After Wang Yan was left behind by the madam, Qingqian came over and led her to her residence.
The third-class maids shared a room with four people. After entering the room, Wang Yan silently looked around.
Four beds were placed in a row along the west wall, and four washbasin stands were placed on the south wall, which is the left side when you enter.
A long table was placed against the east wall opposite the bed. The windows faced north and east, and the paper covering them was brand new.
It's a small room with a table, and the space to move around isn't very big, but the whole room is clean and tidy.
The other three beds had blue curtains hanging on them, so they must have been occupied. Only the bed next to the washbasin stand was empty.
However, Wang Yan was quite satisfied. The distance between the beds was small, and since she lived on the edge, getting in and out of bed didn't interfere with her.
After thanking Sister Qingqian, I put the dark-colored long-sleeved clothes and pants that I had been given aside and spread the gray bedding on the bed.
Then I followed Sister Qingqian out to get work to do.
The maids in the Marquis's mansion were divided into three ranks, and there were as many as eight third-rank maids in the First Madam's courtyard.
Third-class maids whose names begin with "Chun" should be called Chunyan now that Wang Yan has entered the household. They are responsible for menial tasks such as making tea, washing clothes, sweeping the courtyard, watering flowers, and feeding birds.
Sometimes, if you're lucky, you might be transferred to serve the wet nurse or the head maid, which means you'll have less work to do.
Wang Yan had just joined the team and was assigned the work of a cleaning maid. The small kitchen was located on the left side of the backyard and was separated by an archway.
But the space was really small, only about 60 square meters including the yard. This area was assigned to Wang Yan. She would clean it twice a day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon.
Wang Yan just arrived today, so Qingqian is taking her to see the place first, and she'll start her shift tomorrow.
After inspecting the work site, Wang Yan didn't go back. It just so happened that it was lunchtime, and the second-class maids, Zhi Mo and Zhi Ruo, had just retrieved everyone's meals.
Although there is a small kitchen, it is not used for cooking for the maids. On ordinary days, it only prepares snacks and tea for the mistress. Occasionally, it cooks a proper meal.
However, a few tables were set up outside the small kitchen, which the maids and servants could use.
Wang Yan took this opportunity to sit down for a meal and get to know the faces. Seeing about twenty people in the courtyard, Wang Yan couldn't help but secretly gasp. Apart from the two head maids, Qingqian and Qingmei, she didn't recognize anyone else.
Chunye, who was next to her, whispered, "Not all of them have arrived yet. The madam's wet nurse and four female guards aren't coming."
Several of her older sisters, Qingyu, Qingping, Zhixuan, and Zhihan, were serving the madam her meals and hadn't come. There were nearly 30 people in the courtyard in total.
"So many people?" You should know that there are only ten people in the Third Young Master's courtyard, including the servants.
The number of maids was similar to that of the maids in the madam's courtyard, because there was also a kitchen maid brought by the cook, making a total of nine.
He had two servants, two maids of each of three ranks, and two old women.
Otherwise, Liu Xiang'er's scheming against her sister would have created a deadly feud, and there would be no substitute.
However, there are two positions for maids who share a room with a concubine. If one is promoted, another maid can be brought in.
However, she later understood through Chunye's explanation that this was also based on seniority and social status.
Because this is nothing compared to what the lady has done. I heard that the number of maids at the old lady's place has doubled. There are eight senior maids alone, and the number of second-class maids has also doubled, along with a number of rough maids, with no limit on the number.
Since the Third Young Master was an illegitimate son, his rank and status naturally declined again and again.
………………
When I got back to my room that night, I finally met my two other roommates, Chunxue and Chunyu.
Chunye lived next door to her, so they only spoke quietly together at noon.
Chunxue and Chunyu were in charge of laundry, but they were responsible for washing the clothes of the wet nurse and the four first-class maids.
The lady's clothes are valuable; it's not their place to wash them, little maids.
It needs to be sent to a special laundry room so that the laundry ladies can take good care of it.
Chunye swept the backyard just like her, but she swept the left side while Chunye swept the right.
However, it was a bit larger than hers, and the lady's wet nurse lived there; she was the "head steward" of this courtyard. There were also second-class maids whose names started with "Zhi".
The front side rooms are for first-class maids, one room per person. They are all occupied.
They and several old women lived in the backyard, in a covered room further back.
The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, before 5 a.m., she and Chunye quietly went to the backyard to sweep the floor.
She's doing alright; there's not much foot traffic in the kitchen in the morning, so she can just sweep freely.
Chunye was different; the wet nurse was a light sleeper and couldn't be disturbed, so she had to sweep the floor gently, scraping it as she went.
This slowed things down, but she couldn't afford to waste time. Granny Hua was supposed to wake up at 6 a.m., and washing up would take a quarter of an hour.
If the ground is too dirty when she comes out, she'll be punished. She can't be too light or too heavy, too fast or too slow. Fortunately, Chunye is used to sweeping, and she can finish sweeping almost perfectly in a quarter of an hour.
When Granny Hua came out, the road in front of her must have been spotless. She would clean the other corners a second time after breakfast.
The weather is chilly in the morning, so most people go back inside to eat, and only come out for lunch.
Zhimo and Zhiruo took their food but didn't go to the backyard at all. They split up in the front yard and went back to their rooms to eat!
When Chunye and Wang Yan returned to the house, Chunxue and Chunyu had already brought back their food and placed it on the table. After drinking a bowl of hot porridge, Wang Yan's limbs, which had been stiff from the cold, slowly warmed up.
They ate another large steamed bun and finished the pickled vegetables that had been given to them. They weren't hungry, but they felt a little empty inside. Chunxue then gave each of them half a piece of radish cake.
"These were given to us by Sister Qingmei. There are two pieces in each room, let's share them!"
After dinner, the two roommates went to do laundry, while the other two went to the backyard to sweep the floor again.
An hour later, Chunye took her to the tea room to eat chestnut cake, drink a cup of jasmine tea, and have two more pieces of chestnut cake and a few dried sweet potatoes.
Chunxi, who works in the tea room, chatted with them, "Yan'er, your father is in charge of the water administration, so won't it be much more convenient for us to eat fruits and vegetables in the future?"
Before Wang Yan could reply, Chunye frowned. "You greedy little hussy, has the Madam not given you enough? If you want something to eat, just spend a few coins and beg from Granny Sun. It's too much trouble for Yan'er to go to the main kitchen. Your gluttony is a small matter, but you've embarrassed the Madam. See how Sister Qingqian punishes you!"
Chunxi pouted, feeling wronged, but dared not argue back.
"Alright, alright, the rules and regulations in the kitchen are strict, so I really can't go. But, when I go home for the holidays, I'll bring you some Ruyi cakes; our family makes them really delicious."
"Really?" Chunxi's eyes lit up. The little girl, who was only ten years old, became happy again.
After chatting for a while, the group returned to the backyard, which had been swept clean. The two of them then took out the trash again.
Then, while watching the cooking process with Fuling, the old lady stewed a pot of lotus seed, rock sugar, and bird's nest for the lady.
I left her here to watch over things while I went back to my room to rest.
Half a month later, the monthly holiday finally arrived. After finishing work in the afternoon, Wang Yan packed her things and returned to the back street of the Marquis's Mansion.
Each child in the courtyard sets their own rest time. Wang Xing and Wang Ying don't take a break, but they both asked for leave. So all three children are back today.
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