Chapter 50 Chapter 50 Two chapters merged into one
"Second sister, how did you become so thin?" Yingniang was incredulous and tried to test him.
Jinniang smiled and covered her face: "Maybe it's a sprain."
"Didn't you eat less?" Yingniang asked.
Jin Niang shook her head: "How could that be? I eat a lot every day! I am too lazy to cook in the morning and at noon, and I have a midnight snack after dinner every night. If you don't believe me, ask my mother?"
Luo Yu'e certainly wouldn't tell her daughter about her weight loss. She pointed to the half-cut bacon under the eaves and said, "I made bacon rice for your second sister yesterday."
"People really can be so good at drawing..." Yingniang felt envy when she saw Jinniang like this.
Of course Jinniang couldn't brag about her weight loss everywhere. They were going to leave the stinky alley anyway and start over in the future. She also knew what Yingniang and the others wanted to find out, and if she told them, they would only gossip about her behind her back.
They said they came to help with the move, but Yingniang was afraid that Anping would help, so she pulled Anping aside and said with a smile that she brought flower cards and wanted to play cards later.
Rong Niang said nothing. Even Luo Yu'e could see that this group of people did not want good for her daughter. Normally, Rong Niang was considered a good person, but now she was like this.
But, just like my daughter said, it feels good to get slapped in the face like this.
Seeing you hurts, I can't say it.
Fortunately, she had said before that all the relatives had agreed to help with the move. Jinniang said there was no need to rely on others, and asked them to bring some boxes and other things with them every time they went over. Now two large trucks were just enough to move everything.
Rong Niang and Ying Niang looked at each other in bewilderment in the carriage.
When they saw the house in Tianshui Lane, they felt even more dizzy. They had heard that Jinniang's house had only one entrance, but this one was nothing. The front is wide and has three doorways. In the middle hangs a shiny plaque with the words "Miss Wei's Needlework Shop" inscribed on it. There is a vat at the door, in which are floating water lilies as big as bowls, dotted among the lotus leaves, looking full and dripping.
There were paper banners on both sides of the lotus pot, with one side saying "Wenxiuyuan Embroidery Head" and the other side saying that the company was good at flower and bird embroidery, and mainly dealt in clothes, skirts, collars, shoes and socks, wedding dresses, wedding quilts, and repairing kesi silk.
Entering from the main entrance, you will see a half-person-high counter on the west side, with chips and a few booklets on the counter. Behind the counter is an eight-foot-high container filled with various silk, woolen and fabrics. There was a doorway next to the container, with a red-orange satin door curtain with a phoenix and peony pattern. When I lifted the curtain and went in, I saw a large embroidery frame, two small embroidery frames, several bamboo winnowing baskets, and various needlework tools in the inner room. There was also a soft couch in the innermost room, and various precious silk paintings hung on all four sides.
Coming out of the inner room, I saw another scene to the east. On the easternmost table were a round table, embroidered stools, a tea cabinet, and a soft couch, which was exactly like my own boudoir.
Rong Niang was puzzled and asked: "Where is this..."
"Oh, I was afraid that the guests would have to choose styles after they came, so I arranged for them to sit here when there were many people. My house is small and there is no tea room, so I simply asked the carpenter to make a tea cabinet for me and put various cups, teaspoons in it." Jinniang explained.
Rong Niang was a little worried and said, "You have invested so much, what if there is no business?"
"It's not very big." Half of all the furniture was included in the decoration fee, and the other half was bought by herself. In total, she spent less than 20 strings of cash. However, some of the brocade she used was from the Wenxiu Academy, and some was from the Zhou family. They looked dazzling and very valuable.
This is called doing big things with little money.
As they were talking, Yingniang brought a booklet with all the women in various clothes. She was surprised and asked, "Second sister, where did you buy these?"
Jinniang covered her mouth and laughed: "I didn't buy it, I drew it myself. I have made so many clothes over the years, and I have always used paper to draw from the beginning, so it will be very convenient for customers to choose."
"I really didn't expect that you, second sister, have this skill." Yingniang also vaguely admired her.
