Poor Lady Chapter 5: Joe

That night, Qi's father was so drunk that he didn't get up until noon the next day, so Qi's mother had to stay in the room to take care of him.

As the saying goes: A drunk can relieve a thousand worries. Qi Surong sincerely hoped that her father could forget all the pain and worries and cheer up again. At present, they have not overcome the predicament, and the money in their hands is not much. Even if they save more and more, there will always be a time when it will be spent.

Father can't count on him for the time being. He can't do anything except lead troops to fight. With his temperament, it's impossible for him to pull himself off and go out to work. And the mother is introverted and weak, so she is not suitable for hard work. As for the other servants, they were employed by the Qi family, so they should have been taken care of by the Qi family, so we can't let them go out to make money, right? Anyway, she, Qi Surong, couldn't do such a shameful thing.

Thinking about it, I seem to be the only labor force in the family.

Qi Surong bit her pen, frowning in thought.

At this moment, Ping'er walked in, handed her a letter, and said, "Miss, this is from the Song family."

"Song Mansion?" Qi Surong quickly realized that the "Song Mansion" in Ping'er's mouth refers to the mansion of Song Boyi and Song Zhongcheng in Xicheng.

Thinking of Qiao'e, Qi Surong remembered something related to this letter.

"Ping'er, go and give the letter to my mother." Qi Surong handed the letter to Ping'er again.

"Yes."

After a while, Qi's mother came to the study, with a bit of joy on her face, and said to Qi Surong: "Rong'er, your pretty aunt invited your mother to Nanshan Temple for a gathering, would you like to go with your mother?"

"Okay." Qi Surong nodded, and asked the steward to hire a carriage.

Although it is necessary to save expenses now, the mother and daughter are not suitable for public appearance for the time being, so they can only spend money.

Nanshan Temple is about two or three miles away from Wangu Lane where they live. The carriage is driving at a constant speed, but it will arrive in a while.

Qi's mother was a little excited and a little uneasy.

Qi Surong's expression was as usual, she helped her mother into the temple, and under the guidance of a monk, she came to the meditation room where Qiao'e was.

"Cousin!" As soon as Qiao'e saw the mother and daughter of the Qi family, she immediately got up to greet her and invited them to a seat.

Qi Surong looked at her with many thoughts in his heart. Although Auntie Qiao has a beautiful appearance, she has slender eyebrows and looks a bit mean, which is why Qi Surong didn't like her in her previous life. She thinks that people with such faces must be ungrateful and scheming. Therefore, when Aunt Qiao offered help to her mother, she also regarded it as a kind of charity and ridicule with malicious intentions.

"Cousin, how are you doing recently?" Aunt Qiao asked while pouring tea.

Qi's mother sighed, forced a smile and said, "It's okay."

"Cousin, don't feel too bad, just take it easy, Qiao'e believes that the Qi family's downfall is only temporary."

"Thank you cousin, I will save it." Even so, the brows did not relax.

Qiao'e turned her head to look at Qi Surong, and said, "Surong, I haven't seen you for half a year, you look even more lovely."

"Auntie Qiao's congratulations, in front of Mother and Auntie Qiao, Surong is just a little girl." Qi Surong personally poured a cup of tea for Qiao'e.

A surprise flashed in Zhuang Qiao'e's eyes. Ever since she was a child, her niece had never been so polite to her. In the past, her eyebrows and eyes were cold and arrogant, but now she has a bit of sincerity.

Several people exchanged pleasantries for a while, and the atmosphere was quite lively.

A moment later, Qiao'e suddenly took out a bag of things from her bosom, put it in Qi's mother's hand, and said, "Cousin, Qiao'e's husband is very soft-spoken and really can't help you. Qiao'e cares about the matters of the Qi family." Uneasy. The only thing I can do is to give some vulgar things, hoping to relieve the temporary needs. The amount is not much, so please don’t dislike it.”

"No, no." Qi's mother quickly declined, "How can I ask for your things?"

"Cousin, just accept it!" Qiao'e said seriously, "Do you want me to watch you suffer and ignore you?"

Qi's mother frowned tightly, hesitated, her eyes fell on Qi Surong unconsciously.

Zhuang Qiao'e also followed Qi's mother's eyes and said, "Su Rong, please advise your mother on behalf of Aunt Qiao, we are a family, why bother?"

Qi Surong thought for a while, then suddenly said: "Auntie Qiao, can Surong ask you for a favor?"

Zhuang Qiao'e froze for a moment, then replied, "But it's okay."

"I would like to ask Auntie Qiao to rent a small shop for me. It can be in anyone's name. You also know that it is not convenient for us to show up for the time being. If we want to find some work to do, there is nothing we can do."

"You mean, you want to do business?" Zhuang Qiao'e was very surprised. This is the eldest lady of the Qi family. Now she wants to open a shop, what can she do?

Qi Surong nodded, and said calmly: "Auntie Qiao, you know the current situation of our family. If there is no source of income, the whole family will have to go hungry. We can't rely on Auntie Qiao for support all our lives, right?"

