Union

Chapter 134, Chapter 133: Frenzy
The day after drinking, Second Master received an official letter from Prefect Zhang, delivered by a messenger. He immediately asked Yunying to prepare two sets of clothes for him, and then took Suiyu and Leiting to the prefectural city.

Before leaving, the Second Master only had time to tell Yunying that he would be back in five or six days at the earliest, and within ten days at the latest, so that Yunying would not worry.

Yunying responded readily, but after seeing the Second Master off, she couldn't help but feel worried.

The fact that Prefect Zhang summoned the Second Master at this time, and in such a hurry, suggests that it was no small matter.

Despite her many worries, Yunying dared not show them on her face.

With Second Master gone, he also took Suiyu and Leiting with him, while Suiyun and Moxue were still managing things at the mine on Wutou Mountain. In other words, Yunying was left alone in the entire county government's back residence.

She is now the backbone of the group; if she loses her composure, chaos will surely ensue in the backyard.

Yunying forced herself to stay calm and handled things in an orderly manner every day.

During that time, she also visited Qiu Ning and went to the orphanage for two days.

After returning from the orphanage, Yunying met with the matriarch of the Qi family. She had come on the orders of the matriarch to invite Yunying to the coming-of-age ceremony of the Qi family's daughter.

The Qi family inherited the favor of the second master and expanded their business to the Northwest.

Their business has really taken off this year. They've started selling high-quality dried goods like sea cucumbers and abalone, and people are even coming to them to buy them. Now they've made a name for themselves, and their business is booming.

All of this was thanks to Second Master's magnanimity and the connections he provided. The Qi family was very grateful to Second Master.

The Qi family was a family that knew how to repay kindness. Having received the Second Master's favor, they actively cooperated with his instructions.

During the hurricane, Second Master called on wealthy households to vacate their houses to accommodate poor people, and the Qi family responded enthusiastically. They not only vacated all their houses and other structures that could be moved out, but even moved out one of their storerooms, which greatly helped Second Master.

Furthermore, the Qi family donated a lot of food and medicine after the hurricane caused severe damage to the people.

Furthermore, with too many refugees outside the city and the second master and the yamen runners busy with village and town affairs, the Qi family specially assigned their shop assistants to help maintain order at the city gate.

This family is not bad, although they are a bit materialistic, but all merchants value profit. The Qi family, despite their focus on profit, also possesses a sense of benevolence, so Yunying has a good overall impression of them.

Upon seeing the invitation from the Qi family, Yunying thought for a moment but ultimately decided not to accept.

Outsiders all thought she was the Second Master's concubine, but in reality, she was just a head maid. Whether she was a head maid or a concubine, Yunying felt awkward being treated with the respect due to a noblewoman.

Furthermore, Yunying herself wasn't the type to enjoy socializing, nor was she particularly adept at social maneuvering. The thought of having to rack her brains to respond to others' flattery and fawning at a banquet was enough to give her a headache.

Thus, Yunying ultimately declined the Qi family's invitation. However, she returned a jade hairpin and a piece of peach-pink silk suitable for a young lady, which she entrusted to the messenger to take back as a coming-of-age gift for the Qi family's daughter.

After seeing off the maidservant who served Madam Qi, Sui'er said to Yunying, "Your gift was too generous."

Yunying said, "Let it be generous. Second Master is still in office. I'll give the Qi family some face. If the Qi family knows how to be grateful, they'll cooperate more in the future, and Second Master will have less trouble."

Sui'er nodded, "You're right."

Five days had passed by the time I finished dealing with Qi's family.

Yunying didn't see the Second Master and was too lazy to go out again, so she went to the Second Master's study to continue reading.

During this period, Sui'er and Yunying asked for two days off, saying that it was her mother's birthday in a few days and she wanted to go home to celebrate her mother's birthday.

Upon hearing this, Yunying readily agreed.

She added, "I promised you before that I would let you go back and check on your family after the hurricane passed. But before you even got back, your family sent you a message first. Since you didn't go back then, I'm giving you five days off this time. Go back and celebrate your mother's birthday, and stay home for a few days to show your respect."

Sui'er thanked her repeatedly and said, "No need, miss. Two days, no, three days will be enough for me. I'll be back in three days."

"Five days it will be. Liu'er, go to my jewelry box and pick out a silver hairpin as a birthday gift for Sui'er's mother."

Sui'er quickly waved her hand, "This is not acceptable. I don't want it, Miss."

