Chapter 1: The Unlucky One

Synopsis: No matter where she is, her life goal remains the same:

Go your own way, watch other people's shows, save more money, and marry a lover.

What? Even such a low request can't satisfy her?

Well then, anyone who blocks the way and causes trouble will be made to get down on the ground, no matter how powerful he is!

Preview:

As the sun sets, the floating clouds in the sky turn red. The last few golden rays of sunset fall into an inconspicuous small courtyard in the backyard of the Zheng residence, making the faces of the little maids standing quietly there blush.

These twenty maids, aged thirteen or fourteen, had just been brought into the Zheng Mansion today. They hadn't even had time to catch their breath before they were handed over to the teaching nanny. Soon, the maids were divided into two teams, standing face to face.

Li You glanced up briefly and quickly noticed the difference between the two teams. His team's appearance was clearly superior to the other team's. Indeed, from ancient times to the present, no matter what industry one is in, a pleasing appearance is an intangible asset.

The two women in their forties were in charge of teaching the rules. The tall and strong one, surnamed Li, looked a bit burly, but she had a kind face and a slightly raised lip, always looking like she was smiling.

The other woman's surname was Zhang. She was the complete opposite of Mrs. Li. She was short and thin and always had a stern face. She acted as if everyone she met owed her money. She was not likable at all.

The two maids walked up to each maid in turn, looked at them casually, and asked one or two questions, which were nothing more than some basic information about each family or what the maids were good at.

"What's your name? Who are the people in your family? What can you do?" The patterned questions rang out again, complementing Mrs. Zhang's expressionless face very well.

"In reply to Madam, my name is Su Jin. I have nine people in my family, including my parents, brothers and sisters. I can do most of the housework and embroidery, so I am quite capable."

A pleasant voice sounded after Mrs. Zhang asked the question. Li You couldn't help but look sideways at the owner of the voice, and saw a pair of bright and expressive eyes.

What a beautiful girl! Li You couldn't help but take a few more glances at her. Her delicate facial features, fair and tender skin, and her decent and calm conversation made this girl stand out among the bunch of maids.

Mrs. Zhang's always stern face relaxed a little. She nodded with satisfaction and whispered a few words to Mrs. Li beside her. It was obvious that she had a very good impression of the girl.

Next, several more girls were questioned by the nanny, among whom there were a few who looked pretty good, but none of them could compare to the girl named Su Jin.

The two maids quickly walked up to Li You, looked at her carefully for a while, and then asked the same question.

"Madam, my name is Liyou." She was not used to thinking of herself as a servant, especially in front of two old women. To be honest, they were just servants doing their job. If she spoke in a proper tone, there would be no need to humble herself like that.

"Liyou? Is she the literate girl that Wu Yapo mentioned? No wonder Wu Yapo took special care of her. She has amazing skills and is so beautiful. She is really a good seedling." Mrs. Li looked particularly amiable with a smile on her face. Compared with the brick-like face of Mrs. Zhang next to her, she was obviously much more beautiful.

Li You felt particularly uncomfortable when she heard these words that sounded like praise but were not. Firstly, there were not many women in this world who could read and write. Even the ladies from wealthy families only learned a few words to keep up appearances. For her, who was so poor that she could only sell herself as a maid, it was not necessarily a good thing for people to know that she could read and write.

Sure enough, as soon as Mrs. Li said this, she immediately felt the gazes of the people around her cast at her, some of them were envy, some were surprise, and of course, jealousy.

Furthermore, this Li Pozi actually said that she was a good seedling. Well, doesn't that mean she was born to be a maid? It sounds strange that she feels comfortable.

"Madam, you are too kind. Liyou just learned a few words with my mother when she was young. Aunt Wu is Liyou's neighbor. She has taken good care of Liyou and her mother since they were young. That's why she likes her daughter like her own child." Liyou replied calmly, but she became more and more low-key.

However, Granny Li ignored Liyou's interest in discussing the matter and continued to ask enthusiastically, "Oh, so your mother must be a well-educated and well-mannered lady from a noble family? Then what does your father do? How could he bear to let such an outstanding daughter become a servant?"

Li You finally experienced what it meant to expose someone's weaknesses. This old lady looked like a kind-hearted person, but after hearing the questions she asked, she knew she was not a good person. She might even be worse than the old lady Zhang who always had a stern face.

"Madam, Liyou lost his father when he was young. His mother was his only relative at home. Not long ago, his mother also passed away. Liyou has no relatives to rely on. Fortunately, he had the opportunity to work in the Zheng Mansion. Because of the Zheng Mansion, he can live a decent life. Liyou is really grateful."

