The servant who was bumped had no defense against Liu Huihua. Being deliberately bumped like that, the servant couldn’t hold the bowl steady, and it fell to the ground.
The sound of the porcelain bowl hitting the floor startled Tang Tian and Liu Xiaozhi, who were preparing fruit, and they both turned to see what had happened.
The servant had just started working and was nervous about the work environment. Now, shortly after starting, she had broken a bowl. It was important to know that bowls in wealthy households were not cheap.
The bumped servant was frightened and bewildered, completely unaware why Liu Huihua had bumped her.
The new servant’s panicked expression greatly pleased Liu Huihua. It seemed the intimidation had achieved its purpose.
“Watch your step,” Liu Huihua said sarcastically, then crossed her arms and left the fruit bar.
Liu Xiaozhi, who was always seen as kind and innocent by outsiders, coldly turned away, ignoring the new servant’s distress, and picked up the fruit tray to take upstairs.
The fruit bar was left with only Tang Tian and the new servant, who was holding back tears.
Tang Tian watched the new servant trembling as she picked up the porcelain fragments from the floor. She sighed quietly, covered the washed fruit, dried her wet hands, picked up the broom and dustpan from the corner, and went to the new servant’s side.
The new servant looked up tearfully and saw Tang Tian, who rarely spoke and had low presence. The new servant froze, clearly surprised.
Tang Tian gently moved her hand away from picking up the fragments and said, “Don’t pick them up with your hands; it’s easy to get hurt. Let me sweep them.”
The new servant timidly thanked her and hurriedly reached for the broom in Tang Tian’s hand: “Tang Tian, let me do it.” She felt embarrassed letting Tang Tian sweep away the porcelain bowl.
Tang Tian was already sweeping and didn’t look up: “Go wash your hands. Small fragments from broken bowls can be painful if they get into your skin.”
The new servant wiped her tears: “Thank you, Tang Tian.” It turned out that Tang Tian, who rarely spoke, was actually a warm-hearted person.
“Make me a bowl of sobering soup,” a voice with a slight drunken tone suddenly sounded in Tang Tian and the new servant’s ears.
Tang Tian stopped her actions and looked up toward the entrance of the fruit bar. Pei Jue stood there with his noble posture, his gaze cold and arrogant.
“Yes, Mr. Pei.”
Pei Jue had one hand in his suit pocket, rubbing his tired brow with his left hand, and slowly walked toward the second floor.
Tang Tian swept up the broken bowl from the floor, washed her hands, and went to the kitchen to make the sobering soup.
She didn’t deliver it herself but gave the task of delivering the sobering soup to the new servant who had been bumped earlier.
She sent a message to that new servant, asking her to come over.
The new servant quickly came over. When she saw Tang Tian, her expression was noticeably happier.
“Tang Tian, you called me over?”
Tang Tian handed her the tray with the sobering soup: “Go deliver this sobering soup to Mr. Pei. Do well.”
The new servant suppressed her excitement. She had been working for a short time and wasn’t yet allowed to deliver things to the gentlemen’s rooms.
Showing more face to the gentlemen was a good thing.
“I’ll deliver it right away,” the new servant adjusted her work uniform and carefully took the tray from Tang Tian’s hands.
On the second floor, Pei Jue’s door was knocked. From the man’s brief response inside, one could feel his extreme coldness.
“Come in.”The new maid was very nervous, trembling as she placed the hangover soup beside Pei Jue.
“Mr. Pei, the hangover soup is here. Please take your time.”
It wasn’t Tang Tian who had come to deliver the hangover soup. Pei Jue rarely opened his eyes, but he glanced at the visibly nervous new maid.
“Hmm, you may leave.”
The new maid quickly nodded. She was somewhat afraid of Mr. Pei and hurried out of his room.
Pei Jue didn’t drink the hangover soup right away. Rubbing his temples, he recalled the scene he had witnessed at the fruit bar. Perhaps because Tang Tian had been overly flirtatious in front of him in the past, it wasn’t something that could change overnight. Even now, his gaze remained cold.
The next day, the housekeeper held a morning meeting for the maids. He specifically praised one of the new maids—the one who had been intimidated by Liu Huihua the day before.
“This new maid performed well yesterday. The new employee bonus for this month goes to you, Song Yu.”
Song Yu, who had just started the job and was bullied by her colleague Liu Huihua, was now overwhelmed by the housekeeper’s praise and the surprise of the new employee bonus. She even wondered if she was dreaming.
She had thought she would have to pay for the broken bowl, but the housekeeper never mentioned the incident…
Another newly hired maid looked at her with envy, wishing she could be in Song Yu’s shoes.
Liu Huihua never expected that Song Yu, the new maid she had intimidated just yesterday, would not only be praised by the housekeeper at the morning meeting but also receive a bonus…
Just as Liu Huihua was about to glare resentfully at Song Yu, she met the housekeeper’s gaze. His shrewd eyes seemed to have already seen through her little tricks.
Liu Huihua was so frightened that she immediately lowered her head, no longer daring to act arrogantly.
“I hope all of you will focus on your work, avoid petty dramas, and not turn the workplace into a toxic environment.”
The housekeeper was clearly addressing Liu Huihua, who understood that this was a warning against workplace bullying. She hung her head even lower, no longer daring to harbor any ill intentions, and resolved to work diligently from then on.
Tang Tian stood at the very edge. Since the day the new maid started, she had heard Sister Wu instruct the housekeeper to establish a newcomer award. There was no better opportunity than sending Song Yu to deliver the hangover soup to Pei Jue yesterday.
Sure enough, just as she had anticipated, Song Yu was not only praised this morning but also received the new employee bonus.
As for Liu Huihua’s attempt to intimidate Song Yu, the housekeeper was bound to find out. After all, the incident with Zheng Liyu had just passed, and this was the time when the housekeeper was keeping the closest watch, fearing similar events might occur.
Liu Xiaozhi noticed Song Yu occasionally glancing at Tang Tian with grateful eyes. She then looked at Tang Tian, who stood silently, and realized Song Yu seemed eager to thank her.
Liu Xiaozhi guessed that Tang Tian had helped the new maid. She sneered inwardly—since when was Tang Tian so kind? Everyone knew her mind wasn’t on her work but on seducing the gentlemen.
After the morning meeting ended, the gentlemen were still asleep on the second floor. Tang Tian went to the staff cafeteria for breakfast.
She found a seat and started eating. Soon after, Song Yu brought her breakfast and sat across from her.
“Sister Tang Tian, thank you.” Song Yu felt that her newfound confidence was all thanks to Sister Tang Tian’s guidance.
Tang Tian took a sip of warm soy milk. “No need to thank me. You seized the opportunity yourself.”Song Yu nodded gratefully toward her. Yesterday, her situation had been shrouded in dark clouds, but today it was clear skies for miles. The fact that it could change so quickly was all thanks to Sister Tang Tian.
Liu Huihua glanced disdainfully at Song Yu. Trying to cozy up to Tang Tian? Did she really think Tang Tian could help her? Tang Tian could barely protect herself here, with the constant possibility of being fired at any moment.