Chapter 4: Not fuel efficient
Su Qing, who was tired all day, slept very well at night, and for the first time in her life, she did not have any dreams. When she opened her eyes again and looked at the gray roof, Su Qing wondered superstitiously, was it because the original owner gave her all her memories, so she left without worry? From today on, I have truly become her, right?
Various voices came from all around me. Some people yawned and complained about getting up so early. Some people couldn't find their clothes and blamed others for putting them under them. Some people muttered and dragged their shoes while walking back and forth...
"Who's turn is to empty the night bucket today? Be quick." The girl sleeping at the door was the one who asked me to do the work yesterday. Her name seemed to be Ruchun. She was buttoning a dark green cloth dress.
After she asked, there was a moment of silence in the room and no one responded. Cai'er winked at Su Qing, and Su Qing understood and raised his hands resignedly.
The squad leader, Wanxiang, neatly tied her hair into two buns while saying, "Hurry up, while we were talking, the Madam and the Fourth Miss are here, everyone should be alert. Don't blame me for not reminding you, if you perform well, you will naturally be able to follow the Madam to serve in the East Palace, and if you don't perform well, you may not even be able to stay in our West Palace."
Su Qing felt that Wanxiang's words were full of meaning. He watched her bend down to put on her shoes, then brush off her clothes, turned around and said to Su Qing: "You don't have to come back to the yard after you empty the night bucket. After breakfast, go directly to the garden at the back and continue to weed. Then flush the corridor leading to the garden with water." After saying that, he swung the door curtain and walked out without waiting for Su Qing to reply.
Well, I was assigned to do some of the most boring and time-consuming chores.
Su Qing always felt that Wan Xiang had a natural hostility towards her. Ever since she was bought in, she would always find a reason to make herself empty the night bucket for a few more days than she was supposed to empty once a day.
Seeing Wanxiang walk out, the others quickened their pace. Everyone knew that these few people who were not waiting were all temporary additions to the West House by the owner's family. Some of them had children born at home, and some were bought from outside.
Needless to say, the children born in the house all lived together with relatives and friends. The ones bought from outside were also divided into different levels, like Cai'er, who got along well with the others in the house because she was diligent and sweet-talking. On the contrary, I didn't know if it was because I was sick and didn't work for several days, but I was inexplicably isolated by these little girls who were good at forming cliques.
Su Qing actually didn't care. Although she was only 14 years old this year, if you count her age before she came here, she was already 38 years old. Who would have the patience to make a group of little girls happy?
Su Qing dressed quickly, took out a mask made from a sweat towel from under the pillow, covered her mouth and nose, and walked out through the door, picked up the night bucket, and opened the door, looking at the sky in the east that had just turned red, and took a deep breath.
Well, it looks like it will be another sunny day. Su Qing felt speechless when he thought about having to pull weeds or flush the fields under such a hot sun for a whole day.
She really couldn't understand why they bought a maid just to polish the leaves until they were shiny. Wasn't this a waste of human resources?
From the room at the back that wasn't locked tightly, several people were talking:
"She has so many things to do, even emptying the night bucket is so particular."
"Yes, I noticed that the bellyband she wore was different from ours. Here..."
"Oh, I didn't see it. What does it look like? How do you wear it?"
Then there was a burst of laughter. Su Qing smiled self-deprecatingly, carried the night bucket and went to the backyard garden along the passage in the corner.
Although it was not yet daybreak, several maids doing chores in the garden were busy. Su Qing emptied the night bucket, washed the bucket with water from a well in the garden, and tidied herself up.
When I was walking back, I met a woman wearing a dark blue silk top and a khaki linen skirt. She looked to be in her thirties, with a round face and her hair was all gathered behind her head. She didn't apply any hair oil, so it looked a little frizzy. She wore a pair of small silver earrings on her ears. She was holding a large flower pot in her hands, which seemed a bit heavy. With her thin body, it seemed a bit difficult to hold.
