Xue Huan didn't think much of it. After all, they were slaves and couldn't choose their masters.
She chatted with them again and learned that Zhenniang used to be a housekeeper and was quite talented in housekeeping. She was the one who took care of all the affairs of the concubine before.
Chunyan has a gentle temperament and can read and write.
Xia Xue is straightforward and quick-witted. She is very good at using an abacus and is a master at accounting.
Qiurong and Dongyun are a pair of twin sisters with beautiful looks, but they are still young and have not fully grown up yet.
Xue Huan first gave them the lowdown to reassure them.
"I have a shop that's going to open soon, and I'm short on staff, so I bought you guys. The shop plans to sell snacks—candies, preserved fruits, cakes, and other things children love. Most of our customers will be children, so we'll have waitresses to serve them."
"Zhenniang is calm and thoughtful, so you will be the store manager. You will take care of all matters in the store for me. Chunyan is kind and friendly, so you will be the one to greet the guests. Xiaxue will be the accountant, responsible for collecting money and doing the accounting. Qiurong and Dongyun, I will teach you how to make a dish later, which will be sold in the store.
"The shop hasn't been cleaned up yet, so you'll be staying at the mansion for now. Once the shop is ready, you can move in there. It will be more convenient for you to do things in the future. Ah Man, take Zhenniang and the others to their place."
Then he said to Zhenniang and the others, "If you have any questions, you can ask Ah Man."
Zhenniang and the others all bowed to her before following A'man away.
Ah Man walked in front. As an elder, he couldn't help but show off to the newcomers like Zhen Niang. "Let me tell you, being able to follow this young lady is a blessing you've earned in several lifetimes. This young lady is the best person I've ever met."
Balabala.
He started praising Xue Huan like crazy.
After hearing this, Zhenniang and the others looked at each other silently and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
At the moment, it seems that they really followed a good master.
Qiurong and Dongyun are more lively and have a strong ability to adapt to new environments. They quickly got along well with A'man.
"We're here. You can stay here." Passing through the moon-shaped gate, Ah Man led them to a courtyard specially arranged for maids to live in.
There are many flowers planted in the yard, and a swing is hung between two osmanthus trees as thick as bowls.
There are four rooms in total, two of which are already occupied. The maids are busy now, so there is no one in the yard.
The other two rooms were empty, but they were furnished with basic furniture, including beds, cabinets, tables and chairs.
There are two slightly narrow beds in a room, just enough for each person, so the sisters Qiu Rong and Dong Yun can squeeze in.
Ah Man led them into the house and said, "See if you need anything. Come with me to the warehouse later to get it."
This living environment was so good that it was beyond their expectations.
Zhenniang and her friends had nothing except the clothes they were wearing. Ah Man asked the housekeeper for the key and went to the storeroom to get quilts, pillows, chamber pots, kettles, fans and other miscellaneous items for them.
Thanks to the strong man Ah Man, they were able to move the things back in two trips.
Zhenniang kept thanking her, but Ah Man waved her hand carelessly, "You're welcome."
"Okay, you guys clean up yourselves. I'm going back to the girls. Dinner is at 6 o'clock. Don't forget to go to the kitchen to get dinner when the time comes."
Zhenniang accompanied her all the way to the entrance of the yard.
"Okay, go back now. No need to see me off."
After returning to the house, Zhenniang and Chunyan, who lived in one room, cleaned up the house. Xiaxue and the twin sisters lived in the other room.
After cleaning, the house looked brand new.
Chun Yan couldn't help but sigh: "That's great."
Zhenniang followed up with, "Yes." Although they had only been there for half a day, they already felt a sense of belonging.
Around the middle of the evening hour, several maids working in various places came back and found that there were several new colleagues. They were all a little curious and asked Zhenniang and the others to go to the kitchen to get food together.
On the long table in the kitchen, there was a full bucket of white porridge, a basket of large white steamed buns, and two dishes: scrambled eggs with leeks and fried eggplant with cowpeas.
"You can continue to eat after you finish the porridge, but the steamed buns are made according to the number of people, two per person. Don't take more. If you take more, others will have less." A cook said while standing in front of the table.
The kitchen had already received the news that they would have to cook for five more people, so Zhenniang and the others had dinner.
Dong Yun, the youngest, was in front of the five people. When it was her turn, she felt that she really couldn't eat that much. The rice bowl was not small, so she only filled half a bowl of white porridge, scooped two spoonfuls of vegetables, and took a steamed bun.
When the cook saw this, she stuffed another one into her mouth and said, "If you can't finish it, save it for a midnight snack."
After getting their meals, some people squatted in the yard outside the kitchen and ate, while others took the meals back to their own residences.
Because Zhenniang and the other four were new, everyone was curious and came over to chat with them.
Ask them what their names are, where they worked before, why they were sold, etc.
Of course, Zhenniang and the others also took this opportunity to learn more about what was happening in the mansion.
When they learned about the welfare of the servants in the mansion, they were a little bit unbelievable, not because of the monthly allowance for clothes, but because of - the holiday.
It was the first time they heard of a master giving his servants a holiday.
What surprised them even more was yet to come.
"The girl said that as long as we work hard and save enough money, we can go to her and redeem our indentures."
After dinner, when they returned to the yard, Zhenniang and the others were still a little dazed.
At this moment, they finally realized how lucky they were to be sold to the Zhao Mansion.
The next day, Xue Huan called Zhen Niang and others to her yard and taught them how to make spicy strips.
The ingredients you need to prepare are: bean curd, oil, chili powder, millet chili sauce, peppercorns, cinnamon, star anise, ginger, sugar, cooking wine, and soy sauce.
The rest are not a problem, except that the millet chili sauce is not available yet, so we can only ignore it.
Bean skin can be soybean skin, mung bean skin, or gluten.
Tofu skin is a soy product made by grinding soybeans into a slurry, boiling them, and then solidifying and drying them. The production method of mung bean skin is similar to this.
As for gluten, it is even simpler, a derivative of cold skin.
Xue Huan first taught a few people how to make spicy strips with soybean skins. With the strongman Ah Man around, grinding the beans became easy.
After obtaining the soy milk, filter it and boil it. During this process, a rich bean aroma is released.
Xue Huan scooped out some, added sugar and milk, and poured a bowl for each person. "This is soy milk, try it."
The soy milk was hot right out of the pot. Ah Man blew on it and couldn't wait to take a sip. "It's delicious!"
Others also praised it highly.
Qiu Rong asked, "Miss, will this be what we sell in our shop from now on?"
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