The maid's road to success

After the truth was revealed, Chuncao could no longer stay in Fushoutang.

She became a second-class maid earlier than Wen Niang and Bi He. Chun Cao was the oldest among the second-class maids, already fourteen years old. She would replace one of the two maids when Yu Lan and the other were released at the age of eighteen.

After all, she has the most seniority, but unfortunately, she is arrogant and usually relies on her father to work for the Marquis. She looks down on the other second-rate maids, and only Yulan and Yumei can control her.

But even though she was arrogant and did her job very well, she had been with the old master for eight years. But one day she made a mistake and became a mediocre maid.

Thinking that she came from Fu Shou Tang and that both the father and the woman were capable, the Second Mistress sold out Chun Liu and the others, including the two most beautiful girls in the Second Young Master's room, but kept her.

A little maid was also assigned to serve her.

Although the old ancestor was angry with her, he knew that his grandson was more at fault, so he allowed her to take away all the property she had saved in Fu Shou Tang over the years. He also gave her a pair of green jade bracelets and a red gold kingfisher hairpin, which gave her some face so that she would not be bullied.

"That little bitch is very naughty. She has been having an affair with the Second Young Master for a long time, but she still keeps silent. As a result, I am being pointed at and criticized by others when I go out. They say that we are not clean either."

After Chuncao left, Chunxiu was alone and got along better with Bihe, Wen Niang and the others. At first, Bihe was always at odds with her, but later, when she saw that Bihe remembered to share the benefits she had, and when others talked about people from Fushoutang behind their backs, it was Chunxiu who rushed out to argue with them first, and then Bihe gradually accepted her.

"Okay, stop talking. Chuncao is now the second young master's wife, so Sister Yulan told us not to mention her anymore in the future, as it would make the old ancestor uncomfortable."

Bihe was also angry. She was an innocent girl, and she felt very depressed when others pointed fingers at her.

But the old man heard the gossip of the old women the day before yesterday, and the old man didn't eat much, but Sister Yulan was furious.

"If I hear anyone gossiping behind my back again and upset the old ancestor, I will kick her out and give her some peace and quiet."

The two maids of Yu were now in charge of the courtyard, and the servants had become much more restrained.

The old ancestor didn't want to have anyone come in for the time being, so they divided the work. Bihe took the little maids to serve the food, and Yumei and Chunxiu, who were not very busy, served the old ancestor together. After the meal, the old ancestor wanted to drink tea and chat, and Bihe and Chunxiu couldn't take care of him, so Wen Niang took the little maids to clean up.

Seeing that the old ancestor had eaten well today, Yumei asked Bihe to come in and accompany the old ancestor for a walk to help digest the food, and she came in with a small wooden box to find Wen Niang.

"The copyist needs to rest. Needlework is hard on the eyes."

"Sister Yumei."

When Wen Niang saw that Yumei had time to come to see her, she quickly put down her pen and put on her shoes to meet her.

"My sister got married the other day, and you gave me a lot of purses. Everyone in my brother-in-law's family praised my sister, and you must have been busy for several nights."

Sister Yumei is two years older than her. She got married the day before yesterday. Her husband is the son of the village manager. The wedding was rushed and Sister Yumei was busy making her wedding dress, so she asked Yumei to help make some purses to give away. Wen Niang took it over and made more than twenty of them for her in three or five days.

Everyone who received the gifts praised Sister Yumei for her good craftsmanship, and her mother even praised Yumei specifically.

"Sister Bai Yang also took good care of me when she was at Fushoutang. I also want to help her. Now that I have mastered the craft, I can make it quickly."

Yumei's elder sister Bai Yang used to be a maid in Fu Shou Tang. She was one of the ones who was sent out to get married a few years ago.

The old ancestor was reluctant to let her go, but it was the rule that she had to be released when she reached a certain age, so he appointed Yumei to take over Bai Yang's job.

"I can't use you for nothing. These are the rings that my ancestor disliked because they were so rough. He asked me to pick them up as a gift. I picked out some good ones."

"Sister, why are you being so polite? It's not a tiring job. My job is light, so it's not a big deal to make some money."

Yumei stuffed the box into her arms and forced her to accept it.

Wen Niang took it with a smile. Yumei had given her such things many times. There were some small gold and silver rings in Fu Shou Tang, inlaid with gems of average quality, which were specially used for giving to others.

Sister Yumei is in charge of the private property in the ancestral courtyard, and all these things are handled by Sister Yumei.

Wen Niang was obedient and honest, and never asked for rewards on her own initiative. The tired Yumei always had to give her some depending on the situation.

"My sister always remembers that I like gold, and she always picks the best ones for me."

Yumei nodded her head.

"Others are taking advantage of the rewards to come to me and pick out some fine jade rings or something to keep in their closets for the future, but you are the only one who is stupid enough to want the gold ones."

Wen Niang touched the wooden box with a smile.

"I just like gold and silver."

"It's worthless."

After Yumei left, Wen Niang took the wooden box back to her room. The large cabinet under the bed was hers. After unlocking it, she found more than thirty or forty gold and silver rings inside.

Wen Niang thought of what Sister Yulan had said some time ago about a small and exquisite courtyard in the north of the city. It had only one entrance, five rooms on the front, a gatehouse in the front, a kitchen in the back, and a small courtyard. The house was not big, but it was exquisite. Although it was in the north of the city, a eunuch had lived there before, and a lot of thought was put into its decoration.

Wen Niang was very tempted. The house was not big, but if she sold it for 120 taels and bought the house, all the money Wen Niang had worked hard to save for the past six years would be gone. But she thought that whether she wanted to rest or release her indenture, she would have a place to go in the future.

He took out all the silver and went to find Yulan.

"Sister Yulan is looking at the roster?"

When Wen Niang came, Yulan was recording something in her room.

