Chapter 40: Old Madam Will Be Disappointed Later

"Huh," Sixth Lady Gu’s face turned even more unpleasant as she heavily placed the bead string in her hand down. Her daughter stood by her side, pouting, and said, "Mother, what you made isn’t as pretty as what Younger Sister made."

The younger sister she was talking about was born to Aunt Huang.

Aunt Huang was from Suzhou and Hangzhou, clever and skillful, often making small trinkets to cheer the children.

This remark was like fuel to the fire, making Sixth Lady Gu even more annoyed, and she scolded sharply, "If you’re dissatisfied with what your mother made, go find someone who can do it."

Her daughter’s lips trembled slightly, on the verge of crying.

Sixth Master Gu opened his eyes unhappily, annoyed, "I can’t have a moment’s peace all day."

He beckoned his daughter over to him, "Don’t provoke your mother; she’s eaten a firecracker."

Mrs. Cai, listening from outside, understood why Sixth Lady Gu was in a bad mood, but could only brace herself to wait.

One needed a note to take things from the storeroom.

The Old Madam was in high spirits, prioritizing everything for Wutong Garden, so she naturally hurried to get things done.

After waiting for a long time, finally, a maid came out to let her in.

Sixth Lady Gu looked displeased but didn’t refuse, lazily scribbled a note, and went into the inner chamber.

Mrs. Cai took the note to get things, but couldn’t.

The storeroom said that the format on the note was incorrect; the house style had just changed, and perhaps Sixth Lady Gu had forgotten, so she should go back and redo it.

Mrs. Cai ran back and forth under the hot sun, accumulating quite a bit of irritation, but could only bear it.

Sixth Lady Gu was busy with something again and couldn’t spare the time to deal with her.

Mrs. Cai was so anxious that tears welled up in her eyes.

Truly, when immortals fight, little devils suffer.

After a long time, Sixth Lady Gu finally let her in, with a sullen face, coldly huffed, "Mrs. Cai, you rush about repairing the small kitchen quickly, but when I asked you to redo the screen wall, you’ve been delaying."

Mrs. Cai’s heart skipped a beat, she said, "Sixth Madam, it’s not that this old servant doesn’t do her work, but the redoing of the screen wall involves moving the foundational stones underneath, and the purchasing silver given by the house isn’t sufficient, so the work can’t start. This matter has already been reported to Sixth Madam by this old servant. For the small kitchen, the required items can directly be supplied by the house, so naturally, it’s quicker."

"Alright, alright, you people are so ineffective in action but talk endlessly, you’ll do anything to flatter others."

Sixth Lady Gu casually wrote out another note and tossed it in her direction, not waiting for Mrs. Cai to catch it before it drifted to the ground.

Mrs. Cai held back her temper, picked up the note from the ground, and checked it carefully, saying, "Sixth Madam, the quantity of bricks and tiles is listed a bit low, it might not be enough."

Sixth Lady Gu’s face was gloomy, and she snorted, "Do you think I’m unaware? Isn’t it always this amount typically?"

Mrs. Cai said, "Wutong Garden has never been involved in fire before; creating a small kitchen means not only partitioning separately but also building chimneys and flues."

Sixth Lady Gu impatiently said, "You take what’s needed, come back if it’s not enough."

Mrs. Cai didn’t move, "Why doesn’t Sixth Madam let this old servant take it first, if there’s any left, return it to the house later? Such a small amount of bricks and tiles, I wouldn’t stoop to embezzle."

Sixth Lady Gu was about to explode.

The old maid walked over, coughed once, and said, "It’s not that Sixth Lady is afraid you’ll embezzle, just worried that taking more would waste it. Mrs. Cai is a long-standing member of the house, she knows the limits. Wouldn’t Sixth Lady know that?"

Then she gave Sixth Lady Gu a meaningful look, "Sixth Lady, the materials required for building a new small kitchen and refurbishing a small kitchen are different, Mrs. Cai hasn’t overestimated."

"Oh, oh," Sixth Lady Gu, following the old maid’s suggestion, wrote another note. Mrs. Cai thanked her several times and left.

"Why is this?"

Sixth Lady Gu asked, puzzled.

The old maid said, "Sixth Master said her man is favored by the Marquis outside; it’s not worthwhile to offend her over such trifles. This old servant thinks you’ve vented enough anger; if you provoke her into making a scene, it won’t look good."

The household servants were all born within the family, their ancestors followed the Old Marquis through life and death, quite dignified, and if a commotion arose, her reputation wouldn’t look good either.

Sixth Lady Gu thought for a moment, then asked, "Where’s Sixth Master?"

"He went to Wutong Garden to find the Marquis," the old maid replied, "Sixth Master said he went to discuss a trade with the Marquis and Third Madam."

"Huh," Sixth Lady Gu sneered, rolling her eyes, "What trade could he possibly make? He spends his days versifying with those scholars, or organizing lake outings with prostitutes."

The old maid laughed, "He mentioned it’s about pepper. Isn’t it that Third Madam wants to use silver to stock up on pepper, and Sixth Master recalled hearing someone mention there’s a batch on hand, intending to find a buyer."

Sixth Master Gu was looking for an excuse to sell it to the Marquis.

Sixth Lady Gu couldn’t help but laugh, "Manager Leng has already said that deal couldn’t be made, yet both the Old Madam and the Marquis indulge in it. I bet this money will be wasted."

The personal maid said, "Third Madam may know how to curry favor, but if this time it results in a loss, the Old Madam will be even less inclined to let her manage household affairs."

Sixth Lady Gu’s face immediately brightened considerably, saying, "When Sixth Master returns, warm a pot of wine for him, so I can have a good conversation with him."

Wutong Garden.

Qin Yuan returned from the main house, then went to take a nap.

Gu Jinghui, on the other hand, called Gu Shiliu over to apply medicine, asking questions in the process.

"Is the madam being troubled by those shopkeepers?"

Gu Shiliu looked sympathetically at the Marquis’s injuries on his bottom, applying medicine as he spoke, "Master hasn’t fully recovered yet and sat for so long, now it’ll take several more days to heal."

"No problem," Gu Jinghui didn’t mind, asking again, "You followed Madam today, how do you find those shopkeepers?"

Gu Shiliu said, "They’re all old shopkeepers who assess people before serving them, but Madam has great skills, keeping them in line neatly, didn’t need me to help at all."

"Tell me, how did she manage that?" Gu Jinghui grew interested.

His little wife, placating his mother to the extent of putting her son after, yet able to handle a group of slick old shopkeepers, earning Gu Shiliu’s praise for her skills, she truly is impressive.

He was very curious.

But Gu Shiliu hadn’t seen it himself, couldn’t concoct a story.

Gu Shiliu moved his eyes around, said, "I was sent by Madam to buy pastries for the Marquis, judging from Madam’s tone, it seemed she knew Meixiang House had long lines and worried about not getting the Furong Cake, so she sent me there."

"When I returned, those shopkeepers were already subdued by Madam, showing great respect, it was clear they weren’t faking."

Gu Jinghui indeed did not blame him, happily said, "Madam specifically sent you to buy Furong Cake for me, even worried you wouldn’t get it?"

Gu Shiliu nodded vigorously, with a serious expression, "Yes, Madam said early on that the Marquis likes eating Furong Cake from Meixiang House, and when we arrived, after looking through the accounts, Madam sent me to buy pastries, saying other things could be bought casually, but Furong Cake and the Old Madam’s favored pastries couldn’t be lacking. When I returned, Madam even thought Meixiang House would have a long queue."

Gu Jinghui laughed, "Madam still cares about me."