In the room, Old Mrs. Song said, "The three of you, Susu, should go bid farewell to Mrs. Zhao." Then, she instructed Zhen Zhu's senior maid to arrange rooms for the newly chosen junior maids.
Susu went out and exchanged a few words with Mrs. Zhao. Since there were people coming and going, there wasn't much she could say. Susu secretly handed Mrs. Zhao a pair of jade earrings she had prepared earlier, saying, "Keep this as a memento!" Without waiting for Mrs. Zhao to react, she ran back into the courtyard.
Mrs. Zhao, not daring to inspect it closely, could still tell what it was by feel. She felt both angry and amused. This girl was truly bold and clever, managing to take something right under the government officer's nose! She felt it inappropriate to return it, so she quietly tucked it into her bosom and led the other young maids to the main courtyard of Old Madam Song.
Meanwhile, the young maids on the Sui'an Hall side were in an uproar. An outsider had just filled a third-class position right off the bat, and it was even personally recommended by the old lady, not to mention that Sister Amber was asked to look after her. Who was this mysterious person?
So, when Susu entered the courtyard, she was met with all sorts of strange emotions, leaving her somewhat puzzled.
The rough maids did not live in the masters' courtyards. Zhen Zhu instructed someone to arrange accommodations for the rough maids and personally brought Susu to the backyard of Sui'an Hall.
The old lady was kind-hearted, so the maids in the manor could marry at the age of eighteen. As the closest first-class maid to the old lady, Zhen Zhu was already seventeen this year, with one more year before she could be married off. Ordinarily, she wouldn't need to get involved in the petty affairs among the junior maids, but she still came.
First, the old lady had said this young maid was to her liking, so naturally, she would be to Zhen Zhu's liking too. Secondly, this was someone the old lady asked Amber to look after, which was face given to Amber. Thirdly, after hearing about Susu's background, Zhen Zhu thought that with proper guidance, this girl would surely relieve the old lady's worries in the future.
Of course, Susu had no way of knowing Zhen Zhu's thoughts. If she did, she would surely sigh, realizing these were indeed the workplace elites within the grand family!
Naturally, Zhen Zhu also noticed the expressions of the junior maids below. Seeing Ruan Susu with her adorably wide eyes and pale face, she couldn't help but want to say something to her.
"By custom, the old lady keeps four first-class maids, six second-class maids, eight third-class maids, and more than a dozen rough maids and servant women around her. Additionally, there are Nanny Qin and others who manage the little kitchens. This time, there were three vacancies for third-class maids, and more than a dozen junior maids were scrambling for it like fighting cocks, while you, you managed to secure one of the third-class spots as soon as you came in, and you were even bought from the outside."
After saying this, Zhen Zhu worried that Susu might be scared and smiled, "The old lady is truly kind. There's nothing messy in our courtyard, so there's no need to be afraid. You were personally recommended by the old lady and have Amber looking after you. As Mrs. Zhao said, it's a huge blessing."
Zhen Zhu brought Ruan Susu to a row of side rooms in the backyard, pushing open the last one. Inside, there were four beds and four small cabinets, with a round table in the middle accompanied by four stools, and a set of tea utensils on top.
Three of the beds had bedding, while the other was bare, making Zhen Zhu feel both amused and exasperated.
"Cai Wen, that girl, is the most frugal. Now that she's promoted to second-class, she doesn't need to take her old bedding. Well, I was going to take you to collect your allotted items anyway. It's better to get new bedding, especially since the old lady asked Amber to organize the storeroom. Let your sister Amber get you some good things." With that, she led Susu toward the other direction.
As Zhen Zhu walked, she introduced the place to Susu. The backyard was quite large, in addition to the rooms where the maids stayed, there was a small kitchen and a storeroom, with the storeroom covering the most area. Amber was the senior maid in charge of the old lady's storeroom.
The Song Family was different from the Duke Li's Mansion. Each courtyard handled its own monthly salary for the maids. The accounts were reported once a year, and then silver was allocated to each courtyard from the public accounts. The Song Family was never short on silver.
Moreover, apart from senior and second-class maids having proper duties, the third-class maids mainly ran errands as instructed by their superiors. They mostly just served tea, poured water, or delivered meals, while cleaning and washing were tasks for the rough maids. So indeed, Susu was rather fortunate.
Along the way, even the older women who had been around for years called Zhen Zhu "Miss," and when they passed by the steward buying supplies, they'd receive a few packets of small snacks. Even Ruan Susu earned a few compliments along the way.
Zhen Zhu noticed that Susu seemed a bit uncomfortable and smiled, "This is just the beginning. Those from our courtyard are always flattered a bit when they go out. Remember this: You are a maid of the old lady's, so when you act, don't be arrogant or let others look down on you."