Not long after, nearly thirty servants gathered together, including teenage maids, cooks and servants in their thirties, errand boys, coachmen, gardeners, and horsemen. From today on,
They will face a new master, and everyone is uneasy and unsure of their future fate.
Guo Song said slowly: "Yesterday was my wedding. From today on, this family will officially start running. I, Guo Song, have always been kind to my servants and will treat you kindly. Here, everyone has no worries about food and clothing. Every month
There will also be monthly money and generous rewards at the end of the year, and care will be taken of life, old age, illness and death, so that everyone has something to rely on and something to support in old age.
But on the other hand, the rules here are relatively strict. Each position has its own rules. If you accidentally make a mistake, if you admit your mistake quickly, I will be lenient. If you conceal the mistake, you will be severely punished. But if you do something wrong intentionally,
But I'm sorry, the Guo Mansion will never tolerate such a person, so we can only send him away. The person who will deal with you specifically in the future is the hostess, which is my wife. Please give her a few words."
Guo Song stepped aside, and Xue Tao stepped forward and said: "From today on, I am the mistress of this mansion. My surname is Xue, but you can call me Mrs. Guo. What my husband just said is actually what I want to say.
Yes, if a home doesn’t have rules, it wouldn’t be called a home.”
After a pause, Xue Tao said again: "I don't want to say anything more today. Everyone does your job well, and I will see it. I will reward those who deserve it, and I will punish those who deserve punishment. Let's all disband!"
Everyone dispersed. Xue Tao took the roster from the butler and looked at it carefully. Guo Song stepped forward and asked with a smile: "What do you think is lacking?"
Xue Tao thought for a while and said: "Since we have a manor in our house, I think there should be an accounting room, and in addition, there should be a housekeeper."
Guo Song glanced at the steward next to him and saw that he was hesitant to speak, so he smiled and said, "What does steward Wang want to say?"
Butler Wang leaned forward and said: "My wife has also been a housekeeper for more than ten years. Now she has nothing to do at home. If Madam needs it, I can ask her to help."
Guo Song nodded, "Then let her come over! Let Madam take a look."
"I understand, I'll call her later."
Guo Song said to Xue Tao again: "The accountant can ask Jubao Pavilion to send an old accountant over, let him take time to do it here, and give him a salary. There is no need to hire anyone else."
Xue Tao smiled and said: "My husband will arrange it!"
Guo Song nodded and asked the housekeeper: "Have they delivered the things I stored in Qingxu Palace?"
"Replying to the envoy, it was delivered the day before yesterday. In the study room of the inner house, there are many boxes and cages, and a very heavy weapon."
"Okay, go find your wife!"
Butler Wang bowed and hurried away.
Guo Song smiled at Xue Tao and said, "They are all gifts from the emperor. Let's go and see together. Are there any other good things?"
A hint of curiosity arose in Xue Tao's heart. She nodded with a smile and followed her husband to the inner house.
Guo Song's inner study is located next to the flowers and candles in the bridal chamber. It is also an independent courtyard. Inside is a three-story attic. The use of the bottom has not yet been determined. The large room is empty and filled with hundreds of large boxes and cages.
, divided into two piles, one half is Xue Tao's dowry, the other half is the items sent by Qingxu Palace. Guo Song's black sword, bow and Fangtian painted halberd are placed against the wall.
Xue Tao was very interested in this attic. She ignored what she was looking at and went up to the second floor first. The second floor was very elegantly decorated. There was a large desk next to the window, with cabinets and bookshelves on both sides. Outside the window was a
The wintersweet blossoms are in full bloom, and bursts of fragrance hit your nostrils.
Xue Tao suddenly fell in love with this small building. She turned around and walked to the stairs, leaned forward and said with a smile: "Husband, let me use this place temporarily! After Wangjiang Building is repaired, I will move there."
Guo Song walked upstairs step by step holding several screens. Xue Tao wanted to take over to help. Guo Song quickly said: "This thing is very heavy. You can't help me. Please open the door for me."
Xue Tao hurriedly opened the door, and Guo Song entered the house holding three white jade screens. He carefully placed them on the wall and breathed a sigh of relief: "This thing is heavy! One screen weighs sixty or seventy pounds. I put the other three
Bring up the fan."
Xue Tao pouted and said, "Is my request excessive?"
Guo Song hugged her into his arms, kissed her red lips, and said with a smile: "Of course I have no objection. I just packed up my things. It won't take you a few days. We will leave for Ganzhou in ten days at most."
