Chapter 12 Laba Congee Muxue was not born to be good at taking care of people...
Mu Xue was not born to be good at managing people.
Whether it was the "previous life" before the time travel or this life, I was a little ignorant in this regard and felt it was troublesome, so I simply became a hands-off boss. At least I would not be short of clothes to wear.
However, given the current situation, we have to pay attention to it.
These maids, servant girls and eunuchs were all following her to Mobei, and their life and death and fortune all depended on her.
On weekdays, she was taken care of by these people. Although she had never met them or spoken to them, the fallen leaves on the ground in front of the courtyard would not automatically disappear in the morning, and there was always warm tea when she was thirsty in winter. All this depended on the servants and eunuchs. Mu Xue could not really treat these people as slaves or as objects that could be replaced at will.
She felt that she had a certain responsibility towards those who served him, and she also felt a sense of guilt. If they had not become her followers, these people could have stayed in the capital and lived a stable life.
Unfortunately, she had no choice, and neither did they.
Mu Xue asked for the list of all the attendants, including those with official ranks, including one chief official in the princess's mansion, two second-class guards, one third-class guard, and one ceremonial officer of the sixth and seventh ranks.
In the princess's mansion, there were four maids, ten women, and ten eunuchs. Some of them followed her out of the palace, such as Wu Ma Rong'er, and some were sent by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Among them, there were a few whose names revealed that they were recently selected from the selection of bondsers by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, some were called Da Niuniu, and some were called Wu Niuniu.
In addition to the princess's residence, there are ten dowry families and two village heads. They serve as guards and companions, and they also have their own skills. There are vegetable farmers who specialize in growing vegetables and farming, medical families who know some medicine, and various craftsmen, such as carpenters, goldsmiths, wine and vinegar makers, pastry makers, tailors, etc. A dowry family has seven or eight people, and the smallest is two people. Almost all the trades of food, clothing, housing and transportation are covered.
All in all, Mu Xue's companions had a total of ninety-nine people, which was equivalent to dragging the number of people in a small village to the grassland.
It happened that Laba Festival was just a few days away, and according to the custom in the palace, Laba porridge had to be cooked and distributed.
She could take this opportunity to meet these people.
Two days in advance, the big copper pot for cooking Laba porridge was brought out. It was so big that a piglet could fit in it. It was placed in the front yard, and everyone would take a second look at it.
It is said that one day a colorful tent was set up, firewood was lit, and various small ingredients such as yellow rice, white rice, millet, chestnuts, etc. were prepared.
Mu Xue was surrounded by the crowd and walked to the front of the copper pot, sprinkling a handful of red dates.
Mother Zhao smiled and said, "Thank you, Princess, for your blessing. We are so lucky to be able to taste the Laba porridge cooked by the Princess herself."
Mu Xue was a little embarrassed and said, "It's just a token of my appreciation. The ones who are really busy are the servants. Is anyone from the kitchen here?"
Next to the copper pot, a round-faced eunuch came out with two apprentices to kowtow, both of them with overjoyed expressions.
"I have the money for the kitchen, and I am here to pay my respects to the princess."
Mu Xue nodded: "Thank you for your hard work these past two days, Qian Cheng."
Qian Cheng's round face flushed with excitement: "It's my job, it's my job, don't worry, Princess, our pot of eight-treasure porridge will be fragrant and sweet!"
By the next morning, the aroma of Laba porridge filled the courtyard.
First, wait to receive the Laba porridge rewarded by the palace, express gratitude and taste it, and then it will be time for the Laba porridge in the princess's mansion to come out of the pot.
It was a sunny day. Muxue sat upright in an armchair under the eaves, watching the people below busy serving porridge.
The first bowl was naturally a filial piety to her. Qian Chengguo really put a lot of thought into it. In addition to adding soft red date paste, he also added cream, which tasted particularly sweet.
As for the second bowl... Muxue picked up the Laba porridge and turned slightly. Duoerji was standing to the right of her armchair.
"Please try this Laba porridge."
Dorji smiled and said, "Thank you, Princess, for the reward."
