansion. There is no room for two tigers in one mountain. I wonder which of you two wives will win the Prime Minister's favor in the end."
The servant who came slowly to open the door didn't take it seriously. Now that Liu Meishuang had arrived, everyone in the mansion was talking about the fact that Liu Meishuang was about to marry the Prime Minister.
Su Qingli was just a concubine in the Prime Minister's Mansion. Even though Fu Xuechen only married her, the Prime Minister's Mansion had to have a mistress after all, and it was impossible for a concubine to be in charge.
"Of course it's Miss Liu. She and the Prime Minister are childhood sweethearts. Don't choose the wrong side. Miss Liu can't tolerate any grain of sand in her eyes."
There was a hint of threat in the maid's reminder.
The servant knew the importance of the matter. Liu Meishuang seemed to be on the rise and was expected to become the future mistress of the Prime Minister's Mansion. Of course, he stood on Liu Meishuang's side.
Su Qingli had no time to pay attention to the two servants, nor did she want to argue about these right and wrongs. She and Qingzhu went straight into the mansion.
The two had been busy all day, especially Su Qingli, who was very sleepy. She just wanted to lie on the bed and sleep until dawn. She had no time to argue with these chattering people.
Qingzhu was just selling sachets in Wanhe Building, and she was not as tired as Su Qingli. She fetched hot water for Su Qingli to wash her feet, helped Su Qingli to go to bed, and then returned to her room.
On the second day, Su Qingli came to Wanhe Building again to work as a musician, dragging his somewhat heavy body.
"The musicians in your restaurant are very talented and have achieved such accomplishments." A familiar girl's voice came from her seat not far from the screen, only four or five steps away from Su Qingli.
Her eyes rested on the handan screen, and she really wanted to see the musician behind the screen.
"Caiyao, ever since you began studying under Miss Jiang, your appreciation of music has improved to a higher level. I am very pleased."
Qi Jinqian, who was sitting next to Qi Caiyao, looked at his niece who was obsessed with music with a smile.
Jiang Caiyao pursed her lips and finally looked away, "Hmph! Sixth Uncle, you said that with a good teacher like Sister Jiang, my taste buds skills wouldn't improve, wouldn't they?"
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