Too high to reach

Chapter 167 From Small to Big
The Mohists have recently had many happy events, so their expenses have naturally increased.

They bought baskets of wine, tea, snacks, and candy just for entertaining guests.

Regarding meals, sometimes they pick you up at noon and then in the evening...

Especially for the Mo Wen Hui Men (a type of traditional Chinese gatehouse), the ingredients must be of high quality.

The kitchen staff were simply overwhelmed, so they had to hire extra help and rent tableware from outside...

The money flowed out in a rush.

The second wife accounted for the majority of these happy events.

Wang was not stingy, and she mostly cared about happy occasions in her own household. When the event was held, Wang gave Zhuang some money. She also prepared many other things herself.

However, the expenses were too high in all aspects. The servants were busy all day, and their monthly wages had to be increased. We also had to hire carriages and sedan chairs for the returning guests…

After considering it, Wang decided to give her sister-in-law another two hundred taels of silver.

Zhuang accepted it happily, saying, "Your elder brother gave me another three hundred taels the other day, otherwise I really wouldn't have been able to manage."

"Thank you very much, brother."

"But... I heard from your eldest brother that the three hundred taels were given by your second brother?"

Upon hearing this, Wang's face changed. Mo Ruhai? Where did he get the money?
Moe gave it to him?
But Mo Yi... Could it be that the Prince and Granny Zhao would give her money to spend?
That can't be right! How could such a thing happen?
Suddenly, she remembered the gifts her husband had given to their daughter and son-in-law... She had been so happy at the time that she had overlooked them.

Something's not right... something's up here!
He quickly called Wang Qing over.

At first, Wang Qing didn't dare to say anything. Later, Wang's mother directly slapped her son twice.

He then hesitantly revealed what he knew.

But he was afraid of taking responsibility and dared not inquire about many things. So he only said that the second master had bought some stone materials and had also found a lame carving craftsman.

The master made it clear what he was going to do, forbidding him from asking or telling his wife.

Wang immediately became incredibly excited, as if she'd been injected with adrenaline. "They're doing business behind my back?"

She's the kind of person who gets restless easily, pacing around the room. She habitually wanted someone to call Mowen, only to be dismayed to discover that her dearest daughter had already married and moved away.

My heart ached, and my eyes welled up with tears again.

A few days ago, Mo Yi called Song Jiafu to Qizhenlou and had him stay by Manager Zhao's side.

At first, he only chose to come to the shop during the few days when it wasn't busy. Song Jiaxing was quite diligent and gradually took over the business.

He then came here more often.

Manager Zhao looked Song Jiafu over carefully, then said to Mo Yi, "He's quick-witted, and if he studies hard, he can quickly become a good seller. But it will take him at least three to five years to run the entire store."

Mo Yi understood this as well. "There has to be a beginning. We had no prior experience at the start, and it's only been a little over two years since we've been able to make money steadily. He's broadened his horizons here, and as long as he's determined, he'll succeed sooner or later."

Upon hearing this, Manager Zhao wondered when he could finally leave the house.
"How about... I try dividing the shop's affairs into several parts. I can find someone for each part, and then Miss Mo can personally oversee them, would that be alright?"

Mo Yi laughed, "I do need to learn, but this will do!"

“However…” Manager Zhao shook his head, “If the young lady gets married, there will be many more things to do. She will mainly be taking care of the prince, and won’t have as much time to manage the shop. At the very least, she can’t come here every day…”

Mo Yi blushed and stammered, "It's still early... I don't want to think about these things right now."

"Really? The other day, Zhao Zuo told me that my sister is making preparations! Apparently, you're going to be marrying into the family at the end of the year."

"Huh?" Mo Yi was surprised.

"Huh?!" Mo Ruhai had just finished collecting money from the shop and was about to go home with his daughter when he heard this as he entered the door.

He immediately panicked: "Brother Zhao, no way?! The Prince's Mansion didn't mention it! How old is Yi Yi? How could she possibly get married at the end of the year?"

"Perhaps I misheard!" Manager Zhao quickly pulled back. "Since neither of you knows, then I must have misheard. There are only three months left until the end of the year, how could we possibly have time?"

"That scared me to death! You can't just marry off one girl and then marry off another! The house will be empty..." Mo Ruhai complained.

Shopkeeper Zhao grinned, thinking to himself, "You already have three at home, and now you've added another one... I've already lost my gold lock, so how could I be empty?"
"Yes, yes, you're absolutely right!" He didn't argue.

"Yiyi, let's go home?" Mo Ruhai wanted to pull his daughter away quickly.

"Father, I need to see someone here. Please wait for me."

"who?"

"The embroiderers in the south city were introduced by Master Jiang."

A short while later, four people appeared at the shop entrance: a woman in her early thirties carrying a large bundle; a woman in her twenties carrying a small bundle; a girl of six or seven; and a boy of about ten.

They circled the entrance twice but didn't dare to come in.

Only the boy was dressed somewhat neatly. The three women were barely clean.

Finally, the young man stepped forward, somewhat timidly, and asked, "Excuse me, my surname is Ji, and I've come to Qizhenlou to see Manager Zhao. Could you please announce my arrival?"

The waiter was surprised to find that the young man spoke in a surprisingly refined manner, despite the women's vulgar appearance.

"The shopkeeper is waiting for you, please come in."

"Big sister, come in..." the boy said to the woman next to him.

"Hey..." came the quick and loud reply, "Big girl, hurry up and keep up!"

The man led them directly to the small hut next door.

Several people entered. "Greetings, Manager Zhao... and Miss." The young man bowed.

Only Mo Ruhai and Mo Yi were in the room; the boy didn't recognize them.