At first, they did not think embroidery was difficult, as every woman could do needlework. But when they saw that Jinniang had arranged everything well, they could not put the embroidery pieces down.
Jinniang closed the door and said, "The store will open in a few days. Keep the door closed first. Many people will come to sell their wares later."
After she finished speaking, she led her sisters to the backyard through the front gate. Yingniang asked curiously, "Didn't they say that the house only had one entrance? How come it's so big?"
The west is lush and green, and there is a special horse stable on the east. Looking from the moon gate, you can only see towering buildings, almost all of which are covered with flowers, making them look extremely exquisite.
Jinniang smiled and said, "That's because I didn't build any wing rooms on the west side. It's just a shallow corridor, and the yard is also shortened by half."
Rong Niang took a look and went inside. Sure enough, the kitchen was not big, only half the size of their own kitchen, but it had everything it needed. It was so small that there was a woodshed separated from it, and there was a very narrow bed in the woodshed.
There aren't many flowers or plants planted in the yard. It's really an illusion. Looking inside from the moon gate, it seems like layer upon layer, but after entering, you'll discover a lot of mysteries.
There is a main hall on the first floor of the small building. The main hall is not big. There is a long table with an incense burner on the top. Under the long table are four armchairs in a row. On the east side is an octagonal table.
There were two other rooms on the first floor. Rong Niang asked, "Is this where you live?"
These two rooms are not big, so they should be where the siblings live.
Jinniang smiled and said, "No, I live upstairs."
They went upstairs again, which was a completely different world. On the east side was the boudoir, with pink gauze curtains, pink shiny satin quilts, and even a velvet carpet in the room. Not to mention the six-opening top cabinets, desks, lamps, dressing tables, and washstands.
There is another small room outside the boudoir, which contains a bathtub, a wooden basin, and a washbasin.
Rong Niang secretly complained that the space occupied by Jin Niang alone was larger than that occupied by her second uncle, second aunt, Yang Ge'er and the main dining room.
There is even a small terrace on the second floor, planted with various roses and colorful flowers.
Jinniang smiled and said, "This was planted by my mother. She insisted on planting it, and I had no choice."
Finally, Yingniang asked the question: "Second sister, your second floor is so luxurious, it's bigger than Second Aunt and hers."
Jinniang blinked her eyes and said, "Who told me to buy the house?"
She no longer takes these people seriously.
"Oh, yes." Yingniang felt that her second sister was quite unfilial, but she didn't know what to say.
Jinniang asked them to leave, and then she heard Rongniang ask, "Why is there nothing embroidered on your curtains? Although it looks nice, it would be better if there were some flowers embroidered on it."
Jinniang covered her mouth and laughed: "The front is because it's a store, for customers to see, we don't need to do this for our family."
When cooking in the new house, Feng Sheng prepared eighteen dishes, but he said almost nothing.
On the way back, he and Rong Niang and her husband didn't know what to say.
"You" "You"
Rong Niang slowed down and said, "You go ahead and talk first."
"I don't have much to say. I can only say that your sister is too strong-willed. She seems to want to overwhelm everyone." Feng Sheng shook his head.
Rong Niang nodded: "I don't mind these things, actually. She is not very old, it is not easy for her to buy such an estate, but she spent her own money for the sake of vanity, and also spent her parents' money. Second uncle's mother told me that the furniture in her and Yang'er's room were bought by themselves, but even so, Jin Niang actually lived in the largest room and gave the two small rooms to her parents."
"Everything is for herself." Feng Sheng shook his head.
Rong Niang agreed, "That's right. Just now, she was cooking in the kitchen and she cut the vegetables into pieces. Her mother wouldn't let her wash the dishes. She sleeps until three o'clock in the morning and gets up—"
Having said this, she held back her words, because she also gets up very late nowadays. After all, her parents-in-law are not around, and she herself is a person who doesn't like to worry about things, so it will naturally be different when there are five or six people serving her at home.
