Chapter 182 Go upstairs to do your work and write the note as soon as possible.
After a brief struggle, everyone quickly settled on a room. Yao Xiaoyu deftly placed the slips of paper with the employees' names on them inside, thinking about ordering eight nameplates to hang next to the door later, so that no one would go to the wrong room, and also so that the illiterate employees could recognize their names.
It's impossible to read it backwards. Yao Xiaoyu plans to standardize the format of the signs to "XXX's Room". Even if she can't remember her own name, she can compare it with other people's door signs and see the same three characters at the end, and she will naturally know which side to start reading from.
Well, I need to hurry up and write down the work rules. If the workers can remember even one or two of them, they'll have learned a whole bunch of characters.
With the tasks of making wooden signs and writing rules emphasized in her mind, Yao Xiaoyu's motivation to encourage students finally subsided, and she led the group to explore other places.
"This is where you relieve yourself. After you've finished, just flush the contents into this hole with a bucket."
Yao Xiaoyu pointed to the three squat toilets in the simple partition and demonstrated as she spoke, thanking Ye Junshu for being able to do everything. If it weren't for the drainage system drawings he made when he was a kept woman, there would be eight portable toilets placed at the entrance of Wutong Xiaoju every day.
"This is where you take a shower. You have to heat the water yourself and manage your own time."
Yao Xiaoyu didn't put too much effort into this place. Since there was no water heater, the bathing conditions were all pretty much the same. She placed a long-term order with a clean women's bathhouse, and as long as the workers came, they could scrub her smooth and shiny from head to toe.
"The dining area is the table in the hall. We'll make do for now, and it will be ready to use once everything is set up."
While briefly discussing details such as cleaning the public spaces, Yao Xiaoyu quickly walked around the first floor before leading Tao Xiaoxiao and Pan Tiefeng upstairs.
The second floor is where Yao Xiaoyu plans to live with Tao Xiaoxiao. It has also been greatly renovated, with uniform light-colored marble floors, two master bedrooms, a study, a dining room, an empty room whose purpose is yet to be decided, two squat toilets, and two bathrooms side by side, one of which is equipped with a gas water heater.
This only gas water heater was also a gift from Ye Junshu. Although Yao Xiaoyu insisted on giving money, the country developed its first gas water heater in 1979. The water heater was no longer just a commodity with no market value; it was completely unheard of.
It just so happened that Ye Junshu, a craftsman, went to Germany and brought back some essential parts, which allowed him to barely assemble this one. He didn't even use it himself before giving it to Yao Xiaoyu.
"The dining room and restrooms need to be cleaned every day. The bathroom needs to be cleaned to remove any signs of use. The study and bedroom need to be cleaned every five days, in addition to the cleaning we tell you to. When there is sunshine, the quilts and pillows need to be taken out to air."
When she was in the Yao family, the main housework was done by Wenrou and Zhou Chunhua. Because of their status as relatives, even though the relationship had become distant, Yao Xiaoyu couldn't make too many demands. Now that she was on her own turf, the people doing the work were hired workers with fixed prices, so she didn't feel any psychological burden.
However, disassembling, washing, and sewing the bedding was not an easy task. Yao Xiaoyu planned to check Fan Jinxiu's work efficiency. If she was too busy, she would hand the task over to the sewing house.
Yao Xiaoyu listed the requirements one by one. Seeing that Pan Tiefeng was sweating from remembering them, she stopped throwing out details like cleaning the trash can every day and instead told her to start doing the tasks.
"First, clean up the place where Xiaoxiao and I sleep. We'll need it to rest today."
The weather is cold now, so a shower can keep her clean for quite a while. Yao Xiaoyu doesn't expect Pan Tiefeng to have any cleaning magic. Time is limited, so she just needs to do the most important things.
"good."
Having determined the order of events, Pan Tiefeng felt confident and hurried downstairs to get the cleaning tools. Yao Xiaoyu, sitting in a chair, yawned and lazily flipped through a book while saying to Tao Xiaoxiao:
"That empty room is for you to pass the time. There are wood carvings and stone carvings, storytelling and opera performances, darts and archery... Tell me what you want to do, or you can prepare it yourself."
Everyone has hobbies, but they may not express them due to time, place, or other limitations. Before Yao Xiaoyu moved, she was a resident herself, so Tao Xiaoxiao was even more reserved. Now that they have a new house, Yao Xiaoyu has specially set aside a piece of land for Tao Xiaoxiao.
Tao Xiaoxiao looked into Yao Xiaoyu's bright eyes, remained silent for a moment, and then said softly:
"There's nothing I want to do."
This is not an excuse. She really has little interest. She was used like a beast of burden since she was a child and was exhausted. She finally managed to live a life of plenty by clinging to Yao Xiaoyu. When she was resting, she just wanted to make up for the sleep she had missed. The old doctor had said that she had a weak foundation and that if she didn't take care of herself, she might just suddenly disappear one day. [2]
Tao Xiaoxiao hasn't had enough of her good days yet!
What's more, Yao Xiaoyu's daily life is really rich. Tao Xiaoxiao, who has set up automatic follow, feels that following Yao Xiaoyu's life is exciting enough - she has watched movies, eaten Western food, shot long guns, gone to free clinics, witnessed the clinking of glasses at banquets, played the role-playing game "Step by Step Thrilling", and occasionally had to practice her skills in swindling, cheating and stealing... The carvings in the small room are not bad, but they are too bland in comparison.
"Let's leave it for now, and talk about it later if we're interested."
Tao Xiaoxiao couldn't make a decision right away, and Yao Xiaoyu didn't pressure her. The two of them, one reading a book and the other sleeping on a chair, spent the afternoon in the blink of an eye. Aunt Pang and the apprentice brought out dinner.
