Chapter 36 Generous Rewards

Chapter 36 Generous Rewards

Xie Wanniang smiled and greeted her, "Xie Wanniang greets Master Qin."

Madam Qin smiled and returned the greeting, "Miss Xie's embroidery skills are exquisite. You must have put in a lot of hard work on this, right?"

Xie Wanniang nodded, "I practiced for about ten years, starting from when I could hold a needle."

Moreover, she was different from the average sheltered young lady; she wasn't the delicate type who would get breathless after walking just a few steps.

Because she valued her life, she had been secretly exercising. In addition, she had systematically studied traditional Chinese medicine in her previous life, so she was much more steady, faster, and more accurate at inserting needles than the average young girl.

Her needlework speed was unmatched by any of her sisters and female elders.

Qin Niangzi then asked, "Have you ever embroidered anything large?"

Xie Wanniang continued nodding, "I have embroidered quilt covers and curtains with the motif of 'many children and grandchildren,' as well as bright red wedding robes with the motif of 'magpie on plum blossoms' and 'dragon and phoenix bringing good fortune.' I have also embroidered six screens with the motifs of 'flowers blooming in wealth' and 'pine and crane symbolizing longevity.'"

With each word she spoke, Madam Qin's eyes would brighten a little more. When Xie Wan Niang finished speaking, Madam Qin excitedly grabbed Xie Wan Niang's hand.

"Good sister, I have a big job for you. If you can take it all on, you can earn at least two hundred taels of silver."

It was still early, and besides herself and the two female employees she had hired, there were only Xie Wanniang and Jiang Yuan in the shop. However, Qin Niangzi first took Xie Wanniang to the small room where she usually did accounting and bookkeeping, and then lowered her voice to talk to Xie Wanniang about this matter.

“I have an old friend whose daughter was pampered since childhood. She doesn’t know anything about hard work like needlework or cooking. Her clothes, shoes, socks, purses, handkerchiefs, and the like are all made by others.”

"Now that she's engaged, her mother is busy preparing other dowry items for her and doesn't have time to prepare clothes, bedding, pillows, curtains, and wedding attire for her. So she's looking for someone with good embroidery skills to help with the preparation."

Since her own family didn't have time to do it, they went to an embroidery workshop to find someone to do it. However, they were afraid that if the embroiderer's skills were recognized, their daughter would be gossiped about behind her back. So, the girl's mother secretly found Qin Niangzi, who was on good terms with her.

Firstly, Madam Qin is tight-lipped and wouldn't spread gossip among these wealthy women's small circle.

Secondly, the embroidery sold in Qin Niangzi's shop was all sourced from outside, so people in her circle would generally not buy it. The chances of her having someone else make the items for her were very low.

The wealthy and doting lady of the country didn't intend to keep it a secret forever. Anyway, her daughter's husband's family knew that her daughter didn't know how to do these things. She just didn't want people to immediately recognize that these things were the work of a certain embroiderer when her daughter got married.

Both she and her daughter had people in Tang County with whom they didn't get along, but who couldn't stop interacting. She didn't want those people to use this to mock her precious daughter and make her daughter unhappy.

As long as the embroiderer that Madam Qin finds for her is unfamiliar enough so that she won't be embarrassed on the two days of her daughter's wedding, she'll be happy to give her more money.

After accepting her commission, Madam Qin quickly found three suitable people for her. All three were skilled but rarely sold their embroidery.

Originally, Qin Niangzi's plan was to have these three people, including Xie Wanniang, embroider a large piece for her to test the waters first.

After she collects their embroidery and assesses their individual embroidery skills, she decides which of them to assign the task to.

However, plans can change quickly. Of the three skilled women she had selected, one was pregnant and did not plan to do embroidery for the next year, while another had to take care of her two children and her sick mother-in-law and simply did not have time to do large embroidery pieces.

Qin Niangzi changed her mind because of this. After confirming that Xie Wanniang could make large embroidery pieces, she directly told her about the job.

Xie Wanniang was immediately tempted by the amount of "two hundred taels"—two hundred taels!

She asked Qin Niangzi, "What exactly needs to be done? I need to see if I can manage to schedule it within my timeframe."

Madam Qin hurriedly brought over a list, "Two sets of clothes for each of the four seasons. Only embroidered shoes and outer garments are needed. The inner garments and footwear can be prepared by the children themselves."

"Two quilts for the wedding, and matching mattresses, pillowcases, and pillow towels must also be embroidered."

"Then there are the bed curtains, wedding clothes, and veil. The other party requests that the wedding clothes and veil be embroidered with flowers to symbolize wealth and prosperity. There should be two bed curtains, one for continuous offspring and the other for good fortune and abundance."

"Of course, you understand that if it were just embroidery, they wouldn't offer such a high price."

Xie Wanniang nodded to indicate that she understood, "Part of the money here is hush money given to us by the other party."

Qin Niangzi was amused by her straightforwardness, "Sister, you are indeed a clever person."

Xie Wanniang smiled, "But Mr. Qin, I can only guarantee that I will never reveal this matter to anyone, but I cannot guarantee that no one will cause trouble for his family when they are celebrating their wedding."

"As you said, that girl doesn't know how to embroider at all. There are no secrets in this world that stay hidden forever. At her age now, there must be quite a few people who know about this."

"Not to mention those who want to cause trouble. Even if they haven't heard any rumors, they can still make up lies out of thin air just to annoy and upset their master. Don't you agree?"

She didn't want that family to lose face because of it, or the girl to be harassed by her in-laws, and then she, the innocent laborer, to become an unfortunate victim. She wouldn't take the blame for that.

Qin Niangzi patted Xie Wanniang's hand, "What did I tell you? Sister, you really are a clever person. But don't worry, my old friend already knows all about these things."

"Even if someone says something during their wedding celebration, they won't put the blame on you or me."

"Her in-laws also know that her daughter can't do these things. The two families know each other very well, and they only spend money to hire someone to do these things in order to make the wedding of the two children more beautiful."

Otherwise, her old friend would have already asked her to take out the hush money item and have the embroiderers sign a contract, instead of putting it in the wages in a muddled way like now.

Despite Qin Niangzi's confident words, Xie Wanniang was still not entirely at ease. She said, "Then let's sign a contract and clearly state the rights and responsibilities of both parties to avoid future disputes."

Compared to Qin Dongjia's character, she still trusted the written contract more.

Qin Niangzi raised her delicate willow-leaf eyebrows slightly, "My sister is suited for my line of work."

Xie Wanniang returned her a bright smile, "Thank you for the compliment, mistress."

Madam Qin smiled and said, "Alright, let's discuss the details of the contract first."