October 1st, asking for a guaranteed monthly pass

  ****

  Yaowang Temple Hutong is closer to Wenshan Academy, but the first one to return was Changsheng. He sent Xia Xiuren back and returned almost immediately without any delay. Guo's uncle returned relatively late. His face was full of smiles, and it was clear that he was in a good mood at a glance.

  He originally sent Xia Ershu and his family back, and met Zhang Cai, and was invited to meet with Zhang Cai and Luo Juan.

  He didn't see Zhang Qiao'er, nor did he see Tian Jian Sheng. It's said that Tian Jian Sheng, because of his wife's intention to adopt Zhang Qiao'er and her son, has been trying to curry favor with his wife these days, spending at least two out of every three nights in the main house, fearing that if she suddenly changed her mind, things would become difficult.

  Xia Dagu was not as happy as Guo Gufu, and only said to wait and see. Guo Gufu guessed what she was worried about, but still seemed quite pleased. According to his words, some people and things are just like luck, when it comes, nothing can stop it.

  What he meant by encountering good luck was Xia Ershu and his family.

  Xia Zhi didn't have the time or energy to think about this matter too much, she had too many things that needed her attention.

  The next day, the matchmaker brought several young women to Xia Zhi's place for a trial. Xia Zhi had them wrap zongzi with their hands while observing their craftsmanship and inquiring about their family background through the matchmaker, naturally also paying close attention to each person's attire, speech, and behavior.

  After the trial, Xia Zhi kept eight people, all of whom were young and nimble girls and wives between the ages of 16 and 40. Those who came out to do this kind of temporary work naturally didn't have a good family background, which could be seen from their clothes. Xia Zhi chose those who were clean and tidy, with clear eyes, shiny hair, and relatively healthy complexion.

  Currently, even hired workers cannot be taken to the hospital for a physical examination and can only make a general judgment based on appearance. Those who are of the right age and meet such standards in terms of appearance are generally relatively healthy and do not have any serious illnesses.

  Even if customers don't know, Xia Zhi still has to be responsible for their health.

  Leaving the eight people behind, Xia Zhi told them her requirements, which were what she had entrusted to Ya Ren. In addition, she also told the eight people: "If we get busy, I'm afraid we'll have to work overtime."

  As soon as she finished speaking, Xia Zhi saw a look of confusion on several people's faces. She immediately realized that she had said something they didn't understand, so she modified her words: "It's just getting up early and working hard, but the wages are calculated based on the number of zongzi packed, the more you pack, the more you earn." And also promised to settle the wages on the same day, without any delay.

  Such conditions are completely acceptable for these short workers. In fact, they all think that the conditions are quite generous.

  "Today is your first day on the job. However, the glutinous rice has not been soaked yet, so we can't start wrapping zongzi today. I have some other tasks for you, which should take only half a day to complete, and I will give each of you five big coins."

  Today's scheduled tasks are some simple cleaning. In addition, she gave each person a piece of plain cotton cloth and asked them to sew two sets of hats, masks, and aprons.

  Xia Zhi cuts out a pattern, provides the necessary scissors, needles and thread, and lets these few female workers start working. Embroidery is a basic skill for women of this era, especially such simple needlework, everyone can do it. Moreover, Xia Zhi has chosen a few of them, who are obviously among the skilled ones, the hats, masks and aprons they sewed out are all with dense stitches, making it impossible to pick out any flaws.

  When the girls finished their work, Xia Zhi gained a deeper understanding of their skillful and ingenious nature, as well as each person's temperament. She also invited the girls to have a simple meal together, made from rice and vegetables they had bought themselves.

  Starting from tomorrow, Xia Zhi will not only pay the female workers their wages but also provide them with a lunch every day to ensure they eat well. If overtime is required, an additional breakfast will be provided if work starts early, and an additional dinner will be provided if work goes into the night.

  The women workers were all very satisfied. Xia Zhi gave them today's wages and told them the time to start work tomorrow, then let them go back.

  After sending away the female workers, Xia Zhi locked the back door and turned around to smile at Xiao Hei Yu: "Old uncle, how do you think this employer is doing?"

  Xiao Hei Yu didn't go out to play today, he accompanied Xia Zhi from early morning, and even brought Da Qing along. According to him, he won't help with wrapping zongzi or assist Xia Zhi with other tasks, so he just brought Da Qing to supervise Xia Zhi's work.

  The little black fish was very dedicated to his work. When Xia Zhi asked him, he smiled, and his big eyes curved with joy that couldn't be hidden: "Sixteen, I think you're doing a great job."

  In Xiaozhi's eyes, summer is like a magic spell that can make anything possible and everything goes well.

  "Sixteen, we sell zongzi, how much money can we make?" Little Black Fish asked Xia Zhi curiously while holding onto Da Qing.

  Xia Zhi stroked the top of Xiao Hei Yu's head. Xiao Hei Yu was too focused and didn't notice her "below the surface" move. Xia Zhi secretly smiled to herself, telling Xiao Hei Yu: "It's still hard to say for now. We have to wait until the zongzi is packaged and sold before we know."

  "Sixteen, then I'll help you sell zongzi." Little Black Fish said immediately.

  "Alright." Xia Zhi immediately agreed.

  Xia Zhi and Xiao Hei Yu returned to Xia Dagu's courtyard. As soon as they came out of the Moon Gate, they met Ya Tou Xiao Hong. Xiao Hong smiled and spoke with Xia Zhi and Xiao Hei Yu, then lowered her voice and pointed towards Zhu Pearl's room: "Miss Yuhuan has arrived, she just had lunch."

  Xia Zhi nodded and took Xia Hei to the upper house, but instead of going to the west room, she went to the east room to talk to Xia Da Gu.

  Xī wū lǐ, Guō Yùhuán hé zhēnzhū zuò zài kàng shàng zhèng xiǎo shēng de shuò de nén dì.

  English Translation:

  Inside the room, Guo Yujuan and Zhenzhu were sitting on the kang, whispering to each other in a low voice.

  "...I heard it was lively in your courtyard, guessed you were having a gathering and didn't have the nerve to come over." The two of them were just talking about Xia Ershu's family coming over yesterday.

  Zhenzhu told everything about Xia Ershu's family. Guo Yuhuan listened with her tongue tied, and her eyes rolled back and forth.

  "I know their family. Who knows, that Zhang Qiao might really become the wife of a successful candidate. At that time, your second uncle's family will definitely prosper along with them."

  Xia Er Shu's success or failure didn't matter much to Zhen Zhu.

  Because Pearl had just mentioned May and July, Guo Yuhuan carefully inquired about them. Pearl didn't mention anything unpleasant between her and May and July, but talked about their attire and also brought up Tian Jian's matchmaking for May.

  "Why didn't your mother bring your third and fifth sisters to live with you? I heard that these two are better than your fourth sister. When will you go see them, I'll accompany you."

  Pearl pouted: "You haven't seen them! They're not as good as my fourth sister."

  (。)