I was a queen in ancient times, no, a maid!

It is always better to have one more friend than one more enemy.

What's more, this girl named Lotus took the initiative to show her goodwill. Cheng Yu came today and it's not known when she will return to Lanyuan.

The mistress said that she would work in the kitchen for three days. Who can say for sure what these three days will be like?

If she stays for ten days or half a month, she might really get along well with the people here. Otherwise, if anyone makes things difficult for her or trips her up, she will be in big trouble.

Moreover, she came to the big kitchen from Lanyuan to cook. If she was really framed, the old lady could use her to control the second lady.

Would the Second Lady worsen the conflict between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law because of a maid?

Cheng Yu thought about the plot she had known. It seemed that after Zhao Rulan's relationship with the old lady broke down, her child was gone. After a while, Lu Zhaowen brought two children and asked them to acknowledge them under Zhao Rulan's name.

Zhao Rulan looked at the two children and found that their features and brows were somewhat similar to Lu Zhaowen's.

She went to Lu Zhaowen to question him, and when Mrs. Lu found out, she advised Zhao Rulan that no matter who gave birth to the child or with whom, the child was being raised under her name now and would still have to call her mother in the future.

The relationship between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law began to deteriorate from that time.

At this stage, their relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law is still pretty good.

Madam Lu's birthday was at the beginning of the year, and Zhao Rulan prepared a generous birthday gift for her.

Cheng Yu didn't dare to gamble.

She can't completely hand over her power over life and death to outsiders.

She swallowed the white fat meat that she didn't like to eat in front of He Hua, indicating that she accepted He Hua's kindness to her.

This meat really doesn't taste good.

I don’t know if it’s because of the poor cooking method or if I bought cheap pork, but not only does it taste bad, it also has a strong pig smell.

Being used to eating in the small kitchen, Cheng Yu really couldn't like this meat.

But she swallowed it anyway and ate the steamed bun in big mouthfuls. She almost choked, so she quickly drank a mouthful of the white porridge that was as thin as water and swallowed it down.

Just after I finished talking to Hehua, I heard Qiuwen's voice coming from outside the door.

"Miss Yu'er, the old lady came to see you and said that the vegetable porridge you cooked tasted very good, and the burrito was also very delicious. She especially liked the burrito you made."

Qiu Wen said this and gave two pieces of silver to Cheng Yu.

She had gained some experience in handling silver these past few days and thought that the two pieces of silver should be worth one or two taels. She couldn't take all of them, so she gave half to Qiuwen when she took the money.

"Please trouble Sister Qiu Wen to deliver it. I won't bother the old lady anymore."

"I prepared pickled fish for the old lady this morning. However, the pickled cabbage tastes a bit bad. If you want pickled fish to taste good, pickled cabbage is the key. The pickled cabbage at Liubiju is good. Sister Qiuwen, can you ask someone to buy some?"

Liubiju’s pickles and sauerkraut are famous in Kyoto.

But it’s also expensive.

Qiuwen thought to herself, since the old lady wanted to eat it, she had to spend the money no matter how expensive it was.

"Just prepare it. I'll ask someone to go buy it."

Cheng Yu agreed, laughed, and put the silver money into the pocket inside his sleeve.

Mrs. Lu was indeed not generous. The reward she gave was only one or two taels of silver. However, it was a reward that made Cheng Yu very happy.

After Qiu Wen left, He Hua came forward.

"Miss Yu'er, do you know how much a jar of pickled cabbage from Liubiju costs? That costs three taels of silver."

"Is this true? Sauerkraut is so expensive?"

In Cheng Yu's mind, sauerkraut is easy to make and he can make it himself.

The price of this unpopular product cannot be too expensive. A few dozen coins per jar is considered a lot. I didn't expect that this jar would cost three taels of silver.

When in the small kitchen of Lanyuan, Cheng Yu was eating Liubiju's pickled cabbage and thought it was delicious, so he told Qiuwen about it.

No wonder Qiuwen looked a little hesitant just now.

She was afraid that if she went to report the bill and said she spent three taels of silver to buy a jar of pickled cabbage, the accountant would scold her.

"Liubiju's pickles are the most delicious. There are expensive ones and cheap ones, but the cheapest ones cost dozens of coins each. Ordinary people rarely buy them. The ones in the Lu family kitchen are only for the old lady and the eldest lady to eat."

"Even Aunt Wang, who was the master's favorite before, didn't get a share when she wanted to eat."

While Cheng Yu was chatting with He Hua, he also ate a melon.

After passing the imperial examination, the eldest master of the Lu family went to work in another place and brought back a beautiful woman. After the woman came to the Lu family, she gave birth to a son. Because the eldest master of the Lu family was not at the time of delivery, the eldest lady stopped the midwife outside and waited for more than half an hour before letting the midwife in.

At this time, the head of the baby in Aunt Wang's belly was exposed. Because of the delay in delivery, the child became a cripple.

He was raised on the farm since he was young and is now seventeen years old.

Cheng Yu just listened and didn't say much.

This is the big kitchen, not Lan Yuan's small kitchen. In the small kitchen, she was surrounded by her own people, but here, the people from that room in the kitchen were not there.

I’m afraid someone from the big room will hear her say these words…

Cheng Yu was also afraid of making enemies.

"Hey Yu'er, you look young, but why are you so calm? I've said so much, but you didn't say a word."

Lotus is a handyman in the big kitchen. When it is busy, she has to cut vegetables and cook. She has also cooked for illegitimate daughters and husbands.

But she is not a good cook and the food she cooks is just average.

"Listen, I need to prepare lunch ingredients for the old lady..."

Lotus: "It's still early in the morning, why are you in such a hurry? However, you must tell me what you want to do in advance. It will take a lot of time to find it at the critical moment. I'll tell you quietly that the things in the big kitchen are not complete."

It has to be said that Cheng Yu heard a lot about the Lu family from Hehua.

For example, two years ago, Madam Lu insisted on holding a spring banquet and invited the wives of officials in Kyoto to come and dine.

That spring banquet cost a total of ten thousand taels of silver, and shark fins, abalone, and bird's nests were poured onto the table like water.

Crabs, the size of two palms, were brought home in baskets.

It was also after the Spring Banquet that the Lu family’s inner courtyard began to practice frugality.

"In fact, they are all thrifty on us servants. Before, there was still some oil and water left in the big kitchen. After the housekeeper took it away, there was still some left for us handymen. Now it's good. Our monthly salary is paid once every three months, and there is no oil and water in the big kitchen."

"Miss Yu'er, I..."

Lotus said this and looked around.

Now it's time to rest, everyone has found a place to relax, and there are not many people left in the big kitchen.

Lotus was relieved and asked in a low voice, "Miss Yu'er, I heard from Zhu'er about your small kitchen. Everyone has a good relationship and the food is not bad. If the Second Madam needs me to do anything in the future, you can call me to do it."

It turned out that He Hua was trying to be friendly with her with this purpose in mind.

Yes, water flows to low places and people go to high places, so just go wherever there is a goal.

Cheng Yu nodded, "Well, I'll mention it when I have a chance."

Cheng Yu didn't dare to say anything extra. What if He Hua was a two-faced person? It's always a good idea to be more careful when you are out.