From a slave to the Great Qian Martial Saint

"Although the master promised to promote you to steward if you find the treasure, we cannot simply replace someone else with you if there are no vacancies in the steward positions throughout the mansion."

"I was originally thinking of giving you a nominal title and filling it in when a vacancy came up. But just a few days ago, the manager in charge of purchasing medicinal herbs was dismissed for poor performance, so you're the perfect replacement."

"Speaking of which, this is also your luck. Purchasing medicinal herbs is a good position, with countless eyes eyeing it, but you just happened to get it."

"As a steward, I am a first-class servant, receiving one tael of silver per month. In addition, I have two days off per month, but I cannot neglect my duties..."

As they walked forward, Steward Sun casually remarked.

Before long, the two left the mansion. There were several rows of houses next to the mansion, which were servants' quarters. Next to the servants' quarters were a few separate rooms.

"This is it."

Arriving at the front of a house, Steward Sun stepped inside.

Chen Shi followed him inside. The room wasn't very big. There was a table and a few chairs, and two cabinets against the wall, containing some notebooks and the like.

"Greetings, Steward."

There were several servants in the room. When they saw Steward Sun enter, they immediately stopped and greeted him.

Steward Sun nodded slightly and said to Chen Shi.

"This is the office for purchasing medicinal herbs. You will be handling your affairs here from now on. All the medicinal herbs needed by the manor will be purchased, checked, and registered here before being sent to the pharmacy."

"Medicinal herbs are used to treat illnesses, but human lives are at stake. As the person in charge here, you bear a heavy responsibility. You must always keep two things in mind: first, the quality of the medicinal herbs must be excellent; second, the accounts must be clear."

"Since you're new here, if you have any questions, just ask them."

At this point, Steward Sun pointed to the servants in the room.

"They all came from the pharmacy before coming to the manor, and now they work here full-time, and are usually at your beck and call."

Then, Steward Sun introduced Chen Shi to these people.

"This is Chen Shi, your new manager."

"Greetings, Steward Chen."

Everyone turned to Chen Shi and quickly bowed and greeted him.

"You're too kind, everyone. I'll need your help again in the future."

Chen Shi bowed slightly and said politely.

Once the person was brought to the destination and everything that needed to be explained had been explained, Steward Sun then left.

Chen Shi escorted Steward Sun to the door before turning back.

Inside the room, a group of servants stood with their hands at their sides, waiting for Chen Shi to give instructions.

Chen Shi looked around and glanced around a few times before sitting down in the armchair behind the table.

"Congratulations on your new appointment, Manager. This is just a small token of my appreciation."

Immediately afterwards, the group stepped forward, their faces beaming, and took out a piece of silver from their pockets and placed it in front of Chen Shi.

Chen Shi glanced at them and found that each person weighed about two ounces.

You should know that they were only third-class servants, and their monthly salary was only five hundred coins. These two taels of silver were equivalent to four months' salary.

The fact that he casually took it out as a congratulatory gift shows just how lucrative the purchase of these medicinal herbs was.

No wonder Steward Sun said that countless eyes were eyeing this position.

"Thank you for your kindness, brothers. I'll accept it without hesitation."

Chen Shi smiled and put the silver away.

He certainly didn't lack the money, but if he didn't accept it, it would make these people uneasy.

Then, Chen Shi continued.

"Tonight I'm hosting a dinner at Wanxing Restaurant. Please have a few drinks and let's get to know each other."

"Oh dear! How can we let the manager spend so much money!"

"Thank you very much, manager."

"I must have a few drinks with the manager then!"

Everyone nodded repeatedly, their faces beaming with smiles.

Having already received the money, and now being offered drinks, it was clear they were being treated as family, finally putting their minds at ease.

Chen Shi casually picked up an account book from the table, flipped through it, and asked a question seemingly unintentionally.

"By the way, what did the previous manager do that led to his dismissal?"

"Actually, it's nothing serious."

A younger servant spoke up to explain.

"A while ago, a batch of medicinal herbs wasn't very good. Actually, they weren't exactly inferior, just a little off in terms of color and age. It wouldn't usually be a problem, but I don't know what happened this time, it angered Miss Mu of the medicine shop. Miss Mu went straight to the Third Master, who ordered the steward to be arrested, flogged, and dismissed on the spot."

"To be honest, working here is easy in other places. Even if there are some difficult things, you can just spend some money to smooth things over. But this Miss Mu is different. She doesn't accept gifts and doesn't show any leniency. And yet, she is our direct superior. We can't afford to offend her."

"If I may be so bold as to offer a word of advice, you should be extra careful around this Miss Mu. Even if you can't curry favor with her, you absolutely must not offend her."

"So that's how it is."

Chen Shi nodded and couldn't help but smile.

Unexpectedly, this was all because of Mu Yunsheng.

If it were someone else, it might be quite troublesome, but for Mu Yunsheng, given their relationship, it's actually quite simple.

Leaning slightly against the chair back, Chen Shi looked around and suddenly felt much more relaxed.

The task of purchasing medicinal herbs was insignificant to him, and he didn't even particularly value the position of manager. What truly pleased him was leaving Gu Chengze's courtyard.

Being far away from Gu Chengze and Xiao Fengxiao naturally meant being far away from that job as well.

Of course, even though he left that courtyard, since Chen Shi came from there, everyone still regarded him as one of Gu Chengze and Xiao Fengxiao's people.

After all, every servant has a master!

He could only escape his slave status if he one day took a further step and became a retainer.

"Manager, since there's nothing else to do right now, why don't you go to the medicine shop and meet that Miss Mu? After all, you've just taken office, you should at least make an appearance so she can't find fault with you."

While he was pondering, the young servant spoke again.

"Alright."

Chen Shi nodded, then stood up.

Now that he's back, he should go and say hello to Mu Yunsheng.

There was a side gate next to the servants' quarters, which led to the entrance and exit of the Marquis's residence. Chen Shi went straight to the medicine hut.

Along the way, when they encountered servants and maids, they all greeted him with smiles, calling him "Manager Chen" and taking the initiative to say hello.

It must be said that although they were still servants, they were at the top of the servant hierarchy and possessed certain rights. This feeling of being in a superior position was indeed quite nice.

"I'm back."

A moment later, upon arriving at the medicine hut, Mu Yunsheng looked up at Chen Shi and asked a question casually.

"Yes, I'm back."

Chen Shi responded and, as usual, helped Mu Yunsheng select medicinal herbs.

Nearly an hour later, after the selection was completed, Mu Yunsheng poured water at the stone table next to her.

Chen Shi came over, picked up his usual cup, drank it all in one gulp, and then poured himself another cup.

Mu Yunsheng sat to the side, slowly drinking water, and took out a form to hand to Chen Shi.

Chen Shi took it and saw that it listed the names of medicinal herbs, with the year and the required quantity noted afterward.

"This is?"

"Purchase order."

Mu Yunsheng spoke calmly, his face expressionless.

"These are all medicinal herbs that need to be replenished before the end of the month."

"understood."

Chen Shi nodded and put the form away.

Mu Yunsheng adapted to his role as the manager of medicinal herb procurement much faster than he did.

Chen Shi looked at Mu Yunsheng and suddenly couldn't help but ask a question.

"Did you deliberately dismiss that manager for my sake?"