Chapter 20
Is your aunt still at the mansion?
Walking down the street, Mi Yao suddenly remembered Xiao Rou, whom she had seen yesterday. If she were still there, she would definitely go and say hello.
“My aunt visited my mother and us yesterday and then left. I heard from Granny Fan that she didn’t even get to eat at the banquet.”
Xiao Liang answered Mi Yao with a serious expression, looking at her intently.
She knew that Xiao Liang was trying to get her attention and curry favor with him.
Mi Yao looked at his fair and tender face and refrained from pinching it, but instead patted his head: "Erlang explained it very carefully."
As Mi Yao stroked his head, Xiao Liang smiled shyly. He had originally thought that his mother would stay far away from him and his brother, but who knew that his mother not only gave them gifts, but also took them to the storeroom to see things.
Although he didn't know what she was going to ask, he was very happy and excited, hoping that Mi Yao would ask him more questions he knew so that he could answer them and talk to his mother more.
Unfortunately, Mi Yao didn't say anything more along the way. However, he wasn't disappointed for long. When they arrived at the storeroom, Mi Yao had the servants bring chairs and braziers. His seat was right next to Mi Yao, which made him happy again.
Xiao Liang's thoughts were written all over his face. Xiao Yi glanced at his younger siblings out of the corner of his eye. One of them was squeezed into Mi Yao's chair, dozing off while holding Mi Yao's arm. The other was looking up at Mi Yao with bright, shining eyes.
When Mi Yao was indifferent to them, the second brother felt lost, but he also felt safe. Now that Mi Yao has changed, he doesn't feel happy; instead, he feels somewhat uneasy.
She feared that one day Mi Yao would lose patience with Erlang and Shan'er, and that the two would be disappointed and sad. She was even more afraid that Mi Yao's kindness at this moment had another purpose, and that the words those adults used to scare them would come true. She feared that Mi Yao, as a stepmother, would find them a burden and would not be able to bear them living in the Xiao mansion with her future child.
Mi Yao didn't realize how much psychological pressure her changes put on Xiao Yi.
Her mind is now completely focused on the inventory of the warehouse.
Besides the chairs, she also had two tables brought over: "Shuanghua Records, Steward Zheng, point to the location, Shiya, go and fetch the items for me to review."
After Mi Yao finished speaking, she noticed Yu Xiu glaring at the three little rascals beside her and continued, "Xiu'er, go help Shuanghua. If you do well, I'll give you a reward."
Upon hearing Mi Yao's instructions, Xiao Yi couldn't sit still and said, "Mother, I also know quite a few characters and am strong enough to help with the tasks."
Upon hearing his elder brother speak, Xiao Liang quickly followed suit, saying he could help.
Xiao Liang was out of the question, but Mi Yao looked at Xiao Yi, who had a serious expression. She was naturally happy to have someone volunteer to do the work: "You come and read the old booklet and call out the names. Ask me if you don't recognize any words."
The old booklet had a simple way of writing, and there weren't any difficult words. Xiao Yi took on the task, which saved her from having to strain her voice.
The Xiao family's warehouse was quite large, a two-story building, and there was more than one.
The warehouse contained large items like beds and couches, as well as smaller items like jewelry and ornaments.
There was only one steward and one young servant in charge of the warehouse. Upon seeing them, Mi Yao understood why Xiao Chuan trusted Steward Zheng to manage the warehouse.
Manager Zheng was nearly eight feet tall, with a strong build and regular features, but a hideous scar on his right cheek almost ruined half of his face.
In addition, he had a cane beside him, and one of his legs was obviously disabled.
Despite his physical disability, Steward Zheng had fierce eyes and a bushy beard, clearly a tough man who had been on the battlefield and had blood on his hands. If he were to injure his leg, it wouldn't be easy for ordinary people to take advantage of him.
Considering Xiao Chuan's official position, this Steward Zheng was probably one of his former subordinates. Xiao Chuan was certain of his loyalty, so he assigned him to guard the warehouse.
