The Exiled Life of the Noble Girl

Chapter 10

A few people ran away looking crestfallen. Those who were on good terms with Dong's family then walked over. They had also heard what Wang Chunhua said just now.

"What did they rob from you?"

Wang Chunhua was fuming. She threw the stick on the ground and angrily shouted, "A hairpin. It was my sister-in-law's last dowry. Luckily my husband managed to snatch it back."

"These shameless people are simply lawless!"

There were also many people in the crowd who had suffered at their hands. They were also indignant now that it was brought up.

A auntie close to the Dongs pulled Li Mingwei over, "You're an unmarried girl. Don't offend them. Be extra careful when you go out alone now that your brother-in-law is away."

"That's right. There're so many of them. If you really provoke them, you two women won't get any good out of it."

Li Mingwei nodded slightly. She was in a weak position now, "Thank you, auntie. I'll bear that in mind."

Wang Chunhua took off her apron and closed the door behind her, "Let me go with you."

"Little Swallow is still at home."

"It's fine. She's asleep. We'll go and return quickly."

After bidding everyone farewell, the two quickened their pace and arrived at the embroidery workshop. Female embroiderer Yu checked the handkerchiefs one by one and took out an abacus to calculate the payment with them.

"You embroider quite fast. In total, it's 520 wen."

Wang Chunhua was pleasantly surprised. She clasped her hands. It had only been a few days but she had earned a lot. She took the money and exclaimed, "Oh my! By the way, measure her and make a winter coat for her. Winter is almost here."

Female embroiderer Yu nodded, "Alright. Come to the back."

She took out a measuring tape and measured Li Mingwei's height and three circumferences, sighing, "You're too thin. The winter coat will have to be made substantial, otherwise you won't be able to leave the house in winter."

Wang Chunhua didn't hesitate at all, "Okay, make it thick for her. How much will it cost?"

Female embroiderer Yu let them pick the fabric first before calculating the price, "This fabric isn't expensive either. I'll charge you 300 wen in total."

300 wen. Wang Chunhua calculated it in her head. She gave all 520 wen back to female embroiderer Yu, "Make two coats. She can alternate between them. I'll give you the remaining 80 wen another day."

Li Mingwei shook her head again and again, "There's no need, Sister Chunhua. One coat will be enough."

Wang Chunhua brushed her aside in disapproval, "Whether it's done early or late, it still has to be done. You can't only have one coat for the entire winter."

Although Li Mingwei didn't want it, she had been living at the Dongs for so long. She still wanted to pay Wang Chunhua some lodging fees. Now she owed them money again.

Female embroiderer Yu watched them with a smile as she put away the money, "Alright, stop arguing. I'll still look for you when I have work. You'll earn it back quickly."

Li Mingwei looked at the basket full of handkerchiefs, "There're so many. It'll take a long time to sell them."

"Don't worry. I have no shortage of buyers."

It wasn't right for Li Mingwei to ask too much about others' business. She thanked her and left with Wang Chunhua.

Only then did Wang Chunhua remember something. She felt a little glum, "I forgot. Her husband also has a shop in the county town. She must be taking them to the county town to sell. The handkerchiefs in the county town aren't priced like this. We were already selling each for 5 wen cheaply."

Li Mingwei didn't care. She only embroidered flowers with no risks. They ran businesses which carried risks. If the goods remained unsold, it would be their loss.

People undertaking higher risks also earned more. There was nothing wrong with that.

She advised, "Don't get angry anymore Sister Chunhua. Let's hurry back. Little Swallow is still home alone."

Only then did Wang Chunhua not say any more. She skipped back home.

To tell the truth, Li Mingwei was still a little delighted to earn so much money at one go. Not to mention much, if she could take on such work once or twice every month, that would be one or two taels a month. Ten-odd taels a year if she thought about it. It was beautiful.

However, doing this non-stop was still tiring for Li Mingwei. She had decided to take it slower next time.

"Auntie, auntie, it's time to eat."

Li Mingwei opened her eyes to Dong Lei's round eyes. She pinched the flesh on his chubby cheeks and laughed, "You're back!"

She must have slept for a very long time.

"Mm. Just got back. Mother asked me to call you to eat first before sleeping again."

"Alright. Auntie will get up now."

Wang Chunhua had laid out the bowls and chopsticks. She sat at the table waiting for them. She yawned. Suddenly she also felt a little sleepy. Li Mingwei was tired and so was she. These days when Dong Shan was away, she had chopped all the firewood at home.

She picked some meat for her son with her chopsticks, "Wonder when your dad will be back."

Li Mingwei smiled, "Is Sister Chunhua missing Elder Brother Dong?"

Wang Chunhua was unusually shy. She said awkwardly, "Oh, a little."

Dong Lei laughed loudly, "Of course! There's no one to chop firewood when dad isn't home. Yesterday mother was tired from chopping firewood while scolding people. Hahaha."

Embarrassed by being exposed by her son, Wang Chunhua was a little angry. She glared at her son, "Hurry up and eat. Do your homework after eating. The teacher told me your homework has been no good several times. Just you wait for your dad to come back and see how he'll deal with you."

Dong Lei hung his head with his heart thumping wildly. Not only was he scolded in class for his bad homework, the teacher even told his family. That was going overboard.

Seeing his expression, Li Mingwei couldn't help but laugh. After the meal, she went to take a look at Dong Lei's schoolwork out of concern. She had been embroidering after meals these days and hadn't paid much attention to it.

She flipped through Dong Lei's books. They were The Thousand Character Classic, The Three Character Classic, and The Analects of Confucius. They were all enlightening books for children and suitable for his age.

Dong Lei had just started school not long ago. He was still learning how to write. Following the strokes in the book, he dipped his brush in ink and slowly copied them on paper.

Seeing that his writing was terrible, Li Mingwei frowned. She held his little claws, "This character isn't written like that. There's a sequence to writing words. Write this stroke first, then that stroke."

Dong Lei didn't really understand but he moved his little hand along with Li Mingwei's. Soon he realized his words were becoming neater.

"Auntie, you're so awesome!"

Li Mingwei taught him the proper way to hold the brush and apply force. She changed the paper for him and let him write by himself.

Dong Lei was a little nervous. He slowly wrote according to the instructions but Li Mingwei was staring at him intently. He panicked and forgot the stroke order again. His hand shook.

"Auntie, don't stare at me. I'm so scared."

That was how Teacher stared at him in school. Why was Auntie staring at him like this when he was home?

Li Mingwei didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "How would I know if you're writing correctly if I don't watch you? Hurry up and don't dawdle. It'll be dark soon."

"That's right. Don't dawdle. Listen to your auntie and hurry up with writing. It'll be dark soon and we'll have to light the lamps. That's wasting lamp oil," Wang Chunhua rushed out from the kitchen to join in admonishing her son.

She had actually been watching them for a long time. She didn't know Li Mingwei could even read and write. She seemed rather reliable. Her husband had really struck gold this time.