Chapter 13 Wei Jia, who is very good at spending money
Madam Min wanted to see what abilities Yi Mei, from her previous life, and Wei Jia, from this life, truly possessed.
I initially thought this would be a long process. After all, her request sounded simple, but in reality, it was incredibly difficult.
However, in less than a day, she witnessed the surprise that Wei Jia brought her.
Wei Jia entered the mansion early in the morning, while the storyteller was invited in around mid-morning.
A man and a woman, an old man and a young girl, a lame man and a blind man.
This is a father and daughter. The father, a lame man in his fifties, plays the erhu (a two-stringed bowed instrument) to provide accompaniment. The daughter, a blind woman of fourteen or fifteen, tells the stories.
My daughter's stories were original and unconventional, and her voice was clear, melodious, and full of intonation.
The father's erhu playing was also just right, complementing the daughter's story perfectly.
The story, which was only seven parts, was told with twelve parts brilliance by the father and daughter.
Min Qiao Shi spent the entire day immersed in the story of the father and daughter.
As evening approached and the storytelling duo departed, Madam Min Qiao realized that Wei Jia had unknowingly arranged everything perfectly for everyone in Songhe Hall.
Everyone involved wasn't just the new maid who arrived today, but also the people from before, and even Granny Fang was completely taken care of by Wei Jia.
Seeing Fang Mama's face, which was filled with mixed emotions of laughter and tears, Min Qiao was very curious.
"I've only been listening to stories all day, why do you look like that?"
Granny Fang let out a long sigh, her voice a mixture of sadness and relief, and said, "I've been stripped of my power."
"Huh?" Min Qiao asked, puzzled.
Granny Fang's lips twitched. "You put that girl Wei Jia in charge of Songhe Hall's affairs, and she really put me aside. She told me that from now on I would be responsible for staying by your side, listening to stories, watching plays, drinking tea, and having fun with you. She said that from now on I would be your full-time playmate."
"Haha, I think her arrangement is pretty good!" Madam Min Qiao rarely laughed out loud. "You can join in the fun from now on."
"But, since Wei Jia has just arrived, is he capable of managing Songhetang properly?"
As soon as Madam Min Qiao finished speaking, Granny Fang pouted and said in a resentful tone, "That girl is quite something. Let alone our little Songhe Hall, give her a few days and she can straighten out the entire Marquis's mansion."
"So, you're actually a bit better than me," Madam Min Qiao couldn't help but tease.
Granny Fang was her dowry maid and the one she trusted most. If Granny Fang hadn't been limited in her abilities, she wouldn't have let Granny Fang only manage Songhe Hall and had found another old woman to help her manage the Marquis's mansion.
Granny Fang nodded, having to admit, "That girl is indeed very capable."
“However,” Granny Fang changed the subject, looking at Madam Min with a strange expression, “that girl spends too much money.”
Upon hearing this, Madam Min Qiao immediately became interested. "What do you mean by that?"
"She hired a storyteller for you, which cost ten taels of silver."
It's a bit pricey. But it's not too bad. I wouldn't call myself a big spender, would I?
Madam Min gestured for Granny Fang to continue.
"She also instructed people to find craftsmen to build three large kitchens in the southeast corner of the courtyard. She said that from now on, all of the old lady's food would be prepared by herself in the courtyard."
"They also said they would find several cooks for the Grand Madam. Local cooks from the capital, cooks from Jiangnan, cooks from Guangdong... cooks who are good at stir-frying, cooks who are good at making soup, cooks who are good at making pastries... basically, they need all kinds of cooks."
Madam Min nodded. Repairing the kitchen, buying new utensils, hiring a cook, and then there's the cost of ingredients and seasonings... all these things will indeed cost a lot of money.
Seeing that Madam Min Qiao nodded, Granny Fang quickly added, "You think that's all? Tsk tsk, this is just the beginning!"
"While you were engrossed in listening to the story, she went through all your clothes and jewelry. She picked out more than half of them, saying that the colors were too dark and would affect the mood of the Dowager, or that the patterns were too old-fashioned and would make you a laughing stock."
"And your jewelry and head ornaments are either outdated in style or too heavy, making them uncomfortable to wear."
"Then she said that most of the jewelry had to be taken out for refurbishment or melted down and remade. The clothes also needed to be remade by choosing the fabric, color, and style."
"Oh my God. At this rate, how much money could she possibly have?"
Granny Fang kept complaining about the cost, but Madam Min Qiao sensed something else in her words.
"Summon Wei Jia to see me."
Granny Fang nodded quickly: "I'll go right away."
Soon, Wei Jia arrived.
Madam Min didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point: "I heard you're good at spending money? And you're planning to spend all my money? Ha, you've got some nerve!"
Wei Jia gracefully curtsied and said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "The Grand Madam said she wished for a smooth and fulfilling life in the future. This servant is merely trying to please you."
Min Qiao narrowed her eyes slightly, "I had no idea that my hobby was spending money like crazy."
"It might not have been like that before, but it started when the Grand Madam bought back the servants."
Wei Jia was not intimidated at all and explained clearly: "When the Grand Madam was hiring servants, she specified that one would be in charge of daily life, one would be in charge of clothing, one would be in charge of jewelry, and one would be in charge of entertainment, etc. The fact that she could specify the duties of the servants to such a degree, and did not care about the number of people or whether it was a waste of manpower and resources, shows that the Grand Madam was not short of money. And the requirement to hire people to be in charge of entertainment shows that the Grand Madam was obsessed with pleasure."
"After receiving the Grand Madam's relinquishment of authority, I inquired with several of the maids in the courtyard about the Grand Madam's preferences and recent events concerning her."
"Finally, I have come to the conclusion that the Dowager Lady has lived a very miserable life in the past and is now preparing to enjoy her old age."
"Since the Dowager wishes to live a comfortable life, the material things such as clothing, food, housing, and transportation are naturally the easiest to improve. So I will start with these things and strive to create the most comfortable retirement life for the Dowager."
A glint of light flashed in Madam Min's eyes. She was indeed a talented person!
In just one day, they figured out her thoughts and made corresponding changes according to her preferences.
Indeed, gold shines wherever it is.
Even though she ended up in a brothel in her past life, she still managed to become the top courtesan and manage to coax the Marquis's heir, Min Changzhong, to redeem her and vow to marry her as his principal wife.
Unfortunately, in her previous life, she forcefully severed Min Changzhong's hopes and ruined Yimei's future.
That's right, Min Qiao Shi herself wasn't a good person either.
In her past life, she went to great lengths to protect the reputation of the Marquis's mansion. To completely extinguish Min Hui's hopes, she had Yi Mei's appearance destroyed.
As expected, Min Changzhong abandoned Yimei.
Later, she gave Yimei enough money to live comfortably for the rest of her life and sent her away from the capital.
After that, she never saw Yimei again.
In this life, Cuihongxuan lost Yimei, but Songhetang gained Weijia.
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