The sickly son died young? After the marriage exchange, I will bring prosperity to his entire clan f

"No problem, this is my specialty. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Not for now, but we need to build a good relationship first, so that we won't feel awkward about not having any contact when we need it later."

"Leave it to me."

When hosting a banquet, there are many things to prepare. It cannot be ostentatious, nor can it be too shabby. There is a balance to be struck.

From invitations to food and staff arrangements, every detail requires careful consideration.

There are clearly not enough people to host a banquet.

"Madam, shall we buy some manpower?"

Du Mingxian wasn't reluctant to spend the money. "No need, just call Chen Dong's wife over."

Xiangyang volunteered, "Madam, I'll go."

"it is good."

Xiangyang has been spending his days hanging out with everyone in the backyard lately, and now he knows their situation and is quite familiar with them.

Upon hearing that his wife wanted to see him, Chen Dong's wife felt quite uneasy, worried that it was because she hadn't done her job well in the past few days, and that her repeated attempts to persuade Yang were indeed due to his wife's dissatisfaction.

Only after Xiangyang's repeated assurances did they arrive at the main hall with trepidation.

"lady."

Seeing Chen Dong's wife's nervous look, Du Mingxian pointed to a chair on the side, "Sit down, don't be nervous. I asked you to come here to ask some questions."

"it is good."

Seeing that Du Mingxian's attitude had softened, Chen Dong's wife secretly breathed a sigh of relief. "What does Madam want to ask?"

"I'm going to hold a banquet in a few days and I'd like you to help me find ten people. They need to be honest and reliable, preferably young girls of fourteen or fifteen, or even young wives."

"A young wife should be observant and quick-witted, but also pure-hearted."

"Yes, yes, we live in this city, so it's very convenient to find people." Chen Dong's wife was already thinking about who they could contact, who they could use, and who they couldn't.

Du Mingxian thought for a moment and said, "It would be best to prioritize using the families of our yamen runners. If that's not enough, we can ask other people."

"Yes, madam, rest assured, I will definitely handle this matter well."

"Well, after you finish cooking, go and ask around. In three days, have these people come to me for a look. Then the household will start getting busy. Their wages will be calculated daily, and they will be paid in cash once the work is completed."

"Yes, yes, madam."

Seeing that Chen Dong's wife was still looking nervous, Du Mingxian didn't say anything more and sent her back.

"Xiangyang, Xiayu, when these people enter the manor, you two need to be extra careful. We can't afford any trouble that day."

"Yes, madam, rest assured."

Three days is not a long time. When Du Mingxian saw Chen Dong's wife again, it was Chen Dong's wife who brought in a group of twelve people.

“Madam, there are twelve people here. I don’t know your selection criteria, so I have two extra candidates. Please see which one is not suitable and you can send them back directly.”

Du Mingxian was in the main hall, looking out through the door. Of the twelve people, only four had the hairstyle of young girls, while the rest had the hairstyle of women. However... two of them looked particularly haggard.

How old are they?

"Those unmarried girls are all fourteen years old, and the rest are all between fifteen and eighteen." Chen Dong's wife muttered to herself, afraid that Du Mingxian would be dissatisfied.

"Let them in."

Chen Dong's wife called them in, which was obviously arranged in advance. They were quite well-behaved, with no one rushing in and maintaining a very orderly manner. They knelt down immediately upon entering.

"This humble woman greets the County Magistrate's wife and wishes her good health."

"This humble woman greets the County Magistrate's wife and wishes her good health."

The sounds were somewhat chaotic, and some people's voices even had a tremor.

"Everyone, get up."

As the group stood up, Du Mingxian noticed that one of the women swayed slightly as she stood up, and she looked unwell.

"Chen Dong's wife, please introduce them."

"Yes."

Chen Dong's wife stepped forward and introduced them one by one. Among the people they had found, only two women and a young girl were not relatives of government officials. The rest were all relatives of government officials. As for the two people who looked unwell, one was not a relative of a government official, and the other was.

"I've called you all here because I need to host a banquet. I might need a lot of manpower in the next few days. If you do a good job, I'll give you some extra rewards later."

"Madam Xie." Everyone who came knew they were there to help, and they were all very excited about such a great opportunity.

Du Mingxian glanced at their clothes... some were patched, some were not, but they were still too shabby.

"Those skilled in needlework stand on the left, those good at cooking stand on the right, and those who are good at both take a step back. Let's begin."

Needlework and cooking were skills that every woman in this dynasty possessed.

So out of the twelve people, six took a step back, two went to the left, two went to the right, and two stood still.

The two people standing still were extremely nervous.

“I can clean, I’m very efficient at my work, and I can do other things too, madam…” a young girl said nervously as she knelt down.

Du Mingxian said calmly, "Get up and answer first."

The little girl didn't want to get up, but she was afraid of upsetting Du Mingxian, so she stood up timidly.

"Xia Yu, go and get the fabric. Let them make clothes today, one set for each of them."

"Yes." Xia Yu went to get the fabric, and Xiang Yang led the people out. "Sister-in-law Liu, you who are good at cooking, go to the kitchen first."

Chen Liu was a little nervous in front of Du Mingxian, but she was very familiar with Xiangyang. "Xiangyang, what does Madam mean by this? Are all twelve of them staying?"

"No, let's observe first and see who is not good at their job, then we'll remove them."

"oh oh."

Everyone who came heard Xiangyang's words and secretly resolved to do their best.

The uniform style of clothing was designed by Du Mingxian long ago. It was somewhat like a short jacket, but not masculine. It would look good on women too, and it would be very convenient for working.

Xiangyang and Xiayu arranged for them to have clothes made. Nowadays, apart from some differences in height, people are all very thin, so the clothing sizes are all about the same, and they all made one-size-fits-all clothes.

The tops are similar, only the length of the pants is slightly different.

Xia Yu returned to the main hall, where Du Mingxian was already looking at the menu.

"Madam has made the arrangements, and Xiangyang is over there watching over things."

"Yes, they have plenty of manpower, so they can finish making the clothes today. Once they're done, they can put them away and use them for the next banquet."

"Madam's thoughts are very thoughtful."

"Keep an eye on those two who don't look well, especially the family member of that constable. Tell Xiangyang to ask Chen Dong's wife what's going on with that woman."

"Yes."

When it comes to food, Chen Dong's wife's skills are far from enough. Du Mingxian specially taught Chen Dong's wife a few dishes, and also taught Xiang Yang a few dishes. She even picked two good cooks to teach her how to make fruit tea.