After the accounts were tallied and confirmed to be free of errors, the next step was arranging matters for the coming days.
The house stewards and pozi came one after another to the council hall to report, seek instructions, collect tally tokens…
There were many tasks, trivial yet important, involving all aspects. They busied themselves until dinner time before it finally ended.
The next morning, the work would begin again.
“Everyone has worked hard today. Da jiejie, several meimei, let’s stop here for now and continue tomorrow. After dinner, go back to your rooms and rest well. Make sure to conserve your energy. Tomorrow will surely be even busier than today.”
Gu Zhen said with concern: “Er meimei must take care of your health too. You’ve just returned from the palace, and now you’re exhausting yourself managing household affairs. I fear your body won’t hold up under such strain.”
Gu Jiu smiled faintly. “Thank you for your concern, da jiejie. You’re right, I must take better care of myself. Very well, I’ll retire for the night.”
The sisters dispersed.
Walking at the very end, Gu Yue glared at Gu Jiu’s back with hatred, then glanced at the council hall once more. She gave a cold snort and turned away.
Back at Zhilan Yuan, Gu Jiu was so tired she felt she might collapse.
Xiao Cui came to report: “Guniang, this afternoon while you were busy at the council hall, Bai yiniang came by. Nubi asked what her business was, but she wouldn’t say.”
Only then did Gu Jiu recall that she had not seen Bai yiniang for quite some time.
She asked: “Bai yiniang must be due to give birth soon?”
Qing Mei replied: “Judging by the time, it should be at the end of next month. But it might be earlier.”
Xiao Cui added: “Nubi heard the maids say Bai yiniang’s belly is pointed, so this child must be a boy. They also say Bai yiniang’s good fortune has arrived. Once she bears a son, laoye will favour her even more than before.”
Gu Jiu smiled meaningfully. “Taitai truly is magnanimous. She’s sent people to take good care of Bai yiniang, food, clothing, daily use – all of the finest. If Bai yiniang really gives birth to a son, that would be remarkable indeed.”
“Guniang has got it backwards,” said Qing Zhu, the straightforward one.
Gu Jiu only smiled and said nothing.
Qing Mei advised: “About Bai yiniang’s matters, nubi thinks it’s best you don’t get involved. If anything happens, people will surely put the blame on guniang.”
Gu Jiu nodded in agreement. “Exactly. Xiao Cui, next time Bai yiniang comes looking, just turn her away. I don’t wish to see her.”
“Nubi obeys.”
The next morning, Gu Jiu rose early. After finishing household duties, she passed through the side gate and narrow corridor into the hou fu.
The whole place was shrouded in grief.
In just a few short days, Gu Mei had grown thin, with dark circles under her eyes. She likely hadn’t slept well at all.
Seeing Gu Jiu, she grew emotional. “Xiao Jiu, you’ve finally come! With your help, at least I can take a short rest, maybe even sit down for a sip of water.”
“What does Mei jiejie need me to do? Just tell me.”
Gu Mei said hurriedly: “Please, help me oversee the kitchen and the tea rooms. With the family holding a continuous funeral banquet, the kitchen matrons have been slacking, causing a lot of trouble and making us a laughingstock.”
Gu Jiu agreed, then asked with concern: “Has the Jia family made things difficult for Mei jiejie?”
Gu Mei shook her head. “I’m fine. It’s mainly with da ge. The Jia family treats him very rudely, accusing him of failing dasao. He keeps silent and won’t allow us to defend him. It’s so stifling to watch.
“I know he’s grieving her death, but he shouldn’t just let others throw mud at him. He’ll remarry in the future, if his reputation is ruined, what good girl will agree to marry him? The ones who do will surely have ulterior motives.”
Gu Mei sighed deeply.
The female elders of the Gu family were all in the palace mourning and couldn’t return.
The male elders left early and came home late every day, burdened with state affairs. They had no energy to spare for household matters.
So the funeral arrangements for Jia shi all fell upon Gu Mei and the younger generation.
Because of this, the Jia family was dissatisfied, criticizing the hou fu for handling the funeral too shabbily, without enough respect.
Gu Mei vented to Gu Jiu for a bit, but before she could finish, a maid came to summon her away.
Gu Jiu then led Gu Zhen and Gu Shan to help manage the kitchen and tea rooms.
In theory, the hou fu’s kitchen should have been running smoothly, with the kitchen pozi diligently doing their duties.
But what Gu Jiu saw was negligence and laziness. Some matrons were even sitting on the doorstep cracking melon seeds, showing no concern for the banquet food and drinks that were supposed to uphold the hou fu’s dignity.
Gu Jiu frowned. “What is going on here?”
No one answered.
These matrons didn’t feel obliged to give her face.
Finally, the maid Pan Chun, who had been assigned by Gu Mei to assist her, explained: “To report to er guniang, everyone has been busy since the twelfth month, all the way through New Year. They were hoping for a few days’ rest, but then the young madam happened to pass away at this very time.
“Now the fu must host a continuous banquet to receive all the guests paying respects. Everyone has to toil from morning to night, without even a moment to breathe.
