The steward of the county lord's mansion was procuring maids and servants in Yunshui County with great fanfare. Soon, news of the county lord's return swept through Yunshui County.
However, the county magistrate's residence posted a notice stating that uninvited guests would be turned away for three days.
They also posted a notice to hire a cook. What are they planning to do?
In fact, Jiang Yue's actions were simply to give Aunt Ge and Steward Qian a few days of peace, to give them time to train the maids and servants, and to properly repair the dilapidated parts of the mansion.
"Meow~"
The kitten seemed to have survived, nestled in Qingyao's arms, making soft meows.
The little bun opened its eyes, nestled in its mother's arms, and yawned comfortably.
Then, I went back to sleep.
Qingsong brought over millet porridge and fed it to his wife little by little.
Millet porridge is nourishing, and his wife, having accompanied him on his long journey, should benefit from it.
"Reporting to Your Highness, the roster of the maids and servants I purchased is here. Please take a look."
Aunt Ge returned to the mansion, arranged the maids neatly in the courtyard to welcome her mistress, and then came to report back.
After putting away the indenture, Jiang Yue flipped through the register, closed it, nodded approvingly, and instructed:
"These people are your responsibility to settle down. Follow our usual rules. As for the rest, you and Manager Qian should draft a set of regulations, compile them into a booklet, and let me review them before fully implementing them."
"Yes, ma'am!"
Aunt Ge curtsied and then asked for instructions:
"Your Highness, the maids are all waiting outside for you to bestow names. Among them is a couple whose children are somewhat mentally challenged, but they are strong and obedient..."
Aunt Ge also made a special note of the situation in the roster, emphasizing it here to remind her masters.
"Um."
Jiang Yue gestured for her daughter to follow her. As for her son, well, she decided not to call him, considering how eagerly he served his wife.
"Wife, open your mouth, ah~"
Having narrowly escaped disaster, Qingsong became even bolder and more cautious.
The world is vast, but my wife is the most important!
"I'm stuffed."
Fangfang is already immune to her husband's conspicuous displays of affection; she wonders what's going on in his head...
Not cooperating won't work; this person is all about acting cute!
She'll have to keep a close eye on her son from now on, and make sure he's not led astray by his husband...
Two rows of maids stood in the front yard.
The youngest is only ten years old, and the oldest is fifteen.
The largest couple mentioned by Aunt Ge was a woman in her thirties with a son and a daughter. She didn't see her son, presumably because he had gone with Manager Qian to buy grain.
"This servant greets the Lady."
Perhaps they received prior instructions, or perhaps they received training from the local children.
These maids, though pale and thin, were perfectly orderly in their manners.
Even that silly girl followed suit and bowed.
"No need for formalities, all of you, raise your heads."
Jiang Yue nodded, her tone stern yet also somewhat kind.
Everyone looked up, their eyes revealing confusion, as well as gratitude.
They are confused about the future, but grateful to this kind-hearted new master for giving them warmth.
"Now that you've come to our County Lord's residence, just stay here and do what Steward Ge has assigned you. If you do your job well, you'll have plenty of food and clothing."
"But similarly, if you betray your own people, damage the reputation of the County Lord's Mansion, or harm the interests of your master, then don't blame me for being impolite!"
"Did you understand?"
"This servant understands~"
Compared to being beaten and scolded by slave traders, going hungry and cold, what their new masters were saying was simply their duty.
"As for bestowing names, they will be arranged according to the twelfth month, starting with age, then January, February, March..."
The servants arranged the five and six of the bamboo into the four cardinal directions, and if that wasn't enough, they added red and white bamboo.
As for the couple and their two children, they will continue to use their real names for the time being.
"This servant thanks the Lady for bestowing upon me this name!"
Most of the maids were illiterate, and few could read. They all came from families with many siblings, and their wives were either Zhaodi, Pandi, or Laidi...
Or, compared to the names Daya, Erya, Sanya, and Siya, the names Junjun gave for January and February sound better!
Jiang Yue was simply too lazy to think; she just wanted to do things in the simplest way possible.
The rest was left to Aunt Ge to arrange; she would just make an appearance and go through the motions.
Soon, the Junjun Mansion began to operate smoothly.
With the maids and servants working together in a clear division of labor, the core members, Aunt Ge and Manager Qian, were finally freed from many tasks.
We haven't been able to find a cook yet, but the newly hired couple are excellent cooks and are temporarily filling in at the kitchen.
As for the strong but foolish son, he's Xiong Da. Oh, I forgot to mention, the couple's surname is Xiong, their son is named Xiong Da, and their daughter is named Xiong Jiao.
Ahem, as his name suggests, Lord Bear possesses immense strength.
Xiong Jiao was no less capable than her brother. When repairing the courtyard wall, which took everyone half a day to hammer away at, this girl knocked it down with a single punch...
Although it's dangerous, she'll really step up if something happens!
Gradually, the maids and servants stopped being afraid of Xiong Da and Xiong Jiao. They would bribe them with delicious food whenever they needed something, and they lived together peacefully.
Seeing that their two children were loved by everyone in the manor, the Xiong couple finally felt relieved and gained a greater sense of belonging to the Junjun Mansion. They worked hard to prepare every meal and serve their masters well!
While Jiang Yue wasn't particularly adept at winning people's hearts, Aunt Ge and Manager Qian were experts at it.
They had subdued the maids and servants, instilling in them the idea of loyalty to their master and the likes of Lady Jiang. It wasn't apparent yet, but when outsiders tried to bribe the servants, it became clear...
Three days passed quickly.
Meanwhile, Qingsong and his wife also set off to continue their journey to Jinling.
Both bodyguards went along to escort them.
Jiang Yue saw her son, daughter-in-law, and grandson off at the city gate before reluctantly boarding the carriage to return home.
Upon returning home, invitations and visiting cards poured in like snowflakes.
"Your Highness, this old servant has already categorized these letters. This part was sent by the local gentry, most of whom wanted to catch a glimpse of Your Highness's appearance."
This section contains visiting cards sent by officials of all ranks in the prefecture, welcoming the prefect back.
The other part consisted of invitations sent by the female relatives of these officials…
Manager Qian answered each question, but his brow remained furrowed, as if he were somewhat wary.
Jiang Yue noticed this and asked directly:
"With money in charge, what's so difficult about it?"
"Reporting to Your Highness, this old servant discovered that one of the visiting cards contained an acrostic poem, which, when put together, reads—"
At the hour of Xu (7-9 PM), we will have a meeting to discuss important matters.
Manager Qian took out a visiting card with dark red patterns, opened it, and presented it to the person in charge.
Jiang Yue looked and saw that it was indeed so.
Then look at the writer, Gu Liulang.
"What is this person's identity?"
"Reporting to Your Highness, this person was the only son of the Gu family, one of the four great merchants of Yunshui County, and a medicine merchant. He is Gu Liulang, and he is sixteen years old this year..."
......
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