A Good Country Wife
Chapter 495 - 489_1

Chapter 495: Chapter 489_1

Lin Yue smiled warmly and gestured for Musheng’s wife not to be anxious, asking her to sit and reply, "It’s nothing much, I just had some free time and came to see how you are doing. You’ve been here for a while now; are you getting used to life here? Is there anything that you’re dissatisfied with? I’ve been too busy to come by these past few days. Now that I am here, if you have any complaints or something you want to say, feel free to speak up. As long as it’s not too excessive, I can agree to it."

"Look at what Madam is saying. Madam treats us so well, whether it’s food, clothing, or the monthly allowance, everything is settled. How could there be any dissatisfaction? Anyone who thinks otherwise would truly be an ungrateful wretch," said Musheng’s wife upon hearing Lin Yue’s words. Without thinking too much, she spoke her mind directly. This was indeed what she truly felt. Recalling how she was forced to separate from her family and was uncertain about where she would be sold, if it wasn’t for the master who had her bought, how could she have reunited with her family? Not to mention, Madam values her so much now, entrusting her with the management of the embroidery room—it was an immense kindness.

Since Musheng’s wife had said that much, the remaining needleworkers dared not voice their thoughts, as that would make them seem ungrateful, according to Musheng’s wife’s words. Moreover, their current situation was indeed quite good, and any small issues they had could be resolved by themselves.

Seeing them like this, Lin Yue didn’t speak further. Besides, the treatment provided by her family was indeed generous. Of course, to encourage the needleworkers to be more progressive and diligent in studying their craft, Lin Yue had implemented a reward and punishment system. But before that, she needed to inspect everyone’s embroidery skills to see if there had been any improvement.

"Let’s not talk about other things for now; what have you all been embroidering recently? Bring all your Embroidered Pictures to me," said Lin Yue, revealing her main purpose for this visit.

Hearing Lin Yue’s request, Musheng’s wife quickly ordered the workers to bring their recent embroideries and lay them in front of Lin Yue for inspection.

In recent times, Lin Yue had primarily instructed her needleworkers to hone their skills, so she didn’t have particular demands, except that she wanted Musheng’s wife to pass on the techniques she taught without keeping any secrets. Now, more than half a month had passed, and there should be some results.

Lin Yue closely examined each piece presented to her. When she had selected these needleworkers for the embroidery room, she tested their skills, so she had a good idea of their abilities. Looking at these pieces, she could roughly tell who had worked earnestly and who had merely done the bare minimum. After all, whether they did well or poorly, the half-month’s pay was the same. Different people had different mindsets, and their approaches varied, which reflected in the embroidery pieces.

Lin Yue gained further insight into the needleworkers’ character, which she kept to herself. However, it would influence her decisions when it came to future promotions. In her view, a person of good character was worth trusting, even if their embroidery skills were slightly inferior. On the other hand, a person with poor character, regardless of their excellent embroidery skills, could at most remain a needleworker; Lin Yue couldn’t rely on them for anything else. Therefore, their performance over this half-month served as another form of appraisal of their skills.

"Madam, these are the needleworkers’ accomplishments over the past half-month. I wonder if you find them satisfactory?" Musheng’s wife, seeing that Lin Yue had finished looking at the embroideries, couldn’t wait to ask.

As Musheng’s wife asked this question, the needleworkers were also anxious, each with their thoughts. From the very beginning, everyone had been diligent and no one dared to slack off. However, as time went on, some became careless and negligent. No one had expected that Lin Yue would come to review their embroidery work, as she hadn’t visited the embroidery room at all in the past half a month. Those who had been diligent and hardworking were naturally open-hearted and willing to let Madam examine and provide guidance, while those who had been careless and lazy were sweating with fear, worrying that Madam might notice something and reproach them.

"Not bad, most of you have put effort into it. Sister Musheng, your teaching has been good too; they have improved a lot in their skills. You have indeed followed my instructions," Lin Yue nodded in satisfaction. She had put Musheng’s wife in charge of the embroidery room because she recognized her skill and seriousness in work. Most importantly, Musheng’s wife had a straightforward and clear mind—she carried out instructions without cutting corners and did not keep secrets on purpose. To Lin Yue, this was ideal; the embroidery room’s affairs were simple, and a manager only needed to follow Lin Yue’s directives without being overly cunning or capable.

"Indeed, I also see significant progress in them. They are all intelligent and willing to learn. There’s no reason they can’t master good embroidery skills."

"Sister Musheng speaks the truth. I think the same. Starting from tomorrow, our embroidery room will begin producing real embroideries. I will provide the patterns for you to follow."

"Yes, Madam. We will definitely do our best in embroidering."

"Additionally, I have another matter to announce, which should be good news for most, except for those who are lazy and greedy! From now on, we are abolishing the fixed monthly pay in the embroidery room. The Embroidered Pictures produced by each person will be evaluated individually, and the payment will vary based on the quality of the work. In short, the more you work, the more you earn; the less you work, the less you get," Lin Yue said, observing everyone’s reaction. At first, everyone was stunned, but then most of them began to react with happiness. Of course, there were also regrets—if only they had taken the time to learn embroidery skills from the Manager more diligently, they could have crafted better pieces and earned more money.

Ever since Lin Yue introduced this new rule in the embroidery room, the workers were as if revitalized, each brimming with energy, putting forth a hundred times the effort into their embroidery work. Not only that, but some even took their work home to do in the evening, making the most of every available moment. In a short time, everyone’s embroidery skills improved as they continuously practiced, all motivated by the prospect of earning extra money.

This was exactly what Lin Yue was pleased to see. She even intended to select the best three needleworkers to teach them the art of double-sided embroidery—of course, it would be the regular double-sided embroidery. As for the Double-sided Three Unique Embroidery, aside from Lin Yue herself, only Zhao Erhu and Jiang Ziqi were aware of it, and naturally, it would not be taught to others, at least not for now. Still, just the prospect of learning double-sided embroidery was thrilling enough for the needleworkers.

For them, whether it was the Double-sided Three Unique Embroidery or not, mastering double-sided embroidery was already an extraordinary skill. Down in the south, those skilled needleworkers who knew double-sided embroidery kept it as a closely guarded secret, passing it only to their chosen successors and not allowing anyone else to learn it. Now, with such a rare opportunity, if they could master this skill, the benefits would be endless. Not to mention, as Madam had said, the pay for the embroideries would be based on their quality. Therefore, they all competed eagerly, hoping to be chosen by Lin Yue.