Chapter 7

As the rooster crowed at dawn, the sky was about to brighten.

In the bedroom, Xu Hao turned over and leaped out of bed. Without waiting for Qiuxiang to come and serve him, he picked up the clean clothes placed at the head of the bed.

The hot weather meant fewer clothes, and in a short while, he was fully dressed. He casually tied up his long hair, secured it with a velvet rope, covered it with a light blue square scarf, and put on a hairband, then inserted a jade hairpin.

While tidying up the stray strands of hair, he walked out of the bedroom, looking like a messy female classmate from his college days. It was so troublesome that Xu Hao wished he could just cut it all off, but since his body and hair were gifts from his parents, only monks who left the secular world had such a privilege.

In the small bed separated by curtains in the corridor, Qiuxiang was rubbing her sleepy eyes, half-reclining against the headboard, looking as if she had just woken up. Xu Hao gestured and walked out on his own.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded from inside. Xu Hao, who was breathing in the fresh air, did not turn his head. In the courtyard, several servants had already gotten up and were busy washing. He asked, "Is there something?"

Qiuxiang, who had chased out with disheveled hair, tightened the small robe at her chest and said, "I forgot to tell you last night, I have a favor to ask."

"What is it? Go ahead and say it." Xu Hao stood on the veranda, stretching his limbs and kicking his legs.

Qiuxiang seemed a bit embarrassed and said with her head down, "My two younger sisters are coming to the house today. The older one is called Xier, who is well-mannered and is fourteen years old this year; the younger one is called Lianer, a little girl who doesn't know any better. For my sake, please take Xier as a maid, and Lianer can wait a few years."

Xu Hao laughed, "Xier? Are you afraid I'm Yang Bailao? Haha, they are all your cousins, but you treat them differently. Alright, I understand. They might be picked by others on the way, but if they are left, I'll keep them."

"Thank you so much." Qiuxiang smiled and looked around, "It's not that I only care about my own family. Who doesn't care about their own sisters? Chunyue, Xiayu, and Dongxue have already asked the two young ladies to help. They will come to you for this favor in a while. If I don't ask you, wouldn't it hurt our relationship over the years and make us seem distant from them?"

"I don't like the sound of that." Xu Hao frowned, feeling a bit disgusted, "You are so calculating! Sisters must stick together, but what if they form cliques and cover up for each other when something goes wrong? This will be a big problem in the long run."

Qiuxiang laughed, "You have become so meticulous. The ladies and young misses in the back courtyard are not as naive as you think. To be honest, their purpose is the same as mine. They all hope you will keep their sisters in our house so they can stay at home in the future."

"I'm a bit confused. Oh, I see." Xu Hao finally understood. Their goal was the same: to keep their sisters close. Otherwise, when the elder and younger sisters got married, they might be chosen as dowry maids and have to leave the Xu family.

"Is that so." Xu Hao sighed. Although he didn't want to see family members separated, the elder and younger sisters would need their own people around them. Just like today, when choosing maids, people were clearly divided into two classes, which was truly evil!

Actually, it was just a matter of gritting his teeth. Human adaptability was incredible. Xu Hao had no sense of equality, only a head full of feudal and corrupt thoughts. For him, any saintly mindset should be thrown into the toilet.

Qiuxiang felt a bit guilty and said, "I'm making you offend people, but the opportunity to be a maid is rare. If they are not chosen, who knows what will happen to them in the future."

"What do you mean?" Xu Hao frowned.

Qiuxiang sighed, "Every family has its own troubles. The pain and suffering here are hard to describe. In short, if they can't stay in the house, they will either be forced to marry or sold to a broker. Sigh, women's lives are truly hard."

Xu Hao frowned, watching Qiuxiang sigh and turn back to her room. After a while, he laughed, "You're a good actress, learned from Hongye, right?"

Qiuxiang had also learned from Hongye, or perhaps her thoughts had become more complex as she grew up. Xu Hao smiled and walked out.

It was true that women's lives were hard in this era, but that was for ordinary families struggling for food and shelter. In a large family like the Xu family, even the servants wouldn't starve.

"Do you really think I don't know the hardships of the common people? I've been a commoner for over twenty years, don't underestimate me."

He strolled out of the inner courtyard gate and headed to Laibao's house. Most of the servants from the second branch lived in two small quadrangle courtyards nearby, while a few had their own small courtyards outside the house.

Xu family's residence in Xiaojia Village, which was actually a town, was backed by green mountains and faced water to the south. The town had hundreds of households. In terms of the size of the residence, the ancestral home of the Xiao clan was the largest, and the Xu family's residence was also one of the largest in the area.

Laibao's family lived in a crowded area with several other servants. Next door was Li Lao, the steward, and his four sons. Qiuxiang's father was the fourth son of the Li family, so Laibao's family and Qiuxiang's family had been neighbors since childhood.

Xu Hao had visited a few times before, but he didn't expect the courtyard to be so lively this morning. The men were gathered by the wall, talking, while the women were blocking the door of a room, chatting and laughing. Laibao and five or six children were peering through the window, looking inside.

"Cough!" Xu Hao lightly coughed as he approached the door.

"Oh, Third Young Master, you're here, please come in and sit down."

Laibao's father saw Xu Hao coming from outside and hurriedly welcomed him. The other men also nodded and greeted him. One of them shouted loudly, "You women, stop making a fuss. Don't you see Third Young Master has come? Quickly call the girls out to greet him."

Suddenly, the entire small courtyard became chaotic. Several women ran over with smiles, and the children clapped and shouted, adding to the chaos.

"Enough." Xu Hao quickly put on a stern face and stopped the women from rushing over, "You do your own thing. I can't stand the noise. Laibao, come here, what's going on?"

Since Xu Hao was the only heir of the second branch, everyone was not afraid of him, but they were worried that the noise might cause some trouble, which would be disastrous.

Laibao's father immediately glared and stepped forward, shouting a few times. The women who were reluctant to stop had no choice but to give up.

Laibao ran over with a smile, pulled Xu Hao to one side, and said, "I'm not quite sure, but I know that the lady sent a message, asking each family to send eligible girls. Last night, everyone was busy bringing their relatives' daughters over, and this morning, they were rushing them to get up, wash, and change into new clothes."

Xu Hao suddenly understood. The enthusiasm of the people was a hundred times greater than the imperial selection of concubines.

For a large family to choose maids was like a big company recruiting high-level clerks in the modern world. The pay was high, the benefits were good, and there was a chance to be promoted to a personal secretary or even a mistress.

On the other hand, being selected as a palace maid was similar to working at Foxconn. The worst part was the lack of personal safety. If a maid died unexpectedly, it had to be reported to the local authorities, and if the family wanted to sue, the authorities would have to investigate. But if a palace maid died, it was just a waste of life, and the family might only receive some money as compensation.