Since the day when the three houses of Liu were pacified, the program to reduce the overall expenditure of the Marquis's house began to be formally implemented. Qin Miao re-established the expenditure standards for each house and courtyard, and based on previous discussions, the dismissal and sale of servants within each house were decided by each house itself, while the servants used in public areas were reduced by the mistress of the Marquis's house, namely Qin Miao.

  On this day, Qin Miao was holding the list of names of the servants, discussing with the managers of each department to finalize the list of people to be laid off. However, she thought that laying off everyone at once would cause too much commotion, so she decided to do it in several batches. On the other hand, she also considered that her time in the Hou Mansion was not long, and her understanding of the servants was not deep. If she rashly listened to the managers' words, she couldn't guarantee that someone wouldn't take advantage of the situation and randomly add names to the list. By laying off people multiple times, at least it would give her more opportunities to understand the situation better, after all, there's still a long way to go.

  The servants all waited patiently in the flower hall, waiting for Li to call them in one by one to ask questions. The others were easy to deal with, but when it came to the kitchen, Qin Miao looked at the list in her hand and glanced at the middle-aged fat man standing in front of her, and couldn't help but think of the person she had met in the small courtyard that day.

  With a soft thud, Qin Miao closed the book with just the right amount of force and had Zi Xuan brew another pot of tea. The tea leaves were very fresh, and under the boiling water's agitation, they gradually unfolded to reveal their original bright green color.

  "I heard that Qin's mother is also assigned to the kitchen?"

  The kitchen manager, surnamed Zhang, was about thirty years old, short and stout, with a greasy body. However, he was honest and kind-hearted, and the servants usually called him not "Zhang the manager" but "Big Chef Zhang". He had been born into the Xie family's household, his grandfather and father having both been in charge of cooking for the estate, and by the time he was twenty or so, it was his turn to take over.

  At this time, Zhang Dacheng's chubby cheeks were dripping with sweat, and it was now the end of spring and the beginning of summer, and there was no ice in the house yet. When Madame Hou asked him, he also answered honestly: "Ah, Qin Mama is now one of our kitchen staff. However..."

  Fat boy spoke slowly, and before he finished speaking, Qin Miao had already covered him with her own words: "Qin's mother is also an old man, the kitchen is all hard work, it's no wonder she's old. How about this, isn't her son managing the farm outside our house? This time, let Qin's mother leave the house and go to the farm to enjoy her twilight years. The affairs of the kitchen are related to the three meals a day for everyone in the house, it's very important, so temporarily no one will be fired." She thought again, should be no mistake, then waved her hand to let Zhang Dacheng, who was already drenched in sweat, go out: "It's settled, let the next one come in."

  Qin Miao was looking for the person in charge early in the morning, originally intending to finalize the list and then find a time to let Xie Yan take a look at it meaningfully in the evening. Unexpectedly, just after instructing the people in charge to keep their mouths shut, Qin's mother took the initiative to come over in the afternoon.

  At this time, Qin Miao had just woken up from her nap on the bed. She had been tired for the past few days and so she got up later than usual in the afternoon. As soon as she woke up and before she could even finish dressing, she heard the little maid Yulu rushing into the room from outside.

  "Madam! Madam! Something's wrong!" The little maid was full of energy and hadn't even reached the door to the inner room when Qin Miao heard her.

  Zixuan, who was waiting for Qin Miao to change clothes, scolded: "What's all the commotion about? Keep your voice down! You're so old and still so impulsive!"

  Her little face puffed up red, and after being scolded by Zi Xuan, she became more obedient, but her mouth still muttered dishonestly: "This person has been bullied to the top of their head, how can they be quieter..."

  "Madam! That... that Qin mom has come to our Chao Lu Yard to make trouble!" Xiaoyu didn't care about Zixuan's white eyes, and quickly poured out what she had just seen in the yard.

  Qin Miaoxin's heart shrank, feeling that she had made another mistake. She hurriedly urged Zi Xuan to dress quickly and didn't even care whether the hairpin on her head was properly secured, hastily leading people out.

  As soon as I arrived at the outer quarters, I heard a loud commotion in the courtyard. It turned out that Qin's mother had overheard Zhang Dajie's words and, upon learning that she was to be driven out of the mansion, came here to make a big scene without caring about anything.

  She was only seen pulling the sprinkler boys in the yard, crying and shouting that her life was bitter, feeling wronged in her heart, and still arguing to see Master Hou.

  She had just woken up and her mind hadn't fully recovered, but as soon as she heard Qin Mama's loud voice, a surge of nameless fire rose up in Qin Miao's heart. However, she still chose to endure it.

  "Qin Mama, what are you doing? The mistress had just fallen asleep for a while and your loud voice has woken her up." Li Guigu already stepped forward to intervene before Qin Miao could get angry.

  Madam Qin saw that Qín Miào had come out, and she also gave up the idea of "telling her grievances" to the unfamiliar little maids. She stood at the end, pretending to be sad, and began to talk in a familiar tone: "Milady, how can you be so heartless? Old slave has endured hardships and raised Master Hou one mouthful at a time. Yes, old slave is old and useless now, but you can't just drive people away like that. Old slave won't accept it!"

