An Ying followed shopkeeper Liu and others out of the government prison. Mrs. Wang said she had received an errand from Mrs. Shen, and went with An Ying to the newly rented house on Dipu Street.
Mrs. Wang's figure was upright and her steps were steady. She chatted casually with An Ying all the way. It didn't take long for me to arrive at the house on Dipu Street, and I happened to see Mrs. Liu getting ready to leave. Seeing An Ying coming, he came up and saluted, and said: "Miss An's family is just here, go to the house to see if there is anything missing, and if there is anything uncomfortable, I can change her immediately."
After An Ying entered the room, she secretly sighed in her heart that Mrs. Shen's subordinates were well trained and capable. There is a set of curved willow wood furniture in the small hall. It is neither luxurious nor cheap, and is very suitable for settling down. Mrs. Wang said: "We are still short of some porcelain decorations. New goods will arrive in a few days. I will ask shopkeeper Liu to deliver them then." An Ying quickly declined, and Mrs. Liu smiled and gave a blessing and said: "These are Mrs. Shen's orders. Yes, Miss An doesn’t need to refuse. In the past years, Mrs. An often visited us, and we even took you to see the lanterns in the Shen family’s old house when you were a child.”
"I don't even remember, so thank you, Mrs. Shen. I'll come and thank you in person in a few days." An Ying bowed slightly towards Mrs. Liu.
After An Ying entered her room, she secretly felt Mrs. Shen's taste, which was low-key and refined. The originally small house is divided into two rooms, inside and outside. The outside is the reception area, which is all made of boxwood furniture, shelves from Duobao Pavilion, six armchairs, a desk, and an exquisite small round table, which is usually in my room. For eating. The inner room is slightly larger, with half of it being a bedroom. There is a boxwood bed decorated with plum blossoms, orchids, bamboos and chrysanthemums. Two large wooden boxes are stacked next to it. The other half of the room is filled with desks and bookshelves.
An Ying looked at Mrs. Liu who had arranged everything including quilts, curtains and other items, and thanked her again. However, Mrs. Liu said: "I didn't think about it before. You only have one Uncle Zhou here, and you didn't bring any maids at home. It's really inconvenient. I'll leave Yayu to serve you first, and I'll go back and report to the madam later to see how to arrange it."
An Ying said quickly: "I usually only have a maid, and I do most of the work myself. I don't need a maid for the time being. I won't bother Mrs. Shen."
"You're welcome, Miss An. You can't go alone to the banquet in a few days. Yayu is the most stable person, so don't worry."
In this way, An Ying could only accept it. Yayu pursed her lips and smiled, saluted An Ying, and said, "My servant Yayu is usually the second-class maid next to Mrs. Shen."
After Mrs. Liu, Mrs. Wang and the others left, An Ying was alone in the room sorting out what she had heard today. She was used to writing things down. By thinking about them over and over again, some things she couldn't figure out would gradually become clear to her.
It was already dark, and An Ying felt hungry in his stomach, so he shouted: "Uncle Zhou, are you hungry? Why don't you go buy some food on the street."
Uncle Zhou responded and came over, "Miss, do you want something to eat? How about I cook you some noodles? It will take a while to eat on the street, I'm afraid you won't be able to bear it."
"Miss, Uncle Zhou, dinner is ready. I've put it in the hall." Yayu's voice came from the yard.
Only then did An Ying realize that there was Yayu at home, and he hurried out of his house. There was a warm meal on the round table in the hall. An Ying sat down and watched with shock.
"These are glutinous rice and pearl meatballs. I thought that Miss An is from Huzhou and this is a specialty of Xinshi Town in Huzhou, so I tried making some. This is fish ball soup, using chicken stock as the base, so it won't be so bland. I broke up the chicken to make the chicken soup and paired it with three-color sauce. The vegetables were the woks in the yard, stir-fried with autumn oil. Tomorrow I will buy some rapeseed, and I can plant two more ridges of vegetables in the back yard. "
An Ying couldn't believe it, pointed at these dishes and said: "Sister Yayu, you made them in the shabby kitchen at the back? Did you buy these dishes too? Can you make these dishes in just a moment?"
