Jiang Yuwei was embarrassed to trouble Lin Feng any further, and quickly waved her hand, saying:
"No need, I can handle this injury myself. Vice General Lin, please go and attend to your business. You don't need to worry about us here."
Lin Feng nodded, handed the key to Jiang Yuwei, then turned and bowed to Ning Huaizhi before mounting his horse and leaving Fish and Bird Alley, glancing back every few steps.
Jiang Yuwei first led everyone to drive the oxcarts to the cowshed in the backyard, and then had Ning Zhao and Gou Dan pull up all the weeds in the yard to leave for the oxen to eat.
"Tiezhu, Ningwu, and Uncle Youcai, the three of you stay home and clean up all the dirt inside and outside the house. Check the broken tables and chairs and repair what you can. If you can't repair them, put them away in the storeroom and store them properly."
Jiang Yuwei then looked at Liu Shi and Ning Qiu and instructed them:
"You two go and tidy up the main house. We need to quickly prepare a place for Huaizhi to lie down because of his injury."
Then, Jiang Yuwei said to Aunt Zhou and Ning Daya:
"Aunt Zhou, you and Daya go and tidy up the kitchen. We'll make some food in a bit, and everyone will be hungry when we finish cleaning up the house, so we can eat."
After receiving Jiang Yuwei's instructions, everyone busied themselves with their tasks.
Jiang Yuwei took off Ning Huaizhi's clothes on the oxcart and poured spiritual spring water from the kettle to wipe Ning Huaizhi's body.
Then he took out the medicine box that the skilled healer Zhu had given him before leaving, found the wound medicine and applied it to Ning Huaizhi, and then took a clean cotton cloth to bandage Ning Huaizhi's wound.
Jiang Yuwei looked at Ning Huaizhi's battered body with heartache and said:
"Huaizhi, does it hurt?"
Ning Huaizhi said with a smile:
"I'm not in pain, Yuwei, don't worry. Once I'm better, I'll go to the palace to meet the emperor. After I get the title of general, I'll make you my general's wife. I told you, I'll give you a grand wedding. Don't worry."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuwei blushed immediately.
"Don't talk about that now. You lie down and rest on the oxcart for a while. I'll go to the main house to see if they've finished tidying up."
As she spoke, Jiang Yuwei got off the oxcart and walked towards the main house. Although the courtyard was not large, it had a main house, four small rooms, two side rooms, a kitchen, a front hall for entertaining guests, and a small backyard.
There is more than enough room for Jiang Yuwei and her group, plus three more oxcarts.
When Jiang Yuwei arrived at the main house, she saw that Ning Qiu had already made the bed and moved all the tables and chairs in the house to the yard to wash them.
Seeing that there were still some cobwebs on the wall, Jiang Yuwei found a broom, stood on a stool, and cleaned up the cobwebs. She then found a rag and wiped the wall and the bed.
They opened all the doors and windows to ventilate the house, and had Liu fetch water to wipe the floor twice, inside and out. Only then did the musty smell in the house lessen.
Jiang Yuwei then found a dry cloth and, together with Ning Qiu, wiped down all the tables and chairs in the main room before moving the things back inside. The main room not only had a large bed but also a soft couch.
Jiang Yuwei thought that it would be perfect if she and Ning Wan stayed in the main house with Ning Huaizhi, which would make it convenient to take care of Ning Huaizhi and also save a room for Aunt Zhou and the others.
After tidying up the main house, Jiang Yuwei didn't dare to delay. She quickly called Tiezhu to the backyard to carry Ning Huaizhi to the bed. Once on the bed, Ning Huaizhi still had to lie face down, otherwise it would press on his wound and make it difficult to heal.
Jiang Yuwei covered Ning Huaizhi with the blanket, then poured him a cup of spiritual spring water and fed it to him.
"Huaizhi, we're currently staying in Lin Feng's courtyard. Shouldn't we pay him some rent? It wouldn't be right for us to live in someone else's courtyard for free, would it?"
Ning Huaizhi drank the last sip of water and said:
"You decide what to do, but Lin Feng won't hold this against me. I'm afraid he won't want it even if you give it to him."
Jiang Yuwei placed the water glass on the table.
"Whether they want it or not, we should still give them what we're owed. Once your official appointment is finalized, you'll be his superior. If word gets out, it might damage your reputation. Besides, I was planning to rent a courtyard to settle down in the capital anyway. So renting Lin Feng's courtyard is a way of keeping the benefits within the family."
Ning Huaizhi laughed and said:
"As expected of my general's wife, you have such a long-term vision. I will listen to you, my wife."
Upon hearing Ning Huaizhi's words, Jiang Yuwei blushed and turned her head to the side, saying:
"Now that we've arrived in the capital, we can't just sit around and do nothing. I want to get my stall business back up and running. As for Aunt Zhou and Liu, I'm still thinking of paying them wages like before and hiring them to work for us."
Jiang Yuwei poured herself a glass of water and drank it all in one gulp.
“If the Emperor really grants you a large house in the future, you will naturally need someone to manage it. Instead of finding strangers to train again, it would be better to have Aunt Zhou and the others come to our courtyard to help.”
Ning Huaizhi turned slightly to the side, looked at Jiang Yuwei, and said:
“You’re right. If Aunt Zhou and the others are willing, we can continue to hire them to do the work as usual, so that you can have some peace of mind.”
Seeing that Ning Huaizhi had agreed, Jiang Yuwei stood up and said:
"Alright, I'll go talk to them about it now."
After saying that, Jiang Yuwei left the main house and went directly to the kitchen in the backyard.
"Aunt Zhou, what are we going to eat later?"
When Aunt Zhou saw that it was Jiang Yuwei, she quickly wiped the sweat from her forehead and smiled:
"Yuwei, don't come in. It's smoky in here and it's choking. Maybe the stove hasn't been used for years and it's gotten damp. It starts to puff out smoke as soon as you light a fire. After we finish cooking, I'll have Uncle Cai unclog the chimney properly."
Jiang Yuwei nodded and stepped back, calling out to Aunt Zhou:
"Aunt Zhou, I have something to tell you. Please come out for a moment."
Upon hearing this, Aunt Zhou quickly put down the vegetables she was holding, wiped her hands haphazardly on her apron, and came out of the kitchen.
"Ahem, Yuwei, what's wrong!"
Jiang Yuwei pulled Aunt Zhou's arm and walked a few more steps outside before speaking:
"Now that we're in the capital, I need some manpower. I'd like to hire your family to work for me in the future. The wages will be the same as when we were in Ningjia Village. Once my business here is more stable, I'll raise your wages based on your individual circumstances."
Aunt Zhou was very happy to hear this.
"Cheng, Yuwei, we will follow your arrangements. We came to the capital with you because we trust you. We will do whatever you say. Now that Huaizhi has become a general, there must be servants to serve him. I was going to talk to you about this. It's better to hire people we know well than others. At least none of us have bad intentions."
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