The next day, Xu Yi went to Fu Ji's branch to find Fu Man'er.
He inquired among the guards and learned that there were a few good storytellers in town.
When they arrived, Fu Man'er was having people move things inside.
"Don't move, just pass these things on." As soon as he entered the room, he saw Fu Man'er holding a flowerpot in her arms.
The flowerpot was large and heavy, so Xu Yi quickly reached out and took it from him.
"Brother, have you forgotten? I'm very capable."
She's been strong since she was little, and everyone in her family knows it, but they always seem to forget about it.
Xu Yi put the flowerpot aside and then turned around to look at her.
“I only eat so little every day, where do I get the energy?”
He believed that Fu Man'er's strength came from eating a lot.
Now that I'm not eating much, naturally I don't have much strength anymore.
Fu Man'er made a face at him. Humph, that's just how my brother is. He can't reason with anyone.
After giving a few instructions, Fu Man'er went out with Xu Yi.
The two had lunch first before heading to the outskirts of the city.
Nowadays, there aren't many places in town that use storytellers.
These people, having lost their jobs, can only do odd jobs or go back to their hometowns.
They are now heading to an estate, which is quite a coincidence.
It turned out to be the Xu family's manor, except that Xu Mao had only recently acquired it.
None of the other members of the Xu family have visited yet; they've only heard Xu Mao mention it a few times during dinner.
This manor originally belonged to a large landowner, but his son had accumulated a lot of debt due to gambling.
The creditor was unreasonable and relentless, threatening to cut off his hands and feet if he didn't pay back the money.
The landlord reluctantly sold the manor, but Xu Mao tried to negotiate a lower price, and the two sides remained deadlocked for several days.
Finally, the landlord relented and allowed all the workers in the manor to stay, and Xu Mao then signed the contract with him.
Xu Mao was thinking that he wasn't familiar with the manor yet, and if someone familiar with it could stay, many things would be much easier.
It just so happens that the Xu family has recently hired several new day laborers, so the people in the manor are asked to help these day laborers get acquainted with the place.
When Fu Man'er arrived, Xu Mao was looking at account books in the courtyard. The two of them did not disturb him, but went directly to the fields next door.
“Brother, those flowers over there are so pretty.” Fu Man’er craned her neck to look to the side.
That area was a small slope with few trees, but it was covered with wildflowers of various colors.
"Wait here, I'll go pick some for you." With that, Xu Yi strode away.
Fu Man'er had no choice but to wait where she was. Just as she was getting bored, two people walked up to her.
"Miss." Fu Man'er recognized one of the slightly older men; he was a junior manager under Xu Mao.
"Manager Chen, come and help Second Brother too." Manager Chen is basically in charge of village affairs.
"In reply to Miss, some temporary workers have just arrived, so I'll assign them some tasks."
Manager Chen answered respectfully.
"By the way, where are all the day laborers?" Fu Man'er looked up and around, but didn't see anyone.
"It's in that plot of land around the corner," Manager Chen asked, turning slightly to ask for instructions. "Shall I have someone take you there?"
Fu Man'er shook her head, "No need, my brother will come with me later."
"Manager Chen, you should go ahead and get busy." She had just seen Xu Yi walking towards them.
"Yes." Manager Chen bowed and was about to leave when he noticed the person beside him standing there blankly.
"What a dim-witted person," Manager Chen thought with a hint of disdain.
But she couldn't say anything in front of her employer, so she could only reach out and tug at the woman next to her.
The woman suddenly came to her senses, saw the reproachful look in her eyes, and immediately felt something was wrong. She hurriedly lowered her head and left with Manager Chen.
After walking a few steps, she couldn't help but look back, and saw the tall man striding towards her with a bunch of wildflowers in his hand.
When he reached the petite woman, he handed her the flowers. He didn't know what she said, but the man smiled.
She didn't know if it was because the sun was too strong, but she felt it was a bit dazzling.
"Hey, what are you doing? Can't you watch where you're going?"
Manager Chen frowned and patted his shoulder. What's wrong with this woman?
As I was walking, I got close to her. If I hadn't dodged quickly, I would have stepped on her foot.
The woman was brought back to her senses by the shouting. "Manager Chen, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it."
"You have no manners at all, and you still say that your landlord has no good intentions? Our Xu family wouldn't even look at someone like you."
Everyone in the Xu family, whether servants or day laborers, had their own set of rules.
