"Hey there, Minister Ye! What are you doing here during work hours?" April walked over and teasingly patted Nathan Ye on the shoulder.
Nathan Ye was busy at work, and the sudden interruption startled him. He turned to see it was April and immediately looked guilty. "S-Sir April... I-I just had a bit of free time, so I came over to help April next door..."
"Well, well, well." April looked at Nathan Ye's expression, then at the way he glanced at April, and instantly understood everything.
"Minister Ye, keep up the good work." April laughed heartily, not at all bothered by Nathan Ye flirting during work hours, and even winked at him mysteriously.
"Huh? Work hard? Oh, yes, I will work hard! The matters at the academy are sorted out, and the textile factory preparations are all set. You can rest assured, Sir April!" Nathan Ye replied immediately.
"Tsk, that's not what I meant." April patted Nathan Ye on the chest. "What I'm concerned about is your lifelong happiness, Minister Ye..."
"Oh? Oh!" Nathan Ye's eyes immediately lit up, and he became shy. "How—how did you know, Sir April?"
"Oh, come on, who in the Ministry of Works doesn't know that you chase after April every day? Even a blind man can see you like her." April looked at Nathan Ye helplessly.
"Ah! Everyone—everyone knows? I—I thought I was being pretty discreet." Nathan Ye was surprised and nervously scratched his head.
April looked at him and couldn't help but laugh. "April is a wonderful girl, Minister Ye. Keep at it, and I'll be waiting for your good news."
Nathan Ye chuckled, "Sir April, I’ll do my best, hehe!"
While the two were talking, April spotted Su Li approaching and lit up with surprise. She handed off her work to an assistant and hurried over, "Sir Su!"
"I came to check out your Wig Workshop," Su Li said with a smile to April.
April was thrilled. "Come on, Sir Su, let me give you a tour inside!"
"Sounds great!" Lily Evans replied with a smile.
April led Lily Evans inside, with Nathan Ye trotting along behind them.
Charleston is a sprawling city with plenty of open space, so the buildings are all quite large. The workshop itself occupies a generous area, with rows of neatly arranged houses.
Inside each building, rows of workbenches were neatly lined up, with a skilled woman seated behind each one, busily weaving wigs.
Lily Evans took in the orderly workshop and felt very satisfied.
April introduced, "Minister Evans, we currently have seventy-nine female workers in our workshop, all of them clever women from Charleston or the surrounding villages. We did a trial run, and already shipped a batch of wigs to the Kingdom of Jin—they sold really well! Now we’ve received many orders and are expanding production!"
"Excellent, truly impressive! This one wig workshop provides a livelihood for seventy-nine women, and behind them are seventy-nine families. April, your workshop has given seventy-nine families a better life, and you’ve made a profit as well—a win-win!" Lily Evans praised.
Nathan Ye nodded along enthusiastically, like a pecking chick, his face full of pride: My wife is truly amazing!
April blushed bright red and quickly waved her hands. "It’s not just my achievement! I have to thank Minister Evans for approving my initial funding, and Minister Ye for all his help. But the biggest credit goes to these women. I only designed a few wig styles, but many of them are so creative, coming up with all sorts of new hairpieces. Now we’re not just making men’s toupees, but all kinds of ready-made hairpieces, which are hugely popular among women in the Kingdom of Jin."