“Naturally, they’re resentful. And with the lao furen and the several furen not in fu, things have become like this.”
Gu Jiu gave a cold laugh. “So that’s the reason.”
Gu Zhen and Gu Shan both looked hesitant.
“Er meimei, Mei jiejie has really given us a tough errand. This won’t be easy.”
Gu Shan added: “Er jiejie, perhaps we should ask Mei jiejie first. See what she wants.”
Gu Jiu turned to Pan Chun. “So, the kitchen and tea rooms, am I in full charge here?”
Pan Chun replied: “Furen entrusted this task to my guniang, and my guniang passed it on to Xiao Jiu guniang. By rights, all matters great and small in the kitchen should be under Xiao Jiu guniang’s command.”
Gu Jiu nodded slightly. “Good. Bring me the kitchen’s account book. I don’t need other months, just this month’s balance, how much silver is left.”
Pan Chun immediately took out the tally token and sent a little maid to the accounting office for the book.
The account book was brought over, and Qing Mei and the others carried in stools and chairs.
In front of the kitchen matrons, Gu Jiu picked up an abacus and began to calculate.
The crisp sound of the beads striking echoed in the courtyard, pressing on the pozi like a drumbeat. They looked at each other, puzzled, not understanding what exactly the er guniang of the Gu family was trying to do.
Of course, her speed and elegance with the abacus shocked the hou fu servants. But still, they remained unmoved.
Even after she finished calculating, and it turned out there was quite a sum left, more than enough, the pozi refused to acknowledge her authority.
Gu Jiu swept her gaze across their faces. “The hou fu is preparing a funeral banquet for the eldest young mistress. The kitchen must arrange a running feast. Yet you all shirk your duties, won’t even lift a finger for reward money, and cause the masters of the house to lose face before guests.
“I don’t expect my words to change your minds, but I will still ask, can you not, at least this once, do your jobs properly?”
Silence. No one responded.
Gu Jiu sneered coldly. “Very well. I understand your attitude. Clearly, you intend to slack off indefinitely.
“Pan Chun, take the tally token and withdraw one hundred taels of silver.
“Qing Mei, you and Pan Chun take the money to find Gu si ge, Gu Yu. Ask him to step forward and hire cooks and helpers from outside for the funeral feast. Tell them the pay is negotiable.
“And send the buyers out immediately to purchase fresh meat and vegetables. If even the buyers refuse to work, tell them outright they can stop taking wages altogether. Useless parasites, paid for nothing.”
“You, what right do you have to replace us with outsiders?”
“Who do you think you are?”
“This is the hou fu, not the Gu fu. Xiao Jiu guniang, at least consider your place!”
The kitchen pozi erupted, shouting accusations at her.
Gu Jiu smirked disdainfully. “Wang Yi.”
“Nubi is here.”
Gu Jiu gave the order bluntly. “Drive out every one of these idle hands. If anyone resists, beat them. Don’t give them face. If they want to complain, let them. Benguniang won’t stop them.”
Wang Yi rolled up her sleeves and charged forward, fists flying.
The kitchen yard instantly became a chaos of weeping and cursing.
Qing Mei pulled Pan Chun away to the accounting office for the silver, then went to the front courtyard to find Gu Yu, asking him to personally hire cooks and helpers.
Gu Yu agreed readily. “That’s easy. Plenty of people near my place make a living preparing banquets for wealthy households. Wait here, I’ll fetch them myself. Within an hour, I’ll have a team here.”
“Thank you, Gu Yu shaoye. You’ve solved my guniang’s trouble,” Qing Mei said gratefully.
Gu Yu smiled. “It’s nothing. What surprises me is Gu Jiu meimei actually thought of hiring outsiders for the feast. That’s a clever idea. Outsiders work for the pay they earn, far more reliable than these kitchen pozi.”
Borrowing the hou fu horses, Gu Yu left to bring people back.
Qing Mei returned to report.
Gu Zhen and Gu Shan had watched the kitchen pozi thrown out of the courtyard with their own eyes, and both were uneasy.
“Er jiejie, is this really all right? This is the hou fu. If tang bomu blames us, what will we do?”
Gu Jiu remained calm. “Si meimei doesn’t need to worry. If tang bomu pursues the matter, the responsibility is mine alone. It won’t touch you.”
Gu Shan looked awkward and quickly explained, “Er jiejie misunderstand. That’s not what I meant. I only wondered, since this isn’t our own fu, shouldn’t we leave the hou fu’s servants some dignity?”
Gu Jiu laughed coldly. “Dignity? Did they give us dignity? Did they give our late tangsao dignity?
“She’s gone, and the funeral coincides with the national mourning. Because they have to work harder for a few days, the servants sulk as though someone owed them hundreds of taels.
“I won’t cater to their moods, nor should they cater to mine. All the better. We’ll hire outside cooks, work a day, and get paid a day. Straightforward. Saves us the trouble.”
“But… is that really good?” Gu Shan asked anxiously.
She had never heard of a hou fu hiring outside cooks for a funeral feast. That would be shameful, like announcing to the world that the family was too poor to keep enough staff, forced to hire outsiders for banquets.
