Lu Chenchen finally got a job!
To be honest, if Lu Chenchen was willing to be a part-time nanny, it wouldn't have been that hard to find work. She just didn't want to run around from this family on Monday, Wednesday and Friday to that family on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. What's more, she felt that part-time work was unstable, with employers sometimes needing to reschedule or even cancel.
Of course, the main reason was that live-in work paid more and had lower expenses.
This family was introduced by a housekeeping company. Originally they wanted her to come in for an interview in person before deciding whether to hire her or not, but when Lu Chenchen was discussing a time to come in with Chen, the manager at the housekeeping company, the family changed it to a video interview instead.
That was the first time Lu Chenchen saw Yao Shali, a very elegant and refined woman who looked to be around 30 years old and quite cultivated. She politely asked Lu Chenchen several questions like "Can you pan-fry steak?" and "How do you wash broccoli?" before handing the phone over to Chen.
After that, they notified Lu Chenchen to start work the next day.
The next day was Tomb Sweeping Day, a statutory holiday.
Lu Chenchen knew that national regulations required holiday pay to be doubled, but she didn't know if Ms. Yao was aware of that. She hesitated for a moment over whether to remind them, but then decided not to say anything.
In this economy, it wasn't easy to find a live-in position.
The employer's home was in a villa compound by East-West Lake. It was a family of two adults, three children, and the husband's mother all living together. Chen told Lu Chenchen that her job would be cooking three meals a day and doing housework.
That didn't sound too difficult, but over two years of experience as a nanny told Lu Chenchen that with elderly and young children, the work would definitely not be as simple as it sounded.
Well, like they say, her need for the job was more urgent than any potential scope creep in the work.
Ms. Yao wanted her to arrive before 8 AM the next day.
Lu Chenchen was staying at the lodgings the agency rented out to nannies who didn't have work yet. To get from there to the East-West Lake villa compound, she would have to take the subway to Jin Yin Tan, then transfer to a public bus to a stop about half a mile from the villa district, and ride a shared bike the rest of the way there. Lu Chenchen left at 6:30 AM. You weren't allowed to eat on the subway, so she bought a boiled egg and a carton of milk and took five minutes at the platform to have breakfast before plunging into the morning rush hour crowds. She barely made it to the compound gate before 8 o'clock, but to her surprise the security guard, looking like he was on high alert for thieves, made her sign in and wait for the employer to visually confirm her identity before reluctantly letting her in.
The compound was large with nice landscaping and not many people. The morning air was fresh and she could even hear birdsong. It was the kind of environment Lu Chenchen liked. Unfortunately, by the time she knocked on the employer's door, it was already 8:25 AM.
"The doorbell is over there," said Yao Shali after opening the door, pointing at the doorbell and speaking expressionlessly before turning and walking inside.
Seeing her completely different attitude from their video calls, Lu Chenchen cried out inwardly. She had actually rung the doorbell, but likely because the house was so large, she hadn't heard it ring inside or any sounds of someone coming to the door. Anxious about being late, she had hastily knocked on the door instead. Now it looked like the lady of the house probably thought she had hired a very rude nanny!
After all that rushed effort early in the morning, she never expected to get off on the wrong foot like this. Any lingering hopes Lu Chenchen had about holiday pay were thoroughly dashed. All that was left was 120,000 percent anxiety as she timidly followed the lady of the house inside.
The interior decor leaned European. The living room was spacious, with a semi-open kitchen. Two boys and one girl were sitting at the dining table eating breakfast. Judging by appearances, the older boy looked about 8 or 9 years old while the other two were around 5 or 6.
Yao Shali took good care of herself and didn't look at all like the mother of three children. She was very slender, the kind of thinness achieved through dieting. She walked gracefully with poise, clearly raised with good manners from a young age. She told Lu Chenchen to call her "Mao Ma" and casually instructed the children to call her "Lv Auntie." At the same time, she quickly told Lu Chenchen the children's names.
The oldest was called Mao Dingyi, the second son Mao Dingjie, and the daughter Mao Dingxi.
For easier differentiation, let's call the oldest Big Mao, the second son Second Mao, and the little girl...we'll call her Little Ming.
The children gave a perfunctory and mumbled "Auntie Lv" before continuing to focus on their breakfast plates. Lu Chenchen glanced over - they were all eating boiled eggs and toast. Big Mao's toast was spread with jam, Second Mao had a slice of bacon on his, and Little Ming...Little Miss wasn't eating. She was secretly tearing off little pieces of toast and stuffing them into the crevices of the table.
