She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 296 - 295: Asking for a Favor

Chapter 296: Chapter 295: Asking for a Favor

Within almost ten or so days, Nanny Liu and Guan He managed to organize the servants and guards sent by Jinrong. Although everyone was not yet very familiar with each other, they were able to carry out their respective duties.

The guards naturally followed Guan He, listening to her arrangements and rotating in shifts to protect the dairy workshop and the cattle farm.

Among the servants who were bought, the Song family of five included Old Lady Song, who was about forty-seven or forty-eight. Though advanced in age, she was still physically fit and was arranged by Nanny Liu to guard the back gate and also attend to miscellaneous chores in the backyard. Old Lady An’s daughter-in-law, Song Ping’s family, served in Ye Xinyan’s rooms, undertaking sewing and laundering work. The granddaughter, a twelve-year-old girl named Jiu Yu, served as a maid to Ye Xinyan, while the grandson Jiu Hua looked after Brother Jia.

Old Lady Song’s son, Song Ping, guarded the outer gate and was on call for various duties.

Two maidens, Jiu Yue and Jiu Mei, attended to Ye Xinyan. Bi Ning and Jiu Yue were the older maids, whereas Jiu Mei and Jiu Yu formed a pair as the younger maids.

Although Ye Xinyan was worried about having so many eyes on her, she knew well that this was the evil way of the feudal society, and unless she didn’t want to live a good life, she had no choice but to accept these arrangements.

Reluctantly accepting her situation wasn’t too difficult; at most, she could no longer get away with doing various sneaky things. Everything else was manageable, especially if she continued to remind herself to consider them as mere sacks of potatoes, which helped reduce her stress considerably.

......

With the household in order and the weather growing colder, Jinrong sent a message—if everything at home was settled, they should start their journey to Yuyuan City, preparing for the construction work to begin at the courtyard next spring.

Although it was only a three-day journey from Qingyuan County to Yuyuan City, Qi Younian still had many concerns.

At the beginning of the year, he, Ye Xinyan, and Nanny Jin returned home, comforted only by the reassurance that his old bones would be laid to rest in his native soil and worries about how Ye Zi would settle down in Clear Water Village. He could never have imagined that in less than a year, he would have acquired such a large estate.

Recalling the two people in Miyi County’s large complex who claimed to be mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, Qi Younian couldn’t help but sigh at how unpredictable life could be. He considered himself blessed by the heavens to have met Ye Zi and her servants, which changed his fate as if he had been given a second chance at life.

Though reluctant to leave, there were things that needed to be done. He had to strive to secure a substantial estate for his granddaughter and grandson, ensuring that even without the support of the Duke’s Mansion, Ye Zi could still enjoy a life of wealth. He wished for his grandson, Little Brother Jia, to have a promising future and a great family business so he could live worry-free.

Fortunately, the house was now secure, with not only their purchased servants who had indentures, but also nearly ten servant women from two wealthy families serving them, in addition to the guards from Guan He and Prince Yu’s Mansion, safeguarding everything inside and out.

After consulting with Cheung Wusi, Qi Younian decided to go to Yuyuan City with Wong Qiao to prepare for the courtyard construction work at Prince Yu’s Other Mansion, while Cheung Wusi stayed at home to look after the Qi family. Despite it being winter, there were still many carpentry jobs to be rushed in the vacant storehouse, necessitating someone’s supervision.

Overseeing these carpentry jobs and having the finished and semi-finished products ready to be transported by spring would significantly expedite the progress of the courtyard construction.

Indeed, they were building the courtyard for Prince Yu’s Other Mansion, and Sixth Master Rong’s identity obviously couldn’t be kept from Cheung Wusi and Wong Qiao, who were responsible for construction. However, since Sixth Master Rong did not make public appearances at the Other Mansion, no one dared to openly associate him with the title of Prince Yu. Even though Qi Younian had informed Cheung Wusi and Wong Qiao of His Highness Prince Yu’s identity, they only kept it to themselves and never dared to reveal that Sixth Master Rong was the emperor’s son to outsiders.

While Qi Younian took care of his family’s and the Construction Industry’s affairs, Ye Xinyan arranged for Nanny Jin and Anshun’s Household to accompany her to Yuyuan City.

The population in Qingyuan County was limited, and so were the wealthy families, leaving little room for expanding a small food shop there. Thus, Ye Xinyan had long planned to open a snack shop in Yuyuan City.

With the opportunity presented by Jinrong’s construction work, Nanny Jin would go along with Qi Younian and Wong Qiao’s party to buy a shop and get it started. With the help of Anshun’s Household, this was much more convenient than making a special trip for this purpose.

As Nanny Jin prepared for her trip to Yuyuan City, she naturally put Qi Ercheng in charge of the small food shop. As Ye Xinyan joked with him, if Nanny Jin managed to open a shop in Yuyuan City, then Qi Ercheng would become the shopkeeper of the Qingyuan County snack shop.

Could he really become a shopkeeper? Qi Ercheng was overjoyed, yet he also had a greater share of worries, relieved only when Nanny Jin, in his presence, arranged for Shopkeeper He from Great Crane House. If there were any issues, they could ask for Shopkeeper He’s help with oversight or even just to send a message home.

Upon further thought, Nanny Jin still felt uneasy about leaving Qi Ercheng in charge of the snack shop in her absence from the county. Although he had some brief experience managing things for a day or half, this time was different. Ercheng would need to make all decisions regarding the snack shop until her return.

After much consideration, Nanny Jin made a trip to the county government office just before leaving. She sent a message through the back entrance, and soon, someone came to escort her to the back hall.

After paying her respects to Lord Jiang, Nanny Jin spoke of her mistress arranging for her and Nanny Qiao from the Duke’s Mansion to open a shop in Yuyuan City.

Then with some apologetic undertones, she requested, "After this servant leaves, the snack shop will temporarily be entrusted to Qi Ercheng. Being young and lacking experience, if the shop encounters any issue, I’m afraid it might trouble Lord Jiang."

While it did not surprise Lord Jiang that the Qi family was planning to open a shop in Yuyuan City, he was quite taken aback that Ye Xinyan did not present the matter herself.

"Does this mean Ye Zi has entrusted the entire management of the snack shop to Nanny Jin?" Lord Jiang asked.