Chapter 246: The Names of the Three Little Ones
Chapter 246: Chapter 246: The Names of the Three Little Ones
Upon entering the city, Xiao Yunjing first sent Gu Qingli to the Gu Mansion and had Yun No. 1 take the rest of them back to the County City.
At the Gu Mansion, Xiao Yunjing took a rest and played with the children for a while before leisurely heading to the County City.
The previous administrator of Qiyang County, Zhao Shijin, had retired and returned to his hometown with his family to enjoy his old age. He wasn’t a good official, but he had a keen eye, which had helped him climb from a small county magistrate to this prominent position. He had long seen clearly that the future of the realm would belong to Master Yun’s faction. From the beginning with the Dean Lin incident to the rebuilding after the earthworm incident, it had seemed like the Seventh Prince’s achievement, but in reality, it was not. The resources and money brought by the Seventh Prince were barely enough to make a thin soup. It was that group working behind the scenes, handling manpower, resources, and medical care—everything was managed by them. What surprised him the most was this year’s rice harvest; with the same seeds but different planting methods, the yield was two or three times more than in previous years. Of course, this was a harvest he witnessed after returning to his hometown.
Lord Fu stayed behind to continue assisting Yun No. 1. This was also Xiao Yunjing’s intention, as he planned for Lord Fu to eventually take charge of the Qiyang County administration. This was a talent Xiao Yunjing had recognized long ago.
Another was Magistrate Xu of Qinghe County, whom Yun No. 1 had transferred up to familiarize himself with the affairs of the County City. He too was a rare talent.
After arriving at the County City and meeting everyone, Xiao Yunjing listened to their suggestions and opinions before they began their discussions.
When Gu Qingli returned to her room and finished arranging it, she then brought the three little ones out from the Space.
“Miss, shall we buy some more servants?” Wuqing asked. Only one doorman remained in the Gu Mansion; Ms. Yang and her group had taken the others.
“Yes, go early tomorrow morning,” Gu Qingli nodded. They were indeed short-handed, so buying some maids, matrons, and young male servants was necessary.
She and Wuqing were busy for over two hours, only finishing their work by lamplight.
“Miss, should we wait for Young Master to return for dinner, or shall we eat first?” Wuyou, having just finished cooking, came to ask.
“He’ll probably eat out before coming back, but let’s save a portion for him, just in case he hasn’t eaten,” Gu Qingli said, recalling their time in Beijing. She didn’t have the habit of waiting for the man of the house to return before starting dinner. Since he wasn’t back yet, he must have lost track of time discussing important matters. It was normal to have a lot to deal with, especially since they had just returned, and Xiao Yunjing was a responsible man who wouldn’t leave his work unfinished.
“Alright,” Wuyou replied and immediately returned to the kitchen, bringing out the food for the three of them to eat.
Xiao Yunjing had indeed forgotten the time. It was already late when he arrived at the County City, and once discussions began, it was nearly midnight before Yun No. 1 reminded him.
Xiao Yunjing, seeing how late it was, quickly concluded the meeting and hurried home.
When he arrived home, Gu Qingli was already asleep. Xiao Yunjing went to check on the three little ones before undressing and getting into bed.
“Why are you so late?” Gu Qingli, startled awake, almost kicked him out of bed when she saw him climbing in just like that.
“Heh heh, I lost track of time,” Xiao Yunjing chuckled dryly.
“So you didn’t eat dinner then?”
“Mhm,” Xiao Yunjing nodded obediently.
Gu Qingli rolled her eyes at him and immediately took him into the Space, bringing the three little ones and Da Bai along as well.
Inside the Space, Xiao Yunjing went to eat first while Gu Qingli found him some clothes.
“Tomorrow, I’ll buy a few more servants. We’ll get you two proper attendants for appearances. That way, if anything comes up in the future, you can send someone back to let us know.” Back when they were in Beijing, they lived at the County Administrative Offices; it was very close, just a few steps away. Here, it was at least two or three miles.
“Alright, Li’er, you arrange it,” Xiao Yunjing nodded in agreement. He also didn’t want members of the Secret Sect to be exposed too much.
「The next day」
Xiao Yunjing left early in the morning. Gu Qingli had Wuqing make a trip to the Pawnshop alone, while Wuyou went to the Medical Clinic.
Wushuang and Wuxin were not in Qiyang County City. It was the harvest season for some medicinal materials, so they were both at the estate outside the city. Gu Qingli hadn’t asked them to return.
She stayed home alone with the three little ones, occasionally changing a diaper or feeding them some water.
Perhaps because they had been drinking Spiritual spring water since birth, the three little ones had never been sick and were very healthy.
Right then, the eldest, Xiao Chu, whose pet name was Tuan’er, was staring at the milk bottle in Gu Qingli’s hand with his black, grape-like eyes. Gu Qingli poked his tender little cheek. After wailing a few times right after he was born, she had never heard him cry again. When he wanted to eat, he would just fix his gaze on the milk bottle, his eyes following its every move. The little fellow was quite amusing. Every time Gu Qingli fed him milk or water, she would tease him for a while, only feeding him when he started to get impatient.
“Ah, Tuanzi, look at the names your grandfather gave you,” Gu Qingli poked his cheek again and sighed. Back in Beijing, she had asked Gu Xicheng to give the three little ones their formal names, and he ended up giving them pet names as well. Names like Tuan’er, Yuan’er, and Le’er utterly disgusted the couple; what kind of pet names were these? They sounded like names for circus monkeys. But since the names had been given, the couple had no choice but to accept them; after all, it was their father who had chosen them. They decided they would just call the children by their formal names most of the time. The formal names were much better: the eldest was Xiao Chu, the second Xiao Chen, and the third Xiao Ming. The third child, who loved to make noise, was aptly named Xiao Ming.
Gu Qingli shook her head, picked up little Tuanzi, and fed him his milk. Then she fed Yuanzi, and finally, Little Le’er.
After feeding the three little ones, Wuqing returned with the people she had bought.
Ten men and ten women.
Gu Qingli was momentarily speechless, then chuckled; Wuqing had bought so many people at once. However, after making the arrangements, it turned out to be just the right number. Two coachmen and one young attendant for Xiao Yunjing; these roles accounted for three of the men. Additionally, four guards were assigned, working in pairs for day and night shifts to watch over the manor. The remaining three men consisted of a steward, one assigned to help the steward with miscellaneous tasks, and the last was a groom to feed the horses.
Of the ten women, three were matrons assigned to help care for the three little ones. Wuqing hadn’t chosen young girls for this; these three had experience with children. There were three matrons for the kitchen, and the remaining four were young maids assigned to cleaning duties.
Only after Wuqing had assigned all the tasks did she bring them to meet Gu Qingli.
“Everyone, pay your respects to the Madam,” Wuqing said to the twenty people.
The twenty people knelt in unison. “We servants pay our respects to Madam.”
Gu Qingli was very satisfied with these twenty individuals. Their eyes were clear, and they were all neatly dressed. She nodded and said, “You all seem very good. Just focus on doing your own tasks well. If any issues arise, report to Wuqing. The three matrons are to stay behind; the rest of you may go with Wuqing.” With Wuqing managing them, she preferred not to get too involved.
After the matrons responsible for caring for the three little ones stayed behind, the others rose and followed Wuqing out.
The three matrons remained kneeling. Gu Qingli glanced at them before speaking, “You three will help me care for the three young masters. I have one requirement: you must be diligent and do your best, but you are not to become overly familiar or close with the young masters. Do you understand?”