247 Scored a Bargain
Lu Jiao then looked toward aunt Hua. Unlike uncle Lin, aunt Hua was tall and stocky. She introduced herself as a good cook who was once the head chef at her previous owner’s.
“Aunt Hua, you’ll be in charge of cooking.”
Aunt Hua responded quickly, “I will do that.”
Lu Jiao then glanced at aunt Hua’s two sons. Uncle Lin and aunt Hua were a little nervous about what the lady would ask their sons to do.
Lu Jiao saw that the eldest Lin boy appeared rather intelligent and quick on his feet. It wasn’t a bad idea to assign him as Xie Yunjin’s personal page.
Lu Jiao said to Xie Yunjin, “Husband, I’m thinking, what if Lin Dong becomes your personal page?”
Uncle Lin and Hua stared at Xie Yunjin nervously. To be the page of such a man meant their son may end up living a good life. If they start serving their masters now, once their masters flourish, their son will also be deemed successful!
Xie Yunjin checked out Lin Dong and thought of him as smart and sharp. However, he cared mostly about loyalty so he decided he needed some time to test him out. If he found the little boy to be useful, he could do what he can to help him develop.
“Sure. Then he can help me with errands.”
Xie Yunjin then said to Lin Dong in a serious manner, “From now on, I am your master. You must do as I ask.”
Uncle Lin and aunt Hua glanced toward Ling Dong quickly, “Dongzi, you’re going to work for the master from now on. Remember, whatever the master asks you to do, you do it.”
Lin Dong was a sharp one and plus, he was very thankful to Xie Yunjin and Lu Jiao. They’ve visited so many families before and nobody wanted them. This was the only family who would pay for them. Why would he ever disobey the master? He wasn’t going to do things that would make his parents sad.
Lin Dong nodded to show that he understood, “I will listen to the master. If the master asks me to go west, I would never go east. If the master asks me to hit the dog, I would never kick the chicken.”
Lu Jiao’s lips twitched from cringe as she listened to him.
Finally, she stared at the youngest boy, Lin Xi. Lin Xi was only eight and has been staying with his parents all his life. Because of this, he was malnourished and very skinny. There was no way he could actually do labor.
Lu Jiao pointed at the four little ones, “You can be the four young masters’ friend. You can play with them.”
The Lin family was over the moon and started to kowtow.
“Okay, Lu Gui will now show you around the home.”
Hearing that command, Lu Gui instantly started to act like the steward, “Follow me.”
The servants followed. The four little ones also followed. Suddenly, there were so many people in their home, how fun.
At last, only Xie Yunjin and Lu Jiao remained. The two of them exchanged glances and Lu Jiao chuckled, “The children must be overjoyed to see so many people here. They can take a few days to play around. Once I fix up the courtyard, they can start studying.”
Xie Yunjin nodded, “You’re a much better planner than me. We’ll do as you say.”
Lu Jiao listened to him and felt like they were really married.
She felt uncomfortable and quickly said, “Don’t worry about these things. You should get busy with your students. You promised the dean and professor you would help.”
“Yes, I will get on with it then.”
Xie Yunjin left, thinking that he would search around to see if there were any houses for rent. It would be best for him to rent a place as soon as possible so he could start teaching. It was already August and he would have to return to school in a month or so.
At noon, Lu Jiao no longer had to worry about what to feed the family, as aunt Hua was now in charge of the kitchen.
What she did do, was set a schedule. She requested that the four little ones must drink goat milk every day and eat one to two eggs. Every day, there must be meat in the dishes, chicken or pork was fine. Fish, however, was required for at least one meal a day. Making them into fish balls would be best. Of course, plenty of vegetables and fruits were also a must.
Aunt Hua knew what to do right away.
For lunch, she made some of her best dishes.
Steamed eggs with pork, twice-cooked pork, mushroom and fish ball soup, braised fish, and radish bone broth.
Lu Jiao, Xie Yunjin, and the four little ones enjoyed the meal and they stopped worrying about aunt Hua’s abilities.
Lu Jiao, Xie Yunjin, the four little ones, and Lu Gui ate at one table. The servants ate at one table on the side of the front courtyard.
Lu Jiao didn’t ask the servants to be on call while everyone ate. She asked that everyone have lunch, then get busy with their work. She also instructed aunt Hua that for the servants’ meals, she needed to ensure there were at least three side dishes and one soup. For every meal, there also must be one meat dish, two vegetables, and a soup.
