After Xu Yao left happily with her two maids, Li Mama, who was by Ning Shi's side, said with some surprise, "Our fourth young lady used to dislike these mundane matters. Why is she suddenly so interested in them?"
Ning looked at Li Mama, sighed slightly, and said, "How can she not learn to do it? Look at the ninth daughter of the third son's family. She opened her own shop at such a young age. I heard that she is planning to open a shop in the capital this time. And our eldest young master, he hasn't even had his coming-of-age ceremony yet. I guess only the Marquis and the old lady in our mansion know how much money he has in business."
After thinking for a moment, Granny Li said, "Madam, you know, how come the children of the Third Master's family are all so clever and cunning? At such a young age, they do things that are beyond expectation. I think even people in their forties and fifties could do this."
Ning let out a long sigh and said, "Well, you can't deny it. The third son and his wife know how to raise children. Don't be fooled by their reputation for being good to their children; they really do raise them well. All the children in our household, no matter how their own parents treat them, if you ask around, I guarantee they'll all say their third uncle, third aunt, and third uncle's wife are good."
Granny Li said with a smile, "That's really true. Just last time, when Ninth Miss got married, all the young ladies and gentlemen in our mansion went to Hexi with her. Even long after we came back, I still heard our Third Young Master talking about how good Third Master and Third Mistress were."
Ning thought back to last year when the Marquis made the decision to send the children of the manor to Hexi, a journey of thousands of miles. Ning was against it. The children had always lived in the capital and had never traveled far before. They would be exposed to the elements along the way, and who knew what might happen to them?
However, the Ning family could not make decisions for the household, and when the children heard that they could go to the distant Hexi, they were naturally overjoyed and none of them were unhappy.
Ning waved her hand, and Li Mama smiled, gave a curtsy, and left.
Ning Shi sat alone on the kang (a heated brick bed), looking at the account books spread out on the kang table. After thinking for a while, she took out two account books and carefully looked through them. Then she said to Li Mama, who was standing outside serving, "Go and take these to our fourth young lady. Tell her to make sure she understands these two account books first, and then I will arrange for someone to send her to the shop to learn skills from the manager."
Granny Li agreed and took the two account books to Xu Yao's courtyard.
After Xu Yao returned, she carefully considered what had happened in her mother's room and felt that her mother should be able to grant her request.
Qing'er, Xu Yao's personal maid, brought her a bowl of sweet soup and said, "Miss, why did you go and ask the young master's wife for two shops?"
Xu Yao now has two personal maids serving her, one named Qing'er and the other named Ming'er. They were reassigned after she returned from Liaodong. In the past six months, Xu Yao has gotten to know her maids quite well.
As young ladies of the household, when they get married, the servants who serve them will accompany them as part of their dowry. Therefore, the selection of personal maids is very important. Qing'er and Ming'er were both carefully selected by Ning Shi. They are born into the household, and their parents are respected elders in the Marquis's mansion. Their fathers were also servants in the mansion. Such people are undoubtedly loyal.
Xu Yao didn't have any special requirements for the people serving her. The people who used to serve her were all sent away by Ning Shi because she had met Yang Siying a few times in private. They were either sent to the estate or sold off. Xu Yao was sent to Liaodong alone. During the years she stayed in Liaodong, she was served by people arranged by her sister Xu Gao. When she returned, she didn't bring any of them with her.
Xu Yao knew that Qing'er and Ming'er would be married off with her in the future. Xu Yao was also aware that in the future, when she went to a strange place, these people serving her would be the people she could rely on to get through it all. Therefore, she cheered herself up and adapted well to the people Ning sent to serve her.
Fortunately, Xu Yao is now more open-minded and no longer acts as recklessly as before. Qing'er and Ming'er have adapted quite well to being with Xu Yao.
When Qing'er asked her this, Xu Yao remained silent, but she felt a little embarrassed.
Xu Yao was a few years older than Xu Zhi. Among the girls in the manor, especially the ones ranked lower, the age difference wasn't that great. In Xu Yao's memory, Xu Zhi had always been that soft, chubby little girl who went to Hexi with her parents. Who knew that in the blink of an eye, this teenage girl was now able to run her own shop? Xu Yao suddenly felt that she had wasted the past ten years.
After a brief chat with Xu Zhi, Xu Yao felt a sense of urgency and wanted to pull herself together.
Xu Di was going to take the exam, and the Marquis of Yongning personally led his family to see him off at the entrance of the examination hall.
It was only at this time that Xu Bai learned that the purple clay stove that Xu Di had made was exquisite and small. He didn't know what principle it was made of. When not in use, a small copper plate was used to seal the air vent at the bottom. When in use, the copper plate was lifted and a few breaths were blown into it, and the fire would slowly rise. Most importantly, it only required a small amount of charcoal to boil a copper kettle of water. Of course, the copper kettle could only hold a little over a pound of water at most, but this was already quite remarkable.
Those charcoal pieces were specially made, and the inspection upon entry was a bit troublesome, but Xu Di still brought them into the venue.
Xu Di brought along some convenient foods that could be prepared with boiling water. He had put a lot of thought into ensuring he would eat well for the next nine days, which broadened Xu Bai's horizons. Xu Bai thought that once Xu Di finished his exams, he would definitely ask him about those things, including how the small purple clay stove was made.
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