Yayu smiled and took out a rice bowl, put it in front of An Ying and said: "The kitchen has been repaired by Uncle Zhou and can be used. The vegetables, rice, noodles and firewood were all sent by Grandma Liu. Fish balls The chef of the Shen family chops it, and that one takes more time. The rest are freshly made here."
Uncle Zhou ate half the pot of rice cooked by Yayu. Because he was too full, Uncle Zhou decided to tidy up the vegetable patch in the backyard. An Ying was more restrained, but she also ate too much, so she punched in the yard to eat. When she returned to the room covered in sweat, there was already a bucket of hot water waiting for her.
An Ying lay in the hot water, drowsy.
Here, Mrs. Wang, Mrs. Liu, Shopkeeper Liu and others returned to the Shen Mansion and were reporting to Mrs. Shen.
"Miss An asked me about the tea cakes. What I said was only the information I got from Yuanwailang before, and he didn't say much."
Mrs. Shen was having a good meal and reading a volume of the Di newspaper. She had been reading it every day since she was a child. A lot of news was hidden behind these few lines. "What do you think about Miss An?"
"You can't tell. But this girl from the An family is young, but she is very organized, and everything she asks is on point." Mrs. Wang replied.
"She is indeed smart and knows the important things. The most fearful thing is being smart but not knowing the important things. Sister Min, this daughter is really outstanding." Mrs. Shen nodded happily and said something else, then she put down the newspaper and said, "How is the master's place?"
Shopkeeper Liu returned: "First, I asked Mr. Yuan Wai Lang if there was any new news. I said no. Yuan Wai Lang's people were all transferred to take care of the river affairs, and the prison directors reported directly to the Minister of Justice. No news was leaked. But he was very happy when he heard that Mr. Su was coming out of the palace soon. Miss An came over later. "
Mrs. Wang added: "Later, the master asked the old lady and the second master how they were settled. I went back to the master and his wife to place them in the house in Xiaohe Town. The master asked Miss Biao again, and I went back. Miss Biao is now arranging them in The village on the edge of Xiaohe Town was my cousin's favorite place. Food, clothing and other expenses were all sent to me by the government without any hesitation. The master was very satisfied and praised the arrangements for everything."
Mrs. Shen sneered and said, "If he didn't ask, I almost forgot about Miss Cousin. So how is Wang Qian doing in Zhuangzi now?"
Mrs. Liu returned: "My servant has arranged for Mrs. Ma to watch in Zhuangzi. My cousin and everyone in Zhuangzi eat and live together, and she has to do everyone's work. In the hot sun, she also plants rice with the women in Zhuangzi. In the evening Let’s weave together.”
"Can this weak body bear the pain? It's been a month. Are you okay?" Mrs. Shen said in surprise.
"It's okay. Cousin is in very good health. She was not used to it in the first few days and ran away a few times. There are so many bachelors in the village. If the guards from the village had not arrived in time, she would have been a wife. Madam Ma came here to deliver local products a few days ago. , She said that my cousin is very used to it now. When eating at noon, if one person eats four pancakes, no one else can take it from her."
Mrs. Shen waved her hand and said with a smile: "He is a talent. What else did the master not ask?"
Shopkeeper Liu glanced at Mrs. Wang. Seeing this, Mrs. Wang knelt down gently on the ground and said, "I'm too talkative. I told the master about the young master's cold."
Mrs. Shen paused, chuckled, and asked, "What did the master say?"
"The master was very worried and asked if he had invited Dr. Hu. He also said that the subordinates could not take good care of him. If the subordinates were negligent, he would change the person who would serve him."
Mrs. Shen waved her hand and said: "Qing'er has been looking for daddy these days. You have good intentions. I know it, but I won't do it again. This month's fine will be paid."
Mrs. Wang knelt on the ground, kowtowed and continued to return: "After coming out of the Yamen, I sent Miss An to the house on Dipu Street. Miss An brought an uncle with her. Seeing that it was not convenient, I sent her Yayu stayed to take care of me."
Mrs. Shen nodded: "I've forgotten about this. That little girl is always running around by herself. It's really not very decent. Yayu can stay there, and the monthly salary will be increased by 20%."
