On the way back, Mama Fang and Yuxi shared a carriage.
Inside the carriage, Mama Fang grimaced and said, "Miss, I can't read. So, how
can I create an account book?" If it were before, she would only calculate the monthly expenses of the shop, and by the end of each month, she would count how much money was left. When she added or subtracted those two amounts, she then could figure out how much income the shop earned every month.
Yuxi smiled and suggested, "Then, please hire a bookkeeper. However, Mama must not let this person stay in the shop. As a bookkeeper, this person
merely comes and writes down the account every few days."
Mama Fang was somewhat embarrassed as she asked, "How about this person's
salary?"
Yuxi answered, "It is enough to give a salary of two taels[1] of
silver per month." According to the current term, it was the same as finding a
part-time accountant.
Mama Fang somehow felt that this money had been spent unfairly.
Yuxi shook her head. "Mama, if there are no rules, there will be no standard. The baozi[2] shop business is so good. My plan right now is, after the two new people you taught finally manage to master it,
I'm going to open another branch. If the accounts
are unclear at that time, it will be easy for bad people to fish in troubled waters[3]." Mama Fang now had two apprentices, both of whom had personal contracts with them, so Yuxi was not worried.
Mama Fang felt Yuxi's words were reasonable. Thus, she no longer opposed it.
Yuxi said, "Mama, the nurturing momo[4] will come to the residence in a couple of days. It will be tough for me to go out again by that time. If Mama has something to do, ask Hongshan's sister-in-law to help deliver the message. You can also come
to the residence yourself if something significant happens."
Mama Fang was somewhat relieved. "Miss, you should learn from Teacher
Song and the nurturing momo[4]." If Yuxi learned well from them, she would be able to marry into a good family in the future.
After entering the city, Yuxi and Mama Fang separated. Only then did Hongshan
begin to say, "Miss, if we open another baozi[2] shop, can my
sister-in-law go to the shop to help you?" The monthly wage of the baozi[2] shop assistant was eight hundred copper coins, which also included breakfast since the assistant would be pretty busy with preparation in the early morning. This kind of treatment was actually ideal. Compared to her, a first-class maid, whose monthly allowance only nears that figure.
Yuxi smiled. "Wait until the shop opens. It's still too early to talk about
this now."
While they were talking, the carriage came to a sudden stop. In the event of an emergency, Yuxi reacted quickly. Both her hands immediately grabbed the edge of the carriage, stopping herself from crashing onto the carriage's wall. Hongshan responded slower than her. She bumped her forehead on the wall and got herself a big bruise.
Hongshan angrily lifted the curtain of the carriage. Before she could ask the driver what was going on, the driver hurriedly explained, "Miss Hongshan, a
girl suddenly rushed onto the road. I was afraid of hitting her, so I
immediately stopped the carriage." It was a person, not an animal, and luckily, with the driver's conditioned reflex, he managed to stop.
When Hongshan heard this, she saw a girl on the ground, two steps away in front of the horse. The girl was not very old, roughly ten years old. She lay on the dirt with a pale face. Furthermore, there was blood on her clothes and her body. She looked like a ghost.
Hongshan was so frightened that she sat back into the carriage.
Seeing Hongshan's manner piqued Yuxi's curiosity. She tried to peek outside by lifting the curtain. Before she knew what was happening outside, she
saw two men running towards her.
The two men who came running were both tall and big. One of the men with a
mole on his face saw the girl lying on the ground and shouted, "There she is!"
After saying that, the man took a giant stride forwards, and just like an eagle,
he effortlessly grabbed the girl lying on the ground like a chick. Then he snorted,
"You ran away. Why didn't you continue running? Can you run anymore?"
The girl's eyes were filled with despair.
Yuxi looked at the despair in the girl's eyes and remembered how she died in the thatched hut. At that time, she was also so desperate. She felt a quiver
in her heart and shouted at the man with the mole, "Put her down!"
Hongshan immediately put down the carriage curtain and said to Yuxi, "Miss,
there is no way for you to save her. If you look at these men, you know they are not good people!" That girl was probably a runaway slave.
The man with the mole turned his head and saw Yuxi's carriage with a few retainers. This made him realise that they were from a wealthy family. Since both of them were now in the capital city, they somehow managed to attract someone's eyesight whom they did not dare to offend, so the speaker said, "Miss, this girl is from our Chunxiang[5] Building. She had
taken an opportunity to escape, so we're here now to bring her back."
