Farm Tough Girl
Chapter 407 - 407 408 Unrefined Person_1

Chapter 407: Chapter 408: Unrefined Person_1 Chapter 407: Chapter 408: Unrefined Person_1 Unfortunately, even those who envied them couldn’t possibly become actresses, as noble ladies still greatly valued their reputations. After all, being an actress was a rather undignified status, “detracting” from the family honor. Moreover, it was already quite improper for women to show their faces in public. Which well-off family would allow their daughters to go out and “lose face”?

But for poor families, there were naturally far fewer restraints. When they were struggling to even put food on the table, who cared about such things? Even selling their daughters to be maidservants was not out of the question, much less being chosen as female actresses—a life akin to that of young ladies from wealthy families. Wouldn’t their families then have money?

So when the news of Mei Garden recruiting female actresses was released, there was an immediate response from a crowd of people, almost blocking the entrance so that no one could get through.

This scene was unexpected not only to Zhong Yulang but also to Muniang, who had been prepared to purchase people through the Human Trafficker. She was surprised by the many who showed up voluntarily, making her task much easier.

Zhong Yulang quickly organized the servants to manage the crowd, as there were simply too many people.

“Everyone, please don’t rush. Come one by one. Our master will inspect each person and won’t miss anyone. As long as the requirements are met, our master will definitely keep them,” a servant shouted at the top of his voice.

The crowd was somewhat skeptical, “Will you really look at each person? What if you find suitable ones in advance?”

“Rest assured, our master said that he will personally look at every girl who is brought in, and those who are to his liking will be temporarily kept. A further selection will be made later. We definitely won’t miss anyone. Even those seen later by our master will be treated the same,” the servant quickly replied.

With this reassurance, the crowd calmed down, settling in to wait their turn patiently without pushing.

Muniang came down from the second floor, and a servant immediately went up to her, “Lady, everything is ready. When will you start looking? Shall I bring the people up to the room for you?”

Muniang glanced at the dense crowd and shook her head, “No need, I’ll just look from here. With so many people, it would take forever to bring them up one by one.”

The servant acknowledged and hurriedly called out to the crowd, “Line up neatly, everyone. Place your daughters in front and unrelated people to the side! Our master will come directly to select.”

The reason being that the hall was filled not only with the young ladies themselves but also with their parents and relatives, each one hoping their daughters would soar high and insisting on coming in person.

Upon hearing these words, the crowd immediately looked towards the source of the voice and fixed their gazes on Muniang, shocked to find that the master was actually a woman?!

However, Muniang was already accustomed to such astonished looks from others, not paying much attention as she directly instructed, “Irrelevant people, move aside.”

With that, the crowd snapped out of their daze and swiftly cleared out, not knowing why, but somehow the slightly chilly voice instilled a sense of awe in them.

The servant scratched his head, realizing that a single word from the Lady was more effective than him shouting for half a day.

A group of teenage girls was pushed before Muniang, and as her gaze swept over them, the difference in their beauty was too great. She wasn’t particularly focused on looks, but the audience was, and regardless of temperament and other qualities, their faces couldn’t be too poor in appearance.

Most of those who had been brought in were daughters from poor rural families, who had worked in the fields since they were young. Even if their features were decent, their complexions were dark, instantly losing any trace of ethereal charm.

Muniang paced back and forth, inspecting each one, and immediately ruled out a series of candidates with poor appearances, leaving a few women with some level of attractiveness. Among them was a girl who particularly met Muniang’s approval, of a delicate and pure type, with fair and tender skin, and a pair of clear, clean eyes devoid of any impurities. It was impressive how she managed to stand out even in a rough cloth dress. If she were to be dressed up carefully, she likely wouldn’t fall short—it just wasn’t clear if she could act.

“What’s your name?” Muniang asked gently.

The girl clearly hadn’t expected to be asked her name and was momentarily stunned. Her parents hastily said, “This is our daughter, called Chen Yuhua.”

However, Muniang directed her question to the girl, “You tell me.”

Chen Yuhua was obviously nervous, but after glancing at her parents, she still managed to bracedly say, “In response to the Lady, I am Chen Yuhua. I have two brothers at home and we are in the tofu business in the town, selling tofu over at the South Market.”

Muniang’s lips curled slightly in a smile, not bad. Although the girl was somewhat shy, she wasn’t stage-frightened. With some training, she might have a bit of potential for the drama.

“A tofu seller? No wonder you’re so well-nourished,” Muniang commented with a smile.

Chen Yuhua’s parents grinned foolishly, “Thank you for the compliment, Lady.”

Just as Muniang was about to continue selecting, a disturbance came from the door, followed by a sharp female voice that reached her ears, causing Muniang’s brows to furrow.

“Hey, don’t block the way! Can’t you see we’re in a hurry? If you delay my daughter’s fortune, can you bear the responsibility?”

There were inevitable murmurs of dissent from the crowd, but it didn’t escalate into a full commotion. Soon after, Mrs. Ji made her way in with Qiao Lianhua, still shouting, “Hurry up and look at my daughter, she’s a natural beauty. It’d be a waste to cast her as an actress. A main lead in the next play? Certainly, it should be my daughter!”

But when Mrs. Ji looked up and saw Qiao Muniang standing before her, she was taken aback, her finger trembling as she pointed at Muniang, “You, you, what are you doing here?!”

The servant, annoyed, shoved Mrs. Ji’s hand away, “How do you speak to our master? Those who came to audition, line up at the back. Can’t you see there’s already a queue forming? Stop pushing.”

He was already irritated with such uncivilized behavior, having just managed to restore order, only to have it disrupted again by this madwoman, which made him quite angry.

Qiao Lianhua cried out in shock, “Qiao Muniang is actually the owner of the Mei Garden?!”

Muniang hadn’t publicized her business ventures in the village, so everyone just knew about her estate and the Embroidery House; the rest was a mystery to them, hence Qiao Lianhua’s surprised reaction.

Muniang’s face had chilled, “Those who want to audition, line up at the back! Those causing trouble will be thrown out directly! Don’t waste everyone’s time!”

Qiao Lianhua felt a surge of hatred inside her chest. She used to take pride in her accomplishments before Qiao Muniang. Now, living through hellish days, she had finally seen a chance to rise, only to find her fate still in Qiao Muniang’s hands! Her face turned dark instantly.

Mrs. Ji, however, recovered quickly. Although she was just as disgusted as Qiao Lianhua, she wouldn’t outright say so, after all, the most important thing for her at that moment was to secure a good life for her family.