uninvited guest
The autumn wind rises, bringing a chill.
Several girls were learning embroidery in the courtyard. One looked at another, and then asked another, discussing how to hide this needle and how to place that needle.
"Girls, pay close attention! Madam said that if any of your practice pieces are of decent quality, they will be consigned to the Shen family's shop for sale," Feng Nian relayed.
“Then you’ll be able to earn some pocket money in advance.” Feng Nian looked at Shen Fanghua and continued, “Of course, Miss Shen helped us get this opportunity, so everyone should thank her!”
Everyone was delighted to hear this and thanked Shen Fanghua profusely.
The courtyard was bustling with activity for a while.
The sound reached the room, and An Hongdou and Wu Linglong exchanged a smile.
The two were inside discussing the development plan for the apprenticeship program.
The apprenticeship program was originally established to help girls learn a skill that would allow them to make a living, quickly and effectively.
After discussing how to help the girls quickly get started and produce decent finished products, the two also planned how to sell them.
A few months ago, Li Zeli received some kind of assignment and had to temporarily leave Qingyin County.
Not long after he left, an acting official was appointed.
Their original residence was an official residence connected to the county government office. After the acting official took office, An Hongdou could no longer live there, so she and Wu Linglong found another courtyard to rent.
Previously, Li Zeli had suggested that Li Zeren escort the two back to their hometown, partly to ease their homesickness and partly to put his mind at ease.
But An Hongdou didn't want the apprenticeship program, which was just starting to take off, to fall apart halfway, so she decided to stay for now.
“Zeren is traveling all over the country with the escort agency now, so he has a lot of experience. I’ll ask him to keep an eye out for what kind of embroidery is popular, and also to help us find a regular customer,” Wu Linglong suggested.
“Great idea! I think once their skills are more refined, we should give it a name and officially turn the apprenticeship into an embroidery workshop, so they can graduate and earn money,” An Hongdou added.
"By the way, from my observation, I've noticed that some of the girls in this class have good memories and aesthetic sense, but they're just not skillful enough with their hands, so the things they embroider aren't very elegant," An Hongdou remarked.
“Yes! It will be difficult for a girl like this to make money with her skills in the future, but I can’t bear to advise her to give up.” Wu Linglong said with some regret.
“So I think that after the embroidery workshop is established, I will let girls like these be in charge of managing these kinds of trivial matters. In addition, they can also serve as managers for the next batch of apprentices, recruiting students and teaching, so that the embroidery workshop can expand.” An Hongdou slowly said her idea.
“This is a good approach. This way, girls who are good at embroidery can focus on their embroidery work!” Wu Linglong agreed.
“In the early days, the embroidery workshop had no reputation, so the income must have been very low. Recently, I have been thinking about letting the girls take on some mending work first. On the one hand, it will help them practice their skills, and on the other hand, they can earn some income.”
"You've thought things through. Letting the girls earn money will make them more certain that they made the right choice in learning embroidery."
The two discussed and came up with a general plan for the future of the embroidery apprenticeship class.
"Sisters, I have to go home and cook, so I'm leaving now." A young woman's voice came from outside the window as she said goodbye.
It turned out that it was time for the day's event to end.
The girls in the class were in different situations. Some needed to go back to do housework, some were homeless and wanted to stay at home every day, and some were living with relatives and wanted to find their own way or were homeless and almost homeless.
Depending on the circumstances, An Hongdou and Wu Linglong developed flexible management methods.
Students who need to return home every day are designated as day students, given certificates, and allowed to come in the morning and return in the evening. Those who are homeless or only occasionally return home are considered boarding students, and are given extra time to embroider after dinner.
There aren't many apprentices in the class right now, so they haven't been divided into classes yet.
However, An Hongdou had already made a plan. Once the process was complete and the next batch of apprentices were recruited, she would divide them into day students and boarding students according to their circumstances.
At that time, apprentices in the day-study program, being more mobile, can also take on tasks such as purchasing, promotion, retail, and taking on individual orders. Apprentices in the residential program will have more time each day to embroider and can complete more work.
All fees collected will be submitted to the central government to cover the daily expenses of the apprenticeship program. Any surplus will be distributed among the apprentices based on their contributions as an incentive.
"Sigh!" Watching the girls leave one after another, Wu Linglong suddenly sighed, "Hongdou, although I firmly believe that our apprenticeship will be thriving and last a long time, and our embroidery workshop will sooner or later become famous and make a fortune." She paused, and continued with a tone full of heartache, "But seeing our dowries dwindling day by day, my heart aches so much!"
An Hongdou burst out laughing when she saw her clown act.
"You're still laughing! I don't believe you're not heartbroken. I don't know what kind of official business Li Zeli took on. Since he left, he hasn't even sent your salary here. Li Zeren's escort agency is just starting out, and they don't have any spare money to take back. We're sitting here eating away at our savings. It's not just heartbreaking, it's worrying!" Wu Linglong couldn't help but mutter to herself.
"What will happen to these girls when we run out of money!"
“Good Linglong, I know you’ve already discussed with your second brother about using him to make money through escorting goods. But the girls’ skills aren’t quite there yet! I beg you, Miss Linglong, to have some mercy and support them for a while longer!” An Hongdou replied.
