The next day, Li Yuemei did not go to the town with them. Tomorrow was the apprenticeship ceremony, and Yu Ge'er would not be able to go to the store to help then. She had to find a good person today.
Having lived in the village for so long, she knew everyone's situation well. She planned to visit the village widow, Liu. Liu lost her husband when she was young, and raising a young boy on her own was no easy task. Besides farming, she would go to town to help with laundry. However, she didn't always find work, and she only got a few cents for washing a large basin of clothes, so her life was rather tight. But she was a hard worker. When she had no work, she would go up the mountain to forage for local produce, chop firewood, dig bamboo shoots, and find anything she could sell for silver.
Now the little brother is about ten years old, the same age as Yu Ge'er. In two years, they will be able to meet each other.
They met a few villagers along the way. Li Yuemei greeted them. The gossipy Li Jinhua asked, "Aunt Zhao, where are you going? Aren't you going to town today?"
The Zhao family members all went to the town to open a shop, and the news spread throughout the village. Some were jealous, some were envious, and Li Jinhua was one of them. There is a story behind this.
When Li Jinhua's son was 18, she asked a matchmaker to find a virtuous girl or boy. She wasn't satisfied with any of the names the matchmaker suggested, until she mentioned Lin Yan. Lin Yan's father had recently passed away, leaving the family without a man. Li Jinhua thought, wouldn't everything in the family belong to Lin Yan alone? She immediately agreed and asked the matchmaker to come and propose marriage. But Lin Yan didn't want to get married and turned it down.
He had no choice but to look for someone else, and ended up marrying a girl from the next village. However, this girl was a tough and lazy person, pretending to be gentle and virtuous outside of the house. In reality, she did not do any housework and even contradicted her mother-in-law. Li Jinhua regretted her decision and hated Lin Yan with a vengeance, wondering if he hadn't been so ungrateful, her family wouldn't have ended up like this. She also came to hate the Zhao family, who had married Lin Yan.
Every day when everyone in the village was gossiping, she would always make up stories about the Lin and Zhao families, either overtly or covertly. Everyone else knew she hated them, so they rarely responded. The Zhao family sold tofu in the village, and everyone knew their character. It can only be said that some people can't stand others doing well.
Li Yuemei replied with a forced smile, "I have something to do today, so I won't go. You guys chat, I'm leaving first."
She didn't want to argue with Li Jinhua at all, so she simply didn't even bother to make an appearance and ignored her.
Li Jinhua rolled her eyes. "Oh, it's different now that I'm making money. The villagers don't care anymore."
Li Yuemei suddenly became furious, but she was in a hurry to find someone, so she could only suppress her anger, "Yes, I married a good husband, not like you." After saying that, she left without looking back.
"You!" Li Jinhua was so angry that she rolled up her sleeves and wanted to chase after him. The people next to her quickly held her back: "Okay, okay, you are also the same. Why did you provoke her for no reason?"
"Say less."
"Let's continue chatting. Where were we just now?"
The noise behind her gradually became quieter. Li Yuemei didn't take it to heart and soon arrived at the door of Widow Liu's house.
"Aunt Liu, are you home?" Li Yuemei knocked on the door.
After waiting for a while and seeing no response, she knocked again.
"I'm coming..." someone's voice came from the room, and soon the door opened. Widow Liu must have been busy, her head was covered in sweat. She raised her hand and wiped it, "Aunt Zhao, is there something wrong? Look at me..."
"Yes, there is something. Can I go in and talk about it?" It is not a good idea to discuss this matter at the door, as someone might overhear it.
Widow Liu quickly stepped back and asked someone to come in.
"Please sit down and I'll pour you some water." The people in the village would place a simple set of square tables and benches in the yard. They would eat and rest here on weekdays. There are many sunny days in the south, and the weather is usually good in spring and autumn. Eating in the yard is bright and convenient.
In summer, people usually eat in the main hall where it is not exposed to the sun. In winter, they eat in the kitchen or main hall where it is warmer.
Li Yuemei sat down in the yard. Widow Liu brought some water and sat beside her, waiting for Li Yuemei to speak.
"Aunt Liu, let me be frank. My family opened a shop in town, and now we need to hire someone who can cook to help. On weekdays, he will wash vegetables and cook. The salary is four hundred coins a month, including breakfast and lunch. If you do a good job, the salary will be increased." The family had discussed this salary yesterday. Since breakfast and lunch were included, the salary would not be too high. A man carrying sandbags over there would only make forty or fifty coins a day, and it would be hard work if it didn't include food.
Li Yuemei did not tell anyone that Lin Yan was pregnant. It would be better not to tell anyone in the first three months to avoid unnecessary trouble.
Widow Liu was overjoyed. "Really? Can I?"
"Why not? Didn't you help with cooking when the village chief's family had a wedding? I remember many people praised your cooking."
Widow Liu desperately needed a permanent job. Her laundry work wasn't stable, and going up the mountain wasn't guaranteed to yield anything. Furthermore, a bundle of firewood only sold for a few coins. She wanted to save enough for her son's dowry so he could have the confidence to marry into her husband's family.
"I do!" she agreed eagerly.
"Mom, I found two eggs." At this time, a young man came running from the backyard. Seeing that there were guests in the yard, he quickly stopped.
"Brother Yue, this is Aunt Zhao."
"Hello, Aunt Zhao." Yue Ge'er smiled sweetly. He had dimples like Lin Yan, but he only had one on the left.
Li Yuemei stared at his dimples in a daze. This boy was about the same age as Yu Ge'er, but much thinner than Yu Ge'er. However, he was dressed very neatly.
"Hey, how old is Brother Yue this year?"
"Auntie, I'm thirteen."
[She's one year older than Yu Ge'er.] Li Yuemei thought to herself. She began to think that after Yan Ge'er got pregnant, it would be best not to let him work. Someone would have to do the work of serving food and clearing the dishes in the restaurant. She might as well ask Yue Ge'er if he wanted to go.
Then she asked, "Brother Yue, I'm here to ask your mother to work in my shop. Do you want to go? My shop is still short of someone to serve food and clean up the dishes."
Yue Ge'er's eyes sparkled instantly, "Auntie, can I?"
Li Yuemei laughed heartily. This child was just like his mother. "Of course, but the wages aren't much, only two hundred and fifty coins a month."
Yue Ge nodded vigorously. This salary was already a lot. If he saved it without spending it, he would have more than one or two taels in half a year.
"We're a restaurant, serving breakfast and lunch. You need to go early, but brunch is included. You can go with my donkey cart. We'll leave at noon every day, is that okay?"
"Sure, we can do it any early." Since we finally found a job, we must seize it.
"Then let's start tomorrow. You two will come to my house at noon tomorrow and we'll take a bus to town together."
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