Su Qing put the night bucket aside and walked over in small steps. He stretched out his hand and said, "What are you doing, Mama Liu? Why don't you ask someone to carry such a heavy flower pot?"
This Madam Liu is the other housekeeper of the inner courtyard of the West House. Madam Yu is in charge of personnel transfers and daily arrangements, while Madam Liu is in charge of fields, fish ponds, etc. Both of them have people in the East House, so they can get such an assignment.
Su Qing knew from her limited information that this Mama Liu was easier to talk to than Mama Yu and was a gentle person. Although Mama Yu was the matron in charge of the inner courtyard of the West Mansion, Mama Liu was not afraid of her at all. It was as if one of Mama Liu's nieces was a first-class maid serving the Crown Prince's wife, and was very respectable.
Mother Liu did not transfer the weight of the flower pot to Su Qing, but moved it aside, and the two of them carried it together. She wiped the sweat from her head with one hand and said, "This is for the fourth young lady's room. Our fourth young lady likes these flowers and plants. She doesn't want those grown in the garden, but prefers those grown in the wild. My youngest son moved this golden lotus from the mountain. It looks so golden and festive, and I thought the fourth young lady would definitely like it."
Su Qing looked at the golden flowers in the pink and white flowerpot, with the green and tender leaves, and the dewdrops on them that had not yet dispersed from the morning, and was sure that they were very beautiful. It turned out that this was the golden lotus.
The reason why she knew about the golden lotus was because of a classmate of hers in college. The hometown of that classmate was full of mountains of this flower. When it bloomed in the summer, it looked like a golden mountain shining in the sun from a distance.
There is only one thing, some people are allergic to this flower, especially in this season, if they smell it too much or get exposed to pollen, they will cough, sneeze, and have a runny nose, just like having a cold. That classmate said that she had a cousin who was allergic to this flower, and the whole family had to move away from that county.
Su Qing looked at the flower for a long time without saying anything. Seeing Mother Liu's happy face, she thought about what her classmates said about few people being allergic to this flower. She thought it shouldn't be that serious. There was no need for her to remind her of something she hadn't done correctly. It would be bad if Mother Liu misunderstood her.
At the same time, I was sighing in my heart: Why can others who travel through time be a lady? Even if they are not legitimate, they can be illegitimate. At least they don’t have to work every day and be looked down upon by others. But I was reborn as a 14-year-old girl. I can only act stupid and obedient, for fear that I will be exposed and treated as a monster. Oh, God, what is your intention in bringing me here, ah, ah...
Here, Mother Liu watched Su Qing staring at the flower for a long time without saying anything. She looked up at Su Qing, who was wearing a blue-gray coarse cloth shirt and linen trousers. Her two braids were tied into two buns and tied with two light blue silk ribbons. She had a pointed chin, a small mouth that was obviously bloodless, and a pair of big eyes that were particularly eye-catching. The two dimples at the corners of her mouth made her even more lovable when she smiled. If she was well taken care of, she would be a little beauty in the future.
As for the girls bought by Yu's mother, Liu's mother pretended not to see them. The two of them were responsible for a task each and just took care of their own business. There was no need to stretch their hands too much and cause trouble for others.
Mama Liu knew how much money Mama Yu had earned through dishonorable means in this house. It was all tacitly known. It was just that because the Marquis's wife was coming this time, she bought two more maids. She also knew that because the lady was coming to stay for a while, Mama Yu's house was always crowded with people. Take the girl named Wanxiang for example, it was obvious what she was up to. And Ruchun's mother had never been empty-handed when she went to Mama Yu's house recently.
But these have nothing to do with me, and my family doesn't have any girls of the right age to be sent to the East Palace. Those who came to me for help only said that I was not responsible for the allocation of maids and sent them all to Yu Mama. When the madam leaves, who can follow her to the East Palace depends on personal luck.