Chapter 215: Hiding from Superiors, Not Subordinates
Steward Ma glared at the back of Qiao Zhi’s Grandmother as she left the courtyard gate, then spat on the ground.
“When this old woman gets worked up, she really doesn’t care about her life. If she wants to leave, let her whole family get out,” Steward Ma’s Wife said, pouring a cup of tea for Steward Ma.
“Is this something I can decide?” Steward Ma retorted irritably.
“That’s true. Then what should we do?” Steward Ma’s Wife sighed, looking worried.
Their whole family are also servants.
“We’ll talk about it later. I’m going to the weaving workshop to take a look.”
Steward Ma was already full of worries, and now he was even more vexed. He stood up, hands behind his back, and walked out.
After looking around the weaving workshop, Steward Ma was about to return when a servant from the weaving workshop’s owner, Master Shi Liu, ran in. Seeing Steward Ma, he quickly waved and called out, “Master Shi wants you to go over immediately!”
“Yes, yes, yes!” Steward Ma agreed repeatedly and followed the servant, running and walking towards Master Shi Liu’s residence.
Two of the four stewards had already arrived. Master Shi Liu was sipping tea, looking very unhappy.
Steward Ma held his breath and stood with his hands down.
A moment later, the last steward hurried in. Master Shi Liu slammed his cup onto the table and said with a grim face, “Our weaving workshop has over a thousand people, and you’ve only selected nine? Over a thousand people, and just these few idle ones?”
“Master Shi, you are right to scold us. We were wrong,” Steward Ma and the other three stewards bowed their heads in admission of fault.
Although selecting nine people was Master Shi Liu’s order, whatever Master Shi Liu said was right, and they could never argue.
“Causing trouble for no reason, just making things difficult for me!” Master Shi Liu slapped the table.
The four stewards all lowered their heads, holding their breath in silence.
“What kind of people! Yelling orders at me all day!” Master Shi Liu slapped the table again.
Steward Ma remained respectful, his heart slightly relieved.
Master Shi Liu’s temper wasn’t because of them.
Yelling orders… Xiangyun Workshop?
Only Xiangyun Workshop dared to yell orders at their Master Shi Liu.
“…Damn it, you few pick more people, ten of them. They must be over twenty years old, skilled, and useless. Bah! Damn it, does he think my weaving workshop is like his family’s, full of useless people!”
“Please, Master Shi, instruct us. When should these names be reported?” The steward standing on the far right asked cautiously.
“Damn it, when do you think? Right now!
“What? Each of you only manages two to three hundred people, and you still don’t know them or recognize them all? What’s going on? Do you need to go back and look at the roster and recognize each person’s face?” Master Shi Liu’s saliva sprayed onto the foreheads of the four men.
“Give them the roster! Right here, tell me one by one! If you can’t explain one, I’ll sell you!”
Master Shi Liu was full of pent-up anger.
Their Shi clan was being forced to contribute silver to each family to cover tax payments and bribe officials. Unexpectedly, the Silk Association had sent word to halt production, and this halt was said to last at least two months.
These two matters alone would cost him half his fortune. And after these two matters, who knew what else would come!
For example, right now, the association was forcing them to sell their weavers!
The stewards held the rosters and quickly reported their personnel. When it was Steward Ma’s turn, he stepped forward, his heart in his throat, and said with a smile, “I happen to have a family of three here. The man is called Wang Quexi, forty years old this year, a carpenter.”
Master Shi Liu frowned.
“Master Shi will understand once I explain!” Steward Ma quickly explained.
Master Shi Liu grunted, signaling Steward Ma to continue.
“This Wang Quexi was bought from outside. He’s not very bright. Master Shi will know from his name, Ah Quexi.
“Wang Quexi officially apprenticed as a carpenter at the age of ten. Other carpenters would finish their apprenticeship in five years, or six or seven years if they were slow. But this Wang Quexi took a full fifteen years to barely finish his apprenticeship.”
Master Shi Liu’s expression softened.
Steward Ma felt a slight relief and continued with a smile, “Since he finished his apprenticeship, Wang Quexi has worked in carpentry for another fifteen years. In the entire carpentry department, his monthly allowance is the lowest. He’s truly useless.
“Wang Quexi’s wife is surnamed Zhang, thirty-four years old this year. When she was an apprentice, Wang Quexi’s wife was quite skillful. But before she could finish her apprenticeship, a scroll fell and crushed her right thumb and index finger, and half of her middle finger…”
“Her fingers were crushed, and you call that skillful?” Master Shi Liu snorted coldly.
“Yes, yes, she’s a little better than Wang Quexi. In recent years, Wang Quexi’s wife has only done odd jobs in the weaving workshop. With her right hand disabled, she can’t do much work and is only worth half a person.
“Wang Quexi’s wife has an old mother. She’s not foolish or disabled, but she’s sixty years old this year.”
