Chapter 569 - 563_1
Madam Zhou knew that Lin Yue didn’t like her, so she didn’t follow Xixi inside, lest the girl talk nonsense again and say something "utterly outrageous." But still concerned about whether the silver would come into her hands, she waited eagerly outside the door. Seeing Xixi come out with a silver ingot in hand, her face bloomed into a smile.
"How did it go, second girl agreed, didn’t she? I told you, no matter what, I am that girl’s biological mother. There’s no way she’d let such a good deal slip to outsiders. Give me the silver, and I’ll arrange for your accommodation right away. I guarantee that I’ll clean the rooms spotless, and you’ll be staying in the utmost comfort."
Madam Zhou didn’t wait for Xixi to hand over the silver; she reached for it herself, but Xixi dodged her. Madam Zhou’s smile froze, and Xixi looked at her coldly, "Why be in such a hurry, Old Madam? What’s yours will be yours. The Mistress has commanded me to give the silver to you, and I dare not disobey. However, the Mistress’s orders need to be spelled out in advance."
"Miss Xixi, what do you mean?" Madam Zhou’s tone now much more polite; where she had called her a worthless girl and a cheap maid before, she now addressed Xixi the same way Lin Genfa did—Miss Xixi—all for the sake of the silver.
"My Mistress has said that she’ll pay for the room, but since the rent is paid, you also need to make sure everything is arranged properly, Old Madam. If there is any displeasure, our Mistress certainly won’t tolerate it. Here are five taels of silver, which would more than suffice for a night at Xin’an City’s finest inn. If anything is unsatisfactory, the silver will be taken back at any time. You shouldn’t just assume that once the silver is in your hands all is well. Aside from having a fair argument, we also have ways to be unreasonable. Angering the Mistress would surely bring no good," Xixi recited the words Lin Yue had instructed her to say. Everyone had seen Madam Zhou’s bridge burning tactics before, but if the money wasn’t given in advance, Madam Zhou would not be inclined to help. With money given, there was a fear she wouldn’t do the work.
Indeed, upon hearing Xixi’s words, Madam Zhou glanced at the burly servants Lin Yue brought with her, each one looking fit and clearly skilled in some way. Madam Zhou shrank her neck and her original thoughts vanished immediately.
"Rest assured, Miss Xixi. Since I have taken the silver, I will do the job well, arranging everything perfectly. Please let second girl rest easy. Can I have the silver now?" Madam Zhou, afraid of the guards Lin Yue had brought, now truly dared not grab for it.
Xixi reluctantly handed over the silver to Madam Zhou, feeling it was a disservice to her mistress, "Take it. The Mistress said there will be a reward later if you do well. Also, we will cook our own dinner in the kitchen, but you need to first clean and prepare the ingredients."
"No problem, no problem at all! I’ll get it done for sure," Madam Zhou, hearing that there would be additional reward money, was overjoyed. Clutching the silver ingot tightly in her hand, she smiled so broadly her mouth could hardly close. This was a full five taels of silver—outside of when she sold her second girl, she hadn’t seen this much money in a long time. As she mused, she bit down on the silver ingot with her few remaining old teeth, "It’s real, genuine silver."
The people around her viewed such behavior with even more disdain. Xixi didn’t bother paying Madam Zhou any attention; instead, she headed to the door where Lin Genfa was still waiting outside, as Madam Zhou, fearful of incurring bad luck, steadfastly refused to let Genfa inside.