Chapter 36: Getting to Work
A quarter of an hour later, all the maids and servants in the Fourth Young Lady's courtyard gathered under the corridor of the main house, standing in two rows in front and back.
Meng Qi followed Jiaohong and Yuanyue out of the room. Looking at the two rows of people standing below, she said to Mother Liu, "Remember to distribute the things to them." As she spoke, she walked towards the gate of the courtyard without stopping.
Mother Liu stood on the steps and watched Meng Qi leave the courtyard. She cleared her throat and said, "There are two things I have to tell you about when I called everyone here today. One is that there are some personnel changes in Qin Garden this time, and the other is that since there are new people coming in, the division of labor in this courtyard naturally needs to be re-determined."
Everyone standing below held their breath and listened to Mother Liu's personnel arrangements and transfers.
Jiaolian was promoted to the first class, and she and Jiaohong took up two first class places. Jiaolian's original second class position was taken by Yuanyue. The next class was the third class, and Baocheng's family was responsible for arranging daily chores for Suqing and Ruchun.
Back in the back room, Bao Chengjia smiled and said, "I'll talk about the work first, and then we'll have dinner. After dinner, we'll go home. There's only three of you tonight. Normally, we don't have anything to do here, unless the girls in the courtyard have special arrangements. No matter who it is, as long as the maid next to the fourth girl arranges us to do the work, we have to do it as soon as possible, understand?"
Su Qing thought about the group of first-, second-, and third-class people around the fourth young lady. Well, before they even started working, they had a bunch of superiors to manage them.
"Qing'er has to tell stories to the fourth young lady. Although she tells stories every morning, the fourth young lady's schedule is sometimes not fixed. In this case, Qing'er will be responsible for the work in the back garden of our Qin Garden. You can weed, water, and clean up when you are not telling stories to the fourth young lady. Just finish it within the required time."
Su Qing nodded. This is a good idea. The workload is there and you can work from home or in the office. Your boss only looks at the results.
Moreover, after a few hours of contact, I feel that Bao Chengjia is quite kind and should be someone who is easy to get along with.
"Chuan'er can just continue with his original job, and Ruchun will be responsible for sweeping the front yard and delivering messages. Of course, each of us has different jobs, so whoever is busy will have a hand out by the others. Except for you girls, the rest of the people in the back room are all old women like us, and we don't have any particular requirements. In the future, you should run around more when you are out in the open, so that we can save our energy." Bao Chengjia's words made the other servants laugh.
When Ruchun heard that she was asked to pass on a message, her eyes lit up, "Don't worry, Auntie, I'm the best at this job. If you need me to run errands or pass on a message in the future, just tell me, and I'll make it clear."
Su Qing despised them in his heart, thinking that they just wanted to do the jobs that would make them look good. As for Wanxiang and Ruchun, Su Qing now had a clear understanding of them: one was insidious, the other was blatantly treacherous, and neither of them was a good person.
That was why she made it clear and mercilessly in the afternoon. She did not want to have too much entanglement with these two people. In the future, everyone should decide based on their own abilities. There was no need for her to be used as a scapegoat or a cannon by them, especially Wanxiang.
At night, the maids all went home, except for the two gatekeepers, and they didn't live here. So, there were only Su Qing, Ruchun and Chuan'er in the big house. Su Qing and Ruchun didn't say a word, and Chuan'er wasn't a talkative person either, so he went in and out quietly.
Watching Su Qing pouring hot water and sitting in the yard to soak her feet, Ruchun nudged her with her elbow and said, "See? The one who used to work with her in the kitchen, Shuiqin, said that she was a strange person. She would wash her feet with boiling water on a hot day, and she wasn't afraid of getting bald skin."
Chuan'er looked at Su Qing who was quietly soaking her feet in the yard, and said softly, "I have heard from others that the hotter the weather, the more you should soak your feet, because it is good for your health." After saying that, he stood up and walked out, "Qing'er, is there any hot water left? I want to soak my feet too."
Ruchun looked at the two people talking and curled her lips in disdain. Originally, she came to the East Palace to settle down in the big kitchen first. But her aunt changed her mind because she heard that the prince's wife only promoted Jiaolian to the first rank and Yuandong to the second rank, so there were only Yuanyue and Wanxiang in the third rank. If that was the case, it would be better to bring her in first as a maid, and then work hard to the third rank. Wouldn't it be more convenient than coming in from the outer courtyard?
Fortunately, it was not difficult to work as a maid in the Fourth Young Lady's courtyard. Her aunt asked Madam Liu for help. Ruchun naturally saved up a share of the money. She felt uncomfortable thinking about Wanxiang's inexplicable condescension towards her. In the West House, she was the foreman of the little maids because she was related to Madam Yu. But it was different here. Although she had a cousin who was the concubine of the prince, she also had an aunt who worked in the lady's kitchen. So, it was not certain who would have a better life in the future.
