Chapter 19019: A perfectly good person has a useless mouth.
Li Yue'er looked at the mistress with a questioning look in her eyes, but the mistress ignored her and chatted with Sister Su as if she didn't exist.
The Qu family was a textile and dyeing business in Chenhe County. Because of their marriage alliance with the Zheng family, a cloth workshop, over several generations, the two families were among the top five wealthiest merchants not only in Chenhe County but also in the entire Anping Prefecture.
Through their conversation, Li Yue'er learned that Sister Su was the second wife of a manager in the Qu family's workshop, which explained why Sister Su had a sixteen-year-old son at only twenty-five years old.
The steward had only been gone for a year, and Sister Su was dressed in white to observe mourning for him.
After chatting for a few minutes, Sister Su said, "I know what you mean, but someone of my status is really not suitable for showing my face in public."
Qu Rong said, "You're overthinking it. Given my current situation, even if I wanted to use you, I wouldn't be able to."
She placed the teacup on the coffee table beside her and sat upright to show Sister Su the spot where she was sitting.
Sister Su understood.
Qu Rong is now the matriarch of the Qu family, but according to the court's terms, she has the title but no real power.
It appears that the old lady promoted her, but in reality, it was a demotion in disguise. She took away the real power in her hands, leaving her in a position of powerlessness. Later, she could easily find a fault to send her away, with men being exiled and women forced into prostitution.
Her family had experienced something similar, so she naturally understood it better.
Sister Su pursed her lips, frowned slightly, and glanced at the figure outside the door, wanting to say something but not speaking.
Standing there was the steward's son, named Shiyi, who was only sixteen years old. Sister Su had come here this time to find him a job under the mistress.
Although he dared not dream of becoming a manager like his father, as long as he entered the workshop, even if he started as a laborer dyeing cloth, he could learn some skills and support himself with his own hands in the future.
Sister Su lowered her eyes and murmured self-deprecatingly, "I thought you called me here..."
It was only out of consideration for the deceased steward that his widow was allowed to come.
Qu Rong crossed her right leg over her left, leaned back slightly, her back pressed against the chair back, and placed her hands on her lower abdomen. Looking at Su Rou's disappointed expression, she smiled and said, "Su Rou, let's talk business. I'm not a kind person."
If every manager under her has to deal with the aftermath of their misfortune, she might as well turn the weaving and dyeing workshop into a charity hall.
That means there's room for discussion," Su Rou looked at her.
Qu Rong was the same age as her stepson, but she dared not underestimate this sixteen-year-old girl.
Su Rou said, "Besides managing the shops, just tell me anything else."
She was the daughter of a criminal. Although she had been redeemed and freed from slavery, she still wanted to keep a low profile to avoid trouble and didn't want to bring disaster to her peaceful life.
In particular, despite almost becoming a prostitute, she still looked down on business at heart and couldn't let go of her pride...
Qu Rong didn't care what Su Rou thought.
Qu Rong turned her head to face Li Yue'er beside her, but her eyes did not turn to Su Rou. Instead, she looked at Su Rou, indicating that this matter was related to the person beside her. "I have something to ask you for help. If you agree, I will naturally take care of his affairs."
Su Rou then looked at Li Yue'er.
Li Yue'er clenched her fingers to suppress her nervousness, and greeted Su Rou with a graceful demeanor.
Perhaps because she behaved reasonably well, the mistress turned her gaze to her and glanced at her.
Li Yue'er lowered her head and smiled at her mistress, her beautiful eyes, visible only to her mistress, shimmering with a sweet and ingratiating light.
Promising.
Qu Rong's mood was visibly better than before, and she picked up her teacup and took another sip of tea.
Su Rou and Li Yue'er nodded almost imperceptibly in return, then looked at Qu Rong again, "You speak."
Qu Rong, “taught her how to manage the household.”
Su Rou looked surprised and asked softly, "If it's about teaching these things, aren't you better at it than me?"
Qu Rong said, "What I teach is naturally different from what you teach. You should know more about managing the mansion and checking the accounts than I do."
Qu Rong is good at managing servants and accounts, but only for shops. She has neither the patience nor the time to deal with the trivial and complicated accounts in the mansion. Rather than wasting her energy, it would be better to find some work for Li Yue'er, who has nothing to do all day.
After she moved to Songlan Hall, she had her own things to do and was less likely to be bothered by Li Yue'er's constant flattery.
