Song Ning was looking at cloth at Yu Niangzi's place when someone came in from outside; it was Magistrate Wu.
"Oh dear, Miss Song, you should have at least let me know you've arrived so I could have come to fetch you!" Magistrate Wu rushed in and said loudly.
Song Ning smiled and said, "I'm here to do business. The magistrate is busy with official duties, so I won't disturb you any longer."
"No rush, no rush. Doing business is great. I've been looking forward to seeing you do business in Yongning County."
Magistrate Wu's enthusiasm was even greater than that of Lady Yu.
"Don't worry, Magistrate. I still have a shop here. Once the road is repaired, I'll definitely come here often."
She needed a lot of fabric to make cotton-padded clothes for the army camp, so Yu Niangzi's weaving workshop could have a long-term business. In addition, with the fabric she would sell in the future, her business would definitely be booming.
“If Miss Song needs any help, please don’t hesitate to ask. Don’t worry, I guarantee I’ll handle it perfectly for you,” Magistrate Wu hurriedly said.
"In that case, I do have something that I need your help with, Magistrate."
"you say."
“Right now, there are only a dozen or so people here with Lady Yu, which is still not enough. If you have time, Magistrate, please help find some reliable women to work here. Their wages will be the same as those for the current workers. Magistrate, please also make it clear to them that we need to rush to finish a batch of cloth, so we may be a bit busy.”
Magistrate Wu nodded: "Don't worry, there are plenty of idle people in this county. Those who missed it last time are still complaining that they came too late."
Song Ning then said to Yu Niangzi, "Yu Niangzi, you need to find two men to help you watch over the courtyard, just in case."
Previously, the things at Lady Yu's place were worthless, and even thieves wouldn't bother with them. But once word gets out and her reputation spreads, it might be unsafe to leave without hiring two guards beforehand.
"Don't worry, I'll save you the trouble."
After giving the instructions, Song Ning went to her shop.
As soon as he entered, the shopkeeper immediately greeted him: "Boss, you've finally arrived."
"What's wrong?"
The shopkeeper laughed: "The things you left in the shop last time have already been bought."
Song Ning was taken aback. Someone actually bought it? It seems there are still wealthy people in Yongning County.
"Did the shopkeeper use that thing?"
The shopkeeper squinted his eyes: "I've used it, it's really good stuff. The few pieces you put in the shop have all been bought up. These days, people have been asking when we'll restock?"
Song Ning asked Li Xingwang to take a bag from the car and a few more coins: "I've taken ten coins this time. If these are sold out and someone else comes to ask, you should register their name and request and then deliver them to Lady Yu in Guiping Lane in the west of the city."
The shopkeeper was a native of the area, so he naturally knew about Yu Niangzi's dye shop.
"Yes, boss, don't worry, I will definitely remember it."
Because of the few bars of soap that Song Ning left behind last time, the shop has had a rare customer.
Just as Song Ning was planning to see how to renovate the shop, people arrived from outside.
As soon as he entered, he called out, "Shopkeeper, do you still have that stuff from last time?"
The shopkeeper immediately greeted them, "Yes, yes, we just received the goods. Luckily you came early."
As he spoke, he began to introduce the person.
Seeing this, Song Ning didn't disturb them and left with Li Xingwang.
Li Xingwang asked in confusion, "Didn't you say you were going to renovate the shop? I looked at it, and it does look a bit old."
Song Ning felt ashamed. Was it that she didn't want to, or that her wallet wouldn't allow it?
Right now, let's focus on making money first, and worry about other things later.
After leaving the shop, Song Ning wandered around the street for a while before being summoned by Magistrate Wu.
Magistrate Wu even set up a special recruitment registration office in the yamen. Anyone who wanted to come could register their name first, and then they would be selected from those registrations.
Magistrate Wu meant that he wanted to see her for himself.
A number of people were standing in the courtyard. The county magistrate had arranged them into a line, waiting for Song Ning to select someone.
Song Ning didn't know much about Yongning County, so he asked Magistrate Wu to help him find someone. After all, Magistrate Wu was an official, and the person he found was relatively reliable. Moreover, even if someone had ulterior motives, they would have to think twice.
"We are selecting women who will be weaving, so those who know how to weave will be given priority. If we have enough, the rest will have to wait until next time."
Currently, Song Ning is short-staffed, so recruitment is not as strict. However, as the scale gradually expands in the future, a probationary period will be necessary.
When she went to Lady Yu's place today, she observed the women weaving cloth. Some of them were obviously not good at it, and their speed was much slower than others. Moreover, the cloth they wove was obviously not as good as the others.
Song Ning didn't say it explicitly, but simply asked Yu Niangzi to teach her properly again.
There must have been hundreds of people who signed up, but she only wanted twenty, so many people hung their heads.
"Don't worry about the rest of you. We'll definitely hire more people in the future. If you don't know how to weave or do handicrafts, you can go back and practice first. You'll get priority next time."
No matter when, mastering a skill is always important.
After screening the candidates once, the rest were handed over to the county magistrate.
The next day, Magistrate Wu sent the selected woman to Lady Yu.
Song Ning didn't linger. He loaded the cloth onto the cart and went back with Li Xingwang.
After returning home, her garment workshop was finally able to start operations.
Sun has now become much more capable and doesn't need to worry about anything, inside or outside the home.
Song Ning was busy with the school, academy, and clinic.
She had discussed it with Zheng Gaoyi, and the school would be specifically for children. The academy currently had neither teachers nor students, and it would also require the imperial court to issue a license similar to that in modern times.
Mr. Yu will serve as the teacher at the school.
"Lord Zheng, could we allow the young girls in our school to study and learn to read as well?"
Zheng Gaoyi paused for a moment, then said, "Okay."
So quick?
Song Ning asked uncertainly, "Your Excellency, we've never heard of any girls attending school in our Jin Dynasty. Is it really possible?"
"Don't worry, this is under Ying Huai's jurisdiction. Although the Jin Dynasty doesn't have it, Ying Huai will definitely agree."
Song Ning then thought of Xie Linzhou, who was still leading troops in the south.
While Song Ning was extremely busy, Zhou Ling'an's exam was also approaching.
Zhou Ling'an is already a student of the first level of the imperial examination, so he only needs to take the provincial examination again. If he passes, he will become a scholar of the second level.
In this era, the title of "xiucai" (a scholar who passed the county-level imperial examination) was still highly prestigious.
I heard that once you become a scholar, you can be exempted from corvée labor and taxes, and even receive a considerable amount of grain every month.
Many people paid money to register their land under the name of a scholar in order to avoid paying taxes.
Zhou Ling'an had to go to Yuanzhou City to take the exam. The academy exam was divided into two sessions. He could leave after the exam, but just in case, candidates would usually stay in Yuanzhou City for a few days.
Song Ning had promised to see him off, so she naturally wouldn't go back on her word. Fortunately, it wasn't too far away. After arranging things in Tianxiang County, she accompanied Zhou Ling'an on his journey.
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