Now, Uncle Seven of the Pei family was an honest man. When he suddenly heard that his wife, Wan, had done such a disgraceful thing, he felt as if he had lost all his dignity accumulated over the generations. Without delay, he scraped together ten taels of silver and brought it over.
"Niece-in-law," he said, his face full of shame as he stood below Qi Jiao with his head bowed low. "Wan is a muddle-headed woman, but after all, she's my wife and the mother of our two children... I know this money is not enough to cover the losses of the workshop. Please give me a few days, and I'll surely make up the shortfall. I only beg you not to send her to the authorities..."
The things Wan had embezzled were worth at least dozens of taels, and the invisible losses she had caused during her tenure as the supervisor were even greater.
Qi Jiao pondered for a moment. Before she could say anything, Tang Guiniang beside her took the silver. Without mincing words, she said, "Old Seven, I've got to say, we're lucky that our Jiao is kind-hearted and didn't hold Wan strictly accountable. If it were someone else, she'd surely be punished. You can't spoil her like this anymore."
Then she sighed. "It was my decision to let Wan into the cosmetic workshop. I thought that as relatives, she'd do her job well. Who would have thought..."
Tang Guiniang felt a bit embarrassed and even dared not look into Jiao's eyes. She knew that she was mainly responsible for this incident as she hadn't discovered Wan's despicable deeds earlier.
Qi Jiao glanced at Tang Guiniang and first agreed to Uncle Seven's plea, saying that she wouldn't send Wan to the authorities. As for the remaining compensation, he could make it up later.
Hearing this, Uncle Seven let out a long sigh of relief. After expressing his gratitude repeatedly, he left.
After he left, Qi Jiao pulled Tang Guiniang aside to comfort her. "Mother, don't think too much about it. There are so many people in the workshop, all vying for their own interests. It's only natural that you couldn't keep an eye on everything at once. The important thing is that we've stopped the losses in time and got rid of the parasite, Wan. How about this? I'll take this opportunity to shuffle the management staff. You've been so busy taking care of me during the day and managing the workshop at night. You must be exhausted."
Tang Guiniang felt a warm current in her heart. Patting Qi Jiao's hand, she said, "My good Jiao, you can do as you like."
Qi Jiao was a woman of action. In the following days, she made large - scale personnel adjustments in the two major workshops and the duck farm.
Those who had made contributions were rewarded, and those who had made mistakes were punished.
She weeded out many loafers and recruited a lot of new blood.
This time, when it was heard that Jiao was recruiting, people of suitable age from several large villages in Yinwan, even from the town and the neighboring counties, flocked to apply. Men and women were all eager to get a job in Jiao's workshops.
The five supervisors led by A Lian had already been able to handle things independently, and Qi Jiao promoted each of them.
As her niece, Qin Jie, grew up day by day, Ye Geng, Qi Jiao's elder brother, and Jiang Yuniang had more free time. The couple and Uncle Ye and Aunt Ye took turns to work at the duck farm. With dozens of workers under their command, they managed quite well.
By the way, seeing the rising profits of the duck farm, apart from selling roasted ducks and salted duck eggs, there was also a large amount of duck down being discarded on the beach. Passers - by would grab a big handful on their way.
Qi Jiao thought that this situation couldn't go on like this. She specifically sent Ye Pa to other regions and Ye Yun to the Miao territory. After much effort, the two brothers managed to obtain the weaving and dyeing techniques.
The mountains in the distance were as green as a beautiful woman's eyebrows, and the gentle breeze blew the willow catkins along the clear stream.
In the third month of spring, with the gentle sunlight and the water like silk, the emerging industry in Yinwan - Tang - Han Textile Manufacturing was officially established.
The textile workshop was temporarily located in the seven or eight empty rooms of the duck farm, and it would need to be expanded later.
As for why it was named Tang - Han Textile Manufacturing, Qi Jiao intended to give this workshop to Tang Guiniang and Aunt Ye.
Aunt Ye's maiden name was Han, and her given name was Juan Niang.