Hongshan's face changed when she heard the name Chunxiang[5] Building. "Miss, this
is beyond our control." Chunxiang[5] Building was a
brothel! How could a girl get herself involved with a brothel?
Contrary to Hongshan, Yuxi was relieved to hear that the other party was from
Chunxiang[5] Building. The people of the Chunxiang[5] Building were easy to deal with. As long as you could work out a starting price, even the
Queen of Flowers[6] could be bought, not to mention a teenage girl. "How much is she? I will buy
her. "
A different colour flashed on the face of the man with the mole, "I can't decide on this matter. You have to ask our boss if you want to buy her."
Yuxi ignored the man with the mole and asked the girl who was caught by him
instead, "What is your price?" For the girl to escape from Chunxiang[5] Building showed that she was courageous and unafraid of death.
There was a glimmer of hope in the girl's eyes. With a reassuring voice, she
answered, "Twenty taels[1]."
Yuxi said to the man with the mole, "I'll pay five times her original price.
What do you think?"
The man with the mole hesitated a little when he heard this.
Hopes for survival sprang up in the little girl's heart. She said as she
stared at the man with the mole, "If you catch me back, I won't let myself stay alive."
She would rather die than follow what these people wanted her to do.
The man with the mole knew that the dead girl was stubborn. No matter how many times he hit her, she never wanted to bow her head. This time she escaped because of their negligence. "Smelly wench, count your luck." This darn girl did not eat hard or soft[7]. He couldn't be sure if they brought her back, she wouldn't commit suicide.
At any rate, she was not a national grace with divine fragrance[8] either. It was better for them to sell her. At least they could gain a small
profit from it.
There was a gleam of light in the little girl's eyes as she knew the man had decided to sell her. Thinking of this, she eagerly looked at Yuxi. No one
wanted to die if one was given a chance to live.
The man with the mole shouted at Yuxi, "I'm going to have someone fetch her deed. Between us, one hand exchanges the cash, the other the goods[9]."
The Chunxiang[5] Building was not far from their current place, so the girl's deed was soon taken. Yuxi asked the
girl, "Can you see if that is yours?"
After reading it, the little girl nodded. "It's my deed."
After Yuxi paid for the deed, she did not return directly to the State Residence but went to Shangyuan Street instead. As for the girl's current terrible appearance, she did not dare to bring her back. Otherwise, she would
get a scolding.
Yuxi looked at the girl lying in the car, who was covered with wounds and asked, "Who are you? How can you be sold to Chunxiang[5] Building?"
The little girl answered, "My name is Ling Qi. My father is Counsellor Ling of
Hexia Town, and he died of illness six months ago."
Hongshan hastily asked, "Then why are you in the brothel? Where are your
relatives?"
When Ling Qi heard these questions, her eyes burst out with hatred. "My stepmother sold me. Originally, I was sleeping peacefully at home, and
somehow, the next day, I woke up in the brothel."
Yuxi looked at Ling Qi's face and asked, "Are you not on good terms with your
stepmother?" Since Ling Qi's father was a counsellor, her family circumstances must have been pretty good. Ling Qi wasn't a national grace with divine fragrance[8] either. The only reason left was Ling Qi had enmity with her stepmother.
Ling Qi nodded, saying, "If she weren't around, my mother would not have
died."
Yuxi did not need to ask anymore; this girl's temper and the enemy who killed her mother could not coexist peacefully. Her stepmother sold her to the brothel not for money but for revenge, "Do you have any relatives in your family? If there is, I will send you back when you are
cured. "
Ling Qi shook her head and said, "Miss has saved me, so my life belongs to
Miss."
Ling Qi had repeatedly tried to escape from Chunxiang[5] Building regardless of life and death; even when her body was covered with cuts and bruises,
she still wouldn't give up. Her visible temperament was very resolute. This kind of person, if she could sincerely submit to her, would be a tremendous help. Yuxi said, "You have to think it over. If you want to be with me,
you will be a maid and have to be a servant. If you go back, you
will still be a daughter from a good family. "
Ling Qi replied sincerely, "Miss, there are no relatives in my family.
Furthermore, I don't know where to go even if I return." There was a way to live if she really followed Miss. It was better to follow Miss than a man who had no idea what he wanted, even if she had to be a maid. At least her life and personal safety were guaranteed.
Seeing that Ling Qi was not acting on impulse, Yuxi nodded. "You
should go to Mama Fang's baozi[2] shop to recuperate first and wait until the rest of the wounds are completely healed."
