Early in the morning, in the open space in the front yard of Zheng's house, the servants were all standing neatly, with men on the left and women on the right divided into two teams.
There is a yellow cypress armchair placed on the steps of the corridor for the eldest grandma Xu Chunjun to sit on.
It was already half September, and the autumn wind was blowing. It was indeed a bit cold. Some of the servants were wearing thin clothes and were shivering in the wind.
Xu Chunjun is wearing a thin cotton light purple dress, with a white camellia embroidered on the skirt. It is elegant and beautiful, and it is her own needlework.
The chief butler Zheng Long is in his fifties, of medium height, slightly fat, and has a friendly look on his face.
His original surname was not Zheng, but his uncle allowed him to take his master's surname. Many families would give surnames to capable servants, which was considered an honor for the servants.
Ziling and Lvchun helped Xu Chunjun sit on the chair, and Zheng Long stepped forward, stood at the foot of the steps, and lowered his head to ask for Xu Chunjun's instructions: "Good morning, grandma, all the servants in the house are here. Please give me your instructions."
"
This is Xu Chunjun's first day as head of the family. According to the rules, he should lecture his servants.
There are not many decent servants in the Zheng family. Except for the few who were bought by Mrs. Cheng Yihou before Xu Chunjun's wedding, most of the others are old, weak, sick and disabled.
This is not surprising. The Zheng family is in such a bad situation, so the money given to the servants is naturally not much.
"There's nothing to say. It's very cold. Let's all disperse." Xu Chunjun said in a friendly manner, without the slightest intention of lecturing.
"Grandma, this is a rule, please say a few words." Zheng Long bowed slightly, with a very respectful attitude, "so that we can know what to do in the future."
Although the Zheng family is in ruins, the butler Zheng Long always behaves according to the rules.
Including today's lecture, it was arranged by him. Xu Chunjun had no intention of doing so.
"There's really nothing to say. Just do whatever my wife does when she's in charge of the house. I'm new to the house, and I'm young, so everyone just doesn't find fault with me." Zheng Long is humble and respectful, Xu Chunjun is even better than him.
Humble.
The people standing below were a little surprised. They thought that this grandma would have to tell her a few rules. Who would have expected that she would just follow the rules.
Zheng Long didn't know what to say for a moment, so he could only lower his hands and laugh.
Since Xu Chunjun had already said what he said, he couldn't force it again and again.
The butler didn't speak, and it was difficult for others to speak. The situation was a bit awkward for a while.
Xu Chunjun then stood up and said to everyone: "Everyone, go ahead and do whatever you have to do! Just as you did it in the past, you will do it again in the future. Even though I am now the leader, there is no need to come up with any new tricks. I still want to go.
Watching the old lady take medicine, you all should leave!"
The meaning behind the words is very clear, there are no new rules, everything should be done according to the old rules.
After Xu Chunjun finished speaking, he took his maid and left without saying another word.
Everyone was staring at her back as she disappeared, and then the pot exploded with a bang.
Some said: "They say there are three things to do when a new official takes office, but they haven't lit them at all."
Everyone guessed based on common sense that even if Xu Chunchun had a good temper, he would still have to show some sense of being a master. Who would have thought that this would be the case.
It's like a person trying his best to move something, but the thing is so light that it dazzles him.
"Isn't it better if you don't light it? Do you have to burn your goatee?" Someone immediately retorted.
Most of the servants don't want any new rules, they just mess around here.
How the Zheng family lives is related to them, but it is not fatal.
If they move to another house, they will still be servants, no big deal.
"Alas, this family's strength has been exhausted." Someone shook his head helplessly, "There is no hope."
There are also some servants who hope that the Zheng family will live well and have placed high expectations on Xu Chunjun. Seeing that she is so uncaring, they can't help but feel a little disappointed.
"I originally planned to work here for another year and then go back to the countryside," someone said, obviously having second thoughts. "That two ounces of money a month is not enough to support my family."
Some servants are already thinking of finding a way out, some want to go back to farming, and some want to change their families.
"Who said that this grandma looks very shrewd, but she just gave birth to a good fetus in vain, but in fact she is just another Bodhisattva." Someone laughed at Xu Chunjun.
Many times the relationship between servants and masters is very delicate. If you are too strict, they will be afraid of you and hate you.
But if you are too good-natured, they will laugh at you and bully you.
What's more, none of the masters in the Zheng family have been useful for so many years, which inevitably makes the subordinates feel contemptuous.
They originally called Mrs. Fang in private, Mrs. Bodhisattva, because she only knew how to eat fast and chant Buddha's name all day long, and she was kind-hearted and gentle, so the servants were not afraid of her at all.
I didn't expect that this new grandma would be even worse.
"What did you say earlier? It's not that if a family doesn't live in the same house, the mother-in-law will have the same kind of daughter-in-law." Someone came over to join in the fun.
The crowd slowly dispersed while talking.
They were woken up early in the morning, but they didn't listen to the new rules, but they got to know again how easy-going the eldest grandma was.
Simply out of touch with the world.
Only the first butler Zheng Long and the second butler Zheng Dahu stood there without moving.
They are father and son. Aunt Feng, the wife in charge of the mansion, is Zhenglong's wife, and Sister-in-law Bai is Zheng Dahu's wife.
Zheng Long is a son of the family, so his son is naturally the same.
He is the chief steward, and his son is the second steward.
In Zheng Long's words: "I was born as a member of the Zheng family, and died as a ghost of the main family. When the old man was still alive, he repeatedly told me to serve well. As long as I have one breath, I will stay here."
"Dad, what does this grandma mean? Does she want to take care of the house? Or does she want to show off?" Zheng Dahu asked his father.
To be honest, I'm afraid I won't be able to find such a master in the entire capital. They are lucky enough to meet two of them as soon as they meet.
"Master, don't talk about things. Just do whatever Grandma tells us to do. No matter how kind-hearted the master is, he is still a master, and we servants must abide by the rules." Zheng Long scolded his son with a straight face, and said that he had to straighten his clothes.
Take a step away.
"Do whatever you have to do," Zheng Dahu tilted his head and repeated what Xu Chunjun said, "What you did in the past, you will do in the future..."
The sky was a little overcast, and although the sun had risen, it was just like a big red ball, not dazzling at all.
Zheng Dahu shook his head, smiled again, and said to himself: "Then just do whatever you want!"
The Zheng family then returned to its previous appearance, and the ripples caused by the change of head soon disappeared, and the entire mansion became a pool of stagnant water again.
The autumn wind is blowing, and the uncle has not come back yet.
Aunt Liu and Aunt Hu didn't come back either.
There seems to be no liveliness or life in this mansion.
It looks more and more like a pool of stagnant water.
