Su Yao has never been the kind of person who takes himself too seriously. Therefore, when Mrs. Liao rushed over after hearing the news, she saw Su Yao helping a little girl of two or three years old wash her hair. She sat on a bamboo chair, holding the little girl horizontally, and washed the child's hair very skillfully.
Mrs. Liao couldn't help but sigh in her heart.
Every time she saw Su Yao, this girl always brought her unexpected discoveries.
She waited until Su Yao was wiping the little girl's hair before she led the people into the yard. She looked around and couldn't help shaking her head: "I heard that they needed things, and I felt strange at first. When I saw the number reported by the steward, I was shocked. Now it seems that there are really so many people. It seems that Your Highness has brought all the helpless children of the military households?"
The little girl's eyes were dark. Because Su Yao treated her gently and carefully, she grabbed Su Yao's sleeves with both hands and looked at Mrs. Liao with her eyes open, ignorant and curious.
Mrs. Liao also had a daughter, so she was also touched and sighed softly.
Su Yao had already shaken his head: "They are not helpless children, but helpless girls. There are also quite a few boys, but there are fewer than girls. They have all been placed outside."
The natives here also value boys more than girls. After all, if all else fails, boys can still join the army when they grow up. So if the brothers have sons at home, they are willing to take them in and raise them. At the very least, they can help their families get a conscription quota in the future.
But girls are different. No one is willing to spend so much extra money to support a useless girl.
Therefore, the number of girls among orphans is much larger.
Mrs. Liao understood as soon as she heard it, but although she was touched, she was still troubled about how to place these girls.
There are so many mouths to feed, and you can’t satisfy them just by being kind.
How to raise them and what to do when they grow up are all problems.
Even though she was the Governor's wife, she couldn't think of a proper solution for a while.
She couldn't help but tell Su Yao about her worries: "I'm not saying that we should ignore them, but who has so much money to raise these children?"
Even if the government were asked to pay, it couldn't afford it.
Su Yao was at a loss at first, but now she is not so panicked. After drying the child's hair, she picked up the child, coaxed him, and then handed him over to Mrs. Yuan.
Mrs. Yuan also came to help, but she didn't bring Niu Niu with her. Su Yao had specifically told her not to bring Niu Niu with her, as children are prone to getting sick. These children are all orphans, and the environment they lived in before was very poor. She was afraid that it would be bad for them to be together.
After Madam Yuan took the child over, Su Yao said softly, "Madam, don't worry yet. I have already thought about this problem."
As they were talking, the housekeeper from the Governor's Mansion came in and reported to Mrs. Liao that the wives of the gentry had arrived.
They cared about this banquet, but in fact, the wives of the gentry cared even more about it, so they came much earlier than Mrs. Liao expected.
Mrs. Liao had no choice but to stand up and said, "County Lady, someone is coming. I have to go over and take a look."
Although these ladies of the gentry were naturally of lower status than her, since they were the hosts, they naturally had to act like hosts.
Su Yao also stood up: "I'll go with you, I just happen to have something to say to them."
After she finished speaking, she waved to Madam Yuan.
The three of them went to the flower hall together.
The flower hall had already been decorated. The men were having their feast in the front lobby, while the flower hall at the back was where the ladies were entertained. It was a dinner party, but the ladies and gentry all arrived in the evening.
Mrs. Ji arrived the earliest. Su Yao saw her as soon as she entered the door, and nodded to Mrs. Ji with a smile.
Mrs. Ji was also happy to see Su Yao, but when she thought of her own son, she couldn't help but sigh softly in her heart.
Fortunately, she was a very open-minded person with a sense of propriety. This regret did not affect her love for Su Yao, so she happily saluted Su Yao: "County Lady."
Mrs. Liao smiled and said to them, "You came quickly."
The plump Mrs. Bai smiled and said, "Madam, you are treating me. I think I will be staying at home anyway, so I might as well come earlier and see if there is anything we can do to help."
Everyone wanted to please each other and the scene was very harmonious.
The other Mrs. Qiu smiled and joked, "Look at what Sister Bai said. How can Madam need our help? We wanted to come earlier to listen to the opera. I heard that Madam has invited the Desheng Opera Troupe this time."
Desheng Troupe is a well-known opera troupe in Beijing, but every year a group of them travel around and perform everywhere.
I have been in Yunnan for nearly half a year, so everyone knows the reputation of Desheng Class.
Everybody laughed.
Su Yao spoke softly at this time: "There is indeed something that I need the help of the ladies."
After being trapped in the Ji family for a few days, everyone got to know Su Yao, and they all knew that this county lady had an extraordinary identity. When she said she needed help, everyone was stunned for a moment and looked at her in surprise.
Mrs. Ji was the most familiar with Su Yao after all, so she asked without much thought: "What can the county lord ask us to do for you?"
She did not agree immediately. After all, although they all knew that the family wanted to follow Xiao Heng, they could not make any decision.
The other ladies lagged behind slightly and also looked at Su Yao.
Mrs. Liao lowered her eyes and sighed softly.
Although Su Yao is smart, he is still too young and a little naive.
There are so many girls. Even the local gentry have to give face to Xiao Heng and Su Rong, but it is still too difficult to raise these children.
Su Yao spoke softly and first talked about the situation of these girls.
The ladies were indeed very surprised.
Mrs. Ji had not expected this to happen. She looked at Su Yao hesitantly and said, "County Lady, there are too many people..."
She is not a teenage girl anymore, so just buy it and treat her as a maid.
The little ones are only two or three years old. What can you do with them if you buy them
Su Yao shook his head: "I don't mean to ask you ladies to pay for someone, I just want to ask, are you ladies interested in starting a business with me?"
ah
Why did the topic suddenly turn to business
Everyone was confused for a moment and looked at Su Yao in surprise.
Mrs. Liao didn't understand what Su Yao meant. She looked at her in surprise, as if she was thinking about something, and didn't say anything.
Su Yao then said softly: "I want to buy some looms and open a factory."
Mrs. Ji was the first to react. She looked at Su Yao in embarrassment and said, "But aren't those children too young?"