Chapter 143: Hiring at the Textile Workshop, Seventh Lady's Tears

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“Uncle, what in the world did you do? How did so many people get here?”

It was evening.

Li Yuanjing had just awakened from a wonderfully comfortable nap. He had been planning to tease Wang Baiyu a little before joining Jade for dinner.

Instead, the sight before him left him completely dumbfounded.

At the foot of the newly expanded hillock beneath his house, women of every age and figure were gathered everywhere—young girls, married women, and quite a few mothers holding babies in their arms.

Their eyes were filled with hope for the future as they chattered among themselves.

Li Yuanjing hurriedly summoned the old village chief, feeling utterly speechless.

“Heh heh.”

“Yuanjing, I never imagined these women would be so enthusiastic either. I hear people have even come from the Hong Family Village, more than thirty miles away. Apparently, quite a few women from the county town are still on their way.”

The old village chief was clearly delighted with the grand gesture Li Yuanjing had made. Though he sounded modest, he was plainly taking credit for his accomplishment.

Li Yuanjing listened carefully to a few snippets of the women’s conversation, and gradually understood the situation.

Clearly, his reputation as a wealthy benefactor and a bringer of timely aid had already spread throughout the surrounding villages. What was more, the result was even better than he had expected.

He hurriedly gave the old village chief a thumbs-up.

“Uncle, I may not lean on any wall, but I’ll certainly lean on you.”

“Heh heh.”

“It was nothing, nothing at all.”

The old village chief was so pleased that he could barely keep his mouth shut. His withered face seemed to bloom like a chrysanthemum.

Then he suddenly remembered something. His expression darkened as he stared at Li Yuanjing.

“Yuanjing, what’s this I hear? You’re planning to take that Wang woman—what’s her name?—as a concubine, but you don’t want Lotus? What’s wrong with my Lotus? Is it because you’ve gotten rich and now look down on her?”

“Er…”

Li Yuanjing took a moment to recover, then could only smile helplessly.

He had known this matter would reach the old man’s ears sooner or later.

“Uncle, if I ever forget where I came from, you can take a stick to me. It isn’t that I don’t want to do right by Lotus. It’s just that she’s the same age as Jade. If she loses her virginity now, it could harm her health. And what if she becomes pregnant? How would she survive the childbirth?”

“I promise you this: once Jade and I are married next year, Lotus will be the first woman I bring into the household. How about that?”

“Heh heh.”

“That’s more like it.”

Only then did the old village chief smile with satisfaction. He turned and bellowed down at the women below.

…

Although Li Yuanjing had not expected so many people to come for the textile workshop’s recruitment, he had made preparations for precisely such a situation.

Tonight, he certainly would not show himself. He had to preserve an air of mystery.

But the compensation and treatment offered to the women who had come for the interviews would unquestionably be generous.

…

Zhang, the wife of a man from Hong Family Village, was nicknamed Seven. She came from a place more than thirty miles away from Springwater Village.

She was only seventeen years old, yet she had married a truly unfortunate man.

Her husband not only refused to work properly, but had imitated the bandits and gone off to rob people. Half a year ago, he had inexplicably been hacked to death. It was said that even his corpse could not be stitched back together whole.

Since she had been married for only six months and had borne her husband’s family neither son nor daughter, her in-laws came to hate her with a vengeance. They claimed she had brought about his death and stopped treating her as a human being. She could scarcely manage a single proper meal in an entire day, and eventually they drove her out to sleep in the dog kennel.

Though she stood a full five feet five inches tall, she probably weighed less than seventy pounds. She was as frail and wavering as a bean sprout.

She dreamed of escaping that nightmarish place.

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Early that morning, she had heard that Springwater Village was hiring workers and offering excellent conditions. She had not hesitated for even a moment. Though hungry, she had gritted her teeth and come straight to the village.

Even after stumbling and falling more than a dozen times along the way, she had not shed a single tear.

But now she saw so many people competing for work in Springwater Village, while the village would accept only three hundred workers. Anxiety rose in her heart, and she began to feel terribly uncertain.

“All right, all right!”

“Shut your mouths, all of you! Stop making such a racket!”

“My master is indeed generous and charitable, but since you have come to Springwater Village, you will obey the rules of Springwater Village!”

Just as Seven was trembling anxiously, her heart beating wildly, a cluster of torches suddenly approached from ahead. More torches were quickly lit all around them, and soon Seven saw a woman striding over beneath the protection of several tall, burly guards.

The woman was slightly plump. She wore a fine sheepskin coat over a red padded jacket, and carried herself with an unmistakably superior air.

With her first shout, the entire area fell silent. Seven quickly pressed her lips shut as well.

Nearby, someone who knew the woman whispered,

“That’s Wang Cuihua of Springwater Village. I hear she’s the second house steward in Master Li’s household, and she also oversees the textile workshop.”

Once Wang Cuihua’s identity was revealed, the women around them became even more fearful. Not one dared breathe too loudly.

