The maids and servants of the Cheng family were all busy trying on the new clothes and distributing the old ones.
Just as Granny Lu had predicted, this decision did indeed cause discontent among the servants, but they had no choice but to silently accept the arrangement.
The First Madam was extremely strict in managing the household. Even though the servants complained a lot, they only dared to curse in private and none of them dared to make a scene in public.
The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, a slight commotion arose in the courtyard.
It turned out that the head maids in the courtyard had received their newly made winter clothes one after another.
Some couldn't wait and immediately changed into new clothes, as if the winter chill had been dispelled by the festive atmosphere.
Meanwhile, Wang Xiuxiu, who was in her embroidery room, also received winter clothes that had been distributed to her.
However, unlike the other head maids, she was holding a slightly worn-out garment.
The fabric of the clothes is nice, but the color has faded and looks somewhat dull.
Wang Xiuxiu accepted the dress with a smile, thanked her softly, and said several words of thanks to the First Madam before casually continuing her needlework.
Inside the main room, the First Madam was eating tea and pastries brought from the kitchen.
Seeing Granny Lu walk in from outside, she put down the pastries in her hand and asked, "How is it? Have you delivered all the things to that girl?"
"Reporting to Madam, it has already been delivered. Wang Xiuxiu didn't seem unhappy at all; she even thanked this old servant when she accepted the clothes."
Hearing this, the First Madam nodded in satisfaction, "She's quite sensible! If she dares to utter a single complaint, just wait and see how I deal with her!"
After saying that, he picked up another piece of tea fruit and put it in his mouth to chew it carefully.
Originally, Wang Xiuxiu should have received a share of these new clothes.
Previously, Wang Xiuxiu had made the First Madam look good in front of the noble ladies, so the First Madam was so pleased that she made an exception and promoted her to head maid.
However, later on, because Wang Xiuxiu became afraid of her and dared not get close, and because of the shady dealings between Master Cheng and the second wife, the First Madam also held a grudge against Wang Xiuxiu in her heart.
That's when he started thinking of ways to humiliate her.
If Wang Xiuxiu had accepted the gifts politely, then it would have been fine.
If the First Madam was unwilling to show even a little bit of her anger, then she would find an outlet for her pent-up frustration.
Although Wang Xiuxiu couldn't fully understand their shady thoughts, she could more or less guess their general idea.
Previously, the master and servant had treated him as one of their own, so they had been very lenient with him.
Now that he knows he's useless, he definitely won't care about me anymore.
Now, among the people in this household, if we're talking about those who are best at reading people's expressions and understanding the situation, the group in the kitchen would definitely be the best.
No sooner had Wang Xiuxiu lost the favor of the First Madam than her food rations plummeted.
They used to have a few kinds of meat every day, but now all they have left is a bowl of bland vegetarian soup, and even rice is scarce.
Seeing that she had lost power, the old women in the kitchen became much colder. When Wang Xiuxiu went to get her food, they didn't even bother to give her a cold look.
However, Wang Xiuxiu did not take it to heart.
She wasn't a spoiled person to begin with, and besides, she had some savings.
She secretly spent some money to have someone bring a small stove into the mansion from outside, and Wang Xiuxiu also secretly bought some ingredients from the old woman in the kitchen.
Every day, she would secretly cook some simple meals in her room, just to improve her diet and satisfy her cravings.
As for the old cotton-padded coat, Wang Xiuxiu didn't care much about it.
As soon as Granny Lu left, she picked up the old cotton coat and examined it carefully.
Although the repairs were done carefully, traces of the repairs are still visible.
The collar and cuffs of the garment were worn, revealing loose threads underneath, and there were several patches on the hem.
It's clear that the previous owner cherished it very much.
Although Wang Xiuxiu handled a lot of needlework and fabric on a daily basis, she had to keep a detailed record of every item and submit it to Madam Cheng for inspection regularly.
The remaining scraps of cloth could be used to make small items, but not much more.
Wang Xiuxiu carefully selected a few scraps of fabric that were quite similar to the cotton-padded coat and began to dismantle the already somewhat worn-out garment.
She disassembled the worn collar and cuffs one by one, carefully sewed them up with new fabric scraps, and reinforced the patches on the hem.
The mended clothes, though not new, looked much neater.
There was also a lot of cotton hidden in the cabinet, which had been specially brought back from outside the mansion by someone a few days ago.
Wang Xiuxiu's initial plan was that if the Cheng family did not provide winter clothes this year, she would sew one herself out of her own pocket.
Now that the First Madam has specially sent Granny Lu to deliver winter clothes, she insists on wearing them no matter what.
Wang Xiuxiu had already made plans when she received the clothes.
First, all the old cotton was removed, and the outer cover was carefully cleaned before slowly filling it with new cotton.
New cotton is soft and fluffy, warm and light to wear.
Later, a familiar maid came to talk to her.
The head maid proudly displayed her new clothes, but Wang Xiuxiu touched them and immediately noticed something was amiss.
Although the new clothes were brand new, they were not made of any good material. They felt rough and were even worse than the old clothes I was wearing.
Especially the cotton filling, which looks quite new at first glance, but upon closer inspection, you can find that the quality of the cotton is really unsatisfactory.
This cotton is the cheap, low-quality kind; it probably won't keep you warm or be comfortable to wear.
With the jade belt gone, no one dared to inform her anymore. As for the reasons behind this matter, Wang Xiuxiu could only speculate.
However, it wasn't long before she heard the complaints from the head maids.
They sat together, whispering their grievances and frustrations.
It turned out that the steward of the mansion, in order to line his own pocket, had been using inferior clothing to embezzle a considerable amount of money.
Wang Xiuxiu listened quietly, but she didn't really believe it.
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