The other three bowed awkwardly, their movements neither proper nor proper, their nervousness evident. Mo Yi said, "Please sit down. Jiafu, pour some tea."

Song Jiafu, accompanied by a waiter, immediately brought out a teapot and teacups, as well as several plates of snacks.

The little girl didn't sit down, but stood next to the woman. As soon as she saw the pastries, her eyes widened, and she stared intently, swallowing hard.

"Your surname is Ji, right?" Mo Yi asked.

The woman in her thirties quickly replied, "Replying to Miss, I am Ji Dahua. This is my ninth brother, Ji Yunqiu. This is my fourth sister, Ji Zhaodi."

Song Jiafu, who was serving nearby, laughed upon hearing this. It must be a family that favors sons over daughters; girls are named Zhaodi and Dahua.

Boys can have an elegant name.

Mo Yi laughed too, "Ji Yunqiu? How many older sisters do you have?"

Ji Yunqiu, a young boy, had never spoken to such a beautiful, well-dressed, and fragrant girl before.
Her face was flushed, and she hummed in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz: "Replying to Miss, there are eight older sisters above me."

"..." Mo Yi was speechless. The Fourth Sister had started recruiting brothers, and it took several more before she finally got one.

“Miss, this is our first time in a place like this.” Ji Dahua looked around. “My younger brother was worried and came along to check. This is the work we do; perhaps you could…”

"Open it."

"Hurry, hurry, hurry..." Ji Dahua directed.

"Where's this little girl?" Mo Yi asked, looking at the little girl who was still staring at the snacks.

"It's the woman's daughter, Da Niu."

"Hey girl, feel free to have some snacks if you want!"

Da Niu was already swallowing hard. Hearing Mo Yi's words, she didn't dare to move and went to see her mother first.

Ji Dahua said, "Why don't you thank Miss? Just eat one piece, save some for your uncle."

"..." Mo Yi looked at the boy in disbelief.

The boy's face was still red, but he didn't refute his older sister's words, it seemed that he was used to it.

"Your uncle is a man and an elder, how could he possibly compete with a junior for dessert?"

"Big sister... let Da Niu eat it. I won't eat it," Ji Yunqiu finally said.

"Thank you, Miss..." the little girl said softly. Since her mother had only allowed her to eat one piece, she looked around, trying to choose the one she liked best, which was also the largest piece.

The bundle was opened, and the contents were taken out: shoes, purse, pillowcase, doors and windows, tablecloth, handkerchief, Chinese knot buttons... everything was there.

Mo Yi, now more experienced, stopped talking and picked up the item to examine it closely.

Holding the two shoes in my hands, they are well-shaped, with round toes, moderately thin soles, and neat edges, presenting a tidy contrast.

“My third sister has a strong hand and is skillful, so she does the foundation work, which is very solid. But my fifth sister, Pandi, did the edging very well.”

"Mmm," Mo Yi responded unconsciously.

This purse... I suppose it's made of silk, but the material is terrible. The embroidered flowers... ugh, red flowers and green leaves, so tacky.

But the things they make...the shapes are so pleasing to the eye. The threads are pulled just right, the stitches are neat and tidy, as if measured with a ruler. The surface is full, and when folded in half, the curves are the same.

The doors and windows... are embroidered with lucky dolls, each holding a goldfish, and they are so lifelike.

The tablecloth is embroidered with gold ingots...it's so tacky and rustic. But you can't say it's bad.

Suddenly, she noticed that among some of the buttons were the same kind she and Xiangzhi had used. She quickly picked them up for a closer look, and sighed inwardly: "Comparing the goods really makes them worth throwing away."

I used to think that what Xiangzhi and I made was pretty good.

But look at this one; the phoenix feathers are distributed in a more pleasing way. It feels firm to the touch and doesn't deform easily. And all five buttons are exactly the same, as if they came from the same mold.

It's much better than my own skills!

handkerchief……

“This handkerchief is my eighth sister’s favorite to make. Look over here…”

"Your skills are indeed quite good. Why didn't you go to an embroidery shop to work as an embroiderer? I heard that embroiderers earn quite a lot."

"Oh dear, to be honest, Miss, we are eight sisters, and our family was so poor when we were young that we couldn't even get enough to eat. Where would we have gotten the money to learn a trade? What we do is just delicate work. We can't compare to the embroiderers."

That's all we can do! We can't think of anything else! If you ask us to come up with something new, we'd never be able to come up with anything, no matter how hard we try.

Those skilled embroiderers were all trained by masters. They had an eye for embroidery since they were young, so they had it in their hearts.

As for us? The people around us are lucky if they can embroider red flowers and green leaves on their clothes. Let alone the effort involved, even the embroidery needles and threads have to be bought with money.

We've never even seen the paintings, flowers, birds, and other designs the embroiderers make. Where would we get them made?
Even so, we've tried our hand at embroidery quite a bit. But we've always been scammed! We'd work half a day, and then the employer would shake their head, withholding our wages or deducting a portion. Should we fight? They're all rich people; they'd call the authorities at the drop of a hat, and we didn't dare cause trouble!

Listening to her rambling, Mo Yi smiled and went to look at Da Niu.

The little girl was really obedient; after looking for a long time, she finally chose one.

He held it in his hand, carefully sipped it, savoring the taste, his face full of happiness.

The poor little girl is even more well-behaved than Mo Qing!
Judging from the small details, doesn't this also suggest that the family's character isn't too bad?

The next chapter might be a little late; it's almost Chinese New Year, and I haven't done anything yet.

In the kitchen and bathroom, behind the curtain cabinet, I used to be able to work more than ten hours a day there, but not anymore...

(End of this chapter)