12dz Chapter 587: The Joy of Getting Paid
Chapter 587: The Joy of Getting Paid
Early winter.
The first batch of distributed cotton clothes has been returned.
Tong Huaqiong instructed Mrs. Wei to lead some quick-witted and argumentative village women to inspect the goods one by one.
After they finished inspecting, Tong Huaqiong conducted a random check.
Fortunately, the quality of the first batch of cotton clothes was very good, except for one with a crooked seam, all met the requirements.
This result made Tong Huaqiong very satisfied.
Tong Huaqiong felt that indeed the binding power of a signed contract was stronger than a verbal agreement.
"Su Qing." Tong Huaqiong turned and called out to Su Qing.
Su Qing carried a tray, covered with a red cloth, on which there were strings of copper coins.
The copper coins shone brightly under the early winter sun.
Everyone’s eyes were glued to them.
It seemed that Storekeeper Tong was satisfied with the goods and was about to distribute the wages.
For many of the young women, it was their first time earning money with their own hands; just a glance at the tray full of copper coins made their palms sweat and hearts race.
Su Qing called the names, while another maid, Xiao Xi, was responsible for handing out the money.
Whoever’s name was called stepped forward to sign the paper, then received their payment.
Tong Huaqiong made sure the ceremony was full of significance.
Everyone was excited beyond words; those whose names were called couldn’t wait to step forward, carefully signing and wiping their hands before receiving the money for fear of soiling the copper coins.
All who received their wages were overjoyed and thanked Tong Huaqiong enthusiastically.
"Woo woo woo... it’s so great to earn money... woo woo woo..."
Suddenly a young girl squatted down and burst into loud sobs.
This girl was fifteen, and her family’s money had never passed through her hands; she’d never touched money before.
Holding the money tightly, she truly felt how wonderful it was to earn money, and it felt even better to have it in hand.
Even though she could only keep it warm in her hand for a while before having to hand it over to her brother and sister-in-law to help with household expenses, she was still happy at this moment.
"Girl, don’t cry. It’s a big happy day for getting paid, why are you crying?" An older village woman came forward, supporting the crying girl and persuading her.
Crying at the entrance of the Weaving Workshop was considered unlucky for business people.
She was afraid Tong Huaqiong would be annoyed and not assign them work in the future.
Then she turned and explained to Tong Huaqiong: "Manager Tong, Xiao Mei is crying tears of joy."
Tong Huaqiong nodded, not minding that this girl named Xiao Mei was crying.
A village girl earning money for the first time, naturally, she would be so happy she couldn’t control her tears.
Not to mention this girl, even in later life, when she earned money from part-time jobs during school, she’d be just as excited.
"Xiao Mei, quickly dry your tears; with so many people coming and going, it’s not good if they see you."
"This is just the beginning. You will earn more and more in the future, you can’t cry every time."
"Come on, let’s go to town to buy some flowers. I heard some unique flowers are sold at Manager Tong’s Jufu Supermarket, let’s go take a look."
A few of Xiao Mei’s close friends persuaded her for a while and then helped her up, dragging her to the town.
Xiao Mei wiped her tears, and a smile reappeared on her face.
She couldn’t spend money on herself, but just looking without buying was also a joy.
Amidst a joyous atmosphere, the salary distribution came to an end.
The Weaving Workshop worked overtime to process cotton, spin yarn, and weave cloth, and the materials for the second and third batches had already been delivered, just waiting for the new cotton clothes to come back.
Tong Huaqiong calculated that the plan could be completed within the stipulated time.
The one who earned the most money was Mrs. Wei.
Her needlework was fast and good, so in the same amount of time, she sewed more cotton clothes than others.
Mrs. Wei happily went to buy a chicken and a piece of pork belly, intending to cook chicken and meat at home; her poor Yao Family hadn’t eaten much meat since they split the household.
Similarly, Gu Xiaoxue received the first salary in her life.
Being a weaver, she earned more than Mrs. Wei.
Gu Xiaoxue asked Gu Xiaocao to buy snow flake pastry and cream stuffed conch at Taohua Dessert, added a set of brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone for her nephew, and took everything home together.
