Meanwhile, in the east wing of the magistrate’s rear residence, the magistrate’s wife, Madam Liu, was reclining on a couch with one hand pressed to her temple while her maid, Yingchun, kneaded her legs. With her eyes half-closed, she asked Granny Qi, “Have they all been sent away?”
Granny Qi replied, “Everyone except that kitchen maid has been sent away.”
Madam Liu said indifferently, “Find another brokerage house and have them bring people over for us to choose from. Prioritize selecting servants for the front courtyard. As for the rear courtyard, just bring some people over for us to look at. Then send them all away on the pretext that they aren’t suitable. Later, just say that we didn’t think the people from Miyang County were good enough and that we need to find better ones.”
Granny Qi bowed and answered, “Yes.”
The master had been demoted from the capital to such a poor and remote place, and Granny Qi, as Madam Liu’s trusted confidante, knew all too well how difficult things had become for him. She could also understand Madam Liu’s attempt to put on a brave front despite their circumstances. But they had come from the capital, after all. No matter how impoverished the household had become, they could not afford to lose their dignity. Otherwise, if word got out that the family could not even afford servants, the master’s reputation would suffer even more.
They could have the brokerage house bring people over once or twice a month, spend a few dozen coins as a token reward, and then simply say that none of them had been suitable. That way, outsiders would not be able to see the true state of their household and would not dare look down on them.
Madam Liu sighed. “With Master Peng leaving, he took away so many of the master’s trusted people. Seven or eight out of ten of the people the master could rely on are gone, and there are hardly any people left in the rear residence who genuinely want to stay. Such a large compound, yet more than half the rooms are empty. Compared with six months ago, it is like heaven and earth. I don’t even know when these days will come to an end.”
As she spoke, she took out a silk handkerchief and wiped away her tears.
Granny Qi hurriedly consoled her. “Madam, please don’t grieve. The Old Master of the household clearly no longer intends to concern himself with our master. We have to place our hopes in the Eldest Young Master. As long as he makes something of himself, our family can still rise again.”
Madam Liu wiped away her tears and said, “I thought that since the master had gotten himself into this trouble, I would simply suffer alongside him. Surely it wouldn’t involve my son as well. I knew very well that Qi’er had already passed the county-level civil examination and become a xiucai, yet the Old Master still refused to let him remain in the capital to continue his studies. He insisted on driving all of us out and even forced the clan head to divide the family assets. Qi’er followed us to this poor and remote place, so how could he possibly find a good teacher to continue his studies? It will already be difficult for him to pass the provincial examination, let alone the metropolitan examination.”
As she spoke, her tears flowed freely.
Granny Qi knew perfectly well that the Old Master’s insistence on dividing the family at a time when the master had fallen into hardship meant that he intended to sever ties and cast them out. He had already given up on the master’s family. But she did not dare say a single word against the Old Master, so she could only change the subject and comfort Madam Liu.
“The Eldest Young Master is clearly a promising young man. Madam, please don’t say such things in front of him. This old servant has heard it said that reading a thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand li. Perhaps the Eldest Young Master will find even more inspiration and literary talent in such a beautiful place surrounded by mountains and water. We mustn’t speak discouraging words right now. We need to pull ourselves together and manage the inner household.”
It took quite some time before Madam Liu finally calmed down. She took Granny Qi’s hand and said, “Gather up the account books and see how much silver our family has left. The refugee camp outside the city gates is a bottomless pit. How much wealth can our family possibly have to keep filling it every day?”
At that, Granny Qi could not help sighing as well. “The master is simply too softhearted. He doesn’t realize how difficult things are for the household. We can no longer even afford to hire servants.”
Whenever Madam Liu thought of Master Meng, she could not help sighing again. He had been an official for more than ten years, yet all he knew were the teachings of the sages and the classics. He understood nothing about officialdom or practical financial matters. In the past, they could rely on the ample wealth of the main household, but now that the Old Master had separated them from the family, they would have to support themselves. How could the master continue spending money so freely?
