Lady of the Lord From the East

The trend of straw hats led by the Countess gradually ceased to be just popular among peasant women working in the fields. It began to spread from bottom to top and swept all the classes in Sardinson.

When Wei Wei noticed, whether it was a serf, a freedman or a wealthy businessman and the daughter of a nobleman, they would wear a hat on their head when they went out. Well, the hats worn by people with higher status are larger and the materials are different. The serfs and most of the free people wear straw hats, which are mostly decorated with bows made of rags or flowers picked from the wild. The female relatives of wealthier merchants use linen to make hats, and their decorations are of a higher grade. Colored cloth strips, various beautiful shells and flowers planted in their gardens are their favorites. The ladies of the nobles are even more gorgeous. The hats are made of more expensive fabrics, and lace ribbons are a must-have decoration. In addition, they also add brightly colored feathers and various gemstones on them.

When Wei Wei had time to go shopping with Dolores in Dingle, she got off the carriage and saw the various hats on the heads of the women on the street. She almost thought she was wearing the Renaissance era hundreds of years later. .

Fortunately, she soon discovered that this was just her own illusion. Although the women wore gorgeous hats, their clothes were still in the overall style of this period. Compared with simple clothes, the gorgeous hats were obviously a little out of place. No one thinks there's anything wrong with this, women seem to put their regrets about not being able to decorate their hair on the hat mountain. When someone admires their hats, the followers will hold their heads high and be proud of the other party's Walked in sight.

To be honest, the painting style is a bit exaggerated, but fortunately, the women who can walk on the street are basically free people. Of course, there are no nobles who can afford to wear high-end hats decorated with gems, so most of them are decorated with ribbons and flowers. Shells and the like, look gorgeous but not too extravagant.

Wei Wei, who was wearing a newly knitted pot hat with a big bow, was not very conspicuous in the group, and a new layer of gauze was added to her hat. The gauze was woven with flax rope. The fine mesh made of her will not affect the sight when it is put down, but it can make her face invisible to others, and can cover up her oriental face that is different from Europeans.

The reason for this is because this time Wei Wei just wants to go shopping quietly and doesn't want to be watched by other people. Today is different from the past. If other people know that the Countess is coming to town, I am afraid that it will not take long for her to be around. A bunch of businessmen trying to chat and sell their products, and then she'd be nowhere to be seen.

In order not to be discovered, they didn't even ride in a carriage with the earl's family crest, but chose a carriage that looked very old without the family crest.

In order not to be recognized, a group of four women, from the master to the maid, were all very inconspicuous, and they all wore gauze hats. If you couldn't see your face, you didn't have to worry about being recognized. Wei Wei was worried about it. The dress of this group of people would look out of place in the crowd, but I didn't expect Dingle, and the women on the road put on various hats on their heads.

However, compared with a tight veil, a ventilated straw hat is obviously more suitable for this kind of hot weather, and the price of the straw hat is very cheap, which is much cheaper than the price of the veil.

They went shopping smoothly without attracting any attention.

The proposal to go shopping came from Dolores and Wei Wei saying that she had run out of embroidery thread and wanted to go out to buy some. This was a very rare request for Dolores, who seldom went out. In the past, she needed anything. The maid helped to prepare, but now she has to go out to buy it herself. This obvious change is gratifying, so Wei Wei naturally agrees and takes time to accompany her.

Today's Dingle is a very prosperous town. Shops have opened up in the town, and there are many small vendors on the streets. Most of the owners of these stalls are small merchants in the surrounding area, and most of them sell For food and daily necessities, the audience of customers is different and there will not be too much conflict with those newly opened stores, so they have been in peace all along, but when there are more small stalls, this is not a spacious street. It is a little crowded. In addition, there are often various horse-drawn carriages in the town, and from time to time, some carriages collide with the stalls.

The more accidents like this happened, the more people complained. The mayor and sheriff thought that it would not work like this, so they were not allowed to set up stalls on the street. They made a report to Felix, and they were allowed to Dingle's town entrance is surrounded by a plot to build a market. Now those small vendors have gone to the market to set up their stalls, and the streets in the town are no longer so congested.

Wei Wei took the Dolores Road Tailor Shop to buy embroidery thread. The owner of this shop is still the royal tailor of the Williams family, so business in his shop has been very good, and recently he has also sold the shop next door. Down to expand the size of the store.

Wei Wei, who didn't want to be found out and wanted to exercise Dolores, didn't speak the whole time, and only let Dolores communicate with the clerk herself.

