The maids and servants in the Jiang residence were all busy as bees.
Qiuju directed from the side, "Put a few more pieces of cured meat in this bag, and put all the ones wrapped in oil paper into the bamboo basket and arrange them neatly."
Lan'er and her maids worked efficiently and methodically.
She put a bag of smoked bacon and a bag of sausages into the bamboo basket and then covered it with a bamboo lid.
"Miss is so wise; using this bamboo basket to carry New Year's gifts is truly unique."
"After you've finished setting everything up, move everything to the lobby. I'll go in and get the list."
As Qiuju spoke, she lifted her skirt and walked towards Xingyue Courtyard.
Inside the warm pavilion, Jiang Shuyue packed the medicinal herbs she had retrieved from her spatial storage into gift boxes.
"Miss, is it all set up?" Qiu Ju entered like a whirlwind.
Jiang Shuyue replied without turning her head, "Soon, just one more box will do."
Preparing New Year's gifts also gave her a headache. The gifts had to be of appropriate value, neither too extravagant nor too perfunctory.
The manor received several New Year's gifts yesterday, and Jiang Shuyue plans to send them all out today.
Qiuju saw a list of people who needed to send New Year's gifts on the table, and she picked it up to take a look.
Leading the group were the families of the True Grand Scholar, the Du family, the Xie family, and the Wu family.
Among them, the Wu family sent New Year's gifts first, and Jiang Shuyue prepared a return gift according to the amount sent by the old lady Wu.
Seeing that Princess Yonghe's name was also on the list, Qiuju asked, "Miss, it might not be easy to send food to the palace. Should we change it to something else?"
"Just send the portion for Princess Yonghe to the restaurant. Hu Qing knows the steward in the palace, so he can deliver that portion."
The fact that the head manager of Juxian Pavilion personally delivers the New Year's gifts is the same as the fact that the steward personally delivers them.
After looking through the list, Qiuju couldn't help but ask, "Miss, should we still send the Emperor's portion?"
Without thinking, Jiang Shuyue said, "The Emperor's share is waived."
When the palace sent her a reward last time, Jiang Shuyue felt it was inappropriate to accept it. If she were to send the Emperor a New Year's gift again, he would surely reciprocate.
Xiao Jingzhao was too generous; she felt it would be difficult to reciprocate his generosity.
The Jiang family has simple interpersonal relationships, and Gao Mu and Qiu Ju can deliver all the New Year's gifts in just one hour.
The couple's last New Year's gift was for Princess Yonghe. They went to a restaurant, and Hu Qing was overjoyed to learn that his mistress had entrusted him with such an important task.
After leaving the restaurant, the couple headed towards the market.
Jin Hua greeted Qiu Ju warmly.
Qiuju gestured for Gao Mu to take out the cured meat and sausages from the carriage. She then took out a purse from her bosom. "This is a red envelope from Miss to Zhang Man and Erniu, wishing them a long and happy marriage and many children."
Jin Hua wiped her hands on her apron repeatedly before accepting the red envelope with both hands.
"Please ask Aunt Qiuju to convey my gratitude to Miss. My mother-in-law didn't want to trouble Miss, which is why she didn't inform her of my second brother and Erniu's marriage."
Jiang Shuyue and Qiu Ju had only heard about Zhang Man's marriage from the gatekeeper, Shuanzi, yesterday.
The people from the manor accompanied Zhang Man to deliver vegetables to the Jiang residence. Shuanzi saw Zhang Man with a joyful expression. He walked with a brisk pace.
He couldn't help but joke, "Brother Zhang's face is beaming; good things are on the horizon."
Before Zhang Man could stop him, the man who came with him said, "That's right, the head of the village is so good at managing money. He arranged Zhang Erge's marriage on New Year's Eve, combining the wedding with the New Year celebrations. This saves money on the New Year."
