The personal maid exclaimed, "Madam's plan is truly ingenious! This old servant knows what to do now."
Madam Gu smiled but remained silent.
As soon as Qin Yuan entered the gate of Wutong Garden, she saw that the stewardesses were already waiting in the courtyard.
Because she was not there, these people gathered together and were talking animatedly about something.
Qin Yuan coughed softly.
Hongye immediately shouted, "Madam is back!"
The head housekeepers slowly dispersed, their figures languid, and Hongye couldn't help but frown.
The maids responsible for sweeping the courtyard quickly moved the tables and chairs to the shade of the trees. Qin Yuan sat down and asked, "Is everyone here?"
"Everyone's here," came the lazy, uneven voice.
Qin Yuan didn't mind. She sat leisurely in the armchair, gently resting her chin on her hand, and said, "What are you supposed to do every ten days? What are you supposed to do today? Tell me everything."
Hongye and Cuiming, who were standing nearby, took out their pens and ink and began to take notes.
The mothers in charge then gave a general overview.
If there is anything unclear, Hongye or Cuiming will ask.
In front of Qin Yuan, these steward mothers were dissatisfied, but they still answered, though they often made excuses.
After they finished speaking, Qin Yuan asked, "Is there anything you need to ask for permission for? If there are any matters at home, you should also ask for leave from Hongye in advance."
Mama Lu, who was in charge of the sewing room, stepped forward and said, "The sewing room is running out of embroidery thread and we need to buy some more."
Qin Yuan glanced at her and asked, "Approximately how much embroidery thread do you use each year?"
Mrs. Lu couldn't answer.
Hongye looked at Cuiming, who nodded, indicating that she had remembered.
She was responsible for assisting the young lady in overseeing the sewing room, and naturally she had to investigate thoroughly the matters that the young lady cared about.
Qin Yuan said, "Let's not talk about previous years. How much embroidery thread did you buy this year, and how much is left? We'll count it together with Cui Ming later, estimate how much embroidery thread we need this year, and then we'll issue a purchase order."
Mrs. Lu secretly wiped away her sweat.
Qin Yuan asked again, "Is there anything else?"
Seeing that Madam Lu had been rebuffed, the old women didn't dare to make any more moves and all shook their heads, saying no, and planned to wait and see.
Qin Yuan said, "If there's nothing else, you can go about your business. Be sure to keep an eye on your subordinates and don't let them get together to play cards, gamble, or drink."
Just as they were about to disperse, the personal maidservant of the Sixth Madam hurriedly entered, bowed, and said, "Madam, this old servant has brought the silver notes on the orders of the Sixth Madam. Please add them to your account."
He then took out a silver note and handed it to Cuiming.
The supervising mothers, who were originally about to leave, stopped to watch.
The personal maid took out a few more silver ingots and said, "This is for this old servant. I am old and like to keep cash. I haven't had time to exchange it for banknotes yet. Please forgive me, Madam."
His expression, as if he were giving away all his wealth, made Qin Yuan's lips curl into a slight smile.
Cuiming smiled and took it, asking, "Why are you in such a hurry?"
The personal maid immediately exclaimed, "I'm in a hurry! Of course I'm in a hurry! The Sixth Madam has already sent people to inquire about pepper. We'll have news sooner or later. Since the Madam buys a lot, she can naturally get a cheaper price. I'm just afraid we won't be able to keep up!"
The supervising mothers all pricked up their ears.
When it comes to making money, no one is indifferent.
Qin Yuan said, "Cui Ming needs to draw up a written agreement for you, specifying the distribution of silver upon maturity. If it is returned early, it will only be calculated at the market price and deducted for losses. After all, business can be profitable or not. If you want to contribute, this needs to be made clear."
The personal maidservant said with a fawning smile, "This old servant understands that business can't always be profitable. But this old servant believes that Madam will definitely make a lot of money. Otherwise, why would the usually prudent Cai Mama have given a gift? As for the old lady and Rong Mama, there's no need to mention them."
Cuiming wrote a written agreement and asked her to sign and affix her fingerprint.
The personal maid said, "I also had the Sixth Madam sign for her share."
After the matter was over, the personal maid carefully put the receipt into her purse, pressed it down, bowed, and left. The head maids also followed her out of Wutong Garden.
Hongye said, "It's really strange that the Sixth Madam is acting like this all of a sudden."
The Sixth Madam didn't bring much silver, and the young lady hasn't even found a merchant yet, so why is she in such a hurry?
All that had happened before left Hongye with a bad impression of the Sixth Madam, and she couldn't help but be wary of her.
Cui Ming remained silent, only looking at Qin Yuan.
Qin Yuan laughed and said, "Who cares what they do? We'll be busy for a while. I reckon the stewards and matrons in the mansion will soon be asking to contribute."
Cui Ming frowned and asked, "So you agree to all of that?"
Qin Yuan said calmly, "If we don't let them contribute, wouldn't that offend them and make things difficult for Mother Cai?"
Cuiming was annoyed, "I shouldn't have agreed to Cai Mama's request yesterday."
She only agreed after Hongye gave her a meaningful look yesterday.
Hongye said, "Yesterday I was thinking of befriending Madam Cai."
It's always good that more people in the manor are on her side since the young lady has just arrived.
Qin Yuan said, "It's only a matter of time before the stewardesses all come to give their gifts."
She showed the account book to the old lady this morning and that's when she thought of it.
Madam Gu Liu truly did not disappoint.
Hongye asked in surprise, "Could it be that Miss had already foreseen this?"
Qin Yuan said lazily, "I was just thinking about it casually, I didn't expect to be right again."
Hongye said, "Then..."
Qin Yuan interrupted her, "You and Cuiming go about your business. You're in charge of supervising the tea room, and Cuiming, go ask Mama Lu about the accounts for the sewing room."
"That young lady..."
"I'll rest in the room for a bit. I can keep those maids handy. Do you think I'll go hungry or thirsty without you?" Qin Yuan planned to practice her calligraphy for a while and wait to see if Manager Lin would send any news.
Cuiming and Hongye went off to do their own things with great enthusiasm. Qin Yuan returned to the room, practiced writing in large characters for a while, and then took out the half-finished poem she had written yesterday to play with, but still couldn't think of the second half.
Writing lyrics also requires a certain state of mind; only when the mind is in the right state can one write them.
Qin Yuan didn't insist and turned to go to the inner room to rest.
Gu Jinghui was in the main room when he told Old Madam Gu about the things he had discussed with Gu Shiliu the day before.
After all, Old Madam Gu knew best about his affair with Zhao Niangzi, and only his mother could help him with this matter now.
"As for Fengxuan Pavilion..." Gu Jinghui frowned and said with concern, "Zhao Niangzi still has half a year before she can leave the mansion to live elsewhere. If we let her leave the mansion now, I'm afraid it will cause controversy, and Cheng Ge'er and Yu Jie'er will be sad. But if she stays in the mansion, it will also be troublesome."
The thought that Zhao Niangzi was deliberately feigning illness to elicit his pity troubled him, and he didn't know what to do.
"You bastard, you only remembered this now," Old Madam Gu said angrily. "If I hadn't beaten you, you'd probably still be confused."
Gu Jinghui: "...Mother..."
Why is the mother so stubborn? Others believe that "spare the rod and spoil the child," but his mother always believes that if a child can't figure things out, a beating will do the trick.
Is he such a despicable person?
The thought that he still needed his mother's help made Gu Jinghui silently endure it.
Madam Gu asked, "Aren't you going to explain this to Yuan'er properly?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
