Chapter 45 Chapter 45 Two chapters merged into one
"Does that mean you will be promoted to embroiderer head soon?" Luo Yu'e looked at her daughter with joy instead of anger.
She was originally worried that her daughter would come home late and miss out on a good marriage, but she never thought that her daughter would have such good fortune.
Jinniang smiled and said, "Not the embroiderer, but the assistant embroiderer. It's mainly the clothes made by my daughter. Although there are some complaints, the ones she sends out are rarely returned. She usually works faster than them, so the embroiderer trusts my daughter."
Then Wei Xiong said, "Will you be able to stay in Wenxiuyuan forever in the future? This is a good thing."
For Wei Xiong, who is very afraid of change, having a stable job is better than anything else. At their age, stability is better than anything else.
Jinniang smiled and said, "Nothing in the world remains unchanged. I can only say that this is a good opportunity, but I am only taking over this position temporarily. Maybe there will be a new deputy embroidery chief in the future."
Thinking of this, for the first time in the evening she did not embroider but came out to talk with her parents.
Mother felt a little regretful: "Today's man is the son of your father's comrade, who is currently studying. Your father's comrade helps someone manage a warehouse, and the family lives in two rooms with an attic above. What a pity..."
"What's a pity? If I'm a good person, they will come naturally. If I'm not good, even if we meet, they won't look down on me." Jinniang is no longer worried.
After all, her mother was an ancient person. Not to mention ancient people, even modern parents would be anxious when they see their daughter getting older. Jinniang could understand Luo Yu'e's feelings.
But she will not live the way her parents do just because of who they are.
No matter how much Luo Yu'e loved her, she still felt that her younger brother would be the only one who would have a promising future in the family, and that her abilities as a daughter were only used to make life easier in her husband's family after she got married.
But Jinniang would not shout at the top of her lungs, she would only work hard towards her goal of one thousand strings of cash.
After a few days, Jinniang officially took office. She thought that her main concern was embroidery, but she never expected that people were the most difficult to manage.
She specially bought a lot of cakes and pastries to distribute to everyone, but some people, who used to have a good relationship with her, seemed to think that she had ulterior motives. Wen Shuhui was the most innocent, she just smiled: "Jinniang, you will spoil us like this..."
Jinniang said, "What's the point of spoiling them? We are all just working for the palace together."
Sitting in front of the embroidery frame at the front, Jinniang felt a little lonely.
Wen Shuhui and the others were of course somewhat dissatisfied, and even asked privately, "Why did Gu Xiutou choose her?"
Third Sister Xu touched her belly and said, "Yes, maybe her cooking skills are better than ours."
Among this group of people, except Meng Liniang who has already left, Jinniang is the youngest. Most of the people in the Wenxiuyuan are experienced old embroiderers. Although she does a good job, but -
In fact, they all knew very well that Jinniang did complete more work every month than them, and she rarely complained that the clothes were not well embroidered, but they still felt unhappy.
Jinniang wanted to take care of Gu Xiutou's matter first. Gu Xiutou said, "We all ask the people from the Hanlin Academy to get it. Look, here is the daily roster of the painters in the academy, and you are familiar with what clothes to make for the major festivals, but you have to send the people every day over."
The Wenxiu Academy almost always has a rotation system of rest days, meaning one person takes a rest every ten days, but some people take a rest on this day and some people take a rest on that day, so they have to ensure that there is someone working every day.
There are twenty people in the Flower and Bird Room who specialize in making embroidered screens. Ten of them are the main embroiderers, ten are assistants, another ten are embroiderers, ten make small items such as handkerchiefs and sachets, and thirty make clothes.
Among this group of people there are those with rich experience, those who are just slacking off, those who are late and leave early, and those who are restless.
Managing people is a science.
"Wei Xiutou, we need to start making clothes for the winter solstice, so we have to hurry up." Du Xiutou made arrangements.
Jinniang nodded, and instructed someone to go to the art academy to get the painting. According to the normal process, the painting would be handed over to the Du Xiutou, who would then paint it. She would then send it out to various places to start working on it.
But she got stuck at the first level. She was impatient and was quick to act no matter what she did.
