The three of them stood up quickly, and the woman in her forties replied, "To answer your question, young lady, we three can all read."
Huang Wanzhen stretched out her hand and pressed it down, "Sit, sit! Don't be nervous, let's talk slowly."
After the three of them sat down, Huang Wanzhen asked again, "This child looks smart. How old is he? How long has he been in Beijing?"
The girl first glanced at the old woman, and when she nodded, she turned to Huang Wanzhen and said, "I'm twelve years old this year, and I've been in Beijing for more than a week."
Seeing the child's subconscious movements, Huang Wanzhen guessed that the old woman must have the final say in this family.
"Do you have a place to stay?"
As expected, the old woman spoke first, "We're staying in a nearby hotel. If we can find work nearby, we'll rent another house."
Huang Wanzhen nodded and said, "Okay, I can help you rent a house, but I have to give you two less dollars per person per month."
The old woman agreed hastily, "Okay, let's do as you say, young lady." After a pause, the old woman said, "Young lady, why don't you discuss this with the master and the mistress?" Since ancient times, no unmarried daughter could be the head of the family business.
Huang Wanzhen knew that the old woman's words were testing. There was nothing she could do. This was the way things were in this era. Unmarried women were the most likely to be targeted and bullied in the business world. "Oh, don't look at me because I'm young. I'm already married. This is my dowry shop. They are my dowry. I've been used to calling them that since I was a child. It seems I'll have to change the way I address them from now on."
The old woman was obviously relieved and became happy again, muttering to herself, "It's good that the boss can make the decision, it's good that he can make the decision."
Huang Wanzhen corrected her, "Don't call me boss. This is a new society. Call me boss from now on."
"Pa—" the old woman slapped herself lightly. "Look at my mouth, boss, please forgive me. I'll take note and won't call you by the wrong name again."
Huang Wanzhen waved her hand. "It's okay. Just remember it in the future. How should I address you?"
The old woman said with a smile, "My surname is Song, and my given name is 'Ying', which means hero. This is my daughter, Song Lin. This is my granddaughter, Song An. You can call us whatever you want, boss. It's up to you."
Huang Wanzhen clapped her hands on the table and stood up. "Okay, then I'll call you Aunt Song, your daughter Sister Song, and your granddaughter Song An."
"You guys go back and get ready. You'll come over to work tomorrow and live in the backyard." Huang Wanzhen pointed in the direction of the back door. "Little Shitou will live here too. He just turned eighteen this year. Do you mind?"
The old woman looked toward the back door and asked, "How big is this backyard?"
Huang Wanzhen started walking towards the back door, "Come and take a look."
"These are the three main rooms. The sewing machine is in the middle room. Little Stone lives in the west room, and the three of you live in the east room. The doors of all the rooms open to the outside, so there's no connection between them."
"There's a stove in the shed to the east. You can buy some rice, flour, grain, and oil and cook your own meals. But be careful with open flames and don't burn my food."
The old woman nodded happily and said, "Be sure to pay attention and never leave anyone alone when the fire is burning."
After sending the three people away through the side door, they returned to Jixiangtang. There were suddenly a lot of people in the shop, from girls of seven or eight years old to white-haired old women, about twenty of them. "What's going on?" Huang Wanzhen looked unhappy and frowned.
Xiuqing turned around and saw her, and hurriedly said, "Miss, they are all applying for jobs."
Huang Wanzhen corrected loudly, "Call me boss from now on!"
Xiuqing immediately changed her tone, "Boss, what do you think we should do?"
Huang Wanzhen stepped forward and clapped her hands, "Pa pa—, be quiet, or I'll kill you all."
After the women quieted down, Huang Wanzhen pointed to the street outside the shop and said, "Go out and line up. Enter one by one."
In just an hour, Huang Wanzhen quickly eliminated most of the people, leaving only seven young girls and wives, and asked them to come for the re-examination at five o'clock tomorrow afternoon.
Although they didn't know what the re-examination meant, the seven people understood that they had to come again tomorrow. The seven people who were selected left happily, and the remaining onlookers began to point and talk about the shop.
"Why does this shop need so many female workers? Can it be successful?"
"Oh my! What can women accomplish? They're a bunch of money-losing bastards who definitely won't make any money."
"That's not entirely certain. This shop makes clothes, and they don't hire women to do the sewing, so why would they hire a grown man like you?"
"Hahaha--"
Amidst the laughter, the man gave the speaker a sinister look, "Hmph! Just wait! It won't be long before I tell her to close the shop and leave!"
The next day, Huang Wanzhen selected two nearby girls from the seven. One of them, Zhu Xiqin, was actually literate. The other, Li Chunhua, was illiterate but quick-witted and articulate, and Huang Wanzhen considered her worth cultivating.
"Chunhua, follow your sisters and learn some words every day. In the future, you can keep accounts for me." Huang Wanzhen looked at Li Chunhua with a smile.
A big smile broke out on Li Chunhua's round face. "Okay, I'll listen to the boss."
In Li Chunhua's mind, those who kept accounts were all shop owners. Although it was difficult for them to learn to read, the boss valued her so much that she would learn to write even if she had to go without food or drink every day.
Huang Wanzhen was busy every day, but the Zheng Mansion was much quieter. Zheng Yusang had not been home for a week. Zheng Liu missed her son and was not so pleased with her eldest daughter beside her. "You should go back quickly. These three children are too active. I can't sleep well every day. It gives me a headache." Zheng Liu's face was pale, her lips were purple, and she kept pressing her head.
Seeing Zheng Liushi like this, Zheng Yumei felt a little distressed. She put down her needlework and went forward to help her hold her head. "Mom, you are not being bothered by the child. You are being bothered by Brother Sang and his wife. They are so grown-ups, and they still don't let you worry about them."
"If I leave, who will talk to you? They'll leave you all alone in this huge mansion. They don't care about you, but I do." Zheng Yumei looked at the stunned Zheng Liushi and sighed helplessly, "Children and grandchildren will have their own blessings. Take care of yourself and don't worry about their affairs. If you get sick, they may not be able to put down their current work and come back to take care of you. Then won't I still be the one serving you?!"
Zheng Liushi and Zheng Ruqing were born into a family of officials in the Qing Dynasty. They were brought up with feudal ideas since childhood. Their minds were always filled with the idea that since their children were born and raised by them, they should live according to their ideas. They had their own set of codes of conduct and had high hopes for their children, hoping that they could bring them glory, but they also imposed too much control on them and did not allow them to disobey their parents.
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