Being a mistress is hard and tiring
After the three concubines left, Mother Yu came in through the curtain and respectfully reported that the steward and maids of Yan Xiju were already waiting there.
Chen Cong originally planned to go with her. Managing the inner house was not an easy task. He felt that she was young and was afraid that she would feel wronged if she faced the elders of the Shen Mansion alone and dared not offend them.
But Ling Wan shook her head and said firmly: "If you go, the servants will know that we are of one mind, but what they are afraid of is Master Shen behind me, not me, the Second Madam."
The phrase "husband and wife are of one mind" made Chen Cong's mouth curl up slightly, and the idea of not "taking advantage of the situation to control the subordinates" made Chen Cong a little surprised.
Many new wives in the inner chambers, when initially managing the servants, wished their husbands were around to keep things in check. Firstly, it demonstrated their affection, and secondly, even if they mismanaged things, the servants would see their masters' approval and not dare to gossip behind their backs. Even the eldest sister-in-law, Lu Shi, when she first married into the Shen Mansion as the First Lady, had her mother, the head of the household, watching over her.
But seeing Ling Wan rubbing her hands in anticipation, Chen Cong thought to himself, let her do it if she wants, and if she fails, I'll just cover for her.
After seeing Chen Cong off to the study, Ling Wan took Yu Mama, Hongyue, Lvyun and other maids to the side hall in the front yard.
A general never fights a battle without preparation, so she had discussed this carefully with Mother Yu before.
Currently, the servants in Yan Xiju are divided into four categories: one group is the one brought by Ling Wan as a dowry, ranging from first-class maids to cleaning servants, a total of eighteen people; one group is sent by Old Lady Shen, a total of four people; and another group is two maids sent by Lu, the mistress of the Shen family, to serve in congratulations on the wedding of Xu and Shen.
As for the group that originally served Chen Cong, their identities are unknown. They were all Chen Cong's guards, working in the outer courtyard.
When Ms. Xu Lingwan was in a coma, her eldest sister-in-law discussed with her husband and made temporary arrangements for the three new groups of people:
The people who came with her as a dowry were led by Yu Mama, who was mainly responsible for her food and daily life;
The old lady and the eldest sister-in-law sent it, and for Ling Wan's convenience, they arranged it to work in the inner courtyard first, and re-determine it after she wakes up;
As for the stewards and servants, they were all placed in the outer courtyard awaiting orders.
In fact, Ling Wan had already arranged a group of people two months ago, and that time they were mainly targeting the stewards and servants who came with the dowry.
There were eight male servants in total who came with the Xu family as a dowry. Two of them were responsible for managing her land, farm and shops in Beijing, and the other six were handled by Xu Lingwan herself. The Xu family planned to either place them in the Shen family or arrange them in the farm.
At that time, thinking that her eldest sister-in-law would be in charge of the household, in order to avoid her worrying about it, she arranged all the male servants to work in the shops and farms in the capital.
But after observing for the past two months, she found that if there were no people from Yan Xiju in the outer courtyard of the Shen Mansion, she would be completely blind and kept in seclusion.
Chen Yuanyuan doesn't like this passive feeling.
In modern times, she is at least a small team leader of a moderate size. If she is asked to rely on people around her who she does not trust for all external information channels, Chen Yuanyuan feels that it is too unfair to the beatings she has suffered in the workplace.
So, taking advantage of the opportunity of becoming the legitimate mistress of Yan Xiju after being recognized as a relative and included in the family tree, she transferred back the three servants who were watching for opportunities.
Half a month ago, Ling Wan drafted a background investigation and job responsibilities form for Yan Xiju staff, with "name" as the column and "whether the staff is a family-born child", "relative relationship", "job level", "job responsibilities and scope" and other detailed investigation contents as the horizontal columns. He instructed Hongyue to write it and Yu Mama to coordinate it, and fill in the personnel information one by one according to the conditions in the horizontal and vertical columns.
After filling out the form, she had already looked over it carefully.
But now, looking at the huge crowd standing below with the form in her hand, Chen Yuanyuan couldn't help but sigh in her heart. They were indeed a "rich and powerful family", too extravagant.
Excluding Mr. Shen's own people (Ling Wan didn't know how many guards he had), there were currently a total of twenty-one employees working at Yan Xiju.
Among them, there were two managing maids, four first-class maids, two second-class maids, four third-class maids, four fourth-class maids, and three outer courtyard doormen and servants.
In modern times, this is equivalent to opening a studio. And the main service objects of this studio are only Mr. Shen and Ling Wan.