To be honest, she really didn't know much about the family affairs of her original body's owner. When she first came here, this body was only eleven years old, and had nothing except a beautiful mother who had been ill for many years.

However, the sick mother didn't look like she was raised in an ordinary family. She didn't know most of the things a housewife should know. After all these years of hard work, she could only handle the simplest housework. As for music, chess, calligraphy and painting, she was proficient in everything, but of course these outsiders didn't know.

Liyou has learned a lot from her mother in the past two years, but she has also been a filial daughter for two years, doing housework, buying and decocting medicine, and taking care of her personally.

She had never heard her mother mention her father, nor had she seen any relatives or friends visiting him, let alone know what had happened to this family.

She was also very curious about where her mother, who had done nothing over the years, got the money to buy medicine and food. After asking tentatively once without any result, she stopped asking.

It wasn't until her mother suddenly stopped taking her medication that she gradually realized the family was truly at the end of its rope. Not long after, her mother also passed away, and she had to find another way to make a living.

"Oh, this is really a poor child!" After hearing Li You's words, Nanny Li said with a sigh, and then stopped asking questions.

However, Nanny Zhang didn't react at all, and still had that stern face, not caring at all. Only when she saw that Nanny Li didn't ask any more questions did she walk up to the next maid and continue asking the same questions in a stereotyped manner.

Soon, the two maids inspected the twenty little girls one by one, and had a general understanding of them in their hearts. They secretly thought that they were really good seedlings.

Although the maids looked around curiously from time to time, they still knew some of the rules and no one whispered or said anything. They were all good-looking, at least they looked very comfortable.

However, these were all very normal requests in their eyes. After all, the Zheng Mansion was not like those small families where not just anyone could enter.

The two maids returned to the front of the yard, looked at each other and nodded in understanding. Then the short and thin maid Zhang cleared her throat and spoke to everyone first.

Mrs. Zhang didn't say much, simply formally introducing herself and Mrs. Li, explaining that from now on, they would be responsible for teaching the rules for the first two days. After three days, they would select the best maids based on their performance and assign them to the various rooms of the young masters and young ladies. The worst performers would be assigned to the kitchen, laundry, and cleaning rooms as menial servants to supplement the staff in those areas.

After a few words, not a single one was wasted, and the tone was very stiff, but once they were finished, especially the last sentence, the little girls perked up. Their backs straightened and their spirits became more energetic, for fear of leaving a bad impression on the two maids and being sent to work as menial servants.

The two maids were very satisfied when they saw that their words had worked, and Mrs. Li added with a smile that the Zheng family would never treat their servants unfairly. As long as they did their job well, they would be promoted to third-class maids in the future. If they could become first-class maids, they would be better off than some young ladies from small families.

The moment these words fell, the little maids were filled with hope, their faces once again beaming with joy. In just a few moments, the two maids had successfully won the hearts of the little maids over with just a few words. Their double act was truly brilliant.

Li You, of course, didn't have the same obvious worry and joy as the others. Being a servant was more to her liking than serving those young masters and ladies. At least she just had to do her duty well, without having to worry about doing something wrong and angering her master. Although it was harder and more tiring, it was also less stressful.

Of course, the only downside to being a servant was that the wages were definitely the lowest. But Li You saw it as the same in every era. If you just relied on a fixed salary, you wouldn't save anything until you died. If you wanted to get rich, you had to be more creative and find other ways to make money.

Alas, she had once been a dignified urban beauty, a figure on the level of the White Bone Demon, yet now she had inexplicably been transported to the ancient world. She'd been transported, so what? She'd at least be given a decent home where she could live comfortably. But she had been transported to a young girl from a single-parent family in ancient times, with nothing but a bedridden mother and four empty mud walls.

After her mother passed away, she had no choice but to sell herself and work as a maid in the Zheng Mansion to support herself. Ten years, by the time the contract expired, she would be twenty-three years old. In modern times, that would be youthful and charming, but here, she would be a complete old cucumber. She didn't know if there would be any good men left for her by then.

Conditions don't allow it now. Otherwise, she would have planned to identify a few promising young people, nurture them well, and then select the best candidates when they grow up. Then she would be able to sit back and relax. Thinking of this, Li You smiled self-deprecatingly, wondering if she had a long-term vision or was just too worried.

However, this is understandable. In the previous life, she was stuck between high and low and became a leftover woman. Judging from the situation, it is likely to be the same in this life. Anyone would think more about it.

Just as he was thinking about it, Mrs. Zhang's rough voice sounded again, and Li You immediately quickly retracted his consciousness that had accidentally drifted away.