Chapter 61 Min Rong brought his mistress back.
After the family property was divided and Min Hui and Min Yao moved out, Madam Min Qiao devoted all her attention to taking stock of her private assets.
She first identified those stewards who, like Yang An, held dual roles, and had them delegate the affairs of the Marquis's residence to others, then reassigned their duties.
From now on, Yang An and the others will only need to take care of the affairs around her, and will no longer need to manage the affairs of the Marquis's residence.
Then there were her servants, whom she also completely separated from the servants of the Marquis's mansion.
From then on, all her subordinates worked solely for her, and their monthly stipends all came from her private savings.
Next came the year-end inventory of the various estates, shops, and workshops.
After the inventory is completed, the year-end bonuses from each department will also be distributed.
Because this year is the first New Year after Min Qiao's rebirth, and also the first year that she decided to use all her private property on herself, she ordered that all rewards distributed this year be increased by 30%.
The items in the warehouse also need to be re-registered and cataloged.
The cash she had also needed to be counted and sealed.
By the time Madam Min finished her work, it was almost New Year's Day.
On New Year's Eve, Madam Min Qiao got up early and distributed New Year's money to the maids of Songhe Hall.
Granny Fang will receive twenty taels, Wei Jia twenty taels, the first-class head maid ten taels, and all other maids will receive five taels.
Madam Min Qiao is now used to being carefree and doesn't care how many head maids she has around her anymore.
So, whenever she was in a good mood, she could casually point a finger and another first-class maid would appear; she could casually say something and yet another first-class maid would appear.
Counting on one's fingers, Ayi, Ashuang, Asan, Aqi, and Ajiu, plus the previous Lvwu, Songhe Hall now has a total of six first-class maids.
This doesn't even include Wei Jia, the top-tier maid.
In short, Songhetang's monthly allowances and bonuses for these maids are so generous that they would make Madam Wu's eyes widen in amazement.
Of course, these are nothing compared to Min Qiao's daily expenses.
Since the small kitchen was built, Madam Min no longer needed meals delivered from the main kitchen.
Wei Jia hired four cooks for her. They could cook any dish imaginable, from all directions, whether fried, stewed, or boiled. There was nothing Min Qiao Shi couldn't do; there were few cooks who couldn't prepare it.
Of course, the cooks' wages were also shockingly high. Each of them earned ten taels of silver per month, not including clothing for all four seasons and holiday bonuses.
Back then, when Madam Wu learned the monthly wages of the cooks, her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
She only received ten taels of silver a month, Min Yuexi only received two taels, and her two sons who were studying only received three taels each.
At that time, Songhetang's accounts were still mixed with the Houfu's accounts. Wu Shi really tore a handkerchief to pieces to restrain herself from questioning Min Qiao Shi at Songhetang.
These are all digressions.
In short, Mrs. Min is now spending money like crazy. She spends it however she pleases.
Besides the maids from Songhe Hall, the four cooks each received a reward of ten taels of silver. The two who agreed to stay and serve during the New Year period received an extra ten taels of silver.
The other two cooks, seeing this, wished they could stay and serve as well. Unfortunately, they were both from the capital and wanted to go home to celebrate the New Year with their families. Unlike the other two, who were from out of town and couldn't even go home for their family reunion.
The entire Songhe Hall was filled with a joyful atmosphere.
The Begonia Courtyard, however, was in complete chaos.
Should we give out monetary rewards? Where should we set the New Year's Eve dinner? How should we decide on the menu? Where should we store the sacrificial offerings? ...
Since Yang An and the other stewards left, Madam Wu has been completely lost. Although she still has Granny Zhou to help her, Granny Zhou can only manage the inner courtyard; she doesn't understand the affairs of the stewards in the outer courtyard.
Moreover, ever since she learned that the maids at Songhetang had received a raise in their monthly allowances and that their bonuses were several times higher than before, Granny Zhou had no desire to work for Wu Shi for free.
Many things can be faked if possible, and if not, just say she doesn't understand.
As a result, Ms. Wu was even more at a loss.
With Granny Zhou setting an example, everyone else followed suit. In just one month, the huge Marquis's mansion had descended into complete chaos.
In the end, Min Yuexi couldn't stand it anymore and stepped forward to lend a hand to Madam Wu, thus preventing the Marquis's mansion from falling into complete chaos.
After a flurry of activity, the mother and daughter managed to prepare the most important New Year's Eve dinner just before the appointed time.
When the time came, Min Yuexi personally went to Songhe Hall to invite Madam Min Qiao to the main courtyard for the New Year's Eve dinner.
Min Qiaoshi did not refuse and went with Wei Jia and A Jiu to accompany Min Yuexi.
Granny Fang and Yang An were a large family with sons and grandsons. After distributing the year-end bonuses, Madam Min Qiao let Granny Fang go back with Yang An.
"Mother, you've come!"
Upon entering the main courtyard, Madam Wu warmly greeted us from afar.
"grandmother!"
"grandmother!"
Sixteen-year-old Min Changzhong and twelve-year-old Min Changli also came forward to greet them.
The mother and her two children pushed past Min Yuexi and helped Min Qiaoshi to her seat.
Min Qiaoshi found it amusing. She had never seen Wu Shi act so obediently before, neither in her past life nor this one.
This was the first time in two generations that her two grandsons had been so affectionate towards her.
It must have been taught by the Wu family.
Min Qiaoshi originally thought she would be the last to arrive, but she didn't see Min Rong even after she sat down.
"Where is Min Rongren?" Min Qiao asked casually.
Madam Wu looked embarrassed, then said aggrievedly, "The Marquis left early this morning, saying he would definitely be back before the New Year's Eve dinner. But it's already past the appointed time, and we still haven't seen him. I was afraid that if we waited too long, Mother would go hungry, so I asked Xi'er to invite you over. What do you think, should we eat our New Year's Eve dinner first, or wait for the Marquis?"
Upon hearing Wu's words, Min Qiao couldn't help but twitch her lips. Had Wu suddenly become cunning? She had actually learned to sow discord between Min Rong and her.
In her previous life, Wu was completely obedient to Min Rong's orders.
Madam Min smiled; she had no intention of getting involved in their marital affairs.
Of course, she didn't want to make herself suffer. Just as she was about to suggest starting the meal, she heard someone outside shout loudly, "The Marquis is back! The Marquis is back!"
Soon, accompanied by a cacophony of footsteps, Min Rong stepped through the door.
Closely following him were a beautiful woman who looked to be in her mid-twenties and a girl who looked to be thirteen or fourteen.
Min Qiao squinted and looked him over, and unsurprisingly recognized the person who had come.
The beautiful woman, named He Lu, was Min Rong's mistress. She looked young, but was actually over thirty, only two years younger than Wu. Because she took good care of herself, she looked ten years younger than Wu, and her appearance was far superior to Wu's.
The little girl, who was about the same age as Min Yuexi, was He Lu's daughter with her ex-husband, named He Rui.
That's right, He Lu was a widow before becoming Min Rong's mistress.
Looking at the mother and daughter in front of her, Madam Min was only slightly surprised, but not unexpected.
After all, this mother and daughter were destined to enter the household sooner or later. It's just that they entered the household much earlier in this life than in the previous one. And the timing of their entry was also far more sensitive than in the previous life.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com