Regarding the issue of personnel changes, Mother Yu suggested that the six maids and servants sent by Old Lady Shen and Mrs. Lu should not be moved, because this was the corresponding arrangement made after consultation between Mrs. Lu and the Second Master.
Now that Ling Wan is a new bride, if there is any change, she is worried that Mr. Shen and Mrs. Lu will feel that Ling Wan’s arrangement for them is not satisfactory, and she will inadvertently offend her husband, eldest sister-in-law, or even her mother-in-law.
So Mother Yu suggested that the two groups should continue as usual.
Chen Yuanyuan held the opposite view. Although she was the eldest sister-in-law in charge of the household, Yanxiju was still her territory after all.
If she had no authority over her territory, how could she continue to live in Yanxiju in the future? If she encountered any urgent matters in the future, how could she call the servants of Yanxiju to order?
So two days ago, she took the housekeeper Chen Mama given by Old Madam Shen and the two personal maids Hongyue and Qingque, and went to Old Madam Shen and Mrs. Lu respectively, explaining her idea of rearranging the maids and servants in Yan Xiju.
Madam Shen looked at her gently and said with a smile, "You are the mistress, so naturally it is up to you to make the arrangements. It is not because I, your mother, gave you this person that you dare not let go and make the decisions."
After saying that, he glanced at Mother Chen, who was brought over by Ling Wan.
Mother Chen immediately knelt down and said to Ling Wan and Old Madam Shen, "The old lady has given me to the Second Madam, so I will naturally obey her."
When they went to see her eldest sister-in-law, Mrs. Lu, Chen Yuanyuan knew that she was straightforward and didn't like beating around the bush, so she said bluntly, "Sister-in-law, Lingwan wants to reassign the two maids you gave her, and the servants at Yanxi Residence will also be reorganized. What do you think?"
Fortunately, Mother Yu was not allowed to go with them. If this loyal old servant had seen Xu Lingwan, whom he had raised since childhood, being so straightforward, he would have fainted from fear several times.
Hongyue was also frightened by the blunt words. She had seen the shady tactics of the third and fifth rooms in the Xu family before.
So on the way back to Yanxi Residence, he observed Ling Wan's expression and said cautiously, "Madam, you are so direct. Will Madam Shen and the eldest lady be suspicious?"
Ling Wan smiled, but did not answer. She looked at Qingque beside her: "Qingque, what do you think?"
Qingque is a martial maid who was sent by Shen Qing to be trained in the secret guards since she was a child. She has no idea about the twists and turns of the inner house.
Although when she and Zhu Chi were transferred to the lady's side for close protection, Commander Shen briefly reminded her, saying that "what you see in the backyard is not true", "but there is no need to understand it clearly. You only need to obey the lady at any time and don't have any second thoughts."
But since Qingque was transferred here, Ling Wan stayed in Yanxi Residence most of the time because she was recuperating from her injuries. Ling Wan gave her the impression of being dignified and gentle, like a young lady who was always talking and laughing.
What she saw today was a stark contrast to her usual delicate demeanor, and she was secretly impressed. However, she liked his straightforward demeanor, but seeing Hongyue's worried expression, she felt something was amiss. After a moment's reflection, she honestly replied, "I don't know."
After answering, he met his wife's clear and expectant gaze. Such trusting and expectant eyes made Qingque feel a little ashamed.
Madam asked her what she thought of her, but she couldn't give any opinion. Qingque felt that she had failed Madam's trust in her, so she stammered for a long time, then remembered what Commander Shen said, "Just obey," and added weakly, "I will listen to Madam."
He looked so panic-stricken and at a loss, only knowing how to express his loyalty, which made Xu Lingwan smile.
"Hongyue, if I don't tell my mother and eldest sister-in-law what to do with the maids and servants sent by them, and maintain the previous arrangements, do you think it's okay?" Xu Lingwan asked as they walked.
Hongyue's heart sank, and she could only say that the advantages outweighed the disadvantages.
While maintaining the previous arrangement might inevitably cause some to look down on Madam Yan Xiju (Madam Yan Xiju had no say in the matter), it wouldn't risk offending Madam Shen or Madam Lu. If Madam was dissatisfied later, she could still slowly work things out.
Seeing Hongyue didn't answer, Lingwan knew that this maid had the same idea as Yu Mama. Her heart warmed, and she said softly, "How to deal with the maids and servants in Yanxi Residence is the business of me, the Second Madam."
