A stew of the Red Chamber

Chapter 13 The Biggest Gain

Upon returning to the front yard, Granny Liu abandoned her humble demeanor in front of Wang Qing.

He dragged his wife along as they passed away, loudly instructing her, "The old man made you make the bed, serve you tea and water; that's a favor. The five hundred coins are secondary; what's valuable is this respect. Don't be ungrateful and complain about doing extra work!"

She seemed to be instructing her daughter-in-law, but her words were meant for everyone in the courtyard, and she couldn't hide her smugness and arrogance.

She even tightened the sash around Sister Liu's waist with a serious expression, creating an alluring effect, and patted her ample bosom before giving a stern lecture: "In front of the master, things are different from in the kitchen. You need to put on some effort!"

The young maid looked at Sister Liu with a hint of envy.

The maids of similar age exchanged meaningful glances with complex expressions.

The older women, however, said with sneers, "In my opinion, your wife is so capable, she could probably earn one or two more jobs!"

"Of course! The old man's room is far from lacking in things like making the bed, serving tea, and fetching water!"

"Since your wife is so capable, why not just let her do it all by herself!"

"Oh dear! Won't that exhaust Liu's wife?"

"Maybe the old man just likes to work while lying down?"

The old women and servants, as they talked, became increasingly explicit, and soon burst into laughter.

Throughout history, once a married woman starts gossiping and making crude jokes, men have no say in the matter.

There's nothing new in this grand mansion. These servants and old women love to gossip and spread rumors. When they see Granny Liu showing off in public, they immediately start mocking her.

Granny Liu was eager for them to steer the conversation in this direction, so she pretended not to understand and laughed, "Of course, we'll do whatever the master tells us to do!"

Sister Liu retorted with a hint of resentment, "Sour grapes!"

Seeing that she was talking to them, the old women became even more enthusiastic and laughed, "Sour or salty, sweet or cloying, we can't eat it, but you can. We're just afraid that the old man will feed you too much and make you stuffed."

Sister Liu was not yet thirty, a time when she was playful and unrestrained, and with Granny Liu's tacit approval, she was not willing to suffer this loss.

Moreover, the most difficult hurdle had already been smoothed out by Manager Hu. If it weren't for Granny Liu bringing the money in time and disliking Doctor Hu's wrinkled face and old man smell, they would have been forced to give in long ago.

She knew that there's no such thing as a perfect life, and since she needed to earn money to treat her daughter's illness, she had to be willing to swallow her pride.

Immediately, he put his hands on his hips, puffed out his chest, and retorted defiantly, "You talk as if anyone wants to eat alone! Every one of you should call your wives, daughters, and granddaughters over and see if you can squeeze them into my room. Why don't you take a piss and look at yourselves in the mirror!"

Even the toughest fear the stubborn. Seeing her so reckless, the old women were speechless and could only say sullenly, "Look at what she's got to do!"

Granny Liu, however, smiled and smoothed things over: "She's young and doesn't know any better, please don't take offense! In the past year or two, thanks to everyone's help, she's been able to stay home and take care of Wu'er. How could she possibly eat alone?"

As she spoke, she nudged Sister Liu and said, "She's only doing this because of Master's kindness. She'll have to rely on everyone's help in the future. There's still some money left from the laundry money Master gave her. I'll go buy two jugs of wine later, and after Master rests, I'll have her cook a few dishes..."

Granny Liu spoke eloquently, but when it came to the few hundred coins she intended to share, she downplayed the matter and glossed over it with wine and food.

She had initially worried that these people would try to sow discord between Wang Qing and his wife, but things had changed. Now, Wang Qing not only agreed to let his wife serve him tea and water, but also agreed to let her make the bed, fold the blankets, and tidy up the house.

Given this suspicion of impropriety, there was no need for these people to sow discord between Wang Qing and his own people.

She even secretly regretted handing over the laundry job to someone else.

However, she knew she couldn't go too far. She beckoned to the little girl who had delivered breakfast with her earlier, and behind everyone's back, counted out one hundred coins while loudly ordering, "Go and fetch two jugs of wine."

He whispered, "Keep the extra for yourself."

Even though there were only a few coins left after buying the wine, happiness is always something that can be compared.

The little girl nodded repeatedly, like a chick pecking at rice, and stuffed the money into her bosom.

Although everyone was envious and eager, the Liu family mother-in-law and daughter-in-law played the roles of good cop and bad cop, and they also knew that they were not as fortunate as Sister-in-law Liu. Although they knew it was just a small favor, they had no choice but to flatter her.

After a few words of feigned concern, Granny Liu pulled Sister-in-law Liu into the kitchen.

After closing the door, Sister Liu couldn't help but complain, "Why bother being nice to them?"

"The food doesn't cost us any money, but we'll buy two jugs of wine."

"What do you mean by 'not spending our money'? Wu'er needs money, if we can't finish it, we can sell it and that will help supplement our income..."

"Foolish!" Granny Liu said angrily. "They're already envious enough. If they take the stuff out again, won't they hate us to death? They might not dare to complain to the master, but they'll surely complain to the authorities. Do you think we'll get away with it then?"

Sister Liu looked puzzled: "But didn't you say that the kitchen is a lucrative job? If we don't sell the meat, where will the profits come from?"

"Profits?" Granny Liu sneered. "This Master Qing is our biggest source of profit!"

"This...I..." Sister Liu swallowed, hesitating to speak.

Faced with the repulsive and frail Dr. Hu, Sister Liu would rather break than bend, even if there were only a sliver of a way out.

However, when facing the imposing and extraordinary Master Qing, it's a different story.

Previously, she could confidently question her mother-in-law about whether she had caught him cheating, which showed she had a clear conscience. But now, she couldn't help feeling a little guilty.

Although Granny Liu could see that she was guilty, she pretended not to hear and said, "We have no background and are envied by others. If we sell the household's supplies, we will be in big trouble if we are reported."

On the contrary, this Uncle Qing gave you more than two taels of silver today and also gave you an extra monthly allowance. He is obviously kind-hearted and easy to get along with, unlike Second Madam who is shrewd and not easy to fool.

Don't worry about wasting food in the kitchen; just use it freely. Only ask him for money to go out and buy more when you run out.

He's an outsider, after all. How much or how little we get from him is our own business. They may not get a share of the profits, but they're still well-fed and clothed. Even if they're envious, they can only watch helplessly; the household won't say anything.

Upon hearing this, Sister Liu said with some worry, "But... what if he finds out we're up to something? Wouldn't that backfire and we lose our job?"

Granny Liu said dismissively, "How could a grown man like him know anything about the secrets here?"

Even if he knew, what could he do? He's staying at the manor; could he really ask his superiors to fire you just because the manor's supplies aren't enough? The more attentive you are, the more likely he is to refuse, given his kind and easily embarrassed nature, and he'll have to swallow his anger.

Sister Liu hesitated, saying, "The old man gave us an extra five hundred yuan a month, is it really fair for us to calculate things like this?"

"Not good? Is Wu'er's illness still not being treated? We can't ask him for laundry money again next month."

"Fine!" Sister Liu took a deep breath and gritted her teeth, "Let's do as Mother says."

Granny Liu nodded in satisfaction and whispered a few more words to her.

……