Chapter 104: Acquiring the Letter 2/2

Second… The embroidery workshop Jin Xiaoye opened in the county planned to recruit ten apprentice female workers from their village.

In Miaoqian Village, some families had very little land. When they heard that Jin Xiaoye was going to rent out the six acres of land, they were all excited and eager to rent it.

As for the apprentice workers, it goes without saying. Families with girls all wanted to send their daughters to become apprentice workers.

For ordinary people, working as an apprentice in a shop in the county was considered a good opportunity. Previously, Zhao Laosan had always wanted to send Zhao Xiaodou to become an apprentice.

But the county usually only recruited boys as apprentices, and there were very few spots available. They didn’t have the chance.

Now Jin Xiaoye was recruiting girls as apprentices… that’s great!

If their daughters went to the embroidery workshop to become apprentices, their families would save on food expenses for one person. After the girls learned the craft, they would have a better chance of marrying well in the future!

Moreover, this was working in the county; maybe they even had a chance to marry someone from the county!

As for safety issues… They trusted Jin Xiaoye, and Jin Xiaoye said that these girls could follow Jin Xiaoshu to the county in the morning and come back with him in the evening.

“Xiaoye is trying to help us!”

“My daughter is still young; I don’t know if she wants to.”

“I want to rent their land…”

…

Jin Xiaoye only stayed in Miaoqian Village for a short while before leaving, letting the villagers come to Jin Xiaoshu’s house in the evening to sign up. So, on this evening, countless people crowded into Jin Xiaoshu’s house.

Jin Xiaoshu always thought his house was quite big, but now… His house was still a bit small.

Jin’s mother boiled a large pot of water and poured tea for the elderly, as well as for the young… Forget about tea; there weren’t even enough chairs.

“My daughter is skilled; let her go.”

“My daughter’s hands are truly skillful!”

“My daughter is better than Ni’er and Honghong.”

…

“Don’t worry, everyone; I’ll make a note for you, and my sister will choose tomorrow,” Jin Xiaoshu said.

Hearing this, the villagers obediently lined up to sign up.

Fang Jinniang could read and write, so she took paper and a pen  and wrote down the names of the girls who signed up one by one.

Families from the temple-front village who were better off financially thought it was a good idea to let their daughters learn a trade and see the world in the county, so they all signed up.

As for those who were not so well-off… Sending their daughters to the county to save on food expenses was also good.

Almost all the girls from Miaoqian Village signed up, but fortunately, Jin Xiaoye had age requirements, so in the end, there were only nineteen people.

As for their land… Jin Xiaoye’s land was to be rented out, and the same went for Jin Xiaoshu. The two families had a total of nine acres of land, which Jin Xiaoshu divided into three parts and rented out to three households.

The next day, Jin Xiaoshu gave the list to Jin Xiaoye.

Jin Xiaoye knew all the people from Miaoqian Village on the list. These girls on the list were basically those Jin Xiaoye had watched grow up.

The villagers were also considerate. Those who didn’t have a good relationship with her didn’t come to sign up… After some thought, Jin Xiaoye said, “Let them all come, but your boat can’t fit so many people. You’ll have to ask Jin Mulangshu to help with transportation.”

Jin Xiaoshu said, “We don’t need to… Sister, your shop can have people sleep on the floor. Some people are willing to live in the county and even said they could help you with cooking and laundry.”

Because Jin Xiaoye said she only needed ten apprentices, the villagers were afraid that their daughters wouldn’t be chosen, so some people said their daughters could stay in the shop and help Jin Xiaoye with housework.

“Do those girls agree to that?” Jin Xiaoye asked.

“Who wouldn’t want to come to the county?” Jin Xiaoshu said. “And they have chores to do at home anyway.”

Actually, if it were someone else recruiting apprentices in Miaoqian Village, the villagers wouldn’t dare let their daughters work.

But now it was Jin Xiaoye who was recruiting!

Half of these girls had the surname Jin and were related to Jin Xiaoye’s family. They trusted that Jin Xiaoye wouldn’t mistreat these girls. And if Jin Xiaoye did mistreat their daughters, they could just take them back home.

“Let them all come,” Li Qingzhi said.

The apprentices Jin Xiaoye recruited were required to be between twelve and sixteen years old.

In modern times, this would be considered child labor, the work of unscrupulous capitalists.

But in this era… This could actually change the fate of these girls.

