214 Help
In this era, women were like goods. If the family’s conditions were better, it would be slightly better if they married into their in-laws’ families. If the family’s conditions were not good, they would be sold by their parents as goods. It was still considered good if they went to their in-laws’ families to be their wives. Some black-hearted parents would sell their daughters to others as concubines.
This was not surprising. This was a problem in this era.
Now that Ning Yue had set up a brewery, it changed women’s lives.
In the workshop every month, they could earn 15 taels of silver. If they worked hard every month, they could also get nearly 50 taels of silver a year.
In a year, there were 230 taels of silver. Even if they did not continue doing it for a year, this sum of silver was enough for them to start a small business.
Ning Yue patrolled the workshop and realized that everyone was smiling. She felt much better.
However, she did not expect to see a female worker crying when Ning Yue checked the growth of the grapes in the field.
“What’s wrong?” Ning Yue asked.
The female worker hurriedly wiped the tears from her face and shook her head. “Nothing. I’m just a little sad when I think of my dead mother.”
Ning Yue sized her up for a while and asked the female worker, “What’s your name?”
“My name is Wang Jing,” the female worker said.
The female worker in front of her was indeed sad, but the reason for her sadness was definitely not just because she thought of her dead mother. Looking at Wang Jing’s eyes, there seemed to be a hint of despair. Ning Yue frowned deeply.
“You can tell me what exactly happened. Don’t forget that I’m the future heiress and a princess conferred by the emperor. It’s definitely not difficult for me to decide for you with my status,” Ning Yue said.
Hearing Ning Yue’s words, Wang Jing could no longer hold back the tears in her eyes. They surged out like a flood.
“Princess, I’m so bitter!” Wang Jing cried for a long time before saying this.
Bitter? Ning Yue frowned even more. How was it bitter to earn so much money in the workshop a year? Or could it be that Wang Jing needed money in many ways? This bit of money was not enough for her.
Although she had questions in her heart, Ning Yue did not interrupt Wang Jing. Instead, she quietly listened to her.
“My mother passed away when I was ten years old. My father married a stepmother, who gave birth to a son for my father. My father treated this son like a treasure. When my mother was still alive, the family doted on me. However, ever since this younger brother was born, my status has been deteriorating day by day. That’s fine. After all, he’s the only descendant of our family.”
Hearing Wang Jing’s words, Ning Yue disagreed, but she did not interrupt Wang Jing. Instead, she continued to listen to her.
“When my brother was born, he asked me to wash his clothes. Until now, when I finally came out to work and save money, I thought their attitude towards me would be different. When I brought the money back every month, their attitude towards me would indeed be better, but if I earned less than last month, they would fly into a rage and hit and scold me.”
“Last month, the steward saw that I was more diligent and gave me an additional 500 copper coins. I originally planned to keep these 500 copper coins for myself. However, my stepmother heard from somewhere that there were these 500 copper coins and asked me to hand them over. I didn’t want to. My father made me kneel outside for the entire night. In the end, I couldn’t take it anymore and gave them the copper coins.”
Hearing Wang Jing’s words, the anger in Ning Yue’s heart instantly rose.
“Don’t worry, I’ll definitely give you an explanation for this.” As she spoke, Ning Yue took out a jade pendant and stuffed it into Wang Jing’s hand.
“This jade pendant is something I carry with me. Take it. If they find out that you have it when you take it back, let them take it away.”
Wang Jing looked at Ning Yue in confusion. Why did she do this?
Seeing Wang Jing’s confusion, Ning Yue explained, “Don’t worry. Even if they take it, I’ll make them spit it out and beg you to accept it back.”
“You don’t have to worry about the rest. I’ll handle it. Take it,” Ning Yue said.
Wang Jing was still puzzled, but she did not say anything else. She said gratefully to Ning Yue, “Thank you. Thank you so much.”
