"Get up! We all know your determination! You’ve finally thought it through! From now on, you’ll follow me. In your spare time, learn more from Aunt Wu and Aunt Ding. I’ll teach you the other rules slowly. You can settle in with peace of mind!" Wang Yongzhu nodded approvingly at Yang Zaizhao.
Yang Zaizhao couldn’t help but let tears flow but quickly blinked them back and gave Wang Yongzhu a heavy kowtow, "This servant greets the lady!"
Wang Yongzhu signaled her to rise with a gentle gesture and said, "Our family is small and doesn’t have so many rules like large households. As long as you are honest, simple, and obedient, there’s no need to kowtow frequently. You don’t have to call yourself a servant either; just use your name—"
She hesitated for a while, "Your name really doesn’t sound good. If you don’t mind, shall I give you a new name?"
Yang Zaizhao had attended Aunt Wang’s pre-job training a few days earlier, so she knew that when you have a new master, if you get favored by them, you’ll surely be given a name. This is the start of becoming a trusted aide.
Moreover, she also knew her name wasn’t pleasant, and she was often mocked for it in the village.
So she hurriedly nodded, "Whatever the lady decides."
Wang Yongzhu, having said the words, found herself at a loss when it came to naming. She truly didn’t know what to choose at the moment.
Recalling that Gu Zikai’s student attendant was named Lang Hao, which sounded literary.
Ninth Master Lee’s personal young servant was named Wang Cai, a name that suggested making money.
She too needed a name whose meaning was immediately clear. She was here to farm; she certainly couldn’t call it Transplant Rice Seedlings, Pick Tea, or Dye Cloth, could she?
Scratching her head, Wang Yongzhu finally managed to come up with a name after quite some time. "You’ll be called Gu Yu!"
Farming can’t do without the twenty-four solar terms. Now that Grain Rain has passed and Li Xia hasn’t come yet, we’ll call it Gu Yu.
If the family buys another maid or young servant in the future, you won’t have to worry about naming them anymore. You can casually choose from the twenty-four solar terms.
Wang Yongzhu inwardly gave herself a big thumbs up!
In order not to let Yang Zaizhao feel that the name was too perfunctory, she came up with an explanation after racking her brains. Why the name Gu Yu? Because it’s the last season of spring. This is the time for sowing seeds, meaning the end of the cold wave and the rise of temperature, signaling everything will get better.
Yang Zaizhao, now Gu Yu, upon hearing the name, found it melodious and much better than Zaizhao or Youzhhao. She thought to herself, "Indeed, as expected of a scholar’s lady, even the name she casually gives to a young maid has such profound meaning." Her eyes were immediately filled with gratitude.
Wang Yongzhu wiped her sweat, feeling a little ashamed, but seeing the grateful look in Gu Yu’s eyes, she even started to believe in her own nonsense.
These were minor things. Since they had bought Gu Yu to be a maid, they certainly needed to train her as a personal maid.
Wang Yongzhu then carefully explained the household rules to Gu Yu: Be observant, diligent, and love cleanliness. Be honest and sincere, and most importantly, keep your mouth shut! If you manage these basics, it’s good enough. Personal special talents are considered a bonus, like Old Granny Wu is especially good at gathering information, and Old Madam Ding can manage accounts—these are unexpected surprises.
It was also decided, being the new young maid, Gu Yu would follow and learn, and receive a monthly allowance of twenty Large Coins. As for Old Granny Wu and Old Madam Ding, since they had already been sold to the Song Family, they naturally also received an allowance—four hundred Large Coins each, after deducting all living expenses.
It seemed less than before, but Old Granny Wu and Old Madam Ding were very happy. The master household provided good food, warm clothes, and clean, comfortable living conditions without any worries.
Previously, although they earned an ounce of silver a month, they would often worry about the next master and live off their savings once the current one was gone.
Now, as long as they didn’t spend indiscriminately each month, they could save all the allowance.
Occasionally, the family would also gift some cloth and purses, which pleased them greatly.
Therefore, they taught Gu Yu diligently, cleansing her mind from the training that Granny Wang hadn’t completely instilled.
The idea was to inform her that with such a good master, if she followed them for a lifetime, she wouldn’t worry about anything, but mustn’t lose her head and do anything to betray the master. If the master ever got angry and decided to sell her off, she would be screwed.
Gu Yu remembered all these lessons, repeating them to herself every night before going to bed, hoping to carve them into her bones.
In the front courtyard, Lang Hao, upon hearing that the Scholar’s Lady had bought a little girl, became curious.
The attendants like him, in the academy, interacted only with fellow attendants. At home, they either faced their own young masters or their parents.
Let alone girls of their age; even seeing women was a rarity.
It reminded him of the past in the Capital City, where the mansion was full of pretty little maids, each with sweet mouths, calling him Brother Lang Hao, following him all day, bringing him snacks or soups.
His young master never wanted these, so he had them all for himself, collecting quite a bit of pocket money annually.
Ever since following his young master to Jing County, logically, the scholar friends of his young master, or their sisters and the masters’ family members, should have a few maids, right? Not to mention anything else, just seeing lively young girls every day made the heart happy.
But his young master chose Changqing Academy, and it seemed not even flies in the academy were female.
The teachers’ family members lived separately outside the academy, and students were strictly prohibited from visiting there.
Chatting with other attendants, their young masters returned home, where maid sisters would tidy beds—forget it, his young master!
If he couldn’t rely on his young master, maybe he could look for the maids in Scholar Song’s rear courtyard and enjoy the sight of others’ little maids.
Lang Hao kept thinking about it and subtly hinted, hoping to suggest visiting the backyard with his young master.
Gu Zikai knew what Lang Hao was up to; he should have sternly scolded Lang Hao. But inexplicably, he swallowed his words, and, as if by a stroke of fate, seized the opportunity when things from the Capital City arrived.
He selected a few items, had Lang Hao take them, and go knock on the backyard door.
When the door opened, Old Granny Wu, seeing it was Scholar Gu from the front courtyard, hurried to report to her mistress.
Song Chongjin was inside talking with Wang Yongzhu, and both of them quickly came out.
These days, Gu Yu had meat to eat every day, ate to her fill, wore comfortable clothes, and had a bit of flesh and color return to her cheeks.
Her hair, treated daily with hair oil given by Wang Yongzhu and cared for by Old Granny Wu, although still somewhat dry, was not as frizzy.
Seeing guests arrive, she followed Old Granny Wu, learning how to serve tea and snacks.
Gu Zikai’s relationship with Song Chongjin had grown slightly closer these days as his suspicions disappeared, and he no longer carried that guarded and calculating demeanor.
Song Chongjin, ever so keen, though unsure why Gu Zikai showed more sincerity, decided to accept the goodwill as Gu Zikai restrained his malice.