Aunt Hua told this to the others and everyone beamed from ear to ear as if they scored a bargain.
Their new master was so generous. They were so lucky.
Right after the family was done with lunch, classmate Han arrived with the craftsmen. There were some who specialized in woodwork and some who worked well with bricks.
Lu Jiao asked Lu Gui to find a place for the craftsmen to stay and they ended up in the west wing of the front courtyard.
While Lu Gui dealt with that, Lu Jiao and Xie Yunjin hosted classmate Han in the living room.
Xie Yunjin felt bad about troubling classmate Han so much lately and expressed, “We will treat you tomorrow, remember to come. After tomorrow, I will be starting my teaching job. You should come too. I prepared a room just for you to study. You must pass this year’s exam.”
Classmate Han was ecstatic. Yunjin was about to become his personal tutor. With Xie Yunjin’s support, it would be indecent for him to fail the exam.
“Okay.”
Classmate Han’s lips stretched out.
Then, Lu Jiao officially invited classmate Han’s wife and children to come over and visit. This house was sold to her at such a low price and he even found her craftsmen.
Lu Jiao appreciated classmate Han a lot. Though in the future, she wasn’t going to be Xie Yunjin’s wife anymore, she still was on the surface and needed to befriend Xie Yunjin’s friends’ wives.
Classmate Han liked the idea, “Sure, I will bring my wife and my two children over tomorrow.”
Classmate Han has wanted his wife and Lu Jiao to talk for a while now. He didn’t have hope that his wife would learn a lot from Lu Jiao, but even learning a little would be good. Lu Jiao was good at raising children and classmate Han’s children were the problem.
Lu Jiao then glanced at Xie Yunjin, “When you ask your classmates to visit, invite their families as well. I will host them.”
Her words and suggestions warmed Xie Yunjin’s heart. The smile in his eyes deepened and his voice was soft, “Sure.”
As they chatted, Lu Gui walked in from outside.
“Sister, brother-in-law, Owner Zhao and Dr. Qi from Baohe Tang are here to visit.”
They were here to see his sister only, but Lu Gui wasn’t smart enough to get that.
Xie Yunjin’s face cooled down fast and his eyes filled with unpleasantness. People from Baohe Tang truly were ghosts that did not stop haunting. How did they even find this place?
247 Scored a Bargain
Lu Jiao then looked toward aunt Hua. Unlike uncle Lin, aunt Hua was tall and stocky. She introduced herself as a good cook who was once the head chef at her previous owner’s.
“Aunt Hua, you’ll be in charge of cooking.”
Aunt Hua responded quickly, “I will do that.”
Lu Jiao then glanced at aunt Hua’s two sons. Uncle Lin and aunt Hua were a little nervous about what the lady would ask their sons to do.
Lu Jiao saw that the eldest Lin boy appeared rather intelligent and quick on his feet. It wasn’t a bad idea to assign him as Xie Yunjin’s personal page.
Lu Jiao said to Xie Yunjin, “Husband, I’m thinking, what if Lin Dong becomes your personal page?”
Uncle Lin and Hua stared at Xie Yunjin nervously. To be the page of such a man meant their son may end up living a good life. If they start serving their masters now, once their masters flourish, their son will also be deemed successful!
Xie Yunjin checked out Lin Dong and thought of him as smart and sharp. However, he cared mostly about loyalty so he decided he needed some time to test him out. If he found the little boy to be useful, he could do what he can to help him develop.
“Sure. Then he can help me with errands.”
Xie Yunjin then said to Lin Dong in a serious manner, “From now on, I am your master. You must do as I ask.”
Uncle Lin and aunt Hua glanced toward Ling Dong quickly, “Dongzi, you’re going to work for the master from now on. Remember, whatever the master asks you to do, you do it.”
Lin Dong was a sharp one and plus, he was very thankful to Xie Yunjin and Lu Jiao. They’ve visited so many families before and nobody wanted them. This was the only family who would pay for them. Why would he ever disobey the master? He wasn’t going to do things that would make his parents sad.
Lin Dong nodded to show that he understood, “I will listen to the master. If the master asks me to go west, I would never go east. If the master asks me to hit the dog, I would never kick the chicken.”
Lu Jiao’s lips twitched from cringe as she listened to him.
Finally, she stared at the youngest boy, Lin Xi. Lin Xi was only eight and has been staying with his parents all his life. Because of this, he was malnourished and very skinny. There was no way he could actually do labor.
Lu Jiao pointed at the four little ones, “You can be the four young masters’ friend. You can play with them.”
