For ten consecutive days, Mei Niang was busy like a snail that could not stop. There were many happy events at the end of the year. Ning Rulan's brother had a son, her cousin got married, the Ning family had a new boy and a daughter married off, and a big banquet was held. Her uncle was celebrating his birthday, and her aunt moved into a new house. There was so much wedding wine at her natal family that she couldn't even eat it all. After being away for several days, all the affairs of the Hou Mansion were taken care of by Mei Niang. Every day, Mei Niang was drowned in the endless reports and replies from the housekeeper. Only then did she realize that there were so many chores in the mansion that it was beyond imagination. If it were normal, she only needed to grasp the main points and leave the branches and leaves to the housekeepers. But now it was the end of the year, and she had just taken over as the housekeeper. In order to let the Hou Mansion have a lively, stable, harmonious and festive New Year, she had to take care of everything personally. It was hard work, but she tried her best to avoid any mistakes.
As the snow melted, the cold penetrated into the bone marrow. The old lady's Jinhua Hall warm room was always as warm as spring, but she still caught a cold accidentally. She had a runny nose for two days, headaches and dizziness, and felt sore and uncomfortable all over her body. The usual pills didn't help, so she asked the imperial physician to boil medicine and make soup every day, which made her angry.
At noon that day, Mei Niang finished her work in Ziyun Hall. The little maid went to Qiuhua Courtyard to find out the news that Heng'er was taking a nap. Cui Xi advised her to go back to Qinghua Courtyard to eat something, but she saw Ruiyu from the old lady's room coming over, bowing to her with a smile and saying:
"The old lady slept for a while and just woke up. Is it okay for Grandma?"
Mei Niang stood up quickly and said with a smile: "I'm just about to go there now!"
Cui Xi opened her mouth to say something, but Mei Niang shook her head. She was not very hungry. If she ran back to have lunch before going back, the old lady would secretly make up stories about her.
These days, she goes to the old lady's room at noon. Ruixue and Ruihong, the maids love her to come the most. Only when she comes, the old lady is willing to eat porridge and drink medicine. Of course, the prerequisite is that Mei Niang takes off her shoes and gets on the bed. She gives the old lady a full body massage from head to toe, controlling the strength to knead her while carefully searching her mind for stories and jokes that the old lady likes to make her happy. The old lady is happy, but Mei Niang is very tired.
Just like in the past, he kept massaging the old lady, pushing and kneading her shoulder bones and cervical vertebrae, loosening her hair, and gently pressing with his fingertips. The old lady lay on the couch, her eyebrows relaxed, her expression peaceful and comfortable, and she said softly:
"Well, I feel much better today. My head doesn't hurt anymore, and my shoulders and neck feel a lot more relaxed. Otherwise, I couldn't even lift my arms and legs..."
Zhuang Yulan and Xu Xiaomin sat aside and watched. Xu Xiaomin said to Mei Niang, "Sister-in-law, teach me. I will rub the old lady. Sister-in-law, take a rest!"
The old lady said, "Never mind, your pinch hurts me."
She slightly opened her eyes and looked at Xu Xiaomin: "As for my chills and pains in my shoulders and legs, they were contracted when your father was born. At that time, your grandfather took me to live in Yuyang City in the north for two years. It is an extremely cold place. I grew up in the south and couldn't stand it. Even though I took good care of myself when your father was born, the wind still got into my body. Since then, my bones have been sore every winter and it's very uncomfortable. You little bastards should have learned from your sister-in-law and massaged my shoulders and legs for me!"
"Grandma, you have worked so hard. We granddaughters will remember your kindness and learn from my eldest sister-in-law. We will also be as devoted as you are!"
The old and the young just sat there and gossiped. Mei Niang knelt on the couch, grabbed one of the old lady's arms and pressed it hard, almost to the point of exhaustion, but the old woman held her breath and refused to say a word.
It was not until it got dark that the grandchildren, who had come by invitation or uninvited, gathered around to watch. The old lady smiled and asked them to help her up. She asked for food to be served. Maids like Ruixue and Ruihong helped her to tie up her hair and put on a forehead protector. Another little maid brought hot water and tea for her to wash her hands, face and rinse her mouth, in preparation for dinner.
At this time, Mei Niang's face was already pale and she looked exhausted. Her stomach was empty, but she had no appetite. A group of people were sitting around the table eating hot food, but she could only stand behind them, adding dishes to the boiling hot pot. When they were cooked, she would serve the dishes and scoop soup for the old ladies, young masters and young ladies. She was filled with grief and indignation in her heart: human rights, equality, compassion... Do these foodies and parasites understand
She had fought for the right to eat with everyone, and no one said anything, and the old lady agreed. But a few days later, Madam Zheng came to scold her: "As the eldest sister-in-law, how can you bring your younger brothers and sisters to the table without following the rules and manners in front of the old lady? Even the concubine's son's wife is sitting at the table with you. This is really unreasonable! If this kind of forgetfulness and lack of etiquette gets out, you, the wife of the first wife, will be ridiculed. As a mother-in-law, I will lose face if I can't teach you well, but Heng'er will be implicated by you!"
Mei Niang said nothing, and she recognized the old lady more in her heart. The old lady's kindness and tolerance were all pretended. She would act like a good person and let you pass, and then find a bad person to stop you and send you back to your original position.
After being scolded by Madam Zheng, Mei Niang stopped being confused and became obedient. She did what she was supposed to do and kept the "rules" and "education" in mind. She still tried to please and get close to the old lady, but she no longer acted naively and happily. This old woman was not fun to watch.
After these people had eaten their fill, the old lady asked her to sit down. As soon as she sat down, her whole body, especially her legs, seemed to be about to fall apart.
Under such circumstances, she naturally couldn't care about others. She saw Hou Ye Xu Junying in the old lady's room every day, and served him food and soup. She no longer had the mind to observe his expression. Even if she sat side by side with Zhuang Yulan, drinking bitter tea or eating sweet fruit, it didn't make her feel uneasy at all. She was too tired, and drank her soup and ate her food silently. She just wanted to finish this dinner as soon as possible. She was impatient to join their boring tea party, so she said goodbye to the old lady, saying that she had to get up early tomorrow to take care of the housework. The old lady waved her hand and let her go, adding: You are tired too, go back and rest!
She had no chance to visit her son during the day, and Mrs. Zheng would not let her see Heng'er at night. She could only pass by the gate of Qiuhua Courtyard, stand for a while, listen for a while, and make sure there was no crying of Heng'er before she hurried back to Qinghua Courtyard and started the thing that excited and interested her the most every day - looking at the account books.
No matter how tired she was, one or two hours before going to bed every night, after taking a bath, she let her hair down, wrapped herself in a silk cotton robe over her pajamas, and completely relaxed, leaning on the warm soft couch to look through the account books. She only looked at the physical objects and the gold and silver account books. The various gold and silver items were just a number on the account, but when she looked at them, they were piles of gold bars and silver ingots. Whether they were gold rolls and silver notes or real goods, they were all locked in the warehouse. They were dead objects. She wanted to make them alive and use them for her own purposes. How to make chickens lay eggs and eggs lay chickens, how to borrow other people's capital to make her own money, she racked her brains and thought about these issues every day. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian. to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.) (To be continued)