Chapter 9 : Livelihood (1)

From the Old Madam’s courtyard to Rose Courtyard, it only took a quarter of an hour journey.  But today, for Mama Fang, it somehow felt a bit difficult for her to walk as usual.When they finally arrived in Rose Courtyard, Yuxi waved away all her servants and brought only Mama Fang into her room.Mama Fang took Yuxi’s hand and cried, “Miss, what will happen to you if this old servant leaves?” Her husband had died early and she had no children. She didn’t know where her relatives, those who worked in the Ning’s family, had went to. Leaving the resident and her Miss, she did not know what else she could do.  She felt afraid and also confused when thinking of her future.Yuxi had already thought a lot on her way just now. If Mama Fang was released in this way, her future life would surely be sad. So, Yuxi was going to find something for Mama Fang to do. If a person had something to do, life would be much easier. Just like what she did in her previous hard life. She spend most of her time doing embroidery all day, and somehow she had felt, at that moments, time surely had flied much faster. She took Mama Fang’s hand and said, “Mama, Grandmother really wants to let you off. Maybe…this is a good thing for us.”Mama Fang’s eyes glazed over as she asked, “What did you say, Miss?  Did you said it was a good thing? ”Yuxi answered in a low voice, “Mama, you also know that I am currently in short of silvers. If you can open a shop outside, you could help provide me more money, and then, I’ll be much better off in this mansion.”Mama Fang didn’t know what else she can say to that. “But Miss, what can I do when we don’t have any money to open a shop? Where would we get the money from?” asked the nervous Mama Fang. She didn’t know a thing about opening a shop. Without any knowledge, she would completely lost the money if she actually opened one!Yuxi told Mama Fang her plan, “Mama, don’t you remember? You know how to make steamed stuffed buns and dumplings, right? I’m sure we can make money by opening a baozi shop.”  Although it would be hard to find money to open one, it was still the best option for Mama Fang. If she had something busy to do, she won’t waste her time worrying about her life.Baozi (Chinese: 包子), or bao, is a type of filled bun[1] or bread-like (i.e. made with yeast) dumpling in various Chinese cuisines. There are many variations in fillings (meat or vegetarian) and preparations (usually steamed). In its bun-like aspect it is very similar to the traditional Chinese mantou (steamed bun). – WikipediaImage credit to Leah Sprague

A baozhi shop is like Chinese snack shop. It’s not only sell baozhi, Chinese steamed bun, but other kinds of Chinese snacks like mantou, rice cake etc.

