Chapter 619 Rearranging the Servants
Cheng Wanwan's household had a limited number of servants, and they were too busy to handle many things.
The main people serving her were Granny Qi and Ninglan. Granny Qi was in charge of arranging various things in the courtyard, while Ninglan served her closely. Having been used to being served, she had long since forgotten the modern thinking she once held.
She herself is being waited on and pampered comfortably, so everyone else in the family should enjoy the same treatment.
Da Shan is now a seventh-rank official, so he should at least have a servant assigned to run errands; that's standard for officials.
Er Gou is busy in the business world, and now Da Wang is helping him with everything. In the future, when Da Wang can stand on his own, Er Gou will also need someone to do some odd jobs.
With Xiao Hai as his page, Si Dan doesn't need any additional arrangements.
Both daughters-in-law have their own careers, and they actually need someone to help them out so their lives can be a little easier.
Cheng Wanwan smiled and said, "Let's pick three people for our youngest daughter, Xiao Zhenzhen, first: one to take care of her during the day, one to keep her company at night, and a younger girl to play with her."
Aunt Wu's eyes widened instantly. Buying a maid specifically to keep someone company? This...this...this...she really couldn't understand it.
In their village, little girls have to start working at the age of five or six. They have to do everything: washing clothes, cooking, sweeping the floor, and if they don't do it well, they get beaten... People's fates are really different.
Before, she was worried that her future mother-in-law would look down on Hui Niang's second daughter, but now she's starting to envy her daughter's good fortune...
Grandma Zhao knew that her eldest daughter-in-law was trying to save face for her granddaughter, so she immediately began to carefully select people. The two maids who were responsible for serving her were a little older, and the little girl who played with her was just over four years old. These three were considered chosen.
Of course, we should also choose a younger playmate for both Xiaozhu and Chenchen, since they are all family and we shouldn't favor one over the other.
Immediately afterwards, Cheng Wanwan picked two young men around fifteen years old, one to follow Zhao Dashan and the other to follow Zhao Ergou.
In addition, a woman was chosen to serve Wu Huiniang and Cao Yingying.
We also need to buy some maids to do odd jobs, so we picked four.
This time, Cheng Wanwan bought a total of more than ten servants to serve her.
The past two years have been relatively good, and fewer people are struggling to make ends meet. As a result, the price of servants has been higher. Moreover, she only needs servants with clean family backgrounds, which makes the price even higher, averaging four taels of silver per person.
The slave trader left with over fifty taels of silver in his pocket, his eyes crinkling into slits with laughter.
As she approached the gate of the mansion, passing villagers immediately surrounded her and asked, "Hey, aren't you Granny Wu from Hekou County? What brings you to our Dahe Village?"
Granny Wu said with a beaming smile, "Isn't it because Lady Sui's family has a new granddaughter? I, this old woman, also benefited from it and brought more than twenty people over. Lady Sui bought more than ten of them, making me a fortune. This is the first time I've ever heard that Lady Sui is so kind, speaking so gently and acting so efficiently. I really envy Lady Sui's little granddaughter, born with a silver spoon in her mouth, with three people serving her from birth, she'll enjoy endless blessings in the future."
People passing by were stunned.
"Whoever said that Aunt Dashan looked down on this second granddaughter was talking nonsense."
“Neither Xiaozhuzhu nor Chenchen were born with such good treatment. This second girl is very lucky. It just so happens that Dashanniang was promoted to a fourth-rank official, and she was born into the Zhao family as the second young lady of great wealth and honor.”
“Other families would definitely be looked down upon by their mothers-in-law if they had two daughters in a row, but Da Shan’s mother doesn’t care about that. You can only say that Da Shan’s wife is really lucky.”
"Didn't you say yesterday that the woman from the mountains couldn't give birth to a son and was destined to be unlucky?"
"I was just talking nonsense without knowing the facts."
"..."
The news spread quickly throughout the village, and those who had previously sympathized with Wu Huiniang for not being able to have a son immediately shut up.
After the lively celebration of the third wedding banquet ended and the Wu family left, Cheng Wanwan asked all the servants to gather in the courtyard.
She originally bought the three Wei siblings and Cheng Fang. Later, the imperial court bestowed twelve more people upon her, and with the addition of the fourteen she bought today, the number of servants in her household instantly surged to thirty. Fortunately, the courtyard was large enough, and two people sharing a room was sufficient for them to live comfortably.
With more people, the work needs to be rearranged.
"Granny Qi, you'll continue to manage everything as before. These new maids and servants will also be under your supervision," Cheng Wanwan said methodically. "Granny Yang will continue to teach Xiao Zhuzhu medicine, Granny Ma will just focus on the kitchen, Granny Wu will manage the storeroom and finances, and you'll be in charge of that as well. Ye Zi will continue to serve Xiao Zhuzhu, Ning Lan will continue to serve me, and Yan Hong and Liu Lü will no longer need to do other chores; they'll be responsible for overseeing the business accounts for me from now on."
“Hongying used to help manage the kitchen. You can go to Dahe Banquet with Cheng Fang to learn from her.” She said with a smile, “Of course, if you want to stay in the village, I won’t force you.”
Wei Hongying was overjoyed. Staying in the village meant serving others all the time, but going to Dahe Banquet might allow her to become a cook. Who wouldn't want to have more skills?
She immediately replied, "This servant is willing to go to the Grand River Banquet to help."
Cheng Wanwan nodded and continued, "Hongyan, if you're willing to learn, how about you help me manage my current chili pepper business?"
Originally, she wanted to find someone to cooperate with and make money passively, but the people in the village did not have the courage to take on such a big business, and she did not trust people outside the village. So in the end, she decided to take control of the whole situation and let her subordinates do the work. No matter how the work turned out, she would bail them out.
Wei Hongyan's eyes lit up: "Thank you, Lady Xie. This servant will definitely study hard and live up to your expectations."
Cheng Wanwan liked the two sisters very much. Since they came to her courtyard, they had been working diligently. In their spare time, they would read, write, and do accounting. It was because of their hard work that she was willing to give the two sisters this opportunity. If they performed well enough in the future, she would let them redeem themselves and start their own businesses.
She turned her gaze to the newly purchased servants and said in a low voice, "I also come from a poor background, and I understand the hardship you endured by selling yourselves into slavery. We are all forced by life, and no one is inferior to anyone else. But since I have spent money to buy you back, you must work hard. If anyone is lazy or tries to shirk their duties, I will have to send them back."
“I will never mistreat those who work diligently here. They will have plenty to eat and wear, and I will never treat them harshly. If they are willing to learn to read and write, or to do accounting, they will be given priority to fill vacancies in the business in the future… Whether you stay in the courtyard to serve others or go out to do business, everyone knows what to choose, right?”
The people who just came in heard Cheng Wanwan hand over the business to the little maid, so they naturally didn't doubt that what she said was true.
Moreover, they had long heard of Sui'an's reputation... oh no, she's now Sui Gongren, a fourth-rank court lady, so there's no need for her to deceive these servants.
Cheng Wanwan turned her head and said, "Grandma Qi, arrange their respective tasks, then prepare meals. After they've eaten, they can rest. We'll officially start working tomorrow."
After she finished speaking, she left the courtyard.
Then came Granny Qi's lecture. As a woman from the capital, she naturally exuded an air of authority. Since Lady Gong spoke gently, Granny Qi had to be stricter.
After the speech, a meal was immediately arranged, consisting of top-quality food, including vegetables, meat, soup, and unlimited white rice.
These servants, who had spent so much time in the yamen, had never eaten such good food before. Even for the sake of this food, they had to work hard.
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