Zhou Shuren silently made a firm note of the broker’s debt in his heart, but his face showed a flattering smile as he said, “Even if I lose my head, I would never exchange my wife for anything.”

Zhulan said, “Even if you become a ghost, take me with you!”

Zhou Shuren laughed. “Yes, I won’t let you go even as a ghost.”

Zhulan, “…”

Anyone who didn’t know better would think she owed Zhou Shuren a huge debt!

Zhou Shuren pressed on Zhulan’s shoulder. “Don’t get angry over unimportant people; it’s not worth it. I’ll deal with them after I’m done with my work.”

Zhulan sighed, “I’m not really angry, just annoyed. By the way, I already told Li Shi that we don’t have the custom of taking concubines in our family. You should talk to your sons. And don’t bring up anything about how old you are; if you don’t have a son and can take a concubine, I can’t stand it.”

She didn’t care about other people’s families, but she made the decisions in her own. She had never seen two women get along peacefully, and she didn’t want things to get messy and involve lawsuits later.

Zhulan thought for a moment and then said, “Anyway, don’t do this to me while I’m alive. After I die, let the Zhou family do whatever they want.”

Children and grandchildren have their own destinies. She and Zhou Shuren, as their adopted elders, had done enough for the Zhou family while they were alive. After they die, let the Zhou family’s descendants do what they want. At most, they’ll leave a way out for the Zhou family. She and Zhou Shuren had been true not only to the original owner of this body but also to their adopted ancestors.

Zhou Shuren smiled, “Okay, I’ll listen to you.”

If Zhulan hadn’t mentioned it, he really wouldn’t have paid attention to this aspect. For the sake of peace in the house, and to avoid causing Zhulan too much worry, it was indeed necessary to establish rules.

In the main house, after washing up happily, Li Shi sat on the kang (heated brick bed), fiddling with her money. Her mother had recently given her a lot of money, and even the money she had spent had been given to her. Her savings had grown considerably.

Boss Zhou was depressed. Li Shi was still terrified in the morning, but why was she ignoring him in the evening? “Don’t you have anything to say to me?”

Li Shi counted the silver with satisfaction and replied, “Say what?”

Boss Zhou, “…about the maid.”

Li Shi looked at her husband. “You have something on your mind?”

After saying that, Li Shi looked at her husband’s legs— no matter how sturdy they were, if they needed to be broken, they would have to be broken.

Boss Zhou felt a chill in his legs and quickly shook his head. “No, I swear.”

Li Shi said, “Oh.” “I don’t believe in your swearing, but I believe what Mother said. Mother said that there is no such thing as taking concubines in our family. If anyone dares to take a concubine, Mother will have Father break their legs. Oh, and they will be kicked out of the house.”

Boss Zhou, “…”

Mother truly was the most ruthless one. It seemed she was furious today—Boss Zhou felt a surge of satisfaction. Serves them right! Let the broker wait for Father to settle the score!

The next morning, there were more servants in the house. Although Zhulan did not arrange for the Ding and Wan families to work, Steward Ding also arranged for the two families to work. Steward Ding’s wife, Liu Ya, was waiting at the door of the main house early in the morning.

Liu Ya’s youngest daughter-in-law brought over hot water, and Zhulan finally felt like a lady of the house. She didn’t even have to comb her own hair anymore; Liu Ya’s hairstyling skills were truly excellent.

Looking at her blurry reflection in the bronze mirror, Zhulan was very satisfied with her hairstyle—it was exactly the one she liked. They had only met a few times yesterday, yet Liu Ya had already memorized her preferences. No servant should be underestimated.

However, Zhou Shuren’s hair was still being combed by Zhulan, and no one was allowed to touch it. A few days ago, the second son of the Ma family had been cleaning the courtyard during the rain; this February, three newly hired servants were cleaning it.

In the kitchen, Steward Ding had his eldest daughter-in-law, Lixia, prepare breakfast, with Xinghua and three maids helping out, so Li Shi didn’t have to lift a finger in the morning.

Steward Ding assigned his second son to watch over the gatehouse, while his eldest son stayed by Steward Ding’s side.

