Chapter 144: Wang Siniang

The sun shone through the newly papered windows, making the room bright and airy.

The house was newly built and had just been decorated. The four walls were white and clean, making it very bright. A large bed and a dressing table were neatly arranged. On the table was a vase with a few wildflowers.

Wang Siniang was tidying her appearance at the dressing table. Although she was a country woman, the area around Hangzhou had always been a land of fish and rice, benefiting from the tea and silk trade, and was much more prosperous than other places. As long as the year was reasonably good, even peasant women paid great attention to their appearance.

It has long been said that Suzhou and Hangzhou produce beautiful women. On the one hand, the mild and humid climate nurtures people. On the other hand, the area is wealthy, so even women from poor families have the means to adorn themselves, which is why there is a perception of many beauties.

She carefully combed her hair, inserted a sprig of pearl orchid, and dabbed some rouge on her lips. Dressed up with neat hair and a clean face, she changed into a fresh set of clothes before opening the door and stepping out.

The main room was empty except for a table and four long benches. There was no other decent furniture. A few wooden planks were nailed to the wall as shelves for miscellaneous items. But for Wang Siniang, this was already very satisfying. At least her family had a proper home again. This home was much better than their old one. Although their old house also had three rooms and a courtyard, it had a thatched roof, which couldn’t compare to the tiled roof and skylight of this house. It was both bright and tidy.

In the middle of the main room were several embroidery frames. The door was open, and the peach blossoms outside were in full bloom. Bees shuttled back and forth in the sunlight, occasionally darting into the room for a look around. It was a joyful sight.

Her family’s “bad luck” was finally over! Her family used to be quite well-off: they had seven or eight mu of mulberry groves and raised their own silkworms to produce silk. Although they weren’t wealthy, they were comfortably well-off. Two years ago, her husband, hoping to make a small fortune, borrowed money to buy extra mulberry leaves to expand their sericulture. Unexpectedly, a silkworm disease destroyed all their income, leaving them in ruins. They were forced to sell their land and house to pay off the usurious debt. Left with nothing and no way to live, they had to ask Cai Shi for an introduction and became servants to this Master Zhao from Guangdong.

Becoming a servant was a choice of last resort. Otherwise, the family would have been homeless. However, once they sold themselves, their lives were no longer their own. If the master was a kind and decent person, it would be fine. But if they encountered a cruel and lecherous one, their family could be destroyed in an instant. Fortunately, Cai Shi was an old acquaintance. He said that although this master was an outsider from Guangdong, he was kind-hearted and treated his servants better than one could imagine. He had also taken in many refugees to work, supported orphans, and cared for the elderly. He was truly a great philanthropist.

Despite this, Wang Siniang was still skeptical. But with no other options, she had to take the risk.

Unexpectedly, this step turned out to be the right one. Since joining the Zhao household, her family’s fortunes had been improving step by step.

The master was quite considerate, settling the whole family in the estate on Phoenix Mountain. Wang Siniang’s husband, Shen Jun, was a skilled mulberry planter. After joining the Zhao family, he became a “foreman,” leading people to plant mulberry trees on the hillsides. The master was also very generous, ordering the planting of five hundred mu of mulberry groves in one go.

Wang Siniang thought they would be arranged to raise silkworms and had mentioned it to Cai Shi. If they were to raise silkworms, they would need to prepare the equipment in advance and also buy extra mulberry leaves. It would take several years for newly planted mulberry seedlings to grow enough to be harvested. When the time came, it would be impossible to rely on buying leaves; during the peak of silkworm rearing, it was difficult to buy them even at a high price.

But for the whole of last year, there was no talk of raising silkworms. Not only that, but the work assigned to Wang Siniang was to lead the female workers in the tea plantation, planting and picking tea. Wang Siniang’s family were tea farmers, so she not only knew how to plant and pick, but also how to roast green tea. She was also considered a “forewoman” at the Phoenix Mountain Estate.

Since both of them were “foremen,” their monthly wages were higher. Soon, the master built a block of rooms in the estate for the servants to live in, and they were also given one. It had one main room and two smaller rooms. It wasn’t large, but it was comfortable and convenient. As for her three daughters, the master was also kind enough to enroll them all in the estate’s “charity school.” This was something Wang Siniang had never dreamed of. All the students in this charity school were the children of the servants in the estate. As long as they were under thirteen, they were all admitted.

A six or seven-year-old girl could be a maidservant, and a seven or eight-year-old boy could be sent out to cut grass or herd sheep, or at least do some odd jobs. No master would provide free food and education. Was this Master Zhao really here in Hangzhou from a thousand miles away just to do good deeds?