Looking at Feng Sheng again, Feng Sheng seemed not to have heard all this. He seemed a little anxious for some reason. In the past, his words were very effective among men. Today, when he walked in and said to Wei Xiong that this place did not seem to face south, he objected but was scolded by Wei Xiong, the poor guy.
However, Feng Sheng said, "Won't Jinniang be her own boss in the future?"
Rong Niang nodded, "That's right, I see she has prepared everything. I originally thought that if she was short of money, I might be able to give her some, but when I asked Second Aunt, Second Aunt didn't know how much money Jin Niang had, and she was hiding it. Jin Niang also said that she would tell me when she was short of money, which made me think that my kindness was taken for granted."
…
Sitting on the soft and fragrant bed, Jinniang took a look at her money box. There were still one hundred strings of cash in it, which was all her money. Rong Niang and the others thought they were showing off, but in fact they didn't understand her at all. She was not the kind of person who would spend all her money.
Moreover, she had accumulated a lot of woolen yarn, silk thread and high-quality silk and brocade over the years in Wenxiuyuan and Zhou family. She didn't need any capital to do business. The house was her own, and she could keep an account of the fabric when the time came. If someone used the ruler, she would be charged. If the fabric was not used, she could even return it.
Even Jinniang was not worried about having no business. She had been engaged in embroidery for ten years and her skills were pretty good. It was just a matter of how much she could earn.
What's more, she is her own living signboard. Looking at her face in the bronze mirror on the dressing table, she smiled.
In the evening, Jinniang took a bath in the bathtub for the first time. The house in Choushui Lane was too small, so she could only go to the women's bath every time for a bath, which cost fifteen cents each time. Now she can take a bath whenever she wants at home.
Anyway, there is a well and a house.
After waking up early the next morning, Wei Xiong sent Yang Ge'er to Wu Shizhao's house, while Luo Yu'e and Jinniang went to a nearby real estate agency to rent out the house in Choushui Lane.
Jinniang wore a light purple inner garment, a cherry pink cross-collared middle garment, grey cotton trousers, and a turquoise jacquard pleated skirt with a tortoise shell pattern. She also wore a concentric belt around her waist, which was held down by a bead. The top is a goose yellow satin jacket, with the focus being on the jacket, which is split at the front and back, with a long collar embroidered with a branch pattern and a layer of white edge sewn on the outside. It looks warm and light, without any sense of bulkiness.
Seeing her daughter so beautiful, Luo Yu'e was happier than eating honey. She even whispered, "When your cousins saw you yesterday, they were so jealous."
"Anyway, they just can't stand seeing others doing well, and my daughter won't spoil them." Jinniang said with a smile.
After closing the door, Jinniang walked out onto the street. Only then did she realize that she seemed really beautiful, because so many people stopped to look at her. She couldn't help but say to Luo Yu'e: "Mom, this is also the trouble of becoming beautiful."
Luo Yu'e had never expected that her daughter would look like this when she lost weight. Her facial features were not as good as Rong Niang's, but when put together, they were so beautiful.
"Mom, I plan to ask a few people to come back to help. One will do the rough work, one will serve me specifically, and I will hire a helper to help drive the cart and deliver goods. This way, I don't have to go out so often." Jinniang said.
Although it is good to indulge in your own beauty, if beauty is not protected by power, it is easy to become someone else's plaything.
Luo Yu'e quickly stopped him: "Why do you want to buy so many people?"
"It will take one person to cook and wash clothes. I work in a needlework shop. I need one person to comb my hair and greet customers. If there are customers who need to have goods delivered to their door, I will need another person. But let me tell you in advance that I will pay for the cook, and you and dad will pay for the meals." Jinniang had better make things clear first.
Luo Yu'e agreed immediately: "Of course, the house over there has been rented out, and you can use all the rent money to pay them."
"No, no, my brother is asking for money right now. Just pay for the rice, grain and vegetables. You don't have to rush back when you and dad do business in the future. I'll have someone send it over." Jinniang said.
Thus, the mother and daughter agreed on the household affairs.
