Nianjie and several children ran around in the yard, while Zhang Xiue and Qin Xiaoniang tended to the flowers and plants in the yard when they had nothing to do.
After Jiang Huaifu finished dealing with matters in Xizhou, he stayed in Jiangning. Song He'er didn't know where he lived, only that he had a wet nurse in Jiangning who had connections, and that the wet nurse might be with her.
“He’er, we’ve moved here and we don’t have anything to do. Why don’t we do some handicrafts and sell them at the market?” Zhang Xiu’e couldn’t stay idle for a moment; her mind was full of making money.
Song He'er put down her things and patiently explained to her, "Third Aunt, Jiangning is not like Xiaoye City. There are very few stalls there. Most of them are restaurants, teahouses, and entertainment venues. The high-ranking officials and nobles in Jiangning City would look down on our little trinkets."
“Even if they look down on it, they still need to eat, right? We can make some fancy pastries and sell them at the night market. Once all the restaurants and teahouses have closed, we’ll have sold them all. It’s hard work, but we can make money.”
Zhang Xiue's meaning, in modern terms, would be equivalent to "selling late-night snacks".
Song He'er didn't disagree with Zhang Xiu'e's suggestion, but the restaurants and teahouses here were basically open all night and full of customers, so there were hardly any people on the streets. If she went door-to-door selling things, she wouldn't sell many items and would be exhausted.
"Third Aunt, don't complain about not having much work to do. Jiangning is a big place, and we'll find a suitable way to make a living. If you're really bored, you can go work as an assistant in a workshop. It's just that dyeing and cutting might be a little harder than cooking."
Upon hearing that she had something to do again, Zhang Xiue immediately smiled broadly. "That's great! I can do it. I can do anything. Just don't leave me idle at home."
“Third Aunt, staying at home doesn’t necessarily mean being idle. Sister Nian needs to learn some things, and you can teach her while you’re at home.”
"Hey, what do I know? You know I'm completely uneducated. Leave these things to your mother and Chun Di. I'll just do the chores and earn some money. Now that we've lost our steamed bun shop, we have to buy all the ingredients ourselves, which costs a lot of money. If I go out and earn money, I'd be happy to give it all to everyone, let alone give it to our family."
Song He'er knew that these were Zhang Xiu'e's heartfelt words, so she nodded in agreement.
Two days passed, and Jiang Huaifu still did not appear.
Based on his usual practice, he would come over to greet Song He'er as soon as she moved to Jiangning.
But Song He'er hadn't heard from him in a while, and she hadn't even seen Ah Lu and Ah Qing, who were by his side.
On the morning of the third day, Song He'er planned to take Zhang Xiu'e to the silkworm breeding workshop for a look.
Since they had just arrived in Jiangning, they didn't want to attract too much attention, so they didn't take a horse-drawn carriage and walked all the way.
Zhao Ruzhen is a skilled businessman. In just a short time, business in the workshop has become increasingly booming, and the inventory has filled the entire warehouse.
When Song He'er arrived, she saw Zhao Ru's niece, Zhu'er, checking accounts at the counter.
Looking up, she saw that a distinguished guest had arrived and hurriedly went forward to greet her. However, after seeing through the white veil under the hat and realizing that the visitor was Song He'er, her mood instantly soured.
"Miss Song... Miss Song has arrived. Please come inside."
"Sister, you must be working very hard. There must be a lot to do in the workshop."
The way she called her "sister" made Zhao Zhuer feel incredibly embarrassed. "It's no trouble at all... Aunt is behind us, I'll go call her for you."
"No need, I can go there myself."
"oh....."
Song He'er noticed her flustered expression and sensed something was amiss. Was she a tiger? Why did she look at her as if someone was about to devour her?
Zhang Xiu'e, who was standing nearby, also noticed something was wrong. "He'er, is that woman one of your helpers? She looks strange, like she has ill intentions. I'm reminding you, you have to check your employees regularly, or you'll end up getting ripped off and have nowhere to cry!"
"She's just a little girl, what bad intentions could she possibly have? Auntie, you're overthinking it. Let's go inside and take a look."
Song He'er knew that she was just trying to win over Jiang Huaifu, but she hadn't seen anything else.
"Little girl? Don't forget, she's older than you! If you don't pay attention, you'll be taken advantage of by her, and then it will be too late to regret it."
"Alright, Auntie, I understand. Let's go inside quickly."
Zhang Xiue then shut her mouth and stopped talking. When she walked to the innermost part of the store, she looked at him in disbelief. This small storefront on the outside was so big inside, and there were no less than dozens of employees. How much money must they make in a day? It's much more profitable than selling steamed buns.
Zhao Ru was supervising the work from a distance when he saw guests arriving, so he put down his work and came over.
However, she had better eyesight than Zhao Zhuer and recognized Song He'er's identity at a glance.
"Young lady, you've arrived! It's been so long since I've seen you. How have you been?"
"Thank you for your concern, Madam Zhao. I'm here today for no other reason than to arrange for someone to come in and do some work."
As she spoke, Song He'er pulled Zhang Xiu'e to Zhao Ru's side. "This is my third aunt. She's a good person and quick-witted. She's just sitting at home doing nothing, so I thought I'd arrange for her to work here. I hope you'll give her some guidance in the future, Madam Zhao."
Zhao Ru's emotional intelligence is much higher than that of her foolish niece. She knows what to say to please people, and even if she is unhappy inside, she does not show any opposition on the surface.
"The person you arrange is naturally the best, so please don't offer any advice or guidance. Wouldn't that just embarrass me?"
Zhang Xiue immediately saw through the man's shrewdness, but she disdained arguing with such a person and disliked those who showed up too soon. So she simply smiled faintly and replied, "I have no experience with silkworm rearing, let alone silk. I hope you will be lenient with me in the future, Madam Zhao."
"Yes, yes, that's how it should be."
After explaining these things, Song He'er planned to take Zhang Xiu'e around Jiangning. However, before they even left the workshop, they noticed two suspicious-looking employees staring at them.
Zhang Xiu'e felt a little awkward, so she asked in a low voice, "He'er, didn't you notice that those two people over there are acting strangely? They keep sneaking glances this way, I wonder what they're looking at."
Following Zhang Xiue's gaze, Song He'er saw two servants brewing medicine in the side room not far away, glancing over at each other as they worked.
"Madam Zhao? Is someone sick in the workshop?"
Zhao Ru's face paled. "No...no one is sick..."
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