Chapter 178 Wang Xifeng's New Housekeeping Rules
"Is it really not necessary for me to help with Lin Daiyu's birthday banquet?" Wang Xifeng asked Yuan Hongqu again to confirm.
"I couldn't even help myself that day, so what help are you going to offer?" Yuan Hongqu was speechless. Isn't it better to just watch the show? Why do you have to find something to do for yourself? Are you just born to be a busybody?
"Just relax for one day. Are you addicted to being busy before and after the New Year? Working from morning till night every day, you don't even know how to give yourself a break?" Yuan Hongqu couldn't help but tease.
“I’m not as lucky as my sister. How could I dare to give them a holiday? If we let them relax for a day, they’ll become like horses without bridles, running wild immediately. It would take a lot of effort to rein them in. It’s only during the holidays that they are much more self-disciplined than usual, saving me a lot of trouble!” Wang Xifeng said with great emotion.
"That's strange. Why are they more conscientious than usual during the busiest time of the year, like the holidays?"
"Hehe, Sister Yuan, guess what?" Wang Xifeng said mysteriously.
"Could it be that you've changed your attitude towards them?"
"No, not at all. If I keep being nice to them, they'll only take advantage of my kindness," Wang Xifeng said smugly. "I've set new rules!"
"We should be peaceful and make money during the New Year, right? It's not good to draw blood with beatings or anything like that, so I've scrapped it. From now on, anyone who's late or violates the rules will get a warning the first time, a room-cleaning penalty the second time, and a deduction from their monthly pay for the third time. No one can do the room-cleaning penalty for you! Anyone who dares to find someone to do it for them or threatens someone to help will have their penalty increased from one day to three days; and if anyone says they're volunteering to help, then they'll all be penalized three days each!"
Yuan Hongqu really didn't expect that Wang Xifeng would come up with such a method to manage the household. However, although the method was crude, it worked.
It seems that Wang Xifeng's method is quite effective.
Wang Xifeng laughed, "Don't they look down on me for being vulgar? Then I'll use the most vulgar method to manage them! Sister Yuan, you haven't seen the interesting expressions on the faces of those respectable mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law after they learned about this new rule. It really makes me realize that I was too naive before. I also learned too few expressions from my teachers. I can't even describe it."
"Has no one gone to report this to your boss?" Yuan Hongqu chuckled. This Wang Xifeng is truly a remarkable person!
“Of course there is! My mother-in-law said that our family is, after all, a Duke's mansion. To treat the servants so cruelly would be a laughingstock. I said it would be a laughingstock if the servants were to disrespect their superiors! A daughter of a dignified Duke's family, so frightened she doesn't even dare to return home—how impressive would that sound!” Wang Xifeng had originally planned to discuss these matters with Yuan Hongqu in a few days, but since Yuan Hongqu had come today, she didn't want to wait any longer…
"Hehe, my dear aunt said again that she had never heard of anyone punishing servants like this, it was too unrefined."
"Hmph, no matter how unseemly, it's still better than a beating! A beating would leave them injured for ten or fifteen days, forcing them to come to work with their injuries. Once the wound heals, they'd forget the pain and relapse into their old ways. Making them clean the wards is the best way to teach them a lesson! Not to mention, they have to go to the wards every day anyway, so at least going there will remind them not to make mistakes!"
“Yes, that’s a kind of psychological suggestion.” Yuan Hongqu nodded in approval.
"I didn't think that much about it. I just remembered how teachers dealt with troublesome students back in my school days. So after Yingchun went to the Lin family, they set this rule. Aren't they all supposed to be respectable? If they make a mistake, they're punished by having to clean the room. Let's see if they still have any face left!" Wang Xifeng said with some pride. "Although the First Madam and Second Madam think it's inappropriate, the Old Madam strongly supports it, so what am I afraid of!"
"How many people have been punished so far?" Yuan Hongqu asked curiously.
"Three warnings have been issued so far, but I think the others will be soon. Today, the maids of the two wives took it upon themselves to come and make a scene. If we don't give them an explanation, I'm afraid others will follow suit next time. Wang Shanbao's wife, the maid of the first wife, did a very bad job last time and has already received a warning. Her next task is to clean the room!"
Wang Xifeng had long wanted to teach Wang Shanbao's wife a lesson. Relying on being her stepmother-in-law's maid, she thought she was very important and usually acted arrogantly in front of her, not taking her seriously. This time, she would let this old hag know what she was capable of!
"I bet if you were to impose a penalty here, those two would come looking for you right away."
"I'm afraid they won't come! If they do, I'll just throw down the token and say I'm done with this family! Let whoever wants to manage it do so. Isn't it easier for Jia Lian and me to live our own lives behind closed doors than to worry about this family's every need?" Wang Xifeng sneered, curling her lip.
"They've been living beyond their means for a long time! They left me with a huge hole to fill! Did they think everyone else was a fool? I've had enough of this loss!"
"That's ambitious!" Yuan Hongqu clapped her hands with a smile, then reminded Wang Xifeng.
"You should come up with a good name for your charity auction, and have your son Jia Lian submit a petition to it. That would make it more legitimate. I heard that some empresses in the palace also want to donate things. You've already made a name for yourself, so don't waste it."
"Sister Yuan, aren't charity auctions usually only held during times of disaster?"
"Does doing good deeds have to be timed? Besides, it's not like your family has no connections in the court. You can't reveal other information, but you can't say this kind of information? The Celestial Empire is so big. There may be no disaster here, but there may be disaster there. Charity is for all the people of the Celestial Empire, not just the people of the capital."
"Sister Yuan, I'm going to be famous this time!" Wang Xifeng thought for a moment and then smiled, "And it'll all be a good reputation!"
Yuan Hongqu smiled and said, "If you run this charity auction well from now on, your little head will definitely stick firmly to your neck. You won't have to worry about it anymore."
Hearing this, Wang Xifeng sighed, "Sister, if we hadn't recognized each other, I'm afraid I'd still be stuck in this quagmire!"
“Words cannot express my gratitude…” Wang Xifeng said, rising to give Yuan Hongqu a curtsy. “In the future, if there is anything you need from us, we will go through fire and water for you.”
"Look at you, so serious. What's our relationship? Why are you doing this to me?" Yuan Hongqu pulled Wang Xifeng to sit down. Since they recognized each other, Wang Xifeng had never been so serious, which startled Yuan Hongqu.
"Sister Yuan, how about letting our eldest daughter recognize you as her godmother?" Wang Xifeng suddenly had a whimsical idea. "I'll give you half of my daughter."
"There's no need for that. Your eldest daughter will have her own godmother in the future, not me."
"It's never a bad thing to have too many godmothers. The more godmothers you have, the better. No matter where you go in the future, you'll always have a godmother!"
"Nonsense. Does not being a godmother mean I can't help her?"
"Hehe, I knew my sister was the best to me. I'm the apple of her eye..."
“Don’t talk nonsense. You can’t compare to Daiyu. Daiyu is the best.” Yuan Hongqu ruthlessly shattered Wang Xifeng’s illusions.
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