Ruling the Historical Romance Novel as the Female Supporting Character-Chapter 121: Hiring Her as a Designer?

"Never mind, I don’t currently need money. I have to wait for the owner of the Chinese medicine shop to gather all the medicinal herbs for me. During this time, I need to prepare my dowry. By the way, Zhu, how is the condition of my courtyard? I assume there’s a lot to tidy up, right?" Su Yijia shifted the topic as she declined their kindness, all while explaining her plans.

While she was in a difficult financial situation at the moment, she didn’t want to empty their pockets for her own sake, as she stood on the shoulders of giants and had knowledge of this era’s development from her reading.

"Dear sister-in-law, please take it," Gao Huabin insisted, not giving up.

Su Yijia looked at him helplessly and finally chuckled, "I really am not being polite with you. If I needed money because the herbs were available now, I’d definitely borrow from you. But the herbs are still a mystery, so I genuinely don’t need money. Besides, I’m not foolish enough to put Kaize’s health above my own dignity."

Her persuasive words finally eased the worries of Gao Huabin and Zhu Zirui.

"Rest assured, sister-in-law, your little courtyard has been tidied up quite nicely. Now we just need to get electricity sorted. Regarding the clothing you mentioned, I’ll go find someone at the clothing factory to inquire today. I’ll aim to provide you with an answer the day after tomorrow," Zhu Zirui said, addressing all the concerns Su Yijia had.

"In that case, please come by in the afternoon. I’ve completed about half of the clothing, so in the afternoon, I’ll get the finishing touches done. You can show them a rough semi-finished product directly, which has more impact than the drawings," Su Yijia suggested, thinking that seeing the actual product would be more effective than just the design drawings.

"Alright! I’ll come over in the afternoon once I finish work," Zhu Zirui replied, not finding it troublesome at all.

At noon, he took a nap in Gao Huabin’s room and then went straight to work. Su Yijia spent the whole afternoon tirelessly rushing to complete the sample outfit. Even though she worked non-stop for the better part of the day, she roughly finished the outfit by around 8 PM. It was almost there, with just a few minor details to be perfected.

Zhu Zirui came by that evening to pick up the clothing. The next day, Su Yijia didn’t leave her home; she sat in the courtyard, keeping company with Qin Kaize while they listened to the radio. She simultaneously filled the soy sauce bottles with the skin-lightening liquid, and Gao Huabin helped out when he had free time. Meanwhile, a new batch of Whitening Lotion continued to be distilled without pause.

Before this, Su Yijia had already used the system’s functionalities to refine 15 liters, so when she was making it in front of them, she managed to produce more than 5 liters. After filling all 100 bottles, Su Yijia planned to visit the black market in the afternoon and inquire from Qiu Yanqing whether the people who purchased the previous batch of skin-lightening liquid had seen any results.

However, before she could make her afternoon trip, Zhu Zirui arrived in a hurry around 1 PM.

"Sister-in-law, you need to go to the clothing factory with me this afternoon. They are satisfied with the clothing, but the factory manager and the deputy factory manager want to have a detailed discussion with you about the specifics," he said, looking apologetic.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to arrange things in advance, but the factory stated that this wouldn’t be a short-term collaboration. They emphasized that the specifics of the sale, future submission times, and everything else had to be worked out gradually with the designer. Zhu Zirui couldn’t make the decisions on Su Yijia’s behalf, so he had to come back and inform her.

"Alright, we’ll go together in the afternoon," Su Yijia agreed. She had expected that this matter wouldn’t be resolved with just a sentence or two. She was surprised at how quickly Zhu Zirui had arranged it.

Checking the time, she realized that there would be no time for an afternoon nap. She pushed Qin Kaize into the room.

"This afternoon, we don’t know how long we’ll be out. You probably won’t be able to take a nap, so I’ll give you a massage to help you relax and improve blood circulation."

Upon hearing Su Yijia’s afternoon schedule, Zhu Zirui hesitated for a moment and asked, "Sister-in-law, do you plan to take the boss with you?"

"Can’t I? We’re going to the factory, and there shouldn’t be any safety concerns. I can’t just keep him at home every day," Su Yijia replied, puzzled by his question.

It wasn’t her first time taking Qin Kaize out, and she didn’t think he would be looked down upon, so what was the issue?

"Of course, you can take him. I just didn’t expect you to bring the boss along while conducting business," Zhu Zirui said, rubbing his nose.

He was simply surprised that, on such a hot day, Su Yijia was willing to endure the blazing sun and take Qin Kaize out.

"What’s the big deal? It’s not like it’s something confidential," Su Yijia laughed and shook her head. She was rarely able to take Qin Kaize out with her, and it was a good opportunity to have someone help with him while they were both involved in something they could be aware of.

Because of Qin Kaize, they took public transportation to the clothing factory. Zhu Zirui had taken the afternoon off to accompany them.

When they arrived at the factory, the factory manager and deputy factory manager were already waiting.

"Are you the comrade who designed that clothing?" the factory manager asked, furrowing his brow as he assessed Su Yijia. She didn’t look very old and was dressed quite plainly. She didn’t seem like someone who could design such trendy clothes.

"Yes," Su Yijia replied confidently, meeting their inquisitive gazes head-on.

The factory manager and deputy factory manager exchanged glances before saying, "Our clothing factory also has a design department. You can join as a temporary worker for three months. During these three months, you’ll only receive a monthly wage of 20 yuan. However, if you can design ten pieces of clothing that we find good in these three months, we can consider hiring you as a regular employee with a higher monthly wage of 45 yuan as a level four worker. If you continue to perform well for three years, we can even recommend you for admission to the University of Workers, Peasants and Soldiers." They had discussed this offer all morning and believed it was the sincerest treatment they could offer. If it weren’t for the intense competition from the clothing factory in the eastern part of the city in recent years, they would never have extended such favorable terms.

"I don’t need a job. I just want to sell my designs," Su Yijia firmly declined. Although the conditions offered by the factory weren’t demanding, and for the people of this era, it might be considered quite generous, Su Yijia believed that accepting formal employment would be a waste of her time and energy. Besides, the college entrance examination was only four and a half months away, and by then attending the University of Workers, Peasants and Soldiers wouldn’t be a difficult thing for her.

However, Gao Huabin and Zhu Zirui looked at her with mixed expressions. On one hand, they were concerned that she might accept the offer, which would make it difficult for her to take care of Qin Kaize properly. On the other hand, they believed she was exceptionally talented, and they felt their boss was holding her back.

After all, whether it was for conducting a heroic deed or designing clothes, she had earned herself the status of a level four worker, which was something others could only dream of. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"We’ve never purchased designs before," the factory manager’s frown deepened.

"No problem, if you can’t accept this approach, then let’s forget it. I’m not so fixated on selling the designs. If I can’t make money from it, I won’t waste my time on such matters in the future," Su Yijia shrugged as if she genuinely didn’t consider it a big deal.

The deputy factory manager, however, grew anxious at her response. "How can you call this a waste? Your designs are so beautiful. If we produce them, they will definitely sell well."