To clear out the people on daily duty... I've never heard of that.
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. The 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 the people not on duty will naturally be justified in being lazy. What if an important guest suddenly comes one day and there is not enough manpower? It’s easy to deal with one or two days, but from today to after the Lantern Festival, it will take more than half a month...
Aunt Qin looked at Aunt Wen at a loss. Aunt Wen hesitated for a moment and looked towards Qiao Lianfang. She saw that the corner of her mouth was slightly curled and a trace of disdain flashed 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 at not opposing her, let alone supporting her - this was a good opportunity for her.
She immediately smiled and said, "Sister, I think what you said makes sense. If something happens at home, we can find someone with this duty list. But I have never heard of it, 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 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 it and immediately said, "Madam Wen and I think the same thing. We are really short-sighted 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.
Eleventh Lady smiled slightly.
No wonder Yuanniang liked Madam Wen so much at the beginning. She is such 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 in advance, and then arranged people to do the work according to these matters. She also set a specific time for each person.
Although it is trivial and troublesome, it is not a difficult task.
She smiled slightly and was about to agree, but then she changed her mind.
Eleventh Lady is not the head of the household, so why would she go through so much trouble to renovate her own room?
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 certain duty assignment, but a closer look reveals that according to this assignment, the maids and old women in Eleventh Lady's room can each rest for one day, and the senior maids and respectable mothers can rest for two days.
There was a glimmer of alarm in her eyes.
The Third Lady is now in charge, and she has the final say on how much money the public treasury gives. But how to use the money is up to each room. Eleventh Lady cannot change how much money the public treasury gives them for the New Year, but she can decide how to spend the New Year... The Xu family is not a small family, and the relationships between servants and women are complicated. Some of them have served the old marquis before. As a new bride, she wants to gain a foothold in this family quickly, and the best way is to give these people favors. Rewards are endless, and finding ways to give a day of rest during the New Year like this does not cost money and does not get in the way. But for the women and servants who have no rest time all year round, being able to rest during the New Year is good news. If the people in other rooms knew about it, I'm afraid they would be envious, and they all praised Eleventh Lady for her kindness and leniency. She really bought a reputation without spending a penny.
Thinking of this, she calmed down and looked at 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 become 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 ideas. You know, governing a big country is like frying a small fish. Those old rules affect the whole body and cannot be changed casually. Eleventh Lady is different in this way. In the final analysis, she just wants to compete with the Third Lady. If I were in her position, I would do the same. But who knows what will happen if you rashly use it during the New Year without trying it in a small range. It will cause trouble for the Marquis.
When I thought about it, my heart ached as if it was being cut by a knife.
The Marquis stayed here again last night...
She held the teacup tightly in her hand, and her fingertips turned 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 the reactions of the concubines - she would be in charge of the household affairs of the Xu Mansion in the beginning of next spring. Before dealing with the outside, one must first deal with the inside. With the Third Lady's personality, she would definitely be given a mess with a splendid appearance but rotten inside. She had to quickly find out the attitudes of the concubines, so as to avoid being in a mess when the time came.
"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 ranked 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 in the past. 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 be a mistake."
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 and help when the time comes."
Eleventh Lady nodded, and Aunt Qin and Aunt Wen's eyes fell on Qiao Lianfang. Eleventh Lady, 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 brought the teacup to see the guests off.
All three of them were stunned.
Aunt Qin didn't expect that Shiyi Niang, who had always been kind and generous to Qiao Lianfang, 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, Yuanniang... She hurriedly shook her head, 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 taboo for the mistress. Shiyi Niang treated Qiao Lianfang like this, either because she didn't take her seriously at all and was too lazy to fight with her, or because she had already thought of a way, but now was not the 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 gloating look.
Qiao Lianfang was furious.
What does Shiyi Niang mean by this? She looks like she doesn't take me seriously. Is she trying to act like a legitimate 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 she really thought she was a noble person.
She wanted to say something, but she felt that she was showing weakness by speaking now, 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... It was at this moment when her heart was in turmoil. Madam Wen had already stood up and said with a smile, "Then we will go back to the house first." Madam Qin followed immediately, "It's almost the New Year, and there are many things to do. Madam, take good care of yourself. I will sort out the list of people on duty in the house tonight for you to see."
The two of them unconsciously distanced themselves from Qiao Lianfang, without even looking at her, they all bent their knees to 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 Eleventh Lady, and retreated.
Bin Ju couldn't help but feel annoyed when she saw this: "This Qiao Lianfang really thinks he's so important."
Ever since Eleventh Lady reprimanded Amber, Amber inexplicably developed an inexplicable trust in Eleventh Lady, always feeling that with Eleventh Lady around, things wouldn't be so bad that there was no room for redemption. So she wasn't worried about these things. Smiling, she asked Eleventh Lady, "What should the people on duty in the three concubines' rooms pay attention to? And should the people on duty at the Second Young Master, the Eldest Young Miss, and the Fourth Young Master also be arranged?"
Amber is getting better and better at grasping the key to things.
"As long as there are no shortage of people on duty, just follow the aunts' wishes." Eleventh Lady said with a smile, "As for the young masters and young ladies, you can go and tell the maids in their rooms in person."
Amber smiled and responded and retreated.
Eleventh Lady saw that it was still early to go to the lady's house for dinner, so she went to Dongqing's room.
Holly's house was still as clean and tidy as before, with needles and threads scattered in the sewing basket and several pairs of finished shoes piled on the kang table.
She was surprised to see Eleventh Lady coming in.
"Madam, why are you here?" She hurriedly slipped off the kang and went to help Shiyi Niang. "If there is anything, please send a maid to tell me."
Eleventh Lady sat on the kang, took the tea that Dongqing had brewed herself, and looked at the finely embroidered women's shoes on the kang table. She sighed and said, "Dongqing, you make a pair of shoes every four days... It must be very boring to stay at home every day like this, right?"
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Sadly, I didn’t make it…~~~~(_