Wang Cuihua was clearly pleased by the authority she commanded. She nodded in satisfaction and spoke with a triumphant air.

“Since you’ve come here and know how to behave, I’ll explain the rules. In a moment, you’ll form groups of ten and prepare to eat. Once dinner is over, those same groups of ten will return to the dormitories to rest.”

“Master is busy tonight, so he won’t be coming. The formal interviews will begin tomorrow morning. Is that understood?”

“We understand…”

The women stirred at once and began arranging themselves into groups as Wang Cuihua had instructed.

“Oh my!”

“Madam, why have you come here personally?”

At that moment, Wang Cuihua—who had been standing proudly as though the entire world lay within her grasp—suddenly changed expression.

She hurried forward and respectfully bowed to a young woman who appeared to be no more than fifteen or sixteen years old.

The guards nearby quickly cupped their fists and bent forward in a deep bow.

“Auntie Wang, Brother has just gone to the study to write. I was a little worried about things here, so I came to take a look. Remember, everyone’s food and lodging must be arranged properly tonight.”

Jade spoke in a calm voice.

Beside her, Big Ya kept her small face stern and serious.

As the people closest to Li Yuanjing, they naturally could not allow themselves to bring shame upon him.

“Madam, you may rest assured. Steward Chen and I made all the arrangements long ago.”

As she spoke, Wang Cuihua turned and shouted at the women below.

“Madam has personally come to see you all! What are you waiting for? Pay your respects!”

How could the women dare to hesitate?

They hurriedly knelt on the ground and called out in unison, “Greetings, Madam.”

Jade had spent quite some time with Li Yuanjing and could no longer be called inexperienced in worldly affairs. Yet she had never witnessed the magnificent spectacle of more than a thousand people shouting together.

The sound startled her.

But Jade was kindhearted by nature and did not want the women to remain outside in the bitter cold any longer than necessary. Forcing herself to maintain an imposing air, she said,

“You may rise. Auntie Wang, it is time now. Let everyone eat first.”

“Yes, Madam.”

Once Jade had spoken, people immediately began leading the women in orderly groups toward the dormitories that had already been prepared.

As Seven followed the crowd, she glanced back at Jade, who remained standing serenely on the elevated ground, calmly watching them depart. A faint sigh escaped her.

There had been a time when she, too, had been the daughter of a wealthy household and had enjoyed such dignity.

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But alas…

The sea had become farmland, and the farmland had become sea. Everything had long since vanished like smoke before her eyes.

…

Before long, Seven arrived at the dormitory with the others and was stunned.

A brazier had already been lit inside the modest room, filling it with comforting warmth.

And instead of the earthen kang beds she was accustomed to, there were wooden bunk beds lining the room. They had all been painted, and the workmanship was clearly excellent.

For a moment, she felt dazed—

As if she had returned to the days when she had still been a young lady.

Seven was just about to sigh along with her companions over how wealthy Master Li and Springwater Village must be when someone suddenly called from outside,

“The food is here! Come and collect your meals!”

Seven and the others hurriedly opened the door.

Several women were carrying large bowls steaming with hot food and had already begun distributing them.

Seven joined her companions in line and carefully went to collect a bowl.

Yet receiving the bowl of rice was not the end of it. A woman nearby called out,

“There are small bowls over there. Each of you can have a bowl of our Springwater Village’s special bone broth. It’s my master’s secret recipe. I guarantee you’ve never tasted anything like it. You’ll love it!”

Seven did not dare object. She carefully picked up a small bowl and ladled in some soup.

At once, she shivered.

The broth was steaming hot and fragrant, just as the woman had promised. There even seemed to be a large slice of meat floating inside.

By now, everyone had been starving for a long time. As soon as the women distributing the food left, they hurried back into the dormitory to eat.

Seven swallowed several mouthfuls of greens and cautiously sipped her soup. She was just about to eat more vegetables when she suddenly froze.

A companion nearby cried out in astonishment.

“My heavens! There are huge slices of meat in the rice, and fish too! How did they cook this fish? It’s so fragrant, so delicious! I’ve never eaten anything this good in my entire life!”

Seven paid no attention to her companion and hastily searched through her own bowl.

Sure enough, there was fish, along with a large slice of meat. The rice was not the finest white rice, but it was still medium-grade grain that ordinary people would never normally be willing to eat.

Seven took a few more mouthfuls of greens, carefully tasted the tender fish, and drank another sip of broth.

She had fallen more than a dozen times on the way there, until the pain had grown numb, yet she had not cried.

But now, eating such a delicious and generous dinner, drinking hot, fragrant bone broth unlike anything she had ever tasted, Seven could no longer hold back.

Tears streamed down her face like a string of pearls.

And deep in her heart, she swore an oath:

She would remain in Springwater Village. She would become someone Master Li needed. Even if it killed her, she would never return to that hellhole of a husband’s family.