There were many customers in the store, but the old tailor was not seen. It was said that he was invited by a baron's house.

I don't know if it's the apprentice's clerk, "The other tailors in the store are also very good at craftsmanship." As he spoke, he recommended other people to the customers. They were all apprentices brought out by the old tailors. The old tailors aren't too bad either, and most importantly their fees are cheaper.

However, there are still a small number of people who custom-made clothes. Most of them come to buy fabrics and make clothes at home. Of course, because of the recent popularity, there are more people who only buy a small piece of fabric and go back to make hat decoration.

Although the residents of Sardinson County are now living a lot better, and they don’t feel bad about spending some small money, but when shopping, everyone is still used to choosing carefully and bargaining hard, trying to get what they want at the least price. So there are voices everywhere in the tailor's shop. In addition to bargaining, there is also gossip that women love. Wei Wei walked around the shop and didn't see what she wanted to buy, so she simply found a corner and sat down while Listening to the gossip with ears pricked up, although it is nothing more than a short story, but once in a while, it is relaxing.

Who made the entertainment here too little, and she didn't have time to think of ways to entertain herself.

When she can relax, she will enrich her spiritual needs.

"Qin, you can go shopping too, you don't have to stay here." She said to Qin who was standing on the side.

Seeing what she said, Kotatsu really wanted to buy some fabrics to go home, so she complied and walked away to the counter to pick them up.

Before long, someone called behind her in a hesitant voice: "Qin, is that you?"

When Qin turned around and saw the other party, she lifted the gauze and smiled in surprise at the other party: "Wendy, why are you here?"

"It's really you, I was worried about recognizing the wrong person just now." Wendy, Jean's friend of the same year, exchanged a hug with her in surprise: "Long time no see, I'll buy some fabrics for Meryl and Jamie to go back to. Making clothes, oh, they're my eldest daughter and my little son, you haven't seen it, have you?"

Qin sighed: "Yeah, we haven't seen each other since you got married. How are you all these years?"

She is the same year as Wendy, and both are nineteen this year, but at the age of fourteen, Qin was hired by the family to be a maid in the castle, while Wendy married someone at the age of fourteen, and she still married to Uke Town. So they haven't seen each other for five years.

"I'm okay, how about you? I heard that you went to the castle to be a maid, are you still used to it?" Wendy glanced at Wei Wei in the corner when she asked, if she hadn't heard her call Qin, Wendy Di would not notice her, after all, they had been separated for many years, and Qin covered her face again, so of course she couldn't recognize her.

"I'm used to it. People in the castle are very easy to get along with." Qin smiled and didn't say much, and turned the topic back to Wendy: "I heard your mother say you have another baby when I was on vacation before. , is it Jamie? It's a pity that I don't have enough vacation time to visit you in Uke Town. How about taking them back for me next time?"

"Of course, I'll bring them back when Jamie is a little older. You, auntie, remember to prepare presents for them."

"What are you waiting for, can you do it soon? Don't you want to buy cloth? I'll pick some for them too."

Wendy's family's conditions are average, and the married people are not rich. In the past, she tried her best not to return to Dingle to cause a burden to her parents' family, so she kept missing out with Qin, but now her family's conditions are slowly improving, and she has confidence. Naturally, she is willing to go back to her mother's house.

"My husband is now working in a pasta factory, and the salary is very good. Wuke Town has started to build a farm again. When it is built, I will also sign up. If I can be recruited, I don't have to worry about the family's expenses in the future."

"It's definitely not a problem. You used to be very good at taking care of pigs. Your piglets are always stronger than others, and they will definitely be selected smoothly." Qin Zhen said.

Hearing her say that, Wendy was in a better mood.

"Stop talking about me, how about you? When are you going to get married?"

Qin's age is not too young among unmarried girls, but it is not that she is married later than her, so Wendy asked the same carefree question as Qin's family asked every time she went home.

Qin's appearance can only be said to be ordinary, but since Qin became a castle maid, there have been many people who went to her house to propose marriage, but once Qin was favored at home, the family wanted her to find someone she liked, and secondly Working in the castle, if you get pregnant after marriage, you may be fired. Qin, who has always been a housekeeper, is naturally unwilling, so Qin has never thought of getting married, and she is also open to those who propose marriage because of her work. No good feelings, this thing has been dragging on.

Now that Wendy asks, Jean is still the same: "I'm not ready to get married yet."

