Chapter 77: Are You Alright Now?

  Because Qin Dai Xin became the owner of Xiaofront Village, and she valued Zheng Jiufu very much, so naturally, Zheng Jiufu also became the manager of the village again, overseeing all matters in the village and the mansion. Zheng Jiufu had two sons, the elder son was named Zheng Tong, who was good at farming and had inherited his father's love for agriculture, spending every day studying how to fertilize the land and harvest crops; the younger son was named Zheng Yue, who had not done any farm work since childhood due to poor health, but instead followed a teacher to study, becoming skilled in arithmetic and calligraphy. These two brothers, one literary and one martial, should have been the reliable helpers of Xiaofront Village, but unfortunately, at that time, the Long family was powerful and jealous of talented people, so they naturally did not get reused. Qin Dai Xin saw these two men and thought they were truly talented, so she let Zheng Tong become the head of the village and Zheng Yue become the accountant.

  Zheng Jiufu repeatedly declined, saying that the two were young and couldn't bear the weight of great responsibility. Qin Dai knew he was being polite and also worried, so she advised: "Who hasn't been young before? Isn't this a good opportunity to temper them? Besides, you're here to oversee things, if they really can't handle it, you can just replace them with someone else. It's not about avoiding relatives, but if you're afraid of what others might say and I lose these two good helpers, then that would be your fault."

  Qin Dai Xin said both good and bad, making Zheng Jiufu unable to refute, and he became embarrassed. He thought of the past few years, the kind of frustration and bitterness that came with having ambitions but being unable to fulfill them, not everyone could tolerate it. Thinking about the bright future ahead, Zheng Jiufu steeled himself and gritted his teeth: "Since Third Miss trusts me, I'll put my heart at ease. I'll definitely take good care of these two kids. If they dare to cause trouble, I won't show any mercy." The land and the account room were crucial points that required attention, and any negligence would result in heavy losses. Third Miss was willing to let her two sons take charge, which meant she valued them highly. How could he not repay her kindness? He knew his two sons' abilities, and if they didn't have real talent, no matter how big his face was, he wouldn't agree to let them occupy such important positions. However, this also meant that Third Miss had exceptional judgment. She had asked a few casual questions and had already figured out the true abilities of his two sons. Her questions were all on point, making it impossible to deceive her. Such a shrewd person wouldn't do business at a loss, and the wine workshop in Xiaoqian Village would likely become prosperous in the future!

  The two of them discussed it again and then called several servants from the mansion into the hall.

  There are five rough maidservants in the mansion, three daughters-in-law and four young maids. Correspondingly, there are also five headmen, three guards and four small servants in the outer courtyard.

  Zheng Jiufu resumed his position as the head steward, and naturally he had to discipline these underlings thoroughly. Now that this estate was no longer what it used to be, with a real master in residence, the rules would have to change too.

  Zheng Jiufu's words were very clever, emphasizing that the third young lady was the real master. The previous set of Chang'an Niang no longer worked, and if everyone did their job with diligence, they would naturally gain recognition from the master; if they were lazy and slow, once discovered, they would be driven out.

  Qin Dai Xin emphasized: "Fu Bo's words are my words. As long as everyone does their job seriously, I won't let you down. On the contrary, if you do something that makes me unbearable, no matter how big or small, I will severely punish you."

  Everyone listened and nodded in agreement. Those who used to be lazy and idle were secretly suffering; on the other hand, those who had always worked hard were delighted, thinking that they must achieve something to show Third Miss.

  Having arranged everything as she wished, she came to the flower hall and reported to Qin Dai Xin, arranging Pei Hu and others in the main rooms of the wing room.

  Qin Dai Xin knew that place, although it was connected to the main courtyard, but it was also an independent entity, and could be considered as a outer courtyard of the mansion. To get from there into the main courtyard of the mansion, one would have to cross several small courtyards. Ru Yi had arranged things this way simply because he didn't want to invite unnecessary trouble. This side courtyard was cleverly arranged, not only did it distinguish between the living quarters and status of people like Pei Hu and the servants, but also could shut up those who were gossiping. These idle talks, even if they wanted to spread them, would be unable to get out.

