Shen Qing quickly helped Su Lan up.
The more she looked at the child, the more she liked him; perhaps this was the fate between people.
Su Lan is good at math, like a living keyboard. Shen Qing also needed a helper, so he immediately decided to take Su Lan under his wing.
She shielded Su Lan by her side and asked the man and Er Hong, "Just as Su Lan calculated, we'll take two taels of silver each month for now, and at the New Year, I'll settle all the wages owed to me, totaling twenty-one taels, in one lump sum. How about that?"
Erhong kept her head down and didn't say a word.
When the men are present at home, women have no right to speak.
"That won't do!" The man slammed his fist on the table, as if Shen Qing had stolen his wages. "What if you run away? Who are we supposed to ask for our wages?"
Shen Qing's expression was serious: "You can run away, but you can't hide. The Gao family's shop and house are right there. Do you think they'll run away because of your meager wages?"
The man thought about it and agreed, but still wanted to get the money first, insisting, "That's hard to say! No way! Withholding wages is absolutely unacceptable!"
Shen Qing smiled and stood up: "Then forget it, I'll hire other female workers."
When she turned around, she saw Sulan looking at her pitifully, and she winked at Sulan.
As soon as she stepped out of the yard, the man chased after her from inside the house: "Wait! Wait! I agree to withhold my wages!"
Shen Qing smiled slightly, turned around, and reached out her hand to Su Lan, who immediately ran to her side.
She said to Erhong and her husband, "Sister Erhong, come to the shop to find me tomorrow. I'll arrange some work for you, and your wages will start from tomorrow. As for Sulan, if you don't mind, you can come with me today and stay with me at the Gao family's house."
Erhong hesitated for a moment, but the man immediately agreed.
He had wanted to beat his daughter to death a long time ago, and now that someone had taken her in, he couldn't be happier.
Shen Qing brought Su Lan back to the Gao family. The gatekeeper asked, "Young mistress, who is this young lady?"
“She is my apprentice, named Su Lan. She will be living in the Gao family’s house from now on.”
After Shen Qing finished speaking, he led Su Lan into the house, and no one dared to stop him.
Su Lan walked along, looking around with amazement in her round little eyes.
She had never seen such a beautiful house.
Shen Qing instructed Chunju to clean up the room next to hers for Sulan to live in, and then take Sulan to take a bath and change into clean clothes.
Chunju was happy to have a companion, and she took Sulan's hand to tidy up the house together.
Shen Qing returned to his room, sat down at his desk, and entered Er Hong's name and wages into the roster.
She was actually very grateful to Erhong. If it weren't for Erhong, she wouldn't have thought of setting up a nursery in the factory. She believed that with this nursery, recruiting female workers wouldn't be a problem.
She also wanted to hire a teacher to teach the children to read and write.
Shen Qing also included the expenses for the teacher and the nursery in the budget.
After working so hard, it got dark.
The slightly ajar door was pushed open a crack, and Su Lan said softly, "Master, it's time for dinner. Sister Chunju asked me to invite you to dine with us."
Shen Qing snapped out of her daze and beckoned to Su Lan, who was leaning against the door, "Su Lan, come in."
Su Lan cautiously pushed open the door and walked in, her face flushed.
She changed into a new outfit, a smaller version of a traditional Chinese dress. Her hair was also washed clean, and Chunju helped her style it into two pretty little buns.
The little girl washed herself clean and dressed up nicely, becoming even more adorable.
Shen Qing patted his leg: "Su Lan, sit down, I'll teach you how to use an abacus."
Su Lan lowered her head; she dared not.
Shen Qing urged her again before she blushed and sat down on his lap.
She was very clever; Shen Qing only had to demonstrate twice before she understood how to use the abacus.
Shen Qing was satisfied and gave her some homework, then took her to a restaurant for a meal.
