Xu Chunjun changed into coarse clothes, went to the warehouse to collect her luggage, and was assigned to work in the kitchen as a helper.
Before going to see the kitchen steward, she took off the jade hairpin from her head and put it in her arms. This thing did not match the coarse cloth clothes she was wearing, and the original elegance turned into a garish one.
"Why did you send us such a decent looking lady?" Mrs. Wang, the wife of the kitchen steward, couldn't help but look Xu Chunjun up and down, a little unconvinced, "It stands to reason that she should be the eldest maid in the master's house."
"Who knows! I probably made a mistake and should be punished." The maid who was leading Xu Chunjun entrusted her to a woman in the middle of the journey. She only said that it was the lady's order and didn't say anything else.
After the mother-in-law left, Mother Wang looked at Xu Chunjun again and asked tentatively: "Where are you from? When did you enter the house? What is your name? Why haven't you heard anyone mention it?"
"Mom, just call me Chunjun. I just entered the house today. My hometown is Siyuan." Xu Chunjun replied.
"My wife wants you to come to my place, but what exactly is the job she wants you to do?" Mother Wang asked again.
"You just said that you want me to come here to help you, just do whatever you have to do." Xu Chunjun said.
Mother Wang pondered for a moment and guessed that Xu Chunjun was sent here because he offended his wife.
So he said: "You go and put away your luggage first, and then come to the kitchen. The white lady who is chopping vegetables has gone home sick, so you can do her job first!"
Then he called a little girl over and said, "Thimble, come here, take her to put the luggage, and sleep in your room."
The little girl called Thimble had leprosy on her head and her face was so smoky that she looked like a burning girl.
Thimble led Xu Chunjun to the residence further back, a large open room with two rows of large bunks, all built with wooden boards, with seven or eight sets of bedding placed on them. Thimble pointed to the empty space on the north side and said:
"You can sleep here!"
Xu Chunjun went over to put away her luggage. The smell in this room was even worse than the warehouse just now, but she was not dissatisfied. She smiled at Thimble and asked her, "Have you always lived here?"
"I used to live in the east, and I moved here after my mother died." Thimble's teeth were not well grown, and one of them was very long, protruding outside her lips, which made her unable to help but pout, "Next to you is
Aunt Wen, she has a lot of problems when she sleeps."
"Are we all under the control of Mother Wang?" Xu Chunjun asked Thimble as he walked out.
"Mother Wang is in charge, and everyone in our house is under the control of Mother Pang." Thimble'er said, "She has a bad temper, so you have to be careful."
When we returned to the kitchen, we were already busy with lunch. Xu Chunjun was rushed to wash and choose vegetables because she was too slow to chop vegetables. Everyone bullied her because she was new here. Some asked her to carry firewood, and others urged her to wash the pot, which was a little slow.
A little, and you'll get a scolding.
The people in the kitchen were all beaten, and they were all very aggressive and vulgar. Xu Chunjun didn't fit in among them.
What's more, most of the people working here are wives and mothers-in-law, and they dislike young girls the most, especially those with good looks like Xu Chunjun, who don't have to do anything to become a thorn in their side.
"I asked you to wash the dishes and embroider the flowers there!" Zhou's wife came over and pushed Xu Chunjun angrily, leaving a stain on her clothes: "The oil in the pot was so hot that it was smoking.
Don’t even look at it!”
"The vegetables to be fried have been washed. This will be used later." Xu Chunjun pointed to the bracken being drained in the vegetable basket next to him.
Zhou's daughter-in-law choked for a moment, then sneered: "How come such a sharp-sighted person was rushed to the kitchen?! I'm afraid her eyelids are too shallow or her claws are lacking."
Xu Chunjun didn't argue with her and just did the work in his hand.
Seeing her like this, everyone thought she was guilty. The wives behind Xu Chunjun winked at each other, pursed their lips, and smiled in a sinister way.
After finally finishing lunch, the food from each room was taken away, and the food from the housekeeper and grandma was also delivered, and then the people in the kitchen began to eat.
This is already earlier than when people eat elsewhere. After all, this is where cooking is done, so it is naturally more convenient.
Xu Chunjun saw that except for Mrs. Wang and a few of the mothers-in-law and daughter-in-law who were in charge, who came to eat at the table in the back room, the rest of the people here used bowls to serve their meals, then put the big pot of vegetables on top, and then each found a place to eat.
.
Xu Chunjun was squeezed at the back. When it was her turn, there was only a piece of rice cake left and only vegetable soup was left in the dish.
She was already very hungry, but suddenly felt full after smelling the food.
But she knew she had to eat, otherwise she wouldn't be able to hold on.
When the dishes were removed, Xu Chunjun had only eaten half of the rice in his bowl.
"Newcomers, please wash the dishes before you go and have a rest." Mother Wang had already gone to rest after finishing her meal, and another housekeeper said to Xu Chunjun.
The bowls were stacked as high as a hill. Xu Chunjun sighed, knowing that he would never rest.
People in the kitchen came and went, but no one reached out to help her.
Xu Chunjun's hands were white and wrinkled after being soaked in the water, his shoulders were sore and swollen, and his feet were numb.
After finally finishing all the dishes, Xu Chunjun wiped his hands with his apron, walked out slowly, and sat on a stone bench outside to rest.
The wind blew over, blowing a strand of her hair to her cheeks.
Only then did Xu Chunjun realize that he had sweated too much and his hair was itching against his face.
She had no choice but to get up and go to the well to wash her face.
Immediately, someone not far away laughed and said: "It's already this time, don't forget about the beauty! Let's take a break and work as soon as possible!"
Then he threw a duck with its legs tied over: "It's time to prepare dinner. Madam is going to have old duck soup tonight. You kill this duck, disembowel it and then bring it in."
Has Xu Chunjun ever done this? The duck was flapping its wings and quacking at her feet, its mung bean-sized eyes full of fear.
Mother Pang saw her and the duck staring at each other with big eyes and no action. She took out the knife from the kitchen and cursed: "It's not a painting I bought, who is it showing to you?! Take it away as soon as possible!"
You act like a young lady! Once you accept your fate as a maid, you can do whatever you have to do!"
"I've never killed chickens or ducks before, so I asked my mother to teach me." Xu Chunjun knew that she had to take care of sleeping at night, so she couldn't offend him.
"This also requires teaching. Do you need to be taught how to eat and sleep?!" Mother Pang's temper was very bad: "Here you go with the knife. Kill it quickly. It's waiting for use inside!"
Xu Chunjun bit her lip, she really didn't know how to start.
I held the knife and gestured for a long time, but not a single duck feather fell off.
The rest of the people were happy to watch the excitement, but even if someone wanted to help her, it was difficult for them to come forward.
