Momo Quan came to see Yuxi only after she had decided on her plans and said, "Miss, I still have some savings in hand. I would like to buy a small residence in the capital so that my family have a place to live." Momo Quan planned to settle in the capital, so she wanted to buy a residence rather than renting one. But in the capital, it was not easy to purchase a place. And she didn't know anyone else here except for Yuxi. Of course, obtaining a residence was only secondary in her plan. Her main reason was wishing for Yuxi to be her backer. If she didn't have a backing in the capital, she wouldn't know how she would die if she accidentally provoked someone.
Yuxi nodded and said, "It's easy to buy a residency. Just, what about your family's livelihood in the future? "
Momo Quan answered, "Let them settle down first, and the rest will naturally come after that." Momo Quan was not worried about making a living as long as she had someone she could rely on in the capital. After all, she also learned all kinds of skills and had no problem supporting her family. Besides, her nephew and his wife were not the types that only fond of eating and averse to work either.
Yuxi thought for a moment before suggesting, "Momo Quan, I wonder if you would like to be employed here once more? I've never been able to find a suitable stewardess. If Momo is willing, other things will be easy to deal with." After a pause, Yuxi continued, "To tell Momo the truth, all the maids around me except for Zisu and Zijin are not very useful. So I want Momo to help me train some."
Momo Quan found Yuxi's request to be odd. "What about Kufu and Maidong?"
Yuxi replied with a wry smile, "I have to let them off."
When Momo Quan heard Yuxi's answer, she knew that the two maids must have committed a big mistake, or else they would not have been let off. "If Miss does not mind, I would naturally be happy to do so. But I'm wondering if the First Lady would agree?" She was willing to teach Yuxi with such dedication back then because she had affection and faith in Yuxi. At that time, she also thought, by teaching Yuxi well, she would become someone she could retreat to. However, Momo Quan never imagined that she would be using this route so soon. It's not hard to drop by at xinshou blogspot com to read this chapter.
Yuxi smiled and said, "As long as Momo agrees, there won't be any problem coming from Mother's side." She had been trying to find a stewardess for the past two years, but she could not find one she was happy with. Now that Momo Quan was willing to fill the position, Mother would surely be more than pleased. Thus, Mother would not object to this idea of hers.
Momo Quan stated earlier, "Though when Miss marries, I will return to my family." This meant that she would only stay with Yuxi for two or three years and would not follow her to the Chen family. It also implied that she would not sell herself as a servant. After a lifetime of being cautious and timid in the palace, Momo Quan did not want to work as a servant or a maid anymore and only wanted to live out the rest of her life in comfort.
Yuxi smiled as she agreed. "That's okay." With two years to spare, Momo Quan was perfectly capable of training a few helpful people for her. As for the stewardess, when Zisu got married, she would come back and take it over.
When the two came to an agreement, the matter was settled. However, Momo Quan wanted to wait until her nephew and wife settled down before entering the residence as a staff member.
Yuxi smilingly said, "Sure thing! Momo, what are your requests for their residence? I'll have someone ask around for you." It would also take time to buy a place to one's liking.
Momo Quan didn't require much, except for a good location. After all, she was from out of town. If there were hoodlums in the area where her family would live, she would not feel comfortable leaving her nephew's family outside. Her nephew and wife were honest and tolerant people. They would only suffer if they came across unreasonable people.
When Yuxi heard Momo Quan's request, she thought for a moment and then said, "The place where Mama Fang lives is perfect in terms of security. If Momo is willing, I will have someone ask Mama Fang to see if anyone wants to sell their home? If there is, you can also visit each other in the future." Having the two families visit each other was only secondary. The important thing was to have Mama Fang look after Momo Quan's family. Then Momo Quan would not have to worry about her nephew's family being bullied by outsiders.
Momo Quan revealed a joyful smile. "If that is the case, then naturally, it will be for the best."
When Mama Fang got the request, not only she inquired about the news herself, but she also made Lian Shan pay attention to the information regarding this matter. In less than three days, Mama Fang went to report her findings to Yuxi.
Mama Fang presented her selections, "Miss, there are two available residences. One is a single courtyard, and the other is a two entrance residence. Both are very nice."
After listening to Mama Fang's detailed description, Yuxi said, "Since Mama thinks the two residences are outstanding, then please take Momo Quan over to see them. It is still up to Momo Quan to decide which one to buy." Momo Quan was the one who was going to buy and live in it. Hence, it was natural for her to make the final decision. [+]
Mama Fang nodded, but she hadn't come here just to talk about the residences. She brought up another issue to Yuxi, "Miss, I have taken a fancy to that girl, Caidie, and I want to match her with Dalang. Does Miss think they're suitable?" Mama Fang didn't worry that Caidie had already been spoken of since a maid who served a young miss would not be engaged until she was fifteen or sixteen. It was just that Dalang was getting older. Mama Fang wanted to settle him down sooner so that she could feel at ease.
Yuxi laughed a little and asked, "Is this Mama's own idea or Lian Shan's?" This question referred to two different ideas.
Mama Fang answered with a smile, "The head of my family has also agreed to this. It's that boy, Dalang, who is the happiest when he knows I have this kind of intention."
Yuxi nodded her head slightly and said, "If Caidie and her mother agree, I have no problem with it." With this intention initially, she had allowed Caidie to go to the Lian family frequently that day.
Mama Fang was smiling when she said, "Okay, I'll ask Caidie's mother." Mama Fang's family had a house, a shop and a piece of land. Therefore, they could be considered as a well-off family. Her husband was a member of the government who was paid a monthly salary. The most important thing was, Dalang was still a good boy. That was why Mama Fang was not worried that Caidie's mother would refuse this match. This marriage could be said as the most suitable match for Caidie.