By the time I come back, Wangjiang Pavilion has been built, and you must like Wangjiang Pavilion more, right?"
Xue Tao was right when she thought about it. She smiled slyly and said: "There are still ten days to go. At least I can enjoy it for a few days. I like the wintersweet outside."
"No problem. I'll install the screen, bring up your piano, drawing paper and brushes, and let the maid light a brazier. This small building can be opened tomorrow."
Xue Tao was overjoyed, turned around, looked around, and began to think about how to arrange his study room.
"The screen is placed here, just dividing the room into two."
"Okay! I'll go bring up the screen."
"I'm going to see if there's any other good stuff?"
Xue Tao followed her husband downstairs. Guo Song pointed to an open box and said, "There is also a set of white jade tea sets and many jade carvings in there. Take whatever you like."
"What is this?" Xue Tao opened another wooden box. There were three square small boxes inside. When he opened the small box, he found a small gold-carved incense burner, about the size of a grapefruit. The other two were also incense burners.
It is inlaid with precious stones, very much like Persian style, and the other one is a white jade incense burner, each one is small and exquisite, suitable for placing on the table.
Xue Tao looked at the three incense burners left and right. The gold incense burner was a bit tacky, and the gemstone incense burner was too exotic. She still liked the fresh and elegant white jade incense burner. Let her husband use the gemstone incense burner! He likes gemstones.
Xue Tao was about to open another box when Aqiu said at the door: "Madam, Butler Wang has brought his wife here. She is in the atrium!"
Xue Tao raised his head and asked: "Husband, Butler Wang has brought his wife here, do you want to go with me?"
"I'm installing a screen and I can't get away!"
Guo Song's voice came from upstairs, "Go on your own! Stay if you think it's appropriate."
"Okay then! I'll go by myself."
Xue Tao then said to Ah Qiu: "Let's go! Let's go take a look."
Butler Wang's wife's surname is Yang. She is about forty years old and has been a housekeeper for a wealthy family for ten years. She is fair and fat, clean and tidy, giving people a very gentle feeling. Xue Tao is quite satisfied.
, she doesn’t like the kind of thin, shrewd and over-achieving women, so a fatter housekeeper makes her feel at ease.
Xue Tao immediately decided on the housekeeper's monthly salary, which was ten guan per month, which was five guan less than housekeeper Wang. There was also a reward at the end of the year.
The housekeeper also agreed and was willing to follow her master to Ganzhou. Her son got married last year and the family wanted to save money to buy a house in a suburban county near Chang'an. The salary given to her by the housekeeper was good. If she went to Ganzhou, she could still earn money every month.
With an extra five guan, she and her husband would be able to save 1,500 guan by working as housekeepers for five years, and they could buy a three-acre house in a county town in the Gyeonggi region.
"It's settled, Butler Yang will come to the inner house early tomorrow morning."
There are still differences in the functions of male and female butlers. The male butler is mainly responsible for the running of a mansion, including buying food, daily necessities and external contacts, arranging carriages, arranging gardeners, and various decorations for New Years and holidays.
The female housekeeper pays attention to the affairs of the inner house, including the owner's daily life, meals, rest, and various arrangements for the hostess, etc. This also solves the problem of the male housekeeper not being able to enter the inner house at will.
After dealing with the housekeeper, a major matter was settled. Xue Tao returned to the inner house and saw that her husband had already installed the screen.
With a little impurity and superb painting skills, although it is just a fragment of a thousand-mile country, it is painted in a majestic way.
There is also a poem written in cursive in the upper right corner:
Mountain light and objects create spring rays, don't be tempted to return because of the light overcast. Even if the sky is bright and there is no color of rain, your clothes will be stained deep in the clouds.
At this time, Xue Tao found a signature in the lower right corner, 'Daoxuan'.
She suddenly realized that this screen was written by Wu Daozi. No wonder the painting was so profound. What about the calligraphy? Xue Tao highly suspected that it was written by Zhang Xu, because this poem was Zhang Xu's masterpiece.
"This was placed in the late emperor's study. It is priceless."
Guo Song introduced with a smile on the side: "For some reason, the new emperor didn't like the things belonging to the late emperor, so he rewarded all the things collected by the late emperor to various ministers. I was the last one, and all the remaining things were rewarded to me. Unexpectedly,
This screen is also here, and it gives me an advantage in vain!"
Xue Tao smiled slightly and said: "The emperor is not stupid. He gives you these good things so that you can serve well in Hexi."