The Lin family was over the moon and started to kowtow.
“Okay, Lu Gui will now show you around the home.”
Hearing that command, Lu Gui instantly started to act like the steward, “Follow me.”
The servants followed. The four little ones also followed. Suddenly, there were so many people in their home, how fun.
At last, only Xie Yunjin and Lu Jiao remained. The two of them exchanged glances and Lu Jiao chuckled, “The children must be overjoyed to see so many people here. They can take a few days to play around. Once I fix up the courtyard, they can start studying.”
Xie Yunjin nodded, “You’re a much better planner than me. We’ll do as you say.”
Lu Jiao listened to him and felt like they were really married.
She felt uncomfortable and quickly said, “Don’t worry about these things. You should get busy with your students. You promised the dean and professor you would help.”
“Yes, I will get on with it then.”
Xie Yunjin left, thinking that he would search around to see if there were any houses for rent. It would be best for him to rent a place as soon as possible so he could start teaching. It was already August and he would have to return to school in a month or so.
At noon, Lu Jiao no longer had to worry about what to feed the family, as aunt Hua was now in charge of the kitchen.
What she did do, was set a schedule. She requested that the four little ones must drink goat milk every day and eat one to two eggs. Every day, there must be meat in the dishes, chicken or pork was fine. Fish, however, was required for at least one meal a day. Making them into fish balls would be best. Of course, plenty of vegetables and fruits were also a must.
Aunt Hua knew what to do right away.
For lunch, she made some of her best dishes.
Steamed eggs with pork, twice-cooked pork, mushroom and fish ball soup, braised fish, and radish bone broth.
Lu Jiao, Xie Yunjin, and the four little ones enjoyed the meal and they stopped worrying about aunt Hua’s abilities.
Lu Jiao, Xie Yunjin, the four little ones, and Lu Gui ate at one table. The servants ate at one table on the side of the front courtyard.
Lu Jiao didn’t ask the servants to be on call while everyone ate. She asked that everyone have lunch, then get busy with their work. She also instructed aunt Hua that for the servants’ meals, she needed to ensure there were at least three side dishes and one soup. For every meal, there also must be one meat dish, two vegetables, and a soup.
Aunt Hua told this to the others and everyone beamed from ear to ear as if they scored a bargain.
Their new master was so generous. They were so lucky.
Right after the family was done with lunch, classmate Han arrived with the craftsmen. There were some who specialized in woodwork and some who worked well with bricks.
Lu Jiao asked Lu Gui to find a place for the craftsmen to stay and they ended up in the west wing of the front courtyard.
While Lu Gui dealt with that, Lu Jiao and Xie Yunjin hosted classmate Han in the living room.
Xie Yunjin felt bad about troubling classmate Han so much lately and expressed, “We will treat you tomorrow, remember to come. After tomorrow, I will be starting my teaching job. You should come too. I prepared a room just for you to study. You must pass this year’s exam.”
Classmate Han was ecstatic. Yunjin was about to become his personal tutor. With Xie Yunjin’s support, it would be indecent for him to fail the exam.
“Okay.”
Classmate Han’s lips stretched out.
Then, Lu Jiao officially invited classmate Han’s wife and children to come over and visit. This house was sold to her at such a low price and he even found her craftsmen.
Lu Jiao appreciated classmate Han a lot. Though in the future, she wasn’t going to be Xie Yunjin’s wife anymore, she still was on the surface and needed to befriend Xie Yunjin’s friends’ wives.
Classmate Han liked the idea, “Sure, I will bring my wife and my two children over tomorrow.”
Classmate Han has wanted his wife and Lu Jiao to talk for a while now. He didn’t have hope that his wife would learn a lot from Lu Jiao, but even learning a little would be good. Lu Jiao was good at raising children and classmate Han’s children were the problem.
Lu Jiao then glanced at Xie Yunjin, “When you ask your classmates to visit, invite their families as well. I will host them.”
Her words and suggestions warmed Xie Yunjin’s heart. The smile in his eyes deepened and his voice was soft, “Sure.”
As they chatted, Lu Gui walked in from outside.
“Sister, brother-in-law, Owner Zhao and Dr. Qi from Baohe Tang are here to visit.”
They were here to see his sister only, but Lu Gui wasn’t smart enough to get that.
Xie Yunjin’s face cooled down fast and his eyes filled with unpleasantness. People from Baohe Tang truly were ghosts that did not stop haunting. How did they even find this place?