It happened that Wu Shizhao from the Painting Academy suddenly asked for leave today. Jinniang said to the messenger, "But we have to make arrangements today, right? I have to take it to Du Xiutou later."
The attendant who delivered the message asked, "Xiutou, is there anything else we can do?"
"You can ask the people from the Calligraphy and Painting Academy where Wu Shizhao's home is, and then go directly to his house to ask. I'll give you the travel expenses, and when you meet him, speak in a more serious manner so that he won't miss out on important matters." Jinniang said.
When the attendant saw Jinniang grab a handful of change and give it to him, he hurried over, but after a few steps, he turned back and said, "But we can't afford to offend the attendants of the Painting and Calligraphy Academy. What if they get angry and don't give us money?"
"This painting is used to draw patterns. It's not us who are urging him. It's a matter of the inner court. If he really can't come back, then I can report it to Du Xiutou, and it won't be our problem anymore." Jinniang said.
The attendant understood and hurried over.
Fortunately, Wu Shizhao was relatively responsible and had the draft of the drawing sent to her. Jinniang immediately began to arrange people. She had already gone through all the roster of arrangements made by Gu Xiutou, and now she was able to follow the rules with ease.
But she didn't expect that the first person to get into trouble after she took office was the embroiderer who had come in with her before.
"Jinniang, my husband was recently transferred to another place by the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper asked my husband and me to help him manage his small private property, so I may have to leave." Wen Shuhui said.
Does Jinniang know that she is not satisfied with being the one doing the embroidery? How could such a coincidence happen?
But she still tried to persuade him: "The winter solstice is coming soon, and after the winter solstice it will be the Chinese New Year. At least we can talk about it after the Chinese New Year. There will be gifts for you during the Chinese New Year."
"No, I really have something to do at home." Wen Shuhui smiled. She actually had no grudge against Jinniang. She simply felt unwilling to be inferior to someone else. After all, she was the one who did the most work besides Jinniang on weekdays. She didn't expect that Gu Xiutou didn't choose her but Jinniang.
Jinniang smiled and said, "Okay, since you have decided, I will tell you later that according to the rules, only half of this month's salary can be paid. I will write a deed of divorce for you, and then you can take it to Du Xiutou and put your handprint on it."
The old must go before the new can come. Jinniang discovered why everyone likes to recruit new people. All newcomers have a sense of awe, while those who have been working for a long time always like to take advantage of loopholes.
She simply talked to Du Xiutou and wanted to recruit two people.
Wen Shuhui originally wanted to beg Jinniang for mercy, but she didn't expect her to be so heartless. However, after the words were out, she had to leave because the deed had already been issued.
She was like this, when Third Sister Xu went to see her privately, although she was tactful, she still said: "Why don't you keep her for a few more days, so that our Wenxiu Courtyard won't be short of people, and it can also prevent others from talking about you."
Jinniang wanted to keep Wen Shuhui, wouldn't they say something about her? In fact, don’t pay too much attention to rumors, just follow your own goals.
She was in a good mood, and even Luo Yu'e could see it: "I was watching you lose your hair a few days ago and was worried about it, but now you are feeling better."
"I get anxious easily, and when I get anxious, everything goes wrong for me. Mom, managing people is harder than anything else." Jinniang understands this well.
Luo Yu'e smiled and said, "Of course not. Dealing with people is the hardest thing. Look, our business has been a little better these days, and the landlord wants to raise the rent."
"Really? How much increase does she want?" Jinniang asked.
"It increases by eight strings of coins a year." Luo Yu'e sighed.
Jinniang comforted him, "You can still sell about ten strings of cash a month now, so it's not cost-effective to move again, unless we have our own shop one day."
Luo Yu'e was listening to a fairy tale: "How can we afford to buy a shop? In fact, I just want to wait until you get married and your brother finishes his studies, and then your father and I will go back to Jiangling to retire."
Jinniang shook her head, looked at the list in her hand, and called out a name, Zhu Tingfang.
When she was still being managed, she had fantasized about what it would be like to be a manager. She always felt that she had to be approachable and if she was nice to others, others would be nice to her. But now it seems that this is not the case.