Mrs. Wei saw the things in Gu Xiaoxue’s hands and asked, "Why buy these things, you just got your salary, you should save it up as part of your dowry."
Gu Xiaoxue smiled without saying a word, handing the brush and ink set to Yao Family, making Mrs. Wei smile squint with joy.
Even though the little sister-in-law said she was living with them, actually there was no precedent for a girl to live separately; everything the little sister-in-law ate and used was earned by herself.
In the end, Feng Nian and she took the advantage.
Now that she got money, the first thing she did was buy something for her nephew; Mrs. Wei really liked such a sister-in-law.
Mrs. Wei said to Yao Family: "You have to be filial to your aunt in the future."
She didn’t add the next sentence—don’t be like your little uncle and act ungratefully.
Yao Family said, "Thank you, Aunt. Aunt, when I grow up, I’ll earn money for you to spend, and I’ll study hard to back you up."
Gu Xiaoxue perfunctorily replied, "Alright."
She did not take these promises to heart at all; she had been brainwashed by Mrs. Jia since childhood to devote herself wholeheartedly to Gu Ruinian, and she genuinely believed Gu Ruinian would support her, but in the end, it was all a dream. She could buy brushes and ink for Yao Family but wouldn’t give more to her nephew; she wanted to plan for herself.
Yao Family always felt his aunt did not believe his words, his big eyes turned, and he said, "Aunt, you have to trust me. I’m not like Second Uncle; I mean what I say."
The voice of Yao Family was loud, piercing through to Gu Ruinian, who was concentrating on gunpowder in the courtyard.
Gu Ruinian lifted his head and looked coldly at Yao Family, who shivered a little, clenched his fists, and held his head high, saying, "I mean what I say, hmph!"
Mrs. Wei chopped the chicken for stew and went to the kitchen. Seeing Gu Ruinian shooting an unfriendly look at her son, she couldn’t help but scold him.
"Such a grown man, not even as good as a child; what did my Yao Family say wrong? Weren’t you the one trying to sell your sister? Aren’t you the one who hasn’t brought a single coin into the family?"
Mrs. Wei after splitting the household was not like before as the eldest sister-in-law, enduring anything; she scolded as she pleased.
After the split, Mrs. Wei and Mr. Gu and others still shared a kitchen.
Gu Xiaoxue tended the fire while Mrs. Wei stewed the chicken and cooked the dishes; soon, the aroma of meat was wafting out.
Mr. Gu sniffed the aroma of the meat and shook his head.
After cooking, Mrs. Wei filled a bowl to deliver to the main house; she was conscientious in her filial duties, but there was a principle to this filial piety, which was that the meat must only enter the stomachs of those it was meant for.
"This meat is for Grandpa, Grandma, Dad, Mom, and Aunt." Mrs. Wei placed the chicken in the middle of the dining table and said loudly.
After Mrs. Wei left, Gu Ruinian reached out with chopsticks to grab a piece of chicken leg meat.
Usually, Tong Huaqiong would also send someone from home to deliver meat dishes to Grandma Gu and Mr. Gu, and the person in charge would not leave until the meat entered the intended recipient’s stomach.
Whenever Gu Ruinian extended his chopsticks, she would step forward and say the meat was not a filial offering for him.
This hard stance rendered Gu Ruinian helpless.
Now that the bowl of meat was for his parents, and knowing his mother wouldn’t eat it, he decided he might as well eat it himself, so it wouldn’t be wasted on Gu Honglian.
This was the first time he had eaten anything substantial since returning to Qinghe Bay from Pingchuan.
Gu Honglian slapped away Gu Ruinian’s meat and said fiercely, "Didn’t you hear what Feng Nian’s wife said about who this bowl of meat is for? How can you have such thick skin? Where is there for an elder brother and sister-in-law to be filial to their younger brother?"
Gu Ruinian, angry, threw his chopsticks down.
The sound was echoed even louder by Grandma Gu.
"Your little sister is right, this bowl of meat is not a filial offering to you. Why are you throwing your chopsticks? Do you think that makes you special? You can’t earn a single penny, yet you still have the nerve to eat three corn cakes every meal, that’s already merciful enough, and you still have the face to take meat from your aunt?"