Erhong squatted in the yard, carrying the baby on her back, and holding a stone hammer, hammering something into a stone mill.
Shen Qing walked closer and saw that the stone mill was full of greenish residue, so she asked, "Sister Erhong, what are you making?"
Erhong raised her head, her face bruised and swollen.
Shen Qing squatted down in front of her anxiously: "What happened to your face? Who hit you?"
Erhong lowered her head in embarrassment and continued to pound her feet into the stone mill without saying a word.
Shen Qing understood and didn't press further, instead asking, "Are you making herbs?"
"I picked these from the mountain, ground them into vegetables, and fed them to the child. The child hasn't eaten anything for many days."
"You can't just eat anything from the mountain! If it's poisonous, it could kill the child!"
Erhong stopped talking and just cried, her tears falling into the stone mill.
Just then, a sound of beating and cursing and a child crying came from inside the house. Shen Qing got up and went inside.
A man who looked like a farmer was wielding a stick and was hitting a little girl hard, cursing, "Useless dog! All you do is eat, eat, eat! You've eaten me out of house and home! I might as well beat you to death!"
Shen Qing didn't have time to think. She stepped forward and shielded the little girl behind her, then looked at the man and asked, "What are you doing?"
The man's hand holding the stick paused, he hesitated for a few seconds, then cursed menacingly again: "Where did this bitch come from! What business is it of yours if I'm disciplining my own kid? Mind your own business! Get the hell out of here!"
After he finished cursing, he reached out to pull the girl hiding behind Shen Qing.
The little girl clung to Shen Qing's waist, crying, "Waaah, I don't want to... I don't want to..."
Shen Qing protected the little girl even more tightly.
She suppressed her emotions, looked directly at the man, and calmly said, "I'm here to give you money."
"What?" The man's eyes lit up instantly, and he threw aside the stick he was holding, replacing it with a smile. "What kind of silver are you giving me?"
Shen Qing nodded his chin at the low table beside him: "Sit down and talk."
The man quickly ran over and sat down, his face full of anticipation, like a dog seeing a bone.
Shen Qing took the little girl by his side, walked over and sat down, turning his head to look at the door: "Sister Erhong, come in and sit down."
Er Hong paused in his hammering of Qing Zha, stood up, wiped his hands on his apron, and walked in.
Before she could even sit down, the man anxiously asked Shen Qing, "You said you'd give silver, what kind of silver?"
Shen Qing ignored him, looked at Er Hong, and said, "I would like to invite Sister Er Hong to work as a weaver in my factory. She will be an apprentice for the first three months, and will be paid three taels of silver per month."
The man was initially very happy, after all, this was an era when the average monthly wage was one or two taels of silver, and earning three taels was something he never dared to dream of.
But when he thought about his wife going to work and there being no one to take care of the children, he changed his mind and said, "But Erhong is going to work, what will happen to the children? Who will take care of them?"
Shen Qing asked coldly, "Can't you bring it yourself?"
"What kind of grown man stays at home taking care of the kids?" The man turned his face away, looking like there was no room for negotiation.
Shen Qing was speechless and too lazy to talk to him anymore. He stood up and said, "If you don't want to, then forget it. I was originally going to say that if Er Hong could weave cloth independently in three months, I would give her five taels of silver as wages. If you don't agree, then forget it. Let Er Hong stay at home and take care of the child. See if you can earn five taels of silver a month."
The man swallowed hard, stealing glances at Shen Qing to see if she could afford five taels of silver a month.
The little girl, who had been hiding beside Shen Qing, said, "Father, if you earn five taels a month, that'll be thirty taels in six months. Then you can pay back the thirty taels of silver you owe in six months."
The man's resolute attitude softened somewhat.
Shen Qing asked the little girl, "Have you ever been to school?"
As far as she knew, daughters from poor families in this era had no opportunity to receive an education.
The little girl shook her head: "I want to go to school, but my mother said that we have no money at home and we still owe someone thirty taels of silver, so I can't go to school."
Shen Qing was surprised. He squatted down and looked the girl in the eye: "But you haven't been to school, how could you calculate that half a year is thirty taels?"
The little girl looked down and counted on her fingers: "Five taels a month, six five taels, that's thirty taels."
Shen Qing: "Then let me test you again. If it's six taels a month, how many taels is it in twelve months?"
The young girl immediately replied, "Seventy-two taels."
"Seven taels a month, how many taels would it be in thirteen months?"
"Ninety-one taels."
Shen Qing found it unbelievable.
Regardless of how the little girl calculated it, it is certain that despite never having been to school, she has an exceptional talent for mental arithmetic.
Shen Qing immediately made a bold decision.
She took the little girl's hand and sat down again, looking at Erhong and the man.
"Are you worried that no one will take care of the child, so you don't agree to let Erhong go out to work?"
The man nodded vigorously.
Shen Qing asked, "How many children do you have in total?"
"Just these two."
Shen Qing nodded: "How about this, leave the eldest daughter to me and let her learn how to do business with me. As for the younger son, I will build a small house in the side courtyard of the kesi workshop, where the children of the female workers can play together. They will all be looked after by my maids. After you finish work, you can take your children back."
She looked at Erhong: "Big sister, do you think this is okay?"
Erhong looked on in astonishment, unable to believe it.
The man nodded vigorously and confirmed with Shen Qing again: "So, three months later, Er Hong's salary will be five taels a month, right?"
Shen Qing recalled what Er Hong had said: men who are addicted to gambling often lose money so much that their whole family goes hungry.
Thinking of this, she said, "Yes, once Erhong can weave cloth independently, her monthly wage will be five taels, but..."
The man swallowed hard, his greedy eyes widening: "But what?"
"Two taels of silver will be paid each month, and the remaining three taels will be paid together at the New Year." After Shen Qing finished speaking, he turned to look at the little girl. "Come on, you calculate it. If your mother's monthly wage is five taels starting from June, and she receives two taels first and holds onto three taels, how much silver will she receive in January of the following year?"
The young girl hesitated for a moment and then said, "Twenty-three taels!"
Shen Qing then asked, "Why is it twenty-three taels, and not twenty-one taels?"
"From June to December, there are seven months in total. If you receive three taels of silver per month, that's twenty-one taels. And you can also receive two taels of silver from December in January, so the total is twenty-three taels."
Shen Qingzhen wanted to applaud!
She was very pleased, hugged the little girl tightly, and asked, "What's your name?"
The little girl innocently said, "My name is Su Lan."
"Sulan, will you come and study with me from now on?"
"Alright." Su Lan immediately jumped off the chair, knelt down, and bowed to Shen Qing. "Su Lan greets Master!"
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