The servants and maids in the manor all received a large red envelope when they got married. The Zhang family managed the estate diligently, so Jiang Shuyue naturally wouldn't mistreat them.
Gao Mu put down the New Year's gifts, and Jin Hua and Zhang Cai thanked him countless times before watching the two leave.
Jin Hua held the heavy red envelope, filled with emotion.
"Miss is truly our family's lucky star. The life we live now is something we never dared to dream of before."
"That's right. Our son is with the young master, dressed in fine silks and satins, and he eats meat every meal."
Yaozu would come to the market every few days to stay overnight, and he would tell his parents about what he had learned at the academy and what he had eaten.
Even when they lived in the Su family mansion, the young master would have a share of the late-night snacks, and now Yaozu has grown quite a bit taller.
Jin Hua stuffed the red envelope into Zhang Cai's hand and said, "Give this to your mother yourself, Miss."
Zhang Cai chuckled sheepishly, "If my wife hadn't reminded me, I would have just given it to my second brother."
"Are you stupid? Mother is in charge of the household. Of course, Miss should tell Father and Mother about her feelings first. Father and Mother are not unreasonable people. They will know to spend the money on Second Brother and Second Brother's wife."
"That's right, my wife is very thoughtful."
Zhang Cai noticed that Jin Hua, dressed in silk and wearing a silver hairpin, looked somewhat different from before.
She was radiant, her eyes were sparkling, and her skin was even more delicate than before.
Zhang Cai's heart stirred slightly. He said, "Wife, we have income every month. It's not even New Year's Eve yet, and Miss is already giving us tips and meat. She even let us go back to the estate for a few days' vacation. Wife, let's hurry up and have another child?"
Jin Hua's cheeks immediately flushed red. "We're an old married couple, don't you know how to be shy?"
Jin Hua glared at her husband and ran to the backyard.
Zhang Cai was completely baffled. Where had he said something wrong? He had only discussed it properly because they were an old married couple. What was there to be ashamed of?
Gao Mu and Qiu Ju returned to the Jiang residence at noon.
Before the two even stepped through the hanging flower gate, they could smell the aroma of cooking cured meat.
The couple parted ways in the corridor, and Gao Mu returned to her residence to prepare to go to the kitchen to get her lunch.
Qiuju walked towards the warm pavilion in the inner courtyard.
As soon as I stepped under the veranda of the warm pavilion, I heard a pig-like scream coming from inside.
"Ouch! Cangyun, can you be a little gentler? That heartless bastard made me go to the military camp, it hurt so much!"
"Young master, don't make a fuss. It's just a minor injury. Just bear with it a little longer, and it will be fine soon."
Qiu Ju looked through the window and saw Nangong Zeyue lying on the soft couch in front of the window, while Cang Yun was applying medicine to Nangong Zeyue's back.
"Is it ready? I've already asked Lan'er to tell the kitchen to send lunch over."
The young lady's voice sounded as if she were speaking near the door.
Nangong Zeyue straightened up and put on her fine robe.
He said to Jiang Shuyue, who was facing away from him at the door, "Alright, it's still Yue Niang who cares about me. In that wretched place, I've never had a full meal."
Jiang Shuyue turned around and frowned slightly. "Is there a shortage of rice in the military camp?"
"No, the food isn't as good as what you get at the manor. I passed by the kitchen in the military camp and saw that the soldiers cooking were using spatulas as big as shovels. How can you expect the food to taste good?"
"You're exaggerating too much," Jiang Shuyue chuckled.
“Miss, Young Master Nangong is not exaggerating. I have served in the military. The spatula used for cooking is actually just a large iron shovel.”
Cang Yun said with a serious expression.
"This is too much..."
Seeing Nangong Zeyue's aggrieved look, Jiang Shuyue gritted her teeth and said, "You should claim to be sick and rest at home for a few days. I will go to the palace to ask Princess Yonghe to speak on behalf of the Emperor. You should go back to the restaurant and manage the inn."
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