Chapter 125 Yuanxiao lives respectably in the Ming Dynasty as a woman
Song Jin wants to teach Baobao English. Mrs. Chai is interested but asks her to give a certificate, which makes Song Jin feel troubled.
There were many foreigners in the Ming Dynasty, but could we find an Englishman? Could we just find English books?
Song Jin was not sure, so she tried another way to prove it.
"Madam, have you ever thought about where those remarks I made yesterday came from?"
Mrs. Chai was a little hesitant. She heard Chai Heng say yesterday that Zhang Mao intended to invite Song Jin to give a class, but she did not accept. Today, she took the initiative to offer to teach Bao Bao. In terms of qualifications, she is not without, but this foreign language......
"I heard that you said something about the earth being round and the sky being floating at Lord Ji's house yesterday. It seems that all the lords, including Lord Zhang, the professor of the prefectural school, believed it."
Song Jin said, "The world is so big that it cannot be contained by just one Ming Dynasty. Today, I can use this foreign knowledge to impress the professors of the prefectural school. Why should I worry about not being able to do so in the future? Although our poetry and books are very important, it is always a good idea to learn more knowledge. Now that we have opened this barrier, who knows where the people who come to Ming Dynasty to do business with us in the future will be from? Isn't it better to prepare early?"
Mrs. Chai frowned. It was not that she disagreed, but she was wondering what would happen if Bao Bao could also intimidate those professors of the prefectural school?
Then she'll have something to show off.
Once people have money, they will want different satisfactions, just like Maslow's hierarchy of needs. When they reach the top, they want to be respected. Giving money to charity is one of the ways to do this. Rich people can imitate it. But knowledge is different. In this feudal society, knowledge is almost monopolized.
"Okay, I don't care what you teach, as long as you can teach something different from others and can calm the people in the government school. My family already has a teacher, so you can stagger your teaching times. In the first month of the year, you can arrange your family affairs properly, and in February, you can move to my house. I will pay you five taels of silver every month, and provide you with food and accommodation. How do you do it?"
"It's a deal."
Song Jin came to the Chai family to teach, not only to impart knowledge, but also to reflect the change of her status, from a family slave, to a cook, and then to the master of the Chai family.
Who would the Chai family hire to teach their children? A respected scholar?
No matter who he is, Song Jin is now tied up, just like the straw rope used to tie up the hairy crabs. His value will increase sooner or later.
However, Mrs. Chai stared at Song Jin's back as he left the Chai family. She suddenly felt that this person became even more interesting. She went back and told Chai Heng about this matter and asked him what he thought.
Chai Heng said: "You don't need to care about her thoughts or what knowledge she teaches. I can see that Shu Bai has special feelings for this woman. Maybe she will be the wife of a Tongzhi in the future. The closer she is to us now, the more benefits there will be in the future."
The food that Chai Heng ate replenished his brain a lot.
Mrs. Chai disagreed: "But I like her head. Think about her situation a year ago and now. It's not an exaggeration to say that the world has changed drastically. It's hard for her to hide her because she is a woman. Otherwise, she would have been famous in Suzhou City long ago."
"When she comes, she will become famous sooner or later."
Regarding becoming famous, Song Jin both wanted and feared it.
As the saying goes, people are afraid of red pigs and fat pigs. People can be famous, but they need to have sufficient self-protection ability, otherwise they will be robbing the heroine of the novel, which is equivalent to a fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered. There is no other way out except to cry out.
This is why she wants to go to the Chai family. She uses the Chai family as a backer. They are rich, famous, have apprentices, and a fierce wife who can control her husband. She wants to slowly take off her man's clothes and live decently as a woman in the Ming Dynasty. Baobao's husband is just a stepping stone.
The target began to approach.
Song Jin returned home and told everyone about this matter. No one was unhappy, but after the brief joy, they were all worried.
"So...is our shop still open?"
"Open." Song Jin said firmly: "We now have two stable businesses, one is the milk tea in the government office, and the other is the peanuts in the restaurant. When the weather warms up, we will continue to make mosquito coils. I am afraid that we will not have enough manpower."
After hearing what Song Jin said, the shop assistants felt much better. As long as the shop was not closed and they didn't lose their jobs, it would be fine.
Song Jin assigned the task. Chunyun was already an expert at making milk tea, so she had no problem taking charge. Her mother, Mrs. Chen, was good at frying, so it wouldn't be a problem to supply the restaurant. Du Juan was in charge of the daily dishes, and the two waiters took turns to come in and help, so there should be enough manpower.
The only one she wanted was Arong. She wanted him to take an apprentice so that she could train some men in advance. For this, she paid him five cents of silver every month, and he could choose the apprentice between two people.
A Rong agreed, since it was something that was easy to do.
As the Lantern Festival approaches, the streets become more and more lively. A customer came to the store and mentioned that there were many lantern stands on Lihua Street, and that the Lantern Festival would definitely be lively.
Song Jin chose the opportunity to go out at night and prepared the ingredients in advance, including small bowls of double skin milk and caramel pudding, as well as some milk tea. He planned to keep them warm with hot water that day and ask the waiters to sell them in busy places.
After everything was ready, she went shopping to see the lanterns, which was what she had agreed with Ji Shubai.
They haven't seen each other for five days.
Five days?
