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Chapter 84: Evaluation Criteria

That day, after the contract was signed, Su Wenyue sent Jin Qiao back to the Su Family. For one thing, there really was no place for Jin Qiao to stay at her home, and since the family had not yet divided its property, she couldn’t act entirely on her own impetus. Moreover, growing up in such an environment, although Jin Qiao could do quite a lot of farm work, she knew nothing about the rules and etiquette.

If she were to follow Su Wenyue’s side, learning these basic rules was essential. Otherwise, as Han Yu’s status rose, these shortcomings would be exposed. It would be embarrassing for both of them and could even bring unnecessary trouble, making it difficult for her to fit into higher circles.

Those noble Madams have their own standards for judging people, which include the quality of the servant girls by their side. This is part of the criteria used to determine whether or not someone is worth interacting with. Even An Family’s Matriarch judged by these standards. A household of deep heritage has servant girls who behave more properly than those from smaller homes. Therefore, it was necessary for Su Wenyue to send Jin Qiao back to the Su Family, to be properly trained by her mother.

Despite having lived two lifetimes, Su Wenyue still fell short in this area; after all, in her previous life, she was only a concubine and didn’t need to learn what a Mistress needed to know, just how to please a man.

This life, she wanted to learn, but when she was reborn, she was already married. It was rare for her to return to her mother’s family, and currently, the only one who could teach her was An Family’s Matriarch. In a small place like Xinye County, there weren’t many who truly understood the rules and etiquette of the gentry, making it close to impossible for An Family’s Matriarch to teach her, at most providing her with a few pointers during visits home.

Considering Han Yu’s future position, Su Wenyue was determined to learn these things, not only to make herself look good and not to be belittled, but also because interactions among these women weren’t just simple matters. If done well, they could even provide some behind-the-scenes assistance to Han Yu.

However, Jin Qiao really was a good child. If properly guided, she could be not just a loyal servant but also capable of managing on her own.

Su Wenyue was preoccupied with planning for her own future. With the experience from her previous life and knowing Han Yu’s future achievements, her vision naturally became broader. She didn’t pay too much attention to characters like Yang Juxiang and her daughter, who were jumping about like clowns. However, her actions over the past two days did not escape the notice of Yang Juxiang and her daughter.

Yang Juxiang, thinking it over, felt some regret too. The Fourth Daughter-in-law’s family was so wealthy that even a little bit slipping through their fingers could provide many benefits for her. Unfortunately, her daughter had offended them from the start, so how could they think well of them now? They had missed out on many advantages.

Jiang Chunlan was simply consumed by jealousy. Why should Su Wenyue be so fortunate? She had everything good – not only a good background and beauty, but everyone also held her in high regard and courted her favor, including her big Aunt, her mother-in-law. Coupled with Mrs. Wang’s instigations, she became increasingly impatient.

“Third Cousin’s wife, you have no idea how hateful Su Wenyue is. My mother is her elder, yet she doesn’t give her any respect, let alone to me, her cousin. And yet, my Aunt not only doesn’t blame her but sides with her. It’s all because her mother’s family is well-off, attracting everyone to suck up to them. It’s infuriating!” Jiang Chunlan said, getting more and more angry as she spoke.

“How could I not know? That Fourth Daughter-in-law is very scheming. I’ve suffered a lot at her hands. If it weren’t for her, my parents-in-law wouldn’t be so dissatisfied with me. I didn’t expect her to turn against you now. She’s definitely jealous of the close relationship you’ve had with the Fourth child since childhood. What a petty woman,” Mrs. Wang said, agreeing with Jiang Chunlan’s complaints, looking like she shared the same enemy. Mrs. Wang had been completely infuriated through the situation with her big brother, incurring the wrath of her parents-in-law and a warning from the Fourth Daughter-in-law. She had kept a low profile for some time, not daring to confront Su Wenyue directly, but that didn’t stop her from trying to trip up Su Wenyue in other ways. She did not want Su Wenyue, the mastermind behind her troubles, to have an easy life. Using the brainless fool, Jiang Chunlan, as a pawn suited her just fine, although she hadn’t yet thought of a better way to deal with Su Wenyue. For now, she was content with getting Jiang Chunlan to stir up some petty troubles, just to annoy Su Wenyue.

Yang Juxiang and her daughter have been staying at the Han Family’s home for several days with no intention of leaving. Both mother and daughter being lazy and gluttonous, it wasn’t just Su Wenyue who disliked them. In fact, apart from Mrs. Yang and Mrs. Wang, who wanted to use Jiang Chunlan for her advantage, everyone in the Han Family couldn’t wait for Yang Juxiang and her daughter to leave. But seeing as the guests were comfortably settled in without working, enjoying good food and sleep daily, they hadn’t even uttered words of leaving.

“Mother, we are running low on food at home. Do you think we should send someone to the city to buy some more?” Since Mrs. Yang had been injured and needed to recover, the task of managing the household food supply had fallen to Mrs. Liu, the Eldest Daughter-in-law. Now that the kitchen’s stocks of rice and flour were dwindling, she came to consult Mrs. Yang.

Mrs. Yang furrowed her brow upon hearing this: “Didn’t I ask the Fourth child to buy two months’ worth of provisions last time? How come it’s not enough already? We seem to be using up our food supplies too quickly. Eldest Daughter-in-law, don’t tell me you’re taking after the Third Daughter-in-law; our Han Family cannot tolerate any inside-out leaking.”

Mrs. Yang had also become more cautious due to Mrs. Wang’s previous actions. Mrs. Liu didn’t have the best reputation with Mrs. Yang, and with the recent complications involving her mother’s family and the Fourth Daughter-in-law, Mrs. Yang couldn’t help but grow suspicious.

Since the doctor had prescribed rest and no exertion for a while, Mrs. Yang hadn’t been managing the kitchen affairs and had no direct control over the food supplies. Even though the family’s diet had remained quite good these days, the consumption didn’t strike Mrs. Yang as excessive. But when she suddenly learned from Mrs. Yang that the recently stocked provisions had run out so quickly, her reaction was quite strong, instinctively suspecting Mrs. Liu of foul play.

In fact, Mrs. Liu was completely innocent this time. Coming from a poor background herself, she treasured food just as much as Mrs. Yang did. Seeing the precious grains being consumed these days was painful for her, and she had even tightened the sacks in hopes of conserving some. The truth was that Yang Juxiang and her daughter could eat massive amounts, devouring more in one sitting than the whole family combined. Even the men who did farm work at home couldn’t eat as they did with ravenous appetites. It was hardly surprising that the food was used up quickly, and yet the mother-in-law, fond of her sister and niece, was still indulgent.

“Mother, you’re falsely accusing me. That mother and daughter duo really can eat too much. You see it at the table yourself, Mother. Just the two of them eat more in one meal than our entire family, and even the men in our family working in the field don’t eat as much as they do. If things continue like this, our family will go broke from feeding them. This year, the government has raised the tax by twenty percent, and with the harvest we got from the fields, we barely have enough food for ourselves,” complained Mrs. Liu, expressing her distress about the food while hoping her mother-in-law would send the voracious guests away soon.