Without saying anything else, he took the bowl of Laba porridge from her hand directly, with a quick movement, without even touching her fingertips.
He has been like this since he shared the bed with her that night in the nightmare. His manners are impeccable and to outsiders they seem to be a loving couple.
Mu Xue felt a little uncomfortable. She held the corner of her cloak, sat back on the chair, and told the nanny, "Let's get started."
The Laba porridge was distributed in order of status, and the first to come up was Mu Sen, the chief official of the Princess's Mansion.
The chief official Mu Sen is over 40 years old this year. He has gray hair on his temples, a long beard, and is thin. He looks like an immortal.
Then came the guards from the princess's mansion. All of these guards were married, and Mu Xue specifically instructed their wives to come and get the porridge as well.
The first guard’s name was easy to remember, it was Huang Zhong, and he looked very festive.
The second guard who came forward opened his mouth to express his gratitude with a beautiful voice that seemed familiar to me.
Mu Xue said: "You have a nice voice."
The guard named Tong Shoulu laughed and said, "Yes, otherwise I wouldn't have the blessing to sing a wedding song for you."
I remember now, they were the couple who sang wedding songs outside the window and created the atmosphere during the wedding.
After that came the maids and eunuchs serving the princess. The first to be led were naturally the wet nurse Wu Ma Ma and her husband. Mu Xue could not quite remember her husband's name, but just followed the custom of the day and called him Ma Ma Daddy. People at that time valued wet nurses and wet husbands very much. Even Emperor Kangxi treated wet nurses like elders.
Then came Mother Zhao, the chief eunuch Yeon-hee, and other attendants.
Because Mu Xue had specifically instructed, the concubines who were still living outside the princess's mansion also sent representatives. They were the two village heads, Mr. Mi and Mr. Xie.
The two couples obviously had not expected to come to the princess's residence to receive Laba porridge, and they were both very excited, but in different ways. The Mi couple were trembling with fear, and could not even speak complete sentences; while Mr. Xie was very excited and talked a lot. In the time it took him to express his gratitude and kowtow, he talked for three minutes.
It was not until the chief eunuch Yeon-hee could no longer bear it and interrupted them that the conversation ended.
After finishing, Mu Xue leaned back on the kang and sighed, "Good Rong'er, give me a massage."
He insisted on handing out each bowl of Laba porridge to his followers personally, and as a result, his hands were sore after handing them out.
Aunt Zhao also laughed when she heard this: "Princess, you insist on distributing the porridge yourself. How tiring it must be. They are not worthy of you personally serving the porridge to them, given their status."
As he spoke, he pressed Muxue's other hand.
Mu Xue smiled but said nothing. She wanted to meet these people in person and let them know what the master they were loyal to was like.
She didn't have any special experience in management. In the end, she decided to choose a stupider method and put herself in other people's shoes.
She herself has received red envelopes before, and the feeling of receiving a red envelope in person is different from receiving it through a layer of separation. That's why she did this.
After resting for a while, Mother Zhao came in and said, "Princess, someone has already sent some Laba porridge to distribute to the concubines outside the palace."
"Okay," Mu Xue reminded, "Remember to give them some gifts when you distribute the New Year gifts."
Nanny Wu was shocked: "My dear, Princess, you are too kind-hearted." She was in charge of financial matters, so she felt a little painful.
Mu Xue looked at her and reminded her, "Just give her the right amount. The copper coins must be of the correct weight, not mixed with other things."
The currency in circulation now is made of metals such as silver and copper coins. One disadvantage is that they are easily damaged. It is said to be one tael, which may be large or small, but in reality it may be a little off in weight. Or some copper coins mixed with other metal elements have a poorer appearance. When trading in the market, these poor-quality coins can only buy relatively few things.
There are also unscrupulous merchants or owners who take advantage of this loophole and deduct fees in disguised form.
The princess had spoken, and although it hurt, Nanny Wu had to agree: "I remember it, don't worry."
Mu Xue said: "We are all going to Mobei with you, so please be considerate of each other."
All kinds of courtesies are just icing on the cake. What is really useful is real money.
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