Chun Cui was furious. She was clearly a year older than everyone else, already 11 years old. According to age, it shouldn't be Chun Ju and Chun Xue who should be mentioned.

Feeling angry, she turned her head and saw Chunju packing her things with her head down, preparing to move them into Zhiruo's room.

“You’ve already made up your mind, yet you’re still so stingy. No wonder Sister Qingqian doesn’t like the people in our room.”

Chunju was completely confused. What was all this about? How could anyone not understand it?

"Chunxue knows to host a banquet for her roommates to celebrate their promotion, but what about you?"

Such stinginess and ruthlessness—even if he gets promoted, he'll likely end up getting beaten to death!

What kind of logic is this? Chunju knew that she was angry and deliberately using herself as a punching bag.

But it was really hard to argue with her, since her mother worked in the laundry and her father was in charge of cleaning the outer courtyard.

Without any powerful connections, it's truly a stroke of luck that he managed to climb to the second tier without being snatched away.

If you really can't hold your temper and start a fight, only to have Sister Qingqian pull you back down, then it would be a loss.

She pursed her lips, looking aggrieved. "I had prepared a few packs of fruit pastries to give to my roommates. It's just one pot, what's the big deal?"

Chun Cui chuckled, "Then thank you very much, Sister Zhiju. Why don't you treat us to a mutton hot pot?"

Lamb is expensive, and the masters in the household need a lot for the New Year. It's quite difficult to get it.

"Okay, you wait here, we'll have hot pot this afternoon too, it'll be mutton."

She kept smiling at the cold faces, but no one gave her a way out. Chunxi was called to that room to eat hot pot.

Chunlan was secretly hoping she would be humiliated, so she neither stepped in to break up the fight nor offered her a way out. Of course, when Chuncui scolded her, she didn't speak up for Chuncui either.

The atmosphere in the room suddenly turned cold, and Chunju forced another smile.

"I'm going out to take a look first." After saying this, he grabbed his bedding and rushed out the door.

Today I suffered a humiliating experience for no reason. When I got to the yard, I heard laughter and cheerful voices from the house next door.

Everyone was sincerely wishing Chunxue a speedy promotion, and even though I didn't get along with these people, I couldn't help but feel envious at that moment.

In Chunxue's room, Wang Yan mentioned last time when she ate Bo Xia Gong that it might taste better dipped in sesame sauce.

Fuling remembered what she heard, and this time she not only brought sesame paste, but also some of the fried chili oil made by Aunt Sun.

Mix sesame paste with chili oil, add a few drops of vinegar, and it tastes good with anything.

Wang Yan even picked out the fried peanuts and melon seeds from the chili oil and ate them separately. They were spicy, fragrant, and crunchy, and extremely delicious.

Chunxi ate hot pot, pastries, and several snacks that Wang Yan brought back, thoroughly enjoying herself.

While eating, she suddenly blurted out, "How about I ask Sister Qingqian if I can move into your room?"

"Anyway, Chunxue is moving out soon, and if another person with an unknown temperament comes along, they won't get along with you, right?"

Chunyu chuckled, "You wish! Do you think no one can see through your little scheme? If we actually dragged you over here, your two roommates would be furious."

You should know that Chunxi is Manager Wang's own niece. Otherwise, why would those three arrogant and incompetent people be so busy trying to curry favor with Chunxi every day?

After a pause, he added, "We eat well in our room, but your two roommates often bring out fruit and pastries to share."

Chunxi was unhappy and pouted, saying, "Where I want to go is none of their business."

Lately, those guys have been fighting tooth and nail over promotions, each one as ruthless as a chicken eye. It's absolutely disgusting; Chunxi doesn't even want to go back now.

But when she refused to participate, someone insisted that she give a rating, asking her to decide who was better and who was worse.

She still threw a huge tantrum before the three people in the room let her go.

Believe it or not, Chunxi really wanted to come over. That afternoon, after Chunxue moved out, she brought her own bedding roll over.

Manager Wang dared not delay matters concerning the Madam's courtyard. As soon as these two men were promoted to the highest level, he sent two more over.

The arrival was a pair of twin sisters, Chun Chao and Chun Lu. They seemed quite sensible for the time being, distributing a bag of fruit to everyone before settling into Chun Lan's room.

The task of feeding the birds and cleaning the front yard windows was assigned to Chunyu and Chunye, with the newcomers taking over their previous duties.

Wang Yan was still getting used to her new work partner.

But it got better soon. Chunye was assigned to feed the birds, and after that, she had nothing to do, so she went to play in the small kitchen.

She's making twice as many rice crackers as before. Why? Because she's been making them with Fuling since she's free, and they have an extra person to help.

With Chunye as an assistant, Wang Yan started tinkering again, using chopsticks to shape and roll the fried tofu skin into individual rolls to make spicy strips.

Spicy strips made from fried tofu skin are more fragrant and chewy than noodles, and a trend of eating spicy strips made from fried tofu skin has become popular again in various courtyards.

Even the concubines from the second wife's side chipped in and came over each day to collect a box.

Grandma Sun would always give them some of the rewards she received.

In just a few days, even Chunye and Fuling, who had helped, received two silver bracelets, 50 coins, and a satin purse.

Needless to say, Wang Yan earned enough money to buy her freedom from another family member during this period.

Two thick jade hairpins, a gilded flower hairpin, a plain silver hairpin, and about ten silver coins. Even in copper coins, he earned a string and a half.

However, it has received so many rewards in just a month and a half, so it seems that everyone really likes this spicy fried tofu skin strip.

When it comes to preparing proper meals, she is nowhere near as good as these seasoned gourmet chefs.

But having lived in the 21st century for so many years and seen many novel foods, she was already quite satisfied with the money she could earn from these snacks.

I put the money in the small box and locked it. I took a few pieces of silk and went to the front yard to tie my hair with my sisters.

I had just arrived at the front yard when I witnessed a quarrel between Chun Chao and Chun Lu and Chun Lan.

Although these two are young, they have big tempers. They must have some connections to be able to work in the ladies' quarters.

Even someone like Chunju had someone in charge of a small area in her family. Even if it was just a small courtyard in the outer compound where she was in charge of cleaning and tidying up.

If they were wronged, these two would stand up for each other and would never tolerate it.

Every season, the household distributes peppermint and camphor balls to repel insects, and Chunlan came to collect them. After receiving them, she acted as if nothing had happened.

Actually, she didn't intend to cheat them out of those few meatballs; there were plenty available, and they only cost a few dollars.

It was intentional; they were certain the two sisters wouldn't complain to the eldest daughter about a few mothballs.

It wasn't a big deal, but the way it was done was disgusting. Neither of them really said anything.

Chunlan was unaware that several days had passed, and today, when a group of people were sitting here stringing beads and making silk flowers, the two of them revealed the truth.