If you really want to manage such a large group of people, you cannot do it all by yourself. You must choose good people to help you manage. This is called pulling down a group and overthrowing a group.
As expected, Third Sister Xu was having dinner at Zou Yue'e's house: "There are many people in our Wenxiu Courtyard who are dissatisfied with Jinniang, but she has even driven her own people away, and will be left alone in the future."
Zou Yue'e and the others would get together privately on weekdays. Jinniang came out the first time, but later she always said she had something to do. Now they are all women, and they can talk about private matters with each other, and their relationship has become closer.
"Yes, she is almost eighteen, but she doesn't even mention getting married. She spends all day in Wenxiuyuan."
In fact, Zou Yue'e got married at an old age. She is an experienced person, but now she feels that she has made it, and instead mocks those who have not.
But it was useless for the two of them to say more. Jinniang was selecting a replacement. Zhu Tingfang had not been liked by the old embroiderer for a long time, and she had tried to please her several times. She didn't know how long she could be the deputy embroiderer. But now that she had to manage the flower and bird room, she had to make use of someone like this who was frustrated but capable.
"I've promoted you to supervisor in the next few days, and your salary will be 300 more coins. But some people will inevitably be dissatisfied, but I have suppressed it now, and you will have to rely on yourself in the future." Jinniang looked at Zhu Tingfang with a smile.
Zhu Tingfang was very touched. She didn't expect Wei Xiutou to really promote her. She said excitedly, "Don't worry, I will definitely take care of it for you."
Jinniang patted her shoulder and said, "It seems that I did not choose the wrong person. They recommended you and Wang Xinghua to me. Please don't let me down."
Zhu Tingfang was originally going to make embroidered screens, but was repeatedly squeezed out. Now he was promoted to the position of supervisor, and he immediately patted his chest and said that he would definitely look good. Originally, Jinniang and Wang Xinghua were from the same hometown, but Wang Xinghua could not distinguish between good and bad and had no bias, so it was difficult for her to manage things and it would only create more problems.
Only after the personnel were properly arranged did Jinniang breathe a sigh of relief.
In the position of embroidery, Jinniang also had a more comprehensive understanding of needlework. For example, the Purple Luan and Magpie Pu sent by Lingjinyuan was woven on a purple warp silk background using the method of carved flowers in sections and segments. Although Jinniang cannot weave cloth, people like her who are proficient in needlework must learn how to sew. If one day such cloth has a hole in it, how should she mend it?
She could make good use of her identity and go directly to ask those experienced embroiderers, as now they dared not keep anything secret.
"As for the embroidery head, you can see that its warp surface is mainly made of single-thread embroidery, with the method of neat embroidery in the middle. There are two warp threads in the thin part and five warp threads in the thick part. So when you want to repair it, you must start from here to make it clear, so that you can repair it." said the old embroiderer.
Jinniang nodded after hearing this: "Thank you for clearing up my doubts. I will learn from you."
Here is the most precious silk in the country, and now she can finally continue her studies here.
She also visited Lingjinyuan during lunch time. Unexpectedly, kesi silk also has something in common with embroidery. Both of them use ink lines to outline the predetermined patterns and draw them on the warp surface. Raw silk is used as the warp and cooked silk is used as the weft. Then tools are used to interweave the warp with the warp as shown in the drawing. Only in this way can a kesi silk painting be woven.
After Jinniang became an embroidered head, she no longer had to work as hard on needlework as before. She studied kesi during the day and made ready-made clothes for Jinxiu Pavilion at night.
She still doesn't dare to try to embroider the screen, not for any other reason, but because it takes too long. Ten experienced embroiderers have been working on it for three years and still haven't finished it. The clothes of the officials and concubines are all made by people close to them.
However, when the clothes were delivered this time, Jinxiu Pavilion was closed and they said it would reopen after two months.
"Jinniang, it's a good time for you to take a two-month break. You haven't even had a rest during the New Year in all these years." Luo Yu'e also wanted her daughter to pay more attention to her marriage and take more rest.