Ling Qi nodded. "Okay."
Mama Fang had a soft heart. She was very sympathetic when she heard about Ling Qi's experience. She helped Ling Qi get to the backyard, and then hurriedly searched
for a physician.
Mama Shen looked at the sky and said, "Miss, you must go back. The Old Lady will scold you if you don't
go now." The day was almost dark, and the
Old Lady had already reminded her to bring Yuxi back before nightfall.
Yuxi said, "Mama Shen, you should first send someone to Hexia Town to find
out if there is such a person named Ling Qi." An employer had to find out the other party's details before the employer employed a person. If the person lied and used the identity of a person of unknown origin, there would be no telling what would happen in the future.
When they returned to the residence, it was already the beginning of xushi[10]. Old Lady Han severely reprimanded Yuxi for returning late.
Yuxi stood obediently, with her head down, while being reprimanded by the
Old Lady.
Looking at Yuxi this way, the Old Lady could not help but think of Yuxi's birth mother, Ning Shi. Every time she scolded Ning Shi, she also had such a
look. Thinking till here, the Old Lady's heart was filled with panic. "You
withdraw!" People really needed fate between people. Even if Yuxi's performance improved over time, with such a birth mother, how could the Old Lady forget that she had never liked Yuxi?
Yuxi respectfully withdrew.
The only one left in the main room was Mama Luo, the person to whom the Old
Lady spoke her actual words. "I'm afraid I'm not familiar with this child."
Respectful on the surface but, in fact, was very guarded against her.
Otherwise, Yuxi wouldn't be safeguarded against Hongshan and Mama Shen in everything she did. Even when Hongshan had already crossed over, she could still not get Yuxi's trust.
Mama Luo smiled. "What is the Old Lady saying? Fourth Miss is your legitimate granddaughter. How can she be unfamiliar to you?"
The Old Lady wouldn't have allowed such nonsense if it weren't for Yuxi being her granddaughter. "I'm afraid she also has bad blood with her father," the Old Lady pointed out. If Yuxi was not close with her father and resented the family,
even if Yuxi had become more excellent, the Old Lady would have to cut off her wings.
Mama Luo carefully said, "Old Lady, if you will excuse this servant, the
Fourth Miss is not that cold-hearted. You can see that she is
very close to the First Lady and Second Young Master." The Old Lady and Fourth
Miss never saw each other more than once a month. As for Third Lord, he had ignored Fourth Miss too much over the three years he had been away. So how could they expect her to be closed with both of them in these situations? How could they also expect Fourth Miss to be the bigger person?
Mama Luo was very loyal to the Old Lady and often analysed her problems from the standpoint of an onlooker. The Old Lady also heard her suggestions. Old Lady Han sighed. "Wu Shi was not a peaceful one." Wu Shi's manner made Yuxi more alienated from the Third Lord. As it happened,
the Third Lord also didn't really care about Yuxi, this daughter of his.
Mama Luo also felt that Wu Shi's view was too shallow and her means were poor. Before returning to the state residence, she had already
offended many people: "When she comes back, the Old Lady will teach her
well."
Old Lady Han shook her head. "I'm too old already, so I don't have that much energy. When Ming-er takes a wife, I will let this responsibility
go and enjoy a few years of happiness." Qiu Shi was good at managing her household but very bad at calculating. That was why she felt not at ease completely entrusting her home to Qiu Shi. Now, her only hope fell on her grandson's future wife.
Mama Luo smiled and reminded, "When Master Shizi[11] marries,
the Old Lady will have to worry about Third Miss' marriage afterward. How can Old Lady
really find any leisure time?"
Old Lady Han sighed. "Yes, as the saying aptly puts it, children live for one hundred years and keep making their parents worry for ninety-nine years. I
somehow thought I could have some leisure time."
Footnotes Full List
- unit of weight equal to 50 grams (modern) or 1⁄16 of a catty jīn [斤] (old)
- steamed stuffed bun
- Chinese idiom: to take advantage of a crisis for personal gain
- a term for an elderly lady
- spring fragrance
- 花魁 (hua=flower, kui=chief/head) – nickname for a famous beauty or courtesan
- Chinese idiom: yield neither to persuasion nor to coercion
- Chinese idiom: an outstanding beauty
- Chinese idiom: to pay for what you want in cash
- 7-9 pm
- the heir of a noble family
Noob Translator's Musing
Ah~ I'm late again, right? 😅
Tags:
The Rebirth of Han Yuxi