"This is last month's royalties. I counted them. There are ninety yuan."
Huang Wanzhen changed her listless dejection today, put the letter on the table, and reached for the purse in Xiulan's hand. "Have you checked it? Is it all real this time?"
In the last payment for her articles, there was a copper-clad dollar, which was discovered by someone when she was buying pastries. For this reason, Huang Wanzhen even asked someone for some tips on how to distinguish genuine and fake foreign dollars.
"I've checked it. We knocked them one by one. There's no problem." Xiulan assured with her eyes wide open.
Huang Wanzhen counted them twice, picked out a few, knocked them, listened to the sound, then put them away and tore open the letter.
"Oh, they're here to urge me to submit my manuscript. Editor Zhan said that many people have sent letters to the newspaper, asking them to serialize more articles. If I can write an extra 30,000 words a month, they will raise my salary to 1.2 yuan per thousand words." Huang Wanzhen excitedly stated the new content.
Xiulan looked at her with bright eyes, "That's great."
Huang Wanzhen, who was happy one second, threw the letter on the table with a dejected look on her face the next second. "Hey, what's good about that? I can't even leave the house now, how can I sign the contract?"
Xiulan encouraged her, "It's okay. Just write a letter back to Editor Zhan and I'll deliver it to the Xinmin Daily. I'll also get the contract back for you. After you sign it, I'll deliver it."
"That's the only way." Huang Wanzhen pouted unhappily, "No, I have to think of a way. Being left in the backyard is a waste of time."
Afterwards, Xiulan was ordered around by Huang Wanzhen, either going out to handle contract matters or keeping an eye on Mr. Zheng's daily routine.
One day, Zheng Ruqing came back from the Imperial Household Department and ran into Huang Wanzhen in the front yard. "Hey! What are you looking at?"
Huang Wanzhen looked at the nursery in the yard and sighed, "Dad, look, the flowers here haven't sprouted yet, but the weeds have grown first."
Zheng Ruqing walked closer, bent over and took a closer look, "Indeed, I need to have the servants take care of it in advance."
"I think it's great. No need to take care of it. This weed has strong vitality and grows fast. It will add some spring colors to the yard and also be a beautiful scenery." Huang Wanzhen said with a frown.
Zheng Ruqing looked at her secretly and asked tentatively, "Sang Ge's wife, are you okay?"
Huang Wanzhen didn't beat around the bush and said with a sad face, "Dad, you promised me before the Lunar New Year that you would let me go to Teacher Shen's class after the Lunar New Year. It's already the end of the Lunar New Year, and you've already prepared clothes for Mom, Dad, and Master. Why haven't you let me go out yet?"
"As time goes by, Teacher Shen accepts other students and doesn't want me anymore. What should I do?"
"Oh! So it's about this. You should go to class if you need to. You can make clothes in your free time." Zheng Ruqing thought about it for a while and felt a little wronged. "I didn't say you couldn't go. You're talking as if I didn't keep my word."
Huang Wanzhen wiped her eyes hesitantly with a handkerchief, "But the gatekeepers wouldn't let me out. I'm a weak woman, and it's not convenient for me to argue with them."
"If you didn't tell them to stop me, then they were deliberately bullying me. In this family, I'm not even as good as a servant. Wuwuwu——, if others knew about this, I would have no face left."
As she spoke, Huang Wanzhen seemed to be in a sad mood, tears came suddenly, making Zheng Ruqing very embarrassed for a moment.
This is exactly the effect Huang Wanzhen wanted. In this era, men are all patriarchal and do not allow women to refute their decisions. If he knew that Zheng Liu gave an order and went against him, he would definitely blame her.
As expected, Zheng Ruqing was angered by this, "He will come! What's going on?! Since when did my words no longer work in this family?!"
Zheng Ruqing's eyes were blazing with anger, and he looked like he was about to kill someone. The attendant, who was staring at him, quickly bent down and knelt, saying, "Master, please calm down. I'll go ask the gatekeeper Li San right away."
"Go quickly!" Zheng Ruqing raised his leg and kicked Huilai.
Huilai was a man who knew how to handle things. He fell to the ground with a cry of "Ouch" but didn't cry out in pain. He got up using his hands and feet and ran towards the gate.
After a while, he came over with a tall man, "Master, this is Li San, the doorman. Ask him to talk to you."
He just went to ask why the young mistress was not allowed to go out. Li San said that it was the order from the mistress. He thought that if he told this to the master, he would be the one to suffer in anger. If it got to the mistress's ears, he would be the one to suffer the consequences.
He simply called Li San, who opened the door, and asked him to tell the master to kick him out.
Zheng Ruqing immediately felt that it must be this servant who had committed treason and bullied Sang Ge's wife. He had heard that some servants in mansions were very bad and only picked on those masters with weak personalities to bully. He didn't expect that such a situation would happen in his mansion.
"Li San, what's the matter? Do you think the young lady is soft-hearted and easy to bully? Today I'm telling you, you've made a mistake in your calculations. As long as I'm in this family, I won't allow you to cause trouble like this. Come and tell him to get out!" Zheng Ruqing said angrily.
Huilai paused for a moment, his thoughts turning, and he felt that it was Li San's bad luck and it had nothing to do with him. He just nodded, and before he could answer, he heard that silly boy Li San say, "Master, I am not wrong. I did it according to the madam's instructions."
My heart skipped a beat and I thought to myself, this is not good.
Sure enough, the next second, Master Zheng jumped up and down, "How dare you make up stories about my wife? You're so bold! Do you want me to send you to jail?!"
Li San had thick eyebrows and big eyes, and he looked respectable, but he had a very stubborn temper. "Master, on the 22nd day of the first lunar month, Madam Li, who works for the Madam, came to the gatehouse and told me that the Madam was not allowed to go out again. Qiangzi, the gatekeeper, and Liuzi, who was in charge of the hot water, were there at the time. If you don't believe me, you can call them over and ask them."
Well, they have witnesses, and they reported two of them at once. Hui Lai thought to himself, now the master and the mistress are really going to face off.
When Zheng Ruqing heard him say that, he believed most of it without asking. He hadn't thought about his wife just now, but now seeing this servant so confident and righteous, it was most likely true.
"Hmph! I still have the final say in this household. I said the young mistress can go out, but you ignored my words. Madam will misunderstand me. You don't even use your brain and ask me. I'll fine you half a month's salary!"
Huang Wanzhen watched from the side and thought that the master of the Zheng family was really quick-witted. His wife, son, and daughter, all combined, could not compare to him.
Zheng Ruqing took care of the servants' business and turned to Huang Wanzhen, saying, "If you need anything from now on, please come to me, Madam. I'm very busy and don't have the time to help you."
Huang Wanzhen got the upper hand and immediately lowered her posture, "Yes, yes, Master, you are right. Your daughter-in-law will obey your words."
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