Chapter 79: Bronze, Silver & Golden Classes
Chapter 79: Bronze, Silver & Golden Classes
Xiang Ling hummed happily as she stepped out of Lingshan Hall and started walking on the bustling street. The two thousand silver taels that were sitting safely in the Summer Cottage inside her space were one of the main reasons behind her current happiness.
The other reason was also related to money. Since the main branch of Lingshan Hall conducted auctions nearly every month, Xiang Ling made a deal with Manager Wu. She would sell him spiritual pills and elixirs at half the price of what they would earn in the auction. Manager Wu immediately agreed as the deal was very beneficial for him and Lingshan Hall.
With this deal, Xiang Ling had secured at least one source of income. After living in the Mortal Realm for nearly a month, she realized that the living expenses in Dongzhi City weren’t too high. After including the salaries of the servants and all other expenses, around a hundred silver taels per month were more than enough.
The warm sun greeted her as she joined the crowd on the main market street. Despite the calm and oblivious look in her eyes, she was very much aware of the man who started following her the very moment she stepped out of Lingshan Hall.
When she arrived at the Herb Hall about an hour ago, she had already sent the carriage away since she knew such a thing would happen. Even though she and Manger Wu just made a deal to work together in the future, the old man was trying to find out her identity as all he knew so far was her name - a fake one.
She made sure to keep up with the crowd and waited for the right moment. She noticed a small alley up ahead and purposely bumped into a side stall, creating a little unrest. The momentary distraction that the commotion caused was enough for Xiang Ling to slip into the alley when her follower missed her for a second in the crowd. Finding the alley empty, she immediately entered her space.
Once inside the Summer Cottage, Xiang Ling immediately took off her clothes and jewelry and changed into a light blue hanfu. She left her hair loose and wore one of the white jade hairpins that she previously bought. Once she looked nothing like the Miss Bai Lu who just visited Lingshan Hall, she stepped out of her space after making sure the alley was still empty.
When she walked out of the alley and into the main street, she found her follower still roaming around there in search of the girl in the yellow dress. With a satisfied smile on her lips, Xiang Ling headed in the direction of Chen Manor.
* * *
"Master Xin and Master Li, My Lady has invited you both to the main hall." Fu Xiao informed the two masters who were resting in their courtyard after the morning meal.
"What is going on?" Dao Ming’s question was directed toward Xin Cheng who had a frown decorating his handsome face. Shaking his head, the latter replied, "I have no idea. Let’s go and see." With a signal from his hand, he dismissed Fu Xiao who left to inform the other Young Masters about Xiang Ling’s sudden summon.
Meanwhile in the main hall of Chen Manor ~
Xiang Ling looked at the servants who were standing in front of her in rows. Her eyes scanned each of them for a few moments before she spoke, "Today is the last day of this month. You all have been serving me and this manor for weeks and I have seen your hard work and dedication. When I chose you all, I knew that I was making the right choice but you all proved that I still underestimated your capability and loyalty."
Smiles bloomed on everyone’s faces when they heard their master acknowledging their hard work and the loyalty they had shown ever since they became Chen Xiang Ling’s followers.
Xiang Ling signaled to An Mei and the girl walked toward the servants with a tray filled with pouches. She picked up the only two big pouches from the tray and handed them to Aunt Yan and Uncle Sun each. After that, she handed the rest of the pouches to the other servants.
"This is the promised salary for this month. You all have done a wonderful job. I’m very satisfied." Xiang Ling announced and all the servants thanked her. "After closely supervising your performances throughout the past few weeks, I have decided to promote some of you."
She signaled and An Mei opened the trunk that had been sitting next to Xiang Ling all this time. Inside the trunk, there were clothes or more like official robes for the servants.
"Lin Jie, Xu Ling, Xiao Mei, and An Xi..." Xiang Ling called out the names and all four girls stepped forward. "... the four of you will be bronze-class maids from this day onwards. There will be three levels of servants in this manor - bronze, silver, and gold. Your hard work and loyalty will be the way for your promotion to higher levels."
The four girls bowed in acceptance and gratitude before they received their clothes and bronze hairpins from An Mei.
"Yang Dong, Yang Pang, Liu Xin, Xu Tao, and Xiao Hao..." Xiang Ling called out the next names and the five young men stepped forward this time. "... the five of you will also be in bronze-class from now on."
The young men also bowed their heads in gratitude before they accepted their clothes and hairpins.
"Aunt Yan, Uncle Sun, and An Mei..." Xiang Ling made the next call which surprised An Mei as she was on her way to take out more clothes from the trunk. Leaving the clothes behind, she quickly moved to join the other two elders.
Xiang Ling personally picked up the clothes and the hairpins before she addressed the three. "The three of you have performed the best among everyone. You are promoted to silver-class from today onwards."