"Thank you, Lord Zhang."
Zhang Tingyu had indeed called this division commander over today to discuss something.
"The New Year is just around the corner. Before he left, the First Prince specifically instructed that he hoped the entire army would have a good New Year. I called you here today to discuss with you how we should celebrate the New Year this year."
This division commander had risen through the ranks, so he understood very well what his soldiers were thinking.
"If Lord Zhang gives them more pay, they can send money back to their parents, wives and children. That would be the best thing for them."
Zhang Tingyu thought for a moment and said, "Just issue salaries?"
Is it not sincere enough?
This division commander was able to roughly guess what Zhang Tingyu was thinking.
"Don't worry, sir, the pay is already sufficient."
Besides, too many rewards aren't necessarily a good thing.
We only appreciate things when we don't have them. If we get too much, it's not good. Who knows what they'll do with too much money?
After all, the quality of soldiers varies greatly!
Zhang Tingyu said, "Then let's pay them their salaries. Has the army ever done this before?"
"Yes, would you like to take a look, sir?"
"Give it to me!"
The division commander brought over the previous pay ledgers. Because this naval force was a newly formed army this year, the ledgers only contained holiday gifts, not New Year's gifts. The division commander listed out the pay accounts for the army's New Year's gifts in previous years.
Zhang Tingyu pondered, and since he was fortunate that he was not short of money, he had someone increase the amount by 10% on top of the usual amount for the previous year.
The division commander had no objection to this, because the army was large, with ordinary soldiers making up the majority. Ordinary soldiers did not receive much pay, so adding 10% was not much.
In addition, most of the new soldiers were away from their hometowns, so an extra 10% in pay was reasonable.
After arranging a few more things and handling the affairs of the army, Zhang Tingyu was completely idle. It was fine when he was busy, but now that he was idle, Zhang Tingyu couldn't help but think of a certain person.
He knew he shouldn't continue like this, but he couldn't help himself.
Then, as if possessed, Zhang Tingyu had someone buy a manor near Qiu Wen's manor. Because he needed it urgently, the price was 20% higher than usual, but Zhang Tingyu didn't care about that little bit.
"Young Master, are you really going to spend the New Year at the newly purchased estate?"
Zhang Tingyu: "Hmm."
Zhang Tingyu's mind was relatively firm for his age group, but being young, he rarely encountered setbacks and had never had any special feelings for a woman for more than ten years. When he suddenly fell in love with a woman, even with his firm mind, he could not bear the pain of unrequited love.
Zhang Tingyu was extremely conflicted, but the thought of spending the New Year at Qiu Wen's estate near Qiu Wen's made him very happy.
It truly exemplifies the saying, "Pain and pleasure coexist."
The servant was not happy to hear this. As a servant, he would naturally not look down on Qiu Wen, a young lady from a wealthy family.
The reason he was unhappy was that if the young master really cared about Miss Qiu, based on his understanding of the young master, he might marry Miss Qiu.
However, Miss Qiu's status is an obstacle, and Madam will definitely not agree. In that case, there will be no peace between the young master and Madam, and the young master will naturally not be happy. If the young master is unhappy, then he, the servant by the young master's side, will naturally not be happy either.
Zhang Tingyu took his servants to Qiu Wen's estate to celebrate the New Year.
Now, let's talk about Qiu Wen.
Luo Xue smiled and said to Qiu Wen, "Miss, I just heard something. Isn't there another similar manor near ours? It changed hands a couple of days ago. The manor wasn't actually worth much. I don't know if it was an outsider who bought it for 20% more silver. Do you think that person was cheated?"
Zhang Tingyu was unaware that he was already appearing as a "fool" in front of his beloved's maid.
Qiu Wen didn't seem to care about any of that: "Perhaps there's some reason!"
After saying this, Qiu Wen said, "This is the first New Year we've spent away from home, so according to the Qiu family's tradition, we'll give you an extra 20% of the reward money."
She did earn a lot this year. She's not a miser; she eats the meat herself, but those below her should at least get some soup.
Luo Xue was also happy, after all, she got a share too. In previous years, Qiu Wen was not valued in the mansion, and so was she. Not to mention, as the eldest young lady's head maid, she received less reward money than a third-class maid in the second young lady's household.
Luo Xue smiled happily and said, "Thank you, Miss."
Qiu Wen was in a rare good mood, so she said, "Let's go for a walk."
Looking at the weather outside, Luo Xue thought, "It's not that bad, but it's the middle of winter and it's quite cold! Miss is already a bit weak; what if she catches a chill?"
"Miss, it's cold outside. Why don't you wait until it gets warmer before going out?"
Qiu Wen felt she wasn't that delicate, and besides, she'd had enough of the estate and wanted to see something new.
Luo Xue couldn't dissuade her, so she had to wrap Qiu Wen up thickly before letting her go out.
Ancient clothes were made of cotton, and to keep warm, they naturally looked thicker. If Luo Xue was worried that Qiu Wen would get cold, Qiu Wen would only look even thicker.
Qiu Wen could have refused, but Luo Xue meant well, so she didn't want to refuse and went out wrapped up like a ball.
Just then, Zhang Tingyu arrived. Qiu Wen happened to see Zhang Tingyu drive by when she went out, but Zhang Tingyu was sitting in the carriage and didn't see him. However, his servant did see him.
He saw it, but he was conflicted about whether or not to tell the young master.
The servant hesitated for a long time and couldn't say anything until they arrived at their destination.
Zhang Tingyu got off the carriage and, seeing the servant's appearance, casually asked, "What's wrong?"
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
