Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 53 Turbulence

As dusk approached, the old lady sent someone to invite the second young lady to have dinner at Fu'anju.

Meng Shu and the second young lady took leave, and the second young lady went with Meng Zhu and Rui Zhu. Not long after they left Yunyi Courtyard, Dong Gua came over with a bamboo basket, which contained several kinds of freshly made pastries.

"Preparing only a few kinds of pastries is a bit meager. I also brought some mooncakes that the kitchen just made. After all, you need my help. As Aunt An said, it's never a bad thing to be polite."

Meng Shu opened the lid and saw that in addition to the apples and pomegranates she had eaten at the beginning, there were also persimmons and pears, which were so lifelike that they could almost be mistaken for the real thing. It seemed that Dong Gua had been studying this for the past few days. The other large mooncakes also gave off a sweet aroma.

“You’re very thoughtful. However, I’ve had some dealings with Uncle Song. He and his servant both enjoy tea and food, but they only crave novelty when it comes to food. Noodles are perfect for them.”

Meng Shu was heading to Langya Academy. Today was the last day of the council meeting, and Uncle Chaofeng, the head of Yongzheng Shop, and his old servant Song Bo should still be there at this time.

"I made two extra pear-shaped dough balls. Try them and see if they taste like pears. The master praised you for being clever. We only thought of using the juice of water spinach to knead the dough and also paid attention to the shape, so the taste was initially a little inferior."

Miss Er also liked the noodle dumplings last time. The old lady had the small kitchen send them over a few times. After Meng Shu tasted them, she suggested to Dong Gua that they add juice extracted from the fruit, so that the noodle dumplings would also have a fruity flavor. When they tried it, the effect was surprisingly good.

Meng Shu tried one, and it was indeed quite good. She figured her second uncle and his servants would like it.

Donggua had almost finished his errands and, having nothing else to do, accompanied Mengshu on a trip. On the way, Mengshu casually mentioned the shop, and Donggua immediately stopped in his tracks, a hint of anger appearing on his face.

She explained, "We're close friends with Green Willow, and I was thinking about the future. We're sisters, so I couldn't keep it from her. I mentioned it to her briefly. Is it something to boast about when a servant goes out to buy property? I know my limits. When did Green Willow become so open about it?"

Before Meng Shu could speak, Dong Gua tugged at her sleeve again and said, "Lv Liu has been acting strangely lately. You were following the Second Miss around learning etiquette all day, so you didn't know, but I overheard the old women at the corner gate gossiping twice. They said that Lv Liu's parents, brothers, and sisters-in-law came over once, and the whole family was crying and wailing at the corner gate. After she finished crying, she went back to the mansion and quickly brought out a bundle for her family."

Meng Shu listened with a detached expression. Green Willow herself was confused, and she was too lazy to bother with her anymore. "Don't tell her anything secretive in the future. Keep your distance. You're working in the small kitchen, so you won't see her much anyway."

Although the second young lady was generous, she only treated the three closest maids well. As for the lower-ranking maids, she would only make sure they were fed well, but she never rewarded them with jewelry or anything like that. Green Willow didn't have much monthly allowance either, probably because she had given away Winter Melon and the fabric that she had given her before.

They had received many rewards in the past, and because they had a good relationship with Green Willow, they had shared some with her.

Winter Melon nodded, feeling disgusted. She hadn't expected Green Willow to reveal the secrets between the sisters to others. She was already jealous of the few tips she had received, and now this was unacceptable!

She was a person who hated evil as if it were her enemy. After being sold, she only considered the money from her servitude as repayment for her parents' kindness in raising her, and never mentioned her family again. She had also spoken up for justice when Meng Shu's package was being secretly looked at during the exchange of brothers at Zheng's brokerage.

Having decided to stay away from Green Willow, the two stopped mentioning her and soon arrived at Langya Courtyard. Second Uncle, being a distant relative of the Tang family, had accepted Tang Xian's invitation to accompany him at Fu'an Residence, leaving only Uncle Song alone in his room.