Zhuang Qiao'e hesitated for a moment, and said: "Opening a shop is in danger of losing money. If Rong'er wants to help the family, why not let me recommend you to work in Jingxiang Embroidery Workshop. This embroidery workshop is opened by a friend. I will treat you badly."

Qi Surong knew that Auntie Qiao couldn't trust her, and was worried that she would end up dismal in the end.

In the last life, Aunt Qiao also proposed to let her go to Jingxiang Embroidery Workshop to be an embroiderer. She refused politely at the time, but due to the pressure of life, she finally compromised. However, this compromise made her regret it too late.

Miss Qi's status was a symbol of dignity in the past, but now she has become the target of ridicule and ridicule by others. Ordinary embroiderers would not dare to speak ill of her, after all, they used to be nobles, even if they are down now, they are a bit more dignified than them. But she is arrogant and domineering. Even though she is doing the same job, she always looks down on others, so that she is isolated by other embroiderers. She doesn't care about being isolated, but she doesn't understand what it means to be alone until she is in trouble.

Luo Yanyi, the daughter of Shangshu, was once one of her best friends. It is said that they are best friends, but in fact, it is only because of their status that they often communicate. Among the noble girls, she has always been on top, as long as she is there, other girls can only come second. She enjoys the honor of the stars and the moon, but she doesn't know how many people hate her.

The news that she was working in the embroidery workshop was quickly learned by Luo Yanyi. So, she brought a few other girlfriends to challenge her every day. Ridiculous, insulting, making things difficult, and even sending people to surround her on the way home, beating, kicking, and bullying.

But the pain on her body is far less than the shame and anger of being trampled on her dignity.

Finally, she left the embroidery workshop and stayed in the room all day, unwilling to face outsiders.

But the matter is not over yet, my mother took over her work and went to the embroidery workshop to work every day. She has a gentle temperament and never likes to argue with others, but those young ladies did not hold back in the slightest. For the sake of the family, the mother forcibly endured it. I thought that with such forbearance, the suffering would pass one day.

Unexpectedly, a few days later, my mother returned home with blood on her hands, and she could no longer hold the embroidery needle steadily.

Qi Surong closed her sour eyes, gently held her mother's hand, and tried hard to suppress the anger and regret in her heart.

She said: "Aunt Qiao, do you think I am suitable to work in an embroidery workshop?"

"This..."

"Auntie Qiao," Qi Surong picked up the bag of silver and said seriously, "This money is your initial investment, and I will give you a corresponding share in the future. I only hope that you can help me rent money." For a store, the store doesn’t need to be too big, but the location must be good.”

"What kind of store do you want to open?" Zhuang Qiao'e continued to ask without directly answering.

"Xiu Zhuang."

"'Embroidery' Zhuang? Do you buy and sell embroidery?"

"No, no." Qi Surong said with a smile, "Not only embroidery, but also all kinds of clothing."

Zhang Qiao'e frowned and said, "Tell me specifically?"

"I plan to open a boutique tailor-made for noble people, from headwear, clothing, accessories to all kinds of embroidery, all of which are sold together."

"In this case, I'm afraid it will cost a lot of capital?"

"I've thought about it carefully, if I only take one or two orders a month, my mother and I will be enough."

"Only one or two orders a month?" Zhang Qiao'e said incredulously, "Won't this be a loss?"

Qi Surong smiled and said, "What if the order is at least a thousand taels?"

"Thousands of taels?" Zhuang Qiao'e thought for a while, with the spending power of the noble children of the capital, several thousand taels is not uncommon, but the shop must be famous first, otherwise everything will be empty talk. People in the capital place the most importance on reputation and face, which is definitely not something that ordinary people can impress.

"Auntie Qiao, what do you think of my outfit?" Qi Surong asked suddenly.

Zhuang Qiao'e looked intently, and saw Surong wearing a plain blue satin dress with intertwined branches and collar, butterflies and flowers blooming on the sleeves, an embroidered gold brocade bag hanging from her waist, and a yellow wishful knot. Look at her bun again, the clouds are hanging down, and the hairpin flowers are on the temples. The simplicity is complex, elegant and delicate. If she has eight points of color and matches this outfit, it is ten points.

"Outsiders only know that I am proficient in piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, but they don't know that I am best at embroidery and hairpin flowers." Her embroidery skills were passed down from her mother, and she is very talented, so she can often innovate and match the ones she made by herself. Ornaments, her attire is always the most special among the ladies. It's just that she has never shown off her skills in this area to anyone. She thinks this is the work of inferior people. Instead of telling people to make fun of it, it's better to let others think that their family has the best embroiderers and craftsmen in the world.

Zhuang Qiao'e was taken aback again, and felt that Su Rong seemed to be quite different from before, whether it was her demeanor, her temperament or her speech, she was a little less domineering and arrogance, and more calm and mature.

In the past, she would definitely not agree to her request to open a shop, but at this moment, she was a little shaken.

She asked: "It's not difficult to open a store, but how do you plan to make the store famous?"

"Auntie Qiao, if I remember correctly, the queen's birthday will be in a month's time, so you will definitely attend then?"

"You mean..." Zhuang Qiao'e's eyes lit up.

Qi Surong also had a slight smile on his lips.