After severing ties with the Cui family, Hong Xiaodong had no more scruples and proceeded to ridicule Wang Xiuxiu relentlessly.
She was sharp-tongued and her words struck Wang Xiuxiu's heart directly.
But Hong Xiaodong always had a habit of being a jerk. He would deliberately hang around in front of Wang Xiuxiu from time to time, muttering, "Oh, isn't this our young lady? What, the Cui family doesn't want you anymore? Now you know to come back and work? What a pity, our family can't afford to support idle people. If you're not good enough, you should find someone to marry as soon as possible and stop getting in the way here!"
There are ways to deal with people like this.
She knew in her heart that Hong Xiaodong only dared to be so arrogant because Chen Chunhua no longer supported her.
Having lived in the Wang family for so long, she was confident that if she really broke ties with her, she might not necessarily suffer a loss.
But now, she simply doesn't have the will to fight with Hong Xiaodong anymore.
Wang Xiuxiu's mind was no longer on these trivial matters, but on how to leave this home and find her own way out.
Wang Xiuxiu knew she couldn't rely on anyone anymore, and she didn't want to be manipulated by anyone anymore.
She had to find a way to leave the Wang family on her own.
My first choice is to go out and find a job.
Wang Xiuxiu had money, but lacked a suitable excuse to break free from the Wang family's control.
Actually, Wang Xiuxiu felt quite sorry for him.
Although there were some biases during their escape, Wang Degui never abandoned her and brought her to Jinzhou with him.
She kept this kindness in her heart.
Now, she is considering leaving home, but she also wants to help them.
So she found Chen Chunhua, who was filled with bitterness and resentment.
Wang Degui and his son Wang Chengwu raise fish in a fishpond. Although they can make a living, no amount of money is enough.
A few days ago, she caught him copying books in the dark in the middle of the night. When she pressed him for details, she found out that he wanted to sell them to a bookstore to ease the family's financial burden.
Chen Chunhua was both anxious and angry. After thinking it over, she decided that she should send him back to the academy as soon as possible.
“Mother, I’ve heard that people from Jinzhou use exquisite things, even their cuffs are embroidered with flowers and grass. Do you think I could continue to take on some handkerchief embroidery work at the embroidery workshop?” Wang Xiuxiu asked tentatively.
Upon hearing this, Chen Chunhua's eyes lit up instantly.
She was already worried about the family's money, but when she heard Wang Xiuxiu offer to take on work at the embroidery workshop, hope was immediately rekindled in her heart.
"My son, you are truly my good daughter! Let's go now, and I'll accompany you to the embroidery room to ask you properly!" Chen Chunhua said excitedly with a beaming smile.
Back when they lived in Yazhou, Chen Chunhua was always reluctant to go to the county.
Wang Xiuxiu couldn't understand why they were being so proactive now, so she could only attribute it to their family's dire need for money.
She sighed inwardly, but said nothing more, and simply followed silently behind Chen Chunhua.
---
Wang Xiuxiu's job search was not very smooth.
Jinzhou is not a remote place like Yazhou. There are many embroidery workshops here, and there is no shortage of people who know how to embroider handkerchiefs.
The embroidery workshops here all employ embroiderers in their shops. No one is willing to hire someone like Wang Xiuxiu who wants to take on casual work.
After asking around, I still couldn't find a shop that would take my embroidery work.
Just as she was feeling down, Chen Chunhua turned her attention to Wang Xiuxiu.
Wang Xiuxiu felt her gaze and a chill ran through her body. She had a vague sense of foreboding.
"Xiuxiu, look at our family's situation. We're not well-off, and I can't bear to see you suffer along with us..."
Chen Chunhua's gentle tone only made Wang Xiuxiu more wary.
It's obvious that Chen Chunhua was up to no good!
Sure enough, after rambling on for a while, Chen Chunhua finally got to the point, "Xiuxiu, what do you think? Should Mother send you to the embroidery workshop as an apprentice?"
