Fang Xiaonv's gaze fell on the dining table.

By this time, it was completely dark.

The dining table was laden with ten dishes.

The first dish served at the reunion dinner is fried meatballs, which symbolize reunion and good fortune.

She had tasted this dish in the kitchen; it was bursting with meaty flavor and so delicious that she almost wanted to swallow her tongue.

The second dish is squirrel-shaped mandarin fish, which is also known as mandarin fish, and the fishy smell is hard to get rid of.

She had learned this dish from Li Guijia, but she could never completely remove the fishy smell, and carving patterns on the fish meat was also a great test of knife skills.

When Jiang Shuwan was making this dish, she assisted her. Jiang Shuwan's knife skills were swift and clean, and the knife patterns on the fish were even more beautiful than those carved by her master.

Jiang Shuwan's sweet and sour sauce is also delicious. When poured over the fried mandarin fish that is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, the bright red color is incredibly festive.

The third auspicious golden ball was made by coating shrimp in flour and frying them...

The fourth dish, braised pork ribs, was just taken out of the pot and was still steaming hot...

The fifth dish is braised beef, made from the best cut of beef shank, which is incredibly fragrant and delicious...

The sixth dish was steamed pork ribs with yam, the seventh dish was braised duck with dried bamboo shoots, and the eighth and ninth dishes were all stir-fried lotus root, each consisting of two vegetarian dishes.

The tenth dish, firewood-cooked chicken, was served in an iron pot with a small stove underneath, lit with charcoal, and seasoned with Jiang Shuwan's special sauce. It was bubbling away, filling the air with a wonderful aroma.

Golden cornbread was also pasted around the edges.

"It smells so good..."

"I never knew chicken could be cooked like this! It's so warming to eat this in the dead of winter..."

The servants stared at the table full of food with almost frenzied eyes.

For them, the Lunar New Year is a big day.

Even the poorest family will try to prepare a couple of decent dishes.

But for them, the dishes Jiang Shuwan prepared were far too extravagant.

There's beef, chicken, fish, ribs, and even shrimp...

Shrimp is so expensive, even young ladies from humble families might not have ever eaten it.

What right do they have to enjoy such a dignified New Year's Eve dinner...?

The servants, while stealing glances at the dishes and swallowing their saliva, felt uneasy.

Good heavens, are they really not dreaming?

This table full of delicious food was actually for them?

The servants looked at each other in bewilderment, some even calculating the price of the dishes on the table.

How much does pork rib cost per pound? How much fish and vegetables cost per pound? How much shrimp cost per pound?

Goodness, you'll be dumbfounded by the end.

Their monthly salary for a year wasn't even enough to cover half a table of food.

Besides these dishes, Jiang Shuwan also asked Qingxing to make milk tea.

The sugar and tea leaves used to make milk tea are precious items, but today Jiang Shuwan is letting them drink as much milk tea as they want without any limit.

Barbecue is also available, with all kinds of meats and vegetables on the grill, so you can take whatever you want to eat.

There was also a pot on the stove, simmering warm oden, and you could take whatever you wanted to eat.

"Miss is too kind to us servants..."

"We servants truly do not know how to repay Miss's great kindness..."

The maids and servants were moved to tears; if it weren't for the fact that crying during the New Year is considered unlucky, they would have burst into tears.

To be a servant and to have such a master is truly a blessing beyond measure.

Moreover, all of these dishes were cooked by Jiang Shuwan herself...

The servants all looked at Jiang Shuwan with deep emotion.

They used to be slaves, and sometimes even food and clothing were a problem. Only after following Jiang Shuwan did they start to live a life where they could eat their fill and stay warm.

In addition, a while ago, Jiang Shuwan found a maid for them to learn to read and write and to use an abacus, which filled them with endless hope for the future.

At the same time, they attracted many people to curry favor with them, sending them all sorts of fruits and snacks.

Some of them were very generous, and some even slipped silver into their hands. It was obvious that these people were backed by the Wen family.

At the time, they refused them all without hesitation, not even accepting a single pastry, let alone any money.

But when you wake up in the middle of the night and think of those glittering silver pastries, doesn't your heart waver even a little?

There definitely is.

He was only holding on by his loyalty to Jiang Shuwan.

But how long can this loyalty last, and how much temptation of money can it withstand? Nobody knows…

Even now, with Jiang Shuwan personally cooking for them, all those so-called wavering and strange feelings have vanished.

It seems that the silver money isn't so appealing anymore...

"Why are you staring at me? Let's eat!"

Seeing Jiang Shuwan smilingly inviting them to sit down and eat, all the servants suddenly had this thought.

They don't know where this idea came from, nor do they know why they suddenly find money less appealing.

However, it was this thought that prevented any of them from betraying Jiang Shuwan when faced with various threats and temptations from the Wen family in the future.

On the other hand, Jiang Shuwan had not yet noticed the changes in these maids.

For her, giving employees money and a reunion dinner during the Lunar New Year is the most basic welfare benefit.

She only cooked because she was itching to try her hand at cooking.

Besides, isn't the point of celebrating holidays and festivals to have fun and be merry?

Why are you all suddenly teary-eyed?

Qingxing stared at the maids, somewhat confused about the situation.

She had been with Jiang Shuwan since she was a child and had never been bullied, so she didn't understand the mentality of lowly servants.

Granny Tao somewhat understood what these maids were thinking.

After all, she was older, and she had also worked her way up from a junior maid to a senior maid.

They suffered hardships and misery along the way, without any dignity.

It was only after she became the head maid that she finally gained some dignity and became a respectable person.

The situation in Jiang Shuwan's room was different. Whether it was a young maid or a nanny doing odd jobs, Jiang Shuwan treated them all with respect.

Not only did they speak softly and gently, but they also taught them to read and write, to do accounting, and gave them a future and a decent life.

She had never seen a master like this before.

They were nothing more than a group of slaves, sold into servitude and generation after generation of domestic slaves.

To their masters, they were no different from livestock; they could be a chicken or a sheep.

They could be sold off at will by their masters, traded in the market like livestock.

Their entire family's life and death, honor and disgrace, were in the hands of their master.

Especially since they were lowly servants, they had absolutely no dignity.

But now that they can read and write and do accounting, what a blessing this is for them.

What have they done to deserve this?

With a master like that, it's no wonder everyone looks so agitated, as if they'd tear their hearts out.

"Miss, I would go through fire and water for you and never betray you!"

"Miss, I'd be willing too!"

"This servant also swears, this servant will never betray Miss!"

No one knows who started it, but all the servants knelt down.

They swore to the heavens, their eyes filled with the fervent devotion of fanatical believers.

And these are qualities that money can't buy – loyalty!

Human nature!

It is also people's hearts and loyalty that make every step Jiang Shuwan takes in the future smooth and comfortable.