Song Mingyue was bewildered. "Mother, Xiao Niu, why would you just send someone away? Wasn't Liu Ye'er quite diligent? Xiao Niu likes the meals she cooks, and it would save Mother a lot of effort."
Zhang Xiao Niu took a large bite of the braised pork. "I'm easy to please and not picky. As long as the food is cooked, I can eat it. If Mother thinks she's not good, then don't keep her. Our family isn't lacking money. If it comes to it, we can hire a dedicated cook. Surely, they can't be worse than Liu Ye'er?"
Well, judging by Zhang Xiao Niu's attitude, he hadn't received even a hint of Liu Ye'er's intentions.
Yu Shi then spoke, "I just felt she didn't understand the rules. It's because Zhen Zhen and you are here, and you don't fuss over such things. But if Xiao Niu were to have friends with official positions visit, and they minded, then what? So, it's better to send her away quickly. We're not bullies either. I even gave her double her wages just now."
Song Mingyue felt that both her husband and her mother-in-law had valid points, so she didn't say much more.
After dinner, Song Mingyue went to feed the twins. Zhang Xiao Niu pulled Gu Sinian to the front yard. Fei Xu started clearing the dishes. Yu Shi wanted to help, but Qi Zhen Zhen stopped her.
Yu Shi felt a bit embarrassed. "How can this be? Fei Xu is by your side, like a young lady from an official family. How can you let her do such menial tasks?"
"Fei Xu is close to me and knows that Auntie is not an outsider, but an elder. What's wrong with a junior helping an elder with chores?" Qi Zhen Zhen said with a smile.
Yu Shi couldn't argue with Qi Zhen Zhen and could only sit with her honestly.
Qi Zhen Zhen asked Yu Shi some questions about Liu Ye'er. Although Yu Shi didn't understand the meaning, she didn't hide anything when Qi Zhen Zhen asked.
"It's not too far from our house. I met her when I was buying vegetables outside. The young girl was very brisk in her work. That time, I had bought a lot of things and couldn't carry them, so the young girl helped me deliver them. Later, I often ran into her while buying vegetables, and we became somewhat familiar. Xiao Niu said that since I had to cook and help Mingyue with the children, he was worried I'd be overwhelmed and wanted to buy someone. I thought, what kind of people are we? We can't forget our roots just because we have some money and start acting like rich landlords, buying people to serve us." Yu Shi sighed. "Xiao Niu compromised and said we should hire someone. Many families are not doing well, and the women in the family come out to work to supplement the household expenses. Hiring someone like that would not only meet our needs but also help those people. When I thought about it, it made sense, so I agreed."
Yu Shi spoke a lot in one breath and then paused to drink some tea before continuing. "After all, we are not native to this place, and we don't know the people here. We can't just hire anyone. What if we hired someone with malicious intentions? If they were in the house when Xiao Niu wasn't home, wouldn't that cause trouble? So, I thought I'd ask Liu Ye'er to help inquire. Liu Ye'er immediately asked me if she could do it. She said she was the eldest in her family, had raised several younger siblings, and usually did all the housework. She also took me around that area, and everyone's evaluation of her was very good. I found the girl quite agreeable, so I agreed. She truly did impeccable work at our house. Before today, whether it was Mingyue, Xiao Niu, or myself, we were all satisfied with her." Da Feng Novel Network
Qi Zhen Zhen nodded. It was likely that their sudden visit today had made Liu Ye'er have ideas, wanting to impress them. If she had received a word of praise from her, Auntie would have definitely treated her as one of her own from then on. Step by step, Zhang Xiao Niu, being so careless, found an opportunity to make Auntie and Mingyue misunderstand something, and then she would get her wish.