Mama Fang asked with a wry smile, “Miss, when did business become an easy thing to do?”But Yuxi just replied, “Mama, your steamed stuffed bun and dumplings are so delicious. They will definitely make money. I have confidence in you.”  After a pause, Yuxi added, “Mama, with you making money outside, I will also have an alternate income in the future. So, I don’t have to worry anymore about rewarding the servants.”Mama Fang was obviously moved by what Yuxi had said but anxiously asked, “But what if I lost money?”  Her, leaving the residence was an inevitable outcome, but if she actually followed her Miss’ plan and got a good result, it would be like hitting two birds with a stone. Her future would be guaranteed, while Miss would have more stable status in the courtyard. But she still worried. What if it turned bad?Yuxi answered with a smile, “We would only have a small shop, Mama. It won’t cost us much and I really believe in your cooking skill.  Mama, you also need to have a bit of confidence in yourself.”Mama Fang had confidence in her own skill, but she had zero confidence in doing business. After all, she didn’t know a thing about it.  But she also knew that, the plan Yuxi had thought for her, was the best solution.After Yuxi and Mama Fang left, the Old Madam asked Mama Luo, “Mama Luo, what is actually going on?” Just now, she could see that even Yuxi didn’t believe what Mama Luo just said. How could she even dare to deceive her?Mama Luo answered in a low voice, “The actual trial result is, the dirty thing was given by old woman Xiao, the personal servant of Concubine Rong. As for why Concubine Rong wanted to hurt Fourth Miss, that maid said she does not know.”The Old Madam turned the Buddha beads in her hand without pausing. Although there was no evidence to prove it, she knew Concubine Rong was the puppet master behind the scenes. “How did that maid fell into Concubine Rong’s hands?” If only for the sake of money, that maid would not had agreed to do Concubine Rong’s bidding. The reason must had been simple. Once the real culprit had been found out, not only oneself, but one’s family members would also have to die without burial places.Mama Luo whispered, “The truth is, Moyun and Housekeeper Xue’s younger son are having an affair.” Once the maidservants were bought by their masters, they became the owners’ private properties and were not allowed to give or receive private gifts. What made Moyun’s case more serious was that, her being a personal maidservant of the Fourth Miss.  If Fourth Miss’ reputation was damaged because of her, even by killing Moyun won’t be enough to bring back the good name of the residence Young Miss.The Old Madam stopped turning the Buddha beads and gave ordered, “Sell her to the mine.” It was the cheapest and indirectly way to kill her.Mama Luo agreed without changing her face. When she saw the Old Madam went silent for a while, she carefully asked, “What about the younger son of Xue Ming’s family?”The Old Madam slightly answered, “Send him and his family to a village.” Housekeeper Xue’s mother was the Old Madam’s wet nurse. It was because of this reason why the Old Madam treated the Xue family so kindly. Because of that, they never had any shortage of money. But when they dared to break the rules of the residence, even by being favor by her won’t stop the Old Madam from giving them a heavy punishment.Qiu Shi knew that the Old Madam had severely punished Housekeeper Xue’s family. She was so surprised that she had to ask her Mama Li,  “What actually happened to them?”  The Xue family was the Old Madam’s confidant. If they didn’t commit a big mistake, the Old Madam wouldn’t have send the family to a village.Mama Li shook her head but said, “Early this morning, I saw Fourth Miss brought a tied up Moyun to the Old Madam. I think it was related to the Xue family.”Qiu Shi still didn’t understand, so she uttered, “Even if Moyun committed a crime, it would not have implicate the Xue family too.”While she was wondering, Liuyin came in with a smile on her face and delivered a news, “Madam, Concubine Rong has been confined in her courtyard.”Qiu Shi increasingly felt that the situation was somehow getting strange. Obviously, it was related to that child. “What the hell is going on?” she thought.Talk of the devil, and he would be sure to appear.  Just as she talked about Yuxi with Mama Li, she heard her maid reported the arrival of Fourth Miss.Yuxi understood that Mama Fang didn’t know anything about business. She thought Qiu Shi would be more familiar with these common affairs, so she decided to come and learn from her.As soon as Qiu Shi saw Yuxi, she immediately asked, “Yuxi, why did you bundle up Moyun and send her to the Old Madam’s courtyard this morning?”Yuxi asked Qiu Shi to disperse the maids around her first. Once Qiu Shi was done, she told her the real cause of the incident, “Eldest Aunt knows my temper well. If Moyun doesn’t do well, of course I’ll scold her. But for her to harm me just because of that, is too hard for me to believe! There must be a mastermind behind her.”Qiu Shi finally knew why the Old Madam has placed Concubine Rong under house arrest as she cursed, “That poisonous woman!” She even dare to hurt a four year old girl.Yuxi agreed with her Eldest Aunt’s sentiment on Concubine Rong. If she wanted to get rid of that vile woman, she would not be able to do so for the time being because of the punishment.Qiu Shi guessed that Concubine Rong will retaliate against Yuxi because of this. She didn’t dare to tell her that, so she asked Yuxi softly, “What matter that had brought you here for?”Yuxi told her aunt that she planned to have Mama Fang opened a shop when she left the residence.Qiu Shi went silent for a moment and said, “Yuxi, setting up a shop is not an easy thing to do.”Yuxi said quickly, “Eldest Aunt, I know it will not be easy and I don’t expect to make money by opening one. I just want to find something for Mama Fang to do.  Aunt, there are no more people in Ning’s family for me to send her back to and Mama Fang has no relatives outside. To let her leave the house just like that. Where can she go?  Those are still minor matters. What I fear the most is that when she go outside and started to entertain some foolish ideas, she would surely break her health along the way.” She paused for a while and then continued, “Aunt, opening the shop is mainly for Mama Fang to do something, so she won’t be caught up in some foolish schemes.”Qiu Shi asked, “Is this your idea or Mama Fang?”  If the answer was Yuxi then this child was being too overly concerned.Yuxi answered, “It was my idea. Mama Fang only agreed after I persuaded. Aunt, Mama Fang and I don’t know anything about opening a shop. So, I have come to ask Aunt for some guidance. “Qiu Shi was amused by this and then said with a smile, “There are many things to consider when opening a shop, such as where the shop is going to be?  The size of the shop depends on whether there are shops nearby that do the same business as you … “After hearing this, Yuxi seriously thought about it for a while and said, “Eldest Aunt, we won’t set up a big shop. We were thinking of doing a baozi shop.  In addition, it won’t be at the west and east of the town as the rents are too high there.”Qiushi smiled, “I didn’t think that you would knew so much. You’re right. The east and west streets are very expensive. The rent is at least thousands of taels a year. The baozi shop certainly can’t be opened there.”  If it was opened there, they won’t be able to pay rent just with the sale from the shop.Yuxi asked, “Where would Aunt think be an ideal location for the shop?”Qiu Shi thought for a moment and said, “The south is civilian area. Although the people there are not as rich as the people in east and west, they still have more than two taels in their hands. As long as your steamed buns are delicious, you can sell them without worry.  I think you can open a baozi shop in the south. The shop would be small, so the rent won’t be high too. Even if it was not managed well, we would not lose too much. If it did well, it reputation will accumulate and it won’t be too late for us to expand the business.