The daily life of a peasant girl taking the imperial examination

Zhuge Yunshu took out a folded piece of paper from his bosom and unfolded it, saying:

"First of all, the first thing you need to do is memorize this passage that I wrote on this piece of paper."

Zhuge Yun Chu and Wang Yi curiously peeked over and saw that the paper read: Good news! Good news! The Gu Yun Xiang Fang, located next to Fu Rong Ge on East Street in Jingling Prefecture, will open on the first day of June. On the opening day, bring a Gu Yun Xiang Fang brochure to purchase any soap from the shop and you will enjoy a 30% discount. We look forward to your visit!

After reading this sentence, Zhuge Yun Chu and Wang Yi both looked away. For some reason, they were secretly relieved that Yun Shu hadn't gone so far as to make them do this kind of hawking work. They had to admit that these words were really embarrassing for them to say.

At this moment, Zhuge Yunshu had no time to pay attention to the awkward feelings of the two. Instead, she was vividly explaining some tips for distributing promotional brochures to Sun Wuya and her group.

First, identify the target audience for Guyunxiangfang (古韵香坊). Then, find places where these people frequent, and at the right time, approach them to sell them the promotional brochure. Remember to constantly monitor their reactions; if they are not interested, do not force the brochure on them...

Finally, while distributing brochures, maintain a smile and friendly eye contact, and even if someone impatiently refuses, respond politely...

Zhuge Yunshu spoke for about half an hour, then spent another half an hour correcting the group. After they became somewhat familiar with the situation, Zhuge Yunshu had them role-play, simulating the actual scene of distributing the promotional brochures the next day.

Another hour passed during this role-playing activity. When the fifteen young boys had almost memorized the details, Zhuge Yunshu encouraged them:

"If all the promotional brochures you distribute during the first few days of opening are returned by customers, Gu Yun Xiang Fang will give each of you an extra ten copper coins. Remember, this reward is only given if all are returned... Among you, those who perform exceptionally well may even be exceptionally hired as errand runners at Gu Yun Xiang Fang, with a three-year contract, excluding holiday benefits and commissions, with a basic monthly allowance of 600 copper coins..."

The reason it's called an exceptional recruitment is that they are the lowest-level employees in their Guyunxiangfang, whose most basic requirement is literacy. Therefore, their monthly salary will be about two to three times that of other shops.

Sun Dagou, Sun Ergou, and Sun Erya were among the few and most literate of the fifteen people.

When they finished their training today and walked out of the gate of Guyunxiangfang with five copper coins and their clothes, they saw a long red paper posted in the most conspicuous place outside the gate, with the words "Guyunxiangfang Recruitment Notice" written on it.

Perhaps because it had only been posted recently, there wasn't many people standing there looking at the job posting.

Sun Dagou, Sun Ergou, and Sun Erya were overjoyed, and then quickly led their younger siblings forward to check.

The red paper read:

Located on the most bustling street in Jingling Prefecture, Guyun Fragrance Shop specializes in scented soaps and is renowned for its unique, time-honored methods and fragrant cleansing properties. Due to staff shortages during its opening, we are currently recruiting the following personnel.

Sun Erya saw that the job postings listed one manager, one assistant manager, one accountant, two assistant accountants, and so on. For these demanding jobs that were far removed from their actual roles, she only glanced at the salaries. For instance, the manager's basic monthly salary was a whopping ten taels of silver…

What's most appealing is that these positions all prominently display twelve characters: "No gender or social status restrictions; the most capable will be appointed."

Sun Erya felt that the owner of this Guyunxiangfang must be a broad-minded and extremely tolerant person.

Thinking about this, she couldn't help but feel a glimmer of hope for the future. Since there were no restrictions on identity or gender, could she perhaps be a little more ambitious? If she worked hard, could she...?

Sun Erya became happier the more she thought about it, and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Sun Wuya seemed to sense something and looked up in the direction of Sun Erya. She had always felt that this Erya was an extraordinary person who didn't fit in with their narrow alley. She thought that Erya would definitely be chosen for a good job like Xiangyun Ancient Workshop, and that she would definitely be as outstanding as Erya when she grew up.

Thinking this, she couldn't help but pester Er Gou Ge to explain the contents of the job posting to her in detail.

Oh, so when she grows up, she can work as a shop assistant at Guyunxiangfang.

She had to keep the shop spotless, learn to speak politely to the wealthy and powerful, and finally, be in good health and quick on her feet...

Sun Wuya felt that apart from not being able to read and write, she would definitely become much more proficient in the other skills as long as she practiced diligently. Just like when she was out hunting, she learned to say the right thing to people of different statuses. Her older sister Erya praised her as a clever and quick-witted little girl.

......

In an alley in the south of the city.

A four-year-old girl stood anxiously outside the door, as if waiting for someone important to return.

Inside the courtyard, a woman in her thirties was mending a torn garment. Looking at her daughter's anxious expression outside the door, she couldn't help but smile bitterly.

"Mei'er, your father probably won't be back until the afternoon. Come in and sit for a while."

The little girl remained standing outside the door, stubbornly saying:

"No, Father will be back soon."

Upon seeing this, the woman shook her head and didn't say anything more to her daughter.

These past two years have been particularly difficult for their family. First, their parents-in-law accidentally fell and broke one arm and one leg. The family spent all their money on medical treatment for them, but in the end, they were unable to help the two elderly people live a few more years.

After her parents-in-law passed away, her husband was suddenly fired by the restaurant manager for some unknown reason. The manager claimed that the accounts were unclear, but if they were really unclear, he could have given a reason. However, the manager just stammered and couldn't say anything, which ultimately caused her husband to suffer a bad reputation in the accounting profession in the prefecture and he has not been able to find a decent job since.

This was arguably the most severe blow to their family.

Thinking back to those days before the New Year, she was short of money, her clothes were not warm enough, and she often went hungry. She would even sit up at night to check her little girl's breathing, fearing that she would not survive the cold winter.

Suddenly, her daughter's cheerful voice rang out from outside the gate: "Mother, Father is back."