Transmigrated Genius: Fragile Heiress Reigns Supreme-Chapter 659 - 661: Property (3)

Biwu chuckled, and Chunliu added, "The food in the Madam’s room is the most plentiful."

Biwu’s eyes lit up, and she nodded without saying a word.

The next morning, as Fourth Master Xiao went to the government office, Xiqiu finished washing up, and Nanny Cen came in to report, "Madam, the maids in the inner courtyard are all gathered in the main hall."

After breakfast, Xiqiu, supported by Chunliu and Bihuai, went to the main hall.

Sitting in the main seat, below her stood fifty or sixty people in a crowd. Xiqiu glanced at everyone one by one; leading them, Nanny Rong took a step forward with everyone, offering a half-bow to Xiqiu. Xiqiu had them rise and spoke with a gentle smile, "Fourth Master and I have just moved in, while you all have lived here for some time. You know the estate’s affairs better than I do. Today’s gathering is simply for us to get acquainted and recognize each other."

Some people secretly observed the owner sitting in the main seat, who wore a smile with bright eyes, looking quite young and without much of a dignified presence, causing everyone to secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

Before the Madam moved here, it was privately said that she was gentle and kind, which now seems to be true.

The group agreed, and Nanny Rong stepped forward, saying, "Madam, excluding the young men and maids in the outer courtyard, there are fifty-seven people in the inner courtyard. I was entrusted by Fourth Master to look after this place." As she spoke, she handed over a roster, "Here is a list of everyone; please have a look, Madam."

Xiqiu was slightly surprised, and Chunliu accepted the roster from Nanny Rong and presented it to Xiqiu. As Xiqiu opened it, she was somewhat taken aback, seeing each name along with their birth, experience, and how they entered the estate, all clearly documented.

She gave Nanny Rong a deep look, nodded, and handed it to Chunliu, saying, "Since this is the case, let’s read out each name so that each person can come forward and introduce themselves." Chunliu took the roster, and Bihuai checked beside him, correlating what each person said with their past experiences and how they joined the estate, asking again if there were any unclear areas.

Before they knew it, the morning had quickly passed by. Nanny Cen had already instructed the kitchen maid to start preparing meals, and by noon, everyone received their meal and crouched in the main hall to eat, continuing in the afternoon...

Xiqiu listened and thought that men are indeed careless about the internal affairs; these fifty-seven people have such complex backgrounds. Some were bought from human traffickers with relatively clean records, others were gifted by the Emperor, originally the families of officials who had committed offenses. More of them were originally leftover servants from the estate, which poses a problem. These people were originally under the Sixth Prince’s Mansion, and no matter their attitude toward her as the current master, whether loyal or harboring other thoughts, she felt uneasy about it.

Once everyone had been called forward, Xiqiu listened seriously with a calm expression. When some maids spoke with dialects, she patiently asked them twice. After questioning everyone, she said nothing more and let everyone disperse but privately called Nanny Rong for a talk, "Why were the Sixth Prince’s Mansion’s servants not discharged initially?"

"That’s how it is. From what I’ve heard, after the Sixth Prince was confined, due to his young age and the early death of his birth mother, only two housekeeper nannies were left managing the mansion. When the Emperor’s men searched the mansion, one nanny died from head trauma, and the other one died after the Sixth Prince died in the palace. The estate was in chaos. When the Emperor wanted to reacquire the property, some of the servants fled privately, while others stayed to guard the estate. Later, the Emperor awarded it to Fourth Master, and seeing that these people were relatively disciplined, he kept them on, totaling eighteen people, eight maids, and ten young maids. There are also a few older stewards in the outer courtyard who were retained, but not given important positions, just providing them a living."

Listening thoughtfully, Xiqiu acknowledged that Nanny Rong handled matters quite well. She placed the eighteen maids left by the Sixth Prince in various idle estates to do cleaning, preventing them from seeing the master or entering the main residence, which effectively kept them at bay.

In light of this, although Xiqiu initially planned not to buy more hands, it now seemed necessary to do so.

Thinking of this, she said, "You have done well; in the future, you and Nanny Cen will manage the inner courtyard matters. Decide the exact division between yourselves. You were in charge at Fourth Master’s estate for seven or eight years and are considered trustworthy. Now, seeing that the mansion was well-managed even without a master here, it’s clear you played a significant role."

Nanny Rong appeared anxious, "It’s because Fourth Master trusts me to manage this large estate. As long as Madam doesn’t mind my simplicity, I will do my utmost to assist wherever needed."

Xiqiu nodded, and that evening, she, Chunliu, and Nanny Cen, gathered under the lamp to draft house rules. From severe misconduct such as theft to minor offenses like laughing or dozing off on duty, everything was documented along with the corresponding punishments. A major offense once would lead to direct expulsion from the estate, while a minor one would result in a hunger penalty, standing penalty, or a palm slap. If such minor offenses accumulated three times, they’d become a major one, warranting either corporal punishment, expulsion, or sale.

The rules were written in black and white on paper, outlining clear penalties and rewards.

"We’ll post this in the main hall tomorrow. For those who cannot read, have it read aloud to them, making sure everyone remembers. Henceforth, if anyone violates these stated ordinances, they will be strictly punished; likewise, those with merits will be duly rewarded." Chunliu and the others thoroughly read through several times, nodding, "Understood, Madam."

When Fourth Master Xiao returned, Xiqiu relayed the day’s events to him, "I intend to call in a human trafficker to purchase some new maids for the estate. What does Fourth Master think?"

"Leave these matters to Nanny Rong," Fourth Master Xiao, uninterested in these affairs, suggested, "If you’re uneasy about those retained from the original estate, provide them with Silver and send them off."

Xiqiu said nothing, and Fourth Master Xiao handed her a set of keys, "These are the keys to the estate’s storeroom. The items bestowed by the Emperor, along with my personal belongings from prior years, are stored there. Have someone sort them and compile a roster later." He paused and added, "Regarding the estate’s silver coin, my monthly salary will be sent over, and the estate’s revenue will also be regularly delivered."

Listening intently, Xiqiu sat up straighter. She had never discussed such matters with Fourth Master Xiao or managed his salary and assets closely. She didn’t expect that the items Fourth Master Xiao received over the years hadn’t been entered into the Marquis Mansion’s public accounts but were kept separately here. Raising her eyebrows with a playful expression, she quipped, "Fourth Master Xiao really planned this out, even stashing some private money away."

Fourth Master Xiao ruffled her hair, "Mischievous one!" He explained, "It wasn’t deliberate; when the Emperor granted these, they were directly moved here. As they were already in the storeroom here, I was too lazy to fuss over them. Everyone is aware of this, except you, it seems."

Xiqiu, intrigued, raised her eyebrow and asked seriously, "Then tell me, Fourth Master, how many fields and properties do you own? That way, I’ll have a sense of our future expenses."