From the very beginning, Steward Chen felt that the people left behind by this landlord were far inferior to those from the Xu family.
The woman said with a forced smile, "Manager Chen is right. I will definitely learn the rules properly from now on."
Seeing her humble demeanor, Manager Chen felt a little better.
"Alright, you can learn the rules slowly later. Let's go."
"Oh right, what's your name again?" After walking a few steps, Manager Chen remembered this.
“I, my name is Chun…” the woman replied, head bowed. “My name is Chun’er.”
"Chun'er," Steward Chen muttered once, "tell me again about the things in your manor, and let me see if there's anything else I need to be careful about."
The Xu family has many stewards, each managing one or two places.
Normally, these junior managers live quite well, but once they commit a crime, the Xu family will remove them without hesitation.
Therefore, these managers are very careful and cautious in their work.
Chun'er followed behind her, picking up on the events at the manor and telling her about them.
At the very end, Chun'er asked, "Was that young lady just now Fu Man'er, the daughter of the Xu family?"
Manager Chen looked at her suspiciously, "Do you know Miss Xu?"
This manor is in the opposite direction from the Xu family's residence, and this is the first time the Xu family has come here.
Chun'er quickly waved her hand, "Manager Chen has misunderstood."
"The landlord has sold the manor, so we'll have to rely on the new owner for a living."
"Fearing that we might offend the new employer, a few of us asked about the new employer's situation like landlords."
"When I heard you call me 'Miss' just now, I made a guess, but I don't know if I guessed right."
Chun'er explained slowly and earnestly, her expression suggesting she wasn't lying.
This statement is reasonable, as everyone is making a living under someone else's control.
Manager Chen didn't think too much about it and believed Chun'er's explanation.
"That is our Xu family's young lady, our only young lady."
"The Xu family spoils her rotten. If you ever run into Miss Xu, be more respectful and know how to speak properly."
When talking about Fu Man'er, Manager Chen was filled with envy.
"Let me tell you a secret, Miss is not actually the Xu family's biological daughter."
Besides the Xu family, quite a few people knew about this matter.
So Steward Chen wasn't afraid that Chun'er would find out, since someone would bring it up later anyway.
“That young lady is truly blessed.” Chun’er’s eyes flashed.
“Of course,” Manager Chen snorted. “Our young lady was born with good fortune.”
"When Miss first came to the Xu family, the Xu family was still struggling financially."
"Not long after Miss arrived, the Xu family began to see some improvement."
"Not to mention the Xu family, even our village has improved a lot."
“Our village is now almost as good as the town.”
"Sugar, potato starch, and konjac—these are all ideas that our young lady came up with."
"They used to be sold only in our town, but now they're all being sold in the capital."
"We bought this estate, and we'll use it to grow sugarcane in the future."
Manager Chen kept talking and talking, recounting the entire story of how the Xu family rose to prominence.
From Manager Chen's tone, it was clear that she was very proud, after all, the Xu family paid them managers quite well.
Only when the master family prospers can those of them who do the work prosper as well.
Thinking of this, Manager Chen turned his head and said, "Do your job well, and the boss will definitely not treat you unfairly."
Chun'er replied, "Don't worry, Steward Chen."
As the two were talking, they saw Xu Mao's servant come out from the inner courtyard.
"Manager Chen, you've come at the right time. The second young master is thirsty and would like some tea."
“You know the people on the estate well, quickly send someone to boil some tea and tell them.”
Manager Chen responded and was about to go find someone when Chun'er paused for a moment before speaking.
"Manager Chen, let me go. I know where the kitchen and tea set are in the manor."
"Really, I was so anxious just now that I forgot you're from the village."
Manager Chen slapped his forehead, very satisfied with this kind of HR person who proactively sought out work.
"Is the Second Young Master in the inner courtyard?" Chun'er looked up and glanced inside.
"Yes, the second young master is looking at the account books," the servant replied. "I'll go with you and bring him some tea."
Because of the distance, Chun'er couldn't see the faces of the people inside.
"There's no need for you to make the trip, young master. I'm afraid the second young master can't be without someone by his side."
"I'll cook it and bring it over."
Manager Chen thought it was good and became even more satisfied with the woman.
"Alright, we'll do it your way. Don't keep the Second Young Master waiting."
After saying that, the three of them went their separate ways to do their own things.
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