Lu Yan ran from the cake shop to the backyard, "Sister-in-law, there's a letter for you."

Qin Xiaozhou looked up from her desk. Behind Lu Yan was a young maid dressed as a servant of the Zhu family. She respectfully handed over a package and a letter, saying, "Manager Qin, this is from my young lady."

Qin Xiaozhou took the letter and opened it. Zhu Xian wrote that she had received the pomegranate tree and storybook that had been sent. She only briefly mentioned her affairs at the Lu family, focusing on the popularity and profits of the cake shop in the capital. Finally, she said that she would give the Zhu Mansion in Fenggu County to Qin Xiaozhou and asked her to properly settle the servants in the house. As for the servants that Zhu Xian was close to, she was used to ordering them around and had taken them all with her when she left last year. The letter ended with a house deed.

Qin Xiaozhou was slightly taken aback. She asked the maid who delivered the letter to sit and have some tea in the courtyard while she went back to her room to write a reply. She finished writing the letter quickly, put five hundred taels into it, and saw the maid off. Then she pulled Lu Yan over and said, "Come on, let's go see our new home."

Five hundred taels of silver couldn't buy a courtyard like the Zhu residence, but now that Zhu Xian was married, money could make the devil turn the millstone. Having silver around would make it easier to gain the support of the servants in her new home. However, she had several businesses and shops of her own, so the dowry from her family should not be small. Five hundred taels of silver was just a token of Qin Xiaozhou's appreciation.

The two went to the yamen to transfer the ownership of the house first, and then went to the Zhu family mansion. The people in the mansion obviously already knew that the house had changed owners, and they were all waiting to greet them in the courtyard. The steward first handed over a box containing the indentures of the servants in the mansion, as well as some registers and keys from the storeroom.

Qin Xiaozhou stood in front of the group, looking at the servants standing in two rows, and said without any airs, "From now on, this mansion belongs to me. You can decide for yourselves whether to stay or leave. Those who want to leave should find Lu Yan to get their indentures and will each receive three taels of silver. If you want to stay, then I will be your master from now on. Anyone who dares to betray me will not be spared."

There were two rows of servants. The first row was women, and the second row was men. Three of them were dock managers. One of the managers looked worried. "Manager Qin, the dock business belongs to Miss Zhu. I didn't originally have a contract, but because I work for Miss, I used to live in this mansion. Now, my family's future housing is also a problem."

Zhu Xian's boat business continues, and she is still in charge. Isn't it pointless for her to continue living here?

Qin Xiaozhou pondered for a moment, "How many of you are in charge of the docks?"

Three people came out, and one of them introduced himself, “Xing Ge and I are in charge, and Wen Di is the accountant. All three of us have families, and we used to live in the backyard of the house.”

Qin Xiaozhou was not stingy, "In that case, I will give each of you one hundred taels of silver. I will trouble you to find other accommodations outside the mansion. As for your previous belongings, feel free to take them with you if you need them."

One hundred taels is enough to find a decent house in the county town. If you want to be closer to the dock, you can go to the east and find a large courtyard with seven or eight rooms.

The three stewards thanked them, took the silver notes, and went to the backyard to pack their things.

This is a great opportunity to escape slavery, and they don't even need to spend money to redeem themselves. Why not take it? These women all come from Fenggu County. They sold themselves to the government a few years ago because they couldn't make ends meet. Now that they can leave, there are naturally people willing to help them.

Immediately, someone stepped forward, took the indenture and silver, carefully put them in his pocket, went to the backyard to pack his things and left, leaving behind only five women and a man in his early twenties.

Even the housekeeper had already packed his things and left.

Qin Xiaozhou asked, "Why aren't you leaving?"

One of the young girls knelt down and kowtowed to Qin Xiaozhou, saying, "This servant is Chunhe. My mother died early, and I have a father and two brothers. But I'm afraid that if I go back home, they will embezzle my money and marry me off. I don't want to live that kind of life. Please, Manager Qin, allow me to serve in your household."

The other four also knelt down, saying, "We are just daughters who are not valued by our families. If we go back, we will only be promised to other families in exchange for a small dowry. We would rather follow Manager Qin and serve you."

Even those serving in the inner quarters had heard of Qin Xiaozhou's name. The county town was so small; what could possibly happen there? Besides, Qin Xiaozhou, a woman, had managed to establish herself in the county town and build an embroidery and textile factory, which was full of women. This showed that she treated women very well. Going outside was not as good as following someone like her; at least they would have no worries about food and clothing and wouldn't have to worry about being married off to an old man.

Qin Xiaozhou nodded, "Alright, you can stay here. But the manor doesn't need that many people. Two will be enough. The other three can go to work at Yifanfengshun. Who wants to go?"

The five women looked at each other, and finally three of them stepped forward, so Qin Xiaozhou let them go.

The five women dispersed to attend to their own tasks, and the man in his early twenties knelt down. "I was rescued by Miss Zhu in Wanzhou two years ago. My name is Qiushi. I have no relatives left in my family, and I have nowhere to go after leaving the manor."

He had no connection with so many people in the world, and he was all alone. He would be lonely and helpless outside, so he might as well work in the mansion. Anyway, that was how his life would be.

Qin Xiaozhou thought for a moment, "Then you should stay. This house is so big, you'll need to take care of the flowers, plants and trees."

Qiu Shi kowtowed in thanks. Qin Xiaozhou raised his hand, "Get up, show us around this house."

The house is very large, with the front yard alone covering about an acre. The main hall, side hall, and flower hall are all different places for entertaining guests. The back yard covers two acres, with a covered walkway connecting the main building and the two auxiliary buildings. In the middle, there are pavilions, towers, bridges, streams, and rockeries. It is the height of spring, and the lotus leaves in the pond are just sprouting, with koi carp playing.

Lu Yan was amazed. "Sister-in-law, this house is so beautiful! It's just as pretty as our embroidery house."

Qin Xiaozhou chuckled, "Go choose a room, and you'll have your own room from now on."

"Yay!" Lu Yan darted around like a little swallow and quickly chose a room on the second floor of the west annex, while Qin Xiaozhou chose the second floor of the main building.

There is another row of houses in the west corner of the backyard, with three separate courtyards. These used to be the residences of the dock managers. The bungalows were the servants' residences. Now that there are fewer servants, each person can have their own room.

Before leaving, Qin Xiaozhou instructed the three people in the mansion to clean the house in the next two days, and that they would move in three days later.

Lu Yan happily ran home to pack her things. When the two Lu brothers returned that evening, she told them about it, "That house is ten times the size of ours! Even if the whole family moved in, each of us could have our own room."

Lu Yunxing, holding his books, asked, "Why do you suddenly want to move over there?"

Qin Xiaozhou explained the reason: "The house is in the northeast of the county town. Except for the inconvenience of going to the embroidery building, it is very nice. After all, Xiao Si is almost three years old this year and should come to the county town for his early education in the next year or the year after. Xiao Shitou can't stay in the village forever after he grows up. He still needs to be raised in the county town so that he can see what he should see. Xiao Yan and Jinxiu will soon be young ladies and need to have their own rooms and space."

Lu Yunfeng nodded, "Okay, then we'll move there in three days."