Chapter 311: Little Hua’er’s Sense of Crisis
Broker Deng looked at Wen Yao with a smile. “Girl, see if these two will do.”
Wen Yao walked over slowly, with Nanny Shi following right behind her, as she circled the two girls once.
“What are your names?” Wen Yao asked.
The slightly rounder girl on the left curtsied politely. “This servant is Mingyue.”
The other thinner girl answered along as well, “This servant is Minglan.”
Wen Yao asked again, “How old are you?”
“Thirteen,” the two answered in unison, their voices filled with deep respect. Their eyes didn’t wander, answering whatever Wen Yao asked.
Setting everything else aside, Wen Yao felt that her first impression of them was quite good.
Wen Yao then asked each of them what skills they possessed. Upon learning that both knew how to do needlework, mending, styling hair, and putting on makeup, as well as cooking simple dishes, Wen Yao grew even more satisfied.
“Uncle Deng, I’ll take these two. The people you pick never go wrong,” Wen Yao said with a smile to Broker Deng.
Broker Deng smiled with a face full of warmth. “That is a given. Could Uncle Deng give you someone unsuitable? So it’s settled on them? Come, Uncle Deng will fetch their deed of indenture for you.”
Mingyue and Minglan looked at each other, both thoroughly surprised that the young miss had selected them directly without even glancing at anyone else. This made both of them exceptionally happy.
When Broker Deng instructed the two to acknowledge their new master, they knelt down without the slightest hesitation, knocking their heads against the ground in three loud kowtows.
The sound made Wen Yao shudder inwardly—just hearing it sounded painful.
Taking the deeds of indenture and paying the silver, Wen Yao led the two away.
Inside the carriage, the two girls only dared sit cautiously near the door, keeping their heads lowered in an attitude of awaiting orders.
Wen Yao pulled out the pastries she had placed inside the carriage’s hidden compartment that morning. Eating a piece herself, she handed one to Nanny Shi, then looked at the two girls, extending the plate toward them as she asked, “Would you like some?”
Nanny Shi silently ate her pastry while observing the reactions of the two.
The two girls exchanged glances, then knelt down inside the carriage before Wen Yao, answering, “Replying to Miss, this servant will not eat.”
Nanny Shi nodded silently—knowing the rules, they were decent enough. Placing them by her side to lead them around and train them for a bit would do just fine.
“Since it is a reward from Miss, take it,” Nanny Shi spoke up faintly.
The two girls exchanged glances once again, then cautiously pinched a small piece each in their hands, yet didn’t dare eat.
Wen Yao paid them no further mind, leaning toward the doorway and extending the plate outward: “Brother Xun Feng, for you.”
The two girls watched in astonishment as Xun Feng reached out unceremoniously, grabbed a pastry, and stuffed it into his mouth—even taking two pieces at once—while Miss held the plate for him just like that.
This… This…
This left the two girls thoroughly stunned. Miss—Miss was actually holding a plate for a guard!
Nanny Shi took their reactions in, letting out a helpless sigh in her heart. This is barely anything.
Ultimately unable to resist the sweet aroma of the pastries in their hands, the two girls stole a glance at Wen Yao and Nanny Shi. Seeing that the two were merely chatting occasionally without paying them any mind, they carefully lowered their heads and began eating the pastries in their hands. However, their movements were extremely cautious, their ears primed at all times to catch any instructions from Wen Yao.
Yet the moment the pastry entered their mouths, the eyes of both girls lit up instantly—this was simply far too delicious!
Nanny Shi cast a glance at the two, her eyes shifting slightly, as she suddenly said, “Miss, would you like some water?”
The moment those words left her mouth, Mingyue quickly stuffed the pastry she had been reluctant to finish into her sleeve, coming forward instantly: “This servant will pour water for Miss.”
Although Minglan was a step slower, she also stopped eating to attend from the side.
However, Mingyue froze on the spot—she had no idea where the water was kept!
Without making a scene, Nanny Shi retrieved the waterskin from behind herself, opened it, and handed it to Wen Yao before saying to the two, “For the next few days, the two of you will follow me. As for who ultimately remains by Miss’s side, that will depend on your performance.”
The two hastily responded, “Yes!”
Wen Yao ate and drank while watching Nanny Shi’s performance, feeling beyond delighted in her heart. Sure enough, bringing Nanny home back then was truly the best decision she had ever made.
The horse carriage traveled along the official road, turned down a small lane, and finally returned to Gutong Village.
The moment they stepped off the carriage, Mingyue and Minglan froze for a second. Wasn’t this a village? Miss’s home was… in a village?
Nanny Shi naturally didn’t miss the astonishment in their eyes, merely saying, “Master and the Eldest Young Master are away from home during this period. Only Miss and the Young Master are at home. In addition, the courtyard next door is the home of the Old Master and Old Mistress. I will take you to greet them.”
As for adding two more people to the household, Old Madam Luo and the others had long grown accustomed to it. Nowadays, the Eldest Brother’s family was different from before, so having a few more servants was only natural.
However, the Wen family’s way of getting along left Mingyue and Minglan—who had been trained in the rules of grand families by Broker Deng all along—somewhat at a loss.
Miss was actually the one cooking at home.
The Old Mistress opened a workshop and did manual labor herself.
The Old Master even led Second Master and Third Master down to the fields to do farm work.
The guard in the household was the master who taught the young masters martial arts.
Uncle Lu’s family were servants of Miss’s household, yet they also drew wages from Second Master and Third Master’s households.
Most crucially, they, as servants, actually ate inside the same room as the masters, eating the exact same food!
Having been here for just a single day, the two had already suffered ten thousand points of critical shock.
Looking at the way the two acted, Nanny Shi finally understood how she herself had looked when she first arrived at the Wen household.
However, the arrival of these two brought a sense of crisis to one particular person.
Little Hua’er usually worked alongside Aunt Lu and Eldest Sister-in-law Lu. Ever since Mingyue and Minglan arrived, she no longer followed them to do chores, but stuck close to Wen Yao instead. No matter where Wen Yao went, she followed obediently step by step, and whenever Wen Yao needed something, she was the very first to run and fetch it.
After Mingyue and Minglan spent a few days getting familiar with the Wen family’s situation under Nanny Shi’s guidance, their duties were divided. Mingyue, being quick-witted and sharp-minded, accompanied Wen Yao, while Minglan followed Nanny Shi to manage household affairs.
After a few days, Mingyue noticed something unusual as well.
“Miss, does Hua’er have some kind of issue with this servant?” Mingyue had gradually grown accustomed to the Wen family’s way of interacting, becoming bolder by Wen Yao’s side as well. Moreover, she realized that following Miss brought a bounty of delicious food, so she naturally attended to her with even greater devotion.
Wen Yao and the rest of the Wen family had always regarded little Hua’er as a child, never treating her as a maid, nor finding anything amiss. Normally when Hua’er followed along, she merely assumed the child was being playful.
The moment Mingyue brought it up, Wen Yao wore a puzzled face: “What’s wrong with Hua’er?”
Mingyue had a face with baby fat, looking quite honest and simple. She explained how little Hua’er had been staring at her with mysterious guard and hostility all this time.
Once Mingyue pointed it out, Wen Yao recalled little Hua’er’s peculiar behavior over these past few days. Indeed, Hua’er had never been this clingy before—why had she been following her every single day recently?
At this thought, Wen Yao opened the door, and sure enough, she saw little Hua’er sitting obediently on a small wooden stool under the veranda.
A mere four-year-old toddler, sitting there with her chubby face full of serious devotion, looking just like a little gatekeeper child.