Wang Xiuxiu felt a pang of anxiety, but her face remained impassive.
She knew that rather than becoming an apprentice, Chen Chunhua intended to "sell" her to the embroidery workshop in exchange for money.
She sneered inwardly, but her face showed a troubled expression.
Chen Chunhua stared at Wang Xiuxiu, and seeing that she didn't respond, she immediately tried to persuade her earnestly: "Xiuxiu, even if it weren't for the family, your mother would still want to persuade you. I've lived in wealthy families before, and I know that those families value girls who are good at embroidery the most. Although you are skilled, you are still far behind those who have formally studied. Why don't you go and learn for two years, and when you get married, you'll be well received by your husband's family, won't you?"
Wang Xiuxiu lowered her head, pretending to think, but when she looked up, her eyes held a pleading look.
"Mother, you are right. I understand your good intentions. I only have one request, and I hope you can grant it."
In the Wang family, apart from Hong Xiaodong occasionally challenging her authority, Chen Chunhua always had the final say.
Now that he heard that even this softie Wang Xiuxiu dared to make demands, he immediately turned sour.
She looked at Wang Xiuxiu coldly, her tone tinged with impatience: "Speak, what is your request?"
Wang Xiuxiu didn't care about any of that. With tears welling up in her eyes, she looked at Chen Chunhua and said in a choked voice, "Mother, I still want to be able to take care of you and Father in the future. Please don't sell me to the embroidery shop. I'll wait until I finish my studies so I can support my younger brother's education!"
"Moreover, with my younger brother being so promising, if he achieves success in the future and his colleagues find out that he has a sister who sold herself into servitude, it might give them something to use against him..."
Wang Xiuxiu's incoherent speech, in Chen Chunhua's eyes, sounded like a little girl afraid of leaving home, but it lacked a certain deliberate effort.
Even his earlier displeasure with her had faded considerably.
Chen Chunhua sighed, her tone softening slightly: "My son, don't worry, your mother would never do that! Not to mention your father, even I, your mother, can't bear to see you away from home for too long!"
Chen Chunhua had actually thought of signing a ten- or twenty-year contract with the embroidery workshop, which would save her from having to pay for her dowry and also allow her to have some money to support her family.
But after hearing Wang Xiuxiu's words, he really did change his mind.
Selling her to the embroidery workshop would only earn them some money for selling her body, which is dead money.
In the long run, Wang Xiuxiu has some talent. If she can master it, she can make money for her family directly. Wouldn't that be wonderful?
Although the conditions have been relaxed, Wang Xiuxiu's employment prospects are still not very optimistic.
In those embroidery workshops, to prevent the embroiderers from running away after completing their training, contracts were signed for ten or even several decades.
People like Wang Xiuxiu, who want to do short-term jobs, are really not wanted by employers.
Just when Chen Chunhua was about to give up, by some miracle, they actually found an embroidery workshop that desperately needed staff.
That family recently received a batch of urgent orders, and they didn't have enough of their own embroiderers, so they thought of hiring a few to tide them over for the time being.
But precisely because of this, they have been unable to find anyone.
After hearing Wang Xiuxiu's purpose, the steward decided to test her first by having her embroider a peony branch.
Wang Xiuxiu controlled her technique and embroidered a flower in an ordinary way.
The steward examined it for a while. The embroidery was decent, but its speed was impressive, which was exactly what they needed!
It would be reasonable to teach her some simple and commonly used techniques, and then refine the patterns.
Wang Xiuxiu and Chen Chunhua did not want to sign a long-term contract, but the manager did not care. In any case, they were only employing her for a short period of time and would not teach her any special skills, so he agreed.
Chen Chunhua then took it upon herself to sign a six-month contract with Jinxiufang on behalf of Wang Xiuxiu.
When I got home that evening, I told Wang Degui the reason, and naturally he didn't object.
But time was tight, so the embroidery workshop decided to send someone to pick them up first thing the next morning.
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