Qin Liuxi slept for two days straight, and when she walked out of the house, the sky was filled with beautiful red clouds.
But the gorgeous scene didn't last long before it was ruined by some discordant noise.
Her pleasant mood instantly dissipated a bit, she pursed her lips and headed towards the source of the noise.
The Qin family's old residence was a compound with three courtyards. Previously, only Qin Liuxi lived there. In the vast residence, she only occupied a small courtyard on the back street, which was convenient for coming and going.
The noise was in the flower hall.
When Qin Liuxi arrived, Aunt Li and Xiao Xue were standing at the entrance, looking somewhat aggrieved. Their eyes brightened upon seeing her.
"Miss," the two greeted her in unison.
Qin Liuxi waved her hand and stepped in: "What happened?"
She glanced around and saw the spacious flower hall filled with heads, big and small, all looking towards her with uneasy expressions on some faces.
In the hall, there were two large round tables with dishes that could hardly be called exquisite: a steamed fish, a plate of pickled vegetables stir-fried with pig offal, two vegetarian dishes, and a large bowl of steamed buns.
Qin Liuxi raised her eyebrows; it was time for dinner, but clearly, these dishes could not satisfy the group of big and small masters here.
"What's the problem?" Mrs. Xie, pointing at the food on the table with a stern face, said: "Miss Xi, look at this, what kind of food is this? Even our servants wouldn't eat this. Is this supposed to be dinner? It was the same yesterday, I didn't say anything, but it's still the same today. If the kitchen staff can't cook, then replace them with someone capable."
As she spoke, she glared at Aunt Li and her daughter.
Aunt Li, a temperamental woman, hurriedly said: "Miss, there used to be fewer people in the house, and you never liked elaborate dishes, so we always bought lighter groceries. Suddenly, with so many people added these past two days, it's hard to change our buying habits immediately; we can only buy in larger quantities, and about the Silver Coin..."
Aunt Li paused, finding it difficult to continue.
For a mansion's procurement, the exact amount of Silver spent daily is clear. Previously, the old house only had Qin Liuxi as the master, and the rest were just a few servants. Aside from Qin Liuxi's food being a bit more refined, those of the servants were just like ordinary households, which was sufficient.
But with more than ten persons suddenly added these past two days, with insufficient Silver Coin, how could they buy? They had to purchase dishes that were good enough to fill the stomach according to the Silver available, without thinking about whether they were exquisite or not.
Now, with these masters making trouble, they felt wronged and found it difficult. Even a three-year-old child knows that a clever wife can't cook without rice.
"Nonsense, I clearly saw you secretly prepared a pot of red date and lean meat soup for her," accused a girl about thirteen or fourteen, frowning at Qin Liuxi.
Qin Liuxi looked at her; she was a cousin from her second uncle's family named Qin Mingyue.
Aunt Li was stunned for a moment and then explained: "The Miss hasn't eaten for two days, what's wrong with keeping this soup for her?"
"Are you implying that the Miss is more precious than the Old Lady?" Mrs. Xie immediately picked up the conversation.
Aunt Li was at a loss for words: "No, this..."
In her heart, the Miss was more precious than anyone, but how could she dare to say that here, wouldn't that undeservingly tarnish the Miss's reputation for filial piety?
Aunt Li looked at Qin Liuxi for help.
Qin Liuxi turned her gaze to Mrs. Xie with a hint of coldness in her eyes.
Mrs. Xie's brow bones were bony and her cheekbones sharp, such facial features indicated a dominant and overbearing personality, cold-hearted by nature, profit-oriented, a person she did not want to associate with and disliked.
Qin Liuxi's tone became slightly cold: "So, you're full and have nothing better to do here, looking for trouble? Want to have an exquisite dinner with meat and vegetables, perhaps even add cubilose ginseng as nourishment? That's not impossible, Aunt, where's the Silver?"
She extended her hand towards Mrs. Xie: "Bring the money, and I'll buy everything you want!"