Before confiscating their property, they emptied the imperial city and exiled them!

Looking at the dusty Song Huai'an, Lin Xiaoxiao finally spoke her mind.

"Dad, our family is not short of money now, why do we still have to go up the mountain to serve every day?"

"This makes everyone so tired, and if we spend money to hire people, the local residents will also benefit, won't they?"

The villagers in the surrounding villages usually rely solely on agricultural harvests for their livelihood. Without any additional income, their daily lives are quite difficult.

Song Huai'an frowned: "But this is a rule set by the late emperor long ago, and we should follow it. Hiring people with money is just opportunism."

"Rules are made by people, but people are alive. As long as we complete the tasks stipulated by the government every day, it will not be considered a violation of the late emperor's decree."

"How can that be the same? The late emperor set such a rule so that those who made mistakes would realize their errors through hard work."

"We must correct this. If we are the first to disobey the late emperor's decree, how will I face him after I enter the underworld?"

Lin Xiaoxiao frowned in confusion: "Dad also said that those rules were made for people who made mistakes, but we were wronged."

Song Huai'an said in a deep voice, "Rules are rules, and we don't need to discuss this matter anymore. I will not disobey the late emperor's decree."

The late emperor, the late emperor, his eyes and heart were filled with nothing but the late emperor.

Lin Xiaoxiao felt as if she had a tightness in her chest, unable to release it.

Especially thinking about the food he ate at noon during the day, he compromised and said, "Okay, I'll listen to Dad about the military service, but I need to go to town tomorrow."

"Hire some people to deliver our meals."

This time, Song Huai'an did not refuse, which can be considered as tacitly agreeing to Lin Xiaoxiao's suggestion.

the next day.

After dinner, everyone in the family went to work.

Lin Xiaoxiao took Eleven to the slave market in town, where people were standing in twos and threes.

The people inside included both the old and the young.

Lin Xiaoxiao wanted to choose someone who could cook and clean at home, so she focused most of her attention on women.

The two had been strolling around for a short while when a servant came over and, after learning about Lin Xiaoxiao's needs...

They immediately took her to a mother and daughter.

The mother looked to be in her thirties, while the daughter looked to be around sixteen or seventeen.

"Girl, if you don't like it, just choose them. Their only requirement is to be sold to one place, which is perfect since you need two people too."

Lin Xiaoxiao looked them up and down. They had decent appearances, and although their clothes were patched, they were very clean.

Lin Xiaoxiao asked simply, "How's the food?"

The mother replied politely, "I think my cooking skills are pretty good. If there are any shortcomings, I will definitely study them carefully in the future."

Ren Ya knew the woman's previous identity, and seeing how subtly she spoke, he immediately helped to introduce her.

"Oh, madam, don't worry. This lady used to own a restaurant, and it was a very successful business."

If it weren't for the good-for-nothing man she married who gambled away all their savings, she and her daughter wouldn't have ended up in this situation.

If you want to hire someone to cook for you, you can't go wrong with these people.

They used to run a restaurant, so their cooking skills must be quite good. There's no rush to clean the rooms or anything else.

Lin Xiaoxiao immediately decided to buy the mother and daughter.

After negotiating the price with the girls, paying the money and receiving their indentures, Lin Xiaoxiao left with them.

Lin Xiaoxiao, seeing that both of their clothes were patched, spoke to Eleven, who was driving the carriage.

"Let's go to the cloth shop first."

Upon hearing this, Eleven grunted in agreement and immediately ordered the horse to turn around.

Inside the carriage, Lin Xiaoxiao sat opposite them and said, "Please introduce yourselves so we can address each other properly later."

“Miss, my name is Zhao Yanfang, I am 35 years old, and this is my daughter Xiaotao, who is 17 years old. Since you have kindly bought us, we will definitely work for you wholeheartedly after we arrive at your residence.”

The woman's eyes were full of sincerity after she finished speaking.

"Then I'll call you Aunt Zhao from now on. I'll buy you all to cook some ordinary meals, and I'll give each of you a monthly allowance of one tael."

Upon hearing that she would receive a monthly stipend, the woman quickly waved her hand and said, "No need. Since Miss has bought us, there's no need to pay us any extra money."

"Since I promised to give it to you, just accept it. If you are grateful, just do your best in the future."

Zhao Yanfang knew that Lin Xiaoxiao's words made it difficult for them to refuse, so she stopped arguing.

After Lin Xiaoxiao and her entourage arrived at the fabric shop, they bought two sets of clothes for the mother and daughter.

Then I took them home.

Zhao Yanfang was momentarily stunned as she looked at the courtyard in front of her. She hadn't expected there to be such a spacious courtyard in this remote mountain village.

After Lin Xiaoxiao showed them around the area, Zhao Yanfang immediately got busy.

After listening to Lin Xiaoxiao explain her family's basic situation, he boasted that he could prepare a meal at noon and have Lin Xiaoxiao deliver it to her family.

Although Xiao Tao was not talkative, she followed Zhao Yanfang around and assisted her in an orderly manner.

It's obvious she wasn't a pampered young lady when she was at home.

Soon, the aroma of food wafted from the kitchen.

Xiao Tao came out carrying plate after plate of food and placed them in the food box.

After the rice was cooked and served, Zhao Yanfang came out of the kitchen and looked at Lin Xiaoxiao.

"Miss, the food is ready. Today, let Xiao Tao go with you to familiarize yourself with the route. From now on, she will be the one to deliver your meals."

Zhao Yanfang had a long-lost smile on her face; she seemed to really enjoy being in the kitchen.

Lin Xiaoxiao waved her hand: "No need, someone will take care of delivering the food. You just need to take care of the house."

Shadow One and Shadow Three are incredibly skilled with their feet; it would be a waste not to use them.

Although Xiao Tao is quick and efficient at cooking, she is quite petite.

By the time she delivers it, the food will probably be cold.

"Alright, leave the family matters to us from now on."

In addition to the food Lin Xiaoxiao took away, Zhao Yanfang also prepared a portion for everyone in her family.

After Lin Xiaoxiao left, Xiao Tao took the food and delivered it to Chen Shi and Yu Tan.

Meng Xiuyun's daughter helped Zhao Yanfang tend the fire in the kitchen from the very beginning.

So they ate together in the kitchen with Shadow One and the others.

When Lin Xiaoxiao and Shiyi arrived with the food, they ran into Song Huai'an and the others who were about to rest and eat.

There was nowhere to rest halfway up the mountain, so they all sat on the ground.

"Mom and Dad, I've brought you lunch," Lin Xiaoxiao said happily, holding up the lunchbox in her hand.

Upon seeing this, Madam Su hurriedly came over and took the load from Lin Xiaoxiao's shoulders.

Because there was too much food, Lin Xiaoxiao hung all the food boxes on the carrying pole used for fetching water.

This way you can easily earn a lot.

Liu walked over and took the load from Shiyi's shoulders, saying with an exaggerated expression, "Just smelling the aroma of this food makes me so hungry I can't stand it anymore."