Madam Liu let out a weary sigh. “We only need to keep a few capable people in the inner residence. But we cannot have too few people around the master, lest our weakness be exposed and others look down on us.”
“This old servant understands.” Granny Qi gave a small nod. “Madam needn’t worry too much. We womenfolk stay inside the inner residence and don’t go out anyway. We don’t need many capable people, only enough to get by. Having fewer people in the household will actually make things quieter… Just like that kitchen maid Mama Mao took a fancy to this time. One person can do the work of two.”
Madam Liu considered this for a moment before continuing, “There should originally have been three people working in the kitchen. But given the household’s current circumstances, we can only add one helper for Mama Mao for now. That kitchen maid is so capable that we won’t need to hire anyone else later. Starting this month, increase Mama Mao’s monthly allowance by one hundred wen. From now on, she will have to handle all the meals for the residence.”
She paused, then added, “Pass the word down that whenever anyone in the inner residence wants food, they should simply send their own maid to collect it. The kitchen will no longer deliver meals.”
“Yes, Madam.”
Granny Qi acknowledged the order and went down to pass on the instructions.
In the west wing, Concubine Luo hurriedly asked Xiumei, the maid who had just returned from outside, “How did it go? How many did they choose?”
Xiumei looked completely confused. “They only chose one.”
Concubine Luo’s expression changed. “What? They only chose one? Didn’t you say they brought more than twenty people? How did they end up keeping only one?”
“I heard Granny Qi say that most of these people were picked from the refugee camp. They don’t understand any rules at all, and they even dared to cling to Steward Zhao’s leg and beg to be allowed in to serve. They had already told the brokerage house beforehand to prioritize finding people who could read and write. Who would have thought they would bring more than twenty people who were all so utterly lacking in manners? Granny Qi hurriedly sent them all away and said they would find another brokerage house and select better people next time.”
Concubine Luo complained unhappily, “It really is a poor and remote place. They can’t even find a suitable maid! That Master Peng and Madam Peng are truly an ungrateful pair of dogs. Abandoning the master was one thing, but they even took most of the people who came with us. Now there are only two maids left beside me and Miss. Madam isn’t even in a hurry to add more people. If word gets out, wouldn’t people make us a laughingstock?”
Xiumei lowered her head and dared not speak.
It wasn’t just that the concubine lacked servants. Even Madam only had Granny Qi, her daughter, and Yingchun left. Madam did not even have enough maids, so there was even less chance that Concubine Luo would get any.
With Madam unwilling to hire more people, there was nothing she could do. Concubine Luo could only place her hopes on the next round of selections.
“You just said they kept one person. Where did they fill the vacancy?”
Xiumei answered, “The kitchen. Mama Mao simply can’t handle all the work by herself.”
Concubine Luo instantly lost her enthusiasm. “I was hoping that if they filled a cleaning vacancy, I could put in a few words to the master and have the person assigned to work inside my quarters. Since they put her in the kitchen, she must be too clumsy and heavy-handed for delicate work. What’s the use of her?”
At that, Xiumei perked up. “Exactly! I heard that this maid can carry two large buckets in one hand. She walked around several times right there without even getting out of breath. Mama Mao said she was born with extraordinary strength, and she immediately decided on her. Madam was then willing to buy her.”
Concubine Luo widened her eyes. “She’s that strong?!”
Xiumei nodded firmly. “Very strong! I heard she used to work in mines. Think about it, some of those pieces of ore weigh several dozen jin. She must have gotten used to handling them, which is why she has such great strength.”
Concubine Luo sighed. “What’s the use of being strong if she can’t help us? Forget it. Take out the embroidery patterns I worked on yesterday. The household doesn’t even have a sewing room anymore. From now on, we’ll have to make our own clothes, shoes, and socks. Eldest Miss is already twelve this year, so there are some things we need to start preparing little by little.”