The house in Choushui Lane was put on the market for only one day when someone came to rent it. The rent was three strings of coins a month, to be paid on the tenth day of every three months. The tenant also left one string of coins in Luo Yu'e's hands, so Luo Yu'e immediately got ten strings of coins.
Jinniang was also busy hiring people. The first one to come was the nearby Jiang Yapo. She was bringing people in and bowed when she saw Jinniang: "I'm here to greet Miss Wei. I heard that you were looking for servants. I happen to have a few people on hand and I'll bring them over for you to see."
"Mrs. Jiang, please sit down. I'll make some tea for you." After saying that, he put some loose tea in a celadon cup with a flower-shaped mouth and handed it to her.
Seeing that Miss Wei was polite and well-mannered, Mrs. Jiang Ya was impressed and said with a smile, "You are such a kind person."
Jinniang waved her hand: "Sister-in-law, please don't despise me."
Grandma Jiang took a sip of tea, then put down the teacup and said, "I brought three maids with me. I wonder which one do you like?" She thought that this young lady must be soft-hearted and kind-hearted. If she liked any of them, she would take the opportunity to raise the price.
But Jinniang said, "I just want to ask sister-in-law how much these people are worth. To be honest, I will just find a kitchen maid, no matter who it is."
Mother Jiang thought to herself that this young lady was quite smart. She knew to ask the price first, and couldn't help but praise her casually, "My girls are all good at making soups and cooking fine dishes. It's no problem for them to make big dishes during festivals."
"Yes, the people you train must be good. Then I'd better ask them how much they want first?" Jinniang has limited money in her hands.
Anyway, she doesn't want technical talent, nor does she need someone to be very beautiful. She just wants an ordinary person who is suitable for her ordinary family.
Grandma Jiang said a number, and Jinniang shook her head in disapproval, thinking that Grandma Jiang was too cruel.
Later, more people from Li Ya came and said they would bring people to the house, but they suddenly disappeared. Jinniang now really feels that dealing with people is the most difficult thing.
Fortunately, a woman named Bao Ya came later. She was quite straightforward. Jinniang looked at the four people she brought. Two of them were more handsome, and two were more ordinary. She looked at them and asked, "Who among you is good at cooking?"
Grandma Bao Ya smiled and said, "Don't worry, they all know how to do it."
Jinniang said, "I have some radishes here. Cut them into shreds and let me see your skills."
Grandma Bao Ya had never thought that Jinniang was so meticulous. She looked at the people she brought. Some of them were eager to try, while others were wiping their sweat secretly. First they cut the radish into shreds, then they kneaded the dough, and finally they made a bowl of fish soup. The one who cooked the best was a short and stocky girl, who turned out to be the most unattractive. Jinniang spoke a few more words to her and asked Bao Yapo about her past.
She originally served as a concubine in a military officer's home. The concubine offended the wife, and she was sold out along with him.
Jinniang was silent for a long while before she said, "Po Bao, I will use this person for a month and pay her. If she is good, I will sign a contract with you. If she is not good, I will withdraw."
When Bao Yapo saw that Jinniang gave her another twenty cents for tea, she agreed, and Jinniang kept the person first.
After the kitchen maid made her selection, another group came in the afternoon. This time, they chose personal maids. They didn't want anyone who acted on their own or was too smart. They just wanted normal people who could get along well with them.
This time the test is about serving tea, combing hair, and sewing. It doesn't matter if you do it poorly, as long as you can understand what is said.
In this case, one person will be left behind to try it for a month.
As for the candidate for the clerk, Jinniang found Chen Xiaolang from Choushui Lane. Chen Xiaolang was one year older than Yang Ge. He was also extremely smart, and was better than Yang Ge in terms of academic performance. But later his father Pipa Biebao ignored the family, and his mother ran away with someone. He relied on his grandparents to study with Gou Xiucai for a year. This year his grandfather passed away, and he had not had enough food. Today her mother went back to Choushui Lane to take the things that she had not taken away from her own family, but she didn't expect that Chen Xiaolang's grandmother had also died of illness.
Jinniang and Luo Yu'e both packed up old bedding and old coats from their homes and set up their own rooms.