Liu'er quickly brought the silver hairpin and handed it to Yunying. Yunying immediately stuffed the hairpin into Sui'er's hand, saying, "This isn't for you, it's for your mother. But your mother is only getting this because you've served her so well. I wouldn't have given it to anyone else."

Sui'er hesitated, and Liu'er teased her from the side, "If you don't accept it, I will. Miss doesn't need this hairpin anymore. I originally thought that Miss might reward me at some point, but who knew that she would reward you in the end. Sui'er, if you don't push it away, I will really take it."

Sui'er quickly hid the silver hairpin in her bosom. Seeing this, Yunying laughed at Sui'er and Liu'er at the same time.

She said to both of them, "Take good care of them, and when the New Year comes this year, I will reward each of you with a silver hairpin."

Liu'er happily agreed, "Ah, then I'll wait patiently for your reward, Miss."

Sui'er went home, and then quickly returned, carrying a large bag of things for Yunying.

From leaving to returning, it only took three days at most.

Seeing this, Yunying laughed, "You really are a stubborn girl. I told you you would have five days off, but you insisted on coming back in three."

“The young lady asked me to rest for five days, which is very kind of her. But I can’t be so inconsiderate as to stay at home for five days. Even if I wanted to stay, my mother and the others wouldn’t allow it. They’ve been trying to get rid of me since yesterday.”

As Sui'er laughed, she pushed the package in her hand in front of Yun Ying.

“The girl gave my mother a silver hairpin, which terrified her. She said that she was just a woman who toiled in the fields and was not worthy of such a generous gift from a young lady. I had to persuade her a lot before she finally accepted it. But after accepting it, she kept reminding me that when I came back, I must kowtow to you twice on her behalf.”

As Sui'er spoke, she actually knelt down on the ground with a thud and kowtowed three times.

The sound was so loud it sent chills down your spine.

Yunying was startled and quickly got up to pull Sui'er away, saying, "I told you to kowtow, and you actually did it? You silly girl, you're too stubborn. Look at your head, it's all bruised."

Liu'er also said, "It hurts just looking at it, ouch, ouch..."

Sui'er chuckled a few times, "It doesn't hurt, I'm thick-skinned. If you weren't here, my mother would have kowtowed to you a few times."

After saying this, Sui'er opened the package again. "My mother has no other skills, but she makes excellent shoes. The soles of the shoes she makes are just the right firmness, and they are comfortable and lightweight. In Xi Wangmu Niangniang Village, the shoes made by my mother are famous. Girl, these are the shoes my mother made for you. The uppers are made from scraps of cloth I picked up from your clothes. But these shoes do match your clothes. Try them on and see if they fit."

Yunying and Liu'er stared in disbelief at the huge bundle of shoes in front of them. Red, green, yellow, blue—Yunying indeed had a matching outfit for every piece of fabric on each shoe.

When Sui'er asked her for scraps of cloth, Yunying thought Sui'er wanted to make handkerchiefs or undergarments.

She had initially thought that since she wore only the finest silk, it would be a waste to throw away these scraps of fabric. She figured if Sui'er wanted them, she could give them to her; it would be a way to reuse them.

This incident initially caused great dissatisfaction among the maid who made her clothes.

But since Sui'er was his personal attendant, and the maid usually collected all the scraps of cloth herself, he would naturally give them to Sui'er if she wanted them now.

Yunying had no idea that Sui'er was asking her for scraps of cloth because she was acting on her mother's orders to use them to make shoe uppers and shoes for her.

Looking at the large bundle of embroidered shoes in front of her, she knew it would last her for several years.

How many sleepless nights and how much effort must have gone into making so many shoes?

Yunying picked up the shoes and looked at their exquisite workmanship and meticulous stitching. She seemed to see Sui'er's mother lighting the kerosene lamp that she usually couldn't bear to use, stitching the soles one by one, and carefully finishing the shoes.

Yunying was filled with emotion and suddenly felt that giving Sui'er's mother only a silver hairpin as a birthday gift was too meager.

Yunying was filled with mixed emotions, but before she could say anything more, Sui'er spoke up again: "Not only did my mother make shoes for you, but some aunts and grandmothers in the village also chipped in to buy fabric, saying they wanted to make clothes for you."

Yunying paused.

Something doesn't sound right about that.
Yunying was startled and asked, "They wouldn't be trying to use me as... a tribute, would they?"

Sui'er nodded with a muffled chuckle, "It should be the girl."

Yunying looked at the shoes in front of her again. "So, when your mother made these shoes for me, was she going to give them to me, or to present them to that lady?"

