Chapter 361 - 355_1
The Emperor truly understood Jiang Ziqi quite well. He was genuinely curious about what Jiang Ziqi had encountered over the past year to undergo such a significant transformation.
Ever since the Embroidered Picture was presented at the Empress Dowager’s birthday celebration, many people had inquired about its origin from Jiang Ziqi. Remembering Lin Yue’s instructions, Jiang Ziqi kept his lips sealed when asked about it, even deliberately erasing any trace that might lead people to Lin Yue, to prevent those with ulterior motives from coveting her unique skills.
By the time the last batch of goods from the Jiang Residence was ready, several days ahead of the scheduled time, they notified manager Liu to send it to the Capital City. Zhao Erhu and Lin Yue finally heaved a sigh of relief. They had been so busy that they had no time to rest, and were truly exhausted. The orders from the Government Office and Su Residence were prepared except for those to be made on the spot. Now, they could finally breathe easy, rest well for some time, and the workers had been paid off and happily went back to their homes.
"Dongjia is truly benevolent. Although he said we’d get extra for rush work, I never expected to get this much. After all, the starting wage was already generous. Now with this silver coin, we’re going to have a good year."
"You’re not wrong. When I take this silver coin back, my wife will be over the moon. She’s been wanting to buy some fabric to make a skirt but couldn’t bring herself to spend the money. Tomorrow, I’m taking her to the city to buy it."
Once the workers left, Zhao Erhu, along with Zhao Dahu and others, gave the workshop a thorough clean and locked up. Lin Yue had prepared their wages as well. Zhao Dahu, Wu Qiang, and a few others took care of their family affairs. Naturally, their wages were different from the workers. Lin Yue paid them eight taels of silver each, the same went for Li Xiaomei and Liu Aniu. The others, who had been working at Zhao Erhu’s for a long time, knew that Zhao Erhu and his wife were generous and would not shortchange them on their wages, so they gratefully accepted their pay. Only Xiaomei, who was overjoyed to receive so much at one time.
If Lin Yue had given her that much alone, she might have felt uneasy, but with everyone getting five taels, she accepted it with a clear conscience. This year was their first after the family division, and for their household of four, with these taels of silver, she could celebrate the new year properly and visit her family with pride. She also planned to go to the city to buy some cloth and sew new clothes for Zhao Cheng and the children.
"Erhu, sister-in-law, thank you. Without you, Zhao Cheng and I wouldn’t have the good life we have now. We might have ended up like Zhao Xing, not even knowing where our New Year’s grain would come from. We could have been worse off than Zhao Xing. That old shrew from the Wei Family is so biased; she dotes on her youngest son but wouldn’t care about our Cheng, let alone help us."
Although much time had passed, Xiaomei seldom interacted with the Wei Family but still harbored resentment. So, when the Wei Family came to Zhao Cheng over Zhao Xing’s situation, they did so behind Xiaomei’s back, coaxing their second son while she was away, hoping he could lend a hand to their youngest son. The little silver she had saved wouldn’t last forever, and she couldn’t give it all away; she had to keep some for self-defense.