The one who serves Jinniang is called Aying. She is twelve years old this year. Her mother died when she was three. After her father remarried, her stepmother did not treat her as a human being. She was originally sent to be a child bride to bring good luck. However, a few days later, the son of that family died, and she was sold.
In the utility room behind the bathroom to her west, Jinniang gave her an old box, the bedding she had used in the Zhou family, a wooden basin and a towel, and even gave her a box of snacks because she was afraid that she was hungry. Although Aying was born in poverty, she had a big temper. If someone showed her kindness, she would return the favor tenfold.
Seeing Jinniang's stunning beauty and perfect manners, he felt even happier.
"Miss, you are so kind to me."
Jinniang smiled and said, "Then you must remember what I told you."
Ah Ying's eyes flashed: "I wonder what it is?"
"Nothing much. Before 7am every day, you have to get dressed, clean my place, wash my clothes, and hang them at the back of my building. At 7am, you come over to help me comb my hair and dress, and we'll go downstairs to eat at 8am. On weekdays, you have to learn how to pour and order tea in the shop in front. I'll teach you how to order tea. If you just want to look around, you can serve some loose tea. If you're a regular customer who's already paid a deposit, I'll serve you some tea. Other than that, you measure the customers' sizes and give them my catalog for selection."
It turned out to be just this matter. Ah Ying said hurriedly: "I will agree to whatever the lady says."
"Well, if you don't understand something, please ask me more." Jinniang said.
Arrangements were made for Ah Ying, and Ju Xiang's was also easy to make. Her bed was placed in the woodshed next to the kitchen, and Jinniang explained it very clearly to her: "You make breakfast at 4:45 every morning, eat liquid food on the 15th day of the month, and dry food on the 5th day. Dinner is served on time at noon, and dinner is at 5:00 p.m. My mother will prepare the rice, noodles, and vegetables here, and I will buy the firewood and charcoal. Sometimes when you have a snack, I will give you money. As for washing clothes and cleaning the yard, you will do it."
Juxiang also nodded quickly.
As for Chen Xiaolang, he had already changed into Yang Ge'er's clothes, which made him look even more handsome. Jinniang smiled and said, "Since you agreed to work for me, then do your job well. You can sleep behind the embroidery room, and run errands for me during the day. Clean the front area, wash your own clothes, and don't bring in the urine bucket. If you need to go to the toilet, just open the door at the back and go directly to the toilet. Be careful at night, there are a lot of pieces of cloth here, and you will have to pay for any piece you burn."
She then went on to tell me what time to open the door every day, and what areas should be cleaned and arranged before opening the door.
After hiring servants, Luo Yu'e was finally liberated. There were special people to do the laundry and cooking every day, and the couple only had to take care of their shop business every day.
After getting up early, Aying had already cleaned the room upstairs. She then poured a bottle of hot water into an iron soup bottle and mixed it with cold water, and used the warm water to wash clothes. The only winter clothes that needed to be changed every day were underwear, so they were washed in a short while. After hanging them up to dry, she went to the kitchen to fetch some hot water and called Jinniang to get up.
Jinniang dressed up carefully and went downstairs to have breakfast. Juxiang had cooked millet porridge in the morning, with two kinds of pickles and an egg.
After breakfast, she asked Aying to measure the size for everyone, and taught Chen Xiaolang how to answer questions when they met guests. She also asked her father to teach him how to ride a donkey and drive a car.
She found that Aying was actually very good at dealing with it, and performed better than she had imagined. Chen Xiaolang had an even better memory, and she taught him how to keep accounts and make calculations, and she could do all the calculations clearly.
The two of them were also very convinced of Jinniang. When they saw Jinniang painting double-petal jasmine, they came over to watch and secretly admired her.
Jinniang raised her eyes to look at them, then smiled and said, "Let's get everything ready today and open the store tomorrow."
She made two tube tops, a jacket, two pleated skirts, and several pairs of purses, all of which were top-notch products. Jinniang prayed secretly that she would have a good opening tomorrow.
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