When Yan Qingqing and the others returned home, the sun had already set. Yuan Huiniang had just seen off the workers and was cleaning the yard.
Li Xiangping had just returned from the fields. He preferred working in the fields to doing business, so during the busy farming season, it was usually Li Xiang'an and Li Xiangjian who delivered goods to the city.
Everyone has their strengths, and Yan Qingqing supports them in doing what they like when conditions permit.
As soon as Xiao Jinxiu saw Yan Qingqing return, she rushed over, hugged her leg, and called her "Grandma."
Yan Qingqing smiled and took a piece of candy from her pocket and put it in her mouth. Then she handed her the toy she had bought from the city. The little girl was so happy to get the treat that she went off to show it off to her friends.
Yuan Huiniang said helplessly, "Mother, please don't spoil this girl. Everyone in our village is saying that Jinxiu is too pampered."
Yan Qingqing said indifferently, "Don't listen to their gossip. If you don't love your own child, who will? As long as Jinxiu is well-behaved, what's wrong with being a little spoiled?"
Yan Qingqing felt that a young girl should be fragrant and soft, and not always dirty and look like a pitiful little thing.
Yuan Huiniang knew that Yan Qingqing always believed in gender equality, and she was extremely grateful to have such a good mother-in-law.
Li Xiangping helped Li Xiangjian unload the oxcart, then looked at the two baskets on the cart and asked, "Mother, what are these things? What should we do with them?"
Yan Qingqing quickly replied, "This is a good thing. Put it in my house. If it grows well, the people will never have to go hungry again."
Upon hearing this, Li Xiangping also took it seriously and quickly and carefully moved the things into Yan Qingqing's room.
Yan Qingqing looked at the ever-increasing pile of things in her room and felt a headache coming on. The house was too small, and adding even a little something made it look very messy.
She had originally planned to build a new house in the fall, but it seems she won't be able to wait that long. She will start preparing for this after she finishes working in the fields.
After dinner, Yan Qingqing began to calculate the amount of silver she had. She currently had about two hundred taels of silver.
Although it's nothing compared to the wealthy, he's definitely the richest person in Canghe Village.
The three Li brothers were discussing the use of braised offal at the county magistrate's harvest banquet. Because the weather was quite hot, they wanted to ensure that the freshest ingredients were used.
In addition, they don't have many laurel leaves left at home, so they plan to go into the mountains tomorrow to pick all the laurel leaves.
There are people on the market who imitate their pig offal, and some even go so far as to use flour to remove the fishy smell, but the taste of their offal is much worse.
Firstly, the proportions of the ingredients weren't right, and secondly, bay leaves weren't added, so the braised pork offal didn't smell very good.
Seeing that Yan Qingqing had almost finished her work, Yuan Huiniang hesitated for a moment before asking, "Mother, what do you think of Liu Shi?"
Yan Qingqing didn't get up for a moment and asked, "Who is Liu Shi? Which Liu Shi?"
Yuan Huiniang quickly replied, "It's Widow Liu who does needlework for our family."
Yan Qingqing frowned and asked, "But what kind of trouble has she caused?"
Yan Qingqing had no prior conflict with Liu Shi. The only time they had a disagreement was when Liu Shi made some sarcastic remarks to her by the field, and Yan Qingqing retaliated.
Later, when their family hired someone to make bows, Liu was known for her skillful hands, so Yuan Huiniang hired her, and Yan Qingqing didn't say anything.
During this time, Liu was quite honest and dutiful, so Yan Qingqing didn't take the matter to heart anymore.
When Yuan Huiniang asked Yan Qingqing, she replied truthfully, "She didn't do anything outrageous, but she always peeks around when no one is around. Today, when Mother wasn't home, Yueniang even saw her go into Mother's room."
Yan Qingqing's face immediately darkened upon hearing this. It seemed that Liu had either come to work for their family with a purpose from the beginning or had developed ulterior motives later.
Seeing that Yan Qingqing was unhappy, Yuan Huiniang quickly added, "Mother, don't worry, she was discovered by Yueniang as soon as she went in. Then Yueniang kicked her out."
I had intended to question her, but she said she had lost a silver hairpin and had rushed into her mother's room in a panic.
Yan Qingqing would definitely not raise a tiger to cause trouble, so she told Yuan Huiniang to pay her this month's wages tomorrow and that she didn't need to come back anymore.
But before Yuan Huiniang could deal with the matter, something bad happened.
The next morning, Manager Wu from Jinsheng Pavilion arrived.
Yan Qingqing and the others hadn't had breakfast yet when they saw Manager Wu rushing over, and their hearts skipped a beat.
Fortunately, Yan Qingqing remained composed. After exchanging a few pleasantries with Manager Wu, she directly asked, "Manager Wu, is there something important that you've come to visit so early in the morning?"
Manager Wu said with a bitter face, "Sister-in-law, we agreed that your fabric headdresses would only be supplied to Jinsheng Pavilion."
I only postponed the contract by six months because I understand your situation. During these six months, you just need to supply us with bows. I admit that the price we paid for these bows wasn't too high, but you can't sell the new designs you made for us to other companies.
Sister-in-law, you know these little trinkets sell for their novelty; only by seizing the opportunity can you make a little money.
Yan Qingqing's face grew increasingly grim as she listened. According to Manager Wu, someone must have leaked their new headdress.
Yuan Huiniang, who was standing nearby, anxiously explained, "Manager Wu, how could we possibly sell the things we made for you to other shops? You must have made a mistake."
Manager Wu also hoped that it wasn't Yan Qingqing and her group who did it, because he was the one who facilitated this deal. If Yan Qingqing really was that kind of person, he really wouldn't know how to explain it to the young master.
Shopkeeper Wu still said hesitantly, "How could there be a mistake? I checked specifically, and even the fabric used is the same."
After saying that, she took out a multi-layered bow from her sleeve, which was indeed the same as the new style that Yan Qingqing and the others were making.
Yan Qingqing took the bow from Manager Wu's hand, examined it carefully, and then shook her head, saying, "This is not something we made. Although the style is the same, the fabric is different from what we made for Jinsheng Pavilion."
After saying that, she asked Yuan Huiniang to bring out a few finished products for Manager Wu to see: "You see, the color of this imitation is darker, while ours is lighter. Also, I have a habit in business that I like to mark the items to make them easier to distinguish."
I marked every bow I made here, but the needlework girls in my family don't know it.
After careful comparison, Manager Wu found that it was indeed as Yan Qingqing had said.
Manager Wu apologized to Yan Qingqing for his momentary recklessness.
Yan Qingqing thought for a moment and then said, "I will naturally investigate this matter thoroughly. If someone deliberately leaked it, I will not tolerate it. However, Manager Wu's side should also be thoroughly investigated to rule out any internal traitors."
After all, this bow is a small matter, but it will be a big deal when new products are released in the future.
Manager Wu seemed to have thought of something after hearing this, and nodded solemnly, indicating that he would definitely investigate it thoroughly when he got back.
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