"Yes, Sister Zhiyin, you're so kind."
Xiaoya's eyes instantly welled up with tears, and she looked at her confidante with sparkling eyes.
"If you have the chance in the future, I will teach you martial arts together with painting."
Zhiyin thought it was time to put teaching the two little ones judo and self-defense on the agenda.
After all, only by becoming strong can one protect oneself and those one loves.
"Really? Sister?"
Xiaoya's eyes lit up instantly upon hearing this, filled with anticipation as she looked longingly at her confidante.
"Of course it's true."
As Zhiyin spoke, she picked up the basket that Xiaoya had dropped on the ground, dusted it off, and carried it on her back.
"Let's go to your house."
…
After Zhiyin arrived at Xiaoya's house, she told Xiaoya's grandmother about her purpose and the related reward.
The two felt as if they had been struck by lightning, and without a second thought, they happily agreed.
"By the way, Xiaoya, do you know anyone else who's having financial difficulties?"
"I might need someone else to help me with my tasks!"
Zhiyin quickly looked at the two of them and asked, "I think we don't need too many people for now, two is enough."
She didn't buy a lot of chilies; the two of them could finish them in about ten days.
We'll collect from other villages after we've finished that.
Xiaoya thought for a moment, then clutched her clothes and said cautiously, "Is Xiaoqin okay? She lives upstairs from us. Her parents treat her badly; she's always hungry and has to work non-stop every day."
After saying that, she realized that wouldn't work. She frowned in distress and shook her head vigorously. "No, no, Xiaoqin's parents will definitely not agree. Even if they agree to let her work, the money she earns will only be handed over to her parents. She won't get any benefit."
"I see?"
Zhiyin stroked her chin and pondered for a while, then quickly came up with an idea. "Xiaoya, you can tell Xiaoqin's parents that she can earn 50 coins a day working for me. They'll definitely agree."
"I can give her the extra 50 coins privately later, without her parents knowing."
Upon hearing this, Xiaoya's eyes lit up instantly. "That's right, Sister Yinyin, you're so smart!"
She rested her chin on her hand, gazing at her confidante with admiration, "That way, Xiaoqin can have money to buy what she wants."
"Yes, if she can't go to the county to buy it herself, I can help her along the way."
"Go ahead, go tell Xiaoqin and her parents..."
Zhiyin smiled and patted Xiaoya's head. Xiaoya was so excited that she immediately ran out obediently.
Before long, she brought back a little girl who was much younger than her, thin and small, with eyes full of insecurity and fear, and who looked timid and hesitant.
Standing in front of her was a woman who looked rather mean. The moment she saw Zhiyin, the woman's eyes lit up, and she eagerly sat down next to Zhiyin, her eyes full of flattery. "Oh, isn't this Miss Yinyin? You said you'd let my Xiaoqin work for you for 50 coins a day, is that true?"
Her eyes were full of anticipation; she felt like a windfall had fallen from the sky. She never imagined that a money-losing person could one day earn money for them.
After receiving a nod of approval from her kindred spirit, she couldn't stop smiling. "Oh my, Yinyin, I'm telling you, you've really chosen the right person. Our Xiaoqin is so diligent and meticulous in her work."
"Hiring her to do the work was absolutely the right thing you did."
Zhiyin merely nodded indifferently when she saw that Zhiyin was playing the zither so beautifully, as if it were a commodity.
"Since you've agreed, let's put our fingerprints on this."
Zhiyin calmly handed the contract she had just written to Xiaoya and Xiaoqin, staring at them seriously, "Since you are working for me, remember not to leak the recipe."
He watched helplessly as the two nodded in fear and pressed their handprints on it.
Zhiyin smiled with satisfaction, then turned to Xiaoqin's mother, her dark eyes fixed on her without blinking. "Aunt Wang, you absolutely mustn't try to force Xiaoqin to reveal the details of her work, or you won't be able to bear the consequences!"
"Oh dear, what are you saying? Do you think I'm that kind of person?"
A fleeting hint of guilt crossed Aunt Wang's eyes; in reality, she did indeed harbor the idea of secretly learning the craft.
After all, they all knew about the changes in Zhiyin's family these days, and who wouldn't want a piece of the pie?
Zhiyin looked at her with a half-smile, her voice rising at the end, "Oh~"
"That would be for the best, after all, if you dare to force Xiaoqin to reveal the recipe, you'll have to pay me 1,000 taels of silver!"
"After all, your fingerprints have already been affixed! This contract will be effective after I take it to the government office for registration tomorrow. If you don't want to be locked up in jail, don't covet what doesn't belong to you."
As she spoke, Zhiyin slowly and deliberately put the contract into her bag, then stood up with a smile, "That's settled then..."
She patted Xiaoya and Xiaoqin on the head, "Good girls, come to my house at 9:00 AM tomorrow to start work."
"Uh-huh…"
Both little girls nodded obediently.
…
The next morning, Zhiyin began teaching the two girls in the factory how to identify various containers, different types of chili peppers, how to process various chili peppers, how to make various chili peppers, and how to properly store various chili peppers, etc.
It sounds simple, but because there are so many types of chili peppers and so many chili pepper products, time still passes very quickly.
After Zhiyin taught the two girls how to cook each type of chili pepper, making sure they had fully learned it, and seeing that Zhihua had finished school, she smiled at the two girls and said, "That's enough for today."
"The most important goal today is to learn to recognize different types of chili peppers, and to know how to prepare them and the ingredients, etc."
"You can officially start making chili powder and the like tomorrow."
After saying that, she saw Xiaoqin about to rub her eyes with the hand that had just taken the chili pepper, and quickly stopped her, saying, "Don't rub your eyes after you've finished making the chili peppers, or they will hurt."
"Come on, are you hungry? Let's go to my house for dinner first. After dinner, don't go home yet, I'll teach you and Huahua some martial arts!"
"Yay, that's great! Thank you so much, Sister Yinyin!"
Xiaoya nodded with a beaming smile, while Xiaoqin was taken aback and then pulled away by Xiaoya to explain.
And so, Zhiyin began to teach the three girls self-defense techniques and urged them to run and exercise in the enclosure where the chickens and ducks were fed.
As darkness fell, Zhiyin had the young girls soak their feet and stretch at her house…
When she had nothing else to do, Zhihua taught Xiaoya and Xiaoqin to recognize characters, etc.
…
The next morning, Zhiyin was awakened by the sound of pigeons pecking at the window.
After letting the pigeon in, looking at the note at its feet and listening to its story, Zhiyin's eyes narrowed dangerously instantly. "Damn it!"
Zhiyin sneered and hurriedly put on her clothes and ran outside.
"Hey, Yinyin? What's wrong? What happened?"
Seeing that Zhiyin's expression had changed drastically and that she was exuding an icy aura, Yao Yulin hurriedly shouted anxiously at her back.
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