Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 80 Winter Melon Enters the Cloud Courtyard

In the afternoon, Steward An arrived at Yunyi Courtyard in a cheerful manner, accompanied by Donggua, followed by a string of little maids from the small kitchen, each carrying a variety of kitchen utensils.

Meng Shu and Meng Zhu greeted them at the second gate. The three of them looked at each other, all somewhat dumbfounded.

The entourage of Steward An was extremely grand. Anyone who knew the situation would think that someone from Yunyi Courtyard's small kitchen was coming in, but anyone who didn't would think that Donggua was going to marry into Yunyi Courtyard.

Looking more closely at Donggua's attire today, one can tell that Steward An must have made sure he dressed her up carefully. She wore pink beaded flowers on both sides of her double buns, and her oval face was lightly powdered. She wore the standard clothes for maids in the mansion: a lotus-root-colored silk jacket, a blue satin vest with lace trim, and a light green skirt. She looked exactly like Donggua herself.

Ruizhu sighed, "Donggua is so lucky. Steward An really treats her like his granddaughter."

The small kitchen in Yunyi Courtyard was located on one side of the back building. Donggua and Meng Shu slept in the same room. Steward An directed the maids to put the things they brought into the small kitchen. White and red kitchen utensils, all kinds of cooking utensils, pots and pans were piled up in less than half an hour.

Besides Donggua, the old lady also asked Suwen to select a few well-behaved cooks from the small kitchen of Fu'anju, and Madam Yun also pointed out a few steady cooks and old women from Yunguiyuan. The small kitchen team of Yunyiyuan was then fully formed.

The head steward and the steward huddled together, chatting. Both were in charge of the birthday banquet, so naturally they had something to talk about when they met. Meanwhile, Donggua shyly went to the embroidery tower to kowtow to the second young lady and acknowledge her as his master.

The second young lady asked Meng Shu to help her up and said softly, "You are familiar with everyone in our courtyard, so you can take care of each other when you are on duty in the future. Meng Shu will explain the rules of Yunyi Courtyard to Donggua later."

Donggua hurriedly nodded in agreement, and the Second Miss made an exception and rewarded her with a pair of red jadeite teardrop earrings. These earrings were special; only the three head maids who served her closely, Meng Shumeng, Zhu Ruizhu, and others, were entitled to them. This was not explicitly stated, but it was based on the head maids' monthly allowance, and it was the Second Miss's way of showing Donggua respect.

Jinshu came in to serve tea and immediately noticed the earring in Donggua's hand. While secretly annoyed, her heart sank.

Watching the position of head maid slip away right in front of her, she felt extremely wronged. She was also from Fu'an Residence, so why couldn't she get it? Feeling resentful, she lost her footing and almost knocked over the tea tray. Qin Mama, who was standing behind the second young lady, glanced over with her downcast eyes, and Jinshu felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave.

Last time, Qin's mother punished her with ten slaps on the hand according to the rules. If it weren't for her parents, who were also in the household, pleading for her, who knows what would have happened to her.

Meng Shu noticed Jin Shu's unusual behavior and secretly paid attention. In fact, at this point, how could she not see that Yunyi Courtyard was about to undergo a major change?

Adding a small kitchen is just the beginning. More and more staff will be added later, including those in charge of internal and external affairs, as well as cooks, laundry maids, and cleaners. The old lady and Madam Yun are going to carry out a major transformation of the disorganized Yunyi Courtyard. Considering the Second Miss's strange behavior these past few days, with her preoccupied and often staring blankly into a spot, Meng Shu has every reason to be certain that something must have happened on the Double Ninth Festival when they worshipped their ancestors.

Manager An then followed the rules and kowtowed to the Second Miss. When he raised his head, his old face was full of kindness. "Second Miss, I'm entrusting this good-for-nothing disciple of mine to you to discipline. If she does something wrong, you can punish her as you see fit. The old lady also said that you don't need to treat her differently just because she came from Fu An Ju."

The old lady was using Steward An's words to warn everyone else. The second young lady knew that the old lady had good intentions. "Steward An, you flatter me. Donggua has always been the most likable. You are an old man in our household, so you will have to come to our Yunyi Courtyard's small kitchen to give us some pointers in the future."

Steward An was very pleased to hear this, and the wrinkles on his face were smoothed out a bit. He secretly thought that the Second Miss had really changed. Her words were very pleasing to the ear, and he would have a lot to say to the Old Madam when he got back.

After a busy afternoon, it was Ruizhu's turn to be on night duty. Before it got too late, Meng Shu put on her gifts, took out her notebook and pen, called Donggua and Mengzhu, and knocked on the door of the Fang family's house.

Before the banquet, the Fang family members all stayed at Yunyi Courtyard. They never expected that on the first night, several maids would visit them late at night and warmly invite the three of them into the house.

"Has the Second Miss retired for the night?"

"Return to the room, Steward. You can rest assured that Ruizhu is taking care of you. We are still young and inevitably make mistakes in handling things. We are worried about the banquet preparations, so we are taking the liberty of asking for your guidance."

Meng Shu was very obedient. She placed the pen and ink on the table, took out a lotus-colored silk handkerchief embroidered with peony patterns and a jade pomegranate-shaped sachet from her bosom, and respectfully presented her sincerity.

Donggua chuckled and placed the food box she was carrying on the table. "Manager, I'm a bit clumsy, all I know how to make are pastries. This is a new pomegranate pastry recipe that I learned from my master. I just made it this afternoon, so please have a taste."

Mengzhu was stunned, and the corners of her mouth involuntarily twitched. You, Meng Shu, only said that you came to ask the housekeeper for advice, but you didn't say that you were going to bring a gift!

Actually, how much more can you remind someone? When you're asking for favors in social situations, do you come empty-handed? Donggua was the first to think of bringing some snacks when you visit.

Fortunately, Meng Shu was prepared. She took out a small lucky doll from her sleeve from the shadows. "This is what Mengzhu brought for your youngest daughter. She's too shy to take it out."

The youngest daughter of the Fang family was only two or three years old and would be serving the seventh young lady of the mansion in the future. She picked up the roly-poly toy and smiled: "Miss Mengzhu is so thoughtful. I really like such interesting little gadgets. But you are all so thoughtful, with handkerchiefs, sachets and snacks. Please feel free to ask me anything."

Mengzhu breathed a sigh of relief and gave Mengshu a grateful look. "I'm glad you like it, Tong'er."

This was the first time the head of the Fang family had carefully observed the three women beside the second young lady. One was intelligent and quick-witted, but her appearance was too beautiful; another had a wise but unassuming look and a cheerful demeanor; and as for Mengzhu, although she was proper and well-behaved, she was also composed. Because they had come specifically tonight to seek guidance, the head of the Fang family's goodwill towards the people in the second young lady's courtyard had increased considerably.

After warmly inviting Meng Shu and the others to sit down, Fang Daren began to talk about the important points.

Wealthy families would hold banquets in their back courtyards, with various titles and occasions.

There are different banquets for each season, such as flower-viewing banquets in spring, festival banquets like the Qixi Festival banquet and the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, and elegant gatherings of young ladies for poetry and dance, as well as banquets for women of all ages. If one were to come to the capital city in the future, that would be truly refined.

Both the eldest daughter of the Fang family and Madam Wei were servants of Madam Yun, having lived in the capital for half their lives. Now, at her birthday banquet, they reminisced about the former glory of the Minister's mansion and felt quite sentimental. Their young mistress had been pampered and raised to be an outstanding figure among the young ladies of the capital. Unfortunately, because of a banquet, she fell into her stepmother's trap, and her promising marriage was snatched away by her stepsister...