Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 94 Generous Rewards

Intending to liven up the atmosphere, Madam Wei took a tray from the maid beside her and stepped forward with a smile, saying, "Second Miss, don't worry, our Madam has always been the most generous to the younger generation."

The servants gave the eldest daughter a hundred taels of silver, a white jade crescent comb with intertwined branches, and a Taiping drum shaped like a round fan, which was obviously for her two-year-old daughter to play with.

The steward was also given a hundred taels of silver, two bolts of dark blue silk, a dozen or so colorful beaded flowers, and two small white porcelain jars.

Mother Wei took the small white porcelain jar in her hand and handed it to Steward An, saying, "Old sister, this is clam oil that Madam specially had made in advance. You will inevitably have to cook dishes and soups yourself in the small kitchen of Fu'an Residence. It will be perfect for wiping your hands and face when the weather gets cooler."

Steward An was about the same age as Wei Mama. She knelt down and kowtowed to Madam Yun to express her gratitude for the reward. "Thank you for your kindness, Madam. It is only my duty to prepare the feast. I do not deserve such a generous reward from you."

Madam Yun took a sip of tea before having her maid help Steward An to her feet. "How could you not accept that? Steward An is an old servant in the household, and she is always meticulous in her work. If it weren't for your supervision, others would have taken advantage of the situation when purchasing the vegetables, meat, and poultry for this banquet."

Manager An was quite nervous, and he had to thank Meng Shu for this.

The menu had been prepared, and normally the main kitchen and small kitchen of the manor would handle the purchasing themselves. However, according to the rules of the manor, for the sake of convenient accounting, everything needed for the banquet would be purchased by the general affairs department. Meng Shu had mentioned to her beforehand that this was the second young lady's first time hosting a banquet, and there was no doubt that some unscrupulous people would try to line their own pockets. In the past, this would be one thing, but since it was the second young lady's first time in charge, Madam Yun would definitely send people to keep a close eye on everything.

Even if it's not one of their own accomplices who cheats, it's still extremely important if someone else makes a mistake in their field. Losing the trust of one's superiors could mean never having a chance to rise again.

Meng Shu kindly reminded Steward An because of the winter melon, but unexpectedly Steward An actually discovered the problem. Whether it was the purchase of perch, the pigeons and venison used in the banquet, or even the charcoal, the people in the general affairs department had embezzled a large sum of money.

As luck would have it, it was Jinshu's parents who had embezzled the money, and Steward An immediately reported it to the Fang family. Now that they had caught them red-handed, Madam Yun instructed them to leave it for now and deal with it after the banquet, estimating that they would be dealt with in the next couple of days.

Madam Wei comforted her, saying, "Everyone in our household knows how thoughtful you are, even the old lady has praised your small kitchen several times. Pick out these pearl flowers and reward the servants accordingly, so they know the masters' intentions. This will also help our mistress."

Steward An thanked her profusely, accepting the reward and thanking her again before bowing and leaving the study. Before leaving, he glanced at Meng Shu, a hint of gratitude in his eyes. Meng Shu winked playfully, and Steward An felt a surge of warmth in his heart. In his old age, he had become less vigilant, never imagining that his master-disciple relationship with Dong Gua would inadvertently save him.

Next, it was the turn of the head maids of Yunyi Courtyard. Madam Yun kept them in suspense and gave each of them a large purse. Of course, Donggua also received one. Some purses were bulging while others were empty, so it was clear that the reward was different for each maid.

Madam Wei led everyone out of the study, leaving Madam and the Second Miss inside.

The second young lady hadn't expected to receive a gift. Before her birthday banquet, her parents had sent many things to Yunyi Academy, and her brother had given her a hot spring estate near the capital. This time, Madam Yun took out a seal made of chicken-blood stone from her bosom.

“Show me this seal. As long as it belongs to our Tang family, all our people are at your disposal. Your father wrote to me to give it to you. This seal can not only mobilize people, but also take any money or goods at will. It can only be used by the legitimate children of the family. You should keep it safe.”

Afterwards, because of Xiangmei, Madam Yun's mood was somewhat fluctuating, so she summoned Ruozhu and the second young lady to check the accounts before returning to her inner room to rest.

Meng Shu and the other three carefully put away their purses and followed Wei Mama to an unused storeroom, where the congratulatory gifts for this occasion were piled up. "Madam has instructed you to organize and register them here, and then take them to the study to give to the Second Miss."

Before leaving, Wei's mother gave a hint: "There are some that are suitable for the old lady. You should know what to do with them."

