Chapter 669 - 667: Observing the Rituals
Wong Qiao didn’t disappoint Lady Zhao, and without any hesitation, he said, "Mother, why do you say that? We’re just returning to our hometown to work, not entering Ghost Gate Pass. There’s no reason to harbor resentment. Rest assured, my craftsmanship is excellent. Even if I can’t make it on my own, I can easily join a major construction industry, and I won’t worry about the wage to support the family."
As Wong Qiao expressed no resentment, Lady Zhao breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time, her mood sunk even lower.
In the past few days, she weighed and pondered time and again, recalling the words of Madam Qian. If, after returning home, Wong Qiao could only gather a few small artisans and take on little tasks, it would certainly be both worrisome and arduous. They couldn’t dare undertake big projects, and the small ones, not only paid little, but also weren’t long-lasting.
Occasional artisans have always been like this, earning a one-time payment for a job when they could find work, and living off their savings when they couldn’t. Even though their lives were somewhat better than the ordinary poor folk, they still had to make ends meet, certainly nowhere near as affluent as the rich and noble families.
Even if Wong Qiao was skilled and had steady work, he could at most earn about one hundred taels of silver a year, and sometimes not even that much.
To Lady Zhao, who had felt grievance just a few days ago, one hundred taels of silver was hardly impressive. But for ordinary folks, a family that could earn about a hundred taels a year was considered a well-to-do household. They had savings, could afford to buy houses and land, and after accumulating wealth over ten or twenty years, they could become minor gentry and landlords in their own right.
Now, whenever Lady Zhao thought of the phrase "slow accumulation," her heart, which had slightly eased due to taking medicine, immediately felt the heavy weight of a great stone pressing down on it again.
Considering the silver note hidden in her undergarment worth over seven thousand taels, and thinking of what life was like for a prosperous family that earned over a hundred taels a year, Lady Zhao felt an urge to cry without tears, as if her illness had worsened significantly.