Yuxi slightly nodded her head. Perhaps because Mama Fang's family was doing well, Mama Fang did not look old at all even though she was approaching forty years old. When Yuxi saw that Mama Fang had been living well, her heart also felt relieved.
That evening, Han Jianye came over, with his page carrying a brocade box in his hands behind him. Han Jianye had bought her gifts from time to time, and Yuxi was used to this situation.
Han Jianye watched as Yuxi took the gift and casually placed it on the table. He narrowed his eyes and smirked. "Yuxi, this gift is not from Er Ge. Someone asked me to give it to you on his behalf." After saying this, he smiled like a mouse.
When Yuxi looked at Han Jianye acting like this, she knew who had sent the item. At that moment, without changing the colour of her face, she let out an 'ah', without any follow up sentence. This reaction could be said to be somewhat cold.
Han Jianye thought that Yuxi would be shy after hearing that the gift was from that person, but it turned out that this girl had no other reaction at all. This was honestly boring. "Don't you want to open it and have a look?"
Yuxi said carelessly, "If Er Ge wants to see it, Er Ge can just open it." During the Dragon Boat Festival, the Chen family had also sent over many valuable gifts. The gifts were just secondary. The main thing was that this action showed how much the Chen family valued Yuxi. Qiu Shi was pleased to receive the gift. However, the only pity was that Chen Ran did not give Yuxi a separate one, making Qiu Shi continuously complain about it. Yuxi didn't expect Chen Ran to give her a particular gift at all, so she wasn't that disappointed.
Han Jianye jokingly scolded, "Heartless girl. I'll go back, and you can take your time to look at it yourself." After saying that, he turned around and went back to his yard.
Yuxi waved her hand as an instruction for Zisu and the others to withdraw. Only when the room was empty did she open the brocade box. Inside it lay a bamboo flute. It was dark in colour, with detailed bamboo lines. The tube was straight and round. The head of the flute was slightly thicker than its tail.
When she took the flute out of the box, it was a bit scratchy in her hand. Thus it could be seen that it had not been properly polished. Yuxi put it to her mouth and blew twice, but the sound it made was much worse than the jade flute she used. She frowned a little. Why would Chen Ran give her a flute with such poor sound quality?
As Yuxi thought of this, she took away the satin covering the brocade box and saw a letter lying below. She put down the bamboo flute and took the letter out. After reading it, a smile appeared on her face. She had wondered for what reason did Chen Ran send her a flute with such poor sound quality. It turned out that he made the flute himself.
Making a flute seemed so easy, but it was actually quite challenging to do. Although the sound quality of this flute was not as good as a jade flute, the intention behind the making of it was rare. Gently touching the bamboo flute, Yuxi's heart warmed. It was the first time in her two lifetimes that she had received such a heartfelt gift. It was also because of this flute that Yuxi looked forward to her future.
Since Chen Ran had sent her a gift with such care and attention, she couldn't just give him nothing in return. Yuxi thought about it for a while. She only had her embroidery skills to offer, so she planned to embroider a fan for Chen Ran. Of course, the fan for Chen Ran must not be the same as Zhou Shiya's. [+]
Ancient Embroidery Frame
Image Credit | 知乎 @神都绣娘 (凡人如何在时尚界出圈？这些神仙元素一个也不能少！)
Image Credit | 知乎 @神都绣娘 (凡人如何在时尚界出圈？这些神仙元素一个也不能少！)
Yuxi didn't forget that Chen Ran was a scholar. All scholars liked plum blossoms, orchids, bamboo and chrysanthemums. She declared, "I'm going to embroider bamboo!" Yuxi chose bamboo because Chen Ran gave her a bamboo flute. She thought Chen Ran must have liked bamboo very much. Embroidering bamboo was definitely better than making anything else.
Zisu was a little puzzled and asked, "Miss, I don't think Miss Shiya likes bamboo. If you embroidered flowers or goldfish, that would be much better."
Only then did Yuxi remember that she had promised Zhou Shiya that she would embroider a fan for her at the beginning of spring. Somehow, she had forgotten about it. Yuxi was a little embarrassed. "Then, I'll embroider the bamboo first, and then the goldfish." However, embroidering two pieces of embroidery could take a lot of time. As Yuxi thought about it, she felt that she should use the skill she had deemed pointless before, which was embroidered with both hands.
Zisu was surprised. "Miss, to whom is that bamboo going to be given?"
Yuxi was a bit embarrassed as she countered, "Why do you ask so many questions? Really, I didn't realise you talked so much before. Why are you still standing there? Hurry up and move the embroidery frame."
It was the first time that Zisu had been criticised for talking too much and felt very depressed because of it.
Momo Quan followed Mother Fang to see the two residences and finally chose the two entrances. She had been thinking far ahead. A one courtyard residence was fine for now, but it would be too crowded when her two grandnephews got married in a few years. Because of this purchase, not only did Momo Quan spend all her savings, she also had to pawn some of her jewellery.
Mama Fang was kind enough to find a job for Momo Quan's nephew and his wife. The monthly salary was not too high, but as it was not too tiring and close to home to take care of their family, Momo Quan instantly agreed.
After helping her family settle down, Momo Quan went to work as a staff at the State Residence.
Noob Translator's Musing
Ah...now Yuxi feels much more like a teenager and she finally knows how it feels to be given a gift by someone who is not a family member with honest intentions. Plus...it's handmade. Isn't that the best? 😏
Tags:
The Rebirth of Han Yuxi