Madam Zhou sighed again, "Let alone you, even if the old lady needs to change her clothes, she has to ask Granny Wang or Granny Li."
After kneeling for a while, Aunt Shen had no choice but to get up and walk towards the servants' room where she had been staying.
They were hoping that a maid would bring a larger size of clothing so that Guo could change into it first.
Zhou rubbed her throbbing head, thought for a moment, and then turned and went to the kitchen.
Hongyu returned with water and followed behind her, muttering, "They were all kicked out of the manor at the last minute, and none of them brought more than anyone else, not even a thread or a penny. Why did they have to ask the madam for clothes so early in the morning? If it weren't for the madam, they might have had to sleep on the streets last night!"
Madam Zhou glanced at her. "Stop talking. Is the eldest young lady still not awake?"
Hongyu nodded. "When I told her yesterday, she and Ziyu cried so hard they couldn't bear to part. It's really hard on her, since she and Ziyu grew up together and she was supposed to bring Ziyu along as a dowry maid."
Zhou sighed again, "I'm afraid she's not just crying for Ziyu."
Hongyu dared not speak.
She knew that the lady was referring to the eldest daughter's marriage to the Duke's family, which was still under negotiation; she was afraid it was...
The two went to the kitchen, where two old women from the Zhou family were busy. One was busy putting large white steamed buns on the steamer, and the other was adding firewood to the stove.
Upon seeing Zhou enter, they all wiped the sweat from their foreheads with the back of their hands and bowed to her, saying, "Greetings, Second Aunt."
Zhou Shi was the second eldest daughter of the Zhou family, and it was not wrong for the servants of the Zhou family to call her that.
Zhou didn't care whether their shouting would constantly remind the other members of the Yun family that they were now living in the Zhou family's villa. She nodded and asked, "Is there enough food?"
An old woman replied, "Master was in a hurry yesterday, and the food was only delivered last night, so it might not be enough. But I think it's breakfast anyway, so it's okay to eat less. After serving breakfast, the two of us will hurry to the grain shop to buy some, but I'm afraid it's not open yet."
Mrs. Zhou nodded, "Thank you for your trouble."
"I dare not accept such praise, I dare not accept such praise."
Zhou wanted to ask them if they had prepared any changes of clothes, but considering that there were so many people and so many sizes, it wasn't like cooking where you could just make a lot of food, so she gave up.
She was planning to go to the Zhou family today so that her elder brother could help her pawn the jewelry that the Jiang siblings had brought last night, exchange it all for silver notes, and then put on another show. That way, the huge sum of silver notes she had in her hands would have a source.
Only after this formality was completed could the money in their hands be considered legitimate, allowing the Yun family to go out and make purchases.
She then walked around the courtyard and looked at all the side rooms. This courtyard only had seven or eight side rooms, which would be considered spacious if it were for one or two ordinary families. However, the Yun family had more than a dozen masters and servants, totaling twenty-two people.
She was incredibly grateful that the Jiang siblings had been clever enough to secretly take away a considerable amount of wealth yesterday.
Otherwise, in the future, if she, a powerless matriarch, were to have to support twenty or so people, she would really rather be exiled a thousand miles away.
As they approached Guo's room, she was still cursing, "How can I face anyone with no clothes to change into?!"
Then there was a "snap" sound.
"What kind of work are you doing? You can't even get a piece of clothing?"
There was another "smack".
"What use are you to me?!" Another "slap" rang out.
Zhou couldn't stand it anymore and coughed twice outside the window.
The sounds inside stopped, and Guo asked through the window, "Sister-in-law, is that you?"
Madam Zhou nodded. "It's me. I heard that Qian'er wet the bed?"
“This brat is five years old and still wets the bed. It’s so embarrassing. Sister-in-law, it’s not that I’m being unreasonable, but my clothes are all stained and I have no clothes to change into, so I really can’t go out.”
Zhou said through the window, "You know we were kicked out yesterday. We don't have any extra clothes except what we're wearing. If you don't have any clothes to change into, then you shouldn't go out."
Guo immediately started shouting, "No need to go out?! How can I stand staying in this place that smells like urine all day? Sister-in-law, I was just saying that this room is uninhabitable and we need to find another room."
Madam Zhou sneered, "Fine, you can switch with Aunt Shen. That way, Aunt Shen can take care of Qian'er too."
Guo's incredulous voice rang out, "What?! You want me to stay in the servants' quarters? Sister-in-law, are you mistaken?"
Zhou raised her voice, "Are you mistaken? This is a villa belonging to the Zhou family. There are only so many rooms. If you don't want to stay here, go live on the street!"
The other two wives, Li and Yu, came out.
Li advised, "Sister-in-law, please don't argue with your third sister-in-law."
Yu said to the window, "Third Sister-in-law, I'm not afraid of the cold. How about I lend you my outer garment to wear?"
Guo snorted, "With your tiny, bean sprout-like body, even if you gave me these clothes, I wouldn't be able to fit into them!"
Ms. Yu was choked.
Clothes can be altered if they're too big, but you can't patch them up to make them bigger if they're too small, right?
Zhou was also annoyed. "Since you're all up, go have breakfast first! She can't go out, so please make yourselves at home."
After saying that, she led the people from the second and fourth households toward the kitchen.
Several boys and girls came out and greeted their aunt.
The sound of a slapping motion came from Guo's room. "You useless thing!"
Then came Qingyu's suppressed sobs.
Finally, she whispered to Yun Manying, the third daughter who was standing next to Madam Yu, "Mother, what about Second Sister...?"
Yu said in a low voice, "Go to the door and call out."
Yun Manying quickly ran to the Guo family's door and called out. Soon, a girl slightly taller than her, the second daughter Yun Manyin, came out with tears streaming down her face.
When the Zhou family arrived at the kitchen door in a grand procession, they were immediately dumbfounded.
Because the courtyard was too small, there was no dedicated dining room. Instead, a four-cornered table was placed in the kitchen, with two people squeezed on each side, and at most seven or eight people could sit down.
At this moment, the old woman who was cooking also put the steamed buns on the table.
Madam Zhou glanced at the two sisters-in-law, four men, and five girls following behind her, and sighed, "Let's eat in batches. Let the children eat first. I'll take the old lady's food over first."
Li and Yu sighed and carried the younger children to the table.
The Yun family has four branches, and has six boys and five girls as grandchildren.
Then I saw a circle of dolls sitting in a row.
The eldest son of the Zhou family, Madam Zhou, has two sons: Yun Tianbai, Yun Tiankuang, and Yun Manwan. Yun Tianbai is fourteen years old and serves on the northern battlefield alongside Marquis Yun; Yun Tiankuang will turn ten in half a month, which is Madam Zhou's greatest joy. Her eldest daughter has reached marriageable age and is currently being considered for a marriage.
The second wife, Madam Li, gave birth to the second son, Yun Tianbai, and the fourth daughter, Yun Manhan. Yun Tianbai was 112 years old and was just taken away and exiled yesterday by government soldiers along with the third son, Yun Rui, and the fourth son, Yun Zheng. Yun Manhan was already very young, only seven years old, and Madam Li doted on her.
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