Upon seeing Meng Shu, a smile appeared on Uncle Song's old face. Looking at the fresh pastries, he thought to himself that this girl knew how to be grateful.

"Shuya, we still haven't found your uncle. He shouldn't have been to the tea garden, otherwise Manager Lu would definitely have been able to find traces of him. Don't worry, there's plenty of time. Besides, the old lady has also sent the head steward to spread the word in the business."

Meng Shu came only to express her gratitude. She knew that things couldn't be rushed and she had already accepted the outcome.

Uncle Song pinched a dough ball shaped like a persimmon. "How interesting! If we can sell a batch during the Mid-Autumn Festival, we can definitely make a lot of money." Uncle Song and his second uncle were old and had bad teeth, so these dough balls were indeed to their liking.

Donggua was troubled by these words. She loved earning money, but her indenture was still with the Tang family. At this moment, she felt that a lot of money was flowing through her eyes.

On the way back, I sighed with regret, "When will our shop be able to open?"

Meng Shu chuckled: "It's too early to talk about it now. We'll only be eleven after the New Year. Even if we go out to do business, we won't be able to protect ourselves."

Meng Shu wasn't in a hurry. She estimated that the second young lady still had five years until she came of age, so she could take care of what she wanted to do before she turned fifteen.

The two returned to the small kitchen of Fu'an Residence for a simple dinner. The banquet in the main hall was still going on, so Meng Shu took the opportunity to rest in the winter melon room.

Donggua proudly took a porcelain jar out of the cabinet, saying, "I tried making other fruits and pumpkins using the method I used to make winter melon drink, but I failed. However, this morning the village delivered a few baskets of pomelos. We've never seen these before, so I asked the master for one and made a pomelo drink. We can try it together."

Meng Shu curiously leaned closer to take a look. In the dim sunlight, she saw a yellowish blob in the jar and immediately thought it probably wouldn't taste very good.

After Donggua confidently brewed a cup, the two raised their glasses and drank together, then rushed out of the house and vomited.

"Ptooey! Why is it so bitter? I clearly added sugar when I cooked it."

Winter melon had a bitter expression on its round face, with white fruit peel bits stuck between its teeth.

Meng Shu had suffered this once before. In the past, she would always let Dong Gua taste the fresh dishes she made, so it was expected that this failure would be the first time. She patted Dong Gua on the shoulder and said, "Your pomelo is precious. In the future, just pick something cheaper to waste."

After rinsing her mouth, Meng Shu saw several maids heading forward. Thinking the banquet should be ending soon, she quickly greeted Dong Gua and went to find the Second Miss.

Upon arriving at the main house, a maidservant at the door lifted the curtain, and Madam Yun came out first, followed by her two aunts. The eldest aunt was carrying a brocade box tied with a red ribbon, while the second aunt looked unwell. She left the flower hall without even greeting her sister-in-law and went ahead on her own.

The eldest aunt said a few words to ingratiate herself with Madam Chongyun, and Guangbai led her to the front yard. Guangbai was a very capable and shrewd maid, and Meng Shu guessed that the old lady had probably sent her to warn the eldest son-in-law.

When the second young lady came out, Meng Shu saw that Rui Zhu was holding two round pomelos. She quickly followed her quietly to help her carry them. The mistress and servants gathered together and bowed to the madam to say goodbye.

When Madam Yun saw Meng Shu suddenly appear, she smiled and beckoned her forward.

"It's good that I saw you, otherwise I would have asked you to come over tomorrow. The head steward sent a message this afternoon that there might have been someone in Lin'an four years ago, just like the one you described."

Upon hearing this, Meng Shu was deeply moved and immediately asked anxiously, "May I ask, Madam, have you found out any news about my uncle?"

"I can't be entirely sure, but four years ago there was indeed a group of people who were involved in the tea business and spoke with a Tianjin accent. One of them, although slightly different from what you said, is consistent with what I said."

After speaking, Madam Yun's expression turned somewhat strange. She stared at Meng Shu's face for a moment and said, "According to the head steward, that man is extremely handsome. He caused quite a stir in the brothels of Lin'an back then."