NABC Chapter 1081 - 954: Has Anyone Asked You About the Master’s Family?
Chapter 1081 - 954: Has Anyone Asked You About the Master’s Family?
"What about you? Why are you out here, too? That precious gem of the Zhou Family isn’t going to be like those young people, is she?" The middle-aged woman scrutinized Aunt Chen’s face.Aunt Chen suppressed her displeasure, "I was just inside with nothing to do, so I wanted to take a walk and see if there was anything I could bring back. What precious gem, Jiao Jiao is not a pampered princess; as soon as she gets off work, she’s busy non-stop, almost to the point of washing my clothes. You tell me, how can we as aunts feel comfortable?"
The other woman switched the basket to the other hand, linked arms with Aunt Chen and laughed, "Well, it’s no wonder people say you’re the lucky one among us old sisters. From what I can see, she’s not like that. When I see her, she always greets me with a smile and isn’t arrogant at all."
"Indeed! This child has known hardship from a young age and understands how to be considerate. Just now, she even told me to have some fun for a while longer as she would prepare dinner.
Despite how fond Chief Zhou and his wife are of her, they still support her doing chores, saying that everyone is equal and there is no reason to be served by others."
"You just enjoy it!" The middle-aged woman lowered her voice, "Has anyone asked you about the family’s affairs?"
Aunt Chen’s heart tightened, and she shook her head blankly.
"I knew you hadn’t heard anything, otherwise, how else would those families have gotten into trouble last year? But even those maids who tattled didn’t end well. Who would dare to hire them?"
Aunt Chen nodded.
She needed to mention this to Jiao Jiao early. She knew there were maids in the Cheng Family too. It’s not that she didn’t trust that sister, but who knows if someone might offer substantial gifts.
"Sigh, enough about this. I haven’t been able to buy an old hen for months, do you have any way?"
Aunt Chen shook her head, "Me? You’re overestimating me. I’m just like you, going to the service club."
"No way? The Zhou Family twins look chubby and fair, not like they’re lacking meat."
Aunt Chen knew this was coming and shook her head with a smile, "You don’t know this, do you? You see me buying pork skin and bones at the service club? These are cheap and don’t require meat coupons, but they’re really nourishing.
Plus, isn’t milk supplied by the brigade? The taste isn’t good, but the kids want to grow taller, so they have to drink it. Besides, boys are easy to raise; they don’t need refined grains, they happily eat coarse grains, how can they not grow well?
Back home, my grandsons and granddaughters are raised the same way except for not having milk. Hey, I tell you, they’re all growing sturdily."
Aunt Chen didn’t believe she would have more to say after she had explained.
"You really know how to raise children. Those envious people think the Zhou Family lives so well. In rural areas, everyone knows pork skin is a good thing."
Aunt Chen glanced at her and smiled without speaking. People know very well who’s envious of others these days. She didn’t exactly keep it a secret about buying bones back in the day.
"Sister Chen, you must teach me how to make pork skin jelly, when will..."
Aunt Chen immediately patted her hand to interrupt, "No problem, once you buy some, I’ll come over and definitely teach you." Hehe... As if just to pry about the Zhou Family.
"You’re really something, I was hoping to go learn directly from you when you make it next."
Aunt Chen shook her head, "You have so many things to do every day, how could we happen to have time to meet perfectly. Do you have any extra sugar tickets? I’m planning on exchanging with someone."
"Do you have a bicycle ticket? I’ve been looking to exchange one for my son."
Aunt Chen silently cursed her a few times: You really want a lot, asking for a bicycle ticket? Did you really think the Zhou Family lacks sugar tickets! Probably just changing the subject, worried about pressing into the Zhou Family.
"Such a precious thing?" Aunt Chen stopped in surprise and clicked her tongue twice, "I wouldn’t even dare to think about it. Is your child getting married or something?"
"Hehe, exactly! You have such a good relationship with the Zhou Family, help me ask, okay?"
"No chance!" Aunt Chen shook her head decisively, "It’s not that I won’t help, but Chief Zhou has explicitly forbidden any special privileges or practices in the house. Jiao Jiao and Xiao Wu have always adhered to this, or else they would have long been in leadership positions."
"..."
Aunt Chen amusingly looked at her and then led her to continue walking forward. She couldn’t really say that though their ranks didn’t go up, many held positions like department heads or directors.
As they walked, in the near distance was the service club, and Aunt Chen, sharp-eyed, spotted a familiar aunt who had close ties with her, immediately pointing out for her to ask first, maybe she’d have a solution.
...
Inside the Zhou Family Courtyard, Aunt Chen recounted the conversation and casually mentioned a bit of gossip exchanged among the old sisters later on.
After she left, Zhang Guoqing shook his head with a chuckle, "Indeed, there’s no secret in this world. It’s lucky we have Aunt Chen; if it were anyone else, they might even spill details about what underwear we wear."
These maids actually maintain professional ethics, but in idle gossip, things naturally slip out. For example, Zhang San says the young master likes certain foods, and Li Si’s maid responds with what her master usually prefers.
Some say the master’s couple has a good relationship, but the children are disobedient; another chimes in that hers is still better, the older couple haven’t spoken in a long time.
If something is out of supply, they all chime in about who visited whom, ending up with no dishes; others say who brought snacks when visiting, comparing to visits at their homes...
With so many shared, analyzed comments, conclusions become evident. For instance, who’s close with whom, or whose relationships are just superficial.
"We can’t blame these maids; they’re busy every day, and when they finally meet up, words naturally slip. We should really thank Aunt Chen, though."
Zhang Guoqing agreed wholeheartedly, "Alright, leave it to me. She cares for us, and we naturally respect that. Unfortunately, there aren’t many like her; otherwise, we could use a few more."
"Why would we need more?"
"You’re not thinking ahead. Later, I mean in a few years, I want to buy a couple of five-entry courtyards near Houhai for our three boys, one each. Finding someone like Aunt Chen to manage is really difficult."
Zhou Jiao shot him a glance, thinking far ahead.
Zhang Guoqing easily picked up on her thoughts and smiled, "Don’t think we have all the time in the world. There are only a few such courtyards; they’re not like cabbages, we must find and watch for opportunities.
And the funds for purchasing later, we can’t just throw down gold bricks to seal the deal; that’d frighten people."
Zhou Jiao had long pondered how their family’s assets might emerge in a few years, though it wasn’t the current focus, so she hadn’t brought it up. It seemed he had plans as well.
She furrowed her brows, "These aren’t issues, and if we can’t buy a large courtyard, we could connect front and back ones. But arranging everything too soon might make it easy for the kids to lose motivation?"