After experiencing the dramatic upheaval in her family, Zuo Feifei was no longer the innocent, blank-sheet rich young lady she once was.
During her time of hardship, she had seen far too much of the evil in people’s hearts.
Guan Xiaorou’s words instantly put Zuo Feifei on guard.
Although Guan Xiaorou always appeared gentle and harmless whenever she visited Tieguan Mountain, people hide their true intentions. Zuo Feifei and her mother had only just managed to secure the life they now had. She was terrified that one wrong move could make everything vanish like smoke.
But since the conversation had already reached this point, she could only steel herself and ask, “What does sister want me to do? As long as it does not affect the factory, Feifei will do her very best!”
“I promised Ah Yue sister that I would set up a spirit tablet for her, and I must keep that promise.”
Guan Xiaorou said, “Not just Ah Yue sister. The other sisters who died in battle cannot become lonely ghosts either. So I want to build a ancestral hall to honour them.
You are the factory chief. You choose a suitable place.
Oh, and the family genealogy too. I cannot read or write. Feifei, you come from a scholarly family, so you can help with that as well.”
When Zuo Feifei heard that this was what Guan Xiaorou wanted her to do, her delicate brows furrowed slightly. She probed cautiously, “Building an ancestral hall and compiling a family genealogy are both major family affairs. With the master away, is it really appropriate for us to handle them privately?”
In feudal times, establishing an ancestral hall and recording names in the genealogy were indeed among the most important matters for a family. They had to be presided over by the most respected senior elders. Women were not supposed to interfere.
Yet now Guan Xiaorou wanted to do both of these things and even asked her to carry them out. This made Zuo Feifei worry that Guan Xiaorou might be setting a trap for her.
If Jin Feng came back angry, would she not be the one left holding the blame?
“It is fine. If the master blames anyone, I will take full responsibility.”
Guan Xiaorou could see Zuo Feifei’s concern. She smiled and said, “All the sisters here can bear witness.”
At that moment, it was not just Guan Xiaorou and Zuo Feifei present. There were also the female escort guards led by Ah Ju, as well as many female workers from Tieguan Mountain.
When she heard Guan Xiaorou say this, Zuo Feifei finally felt a little relieved. But she still did not agree immediately. Instead she suggested, “Sister, I think we should wait until the master returns and discuss it with him before proceeding…”
Seeing that Zuo Feifei was still hesitant, Guan Xiaorou did not insist further, “If little sister thinks it is not right, then for now just prepare the ancestral hall and set up spirit tablets so the sisters have a place to be honoured. As for the family genealogy and the name of the hall, I will discuss them with the master when he comes back.”
In truth, Guan Xiaorou dared to make these decisions on her own because she understood Jin Feng well.
Jin Feng did not care about these traditions at all. Moreover, before their marriage he had been completely alone, with no family elders whatsoever.
Guan Xiaorou was almost certain that Jin Feng would not oppose her decision.
But since Zuo Feifei was worried, Guan Xiaorou did not force the issue.
She had been utterly exhausted lately and did not want to argue with her own people anymore.
“All right, I will go arrange it now!”
Zuo Feifei bowed to Guan Xiaorou, “On behalf of all the sisters, thank you, sister!”
By now she was fully convinced that Guan Xiaorou had no intention of harming her. She genuinely wanted to give the fallen female workers a proper final resting place.
Yet she herself had suspected her…
Zuo Feifei could not help feeling ashamed of her earlier wariness.
“Sister, Jinchuan is full of bandits everywhere right now. Building a new ancestral hall will probably be very difficult.”
Zuo Feifei suggested, “The bandits left behind an assembly hall that has been empty ever since. If sister has no objection, we can simply renovate that hall and use it as the ancestral hall.”
The bandits’ assembly hall was basically just a place where the leaders gathered to drink.
After Jin Feng took over Tieguan Mountain, small meetings were held in the study and large ones on the training ground. The assembly hall was hardly ever used.
“I have no objection. Little sister, just handle it as you see fit.”
Guan Xiaorou nodded slightly and agreed to Zuo Feifei’s proposal.
“Then I will go make arrangements now.” Zuo Feifei put down the needle and thread in her hand and turned to leave.
After Zuo Feifei left, Guan Xiaorou lowered her head again and continued sewing the ears back onto the fallen female workers.
She worked with extreme care, stitch by stitch. From morning until evening, she did not even eat lunch.
She had barely slept these past few days, and now she had gone a whole day without food. By the time she finished the last one, Guan Xiaorou could hardly stand.
When Ah Ju supported her out of the mourning hall, she found a large number of female workers gathered at the entrance.
Even more female workers were coming from the big sheds where the soap base was being dried.
When they saw Guan Xiaorou come out, the female workers greeted her one after another.
“Madam!”
“Sister!”
Wherever there are people, there are rivalries. The factories and workers under Jin Feng’s command also competed with one another.
The female workers of Tieguan Mountain trained so hard with heavy crossbows and catapults because they wanted to defeat the textile factory’s female workers at next year’s games.
The female managers of the various trading companies also wanted to achieve better results so Jin Feng would think more highly of them.
Jin Feng was a complete iron-straight man and did not notice any of this. But the attentive Guan Xiaorou had picked up on the signs and had even discussed it with Tang Xiaobei.
Tang Xiaobei usually seemed careless and unreliable, but in reality she was far more shrewd than Guan Xiaorou. She had noticed it long ago.
But such rivalries were unavoidable. Tang Xiaobei had advised Guan Xiaorou that if an opportunity arose, she could try to win their hearts. If no suitable opportunity presented itself, it was best not to force the issue.
Guan Xiaorou had not had much confidence before. Since Tang Xiaobei said so, she followed the advice.
That was why, when Jin Feng raised wages for the Tieguan Mountain female workers and built a supermarket, Guan Xiaorou never objected.
Every time she came to Tieguan Mountain, she tried to remain kind and approachable. Even if she had some dissatisfaction with how things were managed, she never interfered or criticised.
She did all this to leave a good impression on the Tieguan Mountain female workers.
But the results had not been ideal. The female workers’ attitude towards her had not really changed.
They remained as before, respectful yet distant and polite.
This time she had not deliberately tried to win their hearts. Yet after the news spread that she wanted to build an ancestral hall and enter the fallen female workers into the family genealogy, she gained the approval of almost all the Tieguan Mountain female workers.
No matter what Jin Feng ultimately decided, Guan Xiaorou’s attitude had already shown that she acknowledged the status of the fallen female workers.
Starting from that day, more and more female workers began to approach Guan Xiaorou on their own initiative and call her sister.
Guan Xiaorou felt deeply comforted by this change. Despite her exhaustion, she forced herself to stay alert and responded with a smile.
“Sister has not rested all day. Everyone, please do not disturb her anymore. Disperse and go about your tasks.”
Zuo Feifei walked over from the side and took Guan Xiaorou’s arm, “Sister, I have asked the cafeteria to prepare food. Come and eat something.”
Having eaten nothing all day, Guan Xiaorou was hungry too. This time she did not refuse. She followed Zuo Feifei towards the cafeteria.
But just as they reached the cafeteria entrance, a female escort guard came running at full speed. From far away she shouted, “Madam, we caught him!”
“What is with all the shouting? Caught who?”
Ah Ju reached out to stop the female escort guard and asked irritably.
The female escort guard was one of her subordinates. Shouting and making a fuss like this on Tieguan Mountain made Ah Ju feel she had lost face.
It was as if she did not know how to manage people.
“We caught that Mister Liu!”
The female escort guard said excitedly, “Brother Tie is bringing him back to the village right now.”