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It was still dark when I heard the sound of someone sweeping the yard and someone got up from the bed next to me.
Su Qing stretched and sat up, and saw Chuan'er open the curtain and go out. In the bed next to her, Ruchun was still sleeping soundly.
Su Qing picked up the clothes and put them on slowly. The servants in Huainan Marquis's mansion had strict regulations on clothing. Different ranks had different clothes. Only the wet nurses and first-class maids could be different from others. Because she had just arrived, the sewing room could not make clothes right away, so the clothes she was wearing were Chuan'er's old clothes.
Su Qing put on her clothes. Chuan'er was taller than her, so she had to roll up her pants and sleeves. After tying up her hair and making her bed, she went to wash up. She met Wanxiang walking into the yard. When she saw Su Qing, she greeted her in a very affectionate manner, unlike the serious words she said yesterday.
Su Qing also smiled and replied, "Okay." She had thought a lot yesterday, and there was no need to show her thoughts on her face. The reason why she didn't give them face yesterday was to let them know that she was not easy to bully, and not to talk about her for no reason, otherwise they would make her the first to speak out.
If a kid in ancient times could act so pretentiously, how could a modern young person with a high level of education be called petty? Would she be the cause of gossip?
Su Qing's attitude made Wanxiang stunned, then she smiled and said, "Ruchun hasn't woken up yet?"
Su Qing went to the washroom and said, "I don't know, go and see for yourself."
"I'm not looking for her. Sister Yuandong asked me to come look for you. The Fourth Miss is going to the courtyard of the Shizi Madam to have breakfast. I asked you to go directly to the Shizi Madam after breakfast. Young Master Lang will be there by then."
"Okay, I understand, thank you."
Wanxiang said that on purpose yesterday. She just wanted to find out Su Qing's true strength. If she could use him, she would make good use of him. But it seems that he is not someone to be trifled with. It shows that what her mother said was right. He is a traitor.
In this case, it would be better for now to keep out of each other's way. Judging from her expression, she would not have such an idea. Anyway, she had no interest in pleasing the Fourth Young Lady. But she would strive to move up. Once she was promoted to the second rank, she would have the opportunity to accompany the Fourth Young Lady out of the courtyard, and then she would have more chances to meet the Eldest Young Master.
In fact, after causing the eldest young master to stop and look at her last time, she "accidentally met" him once on the road when he was going to pick up his wife. Because the eldest young mistress and the third young master were both around at that time, she didn't dare to look up and felt very annoyed.
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Brother Lang was lying on the couch by the window in Wang's living room, stretching his neck to look out the window. Brother Yue was also standing on tiptoe to look out with his brother.
"It's no use for you to just look at it. You have to tell me first." Meng Qi said while drinking milk in small sips.
"I listened to the story of Monkey King with my fourth aunt."
"You can listen, but don't ask nonsense questions and don't disturb Qing'er." Meng Qi took a sip and pushed it out, "It's too hard to drink. I won't drink it."
Madam Liu held the bowl and said with a smile, "This is the most nutritious. The Crown Prince's wife just said that you have lost weight since going to the West House, and she asked the old servant to tell you to drink it all."
"I said I don't want to drink, so you let Brother Lang drink."
Lang Ge's nurse was unhappy when she heard this. Thinking of the eldest young lady's instructions, she said, "Thank you for the reward from the fourth young lady, but our young master Lang has not dared to drink anything made with milk these days."
"I don't want to drink anymore. Why hasn't Qing'er come yet? Have you told her to come here?" Meng Qi turned around and asked Mother Liu.
"Yes, the old servant said that maybe Qing'er is not familiar with the Shanzhi Hall because it is her first time here. Don't worry, Fourth Miss. Come, take another sip. Just one sip will do."
"Oh, I don't want to drink." Meng Qi pushed Mother Liu impatiently.
"The Crown Prince's wife has said that if you don't drink well, then..."
"How annoying! It's just a story, but you keep bringing this up. If you keep doing this, I won't listen anymore. Let's see what else you have to say."
Mother Liu had no choice but to hold the bowl. The Crown Prince's wife went to the Madam's place early in the morning and said that the Third Master had something to say to everyone, so the younger generations could skip the greetings today.
"Here she comes, here she comes, Qing'er is here." Brother Lang said happily, and Brother Yue also clapped and laughed.
"You little fool, why can't you speak?" Sister Qi sat behind the two brothers and tapped the back of Brother Yue's head with her hand. Brother Yue was not angry, but turned around and smiled at Meng Qi.
Su Qing finished telling Meng Qi's story with a dry mouth. Looking at Young Master Lang's expectant eyes, Su Qing felt a headache. She had spent a lot of effort to think of those little stories. They were short in nature, and it was okay to deal with them for a few days in the West House. If every day was like Meng Qi this time, she really had to think of a long-term solution, or think of a TV series?
After listening to her story, Meng Qi waved her hand and said, "Just tell it to Brother Lang here." Then she stood up and walked out.