As soon as Madam Zhang came out of the main room, she could hardly turn around before she was surrounded by several women.
“Jiang’s wife, what did the young lady say?”
“Sister Jiang, the young miss, she…”
These women were all from the families that hadn’t been taken away to be sold by Mrs. Zhou. However, they were still very worried. Originally when Su Tang had arrived at the farm and nothing had happened, so they had all relaxed a bit. They thought that their new master was young, so as long as they were dedicated enough she would probably be easy to get along with.
But who could have guessed that after sleeping here for one night, Su Tang had suddenly started selling people off first thing the next morning? Although none of these women had been chosen to be sold off, they were still panicking. Now that they had already been bought by their mysterious new master, they all wanted to understand a bit more about her personality so they could avoid being sold off like the others.
Thus, when they saw Madam Zhang following Su Tang around and waiting on her, they all assumed she was one of Su Tang’s people and, as soon as she was alone, they all approached her to inquire about Su Tang’s personality.
As they asked, these women also tried to secretly stuff some things, like fruits or copper coins, into Madam Zhang’s hands. However, Madam Zhang hurriedly pushed all these things back to their owners and said, “Big sisters, don’t ask me all this. The very first thing the young miss told me on the day she decided to buy me is that she didn’t have many rules, but her one taboo was people who talked too much.”
Hearing Madam Zhang’s rebuff, the surrounding women’s faces turned a little embarrassed. One spoke up, “That’s not what we meant.”
Seeing that they all looked abashed, Madam Zhang gave the group a faint smile. However, she then continued in a serious tone: “It’s true that I’m the first servant that the young lady bought in these past few days but, even if you want to ask, I’m afraid there isn’t much I know.”
“I can only say that from the first day, Mrs. Zhou stressed that it was very important for me not to discuss the things I might see inside the household with outsiders, and that it would be best for me not to speak too casually with anyone.”
“Also, I’ve only recently sold myself as a slave, so I probably know even less about the rules than any of you. All I know is that I can’t go against the young miss’s words.”
“The young miss seems to be a charitable person, but she also has her own thoughts. Instead of asking me about it, you would all probably be better served thinking about those people who were sold off today and if there are any taboos that they had broken. As long as you can avoid their mistakes, you will probably not be sold.”
“Remember, for slaves like us, it’s already a rare grace for our whole families to be able to stay together. If it weren’t for the young miss’s charitable heart, we would never have such an opportunity, right?”
These women had all come over with worried hearts and wanted to inquire about things, but after hearing Madam Zhang’s answer, none of them could say anything more.
Seeing them turn speechless, Madam Zhang just smiled faintly and didn’t speak any further. She could understand why these women were worried, but just because she understood them didn’t mean that she would reveal anything. On the one hand, she really didn’t have a very deep understanding of her new master and, on the other hand, even if she did she still wouldn’t say anything. After all, Su Tang had strongly emphasized that she should keep her mouth shut in front of outsiders so, of course, she needed to abide by that rule.
Once all the women finally dispersed, Madam Zhang headed over to the kitchen to have a look. She needed to prepare a meal for Su Tang, moreover, it needed to be a vegetarian meal and it needed to taste good. This wasn’t a simple task, so she was about to get busy.
Meanwhile, Su Tang had heard the commotion outside, including the words Madam Zhang had said.
‘Hm, this two-legged beast is a bit smarter than the rest.’ The orange cat commented lazily.
‘En, she’s pretty good.’ Su Tang nodded. After traveling with them this far, she also felt that Jiang Hong and Madam Zhang were smart and resourceful people who were good at handling matters properly.
‘Indeed. By the way, I want cake!’ The orange cat suddenly exclaimed. Recently, this poor Divine Beast had been running all over the place to help Su Tang, so now that the work was done he immediately began asking for benefits.
Sure enough, he was the same old orange cat, a foodie to the core. Su Tang snorted and roughly ran her hand though his fur to muss it up, ‘Such a foodie, aren’t you embarrassed to call yourself a Divine Beast?’
‘Being a foodie is nothing to be ashamed of! Also, I want cherry cheesecake this time.’ A certain Divine Beast thickened his skin and asked for the cherry cheesecake he heard Su Tang mention last time with no shame at all.
Su Tang sighed and shook her head helplessly. She had already spoiled this Divine Beast terribly, what was there to be done? She could only raise it properly now! She replied: ‘Once we go back I’ll make it for you.’
By now, whether she wanted to or not, she still had to do it!
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tl begging corner:
I think there is some mistake in this chapter as you added a part from the earlier chapter in the end of this chapter