Volume 1: Mission in Danger Chapter 9: Head of the House
Coming out of Wu Chengjun's room and into the hall, Liu's eyes almost popped out when she saw what he was holding. Wu Qi, however, was grinning. Chunrui also smiled but quickly put it away. She poked Wu Qi lightly with her elbow and Wu Qi quickly stopped smiling.
Wu Chengjian wanted to give the things to Cai Qiaozhu for safekeeping, but after thinking about it, he gave the things to Chunrui and said, "Take it back and take good care of it."
Chunrui took it with care, and Wu Chengjian said to Wu Qi: "After the four big shopkeepers come out, ask them to come to the accounting office."
Wu Chengjian went to the accounting office first, sat on the bed where Wu Chengjun usually sat, facing the wall, and was in a daze for a long time. He didn't notice until the four shopkeepers came in. Until he came to his senses, he saw the four shopkeepers sitting on the chairs waiting for him.
Wu Chengjian then said, "My eldest brother's instructions just now, the four uncles probably all heard it. Now that my father is old and frail, my eldest brother is sick, and Guang'er is still young, I will be the head of this family for the time being."
Manager Liu said, "Since it is the eldest young master's entrustment, the four of us will naturally do our best to help the third young master overcome the current difficulties."
Wu Chengjian nodded and said, "Okay, that's fine."
After a while, seeing that the four shopkeepers were still sitting there, Wu Chengjian asked, "Why, is there anything else?"
Manager Liu said, "Ah?"
Wu Chengjian said, "It's all right now. We will do the same things at home as we did before."
Shopkeeper Liu was stunned and didn't know how to react. Shopkeeper Dai said, "How are we going to get through this difficult time? And...how are we going to deal with that matter? Third Master, please give us some rules."
Wu Chengjian said, "When the time comes, things will work out. I will take care of that matter. You don't have to worry about it. That's it."
The four shopkeepers looked at each other in bewilderment, but seeing that Wu Chengjian looked indifferent, they didn't know whether he was confident or just a dead pig that was not afraid of boiling water, but they had to say goodbye.
At that time, the incident of lost tea in Huizhou had not spread yet, and the old and young in the family only thought that the major event at the moment was the eldest son falling ill. Since the power of the head of the family had been handed over, the condition of the master and the eldest son seemed to have stabilized, and the servants felt relieved for the time being. As for what the people in each room were thinking, no one knew, at least on the surface there seemed to be no ripples.
Chun Rui took the file key and seal and took them back to her room immediately. She was already 24 years old, the same age as the Third Young Master. She had served the Third Young Master since she was a child. Generally speaking, in a wealthy family, who would be a personal maid at this age? But Chun Rui had made it to this point. She was a maid in public, but the servants and maids all treated her as a concubine.
In the Third Young Master's room, Chunrui was in charge of both the chores and the accounts. She was in charge of all Wu Chengjian's daily expenses, so she was not in a hurry and collected things very smoothly.
Just as they put everything in place, the other two maids, Xia Qing and Qiu Yue, came in one after another.
The head maid was talking about position, not age, but they were not young among the maids. Xia Qing was seventeen and Qiuyue was eighteen, both of them were old enough to be married off. But neither of them wanted to marry a servant, nor did they want to marry an outsider. According to Qiuyue, "she was willing to serve the Third Young Master until old age like Sister Chunrui." Xia Qing was even more aggressive and said directly: "If you want to marry me off, you might as well let me die."
If it were any other young master, the maids would have had no choice but to do so. Only Wu Chengjian could withstand the pressure from his family and let them do what they wanted.
"Sister Chunrui," Qiuyue, who came in first, said, "Mrs. Xu from the kitchen and the doorman Wu Dacheng's family are outside asking to see you."
Chun Rui frowned: "Why do you want to see me? Besides, we are all servants, how can we deserve a beg?"
Outside the door, Xia Qing smiled and said, "Of course I wouldn't be so polite yesterday, but now you deserve this word, sister." She looked charming and clever. As she spoke, she walked in and said, "Aunt Lu, the close aunt, and Young Master Guang's wet nurse are also waiting outside for you to summon me." As she spoke, she chuckled, "Now that the Third Young Master is in charge, you will naturally rise in status."
Chun Rui poked her mouth and said, "Keep your voice down! Don't let it get out and give people a handle against you."
Xia Qing smiled and said, "Sister, will you meet them? If you are willing to meet them today, at least accept a few tributes."
"No. Don't talk nonsense when you go out." Chun Rui said, "I don't care about the kitchen or the doorman. The aunt's personal aunt and the young master's nurse shouldn't leave their master to chat with me. No, no. Wait, Xia Qing, don't go. Qiu Yue, go and tell them for me."
Xia Qing pursed her lips: "I know you think I'm not steady. Well, I'll just serve the Third Young Master. I don't bother to care about other people."
Among the three maids in the room, Wu Chengjian trusted Chunrui the most, but doted on Xia Qing the most, so Chunrui could do nothing about her and had to let her do what she wanted.
Thinking that the Third Young Master had not had a proper meal yet, Chun Rui felt sorry for her young master, so she went to the small kitchen and cooked two dishes and a soup. Before the soup was ready, she heard someone outside say, "The Third Young Master is back."
When Wu Chengjian returned to his room, he saw Chunrui and the maids coming to pay their respects. The maids left, leaving only Chunrui, Xiaqing and Qiuyue. They congratulated Wu Chengjian together. Wu Chengjian said, "Father is sick, what is there to congratulate?"
Xia Qing was the most beautiful among the maids. She smiled charmingly and said, "They all think that the Third Young Master will be the head of the family, and that I will probably have a chance to become a concubine in the future, so they dragged me here to congratulate him."
