Full House Spring

Chapter 1 Eavesdropping

The first year of Yongping in the Jin Dynasty
The gong of the hour of Xu is about to strike, and lights are gradually lit in the residence of Grandma Jiang Ya in Yulin Lane, Kyoto.

In the dim and cramped back room at the southernmost end, Fang Xiali saw Jiang Yapo leave, then he stopped what he was doing, relaxed his waist, and rubbed his swollen eyes.

She didn't know who she had offended, but after a fall, she went from being a self-media creator with millions of fans to an eight-year-old girl who signed a contract to sell herself.

She had no memories of the original owner and didn't know her detailed origins, so she had to lie to others and say she had lost her memory due to a fever.

Looking up, he saw the maid in the same room stretching her muscles. Xia Li stood up and took the wooden basin to the kitchen to fetch water.

The moonlight sprinkled on the bluestone slabs, creating a faint silver luster.

Xia Li let out a sigh of relief. She was unwilling to be treated as an object, but she did not dare to show that she was different.

She secretly watched for a few days, and the look in Manager Li's eyes, as if he was waiting for a price, made her tremble with fear and unable to sleep at night, for fear that they would sell her to a low-class place.

When Xia Li passed by the main room, she happened to see Manager Li looking for Mrs. Jiang. Without thinking, she crouched under the window frame and pricked up her ears to listen to their private conversation.

In the room, Mrs. Jiang Ya was checking the accounts with the account book. Sitting below her was Li Laoguai. He said in a hoarse voice:
"Since the national mourning, there has been a flood in the south, and the price of rice has been rising day by day. There are so many mouths to feed at home, and the income is less than the expenditure. If we don't sell those girls now, I'm afraid the days will become more difficult as the weather turns cold."

Grandma Jiang paused slightly as she fiddled with the abacus. She specialized in making connections with wealthy families and usually never went from door to door recruiting people.

Relying on his relatives in the government office, he would directly buy the chickens from other people's brokers at extremely low prices, train them, and then bring them to the ladies in the deep mansions to choose from.

At the end of last year, she sold a few maids and bought five young girls who had not yet had their hair cut. They were all beauties with excellent foundations.

She thought that wealthy families usually kept their own children at home, and they couldn't sell their maids for a good price, so she might as well keep them for a few years. When they grew up, whether they were made concubines or sold to brothels, it would be a good deal that would make a lot of money.

Unexpectedly, not long after the maids were bought back, there was first a national mourning and then a flood. The only grandson Peng also fell seriously ill. The maids were eating and drinking for free but were useless. Now they were short of money and it was difficult to make a living.

Li Laoguai looked up at her and continued to persuade her, "The maids in your home are all first-rate and beautiful. Pick out two or three to sell first. The madam likes young maids the most, and the price she gives will definitely not be lower than that of the rich families."

Granny Jiang's eyes flickered and she kept rolling her eyeballs. After a moment, she said in a low voice, "It's okay to sell it. First, pick a capable child bride for Peng. He is weak, so it's more important to leave a successor for the family."

Grandma Jiang Ya had lost her husband and son, leaving only Peng Ge'er as her only grandson. She was afraid that the child would melt if she held him in her mouth, and that he would fall if she held him in her hands. With a family background like theirs, no good family would marry their daughter to her. It would be better to raise a child bride.

In this family, Mrs. Jiang has the final say, and Li Laoguai can only obey. He pulled the corners of his mouth with a fake smile and said in a hoarse voice: "In my opinion, Qiaohe has a good temper and good cooking skills. She will be a virtuous daughter-in-law in the future."

Mrs. Jiang closed the account book, glanced at him, and said in a slightly cold voice: "Peng's daughter-in-law will be the head of the family in the future. Qiaohe doesn't have this ability."

Li Laoguai pursed his lips and said, "What about Hong Xing? That girl is fierce."

Grandma Jiang Ya raised her eyebrow slightly, "She is a competitive person, but unfortunately she is brave but not wise, she is just an embroidered pillow."

Li Laoguai drooped his face, "Then which girl do you think is suitable?"

Mrs. Jiang Ya looked mysterious and said, "I have my own plan for this matter. You can go to that filthy place and ask the madam who wants to buy someone to come and choose tomorrow."

Li Laoguai got what he wanted and laughed twice with a lewd look on his face, "I'll go right away and make sure I get it done."

Listening to the door closing gently and the sound of Li Laoguai's footsteps gradually fading away, Fang Xiali, who was hiding under the window frame, looked pale. She clenched her hands, held her breath, and moved out along the wall.

She moved back to the remote kitchen and finally calmed down a little. She found a wooden stool to sit on in the moonlight, took out a dry and hard steamed bun from her arms, and stuffed it into her mouth numbly.

Grandma Jiang asked Manager Li to go out in the dark, which must be because the family was short of money. She didn't have much time left, so she had to come up with a solution as soon as possible to break the impasse.

Xia Li chewed the dry and hard steamed cake hard until her cheeks felt sore and tears rolled down her cheeks. Then she came to her senses and wiped her tears roughly.

If she could choose between being sold to a brothel and being a child bride to Peng Ge'er, she would choose to be a child bride without hesitation to stabilize Jiang Yapo, and then wait for an opportunity to escape.

But she had no choice in this matter. Although Xia Li had handsome facial features, he was skinny and had no flesh on his body. He worked silently all day long and had no sense of existence.

She usually doesn't get close to Pengger, and when she sees him getting angry she immediately stays away from him. It's impossible for her to win his favor in a short period of time.

Mrs. Jiang Ya is very cunning and has considered from the beginning that this approach will not work at all.

Xia Li swallowed the steamed bun, stood up, walked to the water tank, scooped a ladle of water and poured it into her mouth. The cool water made her mind clearer. The only thing she could do now was to work hard on her face.

