Peasant Woman's Decreed Life as a Wife

“Have you decided on how much this fee is?”Madam Qian was used to doing business, so she did not delay and just asked. Everyone else wanted to know this question.

Thus, everyone fell silent.

Seeing that Madam Liu and Ye Muyu did not express their stance from the beginning to the end, Madam Cao felt a little uncomfortable. She felt that Madam Liu did not support her, and Ye Muyu did not take the initiative to stand up. Everyone knew that she was good at cooking.

Although she was complaining in her heart, she did not want to take on this troublesome task.

Therefore, she looked at Madam Zheng and asked her to speak.

How could Madam Zheng not know her mother-in-law’s personality? She wanted face and benefits, but she did not want to be involved in any disadvantages.

No matter how much she pushed this matter away, it was still her family’s business. She could not ignore it even if she wanted to.

Madam Zheng thought for a moment and asked for everyone’s opinion with a smile, “Each girl has to pay four copper coins a day, so thirteen girls would be

53 copper coins. Each female teacher would earn 13 copper coins a day.”

“How about this?” Madam Zheng had already asked her son to calculate things. Otherwise, she would not have been able to settle it on the spot, so she said it with ease. Seeing that many sisters-in-law had expressions of interest, she was relieved and smiled more sincerely. “As for the location of the girls’ school, we will discuss it again. The kitchen utensils, ingredients, cloth, tea leaves, and so on that we need will be brought by the girls from each family.”

“What do you all think? If there’s anything inappropriate, you have to bring it up as soon as possible. After today’s discussion, we can start classes tomorrow. It’s getting late. Just our clan alone has 13 girls of suitable age. There are probably more than 50 in the entire village. There are seven or eight villages under Nanchang County. There would be more than 300 people. If we want to compete for the top ten, we can’t delay this matter.”

Madam Zheng had no choice but to remind them. She was afraid that this money would cause conflict between the sisters-in-law. If the girls did not learn their skills and performed poorly, it would be embarrassing. Her husband would probably be angry that she did not do a good job.

As expected, the other women nodded in agreement.

Although four copper coins a day for a girl was not a small amount, as long as one could enter the top 100, there would be rewards. The lowest prize was worth 100 copper coins, so it was not a loss.

Of course, how could the cost of 80 copper coins compare to the benefits of reputation?

In short, the fee was soon set.

According to everyone’s explanation, the teachers of the four arts would be the person who was the best at them. If they were unwilling, they would ask the person who was the second best.

“Regarding needlework, I’ve heard that Sister Yue’er’s needlework is the best. I wonder if you’re willing to teach the girls needlework?” Madam Zheng did not try to be tactful. She started from the best.

Madam Shen was the eldest daughter-in-law of Madam Qian. There were three girls in her family, but only the eldest daughter was of the right age to participate in this female art competition. She was usually soft and did not like to go out, but her needlework skills were known by the entire Chu family.

When Madam Shen was asked about this, she looked at Madam Qian timidly,

“Mother, can I really teach the children needlework?”

Madam Qian knew that Madam Shen was like this. She thought that she usually only liked to do needlework, and she was prone to overthinking and crying. She was troubled by this, so she might as well find something for Madam Shen to do.

“I think it’s fine. Your needlework is indeed not bad.” Madam Qian nodded in agreement.

Madam Shen’s eyes widened in surprise. “Mother, thank you.”

Madam Qian was speechless.

When Madam Zheng heard that Madam Shen had agreed, she smiled and looked at the others, “Sisters-in-laws and aunties, what do you think? If it’s fine, we’ll choose Madam Shen..”