Breakfast consisted of steamed cabbage and sausage buns, rice porridge, stir-fried cured meat, and some pickled vegetables made by Li Shi.

The Zhou family didn’t like being waited on, so Zhulan had Liuya take her second daughter-in-law, Mangzhong, and go down.

Zhulan took a bite of a bun, her eyes lighting up. “Steward Ding said that eldest daughter-in-law Lixia’s cooking skills were genuine, and they’re indeed quite good.” Zhou Shuren nodded in agreement, “Indeed, quite good.”

Li Shi wasn’t used to not having to cook and eating ready-made meals. “Mother, what will I do in the future?”

Without cooking duties, what else could she offer? Li Shi felt a strong sense of crisis.

Zhulan hadn’t arranged anything for the Ding and Wan families yesterday, firstly because she wasn’t in a hurry, and secondly because she wanted to test Steward Ding, who hadn’t disappointed her.

Early in the morning, Zhulan had a clear idea of ​​everyone’s schedule. “I’ll make arrangements after breakfast; everyone eat first.”

The whole family got up very early today, all following Zhou Shuren’s schedule for going to the yamen. Yesterday, Zhou Shuren didn’t have breakfast, and Zhulan didn’t say a word. The eldest couple had scared themselves, and today they got up before dawn.

Zhou Shuren was going to the yamen, and the carriage driver was still Second Yue. Steward Ding didn’t dare to arrange it, mainly because the Ma family was among the first batch of servants, and he was afraid of not handling them well.

Zhulan waited for Eryue to return before having Steward Ding summon all the servants. Once everyone had gathered, she began giving out instructions: “The Ding family’s eldest, Guyu, will be in charge of outside affairs from now on. The two daughters-in-law, Lixia and Mangzhong, will take charge of the kitchen.”

Zhulan paused and continued to call out names. “Xing Hua will be in charge of needlework. You will teach the three young maids first. Eryue and three servants will be in charge of cleaning the yard and tending the horses. Eryue’s eldest son, Li Chun, will serve by the master’s side. Wan Jiu from the Wan family will be in charge of driving the master’s carriage. His wife, Juan Hua, will serve as a maid for the first wife, Li Shi.”

As Zhulan spoke, she observed the servants’ reactions. Ma, Er Yue, and Xinghua were delighted, as they all had people to manage and some power in their hands. Wan’s family, however, was disappointed. Zhulan thought to herself, “I gave them a chance, but they didn’t perform. You can only blame yourself.”

Zhulan continued giving out instructions. “The Wan family’s eldest girl, Dashu, will follow the Young Miss from now on. Xiaoshu will attend to Young Master Mingteng. As for the Ding family’s youngest son, Xiazhi, he’ll start by running errands under Steward Ding. Understood?”

The servants replied in unison, “Understood.”

Zhulan pressed Li Shi down and said, “Eldest Madam will manage all the affairs in the kitchen, the Young Lady will manage the needlework, and the second son of the Ma family, Yu Shui, will manage the accounts.”

Chang Lian had also done some good deeds, teaching Yu Shui to read. Zhulan had specifically tested him; this boy was the smartest in the Ma family and also had a talent for arithmetic. Zhulan had specifically asked her son to teach arithmetic so that he could be used as an accountant in the future. Relatively speaking, Zhulan trusted the Ma family more.

Just thinking about the accounts gave Zhulan a headache again. She still had to separate the household affairs from those registered under her name and allocate some money, and there was a whole bunch of things waiting for her to handle.

At the thought of the accounting office, Zhulan’s head began to ache again. She still had to separate the household accounts from those registered under her name, divide the silver, and handle a whole pile of other matters waiting for her attention.

Ma family’s Eryue and his wife, Xinghua, were truly delighted—being put in charge of the money clearly showed the Mistress’s trust. Although they had suspected it might happen, their hearts had been uneasy until the Mistress herself finally confirmed it.

After assigning the servants, Zhulan signaled them to disperse. Once the servants were gone, Zhulan said to Xuehan, “Tomorrow, we’ll prepare the courtyard next door for you to live in. You can take Jingzhe and Dashu there.”

Xuehan asked, “Mother, why did you arrange for Dashu to be my maid?”

(End of Chapter)

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