Steward Ma looked up slightly, cautiously watching Master Shi Liu.
Master Shi Liu narrowed his eyes, then after a moment, he grunted, “Change Wang Quexi’s name to Wang Dagui. Change the sixty-year-old to fifty. Have Wang Quexi’s wife wrap her hand well.”
“Yes, yes, yes! Master Shi, don’t worry.”
Steward Ma felt as if a great weight had been lifted and agreed repeatedly.
………………………………
Qiao Zhi followed the attendant into the inn, her heart pounding nervously, her head feeling dizzy in waves, and she blinked hard from time to time, eagerly searching for Li Xiaonan’s figure.
Li Xiaonan was standing under the corridor watching Wan Jing write the day’s report letter. She subconsciously looked up and met Qiao Zhi’s extremely eager gaze, quickly raising her hand to signal her over.
As soon as Li Xiaonan raised her hand, Qiao Zhi shot towards her like an arrow released from a bow.
Li Xiaonan pulled Qiao Zhi a few steps to the side and asked, “What happened?”
“No, yes, Miss…” Qiao Zhi’s cheeks flushed with nervousness, and a fine sheen of sweat appeared on her nose.
“Don’t rush, speak slowly. Have a candy first. I brought it from Jiaxing, it’s delicious.” Li Xiaonan took a piece of Lion Candy, peeled off the oil paper, and offered it to Qiao Zhi.
“Miss, I…”
“Eat the candy first,” Li Xiaonan said with a smile.
Qiao Zhi took the candy and put it in her mouth. A sweet fragrance spread from her tongue to her throat, and Qiao Zhi’s pounding heart calmed down.
Li Xiaonan turned to look at the other two. Yu Ting had already seated them and offered them tea and pastries.
“Miss, my mother, father, and grandmother are all among those to be sold this time. Can you buy them all back?
“My father is a carpenter, and his hands are very skillful. There’s nothing in the weaving workshop’s carpentry that he can’t do. His hands are so skillful. Look, this is a perfume box my father made for me.
“Although my mother’s hand is disabled, she is very smart. She knows all the jobs in the weaving workshop. When my mother was my age, she was supposed to be chosen as a flower-making worker. Later, her hand was injured by a scroll, her right hand… no, no! Her hand wasn’t broken, just these two fingers are gone.
“My mother is literate. There isn’t a character she doesn’t know. No one taught her; she learned it herself. I am also literate; my mother taught me.
“And my grandmother. My grandmother is old, but when she was young, she was the best flower-making worker in the weaving workshop.
“Miss!” Qiao Zhi looked at Li Xiaonan with anticipation and nervousness.
“Your family of four? Is there anyone else?” Li Xiaonan listened intently, then asked with a smile.
“No.”
“Alright, we’ve arranged to see the people with the real estate agency tomorrow morning. We’ll go together tomorrow, so Second Uncle doesn’t pick the wrong people,” Li Xiaonan said with a smile.
Qiao Zhi blinked continuously. The young lady agreed too easily and too quickly. She felt like she had misheard, or perhaps the young lady was joking?
“What’s wrong?” Li Xiaonan raised her hand and waved it in front of Qiao Zhi’s eyes.
“Miss, you’re not lying to me, are you? What if Second Master doesn’t pick them?” Qiao Zhi lowered her voice, expressing her worry.
“Let me ask you, if your father’s craftsmanship is so good, and your mother and grandmother are flower-making workers, why would the weaving workshop let them go?
“The people they released from Ruifu Workshop, Xiangyun Workshop, and the like last time were all the worst apprentices. Is this time different?” Li Xiaonan leaned closer to Qiao Zhi and asked in a low voice.
“My grandmother said this time they are also picking useless people,” Qiao Zhi also lowered her voice. “It was my grandmother who made a scene at Steward Ma’s house, saying that if our family wasn’t let go, we would die at Steward Ma’s house.
“So they were released!
“Oh, right, they changed my father’s name to Wang Dagui, saying it was a name bestowed by Master Shi. They also made my grandmother…”
Qiao Zhi’s words stopped abruptly. She looked at Li Xiaonan, blinked, and sighed.
“It’s better to say it. My grandmother is sixty this year, but they changed it to fifty. They also told my mother to wrap her hand well so you wouldn’t see it.”
“Is that so? I don’t mind these things. How many people were released this time? What about the others?” Li Xiaonan took out two more Lion Candies, gave one to Qiao Zhi, and ate one herself.
“A total of ten. Guess how I know?” Qiao Zhi bit into the candy, her eyes squinting with a smile.
“They went to ask you for information?” Li Xiaonan said with a smile.
“No! They were all secretive about picking people and didn’t allow anyone to talk about it.
“Steward Ma told me, saying there were only ten people in total, and it was hard for him to get our family of three in, and so on.” Qiao Zhi pouted. “I don’t know who else is included.”
“We’ll know tomorrow,” Li Xiaonan said with a smile.
