The backyard of the county government office was quite large. Chen Xique, along with several other girls, stood in a row, waiting for their master's instructions.
"The Madam is busy today. She will come to check your needlework in a little while, so please don't make a fuss." A woman of similar age walked over and said to the girls, and instructed the maid behind her to distribute the needlework to each of them.
"I heard that the county magistrate's wife didn't come back, she only took two concubines with her. This wife must be the county magistrate's concubines." Seeing that everyone else had left and only a few people were left, the two women next to them started talking.
“My parents told me that if I could catch the eye of the county magistrate, I could bring honor to the family, and it wouldn’t matter if my needlework wasn’t good.”
After overhearing their conversation, Chen Xique suddenly realized that their so-called search for an embroiderer was a pretense; their real intention was to become the county magistrate's concubine. She was conflicted. Being a concubine would be looked down upon, but being the county magistrate's concubine was different. The county magistrate was someone even the village chief dared not offend. If she caught the county magistrate's eye, she would be the most powerful woman in the entire county.
Two complex emotions intertwined in her mind, but the moment Chen Xique saw the lady, she was certain. So what if she was a concubine? Look at them, they were also concubines of the county magistrate, yet they dressed so lavishly. These were clothes and jewelry that she couldn't even afford.
"What's your name?" The concubine, who was called the Second Madam, stared at Magpie because she seemed to be the most honest and obedient person there, doing her embroidery. If she remained honest, she would never be as good as her in the future, and the master would come to see her more often.
"Second Madam, my name is Chen Xique, and I live in Taoyuan Village." Chen Xique's heart pounded when she heard the question.
"Hmm, he looks honest. Let me see him."
"Sister, I think she's fairly good-looking, and she seems reliable." That's what the Third Madam said, but what she really wanted to say was that the girl was dressed very plainly, and the fabric of her clothes had been washed countless times. Her only advantage was that they were clean, which suggested that her family was poor and that she wouldn't be able to compete with them for favor in the future.
“I think it’s a good idea, let’s keep her here.” That’s how the two of them decided to hire Chen Xique. However, they officially said they were hiring a seamstress, and that she would be provided with food and lodging and would stay there from now on.
"Thank you both, madams. I need to go home and tell my parents, and also pack some clothes."
"Go ahead." Chen Xique happily walked towards her parents' direction. On the way, she deliberately passed by Chen Xichun's stall and glanced at it. She saw Chen Xichun greeting customers amidst the smoke and fire. She chuckled and then walked away quickly.
Xichun didn't have time to pay attention to her affairs. By the time she heard her friends talking about it again, it was already after she had become an embroiderer.
"Chen Xique from our village is really amazing. Do you know where she's working now?"
"Where? Didn't you say it was in some embroidery shop?" Taozi didn't care much about these things.
"I heard she's now working as an embroiderer in the backyard of the county government office. I heard her monthly salary is quite high, and she gets food and lodging. The clothes she wears are even more beautiful than ours. Even her mother and sister have changed their jewelry, and one of them has a silver hairpin."
"How do you know so much detail? Did you even see it with your own eyes?" The others didn't believe it; how could someone receive such good treatment?
"It's true, her parents said it. Everyone in the village has heard about it. And her older brother, Chen Lizhong, still gambles every day. I heard he's made a lot of money. He looks at us with disdain. We can eat meat at home every meal."
"Then their family has really become rich. They can still live well even like this. I remember that his parents lost money and almost had to sell their land."
Hearing their words, Xi Chun found it somewhat unbelievable. Not only had Chen Lizhong not quit gambling, but his family was also proud of it. Chen Xique was also quite capable, managing to get a job at the county magistrate's mansion. However, no matter how well their family was doing, Xi Chun would not try to marry into their family.
"Give each of us a fried chicken, hurry up." Just then, Chen Lizhong and several gambling buddies from the casino strode over, slamming money onto Xichun's stall and saying in a sly manner.
"You!" Taozi couldn't stand his behavior and was about to speak when Xichun stopped him.
"Okay, I'll fry it for you." You can't go against money, and besides, there are plenty of people who want to buy fried chicken right now. Xichun isn't worried that they'll try to extort money by claiming there's something wrong with the fried chicken.
"Look, this is what a businessman should do. Brothers, it's my treat today, eat as much as you like." Chen Lizhong, acting like a big shot, was about to sit at the table with Taozi and his friends, completely disregarding them.
“This is our spot,” said Piglet, another boy from the village, unhappily.
"Forget it, we didn't give Sister Xichun any money anyway. Let's not make things difficult for her business. Let's go over there." The others also saw his arrogant expression and advised him to keep his distance.
“These are also my guests. There’s another table over here, why don’t you eat here?” Xi Chun couldn’t stand his arrogant attitude either.
"What, you call us guests? Aren't we guests? Why aren't you serving us?" The other person who came with Chen Lizhong was just like him. Seeing that Xichun was pretty, he wanted to flirt with her.
“If you’re here to eat, then sit down properly. This is a legitimate business place. If you want to cause trouble, then I’ll call Constable Guo over to judge this fairly.” Xi Chun stopped trying to be polite and instead brought out the county constable.
"Stop arguing, or you'll ruin our luck. Eat, eat, eat, and then we'll go gamble again. I heard a new casino opened nearby," another person said, trying to smooth things over.
"Hmph, I won't argue with you today because of my older brother. Let's go, let's go." The three of them picked up the fried chicken wrapped in oil paper and left.
"Chen Lizhong hangs out with these people all day long. Aren't his parents worried that he'll go astray? Sigh, the Chen family is hopeless." After they left, Aunt Zhang shook her head. This family is getting more and more outrageous.
“Yes, Chen Lizhong wasn’t like this when he gambled in town. I don’t know what his family was thinking,” the other aunties chimed in.
Xi Chun watched him walk away and thought about the person who had just advised them to go to another casino. She felt something was amiss, but she figured that such a person deserved to be taught a lesson, and she had no obligation to warn him.
When Fu Changfeng heard about what happened to Xichun, he rushed to find her immediately. He had been avoiding Xichun before because he was worried that his parents would dislike her or even want to hurt her if they found out. However, after observing for a while, it seemed that his parents did not know about this, so he dared to come over.
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