Chapter 80: Take in? Sell out? Original release on the web

  Qin Dai Xin's mood was exceptionally good, thinking of Qin Ruo Xin's gloomy face earlier made her want to burst out laughing. This Qin Ruo Xin, with a cautious and prudent appearance on the surface, but in reality, she was much more ruthless than ordinary people. She had come up with the idea of bribing Ma Pozi to tamper with the food, which allowed Qin Dai Xin to see her true face clearly, so naturally, she was also on guard against her everywhere. Now that she could see Qin Ruo Xin's frustrated expression without any effort, how could she not be delighted?

  Qin Dai'er entered her own courtyard and found Ruyi to ask about the situation of the mother and daughter, this matter was indeed a heart disease for her!

  "The servant girl temporarily settled the two of them in the tea room, thinking that you would be back to ask questions, so she didn't do anything else." Ruyi glanced at Qindai Xin and saw that Miss's face was normal, so she let out a sigh of relief.

  Qin Dai Xin nodded and asked: "Do you see anything improper in the behavior of these two people?"

  Ru Yi hesitated for a moment, then said: "Your demeanor is proper, like someone from a wealthy family. You don't say much, you don't ask many questions, and you don't look around left or right. But somehow, everything about you seems strange."

  Qin Dai'er understood her meaning and also pondered it in her heart. If these two mother-daughter were really arranged by someone to be by her side, then the matter would be big. Not only could the person behind them not be underestimated, but this mother-daughter pair might also have some abilities. If she couldn't see through it, that was fine, but since she had seen through it, staying with them to investigate and understand the situation would be much better than guarding against people approaching her day and night.

  "Go and bring them here, I'll ask them a few questions."

  Yu Yi called out and left, soon returning with the mother-daughter pair.

  The two of them were dressed in coarse linen clothes, but they were clean and tidy. Qin Dai sized up the woman for a moment, and she seemed even more beautiful than when he had seen her before. Gone was the worn-out look from running around, and there wasn't a single wrinkle on her face. At this moment, her complexion was fair and smooth, looking like someone from a wealthy family, where could you still see that she was a person without any support?

  "Has the illness been cured?" Qin Dai saw that the girl was in good spirits and had a good complexion, but she looked like a person with a somewhat cold personality, which made her seem a bit special.

  "It's all right, Miss." He said with a respectful expression.

  Knowing courtesy, not many words. Qin Dai's eyes narrowed at this moment, covering the sharp light in her eyes, "You two mother and daughter have got justice, you should go back to your hometown, who is willing to leave their home village, don't you have a way out?"

  "Miss, my mother and I have no way out. My father passed away early, and it was hard for my mother to raise me on her own. We worked hard to make ends meet, but the drought in our hometown made it impossible for us to exchange our land for food. With little money left, we came to seek refuge with relatives, but as you saw, Miss, that relative's attitude towards us was not good. Failing to find shelter, my mother and I had no choice but to consider selling ourselves into servitude. You have saved us, Miss, and I dare not forget it. I only hope you can take us in, and I am willing to be your slave or servant for the rest of my life." The words were sincere, but Qin Dai's heart did not miss the fact that the woman had tugged at her sleeve once.

  "Does this sister-in-law also think so?" Qin Dai asked the woman.

  "I don't dare, my surname is Yan, and you can just call me Mrs. Yan." The woman hastily curtsied and said in a somewhat subdued tone: "To be honest, I'm not happy about this, Miss. Our family can't go back home, and although we have these two hundred taels of silver with us, we can't just sit around and do nothing. However, as women, it's not good for us to be out in the open doing business. We're coming to you, Miss, because we really have no other choice. On the surface, it's to repay your kindness, but in reality, we're also hoping that you'll take pity on us and let us stay. My daughter suggested selling ourselves into servitude, but I didn't agree at first - who wants to be someone else's slave? But if we don't do this, I'm afraid you won't be willing to take us in either... it's a difficult situation." The woman was quite straightforward, not even noticing her daughter's scowling face as she laid out her thoughts clearly.

  "Miss, don't listen to my mother, she's not repaying kindness, she's clearly relying on you. I'd rather sell myself into a wealthy household and die with the contract." After saying that, she didn't even glance at Yan Shi and turned her head away awkwardly.

  Yan's family heard that their daughter was going to sell herself into a wealthy household as a concubine, and it was an iron-clad contract. They were frantic and said: "You silly girl, what do you know?"

  She and her mother made a big fuss, but Qin Dai ate half a tranquilizer. If it was really arranged by someone with ulterior motives, why would they refuse such a good opportunity to enter the mansion? However, nothing is absolute in this world, and one can't be too full of oneself.

