The maid's road to success

The next day, the yards on both sides were already busy. Wushan saw that the bamboo poles in stock were all used up, so he planned to prepare some more with Anze.

Upon seeing this, the chief steward also sent some people to cut some bamboos and build a bamboo shed like the one in Wen Niang's yard to facilitate walking.

It’s raining quite heavily now, but the bamboo forest is just at the foot of the mountain in the distance, just a little far away.

An Ze simply pulled out the cart from home.

An Ning followed behind worriedly. There were many people under the Tongpan Mansion. Each person could carry four or five bamboo sticks, and ten or so would be enough to build a bamboo shed. However, there were only three of An Ze's group, and they were afraid that they would not have the chance to go up the mountain before the rain stopped completely.

Wen Niang told them that safety was their top priority and only let them go out after she made them wear the rabbit fur jackets that she had specially prepared for them.

After helping her young lady to wash and dress, Xier went to the kitchen to get breakfast.

There are three stoves in this kitchen. Mrs. Liu set them up on all fours so that there will be extra meals for everyone to eat.

Fortunately, we brought a lot of food, so everyone had enough to eat.

After dinner, two of the three young ladies of the Wu family made a fuss about changing beds.

"Mom, the kang is too hard. I can't sleep on it."

Madam Liu looked unhappy. This time her daughters sent all the concubines and aunts to the farm without consulting her.

Although it is safer there than in the city, there are always risks on the hillside. My husband ignored me on the way, probably because he blamed me for this.

But she couldn't bring him back.

There are three daughters. The eldest daughter is fine, but the two younger ones made a lot of noise along the way. Even though there were so many officials' wives and daughters present, these two were the only ones who made a lot of noise.

It not only looked bad on her face, but also gave her a headache.

"Alright, what are you arguing about? This is the safest and closest place now. Your father needs to investigate river affairs and deal with things, so he can't go far away. This is the best place we can find to live. If you don't like it, we can go to Yuzhou City."

"Besides, the neighboring family and your father left the intact earthen kang for the women to sleep on, while they are still sleeping on makeshift beds made of wood and bamboo. Don't be ungrateful."

It was the wife of the magistrate who quickly mediated.

"Today the housekeeper sent someone to cut bamboo and brought it back. We will build a bamboo shed to protect the two young ladies from the rain, and then put a bamboo bed for them and put a few layers of mattresses on it. It should be better."

Mrs. Liu smiled kindly at the wife of the Tongpan.

"It's hard for you to always think about them. Why aren't these children as considerate as Jin'er?"

When Miss Jin'er, the magistrate, heard this, she looked at the young ladies of the Wu family and was indeed attracted by them. She quickly lowered her head and acted like a quail.

"No, Jin'er has been with me for a long time and she is not very particular about it. I don't think she can take care of her as carefully as the other young ladies do. We are not used to the sudden loss of those things in the mansion."

Miss Wu's expression improved a little, but Mrs. Liu still disliked her daughter.

In addition to them, there were also one or two daughters from other mansions who followed them. No one of them made a fuss. Even if there were things that were not satisfactory or unfamiliar, they would just say a few words and that was it.

After all, this is not a provincial capital, and many things are just not available.

But the few of them who are usually very powerful started to cause trouble at this time.

The adults next door had no time to pack before setting off. They were busy dealing with government affairs and writing memorials to the court along the way.

The women in the mansion helped carry some of the things, but they were mostly food and clothes.

Fortunately, the neighbors sent us some white tea and Tieguanyin, so we were able to cheer up and get down to business.

But they are all the people in charge of the family, and everyone has heard about the women in the right yard making a fuss about asking for charcoal yesterday.

At this time, they have to maintain a good image, care about the people, and be good officials who treat the people well, but the women keep asking for things.

Isn't it forced buying if I use money to buy charcoal and other things at this time?

Fortunately, the owner gave it to me readily without any further ado.

The prefect simply asked someone to remind his wife and ask her to discipline her daughter so that she would not cause trouble, and he did not intervene further.

Now that I have taken it, can I return it?

It was almost noon when An Ze and his group came back. From their appearance, you could tell what they had been through. Everyone was covered in mud and their clothes were soaked. An Ze and his group were fine as they were wearing rabbit fur jackets to keep out the rain. They just looked a little disheveled, but their expressions were okay.

However, the servants of the Tongpan Mansion were covered in mud and looked unhappy.

"Go change into clean clothes, and give your wet clothes to the old woman to wash and take to the kitchen to dry. Let others build the shed."

The steward immediately arranged for these people to change their clothes and rest, and the kitchen also boiled ginger soup.

Wen Niang also quickly pulled An Ze and the other two back to the yard, asked them to change into dry clothes and drink brown sugar ginger tea.

"There have been some landslides on the mountain today. We are relatively safe in the bamboo forest, but there are obviously a lot of rubble and branches falling on the hillside next to us."

Wushan told everyone about what happened today.

"We can't go up the mountain anymore. Now muddy water mixed with rocks is flowing down. It's safest for us to stay at home."

Wen Niang helped to move the cartload of bamboos. She watched the people wrap themselves in thick clothes and drink ginger tea. Only after their body temperature recovered did she tell them to rest first.

"Excuse me for bothering you. Our young lady said she is not used to sleeping on the earthen kang and wants to sleep on a bamboo couch. The bamboo we picked today is only enough to build a shed, so we need to come and ask for some more."

Although Wen Niang was somewhat reluctant, she still asked people to move seven or eight bamboos over considering that the other party was brought by the chief steward of the Tongpan Prefecture. Wood was also sufficient for the crossbeam in the middle. After all, these were the bamboos that the three men from Wushan had picked in the heavy rain, unlike yesterday when they were used as a shelter for the servants to sleep.