Upon seeing Manager Zheng, she realized that the messy handwriting in the old booklet was completely acceptable. She already thought it was remarkable that Manager Zheng could read and had the patience to write in small characters.
She had no intention of stuffing people into the warehouse. Her purpose in coming here was not only to select furnishings for her new house, but also to do some work, such as re-registering the items in the previous catalog that were vague, so that it would be easier to get better items in the future.
"The items in the catalog are all piled up here; the smaller ones are packed in boxes, and the larger ones are outside."
Mi Yao asked Steward Zheng to sit down, and he did not refuse. He sat down boldly in the corner he pointed to. "Madam, just tell me the dates and items in the old book. I have a good memory and I will definitely be able to find them for you."
Manager Zheng patted his chest confidently.
Looking at his appearance, Mi Yao couldn't help but wonder if she was judging people too much by their looks.
Although Manager Zheng appeared rough and unrestrained, it didn't mean he wasn't a thoughtful man. However, before even half a cup of tea had been brewed, seeing the table full of utensils and Manager Zheng covered in sweat, Mi Yao knew she was overthinking things.
Manager Zheng started by memorizing the dates in the booklet, thinking that the things before the dates were at the bottom and he could guess a few correctly. But when it came to the later dates, he just rummaged around in the boxes.
Mi Yao couldn't stand it anymore, so she simply asked Shi Ya and the others to take out the items and put them on the table, and she went through the booklet one by one to identify them.
Fortunately, she inherited the original owner's memories. Since the original owner was knowledgeable, she was naturally able to distinguish the names of each object.
"This jade pendant is quite nice."
Looking at the white jade gifted by the Sun family of Jingzhou recorded in the booklet, Mi Yao opened the brocade box and saw the mutton-fat white jade carved with lotus flowers inside. It felt warm and smooth to the touch. She liked it and asked Shuanghua to record that she had taken it.
After taking the jade, Mi Yao casually handed it to Xiao Shan, letting her hold and play with it, while she began to look at the next item.
This small storeroom is mostly filled with gifts given to Xiao Chuan by others. Because Xiao Chuan is a military general, the kinds of gifts he receives are quite similar. Even if the box contains a dagger, it is inlaid with gemstones and has a gilded sheath.
In addition, Mi Yao also found many things that she had given to children.
It's likely that the person who sent the gift knew Xiao Chuan had three children and thoughtfully prepared things for them, hoping to curry favor with him. Little did they know that Xiao Chuan had simply thrown the gifts into the storeroom and had no intention of giving them to Xiao Yi and the others.
She naturally collected all these things and distributed them to the three children. In addition, upon seeing a box of animals made of gold beans, Mi Yao gave the box to Yu Xiu.
"This box is yours. I'm too lazy to categorize the other toys. If your nephew or niece has anything you want, you can use this to trade for it. If they like it too, you can use this to exchange for silver and then go out to buy it."
Seeing Mi Yao keep taking things out and placing them in front of Xiao Liang and the others, asking them to take them back to the courtyard, Yu Xiu gritted her teeth in frustration. They had taken all the things away. When her sister gave birth, her brother-in-law would have nothing left for his legitimate child.
Unexpectedly, the next moment, her older sister gave her a box of gold beans.
"Sister, this is far too precious..."
Yu Xiu dared not accept it. She was a concubine's daughter. Although she had been by Mi Yao's side all these years, which prevented her from being looked down upon by the servants in the mansion, her treatment was vastly different from that of Mi Yao, the legitimate daughter. The only gold bracelet in her bag was a gift from her stepmother, Madam Li, before she left the Yu mansion.
These gold beans should be enough to make two gold bracelets.
"Even if it's valuable, you're my sister, so it's definitely worth it."
Mi Yao didn't say that the gold was worthless among all the treasures in the room, but rather emphasized that Yu Xiu was worth it.
