After packing up, Hua Zhi came out of the side room and said, "Go tell my mother and Bolin that I will have lunch in my mother's room at noon."
Liu Xiang bowed and left, and considerately took everyone else in the room away.
There were only three people left in the room, the master and his servant. Hua Zhi looked at the two people who were even thinner than her who was running outside, and couldn't say a word of blame.
Those who are capable should do more work. Over the past year, the several maids around her have been used as if they were several people. They have made contributions and worked hard. Even if Qiu ran away in the end, she would not really blame her for not recovering the more than one thousand taels. Their value is far more than that little bit of silver.
But as a manager, such mistakes should not be made often. One should do what one is supposed to do in that position. If one cannot do it well, one should replace him with someone who can. She would give them a big red envelope and choose a suitable person for them to marry, thus completing the relationship between master and servant.
But she knew the people she had brought up well. After years of subtle influence and a year of being the manager, they now had a superficial understanding of themselves. They were no longer willing to marry and have children like other maids, and then revolve around men and children, and haggle over trivial matters.
"Get up."
Baoxia and Nianqiu looked at each other, then supported each other and stood up.
"I'll only say this once. Remember it, and then tell Baoxia and the others later."
Hua Zhi leaned against the backrest. "I never considered you as stewards. The Hua family doesn't lack stewards. Those who used to work for the masters will be very useful after a good training. I considered you as shopkeepers, and the chief shopkeepers. They are not the mouthpieces of the master. They are not just running errands for the master. The chief shopkeeper is in charge of the entire store. If the business is not good, he has to find ways to improve it. If there is a problem, he has to find ways to solve it. He needs to have ideas and foresight, have his own ideas, and be able to check for deficiencies and make up for them, and adjust the pros and cons."
Hua Zhi looked at the two people who were so low that their heads were almost buried in their chests. "You are not lacking in these things. With what you know and know, you should be able to do better than ordinary shopkeepers. What made you fall so hard?"
Hua Zhi sighed softly, "It's been going too smoothly, you guys are getting complacent."
Nian Qiu was in tears. What the young lady said was right. They were too proud. The young lady's appreciation and the admiration of the servants made them think they were very capable and they were so proud of themselves.
"If you want to help me, you need to be more capable and learn to use your brains more. If such a small achievement can make you lost, I still say the same thing, go get married. I don't need you to serve me today. Go back to your room and think carefully."
The two of them bowed together, lowered their heads and walked away.
Hua Zhi sat quietly for a moment, feeling unhappy. Although they were master and servant, they had grown up together and they loved her wholeheartedly. Their relationship was no worse than that of sisters. Sometimes she really wanted to find a good family for them to marry into, not to punish them. In this era, marrying into a good family was the best destination for women, not the illusory pursuit of self-worth that could not be explained.
But because they were close, she really couldn't bear to let them live like this for the rest of their lives. It was a contradiction no matter how she thought about it.
Baoxia came in with a wooden tray, pretending to be unaware of what had just happened, and said in a crisp voice, "Lan Qiao has been studying with Fudong since we were out, and she is still in the vegetarian restaurant. Fortunately, she inherited Fudong's good habit of simmering soup on the fire. Today's soup is tofu soup with mushrooms, which smells delicious. You can have some first to fill your stomach."
Hua Zhi walked to the table and sat down. "I feel like I can eat a whole jar of food now. You should drink some too."
"I will go to the kitchen to drink later."
It was already late, and after drinking the soup, Hua Zhi went to her mother's yard. Berlin was already there. During the meal, neither mother nor son asked her about the smell of medicine on her body. When Hua Zhi left, she was not sure whether they had discovered anything, so she simply put the matter aside.
She only planned to rest at home for about five days before heading north. She had to deal with the things that needed to be dealt with in these few days. The mushrooms were well taken care of and grew very quickly. The first batch of lychees had already been delivered, and she needed to go to the canning workshop. Oh, and tomorrow was Hua Qin's wedding, so she had to go there since she was back. She had to hurry up with everything, otherwise she might not be able to finish it in five days.
Good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels far and wide. In just the time it takes to eat a meal, the news that Hua Zhi had sent the concubine of the third master of the Hua family to an official position spread throughout the capital. People said all kinds of things about her. Outsiders, on the contrary, were not as ruthless as the Hua family members thought. If she wasn't ruthless, she wouldn't be able to stop it. Most people thought that Hua Zhi was really courageous.
In the villa in the south of the city, Bai Mingxia was talking with Shen Qishou. After going to Yinshan Pass together, the two of them became quite close, and it was like they were friends regardless of age difference. They kept in touch after returning.
Waving off the servant who came to report the news, Bai Mingxia threw the pieces to mess up the game that was already completely at a disadvantage and looked at the stunned Shen Qi, "It's time to make a decision. Since the Shen family agreed to cancel the marriage, there is no possibility for you and her. I have dealt with that girl several times and I can see that even if Hua Pingyu says so, I think she will never enter your Shen family again."
Shen Qi also threw away the piece with a wry smile. He knew it very well, but that was the person who had taken root in his heart many years ago. He was thinking about her and even fantasized about their life after marriage countless times. How could he just let her go
Bai Mingxia shook his head slightly and said no more. Shen Zhui thought of himself as a national player, but in his opinion, he made a bad move. The man of the Hua family was exiled, and Hua Zhi didn't take it seriously at the time, but she was so impatient to cancel the engagement that in the eyes of the Hua family's supporters she was just adding insult to injury, even though it was the Hua family who proposed to cancel the engagement.
Even if they delayed it for another half a year, when Hua Zhi's ability gradually became apparent, would the Shen family still be willing to cancel this marriage? Aristocratic families marry wives for their legitimate sons and grandsons, and they value a woman's qualifications more than family background. The mother's intelligence determines the qualifications of the next generation. There are countless people like Hua Zhi who are eyeing them now.
However, the eldest daughter of the Hua family is unlikely to marry into any family. Judging from her behavior, she has no intention of getting married, and the Hua family really can't do without her now.
Looking at the distracted Shen Qi, Bai Mingxia felt sorry for him. They were already engaged but still went their separate ways. After all, their fate was a little shallow.
After calling the servant in, Bai Mingxia handed him his business card and said, "Send it to the Hua family."
Shen Qi came back to his senses, "Uncle Bai, are you going to the Hua family?"
"The Hua family has a room full of women. Wouldn't it be troublesome for me to visit them? The vegetarian meals are already scheduled for two months later. I don't believe that the young lady won't give me a meal if I meet there. It's perfect. I can kill two birds with one stone."
Shen Qi's eyes lit up, "I'm with my uncle."
Bai Mingxia looked at him with a smile and agreed.
PS: It’s really killing me to update so many chapters, we agreed to have three chapters.