When it comes to hiring, Shen Qing first thinks of hiring female workers.
She wants to provide job opportunities for women.
She set up a small table outside the Gao family's silk shop to recruit workers, and hung a sign on it that read "Looking for Female Workers".
At first, some men came to inquire, but when they heard that only female workers were wanted, they all left cursing and swearing.
Shen Qing found it strange.
I want female workers, but you don't meet my requirements. I haven't wronged you, so why are you throwing a tantrum?
The job posting table remained set up for three or four days, but only men came to inquire; no women were seen.
Shen Qing was eager to start work, which inevitably made her anxious.
She asked Chunju, "There are many poor people in Jiangzhou. Don't they really need their wives to earn money to supplement their household income?"
Chunju said, "Poor people need money, but they also need wives to take care of their children and the elderly, so it's mostly the men who go out to work."
Shen Qing thought about it and agreed.
Seeing that she couldn't find any female workers and was looking worried, Chunju said, "Young mistress, why don't we hire male workers? If we keep waiting like this, the factory won't be able to open."
"No!" Shen Qing said firmly. "If there's no opportunity, then so be it. But now that there's an opportunity, I want to give it to women first!"
Women in this era had a low social status because they lacked opportunities for education, the ability to work, and income. As a result, they were tied to the home for their entire lives, bearing and raising children, with the husband as the head of the household. Some women even suffered beatings and verbal abuse from their husbands, and when they ran out of money, they were sold off.
This is practically how you treat tools.
Shen Qing couldn't stand such things.
"Shopkeeper..." a weak female voice suddenly appeared.
Shen Qing snapped out of her daze and looked up at the source of the sound.
She is a mother who is not very old.
She carried a baby on her back, her hair was disheveled, long bangs hung down her forehead, and her lips were pale and cracked.
But his eyes were clear, and you could tell he was an honest person.
Shen Qing quickly got up, poured her a cup of tea, and pushed a wooden stool aside, saying, "Come, please sit down and have some tea."
The other person was reserved, glancing at the tea and swallowing hard, not daring to take it or sit down.
She asked cautiously, "I heard you're hiring female workers. Manager, would you consider me?"
Shen Qing looked at the baby, who was only a few months old, on her back and asked, "Has the baby been weaned?"
"No, we let kids eat this until they're five or six years old."
Shen Qing hesitated, "That child hasn't been weaned yet, how are you going to work? We work from Chen Shi (7-9 AM) to Shen Shi (3-5 PM)."
Upon hearing this, the woman immediately knelt down before her.
Shen Qing was startled and quickly helped her up: "Let's talk this out, don't do this."
She refused to get up, clinging to Shen Qing's leg and crying, "Can't you just let the baby be on my back? I can carry the baby without it interfering with my work."
Shen Qing was conflicted.
She could tell that the woman came from a poor family and must be short of money to have to start looking for work when her child was only a few months old.
She really wanted to give her this job, but the place where they made rayon was filled with extremely fine fibers in the air, and she was worried it might be bad for the child.
Shen Qing helped the woman up and sat her down. He couldn't bear to refuse her directly, so he asked instead, "Do you have any family members who can take care of the baby? For example, your parents-in-law, can they help take care of the baby? Breastfeeding is not a problem. I can give you some time each day to go home and breastfeed the baby, but the baby cannot be brought to the factory."
The woman shook her head violently and cried, "My parents-in-law are both dead! My husband is a gambler; he gambles away all his wages. Not only me, but our children have nothing to eat and are starving..."
Shen Qing was furious.
It was another storm brought by a man.
She asked the woman, "What's your name, sister?"
"My name is Erhong."
“Sister Erhong, it’s like this,” Shen Qing tried her best to find a solution for her, “the factory really can’t let you bring your child to work, how about this…”
As they were talking, the table was suddenly kicked away.
Shen Qing looked at the newcomer in astonishment.
They were several male workers she had rejected a couple of days ago.
Her first reaction was to shield Erhong and Chunju, who were carrying children, behind her.
"What are you doing?" she glared at the thugs. "Why did you kick over my table?"
The thugs shouted, "You bitch! You only hire female workers and not male workers, what do you mean by that?"
Shen Qing roared angrily, "My factory! My business! It's none of your business if I want to hire female workers!"
The rioters also shouted, "If you hire only female workers, we grown men will have no work. How can we not beat you up?"
What kind of rogue logic is this?
Shen Qing was so angry that she was speechless.
The shopkeeper heard the shout and ran out, but when he saw that it was a group of big, burly men, he was so frightened that he stammered.
"You...you...if you keep causing trouble, I'll report you to the authorities!"
The leader of the thugs immediately grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up.
The shopkeeper's feet were off the ground; he was about to die.
Seeing this, Shen Qing quickly stepped forward to stop him.
"Let him go!" She tried to grab the thug's arm, but he swung his hand and she was immediately thrown to the ground.
Chunju screamed at the top of her lungs, "Murder! Murder! Help!"
Seeing that the shopkeeper was about to collapse, Shen Qing reached into her hair, pulled out a hairpin knife, and rushed towards the thugs.
She pressed the hairpin knife against the thug's carotid artery and threatened, "If you don't let go, I'll shove this knife down your neck!"
Upon hearing this, the thug calmly released the shopkeeper, turned around, and slapped her.
The man was strong, and Shen Qing was knocked to the ground, feeling dizzy and disoriented.
She forced herself to stay alert, gripped the hairpin knife, and charged at the thugs again.
If she can't subdue these people today, she'll never be able to set up a stall in front of her shop to recruit workers again!
This is her shop, her territory, her business. Why should these scoundrels say it's no good?
She rushed directly behind the shortest thug, and with lightning speed, grabbed his neck with her backhand, pressing the hairpin knife against his artery.
She glared at the thugs and yelled, "Get out of here! Or I'll stab you right now!"
The thugs didn't believe that a woman like her would dare to make a move, so instead of backing down, they smiled and pressed forward.
The situation was urgent, and Shen Qing was so nervous that she was sweating profusely.
She didn't want the hairpin knife to go in; she just wanted to scare these people.
The thugs seemed to understand her mindset and pressed closer and closer, forcing Shen Qing to retreat.
The shopkeeper collapsed to the side, struggling to breathe; Chunju cried and went around begging onlookers for help; and Erhong, carrying her child, had already collapsed to the ground in fear.
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