Upon hearing this, Yu Xiu's eyes welled up with tears, and she completely forgot about what Xiao Shan and the others had received: "Sister, no one in this world has ever treated me better than you."
These words sounded familiar. Mi Yao thought for a moment and realized that she had said them to Xiao Chuan.
So this is what it feels like to hear those words. No wonder Xiao Chuan, who is usually so self-controlled and never shows his emotions, gave her a deep look after she finished speaking.
"If Aunt wants anything, just take it; there's no need to exchange it."
Xiao Yi wanted to refuse when he saw that Mi Yao had found so many things to send to Ting Song Courtyard. He felt that there were too many things, and since his father hadn't given them to them before, they probably weren't meant for them.
Upon hearing Mi Yao's instructions to Yu Xiu, she immediately spoke up.
After he finished speaking, Xiao Liang pushed the box in front of him outwards, saying, "Auntie, just take it."
He was already happy enough with the nine-linked rings he got from Mi Yao. Besides, if all these things were kept in Ting Song Courtyard, he was afraid they would slowly disappear in no time, just like the little trinkets he used to like, which were either taken away by Hu Tou or disappeared from the house.
"It's not something I'll take now."
Mi Yao said, "Xiu'er, go and make a few registers. After this place is over, go and record everything in your nephews' and nieces' courtyards. Write down these things too, so that if anything is lost in the future, you'll know what's missing."
In large families, it is perfectly normal for the young master to keep a record of his belongings, but Xiao Chuan, a fourth-rank official, was a latecomer to the profession. He didn't care about the inner quarters or the female relatives, so naturally, it was a mess.
Besides, the Xiao family had far too few servants.
The Yu family was only slightly larger than the Xiao family, with nearly two hundred servants in their residence, while the Xiao family only had nineteen.
She added the purchase of slaves to the logbook, and instead of writing the manager's name in the previous column, she filled in Yu Xiu.
Since Granny Luo couldn't be used, Mi Yao considered several candidates for the Xiao family's steward. Those with ability were naturally servants in other people's households, but even if she managed to recruit one, her loyalty would still be a concern.
Instead of going to great lengths to find and train talent, she focused her search on the people around her.
Three cobblers are equal to one Zhuge Liang. Shuanghua, Shiya, and Yuxiu are all literate. With a little training, they can take up their posts.
Anyway, the Xiao family's original foundation was already like this, so the newly added personnel have plenty of time to learn and grow on their own.
After taking inventory of the first warehouse, Mi Yao moved on to the next warehouse.
The second warehouse was slightly larger, and judging from the obviously haphazardly piled-up items, she knew that everything in this warehouse was Xiao Chua's spoils of war.
So many things didn't even come in boxes.
She sent someone to buy brocade boxes for storing the necessary items. Mi Yao lazily propped her chin up with her hand, watching Shuang Hua and Xiao Yi getting more and more skilled. She felt more and more that her future was promising, and that she could relax after a few more days of hard work.
Feeling her stomach was empty, she simply took Xiao Shan and Xiao Liang and slipped away to the food storehouse where the Xiao family stored medicines and rare ingredients.
The banquet was held yesterday, and there are still many fresh goods left in the food store that were not used yesterday. You can only see the abalone, sea cucumber, shark fin and fish maw in the cabinets by going inside.
Mi Yao frowned as she looked at the appearance of the ingredients.
The ingredients for her small kitchen were all taken from the main kitchen. Because the chef she brought from Jiangnan was quite skilled, and the ingredients she bought on the way hadn't been completely used up, she didn't feel that there was anything wrong with the meals.
But now that she saw the second-grade abalone, which was not even as big as Xiao Shan's hand, she was unhappy. This was the Xiao family, which had tens of thousands of taels of gold on its books. As Xiao Shan's beloved wife, how could she only eat these kinds of things!
It should at least be abalone with three heads, shark fin, and white fish maw.
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