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"We rural folks most dread having other men look at us. You say if they knew, wouldn’t they call me frivolous? No, I still want to get married in the future, I don’t want to be cursed, I don’t want to end up unmarried!"

Watching the group of flustered young girls in front of her, Lin Yuan was suddenly full of frustration, as she hadn’t anticipated the discrimination against women in this era.

Clearing her throat and waiting for the bickering to stop, Lin Yuan then said loudly, "This is what I want to say, don’t compare our restaurant’s operating methods with those of a brothel.

We are a restaurant, and an extraordinary one at that.

If you think being here will shame you and get you slandered, and you want to leave, that’s fine.

I won’t force you, and I’ll even pay you for this month and a half.

But if you ever want to come back in the future, I’m sorry, I won’t keep you.

I can put it this way, there is only one opportunity here, either you stay or you never return. "

Biting her lip, several women started to struggle internally. It couldn’t be denied, the wages at Dong Tian were higher than at any other restaurant throughout the Capital city, but was it really worth getting slandered for triple the wages?

"Boss, I, I’m sorry, I still need to go back and get married. I can’t, I can’t stay here. Please understand," said a woman averting her gaze, who walked out apparently very torn, wanting to stay yet not wanting to be slandered.

Lin Yuan pursed her lips and nodded, "Shui Xian, go and settle her wages."

Shui Xian replied affirmatively and took the woman to the backyard to find Xia Zheng, as Shopkeeper Liu was still resting at home, so she could only settle accounts with Xia Zheng.

After sending one person away, Lin Yuan turned her head back to look at the remaining nine women and asked, "Anyone else?"

Among the remaining nine women, some were resolute not to leave, while others hesitated, and after a long wait, no one spoke.

"If you don’t leave now, once the agreement is signed, you won’t be able to leave whenever you wish. You had better think carefully."

As Lin Yuan finished speaking, one woman firmly said, "Boss, I’ve made up my mind, I’m not leaving.

Is it such a big deal if those men look at us?

Could it be that I should just stay at home all day in the village to avoid being seen by others?

Besides, who is the boss of Dong Tian? Miss Lin, isn’t she the favorite of the Second Young Master Xia, with the support of the General’s Mansion and the Third Prince backing us up?

Even if someone really wants to harm us, they would have to think twice about their capabilities! "

"That’s right!" another woman added, "Hasn’t the boss already hired guards for us? The boss is considering our welfare, I won’t leave either. Even if I went somewhere else, wouldn’t I still have to be seen by others? So what if they look? Is it a crime to be beautiful?"

Yin Xing laughed out loud, for the woman had spoken a plain truth, though she herself was quite pretty.

"To tell you the truth, you’re all worrying over nothing.

Being slandered, being ridiculed, just wait.

Once you go back and tell the villagers that we worked at the restaurant opened by the Second Young Master of the General’s Mansion, instead of being rebuked, they will surely be envious to death! "

"Exactly! That Xiao Nini who just left is simply a fool! I’m definitely not leaving!"

"Neither am I, even if they don’t pay me triple the wages, I won’t leave. I’ve heard about all the varieties of dishes we have here, many of which I’ve never even heard of before!"

There was a buzz of discussions. The young girl who had initially decided to leave had settled her wages and was about to say goodbye to Lin Yuan and leave when she overheard everyone’s conversation.

Her face turned red in a flash, thinking how she had only been concerned about being ridiculed earlier without considering that Dong Tian was run by the son of the General’s Mansion and that the new boss was Miss Lin, rumored to be the foster sister of the Third Prince!

To leave or not to leave?

The girl hesitated, but before she could change her mind, Lin Yuan had already started speaking about other matters, not giving her a chance to speak.

Everyone understood Lin Yuan’s intention and couldn’t help but feel both sympathy and regret for the young girl. But whether it was sympathy or regret, what became even clearer to them was that Lin Yuan, although kind, was also a principled person who would definitely act according to her words.

The group exchanged glances and became more resolved to stay at Dong Tian.