The lady of the embroidery shop explained the rules of the shop and even took out a contract of indenture.
Xiaohua's embroidery skills are average, but her talent is not bad either. Given time, she will definitely be able to embroider some good works.
"Madam, the only problem now is that Xiaohua's parents don't know she's here yet."
"I'm afraid we'll have to trouble you to come with us to give the money to her parents and have her sign the indenture."
Wei Yuyan thought she still needed to let her parents know and sign a contract of indenture, as she couldn't act as their agent.
"Sigh, fine, I'll see this through to the end. Since you put it that way, I'll go with you. But if her parents don't agree, I'll just leave."
The embroidery shop lady stood up, took the money bag and the indenture, put them in her pocket, and walked outside.
"Xiaohua, we did it! Come on, catch up!"
Wei Yuyan excitedly pulled up the little flower from the ground, still feeling a bit thrilled. She hadn't expected to succeed so easily.
Xiaohua's eyes were also filled with tears, her heart pounding with excitement and nervousness. Would her parents really let her leave?
"Xiaohua, this is a family matter. You must express your own thoughts later."
You have to rely on yourself, otherwise no matter how much we say, it's useless.
Inside the carriage, Wei Yuyan was giving instructions to Xiao Hua, while the lady simply closed her eyes to rest.
"I understand, Sister-in-law Wu."
Xiaohua nodded, pondering in her heart how to face her parents' storm of anger.
"Right here~".
When they arrived at Xiaohua's house, Xiaohua hesitated for a moment before pushing open the door and going inside. Surprisingly, Xiaohua's parents were still fast asleep in bed.
"Father, Mother, I have something to tell you."
Xiaohua pushed the door open and called them to get up.
"Just say what's on your mind. What, do you expect us to get up?"
A woman's high-pitched voice rang out.
"Do you want eight taels of silver?"
Xiao Hua calmly said something.
"Eight taels of silver, what does that mean?"
At this moment, Xiaohua's father got up. He loved gambling and had been sleeping at home for the past few days because he had no money.
"You'll know when you come out."
After saying this, Xiao Hua went to fetch stools for Madam Embroidery Workshop and Wei Yuyan to sit on.
A short while later, a woman with hair like chicken feathers, dark skin, and a short stature came out first; this was Xiaohua's mother.
Behind him was a tall, thin man in tattered clothes.
"Who are you?"
Xiaohua's mother found it strange that there were two other people in the yard.
Xiao Hua's father, however, was leering at the embroidery shop lady.
"Father, Mother, she is the lady of the embroidery workshop, and I want to go to the embroidery workshop to work as an embroiderer."
She was willing to pay eight taels of silver, but I didn't want to marry a fool; I wanted to be an embroiderer.
Xiaohua looked firmly at her parents and said the words she had thought of on the carriage.
When Xiaohua's father and mother heard what Xiaohua said, they were first surprised and happy, but then they suppressed their smiles.
"Cough cough~, what do you take us for? You think you can get rid of us with eight taels of silver? We marry off our daughters and we also need a son-in-law."
"We only get eight taels of silver to be embroiderers. We're not stupid. Unless you give us ten taels of silver."
Xiaohua's father wanted to bargain a bit more, but he knew, of course, that there was no benefit in having a mentally challenged son-in-law.
“If you don’t agree to eight taels of silver, I will hang myself in my room tomorrow, so you won’t get a single tael of silver.”
Xiaohua had anticipated that her parents might disagree, so she decided to threaten suicide.
"You~".
"The child's father~".
After hearing what Xiaohua said, Xiaohua's father pointed at her with his finger, as if he wanted to scold her.
But Xiaohua's mother interrupted him, pulling him into the room and saying a few words.
Just as Wei Yuyan was pondering what she should do if her parents disagreed, Xiaohua's parents came out hesitantly.
"Will my daughter still get paid in the future?"
Xiaohua's mother remembered this matter. If her daughter didn't get married, the wages her daughter earned in the future would still belong to her.
"The wages will probably not be paid for another seven or eight years."
After thinking for a moment, the lady of the embroidery shop gave a rough estimate of the time.
The couple were overjoyed upon hearing this; they were thrilled that such a wonderful thing could happen.
In a few years, once the ten taels of silver are spent, there will be money from my daughter's wages.
"Alright, we agree. We'll send our daughter to work as an embroiderer there."
Xiao Hua's mother grinned, revealing her dark yellow teeth. Being an embroiderer was much better than marrying a fool.
"You two, sign and put your fingerprints on this document, and you can take these eight taels of silver."
The embroidery shop lady took out the indenture and eight taels of silver from her money bag and placed them on the table—a blatant temptation.
"We'll sign, we'll sign."
The couple rushed over to sign the papers, and Xiaohua felt nothing but resentment as she watched her parents' greedy behavior.
"Sister~ Sister, don't go~".
When the younger siblings woke up from their afternoon nap and heard that their older sister was leaving, they ran out crying and begging her not to go. It was then that Xiaohua couldn't help but shed tears.
"Mao Mao, Niu Niu, be good and stay home. Your sister will come back to see you whenever she has time, okay?"
Xiaohua knew she couldn't be soft-hearted, otherwise she would have no way to survive.
She pushed her younger siblings away, went back to her room, grabbed two sets of clothes, wrapped them up, and resolutely walked out the door with the embroidery shop lady.
"Your name is Xiaohua?"
When they arrived at the carriage, the embroidery lady's expression was no longer cold; perhaps Xiao Hua had already become one of her own.
"Yes, madam."
Little Flower nodded.
"This name doesn't sound good. I'll give you a new name. From now on, you'll be called Qingyu."
The lady often bestowed names upon those around her, and she particularly loved jewelry and ornaments, so the names she chose were mostly in that category.
"Thank you, Madam. From now on, I will be called Qingyu."
Little Flower wiped away her tears and smiled.
"Qingyu, you go with Madam, I'll go back now."
Seeing that she could now retire gracefully, Wei Yuyan happily bid farewell to Qingyu.
"Sister-in-law Wu, I am grateful to you. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been able to escape my fate."
Qingyu gratefully took Wei Yuyan's hand.
"You must study embroidery well in the future, and I will bring Qianqian to visit you whenever I have time."
Wei Yuyan patted her head.
"Um".
Qingyu nodded heavily.
"Alright, let's go then."
The embroidery shop lady nodded to Wei Yuyan, then got into the carriage, with Qingyu following behind.
As Wei Yuyan walked along the road, she felt even happier than if she had received ten taels of silver, and she couldn't wait to run to Sister Xiuhua's house.
"Sister-in-law Xiuhua, let me tell you, I just did something big~".
Wei Yuyan started calling out even before she reached the gate.
"Sister-in-law is here. I was just saying I was going to look for you. What big thing have you done?"
Sister-in-law Xiuhua happened to be holding a handful of pumpkin seeds. When she saw her, she handed them to her and then went back inside to pour water.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
