Upon seeing Zhao Youzhu, Liu immediately said:
"When I arrived at Liu Xuan's house today, the matchmaker and the man's family were already there. The matchmaker was from the same village and knew me. She found it very strange that a horse-drawn carriage had brought me there."
I ignored her and pulled Liu Xuanniang into a room to tell her about it.
At first, she didn't believe it at all. Ten taels of silver a month was more than even the county magistrate could earn. But when I handed her the ten taels of silver and said that it was a month's wages that my Xian'er was paying Liu Xuan in advance, she finally believed me.
After Liu Xuan's mother came out, she told the matchmaker and the man's family that Liu Xuan was still young and did not want to get married now. She said they should wait two years before discussing it.
The matchmaker was furious. All her hard work had been for nothing; she thought I'd ruined her chance. She even glared at me fiercely as she left.
“My cousin saved me this time. The groom’s family has brought the betrothal money today. They’re here to get engaged. If my mother accepts the betrothal money after lunch, the marriage will be settled. Then my life will be over.” Liu Xuan’s eyes were red as she spoke.
"This matter is over, so don't take it to heart. After you go to Qing'an Prefecture in a few days, you should focus on your work. You should rest for a while, and later your aunt will take you to Xian'er's house," Zhao Youzhu comforted Liu Xuan.
"Okay, I understand."
At this moment, Tie Zhu and Tie Dan were busy making preserved eggs. When they saw Liu Xuan arrive, they just gave a silly smile as a greeting.
Seeing that both of their faces were splattered with lime paste, Liu Xuan quickly handed them a damp cloth to wipe it off. Lime paste is corrosive and will leave spots if left on the face for too long.
Liu Xuan was in a very good mood at this moment. She quickly went over to help, putting the processed duck eggs one by one into the jar, and then sealing the jar tightly after it was full.
Before she knew it, Liu Xuan had been busy for more than an hour. She only stopped what she was doing when Liu called her and followed Liu to Zhao Xian's house.
Zhao Xian was delighted to see Liu Xuan arrive and began chatting with her.
"I heard from the servants who drive the cart that you have settled your family affairs and have decided to come and work for me."
"Yes, I'm very grateful to my cousin for getting me out of this predicament. Otherwise, I would have been in a terrible situation. I wonder what you plan to ask me to do. I will definitely do my best."
"Here's the thing, I've partnered with a businessman surnamed Lu to open a restaurant in Qing'an, and I've arranged for you to assist in the restaurant's operation. Your task is to make preserved eggs and pickled vegetables to supply the restaurant."
Once you've established yourself in Qing'an Prefecture, you can increase production and supply other restaurants and inns to boost your income. I have a residence in Qing'an Prefecture where I can produce kimchi and preserved eggs, so I won't need to rent a house anymore.
I'm planning to hire five helpers for you. You need to manage them well. Once the business grows, we can add more staff.
There are already two servants in the mansion. They are only responsible for cleaning the mansion and your daily life. They are not allowed to do anything else. Their wages are paid by the government, so we cannot give them any extra work.
Her cousin had told Liu Xuan that her cousin owned a house in Anqing Prefecture, but she hadn't expected that there would be two servants in the house to take care of her daily needs. She really hadn't thought of that.
I'm going there to do chores, so how could I let servants take care of me? Otherwise, I'd become a lady. But having servants to clean the courtyard, cook, and do laundry would be fine, giving me more time to make preserved eggs and kimchi.
“Cousin, I have no problem making preserved eggs, but I don’t know how to make kimchi,” Liu Xuan said.
“That’s easy. Xiaoshan and the others are making kimchi. I’ll take you there. You can learn from them these next couple of days. Making kimchi isn’t difficult; it’s easy to learn.” After saying that, Zhao Xian led Liu Xuan to the kimchi-making workshop.
There were more than ten people working in the workshop, and Grandma Zhao was also helping out.
When Zhao Xian arrived with Liu Xuan, everyone turned to look at her, making Liu Xuan feel embarrassed.
They had met Liu Xuan before, but weren't very familiar with her. The young girl was very beautiful; anyone who saw her would like her.
"You must be Liu Xuan. My eldest daughter-in-law said that you can not only read, but also keep accounts. You are much better than my three granddaughters, who are all illiterate."
"Hello, Grandma, I'm Liu Xuan."
The old lady's words reminded Zhao Xian, and he quickly asked:
"Grandma, Xiaomai is eleven years old this year. She's still quite young and could definitely be sent to school. What do you think, Grandma?"
"Those three girls are a waste of money. Sending them to school is just a waste of money. What good will it do them if they know a few words? They'll still have to get married eventually," Old Mrs. Zhao said dismissively.
"Grandma, you're not right. This time I sent Xiaoshan and Dani to Qing'an Prefecture. Since they are illiterate, I could only arrange for them to cook in a restaurant."
Liu Xuan is different. Not only can she read, but she can also read and keep accounts. I plan to build a workshop in Qing'an Prefecture to produce pickled vegetables and preserved eggs. In this way, Liu Xuan will become the manager and also manage a group of workers.
Not only that, I also want Liu Xuan to manage the restaurant on my behalf, supervise its accounts, and be on equal footing with the real manager.
In this way, Liu Xuan's wages would be much higher than Xiao Shan's and Dani's, at least twice as much. How can you say that literacy is useless?
Grandma Zhao was speechless. No one in her family was literate, and there were no accounts. Everything was remembered by memory, and over time, she couldn't remember many things.
Seeing that the old lady was silent, Zhao Xian continued:
“Xiaomai is still young, only eleven years old. She can definitely find a tutor to learn to read. Lingling has been learning to read and count with Master Lin recently, and the results are very good. She can now teach her sister-in-law. Yang Ruotong also knows quite a few characters now and can already understand simple accounts.”
"Would Master Lin be willing to teach Xiaomai? He's a scholar who passed the imperial examinations and served as a high-ranking official." The old lady was somewhat tempted, but still a little worried.
"Currently, Master Lin has only taken on one student. He also wants to take on more. He will pay each student 100 catties of rice or wheat per year. Master Lin is an upright person and he will not accept even a single extra grain of rice."
"A hundred catties of grain is indeed not much. It seems that we should send wheat over to learn to read. After learning some characters, they can teach others to read." Old Mrs. Zhao finally understood.
"Okay, Grandma, I'll go find Master Lin later. This shouldn't be a problem."
After Zhao Xian persuaded Old Mrs. Zhao, he looked at Liu Xuan.
"We're going to Qing'an Prefecture in a couple of days, so you need to learn how to make kimchi as soon as possible."
"Okay, cousin." After saying that, Liu Xuan began to learn how to make kimchi.
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