Qiuyue blushed, and Chunrui cursed in a low voice: "What nonsense, Qiuyue, tear her mouth for me."
Xia Qing said: "Huh, isn't that what you think in your heart?"
Although Wu Chengjian was not in a good mood, he felt better when he saw Xia Qing's innocent look. He did not take it as an offense. Chunrui said, "Third Young Master, don't spoil her too much. At this time, if such words were to spread out, the master and the eldest young mistress would be upset."
Wu Chengjian said: "My brother and I are inseparable. Don't think too much and nothing will happen."
Xia Qing said: "That's right, it's obviously you who thinks too much, but you are afraid of what others will say."
At other times, Wu Chengjian would have to continue the conversation and joke with Xia Qing. This was one of the few fun things in the Xiguan mansion, but he was not in the mood today.
Chunrui sent Xia Qing and Qiu Yue away before asking, "Those files, keys, seals..."
Wu Chengjian said, "Just put them away. I'll need them in a few days." He paused, then said, "Pay my monthly salary first. Well, there are a lot of things to do this month, and I'm afraid the original monthly salary will not be enough, so increase my monthly salary... by 50%."
Chun Rui didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Third Young Master, you are the head of the family now. If it is for official business, all expenses should be recorded as they are spent. There is no such thing as a monthly allowance."
Wu Chengjian was also stunned for a moment, then he smiled and said, "Yes, I almost forgot about this. Alas, I don't know how long it will take to get rid of this troublesome burden."
Xia Qing's pretty face poked in from outside and said with a smile, "Wouldn't it be better if you could decide how much money to spend yourself in the future?"
Chunrui scolded, "What do you know? In the past, the eldest young master was in charge, and the eldest young master's wife was in charge of the accounts. The eldest young master approved the third young master's spending, and the eldest young master covered up any dissatisfaction others had. Now that the third young master is in charge, he has to set an example and not spend money recklessly, otherwise people will gossip. Let's not talk about anything else. In the future, if there is any expenditure in our room, every stitch and thread must be reported to me. Only after approval can we spend money. We can no longer be as extravagant as before. And your monthly allowances will all be based on the same level as other maids in the house, and there will be no more bonuses in the future."
Wu Chengjian had a lot of monthly allowances, so the maids in his room could get a lot of extra subsidies from him in addition to the monthly allowances from the public treasury. As for the four hangers-on, they took money directly from Wu Chengjian's pocket instead of directly from the public treasury. Chunrui was in charge of these accounts, and the amount was really not small. It was precisely because she had been in charge of them that she was able to remain calm and unhurried after getting the file seal and taking charge of the financial power this time.
When Xia Qing heard this, her face turned bitter: "You haven't even become the Third Young Lady yet, and you're already controlling your purse so strictly, what do you want?"
Wu Chengjian chuckled, "No need to be like this, no need to be like this. Money is earned to be spent. If you are so reserved, it will be meaningless for me to be a family. We will have to do what we should do in the future. Others may not say anything, but my Qing'er's cosmetics money must not be less. Otherwise, she will lose some of her charm and go from being the most beautiful maid in Xiguan to one of the most beautiful maids in Xiguan. Then I will lose face."
Xia Qing then turned her sadness into joy and said with a smile, "The Third Young Master is still a good person, hehe." She no longer paid attention to Chun Rui, who was looking angry and helpless, and turned around to embroider winter clothes for Wu Chengjian.
On the Huacha , Tan Sanniang was also concerned about the illness of the eldest son of the Wu family - she had never met Wu Chengjun, but she knew that he had a deep relationship with his brothers. If anything happened to the eldest son, the third son would definitely be very sad. Because she loved the eldest son, she also started to worry about him.
Zhou Yijin, however, still had that cold and indifferent look. If you only looked at his face, you would think that this person had no emotions at all.
Before we could get any news from the mansion, seven or eight other ladies from Shenxianzhou and their mothers came to congratulate Tan Sanniang on the closing of the curtain. Those who came last night were usually close friends, while those who came today were relatively distant. Tan Sanniang also responded to their greetings one by one.
After sending one group away, another group came. The relationship between this group was even more distant. Tan Sanniang was very puzzled and asked Zhou Yijin to discuss it. Zhou Yijin said: "If something is unusual, there must be something strange. Most likely, something happened in the Wu family mansion. And this change is good for the third young master."
He was really smart. Just as he finished speaking, a small boat came over. Master Chuan Longci boarded the boat with a smile and said to Tan Sanniang Zhou Yijin, "Oh, it's not good. The eldest young master is seriously ill. Even Mr. He is helpless. We can only try our best to recuperate and prolong his life."
He was talking about bad things, but his face was full of joy. Tan Sanniang said, "Young Master's condition is not good, why are you so happy?"
Master Chuan Longci smiled and said, "The eldest young master knows that his illness is difficult to recover, so he has given the position of head of the family to the third young master."
Zhou Yijin and Dan Sanniang said at the same time, finally understanding why the ladies and mothers of Shenxianzhou suddenly became so enthusiastic. In the past, the Third Young Master was spoiled by the First Young Master and spent money like water, but no matter how much he was favored by the head of the sect, it was not as good as being the head of the sect himself, right?
Tan Sanniang suddenly remembered the joke she made last night, "I'd better be the head of this family," and sighed, "I never thought that my words would come true!"
She faced the sea, clasped her hands together and said, "May Mazu bless us, and may the young master take over." Then she added, "Now that he is the head of the family, he should calm down and get on the right track. This will be a good thing for him."
Zhou Yijin glanced at Tan Sanniang and asked, "Do you think it's a good thing?"
Tan Sanniang asked, "Ah?"
Zhou Yijin said: "Nothing."