It would look disgraceful.
But Gu Jiu didn’t see it that way.
She was pragmatic. Face? What face? They had already lost face before their guests. There was no face left to preserve.
At that moment, there was no time to worry about saving face. The most urgent matter was to get the banquet dishes prepared and on the tables so the guests wouldn’t complain.
What dignity for the servants, what reputation for the hou fu, what “it’s improper for an outsider to interfere too much”, all of it was rubbish.
Clinging to such scruples was nothing but a waste of time. With only two hours left before noon, if there was no food and wine on the tables, that would be the true humiliation.
Gu Zhen didn’t mind at all. In fact, she rather admired how decisively Gu Jiu handled things, and thought she should learn from her.
Gu Shan hesitated for a while, but seeing she couldn’t persuade Gu Jiu, sighed and gave up.
At last, Pan Chun found a spare moment to rush over to Gu Mei and report breathlessly:
“Guniang, it’s bad! Xiao Jiu guniang used her tally, drew out a hundred taels from the accounting room, and asked Gu Yu shaoye to hire chefs and helpers from outside. She even, she even drove out the entire kitchen staff, all the cooks and helpers.
“She said if they refused to work properly, they could all get out. The cooks cursed loudly and swore they’d lodge complaints. Guniang, what should we do now?”
At this, both Gu Qi and Gu Ying frowned.
“Why didn’t Xiao Jiu meimei inform us first? Hiring chefs and helpers from outside, can that really be proper? If the kitchen pozi come storming in, it’ll be troublesome.”
Gu Mei’s expression was cool as she said, “What’s improper about it? I’ve long disliked those old hags in the kitchen and wanted to teach them a lesson.
“Each one leans on her years in the fu, acting as if we don’t matter at all. Have they ever truly listened to a single word we’ve said?
“Xiao Jiu meimei’s method may be a bit harsh, but I find it excellent. They deserve a good thrashing like this.
“It’s only my own stupidity that I didn’t think of hiring outside chefs sooner. Otherwise, I would’ve handled it yesterday, and Xiao Jiu meimei wouldn’t have had to rush today.”
Gu Qi said, “Since da jiejie thinks it’s fine, then we’ll follow Xiao Jiu’s plan. When Grandmother and the others return, we’ll personally explain to her. If she wants to assign blame, let her blame us. She mustn’t take it out on Xiao Jiu.”
Gu Mei nodded. “Exactly so.”
Gu Ying added, “Xiao Jiu’s method has given me an idea. When the elders aren’t in the fu, the servants all slack off and act like we don’t exist.
“Better to have the maids spread the word through the whole fu: if anyone dares slack off again, they’ll share the kitchen’s fate and be thrown out.
“I’d rather spend money to borrow people from our neighboring Gu fu than endure such insolence. Let’s see how those servants can still show their faces then.”
Gu Mei nodded again. “A good plan. The servants of the fu do need a beating down. Once this busy spell is past, I’ll speak with Grandmother and Mother, we ought to dismiss a batch of them. Otherwise these slaves grow arrogant, strutting about as if they’re grander than the hou fu’s own daughters.”
Gu Jiu, of course, had no idea that her actions had already earned her a mountain of resentment.
Very soon, a storm of purges against the household staff would sweep through the hou fu.
Gu Yu worked efficiently. In less than an hour he had hired five chefs and more than a dozen helpers, and also brought back fresh meat and vegetables.
The chefs divided the tasks: one focused on hot dishes, another on cold, another on steamed…
Because time was tight and the first wave of guests was about to sit, they could only start with the simpler dishes that could be quickly made and brought out.
As for the elaborate, time-consuming ones, they’d have to wait until evening, or even the next day.
Gu Jiu set Gu Zhen to oversee the kitchen and left Qing Zhu there to record expenses.
She herself went with Gu Shan to inspect the tea room.
The tea-serving maids were far more conscientious than the kitchen staff.
At the sight of Gu Jiu, they bent their heads and busied themselves even more diligently, swift and attentive. Guests’ cups were always full, always warm.
Not once did a guest’s tea sit empty without being refilled, nor did anyone’s tea go cold without being changed.
The maids’ service was attentive and thoughtful, fully upholding the hou fu’s face.
Gu Jiu nodded quietly to herself. As she suspected, the fu’s servants had clearly been well-trained. How could all of them be lazy just because the masters were away?
What she didn’t know was that the tea maids were so diligent largely because of her earlier show of authority in the kitchen.
By now, word had spread across the estate: how Gu Jiu had stormed through the kitchen, scolding and disciplining dozens of people; how the kitchen staff had been shamed and humiliated.
Some even claimed Gu Jiu had the strength of a thousand catties, that when one cook dared raise her voice, Gu Jiu had swung her arm and thrown the woman right over the courtyard wall.
Fortunately, that rumour hadn’t reached Gu Jiu’s ears.
If she ever heard anyone saying she was some sort of strongman, she’d hunt that person down and torment them a hundred times over.
After all, benguniang was clearly a delicate beauty. How dare they slander her as a muscled brute!
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