Wufu instructed Hongyu to serve Madam Zhou well, while she herself went to the front courtyard where Xiao Li and the others had been waiting for a while.
Seated in the guest-receiving Floral Hall, Wufu nodded inwardly, acknowledging that the greatest advantage of buying this residence was that the previous owner had sold everything, including the household servants, so there was no need to purchase new ones.
As for decorations and such, Wufu didn’t mind, being not one to favor luxury—simplicity was best. Of course, if her purse grew fatter in the future, and she needed these items for decoration, she could buy them then.
"Miss, please have some tea," a girl about fifteen or sixteen years old dressed in coarse clothes approached, holding a tray.
Wufu looked at her, aware that this girl was likely Ji Yongqing’s daughter.
The girl cautiously glanced at her with the corner of her eye, then quickly lowered her head again.
"Ji Mei, go call your parents and your younger brother here, so the young mistress can recognize your faces," Xiao Li instructed.
"Yes," Ji Mei curtsied.
After she left, Xiao Li and Liu Jin began reporting the matters they had dealt with over the past two days.
"...As you had not returned yet and we did not know your wishes, and in this house, as you said, the old are infirm and the young are small, with not even a gatekeeper at the gatehouse, and then those needed for cooking, serving tea... I took the liberty of buying a group of servants for you to command. Here are their deeds of sale," Xiao Li handed over several papers.
Wufu leafed through them, a total of four, a family of four, and asked, "What’s their background?"
"Criminal slaves," Xiao Li replied.
Wufu looked up sharply, "Criminal slaves?"
Xiao Li nodded, "The previous master was a government official, whose house was confiscated, and the criminal slaves were resold."
Xiao Li paused, pondering her meaning for a moment, then nodded, "Of course, they are all legally in servant status, recognized by the Government Office. Holding their deeds of sale, we need not worry about them turning against you."
Wufu’s smile hinted at irony, "Turning against you... it’s all about not having a big enough temptation. To make the servants willingly loyal and faithful, one must win over their hearts."
This was the first time Xiao Li had heard such a viewpoint, but he quickly agreed, smiling, "That’s true, but having their deeds of sale is like holding their life in your hands. Even if they consider betrayal, they would have to think about their lives. Without life, there is nothing! A servant who signs a deed of sale, if they turn against their master, can be sold or killed at your discretion. Oh, right, these are ’death deeds,’ meaning if you kill them, no one will hold you accountable."
Wufu’s eyebrows furrowed slightly, but she said nothing; she knew that class disparity was an inescapable fact of life, a matter of the survival of the fittest, not something to be debated.
Xiao Li raised an eyebrow; this brevity reminded him of Master Li—it seemed she really considered herself his mistress now.
"Let Ji Yongqing stay in the gatehouse. His wife can work in the kitchen. Their daughter, being sixteen, I didn’t dare to decide for you; she can do the rough work in the front courtyard. There is also a boy who is thirteen, also in the front courtyard, running errands and assisting Liu Jin. As for the back courtyard, what kind of servants do you need? We can call in some servant boys tomorrow, and you can pick and choose then," Xiao Li reported. "As for the back courtyard, what servants are required, we’ll call for more servant boys tomorrow for you to choose from."
Wufu found the situation overwhelming, commenting, "Xiao Li, I am still a minor household here." Her servants outnumbered her, the master.
Xiao Li also picked up a cup of tea, saying indifferently, "You are the head of this household, and the future course of this home relies on that. Even if the household is small now, who knows about the future? It’s not as if, when we entertain guests, you as the mistress would have to personally serve tea and water, right?"
In a wealthy household, there were rules for the wealthy; she thought there were too many people, but in the world, there were countless households where hundreds of servants served just a couple of masters.