From a slave to the Great Qian Martial Saint

"Greetings, Third Master."

In the side hall, Gu Tingliang sat at the head of the table, and Chen Shi stepped forward to greet him.

Dressed in a white robe, he was dashing and handsome.

Servants wore short tunics, household servants wore long robes, ordinary household servants wore blue robes, and only the chief steward was allowed to wear a white robe.

"She looks even more dashing in her new robe. I wonder which lucky girl will be born in the future."

Gu Tingliang glanced at Chen Shi from head to toe, chuckled, and then got down to business.

"Let me briefly explain the supervisor's authority and responsibilities to you first."

"Yes."

Chen Shi responded and stood aside with his hands at his sides.

"Firstly, regarding the salary, the monthly wage has increased to ten taels."

"All servants in the mansion are under the supervision of the head steward."

……

Gu Tingliang tapped his fingers on the table, seemingly saying whatever came to mind without much coherence.

Fortunately, each item was explained clearly.

Chen Shi listened carefully and already had a general idea in his mind.

As for the monthly salary, there's no need to worry about that. When Chen Shi became the steward, the monthly salary was already irrelevant, let alone now that he's the head steward.

What really concerned him was the manager's authority.

The term "general manager" refers to someone who oversees and manages everything under the master.

Therefore, all affairs in the mansion were basically under the jurisdiction of the chief steward.

Since it is under jurisdiction, it naturally has the corresponding authority!

For example, in the library, ordinary servants need their master's permission to acquire martial arts techniques. But the steward can freely enter and leave the library and browse the books within at will.

For example, if a servant in the household makes a mistake, the head steward can punish them.

Of course, although the steward has extensive authority, he is not the master after all, and there are limitations.

The library is restricted to the first three floors only; access to the upper floors is prohibited.

Servants can be punished, but if they are to be expelled from the mansion, the master must be consulted. Moreover, retainers and guests are directly under the master's jurisdiction and are not subject to the steward's control.

As for responsibilities.

Managing the Marquis's mansion for one's master involves many tasks, but generally speaking, it boils down to two aspects: managing people and managing money.

It is called a duty, but in reality, it is where the power lies.

However, the vast Jing'an Marquis's mansion was not solely managed by Chen Shi, so these powers were not all in his hands.

"Greetings, Third Master."

As they were talking, Jin Bingren and Zhou Bingzhi walked in.

"You've come at the perfect time."

Gu Tingliang stood up abruptly and stretched his shoulders.

"I've pretty much finished explaining things to Chen Shi. The three of you can discuss how to proceed from here."

"Yes."

"You two talk."

Gu Tingliang waved his hand and left.

In this side hall, only three stewards remained.

"Don't stand, sit down anywhere."

Since the master wasn't here, there was no need to be reserved. Zhou Bingzhi said this and found a place to sit down.

Kim Byung-in smiled and sat down next to Zhou Byung-ji.

Chen Shi was a junior, but now he was the steward, so there was no reason for him to stand. He sat down opposite the two men.

"Has the Third Master told you almost everything?"

"The basics that needed to be explained have been covered."

Chen Shi nodded and continued.

"However, the Third Master did not give me any specific instructions on what tasks I should do next."

"Specific responsibilities have always been defined by ourselves; the men don't really concern themselves with them."

Kim Byung-in smiled and looked at Chen Shi, asking a question.

"The affairs of the manor are basically in the hands of the three of us. You have a general idea of ​​what matters are involved. Do you have any intentions?"

"I was able to become the steward purely by luck. I know that I am inexperienced and have limited abilities, so how could I have any intentions?"

Chen Shi smiled and shook his head, then continued.

"If Steward Jin and Steward Zhou don't mind, I can help you two out."

"Hehe, Manager Chen, you're too kind."

Kim Byung-in smiled and looked at Joo Byung-ji beside him.

"Let's keep it the same as before, to avoid trouble."

Zhou Bingzhi yawned and said directly.

Kim Byung-in nodded, then turned to Chen Shi.

"Since you're taking over Bingyi's position, you can continue to take on his part. That way, Bingzhi and I won't need any changes."

"What area was Steward Sun previously in charge of?"

"The purchase of food, clothing, and daily necessities, the disbursement of monthly wages, and even the accounts of money for estates and shops outside the manor—in short, it all boils down to one word: money."

Kim Byung-in smiled and said directly.

"Bingyi is in charge of almost everything related to money in the manor, and now it's your job."

"...This won't do!"

Chen Shi's eyes widened, and he quickly refused.

The world is bustling with activity, all for the sake of profit; the world is in turmoil, all for the sake of gain.

Chen Shi was already inexperienced and had just become the manager, so how could he dare to manage the money!

"Don't panic, we're not just being polite."

Kim Byung-in waved his hand, offering a reassuring remark to Chen Shi, before continuing.

"The three of us brothers have always divided our responsibilities like this: I manage people, Bingyi manages money, and Bingzhi handles external affairs."

"Actually, the job we're doing is probably not easy for you. Managing the money is the easiest thing for you."

Zhou Bingzhi also spoke up, and couldn't help but smile.

"this……"

Chen Shi hesitated slightly, seeing that the two men did not seem to be feigning their feelings.

After thinking about it, he couldn't help but nod to himself.

Zhou Bingzhi is right.

Managing people, personnel punishments, appointments and dismissals—these are simple matters. The problem is, who among those who can gain a foothold in this Marquis's mansion is a good person? Although Chen Shi is the chief steward, he is young, only three months shy of twenty years old, and with his limited experience, he probably won't be able to control people.

As for dealing with external matters, he is currently only a seventh-rank martial artist, not yet a sixth-rank, and is not qualified in many situations. Furthermore, he lacks experience and doesn't understand his "relatives and friends" in the Jing'an Marquis's mansion well enough, so he might not be able to handle many things well.

I already saw this when I handled Gu Chengze's funeral. If I let him greet and send off guests, I don't know how many mistakes would be made.

On the contrary, the money item is the simplest.

Moreover, he was originally in charge of purchasing medicinal herbs, which is also related to this field, so it was much easier for him to get started.

"I understand."

After a moment's hesitation, Chen Shi nodded.

In reality, even if he were in charge of the money, it wouldn't mean that all the kickbacks and profits would end up in his pocket alone.

Just like when I was in charge, I had to smooth things over with everyone, both above and below me.

Although Jin Bingren and Zhou Bingzhi did not share this responsibility, they were both in charge and naturally had to take a share as well.

To be honest, managing money isn't so easy; you have to be considerate in every aspect.

"I knew it, Chen Shi is a smart man."

Seeing that Chen Shi understood, Zhou Bingzhi couldn't help but smile.

Kim Byung-in nodded as well.

Then, the two explained the specifics of the matter to Chen Shi, as well as the things he should pay attention to in his daily life.

Although it was as simple as possible, it still took more than an hour to finish.

"It's getting late, so let's stop here for today. Learn as you go, and feel free to ask us if you don't understand anything."

The three of them walked out of the side hall together, and Kim Byung-in said with a smile.

Both of them had other things to do, so they left separately.

"...Let's eat first."

Chen Shi listened for more than an hour, and by then he was also feeling extremely overwhelmed.

With a sigh, I prepared to go get some food first.

He hasn't eaten anything since yesterday afternoon, almost a whole day.

"Manager Chen."

Just as they were about to head to the dining hall, a servant came over and said respectfully.

"Second Madam requests your presence."