Ye Shan and Fuyu received their orders and left, abandoning everything behind.
I didn't expect things to go so smoothly.
Ye Shan said, "Princess, the Wu family considers themselves to be the Empress's maternal family, and no one dares to provoke them, so neither of their estates has been strictly guarded."
"The newly harvested grain this year, plus the grain stored from the previous two years, has reached 100,000 dan, but the number of people guarding it is less than 30."
"The Wang family has been a powerful family in this area for a hundred years. They own three large estates, with twice as much grain as the Wu family. Each estate has a hundred guards, but it's not difficult to get in."
"Alright, Uncle Shan, Aunt Mei, you should go and rest first. When the time is right in the next few days, I'll need your help to accompany me on a trip."
Jiayin's eyes shone brightly, making Yeshan and Dongmei laugh.
This is the kind of princess they like best.
They were the people the Marquis left for the Princess. They had been loyal to her for the past few years. To be honest, they understood the Princess's temperament and abilities better than the Li family!
With the princess taking action, the Wang and Wu families will definitely suffer a severe setback!
At this moment, four carriages approached from a distance, with their own carriage leading the way.
Jiayin was puzzled, after all, her mother had only left in a horse-drawn carriage.
Soon, the carriage arrived.
Tao Hongying opened the window and called to her daughter, "Silly girl, why are you standing here catching a chill? Come home with your mother!"
"Oh!" Jiayin rarely saw her mother so spirited. She lifted her skirt and jumped onto the carriage shaft. The carriage traveled another dozen or so feet before stopping in front of the Li family's gate.
Tao Hongying and Granny He got out of the carriage, and the doors of the three carriages behind them also opened, with a group of maids, servants and young men getting out one after another.
Jiayin was surprised. She thought her mother had bought a lot of things, but she didn't expect it to be servants!
Tao Hongying pulled her daughter inside, leaving Granny He to attend to the maids and servants.
Old Mrs. Li had just called Wan'er and Wenjuan to help her with the accounts in the main room when she heard a commotion outside and looked out the door.
Just then, she saw Tao Hongying returning and said with a smile, "Did you have so much fun outside today that you forgot to come home?"
Tao Hongying smiled and stepped forward to greet her mother-in-law, then sat down next to her and said, "Mother, I've accomplished a few important things today. You happen to be keeping track of the family's finances, so please give me a few hundred taels!"
After saying that, she instructed Shui Ling at the door.
"Go and see where the Third Madam is, and ask her to come and speak with you."
Shui Ling quickly ran to the backyard and invited Zhao Yuru over.
As Zhao Yuru turned the corner gate, the large group of people who had entered the courtyard with her came from the opposite direction and were also startled.
Upon entering the house and seeing her younger siblings, she asked, "Hongying, did you bring all these people outside back?"
“Yes,” Tao Hongying said, “I will be going out often in the future, and there is only Shuiyun in the kitchen at home, so I am a little too busy.”
"Moreover, Shuiyun is Fu Niu'er's maid, and the household cannot keep occupying her position indefinitely."
"So today I went to visit Sister Liu, hoping she could introduce me to some people she knows who could help me buy some people without connections."
"As it turned out, Sister Liu's family had just bought a new batch of people, taught them the rules, and they could sign a contract with no future agreement, so they just gave them to me."
"I went to the Marquis's residence again to see the head steward, hoping to borrow some staff from the sewing room. As it turned out, the head steward heard that I was buying servants, so he gave me three embroiderers and a head maid..."
Old Mrs. Li did not object to having servants in the household.
In the past, family members were not used to being waited on in everything, but now that there are two children in the family, feeding, dressing and caring for them are a huge undertaking, and we simply can't keep up with it all by doing it ourselves.
In addition, there has been more social interaction within the family.
Not only did Li Zhensheng and Li Lao Er have friends and colleagues to entertain, but Jiaren and his brothers also had classmates and friends come to visit.
If Shui Ling and Shui Yun are not present, the family members have to serve tea and snacks themselves, which surprises and frightens the guests.
With so many people now, we're not short of manpower...
But Tao Hongying went out and directly took the "peaches" from two families; wasn't that a bit too impolite?
"Madam Liu and the head housekeeper handed over the manpower to you, and you just took it like that?" Old Mrs. Li scolded.
Tao Hongying blushed, but still said, "Mother, Sister-in-law Liu said our family is special. If someone with ulterior motives tries to squeeze in, it could easily cause trouble for the family."
"These people were chosen by her for her own use, and no one expected them to be suddenly transferred to our family, so they are safer. As for the head housekeeper..."
"He said that the Marquis is away from home most of the year, and Fu Niu'er has rarely visited recently. It's really not worth it to keep people in the manor for nothing and have to pay them a monthly salary. If a few of our family members take some away, it will lighten the burden on the Marquis's manor."
"Besides, these people are all skilled at needlework, and their main job was to help out at our house, which saves us a lot of trouble later..."
Grandma Li was both amused and exasperated when she heard this.
Jiayin was delighted and said with a smile, "Uncle Butler is so kind. Next time I visit, I'll definitely remember to bring him lots of good food."
With her daughter-in-law and granddaughter acting this way, Old Lady Li naturally couldn't stop them.
Therefore, the head maid surnamed Chang from the Marquis's mansion was assigned to serve the old lady.
Wan'er and Wenjuan each had their own maids, but they also assigned one to help make clothes and shoes for the children.
Zhao Yuru didn't want any help, but the old lady persuaded her to take in an embroiderer so that she would have someone to do needlework with her in Luo'an.
Tao Hongying was determined to go out more often in the future, so she kept the nanny and a head maid who were specially recommended by Madam Liu.
The old woman's surname was Lin, and her maid was named Xia Qing. I heard that she came from a century-old scholarly family in Chuanzhou Prefecture.
They were originally servants of the mistress of the house, but for some unknown reason, the master's family suffered a disaster and the whole family was killed. They escaped the calamity because they went out to offer incense for the mistress. Later, they were sold and ended up in the Liu family.
Madam Liu already had trusted maids and servants around her, so it was difficult to make proper arrangements for them. However, she was also reluctant to let such a talented person go to waste, so she gave the job to Tao Hongying.
Granny Lin and Xia Qing are also intelligent people.
Tao Hongying has no one else she can rely on. As long as they are loyal, they can definitely secure a stable future for themselves!
So when Madam Liu asked them, they readily followed.
The remaining fourteen people were seven maids and seven servants, all of whom were just over ten years old.
After seeing them, Old Lady Li felt sorry for them and gave half of it to the Princess's residence.
The rest stayed at home, helping with errands, sweeping the yard, washing clothes, and so on.
In this way, the few young women temporarily hired by the village will no longer need to come.
Tao Hongying gave them an extra half-month's wages and a piece of material for each of them, then sent them home happily.
Wan'er named her maid Wanqiu, while Wenjuan named her maid Xiaodong, following the name Xiaoyue.
Zhao Yuru's maid was named Qiao'er, and she was indeed skillful, so she didn't change her name.
Tao Hongying, however, did not have the time, and also allowed Lin Mama and Xia Qing to keep their original names.
With so many more people suddenly arriving at the manor, we can't possibly arrange for them to stay at the Ye and Wen families' homes anymore.
So, Tao Hongying went to see Madam Wen that evening...
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