Lu Chenchen instinctively wanted to stop her, her mouth already open, but then remembered the mistake she had made upon entering and closed it again.
At this critical juncture, she absolutely could not displease the lady of the house again, even if it was the little lady.
The Mao villa had two stories plus an attic and a yard with a sub-main garage. As Mrs. Mao took her around the upstairs and downstairs briefing her on the work, Lu Chenchen silently summarized her requirements: Clean, clean, and clean again!
Simple and clear as this request sounded, only someone who had been a nanny knew how difficult the process was.
When Mrs. Mao showed Lu Chenchen the master bedroom and opened the door briefly for her to look inside, Lu Chenchen's gaze inadvertently swept over the wedding photos on the wall and she froze for a moment. The husband was...
She wanted to look more closely to be sure, but Mrs. Mao had already closed the door again.
Just as she was explaining everyone's dietary preferences, an older woman of around 60 with a rather sturdy build entered from outside walking a similarly sturdy Chinese Rural Dog.
Lu Chenchen's body instantly stiffened.
Childhood trauma of being bitten by a mongrel came flooding down like a mountain. She had told Chen she was afraid of dogs, especially Chinese Rural Dogs, but he hadn't told her the Maos had a dog, a huge Chinese Rural Dog.
Afterwards when Lu Chenchen called Chen to take him to task, asking if she had told him she was scared of dogs and Chinese Rural Dogs in particular, Chen affirmed in a tone that questioned her intelligence that yes, she had indeed told him all that. So Lu Chenchen got even angrier and asked why he had introduced her to an employer family with a dog. Chen retorted in a tone that suggested he couldn't accept her intelligence: "Did you say you wouldn't work for a family with dogs?"
...
Lu Chenchen could only admit she was uneducated and lacked articulate language skills...
She had to admit Chen was an extremely shrewd businessman. Just when Lu Chenchen had mustered up great determination to overcome the temptation of the pay and say "I quit," he switched to a gentle tone and blabbered on persuasively about things like "pets being a sign of a city" and "the vast majority of high-quality employers keeping pets" and "refusing pets means refusing high pay." Taking advantage of Lu Chenchen's moment of hesitation, he promptly hung up, rejecting her protest.
But that was afterward. In the moment, Lu Chenchen was frightened into standing there stiffly, not daring to move.
The Rural Dog was definitely a "pet" that bullied the meek and feared the firm. As soon as it saw Lu Chenchen reveal a cowardly demeanor, it immediately bristled its back and barked wildly at her.
The old woman stopped it but didn't give Lu Chenchen the slightest bit of reassurance. She frowned and muttered to herself, "LiLi doesn't like you."
Beside her, it was clear Mrs. Mao heard it but pretended not to. She introduced Lu Chenchen to the old woman. The old woman nodded perfunctorily and asked while unleashing the dog, "Can you stew bird's nest?"
Lu Chenchen's whole mind was still on the big dog called "LiLi." It was also staring fixedly at her, looking ready to pounce on her the moment it got free.
With no reply, the old woman looked Lu Chenchen up and down, gave a slight laugh, bent down and gently patted the dog while looking at it and saying, "Don't worry, I won't let it bite her. It won't bite people."
The old woman's actions and words were full of undisguised contempt and condescension. Lu Chenchen had encountered some ill-tempered elderly people before, but none had shown their sense of superiority and discrimination so directly.
Lu Chenchen bit her lip, warring internally between "quit immediately" and "tough it out two days then quit."
Mrs. Mao beckoned to her, "Your room is this way."
To clarify, the reason Lu Chenchen went with her was not because she had decided to stay, but because she wanted to get away from that dog as quickly as possible.
"We're going out to play in a bit, and probably won't be back until tonight. Since you just got here today, there's no rush to start working. Get familiar with the place first," Mao Tai's eyes darted between the wall and floor, never landing on Lu Chenchen, yet somehow seeming able to see right through all her thoughts. "Oh right, there are security cameras in every room except yours. Go put your luggage away first before coming back out."
As soon as the words left her mouth, she thoughtfully closed the door for Lu Chenchen.
The room was about seven or eight square meters, with a window, single bed, and simple wardrobe. The wardrobe was brand new, and the bedding was very clean.
It had to be admitted that the environment provided by these employers was better than what Lu Chenchen had received in many other homes.
Lu Chenchen didn't mind working more or less. She wasn't bothered by contempt or wariness either.
However, she...she was really afraid of that big dog called "LiLi."
And the husband in the wedding photo she'd caught a glimpse of...
Lu Chenchen still couldn't confirm.
