On that day, Li Yaonan sent someone to urge the manager to bring the human traffickers the next day. He couldn't even sleep well if the servants in the yard were not replaced every day.
The next morning, just after Li Yaonan had breakfast, someone came in and reported that Wang Xiaohu wanted to see him.
Li Yaonan was stunned. Who is Wang Xiaohu? After thinking for a while, he said, "Send it in."
"Greetings to the Second Young Master." Wang Xiaohu kowtowed as he entered the door.
Li Yaonan was delighted as he recognized that this man was the servant he had casually assigned yesterday.
"Stand up!" Li Yaonan replied calmly. He felt that he was corrupt. He thought it was natural for the ancients to kneel down at every turn.
"Second, Second Young Master." Wang Xiaohu stood there stiffly, rubbing his clothes with his hands, and looked uneasy.
Li Yaonan frowned: "Speak properly, what are you talking about, are you stuttering?"
"I... I..." Wang Xiaohu took a breath, then straightened his chest and raised his head, and answered in a very loud voice: "Second Young Master, I am not a stutterer."
Li Yaonan burst out laughing, thinking that this person was quite cheerful, and nodded, "That's right, what brings you here?"
Wang Xiaohu seemed to be much more relaxed now after his first exchange of words. He said hurriedly, "I have informed the steward yesterday that the small kitchen will be built soon."
"You came here for this." Li Yaonan asked casually, squinting his eyes, finding a comfortable position, and leaning lazily on the back of the chair.
Wang Xiaohu looked embarrassed. Didn't he have to come back to report to his master after finishing his work? He had just entered the mansion not long ago and didn't know much about the rules.
Seeing his honest appearance, Li Yaonan was moved: "Are you a child born in the mansion?"
"Yes." Wang Xiaohu looked at the second young master uneasily, and quickly lowered his head. He felt that the second young master was so majestic at this moment.
Li Yaonan looked him up and down until Wang Xiaohu's head almost hung down to his neck, then he laughed: "Who else is there in your family? Why were you assigned to do odd jobs?"
"My father works on the farm, and my mother took great pains to send me to the mansion. I am useless and cannot please the master. I have two younger brothers and a younger sister."
Li Yaonan thought for a moment and quickly made a decision: "Okay, go tell the steward later and come to serve me from now on. But you must remember that I like obedient servants. If you dare to betray the master, you'd better be careful."
Wang Xiaohu was so dizzy that he didn't react for a long time. He just felt like a pie fell from the sky and hit him on the head. He knelt on the ground in a hurry, and was so excited that he spoke incoherently: "Second, Second Master, don't worry, I will serve you well and obey your orders."
Li Yaonan smiled. He didn't need a very smart servant, but he had to be obedient. Wang Xiaohu just met this requirement, but it was a bit difficult to deal with the fact that he was a house-born child. He always liked to take precautions. Since he was his, he should not have anything to do with the mansion.
"Bring your family members to me in a few days. If they are needed, I will assign them tasks." It happened that Zhang's property was also taken back at that time. He only needed to ask Ma Yulian for the indenture, and the family would be completely in his hands.
“Thank you, Second Young Master.” Wang Xiaohu didn’t expect there would be an even bigger surprise. He kowtowed again to express his gratitude. He felt as if he was in a cloud of mist. He vowed, “I will never betray my master. Otherwise, I will be struck by lightning and I will never be able to marry in this life.
Li Yaonan smiled and didn't take it to heart. There was no betrayal, it was just that he didn't have enough bargaining chips. He had no one to use now, so he had to resort to this last resort. He would have to wait and see what this family was like.
At this time, Cui Liu came in with red eyes. She had been like this since yesterday. She looked at Li Yaonan with resentment and tears in her eyes: "Second Master, Manager Liu has brought the human traffickers here and asked you to go over and pick someone."
Li Yaonan was too lazy to talk to her. He just felt very uncomfortable. He turned to Wang Xiaohu and said, "That's great. You can come with us and get a clear path with the steward."
"Hey—" Wang Xiaohu was very arrogant and immediately regarded himself as the second young master's servant. He stood behind Li Yaonan like a lackey.
The stewards lived in the outer courtyard. When Li Yaonan arrived, the human trafficker was waiting in the room with a dozen girls.
Li Yaonan felt dazzled when he entered the room. There were no half-naked little girls as he had imagined. Every girl was pretty and pretty. None of them were pale and skinny, nor were they skin and bones.
He immediately understood what Ma Yulian was planning.
Li Yaonan sat on the chair with a sullen face, staring coldly at the group of people in front of him. He still underestimated the ancients.
Manager Liu smiled and said, "Second Young Master, these are the best maids in Wang Po's hands. I heard that you wanted to replace them, so I brought them all here today. What do you think?"
Li Yaonan had a blank expression on his face. He quickly adjusted his mood and glanced at them calmly: "Tell me what you know? Where did you work before?"
The thirteen maids answered one by one. Among them, there were servants who were driven out by the rich families, and the families of officials who had been convicted.
In this era, almost no one dared to keep the maids who were driven out, not to mention that they were all beautiful. Those who didn't know would guess what mistakes they had made. As long as the mistress was in charge, she would not want such girls to be slaves. As for the families of criminal officials, forget it, who would use these delicate young ladies who only knew how to be sad and miss the past all day long? Of course, except for some masters and young masters who wanted to take concubines, Ma Yulian really had good intentions.
Li Yaonan was in deep pain at the moment, because he was the one who proposed the conditions for choosing the girl, and the human traffickers had also brought people here. If he was still not satisfied, it would mean that he was asking for too much.
However, as the saying goes, "Misfortune may turn out to be a blessing in disguise." I originally thought that it would take some time to select a few maids before they could start working. Now it's just right. No training is needed. I can just take them home and use them right away.