Song Jin sneered. She had actually fallen to the point of counting the days to see him. Beauty was indeed alluring.
She had wanted to help in the kitchen after getting dressed, but when everyone saw her clothes, they realized they were not fit for cooking, so she spent the whole day like a big lady, staying upstairs and looking at the scenery out the window.
The north wind was still strong in the first month of the year, but Song Jin was very happy. He stuck his head out of the window to truly appreciate the city.
On the streets, every household has bright red couplets, door lanterns sway in the wind, pedestrians are shoulder to shoulder, naughty children are running around, and in the deserted corners, mud, white snow and red crumbs are mixed.
Song Jin breathed in the cold wind, and his face felt tighter. When he lowered his head to close the window, he saw someone looking upstairs.
What’s so good about it? Haven’t you seen a woman before?
Song Jin closed the window with resentment, ran outside the kitchen to watch Chunyun make milk tea, and drank a bowl to warm himself up.
"Would you come with me tonight?"
"Who will take care of the stall when we go there?"
"We take turns to look after the lanterns, and those who look after the shops look after the shops. We have enough manpower."
Meng Qi came over and interrupted: "The shopkeeper is dressed like this today. If we follow him, we will really become a young lady and need someone to protect us before we can go out."
Zhang Hongan also said: "When you enter the Chai family in the future, you will have servants to take care of you, and you will really become a young lady."
"This is the first time I've seen a female teacher since I was a child. It's new to me."
"Then how should Miss Chai address our shopkeeper from now on? Ms.?"
"Should I call her Master's Wife?"
"Master's wife?" Song Jin muttered, and suddenly thought that Ji Shubai might have called her the wrong name. He should call himself Master's wife. Next time he has the chance to teach him math, he must correct it.
That evening, the sky was still glowing with rosy clouds, and the street lanterns had been lit. The two shop assistants picked up their loads and went out. A Rong stayed in the shop, while Song Jin took Chen Pozi and Chunyun Dujuan to Lihua Street.
As for Lao Lu, he was not idle. He invited neighbors to have a drink in the store, while A Rong took care of the business.
There were many people walking on the road, crowded together, and their faces were all illuminated by the lanterns.
Song Jin didn't have to think about where the fun was, he just had to follow the crowd and he would know where the dancing was the most lively.
Dujuan and Chunyun surrounded the mother and daughter in the middle, and two servants followed behind. Mrs. Chai gave Song Jin several expensive pieces of jewelry, but Song Jin dared not wear any of them, for fear that someone would grab her head and take away her hairpin if she went out on the street, and she would not be able to catch up with them.
She was unwilling to let this beautiful thing just lie in the cabinet at T's house.
"Do you think it will be possible for us to have many people around us to serve us in the future?"
Suddenly, a firecracker exploded nearby, and Du Juan squeezed in even tighter: "Think about us last year, and look at us now, maybe next year will be very different."
Chunyun asked, "What will the big change be like?"
"The big change is that we wear golden buns, wear clothes covered with gold, ride in sedan chairs to Tianxiang Tower to drink wine, listen to music and enjoy the lanterns."
Song Jin laughed out loud after hearing this, thinking that in the 21st century, this would be considered as bringing jewelry, driving a BMW, going to the restaurant with the best view in the city center, sitting by the window, eating while waiting to watch the fireworks, right?
"Let's try hard, maybe we can do it next year."
"I feel like with you here, anything is possible."
The four of them walked towards Lihua Street hand in hand.
The road was not smooth. Taking advantage of the Lantern Festival, many women in the city who rarely go out came together to walk across the bridge. Almost every woman was accompanied by a companion, some with servants, some with family members, and probably some like Song Jin who brought their own servants. As a result, the already narrow street became even more difficult to walk today.
But when they arrived at Lihua Street, they realized that what they had just seen was just like this.
The place was filled with beautiful clothes and pearls. Song Jin's head, which was only wearing a velvet flower and silver-footed hairpin, was overshadowed by the crowd.
It's like an exhibition here.
Some people were looking at the lanterns, some were looking at the dragon dance, and Song Jin was looking at the women's clothes and jewelry.
On this side is a golden bun with a gold and jade headpiece, and on that side is a bouquet of flowers with a magpie on a branch inlaid with gold and gems. The forbidden steps on this side jingle, and the locket on the other side sways. There is a gold crown with a golden beam, jade bracelets and jade tinkling pendants, a white sable sleeping rabbit and a purple sable wind collar, which makes Song Jin dazzled, but this is not the end.
They were all wearing satin with dark patterns and gold weaving, satin with embroidered patterns and two-color brocade, satin with flashing patterns and two-color satin, silk with Jiang silk, silk with spring silk and silk with embroidery. Song Jin felt like she was walking in a living museum. She stayed there and for a moment she didn't know what day it was.
"Mancao? Mancao? What's wrong with you?" After Mrs. Chen called her several times but she didn't respond, she couldn't help but raise her voice.
"I want to get rich!" Song Jin suddenly shouted.
No matter how unacceptable consumerism is, she wants consumerism.
What do you mean by a bun that is too ugly? Is it the face that is being looked at? It is a big piece of gold.
Why is she afraid of being caught up by someone pulling her head? She brought ten or eight servants with her to see who dares to pull her head.
Next year, she would go shopping and not bother about the little money she earned that night.
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