Chapter 172 Comfort

When he returned home in the evening, dinner had already been prepared. As soon as he arrived, a gatekeeper came to greet him, led his horse to the stable, and took him there.

As soon as he entered the inner courtyard, maids surrounded him and bowed to him.

That's why people say the treatment here at the King of Chu's residence is so good. Apart from their salaries, the monthly allowances for these maids and servants all come from the King of Chu's residence.

It was as if the King of Chu had sent these people to serve her family. These maids and servants were all very well-behaved. There were five maids, three servants, and a cook in total, who were responsible for daily cleaning, taking care of the children, and cooking.

That was enough for her. She handed these people over to Lin's mother, who assigned one maid to each of the two young girls, and the remaining three were responsible for serving tea and water and cleaning.

As for the three servants, one guarded the gate, one ran errands for Lin Changning, and the other followed Lin's second son. Their residence wasn't very big, and the cook was quite good at cooking. Since they were farmers, they didn't have many complicated rules.

When this group of people first arrived, they were a little apprehensive, worried that their new hosts might be difficult to talk to. But once they arrived, they breathed a sigh of relief.

The Lin family members were all kind. When they were cleaning, the two older sisters-in-law would lend a hand and help them with the work. What master of the house would do that? They were terrified at the time, thinking that they had done something wrong.

He knelt down on the ground, startling his two sisters-in-law who hurriedly helped him up. The Lin family were all kind-hearted people, and the current head of the Lin family was serving as a military officer under the Chu Prince's mansion. Moreover, he was highly regarded by the Chu Prince and the Second Young Master Qi, and his future was promising.

Moreover, this young Commander Lin was not old and was good-looking. He was also gentle with the maids, and their lives were actually more comfortable than when they were in the Chu Prince's mansion.

After only five or six days, the young maids were already quite happy and didn't want to leave.

The family was having dinner that evening. Lin Changning was eating the dishes prepared by the cook very quickly, holding a large bowl. Although Lin's mother and two sisters-in-law knew that Changning had a big appetite now, they were still a little worried when they saw that the large bowl was already half empty.

"Little Six, is it really okay for you to eat like this?"

Lin Changning put down her bowl and looked at her mother, who had a complicated expression, with a grain of rice still stuck to the corner of her mouth: "Huh? What could be wrong with eating?"

Lin's mother reached out and wiped the rice grains from the corner of Lin Changning's mouth: "Aren't you sure you won't get a stomachache from eating so much?"

Lin Changning suddenly realized that he had exerted a little force in the fight at the training ground today, which had increased his appetite and frightened his mother.

Lin Changning shook her head, smiling at the worried looks on her brothers' and sisters-in-law's faces at the table: "I'm fine. I ate about the same things in the army as I do now. These two were leading the training and got a little tired, so they got hungry quickly. It's alright, don't worry, the food won't make you sick."

Lin's mother breathed a sigh of relief: "Your appetite is truly astonishing. As long as you feel alright, that's fine."

Lin Changning picked up the large bowl and added another bite of food to his plate: "It won't make me sick, but I'm really hungry."

After saying that, he started shoveling rice into his mouth again.

Seeing that Lin Changning had finished eating, Lin's mother also put down her chopsticks and called over a maid to bring a stack of visiting cards: "Xiao Liu, take a look at these. These are visiting cards from various prominent families and wealthy merchants in Taiyuan over the past two days. I don't know much about them, so you can make a decision."

Lin Changning quickly realized that these people had come to pledge their loyalty. Since the Prince's residence refused to see them, and they had sent their sons to the Right Guard of the Prince of Chu, they were thinking of using him, a newcomer, to further build their relationship.

To secure a future for their sons.

After thinking it through, Lin Changning took the stack of visiting cards and selected the Wang family, the Zhao family, and about three or four families whose sons were currently performing well in the army, and handed them to his mother.

"You can reply to these families. If they come to visit, treat them politely. If they ask about military matters, just say you don't know. If they still have questions, just say you'll ask me when I have my next day off."

A hint of hesitation flashed across Lin's mother's face. How could she, a farmer for decades, understand these things?

Feeling a pang of reluctance, Lin Changning noticed his mother's lack of confidence and turned to his two sisters-in-law: "Sisters-in-law, please accompany Mother when the guests arrive and help out."

The two sisters-in-law waved their hands hastily, a hint of surprise flashing across their faces.

Wang said with difficulty, "No, no, how would my sister-in-law know anything about interpersonal relationships?"

Niu Shi chimed in, "That's right, Xiao Liu. Our sisters-in-law are all peasant women; we can't pull off that kind of thing the gentry do."

Lin Changning straightened his expression and began to explain to his family, "Don't worry, these people are here to fight for their sons' future. Moreover, most of my associates know about this, so they certainly won't make things difficult for you in public. Besides, their sons are all under my command, so sister-in-law, you can rest assured."

The three men's hesitation eased slightly, though they still lacked confidence.

Lin Changning continued, "And there's another matter. Now that I've entered officialdom, I can slowly start planning the marriages of my two little girls. We need to prepare their dowries and such. Before, we were farmers, so these things weren't a big deal. But now that our social standing has changed, we can't do things the same way. It would be good for my two sisters-in-law to make contact with the prominent families in Taiyuan."

When Lin Changning mentioned his daughter, the two women's expressions became serious, but they really didn't understand the etiquette of the official family.

Lin Changning pointed to the maid standing next to her: "Mother and sister-in-law, the maids in our mansion all come from the Chu Prince's mansion. Their rules are extremely strict. If you don't understand something, you can ask them."

Lin Changning was relieved after the three people responded.

After finishing his meal, Lin Changning returned to the courtyard to prepare for practicing some boxing. Two little maids emerged from the side room.

Seeing Lin Changning, his eyes lit up, and he ran over, staring with his two big, round eyes and looking up: "Uncle, Uncle."

Lin Changning's heart softened when he saw the two little girls: "What's wrong? Did you enjoy the little wooden horse I brought for Er Ya and San Ya yesterday?"

The two little girls hugged Lin Changning's legs and nodded their heads like chicks pecking at rice: "It's fun, thank you, Uncle."

Now that they have enough to eat and things are better at home, the two little girls have grown taller and their skin has become fair and tender. With their round little faces and round eyes, their big eyes look at Lin Changning with a look of deep affection, which is so cute that Lin Changning is completely smitten.

It's no wonder the Lin family has such good genes. Almost everyone in the family is good-looking. Second Brother Lin is handsome and talented, Zhiyuan is refined and dashing, and the two little girls have grown into lovely and beautiful girls. As for Lin Changning, she considers herself to be the best-looking one in the family.