The sun sank in the west.
Accompanied by numerous servants, Lin Ze toured the entire residence.
When he had first bought the residence that afternoon, it had been in a state of utter disarray.
Dust covered everything, leaves swirled through the air, and spiders occasionally skittered across the floor.
But after the servants' hard work cleaning, the entire mansion had been restored to order. At least, nothing looked out of place on the surface.
Most of the furniture in the residence was still there. Aside from needing to add a few personal necessities, it was ready to move into.
So tidying it up hadn't been particularly difficult.
As for the many finer details, those could be taken care of later.
After inspecting the entire residence, Lin Ze returned to the main hall with the twenty-four servants.
He calmly looked over the servants standing before him, all of whom had signed lifetime employment contracts.
That afternoon, he had carefully chosen them according to three criteria: they had to have family, be selling themselves into servitude willingly, and be even-tempered.
Having family meant they had ties they cared about. Selling themselves willingly meant they were on good terms with their families and held no resentment. An even temperament meant they were unlikely to be dishonest or malicious.
Some had suffered misfortune at home and needed a great deal of money. Some couldn't get enough to eat at home, while others wanted to help their brothers find wives. In short, they had all chosen to sell themselves into servitude...
After speaking with the servants himself and consulting the information Shi Shanbao had provided, Lin Ze had ultimately selected the people standing before him.
Only such carefully selected servants had the potential to become his trusted aides in the future.
"Master, is there anything else you'd like us to put in order?"
Xiang Xue, the head maid, asked cautiously.
She had been taught household management at the broker's, so in addition to serving as Lin Ze's personal maid, she was also taking on the duties of a housekeeper, coordinating all the servants' work.
And now it was time for Lin Ze, their new master, to inspect the results of her work.
In fact, besides their pleasing appearances, each of the four maids had her own particular strengths. Otherwise, they wouldn't have felt justified in charging Lin Ze two hundred taels.
As Lin Ze spoke with Xiang Xue, the other servants stood quietly to one side.
When Lin Ze had bought them that afternoon, he had spoken with them.
At the time, the servants had judged that Lin Ze wasn't a difficult man to get along with, but that had only been their first impression.
Now that they were truly living under the same roof, they couldn't help but act with caution.
"When you have some free time over the next few days, trim these flowers and plants. Make the place look neat and attractive."
Lin Ze pointed at the flowers and plants growing freely in the courtyard and gave his instructions.
"Of course, I'll remember, Master."
Xiang Xue nodded.
She didn't know how to trim plants, but another maid, Fei Hua, did.
"Has the donkey cart been brought back? And has the letter reached County Magistrate Li at the County Government Office?"
Lin Ze headed toward the dining room and asked Xiang Xue, who was beside him.
"Er Hu brought the donkey cart back. He also went to the County Government Office to meet County Magistrate Li and deliver your letter. County Magistrate Li sent a reply."
As she answered, Xiang Xue handed him a letter that hadn't yet been opened.
County Magistrate Li had hit it off with Lin Ze at their first meeting and invited him to stay at his home.
But that afternoon, Lin Ze had quickly found a house and bought servants.
There was naturally no need to impose on County Magistrate Li by staying at his home.
Still, it would have been discourteous to leave without a word as a guest. So Lin Ze had written a letter explaining that, now that he was settled, he would formally call on County Magistrate Li again to apologize and invite him over to celebrate the housewarming.
Now that he had received a reply, Lin Ze opened it and read it.
As expected, County Magistrate Li hadn't taken offense. He wrote that Lin Ze could attend to everything else once he was done with his business.
The casual tone between the lines made it clear that he truly hadn't felt slighted.
"Mm. Then let's eat."
Lin Ze set down the letter and nodded.
Soon, led by the two chefs, several sturdy women carried in the dishes.
As Lin Ze had instructed, they had prepared eight dishes and a soup that day.
It was the two chefs' first day working for Lin Ze, and they wanted to show off their skills, so they had started preparing everything that afternoon.
The dishes on the table were all specialties of theirs.
There was mutton, chicken and duck, fish and shrimp, steamed egg custard, and even a bear paw.
Since there wasn't much trust between master and servants yet, the chefs took a little of each dish themselves to show that everything was safe.
A few minutes passed, and nothing happened to them.
Only then did Lin Ze pick up his chopsticks.
"Not bad."
Lin Ze tried each dish and gave his approval.
The chefs he had hired for one hundred and twenty taels each were quite skilled. They were limited by the lack of seasonings in this agrarian society and couldn't create very complex flavors, but they did a good job bringing out the ingredients' natural taste.
At the very least, Lin Ze thoroughly enjoyed the bear paw.
In the Main World, bears were protected animals, and few people ever got to eat bear meat.
But in the Other World, it didn't matter. A little money could easily buy some.
There was a whole tableful of food, and although Lin Ze had a hearty appetite, he couldn't finish it all.
The four maids beside him got the leftovers.
The cooks had already sampled the food while preparing it. They hadn't dared to eat much, but after making so many dishes, they'd eaten their fill with rice.
The sturdy women and male servants, meanwhile, ate the communal meal the cooks had prepared for them.
At Lin Ze's request, the meal included some minced meat, plenty of salt, and as much food as they wanted. They could eat until they were full.
In those days, it was difficult to eat one's fill.
It was even harder to eat one's fill of a meal with plenty of meat and salt.
These little details showed how well Lin Ze treated his servants.
"Master really is a good man."
As they ate the tasty communal meal, the servants couldn't help feeling moved when they compared it to the days when they had never had enough to eat.
After dinner, Lin Ze rested for a while. Then, with Xiang Xue and Fei Hua attending him, he bathed and changed.
The other two maids, Xia Ye and Qiu Ge, took the new bedding and went to make the bed.
As he soaked in the spacious tub and felt four soft little hands washing him, Lin Ze gazed at the two young women's lovely faces, bashful yet eager, and let out a long sigh. "Now this is how a rich man should live."
Once his bath was over, the bed had also been made.
It was time to sleep.
The other servants had already gone to sleep in the servants' quarters assigned to them.
"Master, we'll be sleeping in the outer room. Just call us if you need anything."
The four maids saw Lin Ze lie down, tucked the covers around him, and spoke softly.
"Mm. Go to sleep."
Lin Ze replied.
The four maids bowed and left.
The four of them would take turns keeping watch in pairs outside that night, so Lin Ze could call them directly if he needed anything.
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