  "You two women, if you have differing opinions, discuss them thoroughly and then tell me!" Qin Dai's heart let Ruyi arrange for them to go to an empty servant's room, saying that they would give the two of them three days to consider, and in three days, no matter what, they had to make a decision.

  Before she knew it, the 19th of the last month had arrived. Qin Dai's heart had just finished eating breakfast when a little maid came to deliver a message saying that the mother and daughter had something to ask for an audience.

  It's obvious why the two of them came, Qin Dai's heart let someone call them in.

  Yan led his daughter in, and paid respects to Qin Daihe. Qin Daihe glanced at them, noticing that the edges of Yan's shoes were covered in dirty snow, which was quite eye-catching. However, when she looked at her daughter's shoes, they seemed exceptionally clean, with only a faint trace visible on the edge.

  "Have you thought it over?" The voice was neither light nor heavy, with a somewhat careless tone.

  "Miss, I don't know if my mother and I can enter the mansion as long-term workers?" asked Yan Shi.

  Before Qin Dai Xin could speak, Ruyi, who was standing aside, looked displeased and said, "Elder sister-in-law, I think you're a sensible person, how could you say such things? Long-term workers are usually hired when the labor force in a household is insufficient. They work for households during festivals or special occasions like weddings and funerals. Although our Qin family may not be the wealthiest in Taizhou City, it's unreasonable to hire long-term workers to serve Miss alone." After finishing her words, she glanced at Qin Dai Xin again, seeing that she didn't seem to mind, Ruyi continued, "Our miss helped you, but it wasn't so that you could repay her. You insisted on entering the manor to serve, and now this is how you show your gratitude?"

  Yan's face had a difficult expression, but when she looked back at that girl, her face was actually a bit embarrassed, and her face turned red.

  Qin Dai'er thought to herself, fearing that the mother was unwilling for her own daughter to become a slave in someone else's household, so she refused to sell herself into the estate. If it were truly like this, then she could also put her mind at ease. Why bother keeping two untrustworthy people by her side? It would be better to get rid of them and have some peace and quiet instead.

  "If you're unwilling, then don't force it. I'm not short of people here either, so you can just go back!" Qin Dai's face was expressionless, unable to discern any joy or anger.

  That Yan didn't say anything, but her daughter was furious, her expression agitated, and with a "thud" she knelt on the ground, not saying a word, just giving Qin Daihe a solid head butt.

  Yan's mother saw her daughter behaving like this, and she just sighed and thought to herself: "Forget it, my daughter didn't learn anything from her father except for his temper, which is as stubborn as a donkey. I had hoped that our family, which was once known for its love of learning, would not end up in such a state... Alas! Miss, I am not an unfeeling person, and I had been hoping to find a way to support my daughter and me, so that we could settle down when the time came. But now she is willing to do this herself, and in the future, when I meet her father in the afterlife, I will have something to say to him. Let's just sell her into the mansion then!"

  Qin Dai Xin saw that the two had already made up their minds, so she let Ruyi go forward to help the girl up. Ruyi asked: "What's your name and how old are you?"

  "In response to the girl's words, I am Chen Bailu, and this year I'm fifteen." This girl was born on a white dew day, so she took this seasonal name. In ancient times, girls' names were not valued by their families, people called "Er Ya" and "Niuzi" filled the streets, compared to them, she was considered good.

  Ru Yi said: "In the mansion, can't call this name again, why don't you give her a new one, miss?"

  Qin Dai's heart didn't catch the conversation, and she only asked: "Has the snow outside stopped?" This morning, it started snowing heavily with big flakes like goose feathers. The servants got up early to sweep the snow, but as soon as they finished, another layer piled up on the ground, showing how heavy the snow was. Qin Dai's heart couldn't bear to see these servants suffer from the cold, so she ordered them to wait until the snow stopped before sweeping again, which earned her a round of praise from everyone behind her back.

  "Miss, the snowfall is getting smaller, it just hasn't stopped yet."

  "Then let's call it 'Snow Clear'!" Qin Dai didn't understand the old custom of selling oneself, so she handed over the matter to Ruyi to handle. Not only did she have to deal with the sale contract, but also the rules after entering the mansion were taught by Ruyi. Since they weren't bought back from the mansion, there was no mother to teach them etiquette, so Ruyi had to take care of it.

  "Miss, rest assured that after the New Year, I will make sure they serve you properly." Ruyi knew that Miss trusted her, so she secretly made up her mind to teach them discipline and also tell them about the rights and wrongs of the household matters, lest they cause any trouble in the future.

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