Chapter 148 A Strike and a Sweet Treat
After finishing his meal, Sheng An, carrying Li Daya's indenture, went to the front yard in the dark and found the calligraphy and painting that had just been shown to the guests. He then handed the indenture to Li Daya.
“Li Daya is not suitable to stay in Shengyuan. Tomorrow morning, you and Shuyan will take her back to the brokerage firm.”
Shuhua was startled, but without hesitation, he accepted the contract of sale: "Yes."
Sheng An nodded: "Li Daya might cause a scene, but whatever she says doesn't need to be taken seriously, and there's no need to report it to me."
Shuhua quickly replied, "I understand."
Sheng An didn't say much, turned around and went back to the small building to take a walk with Xu Jinnian to digest their food.
Looking at the thin indenture in his hand, Shuhua guessed that Li Daya must have committed a serious crime to be sold off, and he was immediately filled with anger and resentment towards Li Daya:
"My master is kind and gentle, and the work in the manor is not heavy. What kind of crazy thing did she do to make my master angry and make me lose face!"
This Li Daya was bought by him for his master, but he didn't expect her to cause trouble in just a few months. Will his master still trust him in the future?
Shuyan noticed Shuhua's worry and patted him on the shoulder, saying, "The master entrusted this matter to you without blaming you. You can put your mind at ease."
Shuhua was comforted, but she still felt uneasy: "No, I have to give Li Daya a good scolding. I won't be able to sleep tonight if I don't!"
Shuyan quickly stopped her: "If you go to her, won't that give her a chance to cause trouble? If it gets out of hand and reaches the master's ears, won't that just make the master unhappy with you?"
Shuhua paused, clutching the indenture, and realized, "You're right, we'll go and get them first thing tomorrow morning, it doesn't matter if they curse us on the way."
Li Daya was unaware of the plans for the calligraphy, painting, and inkstone. After being refused help by Granny Sun, she anxiously huddled in a corner, waiting for Sheng An to come and lecture her.
They waited until midnight, but Sheng An never arrived.
Li Daya thought the matter was over and breathed a sigh of relief, then climbed into bed to sleep.
In her dream, her wish came true. She married Xu Chenglin and became the mistress of the small building, living a life of luxury with gold and silver and servants at her beck and call.
She subjected Granny Sun, who refused to help her, to all sorts of humiliation, and finally drove her out of Shengyuan in the freezing cold, leaving Granny Sun to fight for food with stray dogs in the street.
The dream was so beautiful that Li Daya was so engrossed in it that she didn't want to wake up.
Until a loud "bang" was heard, the door was pushed open, and she was so frightened that she trembled all over, opened her eyes, and scrambled to her feet.
Upon seeing the two people standing at the door, Li Daya felt a bad premonition: "W-what do you want?"
The book's illustration is expressionless: "The master wants to see you."
Li Daya's face paled, and she tentatively asked, "Why are you two the ones who came to call me?"
Shuhua scolded, "Hurry up and get dressed! Why are you asking so many questions? You're delaying your master's important business. Can you afford to take responsibility for that?"
Li Daya felt too guilty and immediately dared not ask any more questions, hurriedly looking for clothes.
Shuqi closed the door, and Tong Shuyan waited at the door.
The four children next door went to the main kitchen to work before dawn, and Granny Sun, who shared a room with Li Daya, got up early to clean the small building. Neither of them were present at the moment.
Once Li Daya was dressed, Shuhua Shuyan stepped forward without saying a word and tied her hands.
Li Daya was terrified and screamed, "What are you doing? What are you going to do?!"
Shuhua coldly replied, "You know exactly what good deeds you've done, so naturally you should go back to where you came from."
After saying that, he stuffed the rag in his hand into Li Daya's mouth.
"Mmm—"
Li Daya struggled desperately, trying to break free from their grasp and run towards the main kitchen.
"Still not behaving yourself!"
Shuhua was furious. She grabbed her arm and dragged her and Shuyan toward the small side gate. "You won't stay in such a good place as Shengyuan. If you like to suffer, then go ahead and suffer to your heart's content."
Li Daya struggled desperately, tears streaming down her face, but she was no match for the strength of the two men and was quickly dragged out of Shengyuan.
As she was dragged onto the oxcart and watched Shengyuan gradually disappear from sight, Li Daya's eyes were filled with despair and resentment.
She's only in her early thirties, and she's willing to be the wife of an old man who's half-buried in the ground. What's wrong with her not stealing or robbing?
She just wanted to live a good life.
For the past few months, she has been busy every day, and even if she hasn't achieved anything, she has worked hard. But because she made a small mistake, she was sold off.
Why be so cruel to her?
Seeing the calligraphy, paintings, and inkstones, no one sympathized with Li Daya.
Even now, she still shows no remorse. It would be best to kick such a rotten apple out of Shengyuan.
The fact that Li Daya was sold off has not yet alerted anyone else.
Grandma Sun didn't see Li Daya by nightfall. She thought Li Daya had done something wrong and had run away in fear. She quickly went to the main kitchen to report to Sheng An.
Sheng An had just finished cooking the last dish and was enjoying Bao Lan's massage when she heard Granny Sun's words. She opened her eyes and said calmly, "I've exposed her for her wickedness."
After these words were spoken, the kitchen fell silent.
The four treasures looked at each other, their faces showing disbelief.
Only Granny Sun seemed relieved, showing little reaction to Li Daya's fate.
Noticing the pressure on her shoulder ease, Sheng An reminded Bao Lan, "Are you hungry? If you are, eat first."
Bao Lan snapped out of her daze and quickly increased the pressure on her hands: "This servant is not hungry."
Sheng An nodded and said to Granny Sun, "You'll have to work hard these next few days. I'll go to the brokerage myself and pick out a few people when I have some free time."
Granny Sun, her body hunched over, said, "Thank you for your consideration, Master."
Sheng An was very satisfied with Granny Sun and took the opportunity to reassure her:
"From now on, you'll do some light work and take good care of the new people. Even if you can't move one day, you'll still have food to eat at Shengyuan."
A glint of light flashed in Granny Sun's cloudy eyes, and her dry, hoarse voice betrayed a hint of excitement: "This old servant...this old servant thanks you, Master!"
As he spoke, he knelt down shakily and respectfully kowtowed to Sheng An.
Sheng An gave Bao Xiang a look, and Bao Xiang immediately stepped forward to help Granny Sun up.
Tears welled up in Granny Sun's eyes, and the fear that Li Daya had felt from being sold off vanished without a trace.
Sheng An looked at the four treasures one by one, and said in a calm and unhurried voice: "You are the same. As long as you work honestly and don't cause any trouble, Sheng Yuan will take care of you."
The four servants never questioned Sheng An's words, and upon hearing this, they all expressed their attitude: "We will obey our master's teachings!"
Sheng An didn't linger, leaving the main kitchen with today's earnings and tonight's meal.
As soon as she left, the large kitchen became lively.
Baoxiu leaned closer to Granny Sun and asked, "Granny, do you know what mistake Li Daya made?"
The other three treasures all looked at Granny Sun.
They were merely curious about what wrong Li Daya had done, not that they suspected Sheng An of any wrongdoing in handling the situation.
Granny Sun wanted to give the four young girls a heads-up, so she truthfully told them what Li Daya had done: "She's too ambitious and wants to become the mistress of the house."
The four treasures gasped in shock.
This Li Daya actually became the master's mother-in-law; she really has a big heart. It's no wonder she was sold off!
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