Days as a Wet Nurse in the Jiang Mansion

After the death of her husband and father-in-law, Ye Yunniang’s mother-in-law made a decisive move—selling their house and land before taking her daughter-in-law and grandson to seek refuge wit...

Chapter 3 Accommodation

Coral gave a few more instructions before leaving.

"Let's get acquainted. My name is Ding Fang, and I'm 22 years old. My younger sister is a maid in the old lady's courtyard." Ding Fang was the first woman in the room who had milked the cow and spoken earlier.

"My name is Rouge, and I'm 20," Rouge introduced herself.

"My name is Ye Yunniang, and I'm 18," Ye Yunniang said, following behind Yanzhi.

"Who introduced you all?" Ding Fang asked curiously.

“My father-in-law and the old man who feeds the horses in the manor are cousins,” Rouge replied.

"I was introduced here by Aunt Tian from Jiaomen."

After hearing this, Ding Fang said "Oh," and then added, "Among the three of us, I'm the eldest. My two younger sisters, let's go inside and take a look first, and then we can discuss how to divide the rooms."

Ye Yunniang and Yanzhi had no objection to Ding Fang's suggestion.

The two rooms in the right wing are the same size and layout. There is a bed on each side of the inner wall of the room.

The bedding, pillows, and mosquito net were all laid out and installed on the bed.

A large wardrobe was placed against the wall next to the bed. Next to the wardrobe was a dressing table.

Behind the door is a washstand, with a washbasin on top and a foot basin underneath.

In the middle of the room was a square table and four stools, used for eating, drinking, and talking.

There was a large tree outside the back window of one of the rooms, making the room appear somewhat gloomy.

"There are trees, it's scary at night. I'm afraid, I won't stay here." Rouge didn't want to stay.

Ding Fang didn't speak, and her expression clearly showed that she didn't want to stay.

“I like this house. There’s a tree behind my house.” Ye Yunniang really likes the tree outside her house. She hates the heat, and having a tree outside makes it cooler in the summer.

Ding Fang and Yan Zhi lived in a room near the courtyard gate, while Ye Yunniang lived in a room near the main house of the small courtyard.

Ye Yunniang entered the house and finally breathed a sigh of relief. From the moment she entered the mansion until now, she had been subjected to all sorts of standing and inspections; she was exhausted.

Exhausted, she lay down to rest. She didn't know how long she slept, but when she heard voices outside, Ye Yunniang opened her eyes.

Upon opening the door, the first thing you see is a pile of items placed at the entrance.

“Sister Yunniang is awake. Miss Shanhu brought some daily necessities for us. You were asleep, so Miss Shanhu kindly asked us to leave them by the door first.” Ding Fang greeted Ye Yunniang and explained.

Ye Yunniang thanked them and carried the items placed at the door into the house.

Ye Yunniang came to the courtyard without tidying up.

Besides Ding Fang and Yan Zhi, a slightly plump woman was also sitting on the stone bench in the courtyard.

"Sister Yunniang, let me introduce you to Sister Chunyao." Ding Fang introduced Ye Yunniang.

"Hello, Sister Chunyao, my name is Ye Yunniang." Ye Yunniang introduced herself.

"Sister, there's no need to be so polite. We all serve the Sixth Young Master in the same room." Chunyao's face was as smooth as a jade plate, and her smile was kind, making people feel good at first sight.

"Sister Chunyao, we're new here and don't know anything. Could you tell us about it?" Ding Fang pleaded.

“Good sister, tell us about the rules of this mansion,” Rouge said.

Yunniang didn't speak, but looked at Chunyao with bright eyes.

"Alright, I'll tell you all about it." Chunyao didn't hide anything and told the three of them about the Jiang family's affairs.

The Jiang family now consists of three generations: the elderly, the middle-aged, and the young.

Madam Jiang and Master Jiang were the two most distinguished members of the household. Master Jiang also had two concubines.

The eldest master (Jiang Mingde), the second master (Jiang Mingzhe), and the fourth master (Jiang Mingrui) in the mansion were born to Old Madam Jiang.

Third Master (Jiang Mingyu) was born to Concubine Xue, Sixth Master (Jiang Mingshu) was born to Concubine Bai, and Fifth Miss (Jiang Mingyue) was the only girl in the Jiang family, born to the deceased Concubine Wen.

The fifth daughter was raised by Madam Jiang and was very much loved. Now she has just turned 15, and the mansion is choosing a husband for her.

The Jiang family did not split up. Apart from Jiang Mingde, who entered officialdom through the imperial examination and served as an official in the capital, the other four members lived in Jiangcheng.

Jiang Mingde has two sons, Jiang Mingyu has one daughter, and Jiang Mingrui has two daughters and one son. The son is Jiang Tingjun, the sixth young master whom Ye Yunniang and the others need to nurse.

Four wet nurses were originally prepared for Jiang Tingjun.

Two wet nurses encountered problems: one gave birth to a mentally challenged son, and the other had insufficient milk supply.

The remaining two were the chubby Chunyao and the rather thin Shiliu. Shiliu was in Fanghua Courtyard, serving the Sixth Young Master.

To make it easier to take care of Jiang Tingjun, Madam Jiang arranged for the wet nurses to live in Zhiyuxuan, which is next to Fanghua Courtyard, and also arranged for a maid named Li'er and a maid named Shi Pozi to serve them.

As Chunyao was speaking, Li'er and Granny Shi returned carrying a food box.

Seeing that the two were struggling to lift it, Ye Yunniang got up and went to help.

"Thank you, Nurse Ye." Pear was only seven or eight years old and had little strength, and was feeling a bit exhausted.

"How did you know my surname is Ye?" Ye Yunniang asked, surprised that she hadn't introduced herself yet.

“While Nurse Ye was resting, I saw Nurse Ding and Nurse Yanzhi,” Li’er explained.

The lunchbox was placed on the stool where Ye Yunniang got up, and Granny Shi opened the lid and brought out the wet nurses' meals.

Following the doctor's last wishes, the kitchen prepared low-oil, low-salt, and mildly flavored foods for the wet nurses, such as pig's trotter and peanut soup, and crucian carp and tofu soup...

Chunyao looked at the bland and tasteless food and didn't have much of an appetite.

Although it lacked oil and salt, it was still quite delicious for Ye Yunniang and her two companions, who had only eaten one chicken during their postpartum period.

After dinner, it was getting late.

The lights were turned on inside, and Chunyao invited the group inside to talk and discuss their shift schedule, which they would report to Coral Girl the next morning.

It's impossible for all five wet nurses to rush to take care of the sixth young master.

Since Ye Yunniang and the other two were not familiar with each other, they first followed Chunyao or Shiliu to learn how to take care of their masters.

Once they are familiar with each other, the five of them will take turns.

Ding Fang was the first to follow Chun Yao to learn, Yan Zhi was the second to follow Shi Liu, and Ye Yun Niang was the last.

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