Pretty maids are pleasing to the eye, and everyone likes them. Li Yaonan is not a boudoir lady, so he doesn't have so many scruples when choosing a girl. Since Ma Yulian wants him to be lustful, why not fulfill her wish
Li Yaonan narrowed his eyes slightly, looked at them carefully, and immediately selected six girls who looked capable and sharp. As for those with wandering eyes and delicate and weak looks, he was sorry, because he really didn't like white lotus.
"Second Young Master has good taste." Manager Liu winked and smiled meaningfully.
"Give me the deed of sale," Li Yaonan said calmly, then pointed at Wang Xiaohu and said, "I need another servant by my side."
Manager Liu said, "Okay. I'll go inform Madam and register them. But if the indenture is not in the public office, it cannot be used in the public office."
Li Yaonan was well prepared and said with a smile: "No problem! Deduct it from my monthly profit." Anyway, his monthly profit never fell into his hands, so instead of letting Nanny Li take advantage of it, it would be better to give it to these maids.
Steward Liu had nothing to refute. Although what Li Yaonan said was against the rules, it was not impossible to make changes. After all, they were all from Luoqiu Pavilion. If Nanny Li had any dissatisfaction, she would only target the Second Young Master. So let them make a fuss, Steward Liu thought so in his mind and agreed.
Li Yaonan sneered inwardly, snatching food from Li Ma's mouth. If these girls were smart, they would never stick together with Li Ma. This was exactly the effect he wanted.
After returning to Luoqiu Pavilion, Li Yaonan did not give them a lecture first, but just asked them to wait in the yard.
The girls were a little uneasy, but after all, they came from wealthy families, so they all watched carefully. No matter what they thought in their hearts, they did not show it on their faces. They stood gracefully in the yard, waiting quietly.
Li Yaonan was satisfied with this. He liked people who knew the rules. As long as they didn't commit suicide and didn't have any messy thoughts, he wouldn't treat them unfairly.
Turning around, Li Yaonan directly gave Luoxia, Cuiliu and others a long holiday, asking them to go back and concentrate on preparing for their wedding, regardless of whether they cried or made a fuss.
Of the maids in the original courtyard, he only kept three honest ones, and the rest were all married off!
The new girl was scared, and Li Yaonan's show of force was very successful.
After sending away the idlers in the yard, Wang Xiaohu brought a chair for him. Li Yaonan sat with his arms and legs spread out. Although he looked very casual, he made them feel he was very imposing.
"I don't like girls who climb into my bed. I'm telling you this in advance, so that if anyone breaks the taboo in the future, don't blame me for being merciless."
The maids blushed, they didn't expect the second young master to say this right away, it was so embarrassing.
Some were disappointed, some were glad, the maids had mixed feelings, but Li Yaonan could not control them, and continued to lecture them: "My master does not like maids who betray their masters, you all remember this, as long as you serve me well, I will let you go out to marry when you are twenty years old. You can be good citizens or stay in the mansion, and I will promise you a dowry each."
A maid suddenly came up with an idea and said, "Thank you, Master. I will serve you wholeheartedly."
Li Yaonan was in a good mood and liked her calling him master. He smiled at the girl and said, "Your name is Xuezhan, right? What a nice name."
Xuezhan smiled generously: "This was given by my former master. I have never seen a family since I was a child. Now that I have come to the Li Mansion, I hope the master will give me a name."
"There's no need to give me a name. Xuezhan sounds nice. From now on, you will be the head maid in my room. I like smart people, but I don't like smart people. You have to remember this."
Li Yaonan was chatting and laughing freely. He didn't say anything threatening, but Xuezhan's heart tightened. The smugness just now was instantly swept away, and she became more cautious: "Yes, I will obey your command."
Li Yaonan nodded with satisfaction, and suddenly felt that Ma Yulian had actually done a good thing.
After scolding for a while, Li Yaonan pointed to a quieter maid to assist Xuezhan, and then told them to go back to their jobs.
That afternoon, after settling down, under the command of Xuezhan, Luoqiu Pavilion was put into good order.
When Nanny Li came back from Jinglan Courtyard, everything was settled. She didn't expect the Second Young Master to be so cruel. She had replaced more than half of the people in Luoqiu Pavilion. She regretted it so much that her intestines turned green. Her face turned red and white. She should not have taken advantage of those little advantages. If she had been there just now, she would not have let the Second Young Master send all the people away and only leave those three useless ones.
Originally, she wanted to exchange some good things from Jinglan Courtyard before the Second Young Master moved in, but the Second Young Master raided her home. Although she was still a first-class nanny, she didn't even have an obedient person around her. It was like being sidelined.
That night, Nanny Li went to see the lady.
Ma Yulian didn't care. She had already known from Steward Liu that Li Yaonan had picked six beauties. She was so happy that she couldn't wait to stop it. She knew that Nanny Li was unwilling, but so what? Ma Yulian and Steward Liu had the same idea. The more noisy Nanny Li was, the more she liked it. She wanted Luoqiu Pavilion to be in chaos!
Nanny Li returned in defeat and her face was unhappy for several days in a row. She did cause trouble for Xuezhan and others, but those maids were all shrewd and more slippery than loaches.
Li Yaonan found it funny and felt more and more that he had made the right choice among these girls.
As for Nanny Li, Li Yaonan chose to ignore the policy and just treated her as an idle person in the yard.
Within two days, the small kitchen of Jinglanyuan was built, and Zhang's dowry was returned three days later, just as Ma Yulian said.
Li Yaonan chose a sunny day and moved into Jinglan Courtyard. After everything was settled, there were only three days left until the wedding date.