Jinniang smiled and said, "That won't work. Although Jinxiu Pavilion will not be open for two months, my efforts cannot be wasted. Now I don't have to do embroidery work in Wenxiuyuan during the day, but my efforts cannot be wasted."
In just two months, she will have no extra income. Jinniang sighed slightly. She now feels that everything may change except herself. Just like her former employer, Shuxiu Pavilion, which was now deserted in Beijing and was about to close. She had been to Shuxiu Pavilion once, but Sister Jiang Shan had not returned to Jiangling. She had been working in Shuxiu Pavilion and had even gotten married. Now she didn't know where to go.
Unless it’s your own shop.
It would be great if I could own a house and a shop, Jinniang was shocked and thought, yes, why can't I have them? Now she has more than 300 strings of cash in her hands, so she is not without the confidence.
Wait two months first. If Jinxiu Pavilion fails, we can think of other ways.
This season is a good time to burn incense and worship Buddha. Rong Niang came to the house just to ease the relationship. With her status, she actually didn't need to pay attention to these poor relatives.
But they are relatives after all, she can't treat them like this. After all, her second uncle and third uncle's family have never taken advantage of her. Besides, although she and Feng Sheng are on good terms on the surface, there is a rift between them in their hearts. Restoring relations with her relatives will give her a place to go in the future.
When Rong Niang came over, smoke was rising from the Wei family's kitchen. She called Luo Yu'e as soon as she entered the door.
Luo Yu'e was still a little surprised: "Why are you here at this time?"
"Second aunt, in the past year or two, my son Long'er was very young, so it was not easy for him to go out. Now that he can finally go out, he came to visit you." Rong Niang's words were very nice.
Luo Yu'e was not one to hit someone who was smiling: "Then come in and sit down. We just came back from the shop. I still have to cook dinner. Please help yourself."
Rong Niang went to the kitchen to help Luo Yu'e put firewood in the fire, and asked, "Is Jin Niang home?"
"Why isn't she here? She is resting today and it seems like she hasn't gotten up yet." Luo Yu'e also knew her daughter well. She would rest like crazy on her days off.
Rong Niang smiled and said, "Second Aunt should let her do some housework. You still love her."
Luo Yu'e was very calm: "Our Jinniang is not someone who does these rough jobs. In fact, she can cook if she really wants to. Last time, when her father and I went out to buy food, she was at home making egg fried rice for her brother."
Rong Niang thought that she was almost eighteen years old, and cooking a bowl of fried egg rice was worth bragging about, but she still had to praise Jin Niang a few words, and asked, "Is Jin Niang still in Wenxiuyuan now?"
Jinniang had said before that although she couldn't brag about her work as an embroiderer for no reason, she didn't need to be polite to a relative like Feng Sheng and Rongniang who looked down on her. So when Rongniang asked about it, she didn't hold back: "Of course, their original embroiderer has returned home, so they recommended us to be the embroiderer. It's not easy to manage hundreds of people."
"Has Jinniang become a headdresser so quickly?" Rong Niang really felt that the idiom "One should look at a man with new eyes after three days of absence" was very suitable for Jinniang.
Luo Yu'e was a little modest again: "It's nothing, she doesn't even want to be Jinniang."
After saying that, she pinned her hair in a charming way.
Rong Niang had come to see her, but after hearing this, she said she had something to do and left. When Jin Niang got up to eat, she heard that Rong Niang had come and left again. She couldn't help laughing and said, "It's good that she left. I'm afraid that when we go to the temple later, it would be bad not to ask her to go."
Now that Jinxiu Pavilion is closed, although Jinniang still makes clothes, she is not as anxious as before. She now has time to accompany her mother to burn incense.
In fact, the jealousy and resentment between sisters mostly stems from the comparison between the previous generation, and the root cause is the grandmother's love of stirring up trouble.
After the family finished their meal, Wei Xiong prepared to drive the mother and daughter to Kaibao Temple.
Because sincerity is the key to success, Jinniang decided to climb the stairs. Luo Yu'e did the same. She thought more than Jinniang. Her daughter was healthy and did a good job, but her marriage was not happy.
