Upon hearing this, Liu's eyes lit up; she wanted to hire female workers!
In this era, men are the pillars of the family, and the whole family depends on them for support.
Women rarely have work to do, especially women in farming families.
At most, diligent women could help wealthy families with laundry, or those with good handicrafts could embroider a few handkerchiefs to sell, but the money they earned was very little.
This is why most men have absolute say at home, while women only have the right to listen.
"Hey girl, how long can you do this job?"
Liu asked excitedly, eager to ascertain the details so she could benefit the women in her family.
Madam Sun smiled gently: "Our family has landed a good order this time, but it will take quite a while. Once the new house is finished, we'll be hiring all the staff. Sister-in-law, please keep an eye out for us. We don't want those who are good at cheating and shirking responsibility!"
"Don't worry, girl, I'll take care of this!"
Liu was all smiles, and she took Sun's arm, wanting to accompany the elderly couple to measure out and buy land.
Before leaving, the village chief instructed his eldest son to inform the villagers who had helped build the house that construction would continue the next day.
In addition, we need to select some more reliable and capable men. If that's not enough, we can look for them in the neighboring villages.
As a result, the news that the Lu family was going to buy land and build houses spread instantly.
Those who had previously whispered about the Lu family's poverty dared not utter a word, fearing that this would prevent their own men from being selected.
Some people have even heard from the village chief's wife that the Lu family workshop is hiring female workers, and it's a long-term job. If they can keep working there, one person can support a whole family.
Before the house was even built, the women in the village couldn't sit still. They would run to the Lu family's house seven or eight times a day, hoping to run into the Lu family and then pretend to bump into them and exchange a few words.
The Lu family brought their clansmen with them. They had been watching the Lu family make clothes with Cui'er and the others for a while and had been extremely envious. It was just like sewing cotton clothes, they could do that too!
Now that the opportunity has finally arrived, I naturally don't want to let it slip away easily. If I can be selected, my status at home will rise significantly!
The next day, the Lu family's garment workshop started work, and everyone was busy. A horse-drawn carriage hurriedly entered the village. After asking for directions to the Lu family's house, the driver cracked his whip, and the horse galloped off. If the driver hadn't quickly pulled on the reins, it might have gone too far.
"Excuse me, is this Madam He's house?"
The coachman stopped his horse, jumped off the carriage, and went to knock on the door.
It was Madam Sun who opened the door. Seeing that the person was in a hurry to find her third son's wife, she immediately frowned and asked, "Who are you?"
The coachman then realized he hadn't introduced himself, so he said, "I am from Yuyuantang. Manager Ren asked me to invite Madam He to accompany him on his house call."
I see.
Mrs. Sun breathed a sigh of relief, thinking they had come to cause trouble.
She nodded and said, "This is it. Please wait a moment."
As she spoke, she went into the house to find He Jiuniang, only to find that He Jiuniang was sleeping again. There were a few sheets of drawing paper on the table, indicating that she had only finished half of her drawing and was too tired to go to sleep.
Seeing this, Madam Sun couldn't bear to wake her, but it was a rare opportunity to accompany her master on a house call, so she hardened her heart and patted her awake.
"Third daughter-in-law, someone from Yuyuantang has come. They say your master is going to take you on a house call."
He Jiuniang knew as soon as she entered the room that it was important, so she didn't dawdle. She jumped out of bed, yawned lazily, and asked, "Did he say where we're going? Is it far? If it's far, I want to bring Gou'er with me. I promised him that."
"That wasn't mentioned, but you're going on business, why are you bringing the dog? Do you think I, an old woman, would lose it?"
Sun glared at her with displeasure. After all, Gou'er was her grandson; how could she mistreat him?
“Mother, you don’t know, after I suffered that disaster last time, Gou’er has been especially clingy to me, and he often has nightmares at night. I can’t bear to see him sad. Besides, I asked Master before, and Master agreed to let me bring the child with me.”
He Jiuniang always spoke in a way that was half true and half false, making it difficult for people to guess what she meant.
For a long time, everyone slept together, and Sun didn't hear Gou'er having any nightmares, but she still didn't suspect anything. She was just surprised to find that her sleep was getting better and better, and she couldn't even hear any noise.
"Then hurry up and pack, I'll go ask first."
After saying this, Sun walked out with a brisk pace. He Jiu Niang smiled and thought, "The old lady is quite nimble."
Sun returned quickly, saying she was in the county town. He Jiuniang then got into the car and left without taking anything with her.
Mrs. Sun, with a worried expression, saw them off at the door and watched them leave. She couldn't quite describe her feelings; she was just a little uneasy.
He Jiuniang didn't think that much about it. She fell asleep as soon as she got in the car. She wanted to draw up more blueprints in the next few days so that she could mass-produce the houses as soon as they were built. This would shorten the construction period and satisfy the customers. Because of this, she hadn't slept since last night and had only managed to doze off for a while just now, but she was woken up by the noise.
"Madam He, we've arrived."
The coachman whispered a reminder from outside. He Jiuniang yawned again, got out of the carriage, and found that in front of her was the side gate of a house. Manager Ren and another young medicine boy had been waiting for a long time.
"Madam He... oh no, Doctor He, you've finally arrived! We're here today to examine the magistrate's daughter, so we can't delay!"
He Jiuniang realized that the house belonged to the county magistrate.
As she followed Manager Ren inside, he told her about the magistrate's daughter.
"They said she had sores on her face that hadn't healed despite treatment. She had been contemplating suicide for a long time. She had come to our clinic before, but the results weren't very noticeable. She would get better temporarily, but the sores would recur after a few days."
He Jiuniang nodded in understanding.
Since both Manager Ren and the young apprentice were men, they couldn't go directly to the backyard, so they had to have the magistrate's daughter come to the front yard to make the diagnosis.
The magistrate's daughter, her face veiled, sat in the flower hall with a hesitant expression, clearly having already had a good cry.
"Manager Ren has come in person. Please take a look at my Lan'er. Her condition has been getting worse these past few days. I really don't know what to do."
The speaker was a woman in her twenties or thirties; judging from her demeanor, she was probably the wife of a county magistrate.
The county magistrate's daughter didn't react much when she saw Manager Ren, since they knew each other before. But when she saw He Jiuniang and met her beautiful and charming face, she immediately got angry.
She yelled, "Who is she? This is the backyard of the county government office; not just any Tom, Dick, or Harry can come in here!"
He Jiuniang didn't know where her hostility came from, and asked with a light laugh, "Then shall I leave?"
P.S.: Sorry I'm late. Something happened tonight. My awful relative made me so angry that my hands were shaking while typing...
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