Despite her doubts, her daughters were now studying. Their knowledge and perspective were different from before. Not only could they talk about many things their parents didn’t know, but even on subjects like mulberry planting and sericulture, her eldest daughter could now speak with great insight. It turned out the “charity school” taught not only the Thousand Character Classic and the Hundred Family Surnames, but also many practical things.

As for why the children in the estate were taught these things, she thought that this Master Zhao must be planning to do something big here. Would these children become “foremen” and “managers” in the future? But surely they didn’t need so many.

In her eyes, the master was a very mysterious person. When the estate was first being built, several strange people came, said to be Master Zhao’s “friends.” They were called friends, but they went around the estate giving orders as if they were the masters. Sometimes they were there, sometimes they weren’t. The master was also very friendly with them. They could often be seen walking around Phoenix Mountain together, holding large rolls of paper and pointing things out from time to time.

Later, these people disappeared one by one. But occasionally, some new faces would appear, also said to be Master Zhao’s “friends.”

Every time a “friend” arrived, there would always be some new construction in the estate, like building houses or digging irrigation channels. There was also that strange house with a chimney built on the mountain. Ever since that house was built, whenever the reservoir on the mountain was about to run dry, it would puff out a cloud of black smoke, and the reservoir would be full again.

In short, the master was a very mysterious person. However, Wang Siniang never dared to ask about her master’s background. And for the whole of last year, she rarely even saw Master Zhao. According to Steward Cai, the master was very busy. What was he busy with? Wang Siniang dared not ask. She was not a domestic servant of the inner household and was not allowed to enter the inner sections of the estate without being summoned. The master’s whereabouts were not something she was supposed to inquire about.

But what the master was doing was clear to see: he was really investing heavily in this Phoenix Mountain Estate! In two years, the hillside, originally covered in tall weeds and miscellaneous trees, had now been turned into mulberry groves, orchards, and tea plantations. Several workshops had been built. At the foot of the mountain along the river, a large charity hall had been built. Last year, when the area suffered a major flood, the master, in cooperation with the local gentry, established this charity hall to shelter the refugees. They were provided with food, lodging, and clothing, and all of them became plump and rosy-cheeked. Some of them stayed on the estate as servants, assigned to work in various places. The others were periodically taken away by boat from the pier by the river, said to be sent to Master Zhao’s other estates to open up new land. As for where they went to open up new land, Wang Siniang neither knew nor dared to ask. At least her whole family could stay in their hometown, and for that, she was grateful.

She asked for nothing more than to live a peaceful life here. Her daughters were growing up. If one of them could catch the master’s eye and become a “personal attendant” to serve him, the family’s future would be even more secure.

Wang Siniang’s thoughts were not just idle fancies. When she first kowtowed to Master Zhao, she had noticed the strong masculine desire in his eyes as he looked at her and her daughters. The master was young, and she and her daughters were reasonably attractive. Such things were not surprising. If the master was fortunate enough to take a fancy to one of her daughters, it would be a good path for her.

But since then, this Master Zhao had shown no further interest in them. Her own husband was relieved, but Wang Siniang felt a little disappointed. Was she not as good-looking as that ugly Fenghua?

Speaking of this Master Zhao, he had neither a wife nor concubines. The maid who was often by his side was the dark and thin Fenghua. If one were to say he preferred men, his personal servant, Jiying, was not handsome at all, but looked more like a brute for rough work. Throughout the entire estate, there were no maids or servants who seemed to be particularly favored. He Ning, the girl he had rescued from the bridge, was clearly a beauty in the making, but even now, the master paid her no attention. She wasn’t even a close-serving maid.

This master was truly a strange person. Wang Siniang thought as she took a blue cloth “work skirt” from the shelf and tied it around her waist. She took a scarf and wrapped it around her head and face, then put on a bamboo hat. Today she was going to the estate’s tea fields to pick tea for the whole day. The spring sun was already high.

The servants’ quarters were quiet; most people had already gone to work. Dozens of servants’ quarters were built along the slope of the mountain, like a small village, with public wells and toilets in addition to the houses. The houses were all built in a uniform, neat style. The stone-paved paths in front of each house were kept clean. There was a system of responsibility, rotation, and special inspections for hygiene. If any household did poorly, their monthly wages would be deducted. Not only were public areas inspected, but even the inside of their homes was not exempt. This compulsory hygiene inspection was the most effective way to ensure public health and safety.

Wang Siniang walked up the slope. She passed the village’s public well—below it was a reservoir, and water was channeled here from the reservoir on the mountain through an underground pipe. A few maids were washing clothes around the well. When they saw Wang Siniang, they all greeted her. She was also a “forewoman” in the estate, and her status was much higher than that of ordinary women.