Mengzhu led the way in bowing and thanking Madam Wei. After the four of them looked at the gift list, they began to divide the work. Mengshu was in charge of transcribing the gifts, leaving one copy for the public, one copy for the young lady to read, and another copy for the Yun Gui Courtyard to keep records. Mingyue Ruizhu unpacked and sorted the gifts, while Mengzhu categorized the gifts according to each family, in preparation for returning the favor later.

After all the hustle and bustle, no one had the time to check their own purses, but they were all itching to do something, so they worked very hard. Yesterday at the banquet, they had only glanced at the gifts brought by each family at the second gate, but most of them were wrapped in gorgeous wooden boxes or silk cloth. Now that they had opened them and matched them with the gift list, the dazzling array of gifts was a real eye-opener for the young maids.

"Madam Fan has sent so many lavish gifts!" Ruizhu exclaimed softly, pointing to several boxes bearing the Fan family's mark on the sandalwood shelf.

Mingyue took out two pairs of glass vases from a tall, black lacquered jade box. Ruizhu opened the silk cloth to reveal a scroll of scripture manuscript and an ancient painting, as well as a set of inkstones and ink sticks.

Mengzhu and Ruizhu looked at each other in bewilderment, while Mingyue said directly, "Is Prefect Fan's family really that wealthy? My master originally wanted to find a manuscript of a sutra, and he spent a lot of effort on it, but it was still the head of the family who asked someone to find a copy."

Meng Shu stared intently at her pen, deep in thought; something was definitely wrong.

These gifts were clearly not all for the Second Miss. The scriptures were naturally for the Old Madam, and the glass vase seemed to be for Madam Yun, as the Second Miss had never liked the opulent peony pattern on it. The inkstone, ink sticks, and antique painting did suit the Second Miss's tastes, but it seemed like too much; with the antique painting already there, the inkstone and ink sticks seemed superfluous...

But, as Mingyue said, the prefect's annual salary probably wouldn't even cover a fraction of the value of these gifts...

"Mengzhu, we should report to Madam and Miss as soon as possible," Meng Shu said, turning to Mengzhu.

Currently, Mengzhu is the leader of the group.

Mengzhu looked out the window and, not seeing her aunt, said, "You're right. I'll go and report to Miss first, so as not to delay things."

The remaining gifts were all fairly standard; those from wealthy families were mostly gold and silver jewelry and necklaces, while those from ordinary shopkeepers were mostly local specialties.

For example, what Yongxing Restaurant sent were two jars of pickled vegetables. It wasn't inappropriate, as Madam Yun and the head of the family always required their managers not to be extravagant. It was just that these two jars of pickled vegetables looked rather interesting among the many gifts.

The wife of Manager Fan from Yongfeng Grain Shop sent several packets of precious flower seeds and several fan paintings.

The gifts from the two aunts were quite ordinary; they hadn't put much thought into their niece's birthday celebration. The two small, similar-looking boxes contained twenty taels of silver...

Miss Hong didn't send any gifts, but Miss Wen sent several pieces of embroidery. Meng Shu thought the embroidery was excellent and the patterns were the second young lady's favorites, clearly showing that she had put a lot of thought into it.

Even among relatives and in-laws, relationships vary in closeness. If one merely visits others frequently without genuinely treating them, how can one expect unconditional reciprocation?

After suppressing their thoughts, Meng Shu, Rui Zhu, and Ming Yue quickly finished their tasks, and Meng Zhu also returned to the storeroom. She didn't bring up the young lady and madam's reactions, and Meng Shu and the others wouldn't ask either; this was an unwritten rule in the manor. You could gossip about other people, such as the concubines, but even if you guessed the words and thoughts of the proper masters, you couldn't tell a second person.

After having dinner at Yun Gui Courtyard that evening, the Second Miss scribbled through the gift list and then instructed Wei Mama to distribute the rest to the various courtyards, with the gifts for the Old Madam to be delivered personally the next day. Then, she led Meng Shu and the others, carrying two jars of pickled vegetables, back to Yun Yi Courtyard.

It was all because Mingyue said, "Donggua is researching pickles, let's take some back for her to try." The second young lady naturally agreed, and after Madam Yun had Jianzhi check them, she let them go.

At night, Meng Shu didn't have to stay on night duty. She and Dong Gua lay on the same bed, the candlelight on the bedside table flickering. The two of them took out their purses and lay down on the bed at the same time.

Wow! We're rich! We're rich!

Winter Melon excitedly patted its round little face, its two big eyes shining brighter than candlelight.