Chapter 18 Grandmother Jia's Worries
“Tell her I’m busy!” Liu Quan had barely finished speaking when he saw Mrs. Feng slap him across the mouth.
"Comprador Liu is here. He's about to go out. Tell Mother Yang to get ready, we'll leave immediately!"
"Are you out of your mind? Second Madam just gave the order, and you dared to disobey her! Do you believe that if word gets out that what you just said, you'll lose your position as a comprador! There are plenty of people eyeing this job!"
Liu Quan was shocked. He realized that he had indeed been reckless, saying such careless words.
"Thank you so much, Madam Feng, for saving me. I'll take Madam Yang out for a stroll right away." Liu Quan was extremely grateful. "Is there anything you want to bring back, Madam Feng? I'll go pick out something nice and bring it back for you."
"No need, just buy everything according to the list we submitted." Mrs. Feng understood the situation clearly.
The main kitchen is a place that connects the inner and outer courtyards. Messages spread among the servants and from the inner courtyard to the outer courtyard all pass through the main kitchen. It is the most chaotic place, with the most complicated interpersonal relationships in the entire mansion.
Yesterday morning, when Granny Yuan came to the main kitchen with a maid, they didn't care who belonged to which household or which faction. Granny Yuan acted swiftly and decisively, treating everyone equally and according to the rank on the roster, giving everyone a gift upon their first meeting.
In this way, no one can find fault with them, and those who want to gossip about the Lin family behind their backs will feel guilty when they think about the money in their pockets.
That Granny Yuan is really something!
With the Lin family assigning such a person to take care of Miss Lin, how could Miss Lin possibly suffer any grievances in the Rongguo Mansion?
"Mama Feng, the steamed eggs with milk that we served to the old lady this morning were given to Miss Lin, and she thought they were delicious. Granny Yuan asked if I steamed them, and she sent me to Rongyue Courtyard, rewarding me with a large sum of money. She also told me several other ways to steam eggs that I'd never heard of before!" Madam Qi, who was in charge of steamed dishes, said excitedly.
"No wonder my left eye kept twitching all morning; it turns out this fortune was waiting for me here."
While this matter could be kept secret from others, it was something that Madam Feng, as the head of the kitchen, couldn't possibly conceal. Madam Qi even wanted to share half of her reward money with Madam Feng, but Madam Feng politely declined.
"From now on, you all need to do your jobs well. Who says that we cooks can't serve our master and therefore won't get a reward?"
“Aunt Feng, this kind of thing never happened before. We get scolded more often,” a cook said indignantly. He was a Hunan cuisine chef, and only Uncle She would occasionally ask him to cook a few dishes. Otherwise, he was scolded many times for making dishes that were too spicy.
But without chili peppers, he simply can't cook.
It seems unlikely that he will receive this reward from Rongyueyuan.
Madam Feng couldn't really refute what Chef Wu said. His dishes were indeed not suitable for a child like Miss Lin. However, Madam Feng didn't expect that Chef Wu would soon receive a reward from Rongyue Courtyard. But that's another story.
After finishing her business, Wang Xifeng raised her head, like a phoenix standing tall and proud, and smiled as she went to Grandmother Jia's place.
Just now, Daiyu was here, making Grandmother Jia happy. But when she suddenly saw the radiant Wang Xifeng, she immediately felt that Feng was different from usual today, as if she were still before she had given birth.
"Grandmother, look at me, what's different about me today?" Wang Xifeng herself was beaming. She was already extremely beautiful, and today, because she had slept well, makeup was especially easy for her. It would not be an exaggeration to say that she looked like a goddess or fairy.
"Are you going to a banquet today? You've dressed up quite nicely." Grandmother Jia has always doted on Wang Xifeng, especially lately. She has noticed that Wang Xifeng seems to rely on her a lot, often giving her the illusion that Feng'er treats her like her own grandmother.
Wang Xifeng is known for her unrestrained and rude behavior, which is part of her character. She sat down on the stool closest to Grandmother Jia, craning her neck to show her face.
"Grandpa, look at my dark circles, they're all gone."
"There really isn't any left. Which brand of powder did you use? It covered up really well." Grandmother Jia took out her reading glasses and looked closely. Wang Xifeng didn't pretend and let Grandmother Jia examine her from head to toe.
