Chapter 205: Something Seems to Be Slightly Amiss
“Stand up first, stand up before we speak.” Old Madam Luo stepped forward to help the two up.
The two women looked at each other and stood respectfully before Old Madam Luo. “Please instruct us, Old Madam.”
Wen Yao helped Old Madam Luo sit down and simply stood behind her. How to deal with these two would still depend on her grandmother.
Old Madam Luo looked at them. Although they had already changed into simple clothing by now, the poise of the two women was truly like heaven and earth compared to the old crones in the village. Presumably, they had been highly valued by their original master household in the past.
“You have also seen the situation of our family. Coming to our household is a grievance to you,” Old Madam Luo spoke.
The two women exchanged a terrified glance, and with a thud, they fell to their knees before Old Madam Luo.
“Old Madam, this old servant dares not.”
“Oh dear, what are you doing? Why did you kneel down again? Stand up first, stand up first,” Old Madam Luo said hurriedly.
Only then did the two women stand up, full of fear and trepidation. Old Madam Luo let out a sigh and asked, “What are your names? Where are your homes from? Who else is left in your families?”
“We must ask the Old Madam to bestow names upon us.” The two women wanted to kneel again, but looking at Old Madam Luo’s reaction, they ultimately held back and changed it to a curtsy.
Old Madam Luo: “…” She cast a glance at Wen Yao. Wen Yao gave her an encouraging look, and only then did Old Madam Luo gain some confidence in her heart. She spoke, “Just call yourselves whatever you were originally called. In this lifetime, if a person even loses their own name and surname, there really won’t be much to look forward to.”
The two women were deeply moved in their hearts.
The one who had stood in the middle previously spoke, “This old servant’s birth family is surnamed Shi. I was sold into the previous residence to be a servant at six years old. I bound up my hair and have never married. There is no one else left in my family.”
The other followed with an answer, “This old servant’s birth family is surnamed Du. I entered the residence at the same time as Nanny Shi. Previously, I worked in the miscellaneous chores room. I married a domestic servant of the original residence, but he fell ill and died a few years ago. There is no one else left in my family either.”
Old Madam Luo cast a rather sympathetic glance at the two women and said, “Use your original names from now on. You have also seen our family; this is exactly the situation. There are many people in the household. In a moment, I will properly explain the family’s situation to you. Right now, they have all gone out to work, so I’ll let you meet them tonight.”
Pausing, Old Madam Luo added, “What did you two do in that previous household before?” She had to ask clearly what each of them was capable of before assigning chores. She had heard that the maidservants and older maids from these kinds of wealthy families couldn’t even hold a hoe steadily.
A flash of disappointment crossed Nanny Shi’s expression for a fleeting moment. Nanny Du stole a glance at her and saluted first, saying, “Replying to Old Madam, this old servant was previously doing heavy chores in the back courtyard. Nanny Shi was a managing nanny in the residence.”
Wen Yao raised her eyebrows. A managing nanny? Wouldn’t that mean she was extremely capable? Did she just pick up a hidden treasure then?
Nanny Shi reined in her emotions and hurriedly spoke, “Old Madam, those are all matters of the past. Having come to this household, whatever the Old Madam tells us servants to do, we servants shall do.”
Nanny Du seemed to have a slightly slower reaction, only realizing it at this moment and hurriedly following suit, “Right, right, right. Whatever the Old Madam commands us servants to do, we servants shall do.”
Old Madam Luo could tell. Nanny Shi was shrewd, capable, and composed; no wonder she was a manager before. Nanny Du was much simpler, being half a beat slower in both speech and reaction. However, since Nanny Shi was willing to keep her by her side, she definitely had her own strengths.
Since that was the case, their family wasn’t the type to mistreat others. Now that Lady Liu had left, it just so happened that Wen Yao’s side lacked a person to take charge. Letting this girl run wild all day wouldn’t do either.
“Yao’er, I will take Nanny Du away, and Nanny Shi will stay behind to look after you all,” Old Madam Luo said directly, having already made up her mind.
Wen Yao had wanted to place both of them at the old residence to take care of Old Madam Luo and Old Man Wen.
“Grandma, we don’t need it. We can manage on our own.”
Yet Old Madam Luo wouldn’t allow her to object, stating directly, “I see Nanny Shi is also a capable person. Those who can be managing nannies are all people with great abilities. With you bunch of monkeys over here, I have to find someone to keep an eye on you.”
After speaking, Old Madam Luo looked toward Nanny Shi again, asking, “Nanny Shi, to tell you the truth, I am just a rural old woman. I don’t understand those messy rules of wealthy households, but this household can’t be allowed to keep running wild under them like this either. Therefore, in the future, I will trouble you to fret over it more. Oh right, there are also a few young girls who will need Nanny to guide them more.”
Wen Yao: ?????
Something seems to be slightly amiss.
Nanny Shi had never seen such approachable masters. From the moment the deeds of sale entered Wen Yao’s hands, she had already accepted her new master, and she also knew how the word “loyalty” should be written. Since she had come, she wouldn’t dislike this home for being poor.
“Rest assured, Old Madam. This servant will take good care of the young mistress and young masters.”
“Mm, that’s good then.” Old Madam Luo was very pleased, looking at Wen Yao with a beaming smile.
It was just that Wen Yao always felt something was slightly off about this smile.
Ultimately being of similar age and since Old Madam Luo didn’t put on any airs, Nanny Shi and Nanny Du both relaxed very quickly, following Old Madam Luo to familiarize themselves with the two houses while listening to her talk about the family’s situation.
Feeling thoroughly bored, Wen Yao headed over to the winery.
Uncle Qin was already leading Yanyan to teach the six young men how to do things. Beside them, Old Man Wen sat in a chair watching the excitement, with his two sons squatting next to him.
“Oh, Second Uncle, Third Uncle, you don’t need to go down to the fields today?” Wen Yao popped up and said with a grin.
Hearing her voice, Wen Xiuzhu and Wen Xiuqing felt their shoulders ache.
Old Man Wen also seemed as if he had only just reacted, looking at his two sons. “Why are you two still here? Slacking off, aren’t you?” As he spoke, the tobacco pipe in his hand was raised.
The brothers subconsciously ducked.
The two brothers: “…” Yes, yes, yes. We’ll leave, can’t we just leave?
Before leaving, the two even shot a reproachful glare at Wen Yao, receiving a massive funny face from her in return, which directly made the two break into laughter.
“Grandpa, what are they doing?”
This time, it was Wen Yao’s turn to squat next to Old Man Wen.
Old Man Wen pointed at the six young men standing in a row ahead and Uncle Qin, who was training them with proper decorum, before lowering his voice to say, “Don’t say, this Old Qin is actually quite impressive. I see these six young fellows are not bad—strong, spirited, and nimble in their work.”
Seeing Wen Yao, Uncle Qin stopped.
“Miss, you’ve arrived.”
Wen Yao waved her hand. “It’s nothing, Uncle Qin. Carry on with your business.”
“Yes, Miss.” Uncle Qin responded and threw himself back into his work. It had to be said that this manager-cum-technical-expert of the winery was truly dedicated.
By now, the winery was virtually complete. What remained was to give it a proper sweeping. Once the sorghum Qiu Rongrong was helping to collect was delivered and the wine yeast was prepared, they could pick an auspicious day to begin operations.
