Chapter 464 Vowing to be loyal to the people of Sui'an

Cheng Wanwan's banquets never disappoint.

Even the eunuch Ming from the capital was full of praise and ate two large bowls of white rice.

Cheng Wanwan had originally planned to have her father-in-law stay in the village for a while, but he refused.

“It has been almost twenty days since I left the capital. I haven’t seen the Emperor for these twenty days, and I feel really bad,” said Eunuch Ming. “The imperial edict has been issued, and I should go back to report. Sui’an, I will take your menu with me without hesitation.”

"Are you really not going to rest for the night before leaving, Father-in-law?" Cheng Wanwan asked again, "I was thinking of making some pastries for you to take back to the Emperor and the ladies of the palace to try."

The emperor bestowed upon her status and position, and she was deeply grateful. The only way she could repay him was by making some rare and exquisite pastries.

Ming Gonggong's face furrowed; he was conflicted.

The meal with the people of Sui'an made him look forward to the unknown desserts.

The eunuch behind him immediately said, "Staying overnight shouldn't be a problem. Just hurry back. His Majesty certainly won't blame us."

Eunuch Ming nodded: "Then stay the night. Thank you for your help, people of Sui'an."

Cheng Wanwan asked Zhao Dashan and Zhao Ergou to arrange for Ming Gonggong's people to stay at the inn.

Guests from all directions in the courtyard also took their leave.

The villagers stayed to help clean up the mess. Empty plates and bowls were thrown into buckets, all leftover food was poured out separately, tables and chairs were wiped clean and taken home by each family, wine jugs and jars were delivered to the Yu family, the garbage on the ground was swept up, and the temporary kitchen was to be dismantled...

In the courtyard, Cheng Wanwan was getting to know the new members of her family—the twelve servants brought by Eunuch Ming.

The old woman at the front spoke up: "This old servant's surname is Qi, and everyone calls her Granny Qi."

When these twelve people were working, Cheng Wanwan could tell that Granny Qi was probably their leader, and all twelve of them obeyed Granny Qi's orders.

Next, Granny Qi introduced the remaining people: "This is Granny Wu, Granny Yang, and Granny Ma. These four maids are Yan Hong, Liu Lü, Ning Lan, and Ye Zi. The four guards do not have names; please bestow names upon them, Your Excellency."

Cheng Wanwan immediately felt a headache coming on; she was really bad at naming things.

She stroked her chin and pondered for a while before tentatively suggesting, "How about the four of you, based on your ages, are named Cheng Jia, Cheng Yi, Cheng Bing, and Cheng Ding?"

She was genuinely seeking the opinions of these four people.

Unexpectedly, the four men immediately knelt down: "Thank you for bestowing these names upon me, Your Majesty. We will risk our lives to protect you!"

The name has been decided.

Cheng Wanwan chatted with these people for a while and learned that these four guards were trained by the Imperial Guard. They were orphans who grew up in the military and only received names after being formally enlisted. These four were probably unlucky; they didn't make it into the Imperial City when they reached the required age and were eventually assigned to her side. They were quite skilled, though not as good as He Xiao, but more than enough to protect this courtyard.

Among the four old women, Granny Qi is like a housekeeper, Granny Wu is good at social interactions, Granny Yang can diagnose illnesses and take pulses, and Granny Ma is very good at stewing soups and cooking dishes.

The four maids each had their own strengths: Yan Hong was good at accounting, Liu Lü was good at taking stock of the storeroom, Ning Lan was good at combing hair, and Ye Zi was good at serving them personally.

The people chosen for her by the imperial court—the guards and maids—were all orphans, while the old women were all unmarried and childless, with no ties to the world.

Cheng Wanwan sighed comfortably. She used to go to great lengths to train people, but now she finally has no worries about not having enough staff.

These old women and maids each possess unique skills, so it's fair to say that she doesn't have to worry much about this household.

She pondered for a moment, deciding to redistribute the household affairs.

At this moment, Cheng Fang and the three siblings of the Wei family also arrived and stood together with the twelve people who had been rewarded by the imperial court.

Currently, there are a total of sixteen servants in her household. Cheng Fang continues to work at Dahe Banquet, and Xiao Hai serves as Si Dan's page.

Previously, Wei Hongying was mainly responsible for cooking and taking care of the children, but now there are women from Beijing who are skilled in both, so these tasks are handed over to them.

“From now on, Granny Ma will be in charge of all the meals at home. Hongying, you can help out.” Cheng Wanwan said. “Ye Zi, you’re good at taking care of people. You and Hongyan can take care of the child together from now on.”

Granny Ma and Ye Zi simultaneously knelt and accepted the order: "Yes."

Wei Hongying and Wei Hongyan were a beat slower, but followed suit: "Yes."

"Grandma Qi, from now on, you'll be in charge of everything in this courtyard, big and small."

"Old Wu, you and Green Willow should take stock of the storeroom together. Write down what each family sent and what they sent, so we can return them when we have the chance."

"Grandma Yang, you are skilled in medicine, so please take good care of your second son's wife during this time."

"Yan Hong, go and hand over the account books in the courtyard to Manager Yan, and familiarize yourself with our accounting methods here."

"As for Ninglan, she can stay by my side from now on, and help me comb her hair and stuff..."

"You four guards, just keep this courtyard safe."

Cheng Wanwan finally managed to assign everyone to their positions, but only a small amount of work for the time being. Once everyone had adapted physically and mentally, she would readjust the tasks based on the actual situation.

After she finished, she said, "This courtyard is not enough for everyone, so you can stay at the inn for now and move over when the new courtyard is built."

Granny Qi said repeatedly, "Madam is the master. How can servants stay at an inn and let the master stay alone? Cheng Jia and the other three don't need a place to stay. The four maids and the four of us old servants can sleep on the floor. They can't be too far away from Madam."

In the past, when there were many people in her family, they did sometimes sleep on the floor, but there were no inns in the village at that time, and she was also poor.

Now that conditions are better, there's no reason to mistreat servants.

Moreover, these twelve people had come all the way from the capital and hadn't had a proper rest for nearly twenty days. In addition, traveling from north to south, they were prone to acclimatization problems, which could lead to vomiting and diarrhea. She felt bad about making them sleep on the floor every day.

She said firmly, "We'll stay at an inn. I'll have someone arrange it."

As soon as she finished speaking, Granny Qi suddenly knelt down on the ground. Immediately afterwards, everyone behind her knelt down in unison, all looking terrified.

Cheng Fang and the three Wei siblings were stunned for a moment, then knelt down as well.

As a result, a whole group of people knelt down in the courtyard.

Cheng Wanwan: "..."

Granny Qi lowered her head and said, "We swear to be loyal to the people of Sui'an to the death, please don't drive us away..."

Cheng Wanwan was full of questions. When did she say she was going to kick them out?

She just wanted them to get a good rest, so that they could work well and integrate into their big family as soon as possible.

But clearly, her behavior made Granny Qi and the others feel rejected, as if they were being turned away and not accepted.

She touched her temples and said, "Cheng Fang, Hongying, Hongyan, Xiaohai, do you know what kind of person I am? Why are you kneeling down like this?"

The four of them exchanged a glance, then stood up.

They were afraid that if a new person came to their aunt's side, they would be compared to her and she would be looked down upon for not knowing the rules and not knowing how to do things, so they dared not be negligent in the slightest...