“These girls are all ambitious. Give them more time, and when their skills improve, our reputation will be better,” An Hongdou explained.
"I know that if anyone were using this place as a refuge to get by, I would have kicked them out long ago," Wu Linglong said helplessly.
“If all else fails, I have another idea. We can have the girls who have some skill work as embroidery teachers, going to the employers' homes to teach. It shouldn't be too difficult for them to earn their own food,” An Hongdou pondered.
The two were having a great time chatting when Feng Nian knocked on the door.
“There is a woman outside the door who claims to be the younger sister of the two ladies and wants to stay for a while,” Feng Nian said.
"Oh? Is your surname Li?"
“Indeed. Would you like to welcome her in, Madam?” Fengnian asked.
"Quickly, bring her in! Hongdou, could it be Zeying?" Wu Linglong asked excitedly.
The two tidied their clothes and went out together to greet the guests.
As soon as they stepped over the threshold, they saw people standing in the courtyard. The smiles on their faces froze, then vanished.
"Why is it you?" Wu Linglong raised her voice, making no attempt to hide her unwelcome attitude towards the visitor.
“I know you don’t welcome me, but I am Li Zeli’s sister. If I really did something terribly wrong, he and Li Zeren won’t escape either,” the visitor retorted defiantly.
"Li Lai'er, you've come all this way just to spout threats?" An Hongdou stopped Wu Linglong, who was about to make a move, her voice cold.
“Of course not. Li Zeren brought me here. He had to deliver the goods first, so I came to visit first. As for my purpose, I came here for Li Zeli.” Li Lai’er ignored the tone of the two people and spoke to herself.
Wu Linglong was very happy to hear that Li Zeren had arrived, but this was not enough to make up for her disgust with Li Lai'er.
“Li Zeli isn’t here. He’s been gone for quite some time now. Whatever your purpose may be, you won’t achieve it. You might as well head home now; your son is still waiting for you at home!” Wu Linglong said gloatingly.
Upon hearing Wu Linglong mention the child, Li Lai'er remained silent for a while.
“All that happened in the past was my own fault. But even now, I have no regrets. After returning home, I couldn’t understand what I had done wrong. I just wanted to secure a good future for myself.” Li Lai’er said, “If I had to say I was wrong, it would be that I was too arrogant, overestimated my abilities, and underestimated the ruthlessness of the powerful. But I have never been to a powerful family, so how could I know the rot behind their glittering facade?”
“If you want to say that I am vicious to Li Pan’er and Li Zeying, I would like to defend myself. I have no intention of harming them. It’s just that resources are limited and everyone has to rely on their own abilities. I have never thought about them. I can barely take care of myself, so how can I have the spare energy to take care of others? If I were as lucky as you two, and had a worthy partner to entrust my life to without having to plan for it myself, perhaps I would be even more virtuous than you.”
As soon as Li Lai'er finished speaking, Wu Linglong quickly retorted, "Pah, don't make excuses for yourself. Your current situation is the result of karma, and you can't blame anyone else. Li Pan'er was in the same situation as you, but her outcome was different."
After listening, Li Lai'er laughed: "I am naturally different from Li Pan'er. She is also lucky. She is a pushover and never plans for herself. If she hadn't been lucky enough to meet someone who helped her, she would probably be worse off than me. Although I am greedy and want to climb the social ladder, I have never relied on others. I disregard shame, just to get a chance to enter their homes before they marry into high-class families of equal social standing. I work hard to have children, also to secure a place for myself."
"To tell you the truth, Xie An wasn't my only choice, but he was the best I could get. I haven't been in the Xie family for long, but I've benefited a lot!" Li Lai'er seemed to have a deeper meaning, emphasizing each word as she said "benefited a lot."
"Since you don't regret it, why don't you go back and find a way to return to the Xie family as soon as possible? What are you doing here?" Wu Linglong said through gritted teeth.
“Naturally, it’s because men are unreliable, so we’re looking for other opportunities,” Li Lai’er said.
"Is the solution you mentioned related to Li Zeli?" An Hongdou asked.
“Exactly. Don’t be so quick to refuse.” Li Lai’er stared at An Hongdou and said, “Since I’m here, I have my reasons. I’m not like that spineless Li Pan’er who relies on kneeling and begging for mercy, gambling on other people’s kindness.”
“I only hear jealousy in your tone. Perhaps you gambled and lost?” An Hongdou also disliked Li Lai’er and spoke without mercy.
"Yes! I'm jealous. I've never had any good luck. I can't ask for anything except my own help. I bet the Xie family would keep me because of the child, but I lost completely. Oh, no, I did get some benefits."
Li Lai'er's answer surprised An Hongdou. The Xie family's life seemed to be very difficult, and Li Lai'er seemed to have changed a lot.
"I survived open and covert attacks to give birth to my child, and I protected him on my own. So it's not too much of a failure," Li Lai'er said with a hint of desolation in her voice.
“Li Zeli is indeed not here, and I don’t know when he will return. If you behave yourself, we can let you stay for a while; otherwise, you should leave on your own.” Years have passed since they last met, and Li Lai’er has changed a lot. Although there is nothing to recount, An Hongdou vaguely felt that she needed to have a detailed talk with her, so she spoke up.
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