Jin Xiaoye thought for a moment and said, “Then let them all come, and some of them can live in the shop.”

Living in the shop would definitely be uncomfortable, but most families in Miaoqian Village were quite poor. They lived in thatched huts, and some even lived with their livestock or were just separated by a wall.

Enduring the smell every night was bad enough, not to mention the abundance of mosquitoes.

For them, living in the shop might actually be more comfortable.

“Xiaoye, the second floor of our shop is quite spacious. We can have a carpenter make a few bunk beds. During the day, we can use curtains to divide the space, and they can sleep there at night,” Li Qingzhi said.

“What do you mean by bunk beds?” Jin Xiaoye asked.

Li Qingzhi briefly explained how bunk beds worked.

Jin Xiaoye said, “That can be arranged. In that case… I reckon they’ll all be willing to live in the shop.”

What great conditions! These girls didn’t necessarily have their own beds when they were at home.

Speaking of which, when she used to work as a laborer during festivals, there were no beds available. They could only spread straw on the ground and sleep on it, and they even had to bring their own blankets.

While Li Qingzhi was helping Jin Xiaoye manage the shop, Magistrate Gou received a letter from Magistrate Zhang, asking him to investigate the poor tea harvest in Linhu County.

Magistrate Gou was quite excited when he saw the letter.

The magistrate must suspect the County Magistrate of Linhu County! If he was being asked to investigate… It meant that the magistrate trusted him!

Magistrate Gou immediately ordered his belongings to be packed and prepared to go to Linhu County.

Linhu County was next to Lihu Lake, with mountains and water scenery far superior to the flatlands of Chongcheng County. He could take this opportunity to have a good time.

For him, this was also considered a rare vacation.

Magistrate Gou was feeling pleased when he suddenly remembered something. He called for a servant and asked them to find Zhu Xunmiao and Li Qingzhi.

He had received quite a few benefits from Zhu Xunmiao, and Li Qingzhi had helped him in many ways… This time, when he went to Linhu County, he could take Li Qingzhi and Zhu Xunmiao with him.

Both Li Qingzhi and Zhu Xunmiao were knowledgeable, but they lacked in poetic composition… He planned to take these two along and give them some guidance.

With his guidance, they would surely perform better in the provincial examination.

Li Qingzhi hurried to see Magistrate Gou when he heard the news about going to Linhu County.

Li Qingzhi was slightly surprised.

Magistrate Gou said, “Zixiao, this investigation in Linhu County will take a maximum of ten days. It won’t delay your participation in the Provincial Examination. Along the way, I can also teach you poetry and strategy…”

Li Qingzhi immediately understood that Magistrate Gou wanted to take him along for his own good. And he wanted to go as well.

Li Qingzhi promptly thanked Magistrate Gou and complimented him.

Soon after, Zhu Xunmiao also arrived. Upon learning about the matter, Zhu Xunmiao was overjoyed and repeatedly expressed his gratitude.

“Then it’s settled. We’ll depart tomorrow!” Magistrate Gou said enthusiastically.

Li Qingzhi asked, “Sir, should we bring a couple of skilled assistants with us to Linhu County?”

Chongcheng County was relatively safe, but Linhu County… Li Qingzhi felt it would be better to bring along more people.

“I’ll bring two bodyguards with me, and I’ll also call Ding Xi,” Magistrate Gou said.

Magistrate Gou was very fond of the autobiography Li Qingzhi wrote for Zhu Xunmiao, and later he learned that Li Qingzhi had also written an autobiography for Ding Xi… He immediately borrowed Ding Xi’s autobiography to read it.

After reading Ding Xi’s autobiography, Magistrate Gou was filled with excitement. In his mind, Ding Xi was a highly skilled martial artist.

Magistrate Gou’s two bodyguards were not weak, and with Ding Xi, it would be even better.

No matter how rampant the people of Linhu County were, they wouldn’t dare lay hands on officials appointed by the court.

Li Qingzhi didn’t say anything further and began to ponder about what to bring along.

This time going to Linhu County, he didn’t plan to act rashly, but he could take a look at the situation there.

For him, the most important thing was the upcoming provincial examination, and he could take this opportunity to learn more from Magistrate Gou.

Li Xiucai had rich experience participating in the provincial examination, but after becoming a xiucai, he still had to participate in the county-level examination to become a jinshi.

In terms of experience in the jinshi examination, Li Xiucai was somewhat lacking.