After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 583 Zhou Jinlin's Family

When Ma and Haitang arrived at the third branch of the Zhou family, the house was still a little chaotic.

There were several carriages piled up in the front yard. The horses had been taken to the stables, but the luggage boxes in the carriages had not yet been unloaded. Servants came and went, most of them acting under the command of the housekeeper, and the chaos was visible to the naked eye. Among them, there were a few unfamiliar servants dressed in simple clothes, who were more organized. Under the guidance of a housekeeper, they sent the boxes unloaded from the carriages to the backyard. There were strict regulations on who was responsible for which box. But they didn't care about anything else, and left it all to the housekeeper of the third branch of the Zhou family.

The housekeeper was the one appointed by Ma to look after the house. He had dealt with Ma several times before. When he saw her, he hurriedly came forward to greet her, then smiled bitterly and said, "Aunt, cousin, you are here? The Second Master and the Second Madam are in the back yard. The Second Master has instructed me to invite you to the back yard to talk when you arrive. It's a mess out there, so you and cousin should be careful where you step."

Ma looked around the courtyard and angrily scolded, "It's just a few carts of luggage, why is it such a mess? Are you inexperienced or what? Aren't you afraid of making a fool of yourself by making such a fuss?"

The housekeeper's smile became even more bitter. He was promoted to housekeeper by the master in a hurry. Originally, he was just a small steward in the manor. If the third branch of the Zhou family had not purged two or three groups of servants, and the stewards who had been valued by Madam Ma were all driven away, it would not be his turn to take the position with insufficient qualifications and abilities. But the head of the family, Zhou Shigong, and the head of the family, Madam Zhou Ma, thought that he was honest and loyal, and he was a house-born son who had been a servant for many years, and he was also the grandson of the former head housekeeper. He thought he was qualified to take over the position of housekeeper, so they promoted him without thinking too much. Earlier, the third branch of the Zhou family closed its doors to visitors, and he was responsible for limited things every day, but he managed to cope with it stumblingly. When the master went out of the city to stay in the manor, life was even more leisurely. But precisely because he had not experienced much training, now that the future head of the family came back and things became complicated, he was exposed.

But saying such things would only make him lose face.

The housekeeper admitted his mistake with a bitter smile: "I was panicked. I...have never seen the Second Master and Second Madam, and I am not familiar with the Second Master's rules. For a while...I didn't serve him well..."

Ma was too lazy to care about the affairs of her eldest sister's family. She didn't need her eldest sister's housekeeper, so she could just take care of it. When her eldest sister was not at home, she let her nephew and his wife make the decision. What did it have to do with her, a relative?
She asked the housekeeper to lead the way and took herself and her granddaughter to the backyard.

Zhou Jinlin was stationed abroad for many years. His original courtyard was located in the fourth entrance of the east road, next to the back garden and the courtyard where the servants lived. It had been abandoned for many years and was used by Madam Ma as a backup warehouse, where a lot of sundries were piled up. When his daughter Zhou Yijun returned to Chang'an to propose marriage, she did not live in her father's courtyard, but could only be arranged to live in a small cross courtyard next to the main courtyard. However, since Madam Ma passed away, Zhou Jinpu's several outrageous actions were not tolerated by his father. Zhou Shigong planned to train his youngest son as the future heir, so he began to rearrange his residence.

The fourth courtyard on the east route was too remote, and the house was old and in disrepair, and filled with all kinds of debris. Even if all the debris was cleared away and the furniture was replaced, the place was still too small and not a place for a family heir to live in. Zhou Shigong ordered people to clear out the third courtyard on the east route that originally belonged to Zhou Shuyi and prepare it for his youngest son's family to live in.

Although Zhou Shuyi only returned to Chang'an to visit her relatives once or twice after her marriage, when Mrs. Ma was in charge, she never neglected her daughter's old residence. She always sent people to guard the house and clean it every day. She would occasionally go there to take a look and reminisce about the situation when her daughter was still in the boudoir.

Three years ago, Zhou Shuyi had planned to bring her two children to Chang'an to visit their grandparents, so Madam Ma specially had the courtyard renovated. In order to make the living space more spacious for her grandchildren, she even had the courtyard wall moved northward to occupy part of Zhou Jinlin's courtyard. However, Zhou Shuyi later decided that her son would marry the daughter of the Sun family, so she cancelled the original plan for the children to visit their grandparents, and the renovated house had to be left there.

Now Zhou Jinlin has returned with his wife and children, and this expanded new yard is just enough to accommodate his family. The house has been renovated and is in good condition, and the furniture is 90% new. Although no one has cleaned it recently, it has only been a few months, so it is not difficult to clean it again. Even the flowers and trees in the yard are growing well, and they can be seen after a little pruning. It is not as desolate as Zhou Jinlin's original yard. Of course, the old yard next door is still his, and it is filled with his old clothes, furniture and other miscellaneous items. If he has the leisure time, he can also take his wife and children back to stroll around and reminisce about his childhood.

Ma brought her granddaughter Haitang and followed the housekeeper to the third courtyard on the east route. This courtyard was as large and exquisite as the main courtyard, only slightly inferior to the west courtyard. It was refreshing as soon as you entered the door.

Although the owner had just returned home, this courtyard was not as chaotic as the front yard. Although there were still some suitcases and boxes that had just been moved from the front yard and had not yet been sorted, they were all neatly arranged and classified with labels. The maids walking around were very organized and did their work quietly. They basically didn't talk unless it was necessary. It was as orderly as if they were in the army.

Seeing this, Ma couldn't help but reveal a look of admiration, and whispered to Haitang: "Although I have never met your aunt, but just by looking at her ability to manage the servants, I know that she is a good housekeeper, at least better than your aunt!"

Haitang smiled and felt the same way.

But this is not really a compliment. Although my aunt Zhou Ma's housekeeper is okay, she is still far from being smart and capable. There are many people who can surpass her.

While the grandparents and grandchildren were talking in low voices, Zhou Jinlin and his wife had already come up to them with their two sons.

Zhou Jinlin was in his thirties, tall, thin, strong, dark-skinned, and looked serious, as if he was a serious person. But after the greetings, when he sat down to talk, he smiled foolishly, showing his two rows of white teeth, giving people a simple and honest feeling. This temperament was neither like his father nor his mother, and no one knew how he was raised.

Zhou Jinlin's wife is a beautiful and dignified woman with fair complexion and soft voice. Zhou Yijun looks very similar to her, which is a blessing. However, unlike her elegant appearance, Zhou Jinlin's wife speaks and acts very straightforwardly. She seems gentle and kind, but she is actually very powerful inside.

Their two sons were not very old, one was not even ten years old, and the other was only seven or eight years old. They were both carefree and lively children. They were probably used to being indulged in the border town and did not consider the gender difference at all. When they saw Haitang, they greeted her enthusiastically. It is estimated that Zhou Yijun often praised her cousin in her letters home. The two boys also treated her very well, calling her sister and curiously pestering her about what Guazhou and Suzhou were like. It seemed that they felt that staying in Ningxia for too long was boring and wanted to go to a more remote border town to see more.

The two of them kept asking questions and Haitang couldn't find a moment to reply. It was only when Zhou Jinlin's wife glanced at them that the two boys immediately shut up and sat down obediently.

(End of this chapter)