Daiyu and the three sisters couldn't help but cover their mouths and laugh.
"You've really made a name for yourself today. Why didn't you even put on any powder before going out?" Grandmother Jia observed for a while before drawing her conclusion.
"My dark circles are gone, why do I need to put on any powder?" Wang Xifeng laughed. She was young and had good skin. Usually, she would put on thick powder to cover her dark circles. But when she woke up this morning, she found that the dark line that had been around her eyes for so long was gone.
"What kind of magic pill has Feng'er taken?" Grandmother Jia was also happy for her. No woman doesn't love beauty. In the past few years, Feng'er has been managing the household and has too many things to worry about every day. She often can't sleep at night, and Grandmother Jia has seen it all.
"I don't have any magic pills, but I slept soundly until noon last night after returning from Rongyue Courtyard, and when I woke up, my dark circles were gone." Wang Xifeng was overjoyed and specifically mentioned Rongyue Courtyard, "Sister Yuan gave me a bowl of red date, goji berry, longan, and black chicken soup, saying it was the best for beauty and health, and it really is true!"
Upon hearing this, Grandmother Jia glanced at Daiyu.
The four girls were chatting and laughing together. Daiyu and Tanchun were about the same age, and now they looked only slightly smaller in stature, but the other two were almost identical.
In the letters Jia Min had written over the past few years, Grandmother Jia had come to understand that Daiyu was a sensitive and somewhat temperamental young girl.
Now, she couldn't see anything sensitive about Daiyu at all. Her cheerful and generous personality was no less than that of Xiangyun, the girl from her own family.
"I don't believe a bowl of soup could have such great effects," said Grandmother Jia, who thought she was exaggerating.
"Grandmother, if you don't believe me, have Ping'er or the other housekeepers ask them. I slept in this morning and didn't show up for roll call." Wang Xifeng wasn't embarrassed at all; on the contrary, she was quite proud of herself.
"You're just too strong-willed. You should take better care of yourself. Aren't you busy enough with the maids around you for roll call and such? Why do you have to go?" Grandmother Jia pointed at Wang Xifeng, then turned to Daiyu and asked:
“Daiyu, what is your Granny Yuan busy with today? If she has nothing to do, let her come here for a walk. I’d like to try her delicious soup.”
“Grandmother, Granny Yuan went to our old house today. Yesterday, the family rushed over, and she went to check if the servants were properly arranged. Father entrusted all these matters to Granny Yuan.” Daiyu was small, but spoke clearly, and recounted the whole story.
"She's so busy, can she take good care of you? Otherwise, Grandmother, please assign two more nannies to you?" Grandmother Jia was a little displeased. Yuan Hongqu does so much work, how can she neglect taking care of Daiyu?
"Thank you, Grandmother, but there's no need for that. Granny Yuan made all the arrangements before she left. If she's quick, she'll be back by noon. Even if she has things to do, she won't be back until the evening," Lin Daiyu hurriedly declined.
Now, she has to teach all the servants from Rongguo Mansion in Rongyue Courtyard from scratch, and correct their bad habits of laziness and gossip. Adding two more people would just mean two more troubles, and she doesn't want to go back looking for trouble.
"Really?" Grandmother Jia took off her glasses. "Let's go take a look at Rongyue Courtyard."
She wanted to go and see if the Lin family servants who had just arrived at Rongyue Courtyard would be like headless flies, not knowing what to do; and whether Rongyue Courtyard was in complete chaos.
Grandmother Jia was still worried and even secretly regretted giving Rongyue Courtyard away so easily yesterday.
"Grandmother, please rest assured." Wang Xifeng stood up and helped Grandmother Jia up.
"I'm not just praising Sister Yuan, but Rongyue Courtyard has been organized perfectly in less than a day. The servants in charge of each area have only been familiar with the place for half a day, yet they act as if they've been working at Rongyue Courtyard their whole lives. I've never seen anyone train servants so well!"
"You'll see when you go."
Grandmother Jia stood up, and Yuanyang quickly helped her up on the other side. Daiyu and the three sisters followed, and the group headed towards Rongyue Courtyard.
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