Joyful Motherhood in a Rural Family-Chapter 855 - Choosing People
Chapter 855: Chapter 855 Choosing People
“He’s already very ugly as it is…”
Niuniu kept muttering to herself.
Bending down, Liu Sisi spoke to Niuniu with earnest gravity, “What do you mean by ‘very ugly’? He is your Third Brother, and as his Second Sister, what you should be doing is comforting him, not kicking him while he’s down. If you were hurt, how would you feel if your Eldest Sister said this about you?” Of course, by Eldest Sister, Liu Sisi was referring to YingEr.
“Eldest Sister would never say that about me!”
Niuniu pouted as she spoke.
“If you know that Eldest Sister would never say such things about you, then why would you say them about Chou Chou? Think about it, did you do something wrong?” Liu Sisi imparted her lesson with serious import.
...
Niuniu slowly lowered her head and fiddled with her fingers in silence.
“Niuniu, it’s okay to make mistakes. As long as you sincerely recognize your fault and strive to correct it, you’re mom’s good girl. Right?” Liu Sisi gently touched Niuniu’s head.
“Mhm, Niuniu understands,” Niuniu nodded earnestly.
“Now that’s our good girl! What should you do now? Tell mom.”
“Niuniu is going to find Chou Chou to play.”
Niuniu was finally happy! She cheerfully bounced out of the room to look for Chou Chou.
Di Xuan watched Niuniu jealously, reflecting on his own past with a deep sense of emotion.
“Xuan’er, have you been in touch with YingEr? Where have they gone?”
Upon mentioning YingEr, Di Xuan’s expression darkened: “They had to leave in a hurry. Though I was worried for YingEr, I feared that having too many people would make us an easy target and might ruin everything. So, I quickly parted ways with YingEr. With Uncle Zuo’s excellent martial arts skills, he took YingEr and quickly left by their light-foot kung fu. Since then, I haven’t had any news from YingEr. However, we had agreed that if the situation in the capital got out of hand, we would meet back at our old place in Macheng County after one year.”
“Mhm, YingEr probably got the message that the situation in the capital city has eased. Maybe they’ll arrive in the capital city soon,”
As they talked about this, both mother and son laughed.
At noontime, sure enough, Old Cheng led a group of around a hundred people into the manor.
“Some of these people are government slaves, while others have been preliminarily selected by references from Nanny Jiang and me. They have been gathered here. It is up to the Princess to decide on the final selections,” Old Cheng said.
Looking at the group of about a hundred people brought by Old Cheng, Liu Sisi didn’t stir but simply took the roster Old Cheng offered and skimmed through it with leisure.
Then, she put the roster down and started savoring her tea, unhurried.
Among the people brought in, there were both men and women, some older, some in their teenage years. Seeing Liu Sisi showing no response, some began to whisper among themselves, and others couldn’t help but fidget, looking around.
Only after the time it took to drink two cups of tea did Liu Sisi finally set down her teacup and gave a command to Ms. Gao beside her.
Stepping forward, Ms. Gao announced, “Those who just now did not stand properly, take them all away.”
The servants waiting on each side didn’t hesitate, quickly escorting those who had fidgeted away.
Only then did Liu Sisi look at the reduced group, about a quarter less in number, and said, “Now split up. Men on the left side, women on the right side.”
The people brought in swiftly took action, each splitting and standing on opposite sides.
“Now, those who are under the age of 20, step forward.”
Quickly, twenty or thirty people stepped out on both sides. Liu Sisi understood that these were already preliminarily selected by Old Cheng, initially prepared to be recruited as pageboys and maids. She carefully examined the faces of the crowd and waved away a few individuals whom she instinctively found displeasing.
“Now, state your own name, place of origin, age, and how many people are in your family. Let’s start with you,” Liu Sisi casually pointed to a young man standing in the first position beside her.
The young man’s face turned red, but he quickly responded loudly, “Replying to Madam, my name is Liu Chuan, originally from Hezhou Prefecture, 16 years old this year. At home, I have an elderly mother, two younger brothers, and a younger sister.”
Liu Sisi didn’t comment but simply nodded slightly, “Hmm, continue. Next one.”
The next young man also stood out and respectfully bowed to Liu Sisi, “Replying to Madam, I am Su Wen, from the capital city, 12 years old this year. I previously served in Lord Su’s manor. I have a younger sister at home, who has also come to this mansion today.”
Liu Sisi curiously glanced at Old Cheng, who hurriedly stepped forward, “Recently, many ministers were executed, among them was Lord Su, who was implicated. After Lord Su was exiled, these servants who had signed dead contracts were taken back by the government office, and only recently were they released once more.”
This content is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.
So that’s how it was!
“Which one is your sister?”
A girl stepped forward from the women’s side, bowing to Liu Sisi, “Madam, servant Su Zi, 10 years old this year. My parents passed away early, and besides my brother Su Wen, there is no one else in my family.”
Liu Sisi nodded in satisfaction, the prospects of the trained youngsters were indeed different, “Hmm, step back then. The rest of you continue, I need not repeat myself each time, do I?”
Everyone naturally continued, each reporting their name, place of origin, and other details.
After listening, Liu Sisi looked over the crowd and raised her hand to point, “You, you, and you… also you, step out! The rest of you may leave.”
Although the selection seemed simple, Liu Sisi still purposefully picked some individuals, such as those whose accents were unclear or had bad teeth, all were excluded one by one. At this point, only 7 young men were left, and on the young women’s side, there were 19 left.
With Cheng’er, Xuan’er, Chou Chou, and Qiu’er, not counting little Xiao Xiao, there were four people in need of personal pageboys, and with only 7 chosen here, it was truly troublesome for Liu Sisi.
She glanced at those who were excluded and eventually decided to settle with these few choices, as having fewer was better than settling for the mediocre!
“You’ll stay at the mansion for now. Later when your indenture contracts arrive, Chief Steward Cheng will discuss the specific arrangements with you. You may all leave now.”
“Yes, Madam.”
The selected individuals, one by one, were visibly excited and quickly followed the old nanny leading them away.
What remained was the selection of the young men for miscellaneous tasks and the rough-handed nannies.
Choosing these was much easier, and very soon enough young men and rough-handed nannies were selected.
Just as Liu Sisi was about to rise and leave, from the group of those selected, a young man suddenly stepped out and kneed down with a thud in front of Liu Sisi.
“Madam, please also keep me. My parents both passed away in the recent troubles, and at home, I have a severely ill younger sister who is waiting for silver to buy medicine. If Madam is willing to take me in, I will serve Young Master diligently and faithfully. Even being a pageboy doing odd jobs would suffice! Madam!”
Liu Sisi consciously looked back, carefully considering the person in front of her; he was one of the individuals she had eliminated in the first round.