Madam Gao Liu had already taken her seat and was sipping her porridge when she saw her holding the hand of an unfamiliar little girl. She asked, "Where did this girl come from?"
Shen Qing settled Su Lan into a seat and said calmly, "My apprentice will help me with my business in the future."
Madam Gao Liu sized up Su Lan, her eyes clearly showing dissatisfaction. She said to Shen Qing, "If you want a child, the other branches of the Gao family have plenty of children. Why bother going outside to take in these dubious ones?"
Shen Qing had witnessed the power of the Gao family firsthand. From a genetic standpoint, the Gao family's children were not suitable for adoption, and she didn't want them either.
But she wouldn't say these things to Gao Liushi in front of Su Lan and the other servants. Instead, she said, "This child has a talent for arithmetic. I will personally train him, and he will be able to help me in the future. The other children in the Gao family may not be able to endure this hardship."
Madam Gao thought about it and agreed. She sighed deeply, picked up her chopsticks, and prepared to eat. Then, remembering something, she looked at Shen Qing again: "If you were a girl, it would be good to have a child. It's better than having nothing at all. Sigh..."
Shen Qing was too lazy to talk to her about these things, so he didn't respond and instead served food to Su Lan.
After dinner, Su Lan went back to her room to do her homework. Shen Qing was also tired after a long day and fell asleep quickly.
The next day, I got up and opened the door. Su Lan was sitting at the doorway.
The little girl, around ten years old, was dressed neatly and sat obediently on a small stool, holding a notebook in both hands.
Shen Qing was still half asleep and didn't immediately realize there was a little girl in the house. After a moment of hesitation, she asked, "Su Lan, what time did you get up?"
"Master, I got up at 3 AM."
Shen Qing exclaimed in surprise, "Yin Shi (3-5 AM)? It wasn't even dawn yet!"
"Sulan, get up and do your homework."
Shen Qing felt that the child was really sensible, and was both happy and gratified. She led the child into the house and gave her her own hand warmer.
After checking Su Lan's homework, which was all correct, Shen Qing decided to take her to the shop today.
When they arrived at the shop, Erhong was already there.
Su Lan rushed into her mother's arms, affectionately calling out "Mom," and also reported to Er Hong that she had gotten all her homework right.
Shen Qing smiled and invited the mother and daughter into the shop.
She sent Chunju to the silk weaving workshop to process the soybean fibers in the courtyard, while she continued recruiting workers outside the shop. Sulan, meanwhile, learned accounting from the shopkeeper.
Another day passed without anyone showing interest; Shen Qing still couldn't find any female workers.
As darkness fell, she prepared to pack up her stall. Er Hong also finished work and came to see Su Lan.
Shen Qing stood and chatted with her for a few minutes, asking her if her child was getting used to working with her today.
Erhong said, "The baby is very used to it. Chunju plays with him, and I come out to feed him when it's time. Chunju also helps to lull the baby to sleep. It's very nice."
She was very grateful to Shen Qing for giving her this job, and immediately knelt down in front of Shen Qing.
Passersby, seeing this, thought there was some excitement to be had and stopped in their tracks.
Shen Qing quickly helped Er Hong up.
Erhong bowed to her and cried, "Boss Shen, thank you so much for giving me this opportunity! Not only did you give me work, but you also helped me take care of my child! I am so grateful to you! I don't know how to repay you!"
"I'm a woman too, and I hope all women can live well!" Shen Qing said with a smile. "Besides, I'll hire a tutor to teach the children to read and write. You can focus on your work; the children will be taken care of and taught by a tutor, so there won't be any problems!"
Erhong immediately knelt down again and kowtowed to her.
Shen Qing quickly helped the person up again.
At this moment, a woman in the crowd asked, "Shopkeeper, if we go to work for you, can we bring our children along to study?"
Shen Qing quickly nodded: "Yes, we are hiring female workers! All female workers can bring their children to the school in the factory, and I will arrange for teachers to teach the children to read and write!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com