Chapter 185 Firecrackers (Part 2)

Sorting out the people on daily duty... I've never heard of that before.

You know, the house is the busiest during the Chinese New Year. Either the wife or daughter is out visiting friends or there are guests coming. Maids and old women are even busier than usual, and can only take a break when there are fewer people. If the people on duty are arranged every day, then those who are not on duty will naturally be justified in being lazy. What if an important guest suddenly comes one day and there are not enough people? It’s easy to deal with one or two days, but from today until after the Lantern Festival, it’s more than half a month...

Aunt Qin looked at Aunt Wen at a loss. Aunt Wen hesitated for a moment and looked towards Qiao Lian's room. She saw that the corner of her mouth was slightly curled and there was a hint of disdain in her eyes.

Madam Wen was delighted.

Qiao Lianfang felt awkward in front of Shiyi Niang, and she was very clear about it. From Shiyi Niang's tone, she wanted to break the previous pattern and do something new. Aunt Qin was a person without her own opinion, and Qiao Lianfang was good for not supporting her, let alone opposing her - this was a good opportunity for her.

She immediately smiled and said, "Sister, I think what you said makes sense. If there is any problem at home, we can find someone with this duty list. But I have never heard of it before, and I have never been the head of a household, so I don't know what to do. Otherwise, you can ask Miss Amber to teach me what to do. Once I have a clear idea in my mind, I can sort out the duty list and hand it to Miss Amber as soon as possible." She showed an attitude of full support.

"Madam," Qin Yi Niang heard this and immediately said, "Madam Wen and I think the same thing. We are really ignorant and have never heard of it. Please let Miss Amber teach us!"

Qiao Lianfang lowered her head and took a sip of tea without saying anything, looking as if she had heard nothing.

Shiyi Niang smiled slightly. No wonder Yuan Niang liked Madam Wen so much at the beginning. She was really a considerate person.

Now the ratio is two to one, so Qiao Lianfang's attitude is naturally not that important.

She told Amber to take out the duty list in her room and show it to Madam Wen: "...This is what Amber arranged in advance. Take a look. Amber will come to your room later to tell you how to arrange the shifts."

Madam Wen took it and looked at it. She found that Shiyi Niang had listed all the matters in her room first, and then assigned people to do the work according to these matters. She also set specific times for each person. Although it was trivial and troublesome, it was not a difficult task.

She smiled slightly and was about to agree immediately, but then she changed her mind.

Eleventh Lady is not the head of the household, so why is she going through so much trouble to renovate her own house?

She thought of her first confrontation with Shiyi Niang in the courtyard, and Shiyi Niang's tolerance towards Qiao Lianfang, which seemed to be retreating but contained infinite murderous intent... Things would not be that simple!

Madam Wen lowered her head and looked at the list carefully, trying to find something from it.

Things... are still the same things... People... are still the same people... No, the number of people is wrong...

She has always had a talent for numbers.

Watch it once and you will never forget it.

In a flash of lightning, she suddenly realized.

This scheduling really requires knowledge.

At first glance, it seems that everyone has a assigned shift, but a closer look reveals that according to this schedule, the maids and old women in Eleventh Lady's room can each rest for one day, and the head maids and respectable mothers can rest for two days.

There was a glimmer of vigilance in her eyes.

The Third Lady is now in charge of the household. She has the final say on how much money is given from the public treasury. However, how to use the money is up to each family. Eleventh Lady cannot change how much money is given from the public treasury for the New Year, but she can decide how to spend the New Year... The Xu family is not a small family. The relationships among the servants are complicated, and some of them have served the old marquis. As a new bride, she wants to gain a foothold in this family quickly, and the best way is to give these people favors. Rewarding money is endless. Finding ways to reward the servants with a day off during the New Year does not cost money or cause any trouble. But for the servants who have no time to rest all year round, being able to rest during the New Year is good news. If the people in other houses knew about this, they would probably be envious and would praise Eleventh Lady for her kindness and generosity. She really bought a good reputation without spending a penny.

Thinking of this, she calmed down and read the list carefully again.

Aunt Qin knew that Aunt Wen was always smart and never made mistakes. She just followed suit and didn't have to be the first one to take the lead, nor the last one to realize the situation.

Seeing that Madam Wen read the list over and over again, she couldn't help but feel a little nervous. She clenched her fists and stared at Madam Wen, trying to read something from her expression!

Qiao Lianfang looked at him with disdain.

This Qin Yi Niang only knows how to follow behind Wen Yi Niang and never has her own opinion. You know, governing a big country is like cooking a small fish. Those old rules affect the whole body and cannot be changed casually. Eleventh Lady is different from others. In the final analysis, she just wants to compete with Third Lady. If I were in her position, I would do the same. But who knows what will happen if you don't try it in a small range and do it during the New Year. Then it will cause trouble for the Marquis.

When I thought about it, my heart ached like a knife.

Lord Hou stayed here again last night...