Wendy wanted to persuade her to get married earlier, after all, Qin was not too young, but then she thought that Qin was working as a maid in the castle, and there was a maid who was pregnant and had to quit her job before and couldn't go back to work after giving birth to a child. , I think Laiqin also estimated that this was what she said.

So she didn't persuade her, but said: "Well, it's better to get married after saving more money now, but if there is a suitable candidate, you should take good care of it."

To her words, Qin just smiled.

In fact, Qin is no longer the low-ranking maid who was worried that she would be dismissed when she got married and had children. Since she was promoted to Wei Wei's maid, this concern has disappeared. The maid will basically not be dismissed because of this. If she can get the master's They can even get a long maternity leave before and after giving birth. Qin thinks that she can still get such an honor from Wei Wei, but now she has the opportunity to study with the housekeeper. At this time, to get married, Qin Think that's a stupid choice.

So when Wei Wei asked her if she wanted to get married before, she, like Penny, answered that she didn't want to get married for the time being.

During the conversation, both of them were choosing fabrics, and all Wendy could afford was burlap. Although the family was a little richer, he could buy some burlap, but Wendy felt that it was too extravagant to make clothes for children. They need to spend so much money. Originally, their clothes are changed quickly, and they will need to be changed soon. As for other fabrics, she still can't afford them.

And the choice of burlap colors is also very small, so the selection is just to see which burlap is relatively finer, and there are not too many thread knots on the fabric.

Compared to her, Qin is more generous when it comes to provocation. The salary of a castle maid is not low for commoners, not to mention that after she became Wei Wei's personal maid, Wei Wei gave her a salary increase, and from time to time there will be some rewards. At that time, it was not only the housekeeper and the couple who got the red envelopes. They were by Wei Wei’s side and got a lot. Now Wei Wei has become a countess. When she didn't become a maid, her salary was one silver coin and ten large copper coins a month, but now, as the head of the maids, she was also responsible for helping the count to calculate the account books, receiving double wages, each time she was paid. The monthly salary of thirty silver coins (one and a half gold coins) is already the salary of Mrs. Bates when she was a governess.

Of course, only she and the housekeeper in charge of paying the salary know the specific amount. Because the servants in the castle are all paid according to their work, so everyone gets different amounts of money. In order to avoid disputes, the castle has long ago prohibited servants from privately. Disclose your salary.

But even if it wasn't revealed, everyone knew that Jean and other servants like Ward were paid double wages, the exact amount is unclear, but it must be more than ordinary servants.

This can make everyone envious. In addition to envy, other people are also actively learning and mastering knowledge, because they know that only by knowing more can they be valued by the master, get more opportunities, increase workload, and increase workload At the same time, their wages will also increase.

There is nothing more exciting than this.

And although Qin will give a part of her salary to her family, she still keeps more of it for herself. These maids usually don’t have any big expenses, and they have basically saved the money, so Qin is already able to survive among ordinary people. She is a little rich woman, and it is rare to have the opportunity to come out. Naturally, she has no burden and just wants to have a good time shopping.

So while Wendy was carefully picking out the burlap, Jean had chosen several different colors of burlap and cotton, as well as two red headbands tied into her hair, all of which were added together. silver.

Wendy watched her pay, thinking she had bought it for someone else, but when she saw that after Jyn paid, she actually tucked two pieces of linen and cotton, enough for a dress, and the two red headbands. in her arms.

"The linen is just right for the inner lining. The cotton is soft and delicate, and it won't scratch the skin if you wear it close to the body. You can take it back and make small clothes for the children. This headband is from Meryl, and it looks good when tied up."

Wendy stared blankly at the things in her arms, but she didn't respond for a while, but she looked at the clerk's quotation and settled the bill, so she naturally knew the price of these things, and those in her arms alone were enough for two silver coins.

The two silver coin husbands worked hard in the pasta factory for a month, but they didn't necessarily have so much money. Now Qin gave it to her without blinking?

Wendy came back to her senses and pushed the thing back immediately: "No, it's too expensive for me to have!"

"This is a gift for the children, not for you." Qin refused to accept it, and pushed her back directly: "It's just a treat, and it's not expensive, so just keep it."

In the past, when her salary hadn't risen, she might not have been able to be so generous, but now that she is rich, two silver coins are her two-day salary, and she really doesn't feel distressed when she spends it.

But no matter what she said, Wendy firmly believed that she couldn't accept it, and the two pushed each other and refused, which was not a small movement.