This kind of errand-running work shouldn't have been done by Auntie Pang, but today was the first day of official work, and everyone hadn't yet developed a tacit understanding on how to do things. Auntie Pang was quite tired looking at this group of busy but clueless employees, so she could only take over for now and unload the burden once they were more in sync.
Yao Xiaoyu was engrossed in reading in the afternoon and didn't bother to tell Aunt Pang about her food preferences. Tao Xiaoxiao was fast asleep and had completely forgotten about it. Aunt Pang could only try to find out Yao Xiaoyu's taste by making a few stir-fries herself. But she didn't expect that Yao Xiaoyu's first words were not about the taste, but about the portion size.
Is that all?
Yao Xiaoyu looked at the two bowls of rice in front of her, frowned and asked, "Auntie Pang's portion control is actually not bad. The rice and dishes together are more than enough to fill the stomachs of two adult women. The problem is that Tao Xiaoxiao's appetite is not ordinary at all. This bowl is just to whet her appetite."
"I'll go cook two more dishes."
Aunt Pang glanced at the five dishes and one soup on the table. Although she felt the portions were sufficient, she still reflexively offered a solution. Yao Xiaoyu looked at Aunt Pang in surprise and belatedly realized that the two seemed to have some misunderstanding.
Did I tell you about Xiaoxiao's big appetite?
Yao Xiaoyu pulled her brain out of the pile of books and asked tentatively.
"..."
Okay, she understands.
"The vendors outside should sell braised beef; buy more."
Yao Xiaoyu handed over the silver coins, rubbing her head in exasperation. She planned to write down the notes later. Xiaoxiao hadn't gone hungry when there was no chef, but now that a chef was hired, she was almost mistreated. What a mess!
"I remember you said you wanted noodles for breakfast tomorrow, and you've already made the noodles and set them aside, right?"
There's no time to cook now, but luckily Yao Xiaoyu paid attention when Aunt Pang was talking and managed to grasp a few key words.
"yes."
Aunt Pang had thought of this when Yao Xiaoyu mentioned that Tao Xiaoxiao had a large appetite, and nodded with some relief.
"Cook the noodles and bring them up first, and remember to add plenty of eggs."
Yao Xiaoyu even sounded nostalgic as she said this—before, when she was too lazy to go out and Tao Xiaoxiao didn't want to spend money or eat her stored food, she would cook egg noodles to fill her stomach. When Yao Xiaoyu saw this, she would buy some braised meat for her to eat with the noodles. She thought that with a cook, this kind of makeshift meal would be a thing of the past, but the first meal she had in her new home was still egg and beef noodles...
"How many should we put?"
Aunt Pang asked tentatively. Although she thought Yao Xiaoyu was a generous person, she was still not sure how much "more" the young lady meant since she was new to the place. After all, she felt that this kind of thing was never accurate. When she worked at her previous job, the employer also said to make more, but when she only made two or three extra pieces of pastry, the employer said that she had made too much and ended up being fined a lot of money.
How many are left?
Yao Xiaoyu calculated Tao Xiaoxiao's appetite and thought about how she should get her some late-night snacks. She wondered if the vendor's meat dumplings were sold in this area...
"Eight."
There were too many things to buy today, and eggs are so fragile, so Aunt Pang only bought ten. She fried two for herself to eat with rice, and the rest are still untouched in the kitchen.
"Cook it all."
Yao Xiaoyu said without hesitation. If it were a hundred or so eggs, she would have specified the quantity to use, but eight... Let's buy some more late-night snacks for Xiaoxiao tonight.
"become."
Although Aunt Pang was somewhat surprised by Yao Xiaoyu's generosity, she didn't hesitate when the host told her to go downstairs. Perhaps the beef vendor happened to be passing by the door, because in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Aunt Pang returned with a bowl of noodles and sliced beef, and Tao Xiaoxiao's dinner was thus taken care of.
Before they knew it, night had fallen. Yao Xiaoyu and Tao Xiaoxiao were prepared for sleeping in unfamiliar beds, but as soon as they lay down on their pillows and covered themselves with the blankets, they fell asleep quickly. On the other hand, the women living in single rooms downstairs tossed and turned and had trouble falling asleep, with the laundry worker Liu Zhi being the most restless.
Willow Branch has a secret she won't tell anyone: she killed her husband and sold his four best friends to the Japanese. If they hadn't been thrown overboard to be fish, they would be slaves by now. She hopes they can live a long life as slaves, suffer more, and die before they die.
She became the slave trader she despised the most, but Liu Zhi never regretted it—Zhu Zhengfu, Zhou Guangquan, Zhao Hong, and Shen Kui were just four beasts, and it would be too good for them to die so easily!
-----------------------
The author notes: Article 136 of the "Law of the People's Republic of China on Penalties for Administration of Public Security," which will come into effect on January 1, 2026, stipulates that records of violations of public security administration shall be sealed and shall not be provided or disclosed to any unit or individual. (Including drug use, [illegible], drunk driving) (Political vetting:)
The key figures identified are: Zhu Zhengfu, Zhou Guangquan, Zhao Hong, and Shen Kui.
The official Douyin accounts for Yunnan's anti-drug efforts, Beijing's anti-drug efforts, and Guangxi's anti-drug efforts have been voluntarily deactivated.
————
[1] In 1868, a painter named Benjamin Mohn in London, England, invented the first instantaneous water heater that did not use solid fuel and named it "Geyser". In 1895, the German Bosch Group launched the world's first instantaneous gas water heater.
[2] The old Chinese medicine doctor: from Chapter 63 Gentle Return Home, diagnosed Tao Xiaoxiao’s special constitution.
————
————
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
