Traveling to ancient times to sweep the catering industry

Cheng Wenwen was frightened yesterday and felt pain all over, so she inevitably slept longer the next day. It was He who woke her up.

"What's the matter? Let me sleep a little longer."

"Miss! Manager Wu is here to see you!"

"Who is it? If she doesn't want to see you, go and entertain her!"

Mrs. He felt a little annoyed when she saw how lazy her young lady was.

"Steward Wu is already waiting for you in the courtyard! Get up quickly. She has been in charge of all matters in the General's Mansion. If you want to take over the household affairs from her, you must get up and meet her, otherwise people will look down on you!"

Cheng Wenwen couldn't stand He's mother's nagging, so she sat up after a breath and said, "Okay, okay, I'll get up, you put down the curtain and tell her that I'm not feeling well, and we can entertain her in the outer hall!"

He followed Cheng Wenwen's example and led Manager Wu into the outer hall.

The full name of Manager Wu is Wu Li, a woman who looks to be in her twenties.

It was really surprising that such a young man could become a steward in the general's mansion, but He found that this steward Wu still had his hair in a bun like an unmarried girl, which inevitably made people think too much.

But Manager Wu was plain, only pretty. Even Pei'er was much prettier than her, not to mention the young lady. So He didn't think about it any further.

When Wu Li walked in, the first thing she saw was the curtain hanging down in the room, and the graceful figure of a woman sleeping behind the curtain. Her eyes couldn't help but dim.

He said, "Manager Wu, if you have anything to say, just tell me directly. My young lady is injured and can't get up."

Wu Li looked up at the girl behind the curtain and said, "The general asked me to tell you that he has military affairs to attend to and cannot leave. When he has finished his business, he will come back and marry you."

Cheng Wenwen responded: "I understand."

Wu Li added, "I'm afraid that Madam may not have enough staff, so I called two maids over, Xiaodie and Xiaolan. If Madam is used to them, let them serve. If not, let them just sweep the yard."

Cheng Wenwen responded again: "Okay!"

Cheng Wenwen may not have noticed anything strange about Wu Li, and even thought that she was very considerate of her.

But when He heard Manager Wu speaking in a loud voice with his eyes raised high, and no kind or friendly expression on his face, she felt uncomfortable.

Her young lady will be the owner of the general's mansion in the future, and the entire general's mansion should be managed by their young lady, but this little steward has such an attitude.

"If Madam knows, I will withdraw."

Without waiting for the person inside to agree, Wu Li turned around and was about to leave.

"Wait!" He Shi couldn't help but have a bad tone. She looked at Wu Li and said directly: "I heard that you, Manager Wu, are in charge of the household affairs in the mansion, right?"

Wu Li frowned and replied, "I've been in charge of it."

He smiled and said, "There is no mistress in the mansion. I have heard of concubines being housekeepers, but I have never heard of a servant being a housekeeper. It is obvious that there is no mistress in this mansion. It is really a mess of rules and disgrace. If the news of a servant being a housekeeper gets out, it will be a joke!"

Wu Li has been in charge of the general's mansion for many years, and no one has ever looked down on her like this. After hearing this, she looked at He fiercely, as if she had gone too far, and replied coldly: "It was the general who put me in charge of the household affairs. Mother He, do you think there is anything wrong with the general's arrangement?"

He was not afraid of her at all, and said, "Don't use the general to pressure me. After all, you are just a servant. You don't know the rules. It's because the general is magnanimous that he doesn't bother with you. But you should know who is the owner of this backyard. Since there is already a mistress in the mansion, you, Wu, don't have to take care of the household expenses. Leave it to the madam today!"

Wu Li frowned, very unhappy, obviously not wanting to hand over the household affairs, so she thought of a way to retreat and advance: "Originally, when the new wife came into the house, I should have handed over the power of household affairs to you, but you haven't married the general yet, and you are new here, so it's inevitable that you are not familiar with the affairs of the mansion. It's better to wait until you marry the general and ask the general before handing it over to you."

"You..." He wanted to argue again.

"Okay, Mother He, let's do as Manager Wu said."

Cheng Wenwen stopped He from talking. After all, she was planning to run away, so she would not spend the general's money to avoid any trouble later.

She didn't want to get involved in the complicated things going on in his backyard.

So she didn't care about Wu Li's attitude. As long as this person didn't offend her in the future, she wouldn't bother with her. She didn't come to the backyard to make friends.

"Miss! But..." He walked in, hesitant to speak, as if she wanted to say something.

Cheng Wenwen looked at Wu Li standing outside and asked her, "Manager Wu, do you know when the general will be back after finishing his work?"

After hearing this, Wu Li thought that this young lady from a noble family in the capital was just like that. Just like the concubines in the general's mansion, as soon as they arrived, they couldn't wait to inquire about the general's itinerary and wanted to get close to him.

Wu Li thought so in her heart, and she was not afraid of Cheng Wenwen, so she answered casually: "I don't know about this. The general is devoted to military affairs. Sometimes he may come back in three to five days; sometimes he may not come back for several months or even half a year. It's hard to say."

Wouldn’t it be great to come back after half a year?