Fang Xiali had a plan in mind, and with a normal look on his face he fetched some water and went back to the back room to wash up.

The other maids were so tired that they fell asleep. With the dim candlelight, Xia Li wiped the sweat off her body.

Her movements were small and did not wake up anyone else. When she changed her clothes and went out to get some water, she saw Chou Gu staggering back from a distance. Xia Li stood with the wooden basin in her hand and greeted her as usual. Chou Gu saw her expression of surprise and asked in a low voice, "Why aren't you asleep yet?"

Although she was called Ugly Girl, she was not bad looking. She always smiled at everyone and behaved in a very methodical manner. Compared with her, Xia Li was like a gourd with its mouth sawed off and was not as likable as her.

Xia Li blinked her clear and beautiful eyes and said shyly:

"I was so hungry that I went to the kitchen and wasted a lot of time. Now I'm about to go to bed. Where did you come from, sister?"

The ugly girl raised her eyebrows and chuckled. She took out something from her embroidered handkerchief and handed it to Xia Li, saying, "Since you are hungry, I'll give you this egg. Eat it and then go back to your room. Last night, Peng Geer got mad and refused to take his medicine, so I coaxed him for a while longer."

Xia Li stared at the eggs with wide eyes. She licked her lips and asked, "Sister, don't you want to eat it?"

Ugly girl stuffed the egg directly into her hand and said nonchalantly: "I'm not hungry. I serve Peng Ge'er every day, so I don't lack a bite of food."

This was true. Although Grandma Jiang was stingy, she raised Peng very well and was very particular about his food. She always gave him all the good things.

Xia Li's knuckles turned slightly white as she held the chicken, and a firm look flashed in her eyes. She bowed and said gratefully, "Thank you, sister!"

There was a hint of satisfaction in the ugly girl's deep eyes, and she whispered softly:

"You are a well-behaved child, unlike the others... Well, take your time eating, I'm going to sleep first..."

Xia Li watched her go into the house with a puzzled look on his face. Wherever there are people, there are conflicts. There were many people fighting for the good job of serving Pengger. She was able to hold on to it firmly, so she was definitely not an ordinary person.

Only when she could no longer see the figure did Xia Li look down at the egg in her hand. The corners of her mouth rose unconsciously. She carefully hid the egg in her sleeve and stayed at the door for a while before going into the house.

Although the back room has a small high window, it has poor ventilation and is very hot and stuffy when there are many people inside. People cannot sleep well in the summer and wake up before dawn.

She followed Qiao He to the kitchen to cook breakfast. It was not because she couldn't sit still, but as a maid who had signed a contract to sell her body, she had to be diligent to avoid being beaten.

As soon as the two arrived at the kitchen door, they saw Manager Li limping over with a cloth bag in his hand. He smiled playfully and said in a low voice:
"We'll have vegetarian noodles for breakfast today, so use this flour. You can choose the side dishes as you see fit."

Qiao He hurriedly took the flour he handed over, weighed it, and said honestly, "Grandpa Li, have you made all of this? Why are you giving me so much today?"

The rations given on normal days were not enough, and Qiao He racked her brains to get a small bowl for each person.

There was a light in Li Laoguai's eyes that Qiao He couldn't understand. He sneered and said:
"Isn't it good to have more? Only when you are full can you have energy. Stop talking nonsense and do it!"

Qiao He's thin body trembled, and she ran away quickly with the flour.

Xia Li guessed that the madam was coming, and fear made her sweat thickly on her back. She shrank her neck and went into the inner room of the kitchen to avoid revealing any clues...

Li Laoguai did not think much about it. Xia Li was dying when she was brought back, so he considered it a gift. She usually either helped in the kitchen or hid in the back room doing embroidery. She never fought, never quarreled, and never caused trouble. She was a very honest girl.

Qiaohe has always been quick and nimble, and Xiali is efficient at work, so breakfast was ready quickly.

The two of them first sent it to Mrs. Jiang and Manager Li into the house, and then the maids could eat. There was someone else cooking for Peng Ge'er, so he didn't need to worry about it.

Although the noodles were only served with some worthless wild vegetables, they tasted delicious. No matter how bumpy the road ahead was, one had to fill one's stomach first before talking about the future.

Xia Li buried his head in putting the noodles into his mouth. The others also ate voraciously. Not every meal could fill their stomachs, so taking care of the present was more important than anything else.

When the maids had almost finished eating, Mrs. Jiang and Manager Li came over slowly. The maids who were originally laughing and chatting shut their mouths and became silent.

Grandma Jiang Ya glanced at the girls, her eyebrows almost twisted together, she said with a cold face: "Look at how sloppy you are, wash your faces and tidy up."

The maids all agreed timidly, but Hong Xing was the only one who grinned. She walked to Grandma Jiang Ya and flattered her, "Grandma, is there any good news?"

Grandma Jiang's eyes were as sharp as torches, as if she could see through the secrets in people's hearts. She said in a cold voice, "You are the smartest one. I asked Manager Li to find a good host for you. If you are chosen, you won't have to starve here. Don't you think it's a great thing?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the maids showed expressions of fear on their faces. Xia Li lowered her head, her hands trembling uncontrollably, and she clutched the corner of her clothes tightly.

Hong Xing's face changed drastically, like a frightened hare, and she said in a trembling voice, "Mother-in-law...which mansion's steward is here to pick the person?"

Grandma Jiang Ya glanced at her with contempt and said viciously, "Don't bother me, you bitch. Just clean yourself up and don't ask questions that you shouldn't ask."

Hong Xing was so frightened that she wanted to say something, but Qiao He held her arm tightly.

(End of this chapter)