Twin Maidservants

As they talked, the two arrived at the Brokerage Office.

Entering the Brokerage Office, Ma San expertly led Lu Shaolin to the place where maidservants were sold.

Ma San stepped forward and exchanged a few words with a minor official, then returned with a thin booklet in hand.

"Hall Master, this is the registry of maidservants available for purchase."

Ma San handed over the booklet.

Lu Shaolin took it. There were only three pages.

He opened it and looked through it. It detailed their names, ages, heights, weights, and skills. It was quite comprehensive.

Lu Shaolin swept his eyes over it, skipping everyone under 150 centimeters. He was only looking for maidservants, but they still had to be pleasing to the eye!

At last, he spotted two names at the end.

Nian Chun, 165 centimeters tall, 106 jin in weight, fifteen years old, skilled in calligraphy and painting.

Nian Qiu, 168 centimeters tall, 108 jin in weight, fifteen years old, skilled in calligraphy and playing the zither.

These two were not bad. They were even twins!

And both knew calligraphy, so they could teach Linger how to read and write.

There was no helping it—the Great Xia Dynasty did not have private schools for girls either.

"These two, then!"

Lu Shaolin pointed at the final two names.

"Hall Master, aren't these two girls a little too frail?"

Ma San took the booklet and looked it over.

"They'll do. They can teach Linger how to read."

Lu Shaolin waved a hand.

Ma San took the booklet back and began speaking with the minor official.

After hearing Ma San out, the minor official gave Lu Shaolin a look usually reserved for a sucker, then nodded at Ma San.

Lu Shaolin could not be bothered to stoop to his level. My taste is nothing like yours.

"Hall Master, these two girls are descendants of convicted officials. No one has bought them in the past year. Their shoulders can't bear loads, their hands can't lift things, and no matter what, they can't seem to put on weight. How about we choose someone else?"

Ma San tried to persuade him.

"Stop dawdling. Are you the Hall Master, or am I?"

Lu Shaolin said impatiently.

"Yes, then let's go see them now. If they are willing, we can sign the contract."

Ma San hurriedly said.

With that, he walked toward the minor official, and Lu Shaolin followed behind him.

The minor official led the two to a row of wooden houses in the rear courtyard and called out loudly, "Zheng Nianchun! Zheng Nianqiu!"

As soon as he called out, two tall young girls hurried from one of the wooden houses. They had delicate oval faces, graceful brows, phoenix eyes, cherry lips, and gray coarse-cloth dresses.

The two girls curtsied to the minor official. "Sir."

"A household has taken an interest in the two of you. See whether you find them suitable. Understand this: opportunities are rare. If you miss this one, who knows when the next will come?"

The minor official spoke coldly.

"Yes, sir."

One of the girls nodded, her voice cool and clear.

After speaking, the girl looked toward Lu Shaolin and Ma San. From where they stood, she immediately knew Lu Shaolin was the master of the household.

She carefully examined Lu Shaolin. Sword-like brows, starry eyes, a rugged face, and a clear gaze—without that air of looking down on others.

Lu Shaolin rubbed his nose and smiled faintly. Being inspected so closely by a girl in the bloom of youth made him rather embarrassed.

"Sir, we are willing!"

Seeing Lu Shaolin's smile, the girl turned and spoke to the minor official.

"Since that is the case, sign the contract!"

Beaming, the minor official took a contract from his robes and spread it across a wooden table nearby.

The clauses were clearly written, and there were three copies.

One for the servants, one for the master's household, and one retained by the Brokerage Office.

Once the contracts had been signed, the minor official looked at Lu Shaolin. "Sixty taels of silver altogether."

Lu Shaolin took out three twenty-tael silver ingots and handed them over.

The minor official accepted them and handed Lu Shaolin the copy belonging to the master's household.

Lu Shaolin casually tucked it into his robes.

"Alright, the contract is complete. You two may pack your things and leave the Brokerage Office with your master!"

The minor official spoke to the two girls, then headed toward the front courtyard.

"Greetings, Master!"

The two girls curtsied to Lu Shaolin and called softly.

"Mm, call me Young Master. I'm not used to being called Master."

Lu Shaolin said with a smile.

"Yes, Young Master!"

The two glanced at each other and answered in unison.

"Go pack your things. I'll wait here."

Lu Shaolin waved a hand.

"Yes, Young Master!"

The two nodded and turned toward the wooden house.

After waiting for a while, the two came out carrying small bundles.

"Let's go!"

With a grand wave of his hand, Lu Shaolin took the lead toward the exit of the Brokerage Office.

Ma San walked at his side, while the two girls followed behind Lu Shaolin.

"Which of you is the older sister?"

Lu Shaolin slowed his steps and turned to the two girls.

"I am the older sister, Nian Chun. Young Master, if you look carefully, you will see that my younger sister has a tiny tear mole beside the corner of her eye."

The cool-voiced girl replied.

Lu Shaolin looked at the younger sister, Nian Qiu. There was indeed a tiny tear mole beside the corner of her left eye.

Under Lu Shaolin's fixed gaze, Nian Qiu's tender cheeks instantly turned crimson.

Her eyes darted away, and her small hands vigorously kneaded her bundle.

Lu Shaolin smiled faintly and withdrew his gaze. She was quite timid and shy.

Upon returning to the loft, Lu Shaolin introduced the two girls to Dong Jia and Dong Linger, telling them to simply follow Dong Jia's instructions.

Dong Linger was overjoyed, clamoring that she now had two older sisters to play with—two older sisters who looked exactly alike.

Three women made a play; now there were four women in the loft, making it livelier than a whole stage performance.

By lunchtime, the girls had already become familiar, calling each other sister this and sister that.

With the twins helping out, Dong Jia immediately had much less on her plate.

Nian Chun and Nian Qiu were also assigned rooms on the second floor, in the bedroom beside Dong Jia's.

After lunch, Lu Shaolin sat in the sitting room drinking tea while the three women cleared the table.

As for Dong Linger, she had already run out into the courtyard to play.

While he was drinking tea, Nian Qiu walked in and shyly approached behind Lu Shaolin.

"What is it?"

Lu Shaolin asked in puzzlement.

"Sister Dong and my older sister are in the kitchen, so I came to attend to you, Young Master."

Nian Qiu's voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz.

"No need. I don't have anything for you to do."

Lu Shaolin said with a smile.

"Young Master, let me massage your shoulders. We learned it specially at the Brokerage Office."

Nian Qiu said softly and timidly.

"That works."

Lu Shaolin nodded.

Soon, a soft touch came from his shoulders.

A pair of tender white hands began kneading Lu Shaolin's shoulders.

In truth, Nian Qiu's massage did not do much. With four layers of skin membrane on his body, how could her strength possibly move him?

"Young Master, your body is so hard."

Nian Qiu's pretty face turned crimson again.

"You don't need to use much force. Just press lightly."

Lu Shaolin said indifferently.

As she kept massaging him, Lu Shaolin began to feel sleepy. He had Nian Qiu stop, then carried the Black Iron Spear to his third-floor bedroom, leaned the spear against the bedside, and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

He slept until dinner.

After dinner, Lu Shaolin had nothing to do, so he went to the study on the second floor for a look. To his surprise, there were quite a few books inside.

There were geographical records, local customs, and much more.