Chapter 273: Best Friends

Xiao Zishan rubbed his chin, feeling that he and the people from the Law Society had been thinking too “modernly.”

Li Xiaolü continued, “The maids are all poor people from the old society. For them, becoming an Elder’s concubine or common-law maid is ‘lifelong security.’ To be honest, besides the Elders, where in this world could they find men who treat them so well? How many of them would think their lives are too good and want to leave an Elder for another man? As for the ‘deed of absolute sale’ of servitude, from another perspective, it’s equivalent to ‘lifelong employment.’ Now, with this change, the maids go from being ‘state-owned enterprise employees’ to ‘contract workers.’ What do you think they will think? My parents used to work in state-owned enterprises. In the Northeast, they went through everything from the full-scale labor contract system in the 90s to the later layoffs. They tasted all the sweetness and bitterness. For people accustomed to stability, it was a bolt from the blue, causing widespread panic. Who could work with peace of mind then? What women want is a man they can follow with all their heart. Even women in the 21st century can’t escape this, let alone those in the 17th century.”

“You truly are my wise and helpful wife,” Xiao Zishan said with a smile, increasing the force of his “demonic claws” as he kneaded. “Your analysis is spot on!”

“Hmph, as the old saying goes: ‘To conspire with a woman is to deserve death.’ You’d better be careful.”

“Not at all, not at all.” Xiao Zishan shook his head. “Your analysis is very accurate. Human affairs are better understood from a lower position. When you sit high, you can see far, but you also tend to become self-righteous.”

“By the way, Qiqi has something to report to you.”

“Oh? What is it?”

“I heard what she said and thought it was quite serious, so I told her to report it to you specifically.”

“Alright. Call her in.”

Li Qiqi entered the bedroom and saw her mistress and Director Xiao sitting on the sofa waiting for her, their faces serious, looking like the local earth god and goddess. She quickly stepped forward, bowed, and answered respectfully, “What are your orders, Masters?”

Li Xiaolü said, “Tell Director Xiao what you told me yesterday.”

Li Qiqi bowed even lower. “Yes.”

She immediately recounted a strange incident that had happened a few days ago when she went to buy things at Number 43.

A few days ago, Li Qiqi went to Number 43 to buy some fabric. Aunty Cao had brought an old-fashioned sewing machine, and she herself knew how to cut and sew, and even served as a consultant for the clothing factory. In her spare time, she was always cutting and sewing, so Li Xiaolü’s clothes for all seasons were the most presentable. Other female Elders either had to rely on their own stock from the old world or the unreliable tailoring skills of local seamstresses. Aunty Cao also made small clothes and quilts for the Elders’ children. Ever since Xiao Zishan had started sleeping in Li Xiaolü’s bed, his clothes had become much smarter as well.

After buying the fabric, she, as usual, had a cup of tea and a snack in the teahouse at Number 43. Although Aunty Cao’s cooking skills were first-rate, her snacks were dominated by pancakes, steamed buns, and noodles. Li Qiqi, originally a maid from a wealthy southern family, was “not used to these noodles.” The teahouse had rice flour pastries, as well as baked biscuits and shortbread. She would come every few days to satisfy her cravings. Her favorite was a Yangzhou-style egg yolk mille-feuille pastry. However, Li Xiaolü was very strict with her finances, giving her a fixed amount of pocket money each month and not allowing her to spend freely on account like the life secretaries of most male Elders. Therefore, her personal consumption was also very limited. If she wanted to buy a more expensive item, she had to save up her pocket money like a child. Naturally, when she interacted with other maids, she couldn’t help but complain.

Li Qiqi had recently been wanting to buy a pleated skirt with a plaid pattern. It had just gone on sale for life secretaries and was already popular among them. Li Qiqi saw that it looked good on everyone and wanted to buy one too, but Li Xiaolü had a strict annual budget for her clothes. Underwear and socks were bought every six months, while skirts, jackets, and shirts were bought once a year.