  It is unknown what Qin's mother looked like when she was young, but now her face has been puffed up from years of overeating and laziness, and a pair of not-so-small eyes have been squeezed into two thin slits. The two beads in the slits are currently rolling around to size up Qin Miao.

  Mrs. Li saw Qin's mother's attitude of relying on her old age, and instantly remembered the time she drank the young lady's soup without permission, which made her extremely angry. Just as she was about to go forward and reason with her, she was pulled back by Qin Miao who was standing beside her.

  "Mother, don't be anxious, there's something good to talk about."

  Qin Miao probably didn't have much authority in front of her mother, firstly because she had already found out that the young master and this new madam weren't close, and relying on her special status, it was likely that the new madam wouldn't dare to do anything to her at this moment. Secondly, Qin Miao grew up in Jiangnan and wasn't raised as a high-ranking lady, so she naturally lacked some aura.

  All that can be seen is Qin Miao's eyes flowing like a stream, her beautiful eyes lightly opening, her thin lips slightly moving, and at first glance, isn't she just a delicate little beauty?

  "You all say you're old, but still jumping around like this, be careful with your body. If your husband finds out that you don't take care of yourself like this, he'll probably be annoyed."

  "Hmm! The young lady has a sharp tongue, thought Qin Mama. 'Husband'? Sounds quite intimate, doesn't it? Could it be that what's said in the servants' quarters isn't reliable after all? Young Master and his new wife seem to get along pretty well?"

  She was momentarily stunned, only to see the new mistress in front of her getting dressed up, with a lazy and elegant demeanor, exuding an air of nobility. Such a beauty, I suppose the young master must have liked her somewhat. However, having already made a scene at the door, she couldn't just give up halfway...

  "Madam, I've been in the Hou Mansion for many years and have grown accustomed to it. Now that I'm old and useless, I'm afraid I'll be despised by others. Pitiful, Young Master was so small back then, as thin as a monkey, pitiful indeed, all raised by me mouthful by mouthful..."

  Qin Miao listened to her words, which were no different from what she had said before, and silently sighed in her heart. This Qin mother was probably a chatterbox, how could she speak so illogically? At this moment, she didn't have the mood to listen to her "chit-chat" anymore, so she forcibly interrupted Qin mother's words.

  "Mother, what are you saying? Your kindness is remembered in the hearts of everyone in the Hou estate, who would dare to forget? Thinking that you're already old and frail, if we were to trouble you with this and that, I'm afraid even Master Hou wouldn't be at peace. Why not let you leave the estate early, so you can go to the countryside and dote on your grandchildren, enjoying your twilight years in comfort, isn't that a good thing?"

  Actually, I said the same thing to Zhang Dacheng, but it's possible that fat chef was scolded by Qin Mama and got the meaning twisted.

  Looking at Qin's mother, her cheeks were still puffed up, and Qin Miao knew that this person was still not satisfied with her arrangement. To be honest, she wasn't being so kind-hearted, but just wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to quickly drive this arrogant Qin mother out of the servant's quarters, and stop bothering herself again. Besides, letting an old woman go to her son's side, eating Hou Mansion's food, how could it be considered her fault? What else did this Qin mother have to be dissatisfied about, when things had already been said to this extent?

  However, Qin Mama's thoughts were indeed something that Qin Miao couldn't have anticipated. Having been a servant all her life, she had finally managed to gain a somewhat prestigious status in the Hou household due to her position as the wet nurse of the young master. Who would be willing to give up such a comfortable life, where not only did she not have to do any work herself, but also had the younger maids serving her?

  "Alright, mom, you see I still have a lot of things to do here, so I won't entertain you anymore. Li Ayi, please send off Qin mama for me." Qin Miao impatiently gave the order to get rid of her guest. Matters of cutting people's hair were set in stone and couldn't be disrupted by an old woman causing trouble.

  Qin's mother stomped her foot in anger, wishing she could make another scene. But she also knew that the new wife was not someone to be trifled with, and now that she couldn't see Young Master Hou, she huffed in frustration and turned around, walking away with her plump figure.

  After talking for a while, Qin Miao was truly exhausted. She didn't know if it was because of the recent busy schedule or the sultry weather, but she felt suffocated in her chest. Rubbing her slightly aching head, Qin Miao had someone brew a pot of strong tea and then retreated to the study to review the account books again. In the afternoon, she still had to meet with several managers from outside estates, so she needed to take another look at the estate's ledgers in order to be prepared.

  When Zi Xuan brought in the strong tea, Qin Miao was still engrossed in reading. Zi Xuan saw that her young master's face had an unusual flush and couldn't put her mind at ease, so she went forward to ask quietly. But Qin Miao didn't have time to care about these things, after drinking a few cups of strong tea, he felt refreshed and let Zi Xuan go down, so that he could seize the time to take a few more glances.

  On a summer afternoon, the long and humid heat made even the little maids in the courtyard sneak away to hide in the shade, while the cicadas on the trees chirped incessantly, covering up the anxiety in the study.