The prefect's daughter was too pretentious. She thought the big earthen kang was already the most comfortable bed in the three houses.

"Thank you ladies, this is a small gift from us, please accept it."

The steward of the prefectural government knew that they had caused too much trouble for their master's family, but the young ladies were making so much noise that they, the servants, were also in a difficult position.

"No need, some bamboos are not worth much."

The prefectural official insisted on putting the money into Anze and Wushan's hands.

"We have also sent people from our mansion to collect bamboo today. We have heard from people below how hard and dangerous it is. If it was sunny and broad daylight in the past, I would have shamelessly collected it. But today, you have worked so hard to bring it back, and we are embarrassed to take it for free."

"Yesterday, you donated all your bamboos so that those people would have a place to shelter from the rain. Today, you just brought them back and are asking for them again. This is a bit too much. Please don't be disgusted and consider it as a little reward for your hard work."

Wen Niang looked at the other person. No wonder he could become the manager of the prefectural government. He was good at talking. All the reluctance in her heart disappeared.

Let Anze and Wushan collect the money.

"Take it. You worked hard to get those bamboos back. You've also given away the bamboo mats you've stockpiled recently. Take this money as your reward."

The other party generously gave two ingots of ten taels of silver. Wushan and Anze felt a little nervous holding the heavy silver and did not dare to take it.

"If I tell you to take it, just take it. You braved the rain to cut the bamboos. Think of it as saving some private money in advance so that we don't have to pay a dowry when you grow up and get married."

Wushan and Anze blushed and stopped talking.

The bamboos stored in Wushan before were all used to make bamboo sheds for shelter from the rain. Those piled in the yard later were all the bamboos that Wushan did not accumulate when he needed them after the rain. None of them were easy to get back.

Those people took them all away, so it’s no big deal to collect some hard-earned money.

In the past, one or two taels of silver could buy hundreds of bamboos, but now they are hard to come by. Since they offer more money, just take it. There is nothing to be embarrassed about.

Several servants in the mansion found two people who knew how to make bamboo beds. Wushan went over to help out under the pretext of helping out, and after a while he came back and said that he could make it too.

Taking Anze to work in the backyard.

In the afternoon, a bigger bamboo bed was made for Wen Niang and Bi He. It wasn't very beautiful the first time, but it was still practical. Wen Niang and Bi He smiled as they watched them busy themselves with replacing the bed made of wooden boards, feeling very satisfied.

None of these children would make anyone regret keeping them.

In the afternoon, the ladies next door were making a fuss about something unknown, and I heard a few voices of Mrs. Liu scolding them.

Wen Niang didn't care either. Their attention was focused on the people walking towards them from the official road.

As more and more people came to the official road, the carriages often got stuck in the mud and could not move. As more and more people piled up, there were several times when people below saw a house above and wanted to come up for help.

But when he saw the officials living in the packed house, he immediately gave up his idea.

But this time, Wen Niang planned to let those people come up.

“That’s the child from the charity hall.”

Although Wen Niang couldn't recognize them, she guessed it from the layout of the crowd. After all, those children had nothing to protect them from the rain, they were wearing thin clothes, and they were crowded together in groups.

"Miss, are you planning to take in the children from the charity?"

Wen Niang nodded and spoke to the chief steward of the Tongpan Mansion.

"Those children have nowhere to go, not even a caretaker. I think they are abandoned. There are more than 30 children. We still have some oilcloth and bamboo mats. We can make some tents that can accommodate people and let them live there first. The children are not in any danger. If the news gets out, it will also be good for the reputation of the adults."

Although this piece of land belonged to Wen Niang, she had no say in who to leave behind. After the steward went in to report, he nodded and agreed to let Wen Niang keep the children.

"Thank you for taking us in. We will find a way to avoid the rain and not disturb the adults and girls."

A child slightly older than Anze was walking in front, looking very embarrassed but also very reasonable.

"Brother Yu, I'm Wushan."

The older child was visibly happier when he saw Wushan was there.

"Don't worry, our sister said she can take out the tarpaulin and bamboo from home to build a shelter for you on the back wall."

Julien didn't expect that he came up to ask for help only because he saw that the children could not hold on any longer. As a result, he met Wushan, whom he knew, and found a place to stay.

The moment they were about to come up, many people told them not to dream, as there were many officials living up there and they couldn't possibly stay. But who knew that God would bless them and they would meet kind-hearted people who were willing to take them in.

"Thank you very much."

Bihe felt sorry for the children, so she asked Wushan to take them home to dry their clothes, drink ginger tea, and then build the bamboo shed.

"We the older ones can still hold on, please take care of the younger ones. It's getting late, we need to prepare a place to live first."

Wushan took Anze, Yulian and several other half-grown children to carry bamboo poles and oilcloth.

The bamboo poles are used to support the main body and provide cooling, and the huge oilcloth is spread diagonally on the roof, which can not only block the rain, but also allow the water to flow to the open space in front to avoid accumulation of rainwater and weighing down the tarpaulin.

"Brother Yu, I have hidden a few bamboo mats. I will tie them to the bamboo poles with ropes later, so that no wind or rain can leak in."

Julien nodded gratefully before being pulled into his room by Wushan to change his clothes.

There were not many of them. When they first moved to Chunyuan, An Ning Bihe bought a lot of clothes for Wushan and the others. Although they were not very thick, they were much better than what they were wearing.

I found a bunch of quilts for them to change into, and gave the quilts at home to the servants. I hadn't thought that more people would come, so there were no left.