The two newly appointed foreign affairs managers, Madam Liu and Saozi Niu, were naturally busy with their first few tasks.
On the day the new bonsai was moved in, the third master Ren Shimin was very satisfied with it and even praised Aunt Liu.
But on the second day, just overnight, the dozen or so pots of Clivia were found to have rotted from the roots.
"Madame Liu
What's going on?" Madam Zhou asked sullenly, pointing to the clump of Clivia that the maid had brought in.
Nanny Liu broke out in a cold sweat in the middle of winter. Seeing that she was the only one there, she smiled apologetically and said, "Nanny Zhou, this matter...I'm not entirely clear about it. But, shouldn't you also ask Sister Niu and the others?"
Madam Zhou frowned and said, "Why ask others? Sister Niu is only responsible for the daffodils, and you are responsible for the Clivia."
Nanny Liu was originally just a little nervous because she was the only one being blamed, and subconsciously wanted to pull others along to share the blame. But now, after hearing Nanny Zhou's words, she felt a little uncomfortable and couldn't help but look up and explain, "Nanny Zhou, it's true that I picked these Clivias, but I went with Sister Niu when we were choosing. And the florist was introduced by the head of Sister Niu's family, Huanong."
Madam Zhou was displeased: "Then why did you and your son carefully select Sister Niu's Clivia?"
Madam Liu was stunned when she heard this, then sneered angrily, "Don't listen to her bullshit! I was wondering why, out of all the flower growers outside the town, they chose one so remote! Later, I heard the flower growers next door talking and found out that they had accepted five taels of silver from that flower grower. Now I think there must have been something wrong with the flowers to begin with, and they were ganging up on me!"
Sister Niu has a very good personal relationship with Wei Ma, the original candidate for the Foreign Affairs Matron, and it is said that both parties are also interested in marrying their children to each other's families.
Unexpectedly, the sudden emergence of Matron Liu caused Matron Wei to have a negative impression of her, and as a result, Sister Niu also began to ignore Matron Liu. In addition, there was also a competitive relationship between the two foreign affairs matrons, so the relationship between the two was not very good.
In fact, it was common for purchasing managers to take kickbacks. Even Madam Liu herself profited from every pot of flowers she bought. Even after she learned about the five taels of silver, Sister Niu gave her two taels. Although she was unhappy that Sister Niu took more than she did, she didn't mind thinking about the long run.
Now she felt that she had fallen into someone's trap. Maybe it was Sister Niu who had set a trap for her in order to stand up for Nanny Wei.
Upon hearing this, Aunt Zhou was surprised: "How could such a thing happen!" She pointed at Xi'er beside her and ordered, "Go and call Sister Niu in!"
Seeing Matron Zhou's expression, Matron Liu suddenly regretted revealing the matter. While it was common for housemaids to accept gifts from merchants, such matters could never be made public. She opened her mouth to ask for something, but Xier had already taken the order and left.
After a while, Mrs. Niu was called in.
Madam Zhou barked, "I had thought you were only responsible for the daffodils, and the Clivia was Madam Liu's responsibility, so I only called her over for questioning. But then I heard you hired that flower farmer? And you even accepted a five taels of silver gift from him? Sister Niu, what else do you have to offer?"
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Niu glared at Madam Liu in shock and anger. Seeing that her eyes were flickering and she didn't dare to look at her, she immediately realized that it was Madam Liu who betrayed her.
She uttered a "Pah" at Madam Liu, then turned to Madam Zhou and said, "Don't trust those two-faced old women! Today I finally understand what it means to 'eat meat when you pick up the bowl, and curse your mother when you put it down'! Why didn't you feel the pain in your hands when you took the silver? Now that something's wrong, she's in no hurry to clear herself of the matter, as if her hands are so clean! She doesn't need to sell herself in a brothel, so why is she pretending to be a virgin?"
When Niu's wife was young, she was notoriously hot-tempered and had the nickname "Lazi". Now that her children have grown up, her temper has calmed down a lot, but she still has a temper that refuses to suffer any loss and gets angry at the slightest thing. Once she gets angry, she can say anything.
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