Sui'er shook her head vigorously, like a rattle-drum, "I don't know about that."

Yunying glared at her, "You'd be a fool not to know."

The truth is!
It turned out that the reason Sui'er's mother made so many shoes for her was to offer as a tribute to the Queen Mother of the West. She only had this bundle of shoes to wear because of the Queen Mother of the West's influence.

Yunying was both amused and exasperated; suddenly she didn't want to wear those shoes anymore.

Seeing Yunying's dejected face, Sui'er knew what was bothering her young lady, so she quickly comforted her, saying, "I don't know what the villagers think, but my mother made shoes for you partly because she saw you as the incarnation of that person, and partly because you treated me well. My mother was grateful to you, so she stayed up late to make shoes for you."

"Young lady, please don't be disgusted or shy. Just wear these shoes because they fit well and look good."

Yunying looked at the shoes she was trying on and they were indeed quite comfortable. Moreover, because the shoemaker was very skilled, the shoes were not only comfortable to wear, but they also made her feet look particularly delicate and graceful.

To be honest, Yunying quite liked it.

With Sui'er encouraging her from the sidelines, Yunying eventually accepted the shoes.

Seeing her daughter nod, Sui'er breathed a sigh of relief.

She hadn't been back for a while, so she didn't know how much trouble the village had gotten into because the girl was supposedly the reincarnation of the Queen Mother of the West.

The villagers initially worshipped the girl simply because her demeanor and figure bore a resemblance to the statue of the Queen Mother of the West in the village.

But then the villagers took the girl along a small path to Wutou Mountain to see the tea plantation she had bought.

At that time, the tea mountain was deliberately set on fire, burning almost half of the mountain. It looked like the fire was about to spread and bring even greater disaster, but just then, a torrential downpour began.

Isn't that incredibly strange?

The story spread back to the village when the uncle who had led the way arrived, and the villagers went crazy. They became even more convinced that it was the Queen Mother of the West who had appeared there, and that the girl was the Queen Mother of the West descended to earth! Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence that such a timely rain came at the most crucial moment?

That's why they didn't go back to the village at that time, but instead waited with their second uncle at the entrance of the village on Wutou Mountain for the horse-drawn carriage to pick them up. Otherwise, if they had gone back to the village, they might have been overwhelmed by the enthusiastic aunties and grandmas and wouldn't have been able to get out.

That wasn't all. A few days later, it was discovered that those tea mountains also contained rich reserves of copper ore.

Think about it, the people who have lived on Wutou Mountain for generations did not discover the secret, and Chang Shun did not discover the secret when he transformed the five mountains into tea plantations. On the contrary, the copper mine was discovered when the tea plantations fell into the hands of the girl.

How could the villagers not be shocked? How could they not be ecstatic?

The very night they heard the news, they carried incense and offerings all the way from the Temple of the Queen Mother of the West to the entrance of the village.

If the commotion here hadn't been so great that it attracted some of the constables stationed at Wutou Mountain, and with the constables there to keep watch and give them a lecture, they wouldn't have dared to cause trouble. Otherwise, they would have at least come to the county government office to ask their daughters to go back to the temple and sit on the Buddha shrine.

Then a hurricane struck, and the villagers, worried that the temple and statues would be damaged by the hurricane, moved the statues to a cave deep in the mountains overnight.

At that time, the entire village gathered before the statue of the goddess, and everyone felt at ease, perhaps because the goddess was protecting them. During the hurricane, not a single villager died, and not a single person contracted typhoid fever.

This would have been something that would never have happened in previous years.

Everyone attributed the success to the goddess's blessing once again.

In other words, there were many secondary disasters after the initial disaster, so people were hesitant to go out. They were busy draining the water from the fields, repairing houses, building roads to earn money, and harvesting crops. Another thing to mention is that when the "copper mine" was recruiting workers, I don't know if the young and strong men in their village were really in good physical condition, or if someone had given them some instructions, but almost all the men in their village, from the age of fifty to the age of fifteen, were hired as long as they didn't have any obvious problems.

Even some of the older women in their village were recruited to cook in the communal kitchen!

If this isn't considered the Empress's blessing!!

Today, the temple in the village is always brightly lit.

It's just that everyone is too busy, and the constables outside the county government are particularly fierce; otherwise, you could see how many people are kneeling at the entrance of the county government today.

Although no one could steal Yunying out and enshrine her in the temple, they did their best to make shoes, clothes, a canopy bed, and a carriage for her.

To be honest, she didn't dare tell the girl about this "deep affection," for fear that the girl would have nightmares at night!