Jiang Ling looked at Zhou Daxia without saying anything. Zhou Daxia leaned closer to Jiang Ling and said, "As for Er Ya, don't blame me for being blunt! She just likes to put on a show!"
Jiang Ling smiled slightly and deliberately looked at Zhou Daxia with an incredulous expression. "No way, how can you tell anything in just two days?"
Zhou Daxia sniffed and gave a disdainful look. "Yaojie's mother, don't blame me for being rude, but can't we see what those girls are thinking?"
Jiang Ling smiled meaningfully at Zhou Daxia and said, "Okay, I understand. Tell Er Ya's master to keep an eye on this girl! Alright, you can continue with your work!"
After saying that, Jiang Ling turned and walked towards home.
After work that evening, Er Ya appeared at Jiang Ling's door again. Grandma Zhu didn't have a good impression of the girl either. She always felt that although the girl was young, she was full of scheming. She asked with droopy eyelids and annoyance, "What?"
Er Ya was a little annoyed by Grandma Zhu's tone, but she still forced a smile and said, "Hello Grandma Zhu, I'd like to ask if Aunt Jiang is here!"
Although Er Ya was polite to Granny Zhu, she still cursed Granny Zhu in her heart.
"I'm here, come in with me!" Granny Zhu led Er Ya in.
Jiang Ling was checking the overall progress with the village chief, and Er Ya wisely stood aside without saying a word.
After a while, when Er Ya felt her legs getting numb from standing, the village chief left Jiang Ling's house with the planning map.
Jiang Ling looked up and, though displeased, still smiled: "Er Ya, what brings you here?"
Hearing Jiang Ling's kind tone, the naive Er Ya thought that Jiang Ling was trying to befriend her, so she quickly ran over to Jiang Ling and said, "Auntie, you see, you are now a fifth-rank lady, how can you not have someone to take care of you? How about this, I will quit my job at the sanitary napkin factory and serve you as your personal maid every day, is that alright?"
Jiang Ling felt a chill run down her spine after hearing this. "That brat is really cunning. She was just waiting for me to say that!"
Jiang Ling's lips gradually drooped, and her tone became colder. "Fine, but there are quite a few rules for a maid! First of all, you can't sleep too soundly at night. If I call you anytime, you must appear within three seconds. Prepare water for me to wash my face before I wake up every day! Prepare water for me to wash my hands every time I come back from outside!"
"Every afternoon I have to make stews and desserts, and every evening I have to prepare bathwater!"
"I'm used to using rose petal water, and I make stews and desserts that I don't repeat for seven days a week. I also have to put rose petals in my bath water!"
"I might be very busy later on. Yecheng and Qingzhou are places I often go. You will have to come with me. If you can endure this hardship, I don't mind transferring you here. As for the salary, it will be one hundred and fifty copper coins per month!"
As Jiang Ling continued speaking, Er Ya's face grew paler and paler. By the end, beads of sweat the size of soybeans had formed on Er Ya's forehead. She opened her mouth in disbelief and said, "Auntie, you must be joking with me, right?"
Jiang Ling rolled her eyes at Er Ya, giving her no friendly look, and said coldly, "Do you think I'm joking? You said it yourself, I'm a fifth-rank Anren now, so it's only right that I get to enjoy myself!"
Er Ya was secretly astonished. She never imagined that the work of a personal maid would be so arduous. Granny Zhu, who was standing to the side, also harbored a prejudice against Er Ya.
She walked over and stood beside Jiang Ling, saying meaningfully, "Miss Er Ya, you think this is hard work? Back when I was in the palace, the maids who served the masters were a hundred or even a thousand times more hardworking than what Anren described. Putting aside everything else, if they did anything to displease their master, the master would punish them with a beating and then kick them out of the palace. Or even if they did nothing wrong, if their master was in a bad mood, they would still suffer a beating!"
"Miss Er Ya, you should think this through! Our An people are still kind-hearted!"
Er Ya, who was already somewhat frightened by Jiang Ling's words, was further inflamed by Granny Zhu's remarks. Er Ya quickly ran to Jiang Ling and said sincerely, "Auntie, don't overthink it. I... I just wanted to see you, so... um... I... I'd better just stay at the factory and work hard!"
As if afraid that Jiang Ling would leave her behind, she ran out of Jiang Ling's house in a flash.
Seeing Er Ya disappear, Jiang Ling and Granny Zhu exchanged a smile. Granny Zhu, seeing that Er Ya was gone, stood in front of Jiang Ling, bowed respectfully, and said, "My lady, please forgive this old servant for being nosy! This old servant has seen many scheming maids in the palace, all thinking of climbing the social ladder. Yao Jie and this girl are not much different in age, so my lady must be very careful!"
Jiang Ling knew that Granny Zhu, having spent many years in the palace, must have had a reason for saying those words. She nodded and thanked her, "Thank you for the reminder, Granny! I will be extra careful!"
Grandma Zhu bowed repeatedly, saying, "Madam, you're too kind!"
After talking with Grandma Zhu, Jiang Ling glanced at Jiang Yaojie, who was busy at work. Seeing that no one was around, she walked over to Jiang Yaojie and said, "Yaojie, come inside, Mom has something to say to you!"
Jiang Yaojie had always been very respectful to Jiang Ling. Upon hearing Jiang Ling's words, he immediately put down his work and reached out his hand to her.
"Do you remember that Er Ya?" Jiang Ling didn't bother to hide anything and asked directly.
Jiang Yaojie looked at Jiang Ling with some confusion, and after a long while asked, "Er Ya? Mother, who are you talking about?"
"That's the little girl who came to our house the other day and squatted at the door picking vegetables!" Jiang Ling reminded her.
Jiang Yaojie suddenly realized, "Oh! Mother, you mean her! What's wrong?"
Thinking about what Granny Zhu had said, Jiang Ling hesitated for a moment before saying, "I think that girl is quite cunning. Anyway, be careful!"
Jiang Yaojie briefly recalled the person named Er Ya, but didn't have a deep impression of her. However, since his mother told him to be careful, she must be right.
The mother and son chatted for a while longer. When Jiang Ling heard that Shen Congxin was standing in the yard calling Jiang Yaojie, she stopped talking and gestured for Jiang Yaojie to go out quickly.
Seeing the loving couple outside the window, Jiang Ling smiled from the bottom of her heart.
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye. Er Ya, who had been warned, had quieted down considerably during this time. At least when Jiang Ling questioned Zhou Daxia, Zhou Daxia's answers were very satisfactory to Jiang Ling.
Early this morning, Jiang Ling was called out by the village chief, Jiang Suihe went to Wu Xiucai's school, and Jiang Yaojie also needed to check the orders. He took Nianci and the other person to the shampoo factory for the time being. Several old women were chatting in the backyard, and the four servants were also resting in their rooms with nothing to do.
Shen Congxin lay alone in a rocking chair, leisurely eating the grapes that Jiang Ling had improved.
Before anyone noticed, a small, thin figure suddenly darted out from Jiang Ling's doorstep.
The figure glanced in the direction of Jiang Ling's house, and after confirming that only Chen Congxin was in the front yard, cautiously walked in.
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