Her tears fell like beads from a broken string, making her look pitiful.
Wang Dafu felt a pang of sympathy for her, but because Madam Wang was present, he couldn't very well help her up.
Since her father arrived, Wang Fu hasn't dared to utter a sound, fearing that Yang Meiqin, relying on her father's support, might reveal some more nonsense.
Although Madam Wang was strong-willed and adept at managing the household and her concubines, she never interfered in the education of her children, leaving everything to Wang Dafu.
The two had a clear division of labor because Wang Dafu believed: "If a son is not taught, it is the father's fault!"
Wang Dafu gave a brief account of Yang Meiqin's situation. Madam Wang smiled and said, "Since she is a widow and pregnant with Master's child, let's bring her to the manor! Master values offspring and doesn't want the child to be an unnamed concubine's child, which would only make him a laughingstock."
If I hadn't run into her by chance today, I would never have known that Wang Dafu was keeping such a beauty as a mistress. Look at her alluring charm and pitiful appearance, she is truly lovable.
Madam Wang was clever; she desperately wanted to kill Yang Meiqin and her unborn child right now. But she couldn't, at least not now, otherwise it would create a rift between her and Wang Dafu. It would be better to bring her to the manor and deal with her slowly. After all, there were plenty of concubines in the manor; she wouldn't need to lift a finger, someone else would be eager to take care of her.
"I will do as you say, Madam."
"Master, I won't go. I'm perfectly fine staying in the courtyard." Yang Meiqin was trembling with fear. Before Wang Dafu arrived, Madam Wang had dared to forcibly take her back to the mansion to teach her a lesson. If she really entered the mansion as a concubine, wouldn't she be skinned alive?
Yang Meiqin had previously been determined to become a concubine in the mansion, but now she was so afraid that she couldn't help but back down.
Madam Wang glanced at Yang Meiqin with disdain. This fool was as cowardly as a mouse. Once she entered the inner quarters, even without Madam Wang lifting a finger, the concubines there would probably not let her live to see next year. Not to mention the bastard child in her belly.
Upon hearing this, everyone realized that they were all one family.
It's perfectly natural for the mistress to discipline her concubine; it's none of their business.
Seeing Yang Meiqin's tearful appearance, Madam Wang was getting impatient. Today she had originally planned to try the new delicacies at Meiwuzhai, but this fool had ruined it. Now she had to deal with the mess the two of them had made, so she had no appetite at all.
"Hurry up and take them away!" Madam Wang urged Granny Cui impatiently.
Yang Meiqin was taken away by Madam Wang, but the crowd gathered at the entrance of Meiwuzhai to watch the commotion did not disperse, gossiping about the interesting things that had just happened.
Gu Nanjiao watched the whole show from behind, and she felt a little sorry for Yang Meiqin. She and Madam Wang were not even in the same league. Her methods might be enough to deal with Wang Fu, but once she entered the Wang family mansion and had to make a living under Madam Wang's control, her chances of survival were slim.
Seeing that the crowd hadn't dispersed yet, Gu Nanjiao hurriedly called out to the customers: "Everyone, come in and have a look and try our food! We're having a grand opening sale at Meiweizhai, and everyone who orders here gets a free cold drink."
After watching the lively event, everyone was thirsty and, upon hearing that there were cold drinks, they all wanted to try them.
With so many guests, Gu Nanjiao became busy again, spinning around like a top.
Lu Yanzhao hesitated for a moment, then looked at Gu Nanjiao, who followed him everywhere. Gu Nanjiao grew impatient and said, "We can talk about it another day. I'm very busy with the opening today. You should go back to the academy first!"
Lu Yanzhao looked at the noisy hall, where a large group of people had come to eat. Her mother, her father-in-law, and the others were all extremely busy.
He didn't even have a chance to interject, sighed helplessly, said goodbye to Gu Nanjiao, and returned to the academy.
...
Gu Nanjiao had never felt so tired before. After closing time, she slumped into a chair, not wanting to move at all.
Since there was no one to take care of Wenzhang and Xiaohu after school, Lü Siniang and Liu Shi went home early.
Gu Nanjiao was very grateful to them for coming to help. Before leaving, she bought some snacks for them to take with them, but they refused to accept them no matter what. After some arguing, they still didn't accept them.
Feeling bad that they had helped her all day, Gu Nanjiao had her father bring some snacks and chase after them.
Gu Nanjiao said to her father, "Dad, you've had a busy day. Take the food to them and go home to rest."
Although Lu's mother was also very tired, her eyes lit up with excitement when she saw the day's sales figures.
"Jiaojiao, you've earned fifty taels in just one day!"
Gu Nanjiao was too tired to move and said lazily, "Mother, you haven't calculated the labor and rent yet."
Lu's mother slapped her forehead, then lowered her head and began to calculate.
The two older dishwashers in the kitchen each received two taels of silver per month. Two of the four young women, who were literate, received two taels of silver per month, while the other two received one tael of silver per month. The four errand runners also received two taels of silver per month.
Gu Nanjiao pays a good wage; if you work hard for her, you can earn more than your father does as a tutor in a year.
For example, older dishwashers earn two liang (a unit of weight) a month, which adds up to twenty-four liang a year. When the elderly men and women hear that they can earn two liang a month, they are so excited that they burst into tears.
Ordinary restaurants would pay at most 800 coins a month, but I didn't expect Gu Nanjiao to pay so much.
Gu Nanjiao felt that the dishwashers worked really hard, and it was reasonable for them to be paid so much.
In any dynasty, literacy is very important. If the worker you hire is illiterate, it would be very troublesome if the customer couldn't answer your questions when ordering food. Therefore, young women who can read naturally command higher wages.
The delivery guy is fast and only delivers food; he works hard in all kinds of weather. His wages are the same as those of literate waiters.
Of course, in addition to the fixed salary, you can also get extra commission if you do a good job. The more you work, the more you earn.
Mother Lu counted on her fingers for a while, but the more she counted, the more confused she became. She frowned and said, "Jiaojiao, my head is hurting from all this calculation. I don't know if we made a profit or a loss."
"Mother, that's definitely more money. If you can earn 50 taels a day, that's 1,500 taels a month. The labor cost is only 18 taels a month. But we'll have to find a few more cooks in a while. I'm about to die from exhaustion."
"The head chef's salary isn't low; it's at least five taels of silver a month."
Lu's mother felt a pang of regret. Although she had earned more, after deducting wages and rent costs, she wasn't so excited anymore.
“Mother, everything takes time. Look, we’re making more money than we did with our stall. We can hire a female tutor for my little sister tomorrow.” Gu Nanjiao’s eyes lit up when she mentioned hiring a female tutor: “Mother, not many of the female workers at Meiwuzhai and Jiaoniang Pavilion are literate, and most of the errand boys are also illiterate. Why don’t we hire a female tutor to teach them to read and give them extra pay?”
Lu's mother agreed wholeheartedly, as her younger sister was already grown up but had not yet received any formal education.
Now, working alongside Gu Nanjiao in business, she has learned a great deal and deeply understands the importance of knowledge. The idea that a woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent is utterly ridiculous.
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