  Qin Dai Xin was also tired, she waved her hand to let everyone retreat, she simply washed up and decided to take a short nap. Ruyi had wanted to persuade her to eat some food, but seeing that she had no appetite and was full of sleepiness, it wasn't good to disturb her, so he personally made her bed, changed into a brand new set of bedding, and added a charcoal brazier under the bed before retreating.

  Qin Dai'er took a look around the small house where she had stayed for more than three months, and inexplicably felt a sense of dependence in her heart. The vast Qin Mansion was not as comfortable to stay in as this small courtyard, it was really ridiculous.

  On a winter day, the sky darkened early. When Qin Dai's heart woke up, the courtyard had already lit up the lights. Like intention served her to wipe her face and simply changed into a set of clothes. Only then did she take up the cloak, hold the lantern, and head towards the main hall.

  It's said to be the main hall, but it's just a bit bigger than the small hall. Qin Dai Xin had instructed the kitchen to prepare good wine and dishes early in the morning, in order to entertain Pei Hu and his men.

  When she entered, everyone had been waiting for a long time. Seeing her arrival, they all stood up to greet her. Qin Dai didn't want to receive these empty courtesies, so she waved her hand and asked everyone to sit down quickly. Everyone knew that she was easy-going, so they sat down as she said.

  The wine has been warmed up, and the dishes have all been served. In the hall, apart from Pei Hu and others, there were only Qin Dai Xin and her two servants. The other servants had received orders early in the morning that unless they received further instructions from her, they were not allowed to come forward, so they had all retreated.

  "I won't say more polite words, brothers willing to believe me, I'm grateful, today I've prepared some light wine, just to welcome you all." Qin Dai raised her cup and toasted the people in the house.

  Because there were too many people and Xiaofront village didn't have suitable tables and chairs, two tables were set up in the hall. Qin Dai Xin first toasted to the people at this table, then went to toast to another table.

  These people saw her so refreshing, and they admired her even more. They thought that everyone had escaped death because of her; also because she had returned to the right path, it seemed as if everything was arranged by heaven, and they believed even more that this was fate. As they drank their wine, they became even more enthusiastic.

  "Brothers, I know you all started out as bandits because you had no other choice, but even though you've reached the end of your road, you've never bullied ordinary people or done anything that goes against heaven and reason."

  Xu Dachuan felt a bit embarrassed and stood up, saying: "Third Miss, don't say that anymore. If we hadn't listened to the rumors of that scoundrel back then, we wouldn't have mistakenly tied you up, nor would we..."

  Everyone who heard him felt embarrassed and the atmosphere became awkward for a while.

  "That's all a misunderstanding, didn't you also say that it was just a mishearing of malicious rumors?" Qin Dai thought to herself, after such a long time together, the nature of these people had been revealed without a doubt, they valued loyalty and cherished relationships, how could people like this become bad?

  "I'm just afraid that the brothers are used to being free, and now they're confined in such a small place, they might not be used to it." She was mainly worried that these people would have some bad habits that couldn't be changed for a while, and if they brought them back to the farm, it would be troublesome.

  Zhao Shu is a meticulous person and also understood the implicit meaning of Qin Dai's words. He stood up and said: "Third Miss, rest assured, although my brothers may not have much ink in their bellies, they still understand reason and rules. As the saying goes, 'without rules, there is no square.' In the past, we had set down mountain rules: do not rob ordinary people, do not harm human life; do not bind honest businessmen, do not loot small merchants; do not allow stealing, do not allow bullying the weak by the strong." He paused for a moment, looked at Qin Dai Xin and said word by word: "Also, do not go to the brothel, do not **good family girls."

  Qin Dai'er heard this and put down the slightly hanging heart, but also understood why they were living a poor and shabby life. Such bandits wouldn't go hungry if they didn't want to! However, it's also because of their kindness and stubbornness that they got cheated so easily. A group of straightforward men valued loyalty more than heaven, and hated the corrupt officials and evil tyrants, which led them to be deceived by Tong Si'er's wicked scheme.

  Now they have abandoned evil and turned to good, can't it be considered as a change for the better?

  PS: This is a book that expands the plot from multiple angles. It may be slow to heat up, but I will work hard to make it wonderful!