Qiaoqing stepped forward to Lin Yajun's side, reached out to help her take off her coat, and then helped her change into a loose-fitting casual outfit.
At this moment, Granny Ma brought in a basin of warm water, placed it on the wooden shelf, and said softly, "Miss, the water is here."
Lin Yajun walked to the wooden shelf, first washed her face, then rubbed her fingers, feeling the comfort of the warm water. She carefully dried the water on her face and hands with a cloth, then applied a layer of balm, which emitted a faint orchid fragrance.
The antique porcelain bottle contained balm that Lin Yajun had replaced with modern face cream. Ancient balms were very oily; applying them to the face felt like smearing lard.
After tidying up, Lin Yajun walked to the table and sat down. She picked up a glass of water, took a sip, and moistened her throat.
She put down her cup, looked at the mother and daughter standing in front of her, and said, "Granny Ma, I bought a shop today. Would you be interested in having your husband and son look after the shop as the manager and waiter?"
Upon hearing this, Granny Ma was taken aback at first, seemingly surprised. She quickly recovered and a joyful smile appeared on her face. She hurriedly said, "Ah, that's wonderful! Miss, that's wonderful!" Her voice revealed barely suppressed excitement.
Lin Yajun said directly, "Then it's settled. Let them open the shop tomorrow morning. The shop is in the East Market, it's the biggest one, mainly selling silver jewelry and silk flowers." After saying that, she paused and added, "I still need to go to the front yard now, you go home first to inform your husband and son."
"Yes, yes, Miss." Granny Ma nodded repeatedly and said with a smile, "This old servant knows that shop. It has a complete and good selection of goods. Miss has excellent taste."
She asked curiously, "Miss, why did the shopkeeper suddenly close down? Did he sell the shop?"
Lin Yajun smiled slightly, "Yes, he resold it." She picked up a book and walked towards the front yard to protect Zhao Canchen.
Granny Ma stared blankly at her young mistress's retreating figure for a while, muttering to herself, "That shop was doing very well, how could it have changed hands? How strange."
When she was a servant to the previous lady, Madam Ma had accompanied her to that shop to buy jewelry many times, and knew that the shop was very successful.
The thought that her husband and son would be able to work as waiters at that shop starting tomorrow filled Madam Ma with sweet joy, and a happy smile appeared on her face.
She couldn't wait to tell her family the good news, so she quickly got up and hurriedly asked her mistress, Madam Xu, for a two-hour leave.
Ma ran back to the courtyard near the west gate, where she saw her husband, Duan Dayi, and son, Duan Gang, sitting with long faces. Clearly, the father and son had no work to do today. They had to work all day to earn their wages.
Madam Ma strode up to them and said excitedly, "Husband, Gang'er, I have some fantastic news to tell you!"
Upon seeing this, Duan Dayi and Duan Gang quickly stood up and asked eagerly, "What good news?"
Madam Ma said with a beaming smile, "Husband, Gang'er, you can go to the Silver Cancan Shop tomorrow to be the manager and waiter!"
"That's great! I don't have to look for work anymore!" Duan Dayi exclaimed, his eyes shining with excitement. "You and your daughter have really chosen the right master this time!"
He laughed excitedly and said, "The silver shop has always been doing well. I didn't dare to look at it twice when I passed by. I never dreamed that I would be the manager of that shop one day."
“We’ll work there as helpers, and our income will definitely be more stable than before,” Duan Dayi said, his face crinkling with smiles.
Duan Gang said happily, "That's great! In that case, we can save up a lot of money in a year, and then we can buy a house and I can get married!"
Seeing her husband and son so happy, Ma felt particularly at ease and content.
Her smile was like a blooming flower, her mouth almost unable to close, and she said with great joy, "Gang'er, in a few days, Mother will go and ask the official matchmaker to propose marriage to the Hu family and bring your cousin back."
Duan Gang was overjoyed upon hearing his mother's words, clapping his hands and laughing, "That's wonderful! I've always liked my cousin Xing'er."
Their family had proposed marriage to the Hu family several times, but each time the Hu family refused.
The Hu family's reasoning was simple: "Wait until you buy a house before bringing this up. I can't let my daughter marry into a family where she won't even have a place to stay and the whole family will be sleeping in a small shack."
The situation is different now. Duan Gang's family will soon have enough money to buy a house, so they are full of confidence and anticipation for this marriage.
The whole family was immersed in a joyful atmosphere and filled with wonderful hopes for the future.
While she was overjoyed, Madam Ma did not forget to remind her son and husband: "You must do your best to take good care of the shop for Miss and earn more money for her. We will also receive more monthly wages."
As she spoke, she pulled a packet of copper coins from her bosom and handed it to Duan Dayi. "This is the money Miss paid my mother and me for making shoes and socks for her. Look, this is more than you earn driving a carriage all day!"
Duan Dayi took the copper coin and nodded in agreement. "With such a good owner, we will definitely be loyal to her and help her make more money."
The next morning, sunlight streamed through the window onto Duan Dayi's face. He got up early and woke his still-sleeping son, Duan Gang. The father and son quickly washed up, ate a cold steamed bun, and then went together to the silvery shop.
When they arrived at the shop, the original shopkeeper was already waiting there and handed over the keys and a list of goods to Duan Dayi.
Duan Dayi opened the shop door and began to organize the jewelry on the shelves, comparing the list with the prices and memorizing the selling price of each piece of jewelry.
His wife, Madam Ma, came again in a hurry, handed her husband a bag, checked that the shop had been taken over smoothly, and instructed him, "Husband, Gang'er, you must do a good job for Miss." She then hurried back to the Lin residence to explain the situation of the shop to Miss.
Duan Gang stood outside the shop, smiling and warmly greeting every lady and young lady who passed by.
"Good morning, ladies, grandmothers, and young ladies!" Duan Gang greeted them in a loud voice, then added, "The items in our Silver Candy Shop are both good and inexpensive. Why don't you come in and have a look?" His words revealed sincerity and enthusiasm, which immediately won people's favor.
The ladies passing by stopped in their tracks when they heard Duan Gang's greeting and curiously looked at him and his shop.
"Why did you change the waiter?" a lady asked curiously.
Duan Gang quickly stepped forward and said, "Madam, wearing our jewelry will not only make you more beautiful and charming, but will also bring good fortune to your household!"
The ladies and young women couldn't help but laugh upon hearing this, praising, "This young man who just got a job at Silver Cancan Shop is really good with words!"
"Thank you for your kind words, ladies and young ladies. Please come in and have a look. It's okay if you don't want to buy anything."
Duan Gang's enthusiastic invitation made it hard for the guests to refuse. With the mindset that they wouldn't buy anything anyway, they all went into the shop, hoping to see if there was any beautiful jewelry inside.
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