Farm Tough Girl

Chapter 93 - 93 094 Putting on the Masters Airs_1

?Chapter 93: Chapter 094: Putting on the Master’s Airs_1 Chapter 93: Chapter 094: Putting on the Master’s Airs_1 Muniang nodded appreciatively, “Auntie is indeed thoughtful.”

“This estate is ultimately yours, so naturally, I dare not take it lightly. Besides, people’s hearts are unpredictable. Although the embroiderers we’ve recruited are all from our own village, your patterns are indeed quite unique. If someone with thievish intent leaks these patterns out, it would be disastrous. I’ve given them a stern warning that if anyone dares to divulge the patterns, it would be a violation of the contract, and they would be liable to pay a fine of one hundred taels of silver, or else face the magistrate!” Madam Liu stated earnestly.

Muniang secretly praised Madam Liu’s firm measures and no-nonsense approach, yet she still cautioned, “But there’s still the fear that some with bolder guts might not take it seriously. Why not let them try their hand on one or two patterns first? During this time, keep a close eye on them. If anyone dares to commit the crime against the wind, enforce the contract immediately. It serves to kill the chicken to scare the monkeys and also to kick out those with crooked thoughts early to save us future trouble.”

“That’s a good method indeed, and it makes things safer. I was just about to start giving them work assignments tomorrow. I’ll do as you say,” Madam Liu said, her face showing a trace of worry:
“I’m concerned about the patterns getting out, so I’ve stipulated that everyone can only do embroidery work at my place and cannot take it home. Everyone is crammed into those two rooms of mine, which is quite crowded. That could be overlooked since we’re all villagers and don’t fuss much over it, but the main problem is I’m living in the same yard as my mother-in-law. She never gives anyone a pleasant look and often has sour words to say. I might not mind, but it’s really uncomfortable for the villagers.”

Muniang laughed, “That’s easy to fix. I’m actually building a residence here, and the craftsmen are already on hand. Why not have them build a few extra rooms specifically for everyone to do their embroidery work?”

Madam Liu frowned, “That would be a lot of trouble and expense.”

“It’s only right. If our Embroidery House really takes off in the future, it could grow even bigger, and we might need to recruit even more embroiderers. We’ll need stricter management then. It’s not proper to always be working at Auntie’s home.”

Convinced by the logic, Madam Liu finally nodded in agreement.

“Auntie, do you have plans today? Why not stay for a meal? You’ve been running around for the Embroidery House these past days; I should at least show some appreciation,” Muniang said with a smile.

“You trust me to manage the Embroidery House for you, so naturally, I can’t take it lightly. I’ll pass on the meal, My family is waiting at home for me to cook. What would it look like if I stayed here?” Madam Liu said, gesturing with her hand.

“What’s the big deal? Just bring the kids over, your husband is in the fields, right? I’ll have Eryang go invite him over soon. We’ve never really had a proper meal together. This time, Auntie, you can’t decline.”

Muniang said this and then turned her head to ask Mrs. Fang to fetch the children from the Qiao family.

Seeing Muniang act so swiftly and knowing she couldn’t stop her, Madam Liu just smiled helplessly and let her have her way.

Although there was a generation gap between the two women, their mental ages were similar, with Madam Liu being not yet twenty-five years old. Thus, they always found plenty to talk about and soon their conversation drifted onto other topics.

Having received Muniang’s orders, Mrs. Fang headed straight for the Qiao family. Muniang had initially thought that fetching a child was no big deal—kids of that age in the village were already brave enough to go up the mountains to pick wild fruit. Sending Mrs. Fang was merely a formality, but unexpectedly, it still caused quite a stir.

Mrs. Fang arrived at the Qiao residence and saw the courtyard gate wide open, so she went straight in. For rural households, a gate was nothing more than a decoration—whether it was closed or not didn’t make any difference. To put it nicely, it was a gate, but in reality, it was just a fence made of dry sticks.

Just as she was about to head to Madam Liu’s room, she unexpectedly ran into Mrs. Ji, who was coming out to toss water.

It turned out that all of Mrs. Ji’s silver had been stolen by Qiao Yuanshan, so she started mooching meals at her parents’ home, claiming they had no silver left. She would rush over at mealtime, but she couldn’t avoid being scolded by Madam Zhao and Qiao Dazhi. Mrs. Ji felt extremely wronged, so her attitude towards Mrs. Fang was none too friendly.

“Hey! Who are you! What right do you have to just barge into someone else’s yard?” Mrs. Ji confronted her with a frown, looking as if she intended to take out her frustration on Mrs. Fang.

Mrs. Fang had always been good-tempered and gentle, so she replied cheerily, “My apologies, I just saw there was no one in the yard. I am a servant from the Qiao family on the west side of the village. The Lady sent me to invite the young masters over for a meal.”

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Ji immediately knew who she was, and scoffed with disdain: “Oh, the Lady now, is it? A worthless wretch that can’t stand on her own two feet acting like she’s some kind of noble, how splendid!”

Her voice dripped with sarcasm, her heart actually green with envy. Qiao Muniang, that despicable wench, had made such a fortune behind everyone’s backs! It was bad enough she built a large mansion, but now she even had servants!

Mrs. Fang found these words particularly disgusting, but she fully knew her place, so she still spoke amiably, “If there’s nothing else, I’ll go invite the young masters now, the Lady is waiting to start the meal.”

With that, she immediately turned to head towards Madam Liu’s house, clearly not wanting to entangle with Mrs. Ji any further.

But Mrs. Ji was not someone who could be easily dismissed. She immediately blocked Mrs. Fang’s path: “What, do you not see me, or what? A servant should act like one. I am Qiao Muniang’s elder aunt by marriage, by seniority, she should be kowtowing and acting subservient before me. What are you, daring to be so arrogant in front of me?”

Mrs. Ji’s voice was so sharp it turned Mrs. Fang’s face pale. Although she knew that Muniang didn’t care much for these relatives from the Qiao family, she couldn’t change the fact that she was a servant and didn’t dare to cross Mrs. Ji, quickly becoming more deferential.

“I wouldn’t dare, I am just following orders. I was worried that taking too long would incur the Lady’s blame, so I’ll go fetch the young masters right away.”

Hearing Mrs. Fang speak this way, Mrs. Ji felt greatly satisfied, her vanity swelling. She would get the chance to act the lady in her lifetime, and naturally, she was joyfully content.

“Hmm! At least you know your place,” Mrs. Ji snorted coldly but then seemed to recall something and suddenly asked, “Why is Qiao Muniang inviting those children over for a meal?”

Mrs. Fang, now sweating with fear, dared not lie and told her the truth: “The Old Lady Qiao was retained as a guest by our Lady, and fearing the children would have nothing to eat, she sent me to bring them over for a meal.”

Mrs. Ji’s eyes lit up. Eating at Qiao Muniang’s house? That must surely mean delicacies from land and sea. Besides, she heard that Madam Liu and Qiao Muniang had started an Embroidery House together. The meal was surely regarding this business; if she could get involved, perhaps even manage the Embroidery House, wouldn’t that be more comfortable and easier than toiling in the fields?