Moreover, everyone has their own expertise, and the larger the mansion, the more detailed the tasks become. Compared to her, a merchant's daughter, Su Rou, who was once the only daughter of the Minister's family, had learned from her mother from a young age how to manage the household and accounts and be a good wife.
Su Rou hesitated for a moment, then reluctantly agreed, "Okay."
Qu Rong put down her teacup and gestured for Li Yue'er to come forward. "Haven't you greeted your teacher yet?"
At the same time, Teng Huang brought over a tea tray with a cup of tea for the apprenticeship ceremony on it.
Li Yue'er walked over to Teng Huang, picked up the teacup, and bowed slightly to Li Yue'er, who was sitting in the chair, saying, "Student Li Yue'er greets teacher."
Su Rou took the tea with both hands, took a sip, glanced at Qu Rong, and said softly, "Just as your mistress said, what I can teach is superficial and ordinary, and I am not worthy of being called a teacher. I am older than you, so you can just call me Sister Su."
Li Yue'er looked at the mistress. When did the mistress say these words to someone?
Qu Rong, "..."
Qu Rong felt that Su Rou's words were not just a gentle remark, and said quietly, "Don't worry, she's more obedient than me, and should be a good student."
Su Rou glanced at Qu Rong's crossed-leg posture and smiled slightly, "I'm just afraid I'm not a good teacher and won't be able to produce satisfactory students."
Qu Rong looked up at Li Yue'er, her eyes slightly upturned, her beauty mark captivating, "I'm talking to you."
Li Yue'er, "..."
After serving the tea, Li Yue'er returned to her mistress's side, puffing out her cheeks and blinking her eyes upon hearing this.
What does this have to do with her?
But, was the mistress also Su Jie's student? What did she learn?
Qu Rong naturally wouldn't waste time telling Li Yue'er what to learn. She slightly raised her chin, gesturing for the person standing outside the door to come in.
After standing still, Shi Yi bowed again, saying, "Mistress."
He kept his head down, his gaze fixed only on his toes.
Qu Rong said, "Tell him to go find Aunt Tan... just say that I sent him, and Aunt Tan will arrange a job for him."
Su Rou glanced at Qu Rong again, then stood up and thanked Qu Rong along with Yi.
Qu Rong said, "Classes will begin tomorrow, and the location will be right here at Songxin Courtyard. You can discuss the time of class, the duration of each class, and the course schedule yourselves later. I have a lot of things to do, so I won't be watching you play house."
Li Yue'er, "..."
Is she just playing house by learning these things?
Although Li Yue'er secretly complained about her mistress, she felt even more grateful.
If resentment is like a cup of tea, then gratitude is like a spring pond.
Regardless of the mistress's intentions or what purpose she had in using her, what she learned from Sister Su was genuine skill.
Even if the mistress gets tired of her and loses interest in her, she can still rely on her accounting and housekeeping skills to become a steward in the mansion and support her mother and younger sister.
Li Yue'er was in high spirits, her face glowing more than usual. After the mistress left with the rattan, she looked in Su Rou's direction and called softly, "Sister Su."
Su Rou gestured for Shi Yi to go out and wait for her, then asked Dan Sha, who was serving her, for pen and ink, and sat down at a round table. "Can you read?"
Li Yue'er nodded and followed Su Rou, "I've also learned some arithmetic, and I can use a simple abacus."
Su Rou was somewhat surprised, then breathed a sigh of relief and gave Li Yue'er a gentle smile, "If you know these things, then it shouldn't be difficult for the steward to learn them."
Su Rou listed the class times, get out of class times, and the specific courses for the next five days on a piece of paper.
As she wrote these words, Li Yue'er would look down at her and then at the words she wrote.
She could sense the air of arrogance hidden beneath Sister Su's calm and peaceful exterior, like an expensive yet cracked jade hairpin, elegant and sharp but easily shattered.
However, Li Yue'er also knew that what Sister Su blurted out when she was being asked to become a disciple was not directed at her. In fact, Sister Su spoke very gently to her when the mistress was not around, so it was clear that she had been implicated by the mistress.
She knew it! The mistress was a perfectly good person, yet she had to have such a useless mouth.
Not only is she not good at talking, but she also always says things that are annoying.
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Mistress: ...Who's chirping me?
Moon: Looking at the sky, looking at the earth, looking at the air
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I worked so hard to write so much, hehe [shy]
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