"If I am so concerned about my status as a bride that I cannot even make decisions about my own residence, who will listen to me in the future?"
"If I am labeled as soft and sexual because of this, even the Xu family members who came with me as a dowry will not have an easy life in the Shen Mansion in the future."
Most of the servants were fickle, so how could she not know that? Moreover, they were still in the Shen family.
Hongyue's eyes turned red. It was hard for Madam to make plans for them when the benefits outweighed the disadvantages.
Chen Yuanyuan naturally didn't know how grateful Hongyue was.
Her six-year career has taught her a lesson: most of the time, being cunning is less effective than being aggressive.
For example, one time, a colleague whispered something bad about Chen Yuanyuan right in front of her, using a tone that was clear enough for her to hear but still private, deliberately embarrassing her. She expected Chen Yuanyuan to pretend she hadn't heard anything and run to the restroom to avoid the embarrassment. Instead, Chen Yuanyuan, treading on her kitten heels, smiled and said, "It's such a hassle to badmouth me to just one person. Speak louder so the whole office can hear. Sharing the information will save time."
So much so that in the following two years at that company, everyone knew that Chen Yuanyuan was a woman who acted openly and honestly. No one dared to try to trip her up behind her back, for fear that if they did, Chen Yuanyuan would come over and ask, "Why did you do this to me?"
Coming openly was certainly a way to prevent the servants from gossiping behind her back, but more importantly, it was a way for Chen Yuanyuan to establish her authority. She wanted to use this opportunity to show everyone in Yanxiju that she was their only master.
She has no control over the huge Shen Mansion, but in these two rooms, everything is decided by her, the sixteen-year-old mistress, no matter who has your back.
Chen Yuanyuan still couldn't believe that for a servant, the backer behind him would offend her, the wife of Mr. Shen Er, the third Miss Xu of the Jiangning Xu family.
As for her mother-in-law and elder sister-in-law, Mrs. Lu, based on Chen Yuanyuan's contact with her in the previous six months and the information she released in advance, they should like her open approach.
Ling Wan was right.
Although Madam Shen was a champion of domestic fighting when she was young (otherwise there wouldn't be only one illegitimate son in the Shen family who grew up with Madam Shen's tacit permission), after becoming a mother-in-law, on the one hand, her status changed, and on the other hand, she got older, so she didn't like to think about everything she said, which was a waste of her energy.
Needless to say, Lu was from the second branch of the Fanyang Lu family. Her father and brother both served in the military. In her youth, she was a noblewoman from a military family, dressed in a fiery red dress. She always looked down on dirty tricks. It was only after becoming the eldest daughter-in-law of Shen that she was forced to be more flexible in order to balance various relationships.
When the news of the replacement of Yan Xiju's staff came out, the maids and servants looked on coldly. Some of the old maids in the Shen Mansion even laughed secretly: "She is just a new bride, and she can change the people in the Second Master's inner house at will? Not to mention that the people of the Old Madam and the First Madam are among them."
But ever since Ling Wan went out two days ago, all the servants of the Shen family knew that the second wife, Xu, looked young and beautiful, but was actually quite ruthless.
So at this time everyone stood respectfully in front of Ling Wan, waiting for Ling Wan to make new arrangements.
Ling Wan assigned the responsibilities of the personnel after the resettlement to Mother Yu, who read it out.
Then, looking at the different expressions on everyone's faces after the adjustment, Ling Wan took a sip of tea calmly.
The biggest personnel change was among those who served in the main courtyard of Yanxiju. Those who could enter and leave the main courtyard to serve were naturally one level higher than other maids, and their treatment would naturally be much better.
This time, Ling Wan replaced all the servants in the main courtyard with the ones she had brought as a dowry from the Xu family. The reason was simple: although she now held the servants' indentures, it was always safer to use the familiar ones instead of the new ones.
The people sent from the Shen Mansion are now being used outside, firstly to temper their tempers, and secondly to observe their personalities in this situation. After a while, those who are suitable will be promoted to the main courtyard. As for the rest of the main courtyard, the survival of the fittest will be the basis.
While Mother Yu was lecturing, Ling Wan raised her head to look at the four corners of the blue sky above her head.
Since ancient times, large families have had a large population and many disputes. The eldest sister-in-law is in charge of the Shen family, and Chen Yuanyuan has no control over it.
But if she wanted to spend her days in leisure, she had to manage her own little piece of land and keep Yanxiju as clean as an iron barrel. Then, no matter how loud the wind and rain were outside, she would hide in Yanxiju and relax.
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