Meanwhile, Li Xiaoxiao followed Liu Zhi to the kitchen. Mama Mao was busy working there in an apron. When she saw them coming, she washed her hands and called out to Li Xiaoxiao, “Everyone in the residence calls me Mama Mao, so you can call me that too. This will be where you work from now on. Come with me first.”
She led Li Xiaoxiao to the two small side rooms behind the kitchen and lifted her chin. “These are the rooms where we live. I sleep in the first room. You can take the one next door.”
Li Xiaoxiao nodded and pushed open the door to the room next door. It was a small room with a bed on either side. Toward the back stood a simple wardrobe serving as a screen to block off the rear portion. A square, dark-brown wooden table with two long benches stood in the middle of the room. Beside each bed was a wooden stand with a washbasin on it.
Mama Mao said, “There used to be two kitchen helpers who also slept in your room. You’re actually lucky now. You get to have the whole room to yourself.”
Li Xiaoxiao looked around, touching the furniture in the room from time to time, and felt extremely satisfied.
Everything was made of wood, and there was even a mosquito net to keep the mosquitoes away. In all the time Li Xiaoxiao had been in this world, the most troublesome insects she had encountered were mosquitoes. One bite would leave a swollen bump. Although she did not have to worry about getting infected with some mutation, they were still extremely annoying.
Seeing how pleased she looked, Mama Mao could not help shaking her head. “If you had seen what this household used to be like, you’d know that even a third-class maid would have scorned living in a room like this… But there’s nothing we can do. Who told our master to be demoted to a place like Miyang County? I heard that the rear residence of this county office was expanded by the previous magistrate, who added a huge garden and turned it into a two-courtyard compound. Otherwise, the masters of this household would probably have to live just like the families in other county offices, with the whole family crowded around the central courtyard…”
Li Xiaoxiao stared at her blankly with innocent eyes, completely unable to understand what she was talking about.
What did she mean by even a third-class maid wouldn’t disdain living here? And what did she mean by an entire family living around a central courtyard? What was she talking about?
Seeing her look as though she were listening to a heavenly book, Mama Mao assumed that she came from a peasant family and had never seen the world, and that her family might not even have been able to afford a mud-brick house to live in. What chance could she possibly have had to see a multi-courtyard residence?
She shook her head and said with slight disdain, “A maid of your background would never have caught our household’s eye in the past. When our household bought maids and young male servants, we always chose seven- or eight-year-olds. They would start with sweeping and cleaning while being trained and disciplined as they worked. Only after several years of training could they be assigned to serve in the masters’ courtyards. Even second- and third-class maids were highly sought after once they were sent out, and they carried themselves with more dignity than the young ladies of ordinary families. But look at you. You’re already fifteen, old enough to be matched with a young male servant, yet you’ve been bought into the household to work.”
Using the limited knowledge she had, Li Xiaoxiao pieced together the information she had heard and finally understood. Apparently, this family had originally come from a prominent background but had since fallen into decline, so their standards for hiring people had been lowered, allowing even someone as unrefined as her to be recruited.
She gave a long “Oh.” Then she asked, “Mama Mao, what kind of high-ranking official did the magistrate’s family originally have?”
Mama Mao puffed out her chest. “Before retiring from office, our Old Master held the position of Minister of Rites. The Old Master had five sons, and our master was the fourth. Everyone in the household called him Fourth Master. Before coming to Miyang County, he had already been serving as a Minister in the Ministry of Personnel.”
At this point, her proud expression disappeared, replaced by a look of indignation. The master was an upright man who did not know how to curry favor or maneuver in official circles. Half a year ago, he somehow offended some high-ranking official, who seized upon his weakness and impeached him before His Majesty. That was why he had been demoted to Miyang County to serve as magistrate.
Moreover, the master was a concubine-born son. When he had been serving as a Minister, the family had remained peaceful, but once he was demoted, the Old Master, who had retired from office five years ago, feared that the master would implicate the futures of the other masters in the household. Not only did he refuse to help, he hurriedly separated their branch of the family from the main household.
…
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