Chapter 191 Graduation Assessment
Gong Xiu was too considerate, and Cui Qingyi felt a little guilty for a moment.
"Of course. If the embroidery shop develops well, I will also have money to earn. The children graduating this year will naturally be Sister Gong's."
After receiving Cui Qingyi's more specific assurance, Gong Xiu finally felt at ease.
…
The weather was getting colder and thick frost began to appear early in the morning. The flowers and plants in the Cui family's yard showed signs of withering.
Cui Qingyi got up early and stood in the yard, sniffing the cold air and exhaling the foul air that had accumulated all night. At the same time, the fresh and cold air rushed in, making her instantly awake.
Aunt Chen had already prepared some light noodle soup. One bowl of it warmed you from the inside out.
When she took Wangcai out, Chen Ma brought her a cloak and put it on her. "Madam, will you come back for lunch?"
Chen Ma didn't know this when she came, but now she has gradually adapted to Cui Qingyi's pace of life. Her own girl and the konjac girl across the street are both very busy. They usually only eat breakfast and dinner at home, which is very hard.
Cui Qingyi shook her head. "No, you stay home and look after Silly. There should be a charcoal deliveryman coming to your house during the day. Just pay him the bill."
Mother Chen nodded repeatedly, "Hey, don't worry."
The Cui family follows a similar process every year before winter: buying charcoal and firewood, storing winter vegetables and pickling them. Now, these tasks are basically taken care of by Chen Ma.
She also got along well with Qiao's mother, and the two of them felt comfortable working together.
While waiting for the Cui family's door to open, Konjac also happened to open the door and come out. The two of them went to the girls' school together as before.
Qiao Yishi had taken on a escort mission, and now both he and his elder brother Qiao were not at home, so the two of them walked to the girls' school as usual.
The girls' school is very lively today. Knowing that the children are about to graduate, the adults are even happier than the children themselves.
When someone saw Cui Qingyi and Konjac coming over, they hurried over to say hello. The parents were now much more familiar with Cui Qingyi and Konjac, and they still treated them with respect but were not as reserved in their words.
"Mr. Cui, Mr. Konjac, my daughter can really graduate. I can't believe it." The woman's face was clearly filled with a happy smile, but she said she couldn't believe it.
Cui Qingyi understood the women's feelings very well. "Then you must watch carefully later. Maybe you will believe it after seeing it with your own eyes?"
After all the parents arrived within the stipulated time, Cui Qingyi took the first seat at the teacher's. To the surprise of the parents sitting below, the proprietress of Jinxiufang and several unfamiliar men also sat down together, one of the men even looking rather grumpy.
The man with the sour face was naturally the shopkeeper Wang. He had always been proud of the fact that he had been able to establish a relationship with the girls' school with just a few taels of silver. However, when he arrived at the girls' school, he found that he was not the only smart person.
Seeing that everyone's eyes were on the shopkeepers, Cui Qingyi introduced them with a smile: "Everyone knows that our girls' school has gained some fame in Qinghe County and even the entire Dajin.
These are shopkeepers who have come here in admiration of our reputation, hoping to hire female embroidery apprentices to work in their own embroidery shops. In particular, Shopkeeper Wang from Dongping County is willing to offer fifteen taels of silver as a reward for the top three finishers in this graduation exam. Everyone, please perform well."
As soon as Cui Qingyi finished speaking, the eyes of the people at the scene turned towards the shopkeepers on the stage with even more enthusiasm.
Shopkeeper Wang felt that his back had inexplicably straightened a little, but didn't he say that he would only pay five taels, so how did it become fifteen taels?
There is no need to mention the skills of the students in the embroidery class of the girls' school, but people are different and their learning abilities vary. Some people make embroidery that is exquisite and lifelike, while others follow the rules and are full of craftsmanship. But at least they all meet the graduation standards.
As for things like craftsmanship, Cui Qingyi cannot change it.
The most surprising thing about the assessment was the performance of the baking class. Due to the reputation of double-sided embroidery, everyone paid more attention to the embroidery class. However, when the exquisite and fragrant cakes were served, even Gong Xiu, who often visited the girls' school, couldn't help but exclaim in amazement. She pointed at the delicate and snow-white cakes and asked Cui Qingyi:
"What kind of cake is this? I've never seen it before."
Not only her, no one present had seen it except Cui Qingyi.
Cui Qingyi signaled Pang Ya to answer herself. This was the senior sister of Cui’s Pastry Shop whom she had focused on training, and now was the time when she needed experience.
Fatty was a naturally graceful girl. Even when being stared at by dozens of eyes, she was not at all shy. She spoke in a clear voice, "Hello, shopkeepers. This is a cake made with the chef's exclusive recipe.
This pastry has a soft and sweet texture, making it perfect for the elderly, women, and children. However, it's quite complicated to make, so it will be exclusively available at the Hongyan Teahouse outside the city. Try it, and if you like it, you can buy it there in the future."
Under the eager gazes of several people, Pang Ya used a knife to divide the cake into several portions and handed them to the shopkeepers. Shopkeeper Wang couldn't wait to take a bite, and then he regretted it.
Why open an embroidery shop? Wouldn’t it be better for him to open a pastry shop?
Gong Xiu now admires Cui Qingyi even more. Not only has the baking class become famous, but it has also brought in a lot of business for the teahouse.
In fact, Cui Qingyi’s Hongyan Teahouse now serves different kinds of pastries every day, all of which are made by the children in the baking class.
It was considered voluntary labor before, but after the children graduate, Cui Qingyi will need to choose her own partner and ask the other party to supply pastries specifically for the teahouse.
As for this cake, Cui Qingyi thought of supplying it exclusively in the teahouse for one winter and then releasing it. She would make as much money as she could, and she was not greedy.
The graduation examination was successfully completed, and all the graduating students in the embroidery class followed Cui Qingyi's wishes and entered Gong Xiu's embroidery shop. Of course, this was a win-win situation for all three parties.
Cui Qingyi was satisfied, Gong Xiu was satisfied, and the children and their parents were also satisfied.
As for the several shopkeepers who came later, they also gained something, because the people who came for this assessment were not only the parents of the girls in the graduating class, but also people from other classes who came to watch the fun.
Several shop owners were very smart and had already started talking to the parents, introducing their embroidery shops and even explaining their monthly salary.
This is the situation that Cui Qingyi is happy to see.
After the assessment, Cui Qingyi officially handed over the girls' school to Konjac in front of the children and their parents.
This was something Cui Qingyi had thought of a long time ago. She and Konjac founded the girls' school together, but Konjac actually put in much more effort than she did.
The embroidery class that made the girls' school famous was also led by Konjac. The more things there were to do, the more she was unable to handle them all. Cui Qingyi simply thought about it for a few nights and decided to hand over the girls' school to Konjac.
Konjac was naturally unwilling. She didn't think she could shoulder such a big responsibility. She dared to do it before because Cui Qingyi was standing in front of her. She felt that she had the support and confidence. But now that she was asked to do it completely by herself, she felt that she couldn't do it.
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