Su Qingluan knew that although Zhang Ma was just a "servant" in the Xie Mansion, in the final analysis, she was just a commoner. The most important thing was that as a junior, she should take the initiative to say hello.
So Su Qingluan walked up to Zhang Ma, gave her a blessing gift generously, and said with a smile: "We haven't seen you for a few days, but Zhang Ma still looks so energetic."
Zhang Ma's attitude this time was more kind and respectful than the last time she received the jam prepared by Su Qingluan alone, but it also made people feel relaxed and like a spring breeze: "Hey, what's wrong with me, an old woman? In other words, Mrs. Su, you look up to me, but how can I, an old woman, compare to you young people in their prime?"
The two exchanged some business talk, and Zhang Ma looked at the fat uncle next to her who had a "generous heart and a fat body" and said, "This is one of the stewards of the Xie Mansion."
The Xie family has a huge business, so naturally it is impossible to have just one manager, which Su Qingluan expected. However, this title made Su Qingluan pay a little attention - it was a steward of "Xie's Mansion", not someone "used in front of the old lady".
When she was introduced to Zhang Ma as having a transcendent status and being different from other old ladies, Su Qingluan heard the words "it's useful in front of the old lady" more than once, but she understood the subtle differences represented by "Xie's Mansion" and "in front of the old lady". different.
Since Su Qingluan planned to discuss business with the Xie Mansion, he once asked Mu Xingzhi about some situations in the Xie Mansion.
Since Mu Xingzhi has told Su Qingluan several times overtly and covertly that his identity is not simple, he will naturally know a thing or two about those dignitaries. How long will this network of people not be needed at this time?
As expected, through Mu Xingzhi, Su Qingluan knew that although the Xie Mansion was fundamentally supported by Xie Zi'an's grandmother, Mrs. Xie, the descendants were also very filial and followed the old lady's wishes in everything.
But even though the old lady has a high seniority, she only lives in the back house, which is one-third of an acre. The real person in charge of the Xie Mansion is Mrs. Xie’s eldest son, Xie Zian’s biological father, Xie Xuanfan.
Therefore, Zhang Ma represents "Old Lady Xie", while the steward of the Xie family who works in the front can represent the Xie family, which is part of Xie Xuanfan's meaning.
not to mention--
"I am Xie Deshun, one of the stewards of the Xie family. I never thought that such a young lady would win the favor of our old lady. She is really a hero from a young age!"
However, Su Qingluan did not dare to agree to this sentence casually. She lowered her head and said, "I have seen Manager Xie. It means that everyone in the Xie family is kind and kind, so they allowed me, a little girl, to fool around."
It's not that she suddenly became timid. To be more precise, Su Qingluan was cautious.
If nothing else, the fact that the person in front of him did not have a scornful attitude or a perfunctory tone just because he was a woman and he was young showed that this person was not an ordinary manager.
What's more, the steward's last name is "Xie".
After Mu Xingzhi's "popularization of knowledge about the local customs and customs of this dynasty", generally speaking, if there is a worker in such a high-ranking household who happens to have the same surname as the head of the family, and if it is a living contract, that is, a "short-term worker", generally I don't think the host's family would have any reaction. After all, the surname was given by my parents and I couldn't make the decision myself.
But in this case, because you signed a "living contract", which is a temporary contract, which means "you may leave at any time," your loyalty will naturally not be too high.
Therefore, generally in this situation, the head of the family would not safely entrust important positions, especially the position of housekeeper, to such a person.
So this is obviously not the case with Butler Xie.
That is another situation - the original surname was not Xie, or even though the surname was Xie, their names were changed. However, later because of their outstanding work, they were very appreciated by the master, so these people were given the same surname as the master. .
This is a different kind of symbol of honor - although in the eyes of modern people like Su Qingluan, this is too lenient when living by the sea. And if the host's surname is Zhu, Jia, Feng, etc., the person whose surname has been changed will probably go crazy himself, right?
In short, Su Qingluan is grateful for this kind of "honor".
But again, as the saying goes, do as the Romans do. Although she doesn't agree with them in her heart, they can respect each other on the surface.
These messy thoughts flashed through Su Qingluan's mind for just a moment, and then he converged his thoughts and returned to the calm and calm state at the beginning.
As usual, Su Qingluan was led by Zhang Ma to the main room where guests were entertained, and Manager Xie also walked beside her.
The main parties to discuss today were obviously Su Qingluan and Manager Xie, so Manager Xie did his part and sat down at the main seat. He also asked Su Qingluan to sit in the guest seat opposite, while Ma Zhang sat under Manager Xie. The position is one level lower than Su Qingluan's position.
Su Qingluan knew that she represented one of the parties in the negotiation today, so she smiled and said: "Ordinarily, I am a junior and should not sit on an equal footing with Manager Xie, but in business, I am shameless and took the guest seat today. .”
After saying that, he also sat down gracefully.
Su Qingluan had never learned any aristocratic etiquette, so naturally he would not pay attention to which chair to sit on and what posture to use when drinking tea.
However, some etiquette is universal. At this time, the girl's posture is upright, her conversation is free and easy, her tea-sipping movements are very casual, and she has a different kind of unrestrained and unrestrained.
Manager Xie has been polite to Su Qingluan, probably because he wants Su Qingluan to put forward conditions so that he can prevent himself from being at a disadvantage.
The other party was not in a hurry, but Su Qingluan was too lazy to beat around the bush and wanted to cut through the mess quickly - to put it bluntly, even if the deal was not concluded in the end, it would not be impossible for Su Ji's jam to go the evaluation route, but the profit would be thinner. , if you work harder here, you can still achieve your goal of making money with your neighbors.
So Su Qingluan said straight to the point: "I admit that Xie Mansion is a good partner, so I came here with a win-win attitude. I hope everyone can make money together. So before that, there are I hope Manager Xie will report the matter truthfully."
Manager Xie still smiled like a Maitreya Buddha and looked very talkative: "Oh? I don't know what Mrs. Su is asking about? I will definitely tell you everything I know."
Su Qingluan smiled and said: "It's not a particularly important thing. Since I can thank Steward and Zhang Ma for taking the time to come, my 'Luoying' series of jams should be quite popular in the capital." Thanks to Steward and Zhang. From Mom's attitude, we can see that they are also positive about promoting this cooperation.
Manager Xie nodded: "Ms. Su is very skilled at her craftsmanship."
Su Qingluan automatically ignored this commercial exchange and asked: "I want to know, what is the price of the highest bidder for the jam this time? What is the span and time of each bidding? How many people are rushing to buy this jam? The second jam? And..."
After asking seven or eight questions in a row, Su Qingluan stopped.
Manager Xie's originally smiling expression like Maitreya Buddha's expression faded, and he looked at Su Qingluan with a more solemn look.