Every time she went to Number 43, she would linger in front of this skirt at the clothing counter for a long time, unable to resist touching it and looking at it again and again. Of course, she never bought it.

Over time, the fact that Li Qiqi wanted to buy a skirt but had no money became known in the life secretary circle.

About ten days ago, when she was having tea and snacks in the teahouse at Number 43, a life secretary said she wanted to return a handkerchief she had dropped. But the handkerchief she took out was not hers. However, the two got to know each other this way. Every time she went to Number 43, this life secretary was also there. The two of them often had tea and snacks together, and sometimes, when they were free, the other would ask her to go shopping. “Shopping” and “eating out” were the two key ingredients for becoming fast “best friends.”

After a few such meetings, the two became close.

The life secretaries had not yet learned the “going Dutch” system advocated by some Elders, so they mostly took turns treating each other. Li Qiqi said the other person was very generous, paying the bill about two-thirds of the time.

“So rich, who is she?” Xiao Zishan said.

Li Xiaolü said, “I noticed Qiqi’s spending was abnormal these past few days, different from her usual habits, so I asked her.” “What, did you interrogate Qiqi?” Xiao Zishan said jokingly.

“I’m not that fierce. I just asked her a few questions. She told me everything. I immediately felt something was wrong,” Li Xiaolü said. “It seemed like a deliberate attempt to befriend her. I said, ‘Haven’t you always wanted to buy that skirt? Spread the word that yesterday was your birthday.’”

“And the result?”

“As a result, this life secretary gave Qiqi the pleated skirt yesterday, saying it was a birthday gift,” Li Xiaolü said triumphantly. “She’s indeed a person with a purpose.”

Xiao Zishan nodded, a little surprised. He knew that Li Xiaolü, though seemingly quiet and uninterested in everything, was actually a very smart person. He hadn’t expected her to be so calculating and constantly aware of her surroundings, just that she “didn’t contend or speak.”

However, although Li Xiaolü held a bunch of titles in architectural planning, she had no real power and was a typical technical cadre. For someone to deliberately cozy up to her life secretary was clearly a roundabout way to get to him, the Director of the General Office.

His expression became grave. “What’s this life secretary’s name?” he asked.

“Her name is Sun Shangxiang.”

“Sun Shangxiang?” Xiao Zishan remembered the names of many Elders’ life secretaries, but this one didn’t ring a bell. However, he knew she must be the life secretary of some “soy sauce” Elder.

Seeing him fall silent, Li Xiaolü waved her hand and said to Li Qiqi, “There’s nothing for you here. You may leave.”

Li Qiqi, who had been nervously bowing while answering, felt as if she had been granted amnesty. Just as she was about to back away and leave the room, Xiao Zishan suddenly spoke up: “Wait a moment.”

Li Qiqi was so frightened she almost sat on the floor. She quickly stood still, took two steps forward, and bowed, waiting for Xiao Zishan’s question.

“What do you two usually talk about?” Xiao Zishan asked slowly.

Li Qiqi was sweating nervously, her head bowed low. She stammered, “We just talk about household trifles, small things not worthy of the Master’s attention…”

“You never mentioned me coming to your house?”

“The Mistress instructed me that I must not tell anyone about Master Xiao’s visits, even if I were to be beaten to death.” Li Qiqi’s voice trembled.

Li Xiaolü nodded. “I did instruct her. Although it’s impossible to hide, family members shouldn’t casually talk about these things.”

“You never mentioned what you heard at home? Like the maid school being abolished?”

This sentence was like a thunderbolt from a clear sky. Li Qiqi could no longer hold back and fell to her knees with a thud, just short of kowtowing.

“This slave deserves to die! This slave deserves to die!”

“None of that feudal remnant nonsense. Stand up and speak!” Xiao Zishan waved his hand in disgust. “We are not officials, nor are we feudal remnants who casