Chapter 23 [VIP]
Mi Yao only mentioned finding women for Xiao Chuan casually.
He was reluctant to let Xiao Chuan spend money on another woman, but he felt it was strange and troublesome.
In the novel, Xiao Chuan neither slept with the original owner of the body nor with other women, which proves that he was not a lustful man.
If that's the case, then if it were her, he would need someone who could tolerate him.
That's what she thought, but to make it seem plausible, she still told the broker when she bought servants to find a few beautiful women for her.
"She shouldn't be too young, and it doesn't matter if she's been married before. The most important thing is that she's beautiful, preferably more beautiful than me, but if she's not as beautiful as me, she should be just as beautiful."
The broker looked troubled: "Madam, finding a beautiful woman is not difficult, but finding one who is as beautiful as you is something that no amount of money could buy."
As soon as he entered the room, he was captivated by Mi Yao's beauty. Afraid of making a fool of himself and displeasing the important person, he kept his head down while answering questions. But when he heard Mi Yao's request, he secretly looked up and glanced at her.
This sight made Mi Yao seem even more beautiful, like a fairy maiden, a rare find in the mortal world.
Even if there were a woman in this world who was just as beautiful as her, she wouldn't fall into the hands of a mere broker.
"Take your time looking, there's no rush."
Anyway, she was just going through the motions, so she would have something to say to Xiao Chua, and it would be better if no broker could be found.
Finding her requires a lot of effort to compete with the other woman in beauty and find an excuse to eliminate her.
After explaining this matter, Mi Yao began selecting servants.
After discussing it with the head maid of the governor's mansion, she decided that the Xiao family would need to buy at least ten to twenty more servants.
The people nowadays can barely provide the master of the mansion with hot meals, clothes, and water; they are completely unable to maintain the normal operation of the mansion.
Mi Yao thought so too.
Having seen the beautiful scenery of the mansion, she didn't want to return to a place filled with withered branches and dead flowers.
We need two gardeners, four cleaning assistants, and two more people in the kitchen: two servants, Xiao Yi and Xiao Liang, and two others, Xiao Shan, a little maid who can be her playmate and an aunt who can take care of her.
She also needs to have two more maids by her side, so that when Shuanghua and the others are promoted to managers, she won't be short of people to serve her.
She originally thought that as an oppressor, she would not be able to get over the mental hurdle of buying people as objects.
But in reality, a row of patched-up people of varying heights but uniformly thin stood before her. When she met their numb yet expectant gazes, she felt no guilt for oppressing them.
In this era, instead of talking about oppression, she might as well embrace the idea that everyone else is just a two-dimensional character, making both sides feel comfortable.
He carefully examined each person, first filtering out those he didn't like, and then calling them up one by one for questioning.
She filtered through two more accents she couldn't understand, and the broker brought twenty people with him; she chose twenty-four of them.
Seeing that there were too many people, she sent someone to invite Xiao Chuan's personal attendant to take a look, so as to prevent anyone from infiltrating the crowd.
Pu Qing was pleased with Mi Yao's understanding and left twenty people behind for her half an hour later after taking the others away.
Once the candidates were chosen, Mi Yao didn't rush them to leave. Instead, she stood aside and let them watch as the elders of the manor stepped forward to receive their rewards.
“I have been staying at the manor for a few days and I find many of you familiar. However, since I have not yet married my husband, I have not gotten to know you properly. Now that you have come to pay your respects, please come forward one by one and state your name, age, how many years you have been in the manor, and what your responsibilities are in the manor.”
Mi Yao had already met with Manager Zheng, who guarded the warehouse, and Manager Wu, the accountant, yesterday and given them red envelopes as a token of her respect, so she didn't let them come over this time.
The most respectable servant present today was Pu Qing. Seeing that Pu Qing had no intention of taking the lead, the remaining dozen or so old servants looked at each other, and the first to step forward was Granny Fan.
Granny Fan knelt on one knee and smiled obsequiously: "Madam, my surname is Fan. I came to serve the young lady when she was one year old. I have a very deep affection for her and have devoted my whole heart to her. The clothes the young lady is wearing today are made by me."
It is said that Mi Yao and the town magistrate separated rooms just two days after their marriage. Granny Fan looked down on Mi Yao, but seeing that she had bought so many new servants, most of whom were sent to Ting Song Courtyard, she couldn't help but feel guilty.
So what if the town magistrate doesn't like Mi Yao? As long as Mi Yao is the town magistrate's wife, he can kick her out of the manor in just a few words.
After finishing her speech, Granny Fan felt uneasy. Unexpectedly, Mi Yao only glanced at her twice without saying a word. She then accepted the greeting reward money handed over by Shi Ya and realized that Mi Yao was not so scary.
A woman who was married off to a distant place and was not favored by her husband, Xiao Shan, was unable to read Xiao Chuan's mind and liked to meddle in the affairs of Tingsong Courtyard. She kept Xiao Shan by her side every day.
But while they may look good now, they'll eventually run into trouble.
With Granny Fan leading the way, the next servant stepped forward, but before he could kneel, Mi Yao stopped him, saying, "Since there's no kneeling group, you don't need to kneel to greet me. Standing makes it easier for me to see what you look like."
Mi Yao said, "The old woman in the room..."
Her face flushed red because of her relationship with Granny Ma. She always felt that, apart from Wu the Accountant and a few others, she was the most senior and capable person in the mansion, and that she was making the other servants lose face in front of her.
However, Mi Yao seemed oblivious and continued to distribute the rewards one by one.
When only the largest one remained, she looked at Pu Qing, who was standing beside her like a doorpost, and said, "Thank you for your hard work today."
"This is my duty."
The reward money, but I didn't expect the red envelope to be so heavy. My thoughts were racing. I knew it was all my master's money, but seeing the smile on the woman from Shangyu's face, I wished her good health and longevity.
After he finished speaking, the other servants in the room tactfully repeated themselves, and the orderly sound made Xiao Chuan, who was passing by, pause in his tracks.
Seeing that the person leading the group in the room was his personal attendant, Xiao Chuan remained indifferent. He remembered that when he first occupied this mansion, these servants had never welcomed him so earnestly.
He had originally planned to make an appearance in the hall, to let the new slaves know that he was the master of the mansion, and to give the unreliable Mi Yao some confidence.
Seeing that she could command the respect of his attendant and lead the greetings, he turned away to avoid seeing her smug face.
Not content with rewarding the old servants in the manor, Mi Yao, knowing that Xiao Chuan did not need any more servants, sent Pu Qing away and began to assign places to the new slaves.
The two places in the manor that need the most manpower right now are: first, the need for cleaning staff and gardeners to tend to the flowers and plants; second, the need for stewards in Tingsong Courtyard who can take care of a few young men; and third, the need for the main kitchen.
She ate and drank in the small kitchen and originally didn't plan to manage the main kitchen. However, yesterday when she went to look at the ingredients, she found that the main kitchen, which supplied food to the family, was filthy and greasy, and the dishes were placed haphazardly.
Upon inquiry, it was discovered that the chef wasn't specially hired, but rather a relative introduced by Grandma Ma.
This is truly amusing. If she hadn't seen Xiao Chuan's attitude towards Madam Ma, she would have suspected that Xiao Chuan was deeply in love with Madam Ma and allowed the Ma family to keep sending people into the Xiao residence.
"Two people will form a group, and the old servants in each group will temporarily serve as managers. If there is a shortage of items, report it directly to Shuanghua. After one month, I will see how you have demonstrated your abilities, redefine what you can do, and select managers to oversee each area."
As soon as Mi Yao finished speaking, the hall became noisy.
The new servants never expected to have the opportunity to become stewards so soon after entering the household, while the veterans never expected that they might be overshadowed by the newcomers a month later.
Among them, Granny Fan and the head chef were the most uneasy, feeling that Mi Yao was coming for them.
Many people were unwilling to hear Mi Yao's words, but none dared to speak up.
The Xiao family has few masters, and Xiao Chuan is someone who doesn't manage affairs. In the past, they were at ease in the mansion because Xiao Chuan didn't care. Now that Mi Yao has come to manage things, they don't dare to complain to Xiao Chuan.
Mi Yao didn't get involved in the group assignments; she left it to Shuang Hua.
When she was in the Yu family, Shuanghua was a head maid, but Mi Yao's courtyard was only so big, and with a wet nurse around, she didn't really have to worry about anything.
Normally, she wouldn't feel pressured to reprimand one or two young girls, but now that she's in charge of nearly forty people, and they're all watching her, her legs can't help but tremble.
Even so, in order not to lose face, she still followed Mi Yao's instructions, clearly dividing the people into groups and noting down the leaders of the old group in the register.
Hearing the tremor in Shuanghua's voice, Granny Fan rolled her eyes inwardly, thinking that the responsibility of managing things should fall on her, and how could such a young girl possibly manage it well?
She was indignant, but seeing that six people had entered Tingsong Courtyard in one go, she could only hold her anger in and plan to ask her older sister from her maternal family for help later.
"Madam, I'm afraid I won't do a good job."
After the servants in the mansion had left, Shuanghua awkwardly addressed Miyao.
She knew that her master wanted to groom her, which was a great thing, but she felt very uneasy about being asked to do the work of a head maid.
"If you can't do it well, learn slowly. If you're unsure about something, you can ask the nanny from the envoy's office, or ask me directly. Although I really want to let go and hand things over to you, I won't just ignore everything until you can stand on your own two feet."
As she spoke, Mi Yao looked at Shi Ya.
Before she could speak, Shiya knelt down and said, "Madam, rest assured, this servant will train the new maids in the courtyard and take good care of the affairs in your courtyard, so as to share the burden with Sister Shuanghua and save you from worry."
Knowing that she was not as close to Shuanghua as Miyao, Shiya coveted the power that had fallen into Shuanghua's hands, and knew that she had to serve Miyao wholeheartedly to gain her trust.
Seeing that Shi Ya was sensible, Mi Yao nodded and asked about another matter: "Did Granny Luo pack her bags and run back to Jiangnan, or what?"
Today, only Granny Luo was absent from the greetings. I wondered who she was, some kind of old lady, waiting for me to come and pay my respects.
"Granny Luo lives in the back room. As soon as she arrived, she took the best room in the servants' quarters and did not live with the other old women. She still gets her food and drink from the small kitchen every day."
Shiya replied hastily, "Knowing that Madam dislikes Granny Luo, we servants have ignored Granny Luo, but she is shameless and always tries to use Madam's name to pressure us, so we let her do as she pleases."
She hadn't heard Granny Luo buzzing in her ear these past few days.
She used to be a maid in the Li family's courtyard, so Granny Luo automatically assumed that she was with her, which bothered her a lot.
Regardless of what happened before, she is now bound to Mi Yao. This place is far away from Jiangnan, so how could she not obey Mi Yao's orders?
Furthermore, Mi Yao has a much better temper than Li Shi. As long as you listen to Mi Yao, she is the best master. She neither mistreats the servants nor is she generous to those around her.
Even a fool would know who to choose for loyalty.
"She's living a carefree life. In a little while, we'll make her do some hard work. You only get to eat if you do something. If she doesn't listen, we'll send two strong men to watch over her."
When you're too lazy to manage things, you don't care about anything. Now that you're in charge, you naturally take care of everything.
Furthermore, she genuinely dislikes anyone living a more comfortable life than her. "If someone has to watch over her, it's like she's taking up the work of two people. If she can't do two jobs in a day, then she shouldn't take a break."
Upon hearing about Luo Mama's fate, Shi Ya shrank back. She thought that Luo Mama's worst fate was simply not being valued by her master, but now it seemed that the worst was yet to come.
"And what about you?"
After finishing her business, Mi Yao planned to take Xiao Shan to have a meal with Xiao Liang.
Then she saw Yu Xiu pouting and looking at her with a worried expression.
"Why does elder sister want to find a beautiful woman?"
"To avoid suffering." Mi Yao replied casually as she walked.
"What misunderstanding is there between my sister and my brother-in-law? Can't my sister comfort him and clear up the misunderstanding?"
She had been holding back for a long time after hearing Mi Yao ask the broker to find a beauty, and only now that no one was around did she dare to ask what it meant.
The fact that the couple were separated into separate rooms on the very first day of their marriage already caused a lot of gossip in the household. If this continued, wouldn't Granny Ma and Granny Niu become even more arrogant?
Mi Yao looked into Yu Xiu's earnest eyes. Putting everything else aside, this young girl was really worried sick about whether she was favored or not.
Fearing that Yu Xiu might have some inappropriate thoughts again, Mi Yao said directly, "Your brother-in-law has unusual fetishes. Women who fall into his hands are either dead or half-dead. He pities me and wants to see me alive and well, not in a miserable state of being half-dead. So on the second day of our marriage, he took the initiative to suggest that we sleep in separate rooms. But the fact that he handed over the management of the household to me proves that even though we sleep in separate rooms, he still loves me."
Upon hearing this, Yu Xiu was taken aback. She didn't understand matters between men and women, let alone what kind of fetish a man could have that would leave a woman barely alive.
Could it be that they'll resort to physical violence?
Considering Xiao Chu's size, one punch from him would indeed leave him with only half a life.
"How could my brother-in-law do this..."
Yu Xiu trembled, realizing why her elder sister had bruises and swollen lips that day.
Yu Xiu wasn't the only one frightened. Mi Yao looked down and saw that Xiao Luobo was also trembling with tears in his eyes.
Alright, now not only will Yu Xiu stay far away from Xiao Chua, but Xiao Shan's daughter will also see him as if she's seen a devil.
*
After Xiao Yi returned from his leave, he started going to the academy early in the morning and returning late at night again. After he left, Xiao Shan went with Mi Yao, leaving Xiao Liang all alone in Ting Song Courtyard.
When Mi Yao went to find him, she saw him sitting cross-legged on a stool, idly fiddling with the nine-linked rings in his hand.
Thinking that he might have spent the day like that if she hadn't come, Mi Yao's sympathy began to overflow again.
If Xiao Liang were a little older, she could ignore him, but although he was two years older than Xiao Shan, in her eyes they were about the same size, both immature children who only looked at people with their watery eyes.
"Mother."
Upon seeing Mi Yao, Xiao Liang's eyes lit up, but he had been sitting cross-legged for too long, and his legs went numb. He jumped off the stool and collapsed to the ground, his legs giving way.
"How did you fall?"
Mi Yao was startled by his prostration. She thought she would hear the child burst into tears, but Xiao Liang got up and bit his lip, looking pitiful as if he wanted to cry but held it back.
Look how badly his father scolded him!
She heard that Xiao Chuan forbade the two children from crying, and she felt relieved to hear that. Who would want to hear children crying for no reason?
But seeing Xiao Liang holding back tears at this moment did not stop her from thinking that Xiao Chua was a bad person, and thus the thought of being a good person arose in her mind.
"Where does it hurt? If you're injured, I'll take you to get some medicine."
Mi Yao squatted down and, after Xiao Liang agreed, pushed up his trouser leg.
He was dressed warmly, and his knees were not injured, only slightly red.
“Mother, I don’t feel any pain…” He wanted to cry not because he was hurt from the fall, but because he felt ashamed in front of his mother and was afraid that she would think he was useless and couldn’t even walk properly.
"Shan'er, come here and breathe on your brother's chest."
"howl……"
Xiao Shan obediently responded, then leaned close to Xiao Liang's knees and blew on them, "No... tap tap..."
"Shan'er, you can talk now?!"
Xiao Liang, disregarding his embarrassment, looked at Xiao Shan in surprise. Xiao Shan didn't answer him, and not knowing what to do, he grabbed Xiao Shan's arm and buried his head to look at her teeth. "Your teeth seem to be a little big."
The older brother told his younger sister that it was because her teeth hadn't grown in properly, and that she would be able to speak once her teeth grew in.
Therefore, he paid special attention to his sister's teeth growth and would count them whenever he had free time.
The twenty teeth are the same as the ones counted last time.
Since it wasn't that he had grown extra teeth, the only thing he could think of was that his teeth had gotten bigger.
Xiao Shan felt uncomfortable being stared at, as if her mouth was being forced open and she couldn't hold her saliva. She pointed at Xiao Liang and complained to Mi Yao, "...You bad boy!"
"How could Shan'er say my second brother is bad? He likes you so much."
Xiao Liang didn't cry when he fell, but when he heard his sister say he was bad, he couldn't help but wipe away his tears. "Shan'er, your second brother isn't bad!"
"bad!"
Not bad!
"You... Hi!"
Mi Yao originally wanted to stop the two radishes from arguing, but seeing them going back and forth, and Xiao Shan trying hard to pronounce words seriously, she found it funny and simply asked Shi Ya to go to the small kitchen to deliver the food to Ting Song Courtyard.
When Xiao Shan was tired of arguing and lay down on Mi Yao's lap, Xiao Liang noticed that Mi Yao was still in the room. He lowered his head shyly for a moment, but then, remembering that his sister could speak, he mustered up his courage to look at Mi Yao again: "Mother, my sister can speak now. She's not a stupid child."
"Your sister is certainly not a stupid girl; she just didn't want to learn to speak before."
"Did your mother make Shan'er want to learn?"
Xiao Liang's eyes sparkled as he felt that his mother was just like a fairy in a storybook, not only gentle and beautiful, but also kind-hearted.
She not only took her younger sister with her, but also taught her to speak.
Meeting Xiao Liang's gaze, Mi Yao realized that this kid was particularly good at providing emotional value. Every time he looked at her, his eyes were full of emotion, making her feel like she had done something incredibly good.
I don't know how Xiao Chuan resisted those cold looks and sarcastic remarks towards him.
"It's not my doing. Your sister can talk, she's just too lazy to talk. Talk to her more in the future, and she'll learn when she's in a better mood."
"Mother, I understand."
Afterwards, when they sat down to eat, Xiao Liang kept talking to Xiao Shan. At first, Xiao Shan would respond with a few syllables, but later she got annoyed and covered her ears.
In his rambling, Mi Yao found a reason why Xiao Shan didn't like to speak.
After Xiao Chua's mother passed away, the two children lost their grandmother. Xiao Shan was not yet one year old at that time and needed someone to take care of her. A wet nurse was found to take care of her, but she still cried and screamed every day.
Xiao Chuan found it annoying and told the wet nurse not to let her cry.
The wet nurse had no choice but to cover Xiao Shan's mouth to prevent her from making a sound. Over time, when Xiao Shan started to learn to speak, she still wouldn't open her mouth, and the wet nurse realized something was wrong.
That's how Granny Ma had the opportunity to suggest that Xiao Chuan change his wet nurse and let Granny Fan into the mansion.
Knowing this, Mi Yao couldn't help but wonder if she had a face that made her easy to bully.
Otherwise, Xiao Shan wouldn't have cried for so long. How could he have gotten her to hug him by crying the first time they met?
She had her answer about whether someone had an easy-to-bully face half an hour later.
Because Luo Mama, who heard her orders, didn't take her words seriously, she made a scene in front of Xiao Chuan, hoping that Xiao Chuan would come and discipline her.
Before Granny Luo found Xiao Chuan, he was having a meal alone.
Previously, whenever he was at the mansion, and Xiao Yi went to the academy, it meant that he would eat with the remaining two children.
After Mi Yao arrived, Xiao Shan went to Mi Yao's place first, and now Xiao Liang has also disappeared.
Upon hearing that Mi Yao had the small kitchen deliver meals to Ting Song Courtyard, Xiao Chuan looked at the greasy stir-fried vegetables and meat in front of him and asked, "Didn't they say the head kitchen staff had changed?"
Pu Qing left after paying his respects to Mi Yao, but that didn't stop him from leaving someone to find out what Mi Yao had been doing.
Upon hearing his master's question, Pu Qing replied, "The main kitchen staff hasn't changed. They just brought in a few people, saying that the head chef wasn't doing a good job, so they immediately found replacements."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Chu scoffed.
Since Yu Nu doesn't eat the food from the main kitchen, how can we know if the cook is good or not? I'm afraid that by the time she's buried, the main kitchen won't be able to find a replacement.
"Does the magistrate find the dishes unpalatable?"
Pu Qing asked tentatively.
Everyone in the manor knew that the head chef's skills weren't very good, but Xiao Chuan, as the master, never raised any objections, so the servants naturally just ate there.
Even if the chef's cooking skills are not good, at least he is a decent person and does not skimp on ingredients, so those who serve him can still eat meat and vegetables.
Xiao Chuan did not answer Pu Qing's question, but only frowned.
It had nothing to do with whether it suited his taste or not; he was neither fond of women nor food. However, the thought of what Yu Nu ate made him find it hard to swallow.
Yu Nu lived a life of extravagance and indulgence with his money, while he ate meat and vegetables together in one pot, with all the dishes having the same flavor and being stewed together.
What kind of logic is that?
At that moment, Granny Luo rushed to Xiao Chuan and shouted that Mi Yao was heartless, unfilial to her elders, and disrespectful to her husband.
Xiao Chuan didn't know whether he was filial to his elders or not, but he put down his chopsticks and wanted to nod in agreement with the disrespect shown later.
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