Out of gratitude for the care of the two mothers, Qi Jiao combined their surnames to form the brand name.
As soon as Tang - Han Textile Manufacturing was established, some people immediately smelled the opportunity to make money.
Fang Yunxin and Guo Lingyi needless to say. The two came to Yinwan for a visit together. After visiting several workshops, they immediately expressed their intention to invest.
Qi Jiao smiled so that her eyes turned into crescents. "That's great. With the support of you two money - gods, I don't even need to put in any capital."
Fang Yunxin stroked her belly and said with a smile, "Among us, you're the most hard - working. You were born with a pair of hands that can dig out gold. If we don't invest heavily now, when you become the female version of Tao Zhugong in our Dacheng Dynasty one day, we can still rise with you, right?"
After saying that, all three of them laughed. Guo Lingyi said, "You've worked hard, Jiao. We're used to being lazy. These practical matters still need you to oversee and manage. Just one thing, take your time. Your health is the most important."
Qi Jiao agreed to everything.
Unexpectedly, because of Fang Yunxin and Guo Lingyi's investment, many well - known and wealthy ladies in the city came to find Jiao in carriages.
Apart from the eldest mistress of the Shu family, Song Xiaoxiao, and several other familiar female relatives, even Lady Zhou and Lady Fei from the prefectural city had invested.
With so much capital, Qi Jiao really "didn't spend a single cent" and was determined to make a big start.
She remembered that after the fall of the Zhu family, their brocade workshop had been confiscated.
It had to be said that although Zhu Yaozong was a scoundrel, their shop was once the top - notch brocade workshop in Lingle County, with excellent texture and patterns.
Qi Jiao asked Pei Xia to find out the news and located several surviving embroiderers from the original brocade workshop. She hired them at a high price.
After the downfall of the Zhu family, the embroiderers were left with nowhere to go. Other embroidery and textile workshops in the city were reluctant to take them in because they thought it was inauspicious.
They were in a state of confusion and distress when Qi Jiao appeared. It was like being rescued from the fire and water. When they heard that the newly established Tang - Han Textile Manufacturing was willing to recruit them and the boss was Jiao from Jiao's Restaurant, they all flocked there happily.
Qi Jiao observed the embroiderers carefully. Most of them looked ordinary and would be hard to notice in a crowd.
Only two of them were delicate - looking. They had just entered the brocade workshop when the Zhu family's downfall happened, so they were quite lucky.
Regardless of their appearance, all these embroiderers were extremely dexterous. After a period of probation, none of them was found to be lazy or deceitful. They all worked diligently with their heads down.
Qi Jiao felt sorry for their experiences on the one hand and cherished them in her heart. On the other hand, these embroiderers were very capable. After Qi Jiao explained the principle of down quilts and down pillows, they quickly made them. The stitches were fine and the patterns were lifelike, which made people can't help but praise them again and again.
Qi Jiao then doubled their salaries, arranged for them to live and eat in the factory, and even provided them with all kinds of daily necessities from head to toe - after all, her own factories had everything.
Watching the fragrant flower dew, olive soap, fragrant soap, and all kinds of snacks and canned food being delivered, and even the cups for drinking water were specially customized for them.
There were cups in the shape of magnolias, plum blossoms, and orchids, each one exquisitely made.
The embroiderers were overjoyed. They had never had such good treatment before. While being grateful to Jiao, they quickly got used to life in Yinwan, settled down, and worked even more diligently.
Although there was a hint of warmth in early spring, it was still cold in the morning and evening, with a bit of a nip in the air.
These days, Qi Jiao had been recuperating at home to nurture the fetus, and the results were remarkable. Her appetite had improved, and her sleep had also gotten better. In the evening, she could even take a stroll around the village entrance.
The village entrance was always the main place for people of all ages to chat.
Qi Jiao accidentally heard that Qi Laoda and his wife, Qian, had died. The couple had been terminally ill at the end of last year. They managed to survive the winter, but not the spring of this year.