Chen Afu was looking forward to the golden swallow even more eagerly. It had been ten days since it went out, and he wondered if it had found the tricolor ball.
Seeing Chen Afu's worried look, Chu Lingxuan comforted her, "Don't worry, there will always be a way. Just focus on taking care of the baby, and we men will take care of those things." He was about to go to the front yard to discuss countermeasures with the old man.
Chen Afu stopped him and asked him to write a letter to remind Master Chu San to be careful in everything.
Chen Afu suppressed his thoughts and looked at Chu Hanyan and Xiao Lixuan who were still with the animal house in the corridor. He thought of A Lu and asked someone to invite him over.
Not long after, A Lu arrived.
Seeing that he was fine, Chen Afu felt relieved.
Except for the day he returned from the capital, Chen Afu had not lived in the General's Mansion, so he was usually quite busy. He had to take care of things in the mansion and worry about the business of Fuyunlai Trading Company.
The shopkeeper Fu Yunlai, the chief steward Yang of the General's Mansion, the housekeeper Luo Ma, and some stewards in important positions were called in turn to the main courtyard to report.
It can be said that Fuyunlai Trading Company is doing very well, with basically no problems. Now a branch has been opened in the capital.
The water in the General's Mansion is more complicated. Although Chu Lingxuan has purged it several times and there are no people from Rong Zhao and Mrs. Chu, there are still several forces inside, and they are unwilling to accept each other and suppress each other.
This is not surprising. Since the establishment of the General's Mansion, there has been no hostess. Chu Lingxuan is busy with military affairs and basically does not live in the mansion most of the time. Even if he lives in the mansion, he does not care much about many things in the mansion.
In the Lieutenant General's Mansion, the servants are basically composed of three forces.
When the government was first established, some servants from the Marquis' Mansion in the capital were taken in, and some people were bought. Later, it was found that Rong Zhao and the second wife's people had infiltrated the Marquis' Mansion in the capital, so a group of them were killed and sold, and some people from the Luo Mansion in the provincial capital were taken in. This led to the current situation, with three powers, restraining each other and excluding each other.
Especially the servants who came from the Marquis' Mansion and the Luo Mansion in the capital, who were closely related to the family and had deep backgrounds.
Chen Ahfu felt a headache after hearing this. If it was in the past, when the master of the mansion was often away, this situation might be the best. But now it can't continue like this. How can they take care of the master if they fight each other?
It is true that where there are people, there are rivers and lakes, and the struggle between servants is also fierce.
The person Chen Afu trusts the most is Manager Luo. His second son, Luo Fang, is a minor manager in the mansion, but one cannot fully believe what Luo Fang says because he represents the power of the Luo family.
Yang Zongguan was still trustworthy, and he was the old marquis's confidant. But he was the leader of the group in the Marquis' Mansion in the capital. When Chen Afu wanted to use him, he had to make him realize that things were different now, and that he was not allowed to form cliques. All the servants were slaves of the General's Mansion, and their only task was to serve their master well...
Some people are very professional and know that Chen Afu is the mistress and the master dotes on her, so they are willing to submit to her completely. But some people don't care much, thinking that Chen Afu is just a country woman with limited knowledge. Although they think so, they dare not say it openly. They just hope that after Chen Afu leaves, they can continue to reap the benefits and continue to live a relaxed and comfortable life...
Zhang and Wu came to invite Chen Afu to visit their home, saying that she and her eldest sister would go out to play during the day, and then in the evening they would invite Chu Lingxuan, who worked at the yamen, and Dabao and Alu, who went to school, to have dinner.
Chen Afu didn't agree, saying that she would sort things out in a few days and then go and have some fun.
In the busyness, the days slipped to July 19th. During lunch, the servants brought a note from General Liu's family, inviting them to visit Liu's mansion.
Dabao, Chu Hanyan, and Li Xuan also received the note from Liu Wang, the eldest son of the Liu family, and were very happy. Especially Dabao, since he had studied in Tangyuan, he had very few friends. He finally had a social circle, and he got along very well with Liu Wang, Liu Ao, and Qin Jin, who were of the same age. Although Qin Mu was older and Fu Lushen was younger, they got along well, so he smiled as soon as he received the note.
He looked at A-Lu who was eating with his head down, and asked Chen A-fu in confusion, "Mother, the invitation included Qi-Qi and Hui-Hui, as well as Zhui-Feng, Sa-Sa, Chang-Chang and Du-Duan, but why didn't it mention inviting my uncle?"
There is indeed no name of A Lu.
Chen Afu smiled and said, "The last time they came to visit our house, my uncle didn't come, so they didn't know him. Bring my uncle with you tomorrow, and they will become friends after they get to know him." He then said to Alu, "Qin Mu is the same age as you, and he has a forthright personality. You two will definitely get along well."
Ah Lu said, "Sister, I don't want to go to Liu's house tomorrow. Ah Tang, my younger brother and I have already agreed that we will go to Uncle San's house to play."
Chen Ahfu suggested, "Atang and I can meet anytime. You should go to Liu's house tomorrow. It will be good for you to have a wider circle of friends."
A Lu, who was usually very obedient, was very determined this time. He would go to Chen Shi's house instead of Liu's. Da Bao and Yan'er tried to persuade him, but he shook his head.
Chen Ahfu had no choice but to agree. He also asked someone to tell the steward of the Foreign Affairs Office that when the cousin left the house, he should prepare a gift for him and send a carriage to pick him up. He also told Ah Lu to send someone to get the gift before he left and to ask for a carriage.
Early in the morning on the tenth day, Dabao got up at dawn and ran to the main courtyard with the animal house.
Chen Ahfu was both angry and amused, and said, "No matter how early you come, you have to wait for Yan'er and Xuan'er to wake up. Besides, how can you go to visit someone so early?"
At 9 o'clock in the morning, the Chu family left the house with the animal home.
Chen A-lu also packed his things. He put a purse containing ten taels of silver, two small silver coins, and several dozen copper coins into his arms, and also packed two ink sticks and two pens that he had prepared for Atang and his younger brother.
The monthly salary of the General's Mansion was paid on the 15th day, and Chen Afu also gave Alu a monthly salary. Like Chu Hanyan and Dabao, he also received ten taels of silver per month. Before he came, Wang also gave him ten taels of silver and a dozen silver coins, as well as some large coins.
He asked Sanquan to go to the street to buy him some snacks and give some money to his servants. He only had two small silver coins left, and he wanted to go out and make a change for the ten taels of silver.
Lancao looked at it and said, "Uncle, didn't the grandmother ask the Foreign Affairs Office to prepare a gift? If you secretly take your writing brush and ink to give it to someone, and someone finds out something is missing, even I won't be able to explain it clearly."
Ah Lu blushed with shame and stammered, "I'll save some money so no one will notice. Don't take the gifts prepared by the Foreign Affairs Office, or those people will say that I..."
Lancao said angrily, "Uncle is too honest. The gift was prepared by Grandma. If anyone dares to gossip about it, tell Grandma and have them ripped off."
PS: There was an error in the previous chapter, which adjusted Dabao and Chu Hanyan’s monthly silver to ten taels.
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