The whole family was adapting to their new life.
Jiang Mianmian adapted particularly quickly.
She moved into her own private chambers, with an adjoining room where normally a maid would be on duty, in case the young lady needed anything in the middle of the night.
Aunt Yin said that normally a noble family's daughter would have at least eight people serving her.
Two personal maids, two chamber maids, two menial maids, one wet nurse, and one elder female servant.
The personal maids were like modern-day personal assistants.
One was responsible for daily life, the four treasures of the study, as well as needlework, fragrances, clothes, antiques, and paintings - essentially managing the more refined things. In simple terms, one managed finances, while the other managed personnel, overseeing the other maids.
The more hands-on tasks like tea and food preparation were handled by the next tier of maids.
Other tasks like tending to flowers and plants, decorating, and cleaning that didn't require close personal contact were done by the menial maids.
When going out, noble young ladies would also be assigned female guards.
More capable personal maids not only served as personal assistants but also took on the role of female guards.
For example, Aunt Yao who served the Jiang family matriarch was like this. Aunt Yao was very skilled in martial arts and also managed all the affairs and maids around the matriarch.
The chamber maids had specific duties like hairdressing, preparing fragrances, and so on.
No matter how many roles you can think of, there were never enough people.
So it's understandable that princesses and the like could have dozens of people serving them.
Extrapolating from this, a male master with one wife, many concubines, and many children would have a house full of servants. So when Lord He sent over more than a hundred servants, it wasn't excessive at all.
It wasn't an exaggeration.
This was the basic setup for the nobility.
Of course, Qin Luoxia wasn't dazzled by this sudden wealth.
She wanted to take it slow.
She wasn't used to managing people yet, and having so many maids and servants all at once didn't seem appropriate. It would take time to adjust to working with all the maids and servants, and they might even try to take advantage of the situation.
Although Aunt Yin said they could sell off any they didn't like, weren't there still many shocking and messy affairs in large families? Her husband had experienced this, not having a good life in the Jiang family despite having many servants around him.
So Qin Luoxia only assigned one chubby little maid to her young daughter, one who looked strong enough to do work and not too cunning.
The rest would probably be handled by Aunt Yin.
She chose two plain-looking maids for Jiang Yu.
After all, Jiang Yu was already married and had more responsibilities.
Even with these two plain-looking maids, Qin Luoxia still had to worry a bit. She felt her older daughter wasn't as sharp as the younger one.
It would be good enough to properly train these two somewhat clumsy-looking maids.
They would take it slow, no need to rush.
For herself, she also chose two people - an elder female servant and a maid who looked capable.
As for her husband, she selected a literate manservant.
For young master Feng, she chose two manservants, no maids.
She chose a bunch of little maids for Aunt Yin to train gradually.
Besides maids, Lord He had prepared many other things as well.
For Jiang Mianmian, it was basically a move-in ready situation.
Everything was prepared for all aspects of daily life.
For clothing, many fabrics were sent, along with embroiderers and tailors. They could start making clothes right away with custom measurements.
For food, the kitchen was stocked with seasonings, grains, vegetables, meat, and eggs. Not only was human food prepared, but feed for livestock was also provided in abundance. The kitchen was fully staffed with cooks and kitchen helpers.
For lodging, every room was cleaned thoroughly, with new beds and bedding sets that looked brand new. They could sleep in them right away.
For transportation, carriages were provided.
Carriages were allocated according to the Commander's official rank and position, along with horses to pull them, and some gentle mules as well.
So for transportation alone, at least two staff were needed - one driver and one to prepare and maintain the "engine" (feeding and caring for the horses and mules). If the household was large, with people wanting to go shopping, attend gatherings, or go to work, one driver wouldn't be enough - at least two would be needed.
In short, to have a superior, high-class, comfortable lifestyle in ancient times, you needed many people to serve you.
Calculating it this way, having a house full of people wasn't excessive at all.
Young Jiang Mianmian was trying her best to adapt to the life of nobility at home.
Jiang Changtian took his son and son-in-law to the government office to take up his post, also adapting to the life of nobility.
Jiang Changtian adapted even faster.
He looked every bit like a second-generation noble from the capital who had come down to gain experience, not at all like a rebel.
With flowing robes and long hair, even his speech had an ethereal quality.
Yesterday, someone had spread a rumor that the new Commander Jiang was terrifying, but this must have been a misunderstanding. How could such a beautiful gentleman be terrifying?
Could it be that Little Phoenix Fairy saw Commander Jiang's beauty, felt ashamed of her own looks, and died of embarrassment?
So a new version of the rumor spread.
The newly appointed Commander Jiang was so stunningly beautiful that when Little Phoenix Fairy saw him, she was awestruck, felt ashamed of her own looks, and committed suicide...
