With Shen Hongyu, Wufu hurried along the way, and before the sun set, they finally arrived at the doorstep of their home, where Madam Zhou, who had not seen anyone return for a long time, was coming out with an apron tied around her waist, looking for them.
"Why have you been gone the whole day?" Madam Zhou first glanced at Wufu, then noticed the little maid following behind her: "Who is this?"
"Madam." Hongyu stepped forward and knelt down.
Madam Zhou was startled, took two steps back, and stared in amazement at the two of them.
Wufu had not expected her to kneel without a word, and hurried to lift her up: "What are you doing? This sort of thing is not done in our family. Get up, let’s go inside and talk." She nodded reassuringly at Madam Zhou.
Seeing this, Madam Zhou had no choice but to suppress the doubts in her heart, stepping aside to let the two of them enter.
Upon reaching the main living space where she and her daughter lived, Wufu briefly explained how Shen Hongyu had come to be there.
After listening, Madam Zhou looked at Shen Hongyu again, her eyes now filled with a bit more compassion for the unfortunate child.
Hongyu felt somewhat relieved. On the road, Wufu had already given her a simple overview of the family: there was only the mother, and while the village had her maternal family, they could be ignored; nothing more was mentioned.
Looking at the house, situated in a remote location and rather dilapidated, yet also tidy, and at Madam Zhou, who seemed very gentle and kind.
If she were to settle down here, she thought she might be able to adapt, right?
"Since you’ve come to our house, you can work here as a servant," Wufu said. "There’s no need to sign a deed of sale. We’ll take care of your living expenses, and as for your monthly money..." Wufu was not sure how much was appropriate to pay maids in this area, so she asked, "How much do you think is appropriate?"
"Whatever the lady deems fit is fine. As long as there’s food and shelter, Hongyu doesn’t mind." Shen Hongyu said. More than monthly money, what she needed was protection and a place to stay.
"If that’s the case, then you can just do odd jobs here, and whenever you decide you don’t want to work any longer, just let me know in advance," Wufu said. "But there’s one thing, betrayal will not end well. I, Wufu, will not tolerate disloyalty."
These words sent a chill through Shen Hongyu’s heart and also felt somewhat odd. Not having to sign a deed of sale, being able to leave whenever she no longer wished to work—what kind of employer was this?
But she didn’t say much more. Whatever Wufu said was how it would be, and she wanted to see for herself if Wufu was as good as her grandfather had said.
"Our home is small; how about I clear out the woodshed for you to live in?" Wufu glanced at the small space her mother and she occupied, which was already quite cramped and had no extra room to set up another bed. There was the woodshed, though—she had set up a bed there before while working in that area.
She led Hongyu to the woodshed and, after letting her settle in, returned to the main living space.
Madam Zhou was waiting for her.
"Wufu, where do we have the silver to keep a servant?" Madam Zhou frowned deeply, for each additional person meant another mouth to feed. Just before, Wufu had mentioned giving her monthly money. Their mother and daughter’s livelihood was limited, and the silver they earned was just enough for them; where would they find extra to support a servant?
"Don’t worry about the silver, Mother. I’ll take care of it. Having her to help you with chores around the house will lessen your workload and give you a chance to rest," said Wufu, patting her hand. "You often mention how your back hurts, don’t you?"
Madam Zhou was a bit embarrassed: "I’m used to it!"
Actually, it was an ailment that stemmed from not resting properly after childbirth, especially noticeable when it rained, causing her severe soreness and fatigue.
"Let’s settle on this, then. Xiao Yu doesn’t have any relatives; sending her away is basically to let her die," Wufu decided firmly and then took out fabric she had bought from town and handed it to Madam Zhou, along with ten taels of silver for her to use. This was to set Madam Zhou’s mind at ease.
Seeing her insistence on keeping Shen Hongyu and looking at the silver in her hand, Madam Zhou decided to go along with Wufu’s wishes.