"Now that you're here and Chuncao is not here, there's a lot more work to do and I have to quickly assign it to everyone so that we don't get too flustered if something happens."

Wen Niang didn't look at the name list in her hand and took out a slightly larger box.

"I remember that my sister will be on vacation tomorrow, so I still want to ask her to help me buy the yard in the north of the city."

Yulan put down the pen in her hand and looked at the box that Wen Niang brought.

"Think carefully, this yard is in the north of the city, and the people living there are all peddlers and hawkers. The location is not good. If you buy this yard, you will have no money in your hands."

Wen Niang nodded.

"Well, I've thought about it. I don't have much money, so I have a place to stay and a place for Bihe and I to go when we take turns to have a day off every month."

Yulan nodded and took her money.

This girl is too honest. She saves all of Bihe's money and receives much more rewards than she does on weekdays. She bought a yard and wanted to live with Bihe.

Although Bihe is a bit shrewd, she is very nice to this girl.

The next day, Yulan returned home with lots of snacks given by her ancestors and needlework she had made.

There are only five first- and second-class maids left in this mansion. In theory, Wen Niang received the least reward, but except for Bihe, the monthly wages of the others were given to their parents, so they could not get much. Not all children in the family could enter the mansion to serve. Basically, every household had children left at home, who were either not outstanding or very spoiled by their families.

The household expenses are quite high, so there isn't much left.

Bihe is probably the wealthiest maid in Fushoutang now.

When Bihe came back in the evening, Wen Niang told her about buying the yard and happily discussed with her the layout of the yard and the allocation of their two rooms.

"Niang Wen, why do you insist on buying a house here?"

Bihe looked at the excited Wen Niang and felt a little confused. Wen Niang seemed to know very well what she wanted.

"I'm different from you. When my parents sold me, they wanted to move the whole family. They thought I was a burden. I have no family to turn to, so I have to make a home for myself."

Wen Niang thought about it, then continued calmly.

"I may always serve in Huaiyuan Marquis' Mansion. If there is grace in the future and I can be released from my indenture, I can go out and get married. In a few years, when I am older, I can come back and be the housekeeper's wife. So, basically, I will be in this capital city in the future, so I have to build a home for myself."

Bihe nodded. Actually, what Wen Niang said was true. Most of the maids who entered the mansion would stay in Huaiyuan Marquis Mansion for the rest of their lives. She and Wen Niang were bought. Unlike others who had relatives in Huaiyuan Marquis Mansion, they naturally had to start making arrangements for themselves and thought more about it than others.

"Bihe, I think you should stop thinking about getting ahead and going back home to avenge them. Not to mention whether they will still be in their hometown when we release them, even if they are released, if you use your money to beat them, aren't you just using your hard-earned money to give them an advantage?"

Bihe felt that what Wen Niang said made some sense. The people in her family were too greedy. She just wanted to make them regret selling her out. She also had to consider whether they would keep pestering her once they knew she was rich.

Bihe felt that it was too early for her to think about these things now, so she took out a bag of silver grains from her box and gave them to Wen Niang.

"Since you have reserved a room for me, I cannot live here for free. These silver grains are for you to spend."

Wen Niang smiled and refused. Normally, Bihe was more popular than her and received more rewards. Whenever she saw new things given by her masters as rewards, they would share some with her.

Seeing that she refused to accept it, Bihe was afraid that it would be too polite to keep giving her money, so she rummaged around in her cabinet for a long time and found two agate rings with excellent jade color. This was her another reminder to the Third Miss that the old ancestor was angry with the Second Madam, and asked the Third Miss to be careful.

The third lady picked them from her hand and gave them to her. They were a pair in very good condition. Bihe usually couldn't bear to wear them and locked them up in the cabinet.

"Here, one for each of us."

Wen Niang couldn't help laughing when she saw that she was willing to give her this treasure. Everyone said that Bi He was too active in thinking and Wen Niang always suffered a loss when she was with her.

But who knows, once Bihe really becomes friends with you, she will be determined to treat you well.

"Hey, don't you feel bad?"

This is something Bihe wants to keep as a treasure for the future, to show off.

"It's heartbreaking, but this is the only thing that can prove our friendship. From now on, this will be a token of our friendship."

Wen Niang took it with a smile.

Wait until Yulan comes back and tell Wen Niang.

"My brother has gone to help you with the paperwork. He has a friend at the county government office in the north of the city, so he will be here soon."

Wen Niang nodded and took out the thank-you gift she had prepared for Yulan.

"Didn't I tell you not to send me gifts? I'm not a moneylender. I won't ask for benefits for doing things for others."

When Yulan saw Wen Niang holding a bundle, she knew that she would be polite again.

"If I don't do anything for my sister this time, I will be completely destitute. I have no money left. This is the handkerchief I embroidered for my sister. I thought it was time for her to use it up."

Yulan was happy when she saw the clean and soft handkerchiefs.

She liked the handkerchief fans made by Wen Niang, which had very delicate patterns. Even the young ladies often came to the old ancestor to ask for handkerchiefs made by Wen Niang.

On weekdays, Wen Niang had to make clothes for her ancestors and copy Buddhist scriptures, so she didn't dare to ask for money and used them sparingly. Now, she had so many clothes at once, more than ten pieces.

"I was just thinking about asking you for more handkerchiefs, and you brought them to me. You are really a worm in my stomach."

Wen Niang smiled and pointed at the bamboo basket that Yulan brought back.

"I was just thinking about the hawthorn cake on Suzaku Street, so my sister brought it back for me."

As soon as she entered the door, Wen Niang smelled the sweet aroma of hawthorn cake. In Fu Shou Tang, everyone from the old lady to the maids liked to eat sweets, but only Wen Niang liked the sour hawthorn cake.