Of the two stories, the latter spread more widely. People were more inclined to believe this one because it had a twist and an element of the bizarre. Little Phoenix Fairy was already beautiful enough to cause the downfall of families and nations, so for someone to make Little Phoenix Fairy feel ashamed of her looks and commit suicide, how incredibly beautiful must that man be?
When Lord He went back to report to his superior, even his boss asked about this gossip: "Is that Commander Jiang really more beautiful than Little Phoenix Fairy?"
Lord He nodded with difficulty.
Well, although Commander Jiang was more beautiful than Little Phoenix Fairy, Little Phoenix Fairy was indeed killed by Commander Jiang's people, not by suicide.
But the superior had already stopped listening and was letting his imagination run wild.
Lord He didn't think it appropriate to forcefully pull him back to explain.
"Is Commander Jiang satisfied with our arrangements?"
Lord He nodded slowly.
His job was to make people satisfied, after all. If they weren't satisfied, it meant he hadn't done his job well.
"For all the upcoming banquets and events, make sure to invite Commander Jiang. We must ensure that Commander Jiang feels our provincial capital's official circles' warmth and hospitality."
Lord He obediently nodded.
"What about tonight's welcoming banquet?"
"Go, everyone must go and show respect. It's also a chance to see this legendary Commander who's said to be more beautiful than Little Phoenix Fairy."
Several people in the office started laughing.
Lord He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but then closed it again. Never mind, you'll see for yourselves.
Seeing is believing.
...
Tonight, Father was out socializing and didn't come home for dinner.
Big brother and brother-in-law were also out socializing and didn't come home for dinner.
Dinner was prepared by the cook.
Probably eager to impress the masters, they had prepared a very lavish meal.
Jiang Yu was very excited, not even caring that her big brother, husband, and father hadn't returned home.
She circled the table several times.
Aunt Yin gave her several sidelong glances.
It wasn't until Mother went to her room and came back with a whip to check if it was secure that sister finally stopped her strange behavior of circling the table and drooling.
However, when it came time to eat, Jiang Yu felt a bit dazed and greatly disappointed.
She forced herself to eat it all out of respect for the food - it was all fine grain and various seasonings, all rare items.
She was a bit confused. Could the food in the provincial capital really be this bad? That seemed impossible.
Could it be that they looked down on their family for coming from the countryside, so they deliberately set them up by giving them cooks who couldn't cook?
Indeed, as Aunt Yin had said, the outside world was dangerous, with deep schemes. If it weren't for her good sense of taste, she would have almost been fooled.
Jiang Mianmian, used to the food made by her sister and mother, was also a bit picky. The food made by the people here was indeed a bit hard to describe, although the presentation was quite good.
Qin Luoxia didn't say anything.
Aunt Yin also ate silently, eating very little.
In the end, there were quite a lot of leftovers, which was very wasteful and not in line with their family's usual style.
Aunt Yin said, "Let's bestow this food on the members of the song and dance troupe."
Jiang Mianmian had requested those nine people, collectively referred to as the song and dance troupe.
Qin Luoxia nodded, agreeing it was a good idea.
Jiang Mianmian felt a bit strange in her heart. So giving leftovers and unwanted food to others was indeed considered a favor.
She seemed to have come across this kind of plot before.
Seeing the young girl's surprised expression, Aunt Yin gently stroked her head and said, "When those in high positions bestow food, it's a show of closeness. Although our conditions have improved, if you go to the market, you'll still see people renting bones to take home and boil. A single large bone can be rented out several times." (Note 1)
Jiang Mianmian's mouth fell slightly open.
Those who rent bones to take home, in order to get the most value for their money, would they lick the bones clean?
I'm grateful for my hardworking and ambitious parents.
No need to rent bones to take home for cooking, otherwise, just thinking about it...
Bestowing leftover food and scraps, in return for tearful gratitude from the members of the dance troupe.
Jiang Mianmian felt that except for the youngest little girl who seemed genuinely grateful, the others were merely going through the motions of thanks, with a touch of gratitude, but not much.
Indeed, the idea of gaining loyalty by granting a meal of leftovers doesn't exist; it's against human nature.
At night, Jiang Mianmian lay in bed, reflecting on the day.
She had interacted with more people today than in the past several years combined.
The day had flown by in a flurry of activity, giving her an inexplicable sense of integration into this society.
After saying goodnight to the little tree by her bedside, Jiang Mianmian fell asleep.
Before drifting off, she thought about how ancient fabrics probably didn't contain formaldehyde, as they had no smell, which was quite nice.
In her hazy sleep, she felt her father and mother come in. Her father kissed her on the cheek, then left.
She slept more soundly after that.
She began to snore softly.
In the late autumn, the young lady's large bed was covered with thick, tightly drawn curtains.
In the outer room, a plump little maid slept somewhat restlessly, always feeling as if an old woman was watching her. The floor of the room seemed to have quite a few ants; she would need to get up early tomorrow to clean.