Kaibao Temple was built to enshrine the relics of King Ashoka. The temple is shaped like a pagoda and appears octagonal from a distance. Jinniang hadn't walked such a long distance for a long time and was a little exhausted, gasping for breath.
She is about 1.63 meters tall and weighs nearly 140 kilograms, so she sweats easily.
Just as she was catching her breath, she saw a mother and son walking up the stairs with sincerity. Luo Yu'e was a very outgoing person and she quickly started chatting with her.
The woman was about fifty years old, with dark skin, but her clothes were neat and clean. The young man next to her was tall and thin, and looked quite filial, and he kept supporting his mother.
Luo Yu'e knew that her daughter wanted to find a handsome man. The nephew introduced by Mrs. Cai last time ran a medicine store. Her daughter disliked him because he was too short, so she tried to strike up a conversation with him.
Little did she expect that when the woman saw Luo Yu'e wearing an autumn-scented green fine jacket, an indigo-dyed skirt, a silk belt around her waist, and two silver hairpins on her head, she looked very good. Then she looked at the girl next to her, who was of medium height, very fair-skinned, and although a little plump, she was wearing a red silk jacket, a pearl white pleated skirt, a gold ring on her hand, and a hanging bun on her hair with a gold comb in it, and she looked extremely wealthy, and she became interested.
The woman said, "I am praying for my daughter to have a child. I have three daughters in total, two of whom have already given birth to sons, but the youngest daughter only gave birth to a daughter."
"That's as I should. I see that you are so sincere, and your wish will surely come true." Luo Yu'e's expression faded a little.
She gave birth to three daughters before she gave birth to this son. If my daughter marries him and gives birth to a son, it would be fine. But if she gives birth to a daughter, wouldn’t she be despised by her husband’s family?
Although Luo Yu'e's expression faded, the woman was very positive and praised her son: "He is now working in Huixianlou, earning five strings of cash a month."
Since she was not going to argue with this woman, Luo Yu'e smiled and said, "It's quite good that your son has this amount of money at the age of sixteen. My girl only gets a dozen or so strings of cash a month now."
When the woman saw Luo Yu'e's words, she also understood what she meant. She looked at Jinniang and said, "Good girl, you are really capable. I rarely see a girl earning so much."
"From what you said, it's just some hard work."
"I don't know why I like you, girl. By the way, where do you live? I have some yellow salted duck eggs at home. I'll send some to you when the time comes." The woman was surprised to hear Jinniang's pleasant voice and became more interested in her.
Jinniang knew what he meant as soon as she heard it, and said hurriedly, "Thank you for your kindness. My mother is virtuous and capable, and we can't finish all the food at home. I won't say anything more to you. We have to go in first."
After saying that, she pulled her mother forward until the woman was out of sight. The mother and daughter looked at each other and laughed again.
"Jinniang, I'm not judging them, but if you marry into a family with mostly daughters and only one son, you'll have four mothers-in-law waiting for you, and they won't stop until you give birth to a son." Luo Yu'e said.
Jinniang suddenly realized, and she said, "So this is why you disagree. Actually, I saw that the man's little finger was half broken. If he is not born with a disability, he is probably a gambler."
If people in the casino cannot pay back their money, they may have their fingers cut off.
Luo Yu'e had never thought it would be like this. She said, "People used to say that matchmakers could easily misrepresent the dead as alive, but now even if someone is in front of you, you may not be able to see clearly."
Jinniang also agreed that people's hearts are hidden.
After worshiping incense, the mother and daughter prepared to go back. Luo Yu'e saw Wei Xiong waiting there foolishly and scolded him, "What a fool you are! You just wait here without even buying some pancakes to fill your stomach."
Her husband is like a workhorse. When others ask him to do something, he never complains about being tired and just thinks it is his honor. Now he is feeling much better.
Jinniang also said: "When we get home, we'll take Yang Ge'er with us and go directly to the night market to eat lamb head skewers, so we don't have to cook again."
The parents had no objection and were anxious to go back. However, they did not expect that when they picked up Yang Ge'er and arrived at the door of their house, they would see Grandma Wei standing at the door and said, "Second brother, your brother's nails were pulled out and sent here. This handkerchief is covered in blood. You should go and save him..."
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