Chapter 269 I Don't Need Anyone to Serve Me

Lin Yu'er's heart skipped a beat.

In her opinion, her aunt already had a granddaughter, so she must be getting old.

But my aunt didn't seem to like hearing that.

She immediately changed her tune, saying, "What I mean is, my aunt is now a ninth-rank lady, a title bestowed by the Emperor himself. Who else in the surrounding area has such an honor? My aunt is a court lady with an official rank, how can she not even have a servant to serve her? Even the Wang family in the county has over a hundred servants. My aunt's status is much higher than the Wang family's, how can she not have anyone to serve her?"

Cheng Wanwan smiled enigmatically: "Yu'er, what exactly are you trying to say?"

Lin Yu'er pursed her lips.

She worked at the workshop this afternoon, first filtering wood ash to remove stones, mud, and charcoal. The process wasn't tiring, but it was extremely dirty, leaving her covered in dust and grime.

She boldly asked San Niu to change her job to casting, which involved pouring a soft soap solution into a mold. This process required great care; too much or too little would not work. There was also someone specifically assigned to inspect the work and watch her from beginning to end.

After thinking it over, she still felt that it was better to serve her aunt.

Following her aunt around, her status would definitely be higher, and her daily food and clothing would naturally be better. For example, Chunhua's clothes were so beautiful that she wanted to have a set of them too.

She lowered her head and said, "I want to serve my aunt and be her maid."

Cheng Wanwan sat down in the chair: "So you want to be a maid. I have some connections with Master Wang. I can put in a good word for you and get you a job serving people in the Wang family mansion."

"I don't want to go to the Wang family, I just want to serve my aunt!" Lin Yu'er said firmly. "Please give me a chance, Aunt."

Cheng Wanwan shook her head.

She's a modern person; she doesn't need maids to serve her at all.

The people who work in her house are her employees; they have an employer-employee relationship with her, and everyone is equal in status.

Once these people become maids and servants, then a master-servant relationship is formed, and she, as a modern person, does not like class conflict.

The lively atmosphere of the village, with its constant comings and goings and no significant differences in social status, gave her a sense of belonging.

She said calmly, "I don't need maids here. If you don't like the work in the soap workshop, I'll have your cousin Dashan send you back."

Her tone was calm, yet carried an undeniable air of authority.

Lin Yu'er bit her lower lip; she realized that she had absolutely no chance.

She lowered her head and said, "I also like the work in the soap workshop, but I feel that my aunt needs more help. Since my aunt doesn't need anyone to take care of her, I'll continue working."

She turned and went back into the workshop.

Cheng Wanwan frowned. It seemed she had to give Old Madam Zhao a heads-up beforehand; this Lin Yu'er needed to be sent away.

She got up to go to the backyard to feed the chickens and ducks.

After Cao Yingying returned, these tasks were basically left to her without anyone specifically assigned to them.

She went to the backyard, where the lambs and piglets were growing very fast, and the first mother rabbit was unsurprisingly pregnant, while the chickens, ducks, and geese had already grown into adulthood.

The most formidable were those five geese. Each one strutted around the backyard with its neck outstretched, acting incredibly arrogant.

"Cluck cluck!"

A hen suddenly crowed and then squatted down in the henhouse.

Cheng Wanwan's eyes lit up. The first batch of chickens at home had been there for more than three months, and it was indeed time for them to lay eggs.

The ducks are about the same size, so they should have duck eggs too.

Hens lay eggs during the day, while ducks lay eggs in the early morning. Moreover, ducks are more diligent than chickens, and may have already laid some eggs.

Cheng Wanwan opened the duck shed and let the ducks go out for some fresh air. Then she searched inside the shed and actually found five duck eggs.

You can save up duck eggs to make salted duck eggs; the taste is something I really miss.

“Auntie, I’ll do these things!” Chunhua hurried over. “The duck shed is dirty and smelly, Auntie, be careful not to get your clothes dirty.”

Cheng Wanwan smiled and said, "You're always so busy, how can I leave everything to you? Besides, after the restaurant opens, you'll have to go to the city to help Hui Niang cook, and I'll have to do all the housework from now on."

Chunhua was stunned: "I'm going to help out at the restaurant?"

"Of course, Hui Niang is the best cook in the family, and you are second best, so naturally you should help. But if you don't want to, I won't force you."

"Yes, yes!" Chunhua's eyes lit up with joy as she stammered, "Auntie, although I'm not as good as my sister-in-law, I will try my best to learn how to cook and I will definitely not let you down!"

She helps out at her aunt's house every day, and her days are fulfilling, but she never thinks about the future.

Unexpectedly, her aunt had already arranged everything for her future, and it was all about doing what she loved.

It took a full six days for the expansion of the soap workshop to be completely completed.

The day the project was completed happened to be Cheng Wanwan's designated rest day. The village head announced that the Dahe Village selection competition for the talent contest would officially begin, and the person who performed best in each category could go to the county to participate in the finals.

The grain identification competition was the most exciting, as half of the villagers signed up to participate. The winner was the person who could identify all kinds of ingredients in the shortest time. After a fierce competition, the final winners were Grandma Zhao, the village head's husband, and Grandma Zhu. After all, older people have more experience, and the three elderly women won the competition, which convinced everyone.

Other competitions were also in full swing, with cheers constantly erupting from the surrounding area.

"Wang Yongcheng, I can't believe it! Your arms aren't even as thick as mine, yet you won first place in the wrestling competition!"

"I thought Tiezhu's mother would win first place in the embroidery competition, but it turns out that Xia Hua is really amazing!"

"What's the point of an arithmetic competition? Zhao Ergou will definitely be the first place winner; that kid is very clever."

"The mountain woman is really good at cooking. No wonder Master Yu and Master He love their food. Just smelling it makes their mouths water."

"..."

Almost everyone in the village gathered around the big locust tree to celebrate—the elderly, women, men, children… Laughter, shouts, cheers, applause… The images and sounds intertwined to create a harmonious picture of rural life.

Master Yu was painting, and He Xiao was drinking tea.

A horse-drawn carriage slowly appeared on the main road of Dahe Village.

The person in the carriage was Bai Qi, a merchant who had come from Nanyang City to pick up goods.

He lifted the curtain of the carriage and saw verdant mountains, well-arranged houses, orderly fields, and in the distance, a group of villagers gathered together, chatting and laughing.

Because Ping'an County is an extremely remote area of ​​Huzhou, he thought it would be a poor and desolate place where everyone was hungry and cold, and everyone looked worried.

Unexpectedly, this village was actually holding a competition. The fact that they had the leisure to hold a competition shows that the people in this village are quite well-off.

He stepped down from the carriage, feeling the distant bustle and the gentle breeze in the fields, and his restless heart strangely calmed down.