She held the teacup tightly in her hand, her fingers turning slightly white.

Eleventh Lady looked at the nervous Concubine Qin, the serious Concubine Wen and the absent-minded Concubine Qiao, picked up the teacup and sipped the tea, patiently waiting for Concubine Wen's reaction - she would be in charge of the Xu Mansion's feeding in the early spring of next year.

To resist foreign aggression, one must first stabilize the internal situation. Based on the Third Lady's personality, she would definitely be given a messy stall that looked good on the outside but was actually rotten on the inside. She had to quickly find out the attitudes of the concubines, so as to avoid any setbacks.

"Sister!" After a long while, Madam Wen raised her head and looked at Eleventh Lady with a smile, "After you entered the palace to congratulate the Empress on the first day of the New Year, I'm afraid that more and more guests will come to visit you." She pointed to the names of Amber and Binju, who were on the first day of the New Year, "I see that although you have added more people, you should be prepared for the worst. This year is your first New Year in the mansion, and I'm afraid that there will be more people coming to pay New Year's greetings than ever before. If you don't mind, how about I and Qiuhong from my room come over to help you? I can't do other things, but I think serving tea and pouring water won't go wrong."

Eleventh Lady was slightly surprised.

Unexpectedly, Madam Wen not only saw through my intention quickly, but also immediately expressed her support to me. She is really a very smart person!

She smiled and nodded: "If I'm really too busy, I'll have to ask my aunt to come and help."

When Aunt Qin saw this, she immediately said, "I can come over and help when the time comes."

Shiyi Niang nodded. Aunt Qin and Aunt Wen's eyes fell on Qiao Lianfang. Shiyi Niang, who already knew Qiao Lianfang's attitude, didn't need her to express her opinion at this moment. Before Qiao Lianfang could react, she smiled and said, "This matter is a bit urgent. Let's go!" Then she picked up the teacup and sent the guests away.

All three of them were stunned.

Aunt Qin didn't expect that Shiyi Niang, who had always been kind to Qiao Lianfang and Yuan Niang, would not even ask Qiao Lianfang and put on a tough attitude... This made her a little uneasy. Although Shiyi Niang was young, she was the daughter of the Luo family after all. Thinking back to the past, Yuan Niang... She shook her head hurriedly, as if this way, she could put the past behind her.

Madam Wen found it very interesting - she was the legitimate daughter, and had seen the wives and concubines fighting since she was a child. A beautiful and noble woman like Qiao Lianfang was the most jealous of the mistress. Shiyi Niang treated Qiao Lianfang like this, and now was not the right time to act. Thinking that Xu Lingyi had mostly stayed in Shiyi Niang's room these days, she felt that her guess was right. She looked at Qiao Lianfang with a look of schadenfreude.

Qiao Lianfang was burning with anger.

What does Shiyi Niang mean by this? She looks like she doesn't take her seriously. Is she trying to act like the legal wife in front of her?

She was so angry that her face turned red.

She was just a concubine's daughter of humble origins, but she became the wife of Marquis Yongping thanks to her sister's conspiracy and trickery, and now she really thinks she is a noble person.

She wanted to say something, but she felt that speaking now would be a sign of weakness, which would only make Shiyi Niang proud. If she didn't say anything, Shiyi Niang would think that she was afraid of her and would inevitably bully her in the future... Just as her heart was in turmoil, Madam Wen stood up and said with a smile, "Then let's go back to the house first." Madam Qin followed immediately, "It's almost the New Year, and there's a lot to do. Madam, take good care of yourself. I'll sort out the list of people on duty in the house tonight for Madam to see."

The two of them unconsciously distanced themselves from Qiao Lianfang, without even looking at her, they knelt in salute and retreated with a smile.

Qiao Lianfang clearly felt the change in Qin and Wen's attitude towards her.

Her face turned pale and blue, and she heard Eleventh Lady ask the little maid calmly, "Go and see if the curtains are hung up? Otherwise the house will be in a mess when the marquis comes back." As if she didn't exist.

When Qiao Lianfang listened, her eyes flashed, she smiled coldly, bowed respectfully to Shiyi Niang and retreated.

Bin Ju couldn't help but feel annoyed when she saw this: "This Qiao Lian Fang really thinks she is a green onion."

Ever since Eleventh Lady reprimanded Amber, Amber had an inexplicable trust in Eleventh Lady. She always felt that with Eleventh Lady around, things would not be so bad that there was no hope of recovery. Therefore, she was not worried about these things. She smiled and asked Eleventh Lady: "What should the people on duty in the three concubines' rooms pay attention to? And should the people on duty in the Second Young Master, the Eldest Young Lady, and the Fourth Young Master also be arranged?"

Amber is getting closer and closer to grasping the key to things.

"As long as the aunts are busy, just follow their wishes." Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "As for the young masters and young ladies, you can go and tell the maids in their rooms in person."

Amber smiled and stepped back.