At eight in the morning, Du Min, along with Liu shi, Yang shi, Bai Jing, and Lu Hao, arrived at the workshop's conference room.
The name "conference room" was specially chosen by Bai Sheng. She had invited Master Ji, known for his excellent calligraphy, to write "Conference Room" on a plaque and hang it above the door.
Inside the conference room, a large square wooden table was set up. Fruits, pastries, and tea were arranged on the table for the attendees.
Bai Sheng was already seated inside, with a stack of documents in front of her. Lu Yin stood behind her.
Seeing that everyone was seated, Bai Sheng began, "Good morning, everyone! From today onwards, you will be the main负责人 of our Red Powder Beauties workshop.
Our Red Powder Beauties will primarily focus on producing skincare products, cosmetics, and sanitary napkins.
Currently, our skincare products mainly include masks and moisturizers. Cosmetics will include lipstick and blush. We will develop other products later. I will personally demonstrate the specifics of each product to you all in the coming days.
Additionally, sanitary napkins might be unfamiliar to some of you, but they are essentially what women use during their monthly cycles.
As women ourselves, we all know that those few days each month are difficult for us. Currently, the menstrual cloths used by most women in Great Xia are not up to the standards of cleanliness and non-toxicity." (Bai Sheng wanted to say "sterility" but it was too advanced, so she settled for "non-toxicity.")
"If menstrual cloths are not up to standard, it directly affects a woman's health and fertility. Our Red Powder Beauties sanitary napkins will completely change this situation."
Bai Sheng's words made the women's eyes light up, and everyone was filled with anticipation about the sanitary napkins.
Du Min asked excitedly, "Young Mistress, what are these sanitary napkins like?"
Bai Sheng smiled and replied, "Sister Du, it's difficult to explain in words. In a few days, I will have everyone make them together and demonstrate them."
"Okay, great!" Du Min nodded.
Bai Sheng continued, "I have meticulously recorded the names and functions of all products, raw materials, equipment, production methods, packaging requirements, inventory management, expenses, income, and other aspects in these ledgers.
Each of you will receive a copy. Please take them back, study them carefully, and familiarize yourselves with them as quickly as possible. As supervisors, you must be thoroughly familiar with all matters pertaining to your respective departments."
Lu Yin immediately picked up the thick stack of ledgers and distributed one to each of the five women.
Lu Hao's hands trembled as she held the ledger, tears welling up. She could only recognize a few characters, and she didn't know how she would ever read such a thick book.
Her sister-in-law trusted her so much and gave her such a good opportunity, but she felt incapable of fulfilling it. Would her sister-in-law be disappointed?
She never had the chance to learn to read and write when she was young. The few characters she knew were learned secretly from her second aunt, Lu Ye's mother.
"Sis... Sister-in-law, I... I can't read very well. I..." Lu Hao's tears began to fall.
Bai Sheng reached out and held her hand, comforting her gently, "Sister Hao Hao, it's alright that you can't read now. Please don't worry. There's a school on the small street behind our house that offers evening classes, and you can attend for free."
Hearing that she could learn to read for free, Lu Hao was so excited she almost knelt down. Learning to read had been her greatest desire since childhood.
Her mother had beaten her many times for secretly learning from her second aunt.
Her mother considered her second aunt a slave, a vixen, a slut, and an inauspicious person. She forbade Lu Hao from interacting with her second aunt's family, yet Lu Hao loved her second aunt the most, even more than her own mother.
Her second aunt was beautiful and gentle, never hit or scolded her children, and did not favor boys over girls. She treated Lu Hao as her own, filling the void of maternal affection Lu Hao craved.
As for her own mother, not only did she beat her, but she also called her a "money-losing item" and asked what the use of learning was, as she would eventually marry into another family anyway.
Now, she could actually learn to read and write, even if it was at the age of twenty. She was confident that if she worked hard, she would learn quickly.
Seeing Lu Hao's delighted expression, Bai Sheng felt very happy. "Sister Hao Hao, you can also learn from the other sisters during the day. As long as you want to learn, you'll be able to recognize many characters soon. I'll get you a set of brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone. Practice diligently every day, and I believe that before long, our Sister Hao Hao will become a Sister Hao Hao full of knowledge, capable of writing and composing."
Lu Hao let out a snort, tears turning into a smile. The others also laughed heartily.
"Sister-in-law, I wouldn't dare to dream of being full of knowledge. I only hope to recognize and write a few characters so I can do the tasks you've assigned me well."
Bai Sheng patted her hand reassuringly. "Sister Hao Hao, I believe in you! As for this ledger, you can study it slowly. If you don't understand anything, you can ask the other sisters. Also, I'll send Man Man to school tomorrow. I'll speak to the teacher. All the children in Red Tree Village, regardless of gender, must attend school."
"Is... is that really possible?" Lu Hao asked, astonished. At this moment, she felt that escaping with her daughter had been the right decision! Fortunately, she had been brave once in her life, and that single act had changed both her and her daughter's destinies.
"Of course, it's true," Bai Sheng nodded with a smile.
Lu Hao immediately knelt down before Bai Sheng. "Thank you, sister-in-law. You are truly a great benefactor to my daughter and me! I... I, Lu Hao, will serve you like an ox or a horse for life!"
Bai Sheng quickly helped her up. "Sister Hao Hao, please don't kneel anymore, and don't say things like serving like an ox or a horse. We are good sisters and should help each other. My husband often mentions you and how you took good care of him when he was young. It's time for us to repay you. In the future, as long as you work hard, you will become more and more excellent, and Man Man will be proud of you."
Lu Hao nodded tearfully, "Yes, yes, I will work hard."
Du Min and Bai Jing comforted her together, "Sister Hao, don't worry. If you can't understand this ledger, we'll read it to you, and we'll teach you to recognize characters together."
Liu shi said proudly, "Sister Hao, just a year ago, I was a complete illiterate, unable to recognize a single character, not even as well as you can now, as you can at least write your own name. But a year later, I can read this ledger fluently. For the past year, I've spent all my time, except for eating and sleeping, recognizing characters. I memorize them while working and recite them while walking. So, as long as you are willing to work hard, there are no characters you cannot learn!"
Yang shi also patted her shoulder encouragingly, "Sister Hao, you are clearly an intelligent person. Don't worry, you can do it."
Lu Hao wiped her tears with her sleeve. "Thank you, sisters, for your support. I, Lu Hao, will do my utmost to learn to read as quickly as possible and do the tasks my sister-in-law has assigned to the best of my ability."
Bai Sheng smiled and said, "Then let's continue the meeting."
"Yes, yes, let's continue the meeting!" Everyone quickly returned to their seats, adopting serious expressions as if ready to learn.
Lu Yin distributed the fruits to everyone and poured each person a cup of tea.