Originally, she had bought so many things from Liqin, but other shop assistants and customers were a little curious about her identity. When the two talked, they couldn't help but **** their ears. When they heard the other party was a maid in the castle, they all revealed it. Expression, recently the servants of the castle often come to the town for shopping and consumption when they are on vacation. They have encountered a lot of them. Naturally, they have also heard about the salary increase of the servants of the castle. Although I don’t know the exact amount, but looking at their generosity, they will You must know a lot.

Looking at Qin now, a maid can buy fine linen and cotton, not just one piece, but several pieces, and she is even willing to use these things as gifts. It can be seen that her life is not worse than those of the female family members of the knights. .

Here everyone is secretly watching the fun, and over there Qin is still trying to convince Wendy, but unfortunately her friend is as stubborn as her and doesn't want to take advantage of her at all.

"Qin, are you all right? We should go."

Wei Wei's voice came from the door. Because of the distance, she spoke a lot louder than usual. When she heard her voice, Qin was shocked, and she forgot that she came with his wife.

She quickly and loudly replied: "Okay madam, come right away."

After finishing speaking, I stopped withdrawing with Wendyla, and put the things on the table directly: "The madam called me, I have to go, I will leave the things here, you can either take them or return them, I don't care, see you later."

Without waiting for her to answer, she hurried through the crowd and ran to the door.

Everyone's eyes followed her, watching her leave with three other women who also wore mesh hats to cover their faces. Although everyone was dressed in the same way, it was obvious that the two walking in front were the master, Qin and the other. One is a servant.

And Wendy saw that the taller, graceful woman in front of Qin turned, with black hair showing from the back of her hat.

Others also saw it. When they left the door of the tailor shop, someone in the shop suddenly stumbled and said, "The one who will be called a lady by the castle maid, should be the only one?"

She didn't need to say it, others understood what she meant.

That one, the Countess.

"The Countess is in town?"

This sentence woke everyone up.

The tailor shop, which had suddenly been quiet, became lively like a frying pan. Some people excitedly discussed why this lady came, while recalling whether they had behaved rudely in front of her just now, while others ignored it. I went to buy something and ran out of the store, ready to go back and tell my family the news, informing them that they could put out the best products, because from the countess' appearance, they obviously came out to go shopping.

Some people couldn't help but follow Wei Wei and the others, wanting to see where they were going, but fortunately, they were afraid to disturb them, so they just watched from a distance, or followed them into the store, paying special attention not to go there. Gather around them.

Wendy, on the other hand, stayed in the store and stared at what was left in a daze.

Her good friend Qin seems to be more than just an ordinary castle maid. That way, she is obviously a personal maid. No wonder she doesn't care about these things at all.

The clerk who watched the whole process was as annoyed as the others that he didn't recognize the lady, otherwise he might be able to sell some precious fabrics, and asked Wendy because of what Jean had left before: "Ma'am, these things need to help you. Back out?"

"No, there's no need to retreat." Wendy came back to her senses and walked out with those things in her arms. Qin was no longer visible on the street, but looking at the direction of the flow of people, she could roughly guess where they were.

She stood there for a while, but didn't catch up, but was holding something to go home.

"Next time I see Qin, I'll have to reciprocate properly..."

On the other hand, Qin was annoyed. They had noticed that more and more people were following behind them. Obviously, Wei Wei's identity had been exposed.

She said ashamed, "I'm sorry ma'am, I should have paid more attention just now."

If you don't respond and reply to the lady in time, Wei Wei will not be found out. After all, there are a lot of foreigners in Dingle recently, not only businessmen and even nobles from other territories. They occasionally bring their female relatives. Therefore, there are no strangers on the street who deliberately cover their faces, and they are not very conspicuous.

Wei Wei didn't blame her: "It doesn't matter, they didn't come up to disturb it, so we just don't notice it."

She was used to being watched anyway, as long as she didn't come up to disturb them.

As for safety, the bodyguards who acted as coachmen were originally guarding secretly at the door of the tailor shop. Now that they found out that the situation was not right, they had already appeared by their side, and the weapons in their hands were also lit up. Weigh it.

But in the end, she was disturbed, and because Dolores had already bought things, she was not very interested in other things, and she was not used to being watched by everyone. Before long, this impromptu shopping trip had to be planned in advance. it's over.

And Felix, who heard about it later, had the idea of ​​building a city again, and he recruited Pierre Architect.

The author has something to say: Wei Wei: Alas, I can no longer experience the happiness of shopping in the past.

Felix: It's time to start building the city, otherwise my dear will have nowhere to shop.