When Cheng Wenwen heard this, she became happy and couldn't help but smile.

Wu Li listened to the gasping sound inside and thought that the young lady was crying because of anger, and she felt that this person was even more frivolous.

"Ma'am, do you have anything else to say?" Wu Li's attitude seemed like she wanted to leave immediately and she had no patience at all.

Cheng Wenwen finally said: "Manager Wu, your general and I haven't married yet, so you don't have to call me Madam, just call me Miss Cheng. Please inform everyone in the mansion."

Wu Li was slightly startled, somewhat surprised by her action. Normally, when a new lady first arrives, she would usually win over others or assert her sovereignty and establish her authority, but why did Miss Cheng do this?

Retreat to advance?

"Yes! Miss Cheng!" Wu Li didn't bother to think about it. In her heart, she wished she would do so.

After Wu Li left, He came in and said anxiously, "Miss, what should we do? If the general doesn't come back for half a year, how long will it take for your marriage to be completed?"

"If it doesn't work, then it doesn't work!" Cheng Wenwen didn't care anyway.

"Miss, you are saying it lightly. How can you survive in the mansion without getting married? Look at the attitude of that little steward. He doesn't take you seriously, not to mention the general's concubines.

I saw yesterday that the general's concubines are more beautiful than each other, and they are not much worse than you, young lady."

Cheng Wenwen is only sixteen years old. Although she is a beauty, she has not fully developed yet. Compared with those charming concubines, she is somewhat inferior. He can't help but worry that her young lady cannot compete with those concubines and cannot capture the general's heart.

When Cheng Wenwen heard that the general's concubines were more beautiful than herself, she felt even happier.

If this happens, she will deliberately make herself look ugly when she sees the general in the future, and perhaps the general will look down on her!

If he didn't like me, he wouldn't come to her room, but go to those concubines. Isn't that wonderful?

He began to ramble on: "Miss, the general's family is complicated. This woman still needs to have a child to consolidate her position. You must get pregnant with the general's child as soon as possible during your wedding and give birth to a legitimate son as soon as possible."

Cheng Wenwen quickly evaded her and said, "Mother He, I know, I know. Please stop talking. I'm a little hungry. Please ask someone to bring me something to eat."

Seeing her young lady being so careless, He felt a little disappointed and said anxiously, "Young lady, you should have taken over the power of household affairs just now!"

"It doesn't matter whether you manage it early or late!"

Cheng Wenwen didn't care. She didn't want to help the general with his household chores at all. She didn't have the energy for that. She also had to make money and plan her escape!

He hurriedly explained the reason: "Miss! We were robbed by bandits this time, and we don't have much money left! If the general doesn't come back for more than half a year, how can we spend money in the mansion? Pei'er and I don't need monthly wages, but there are more than a dozen guards and cooks we brought with us! They have to be paid every month! The money we have left can only last for one month at most!"

He began to explain the reason in a mumbling manner, and Cheng Wenwen finally understood why He was so eager to seize the position of housekeeper.

Because she was robbed by bandits, she became poor!

Her grandmother gave her some private money when she got married. Now it was taken away from her. She felt so sad!

Cheng Wenwen suppressed her heartache and began to think carefully.

Without money, the employees she brought with her as a dowry would not get paid, and without pay they would naturally be unwilling to work.

Therefore, whether for her current survival or her future escape plan, she had to make money quickly.

"I'll go find Wu Li and ask for the power of household finances!" He made up her mind.

Cheng Wenwen stopped her: "No need! We won't spend his money!"

She had thought about relying on a man to support her life before, but she couldn't rely on just any man.

She is happy to rely on a man like Cousin Wang, who is handsome, has good character and is ambitious.

But she doesn't want to rely on old men, ugly men, or philandering men with three wives and four concubines.

If you rely on this kind of man's money to support yourself, you will definitely have to sacrifice something, such as your looks or human rights. Cheng Wenwen doesn't want to sacrifice herself.

How could she, at her prime, serve an old man in this small courtyard?

……

Since her young lady was so indifferent to the affairs in the mansion, He Shi had to pay attention to them, so she took the opportunity to go to the kitchen to gather some information in the mansion first.

"Do you think that when the new lady comes in, will she treat the young masters and young ladies well?"

"Who knows? But at the beginning, they probably won't make trouble for the young master and young lady. Once the new lady has children, it's hard to say!"

There was a new master in the mansion, and the cooks became curious and started talking about him when they were slacking off.

"Shut your mouths and do your job well. How dare you make up stories about your masters? Aren't you afraid of being overheard?"

The manager of the kitchen was a woman named Zhou, who looked to be in her forties, with a round face and a plump figure.

"Mother Zhou, aren't you curious about the new wife?"

"Why are you curious? You will definitely see it in the future."

Although the general's mansion is large, it is managed by Wu Li, who is extremely frugal. There are not many servants in the mansion, and even being lazy is not allowed.

Mother Zhou was eating melon seeds and planning to go for a walk outside.

He heard this as soon as she reached the door, and thought to herself, this is unbelievable, this is unbelievable.

The general not only has many concubines, but he also has a pair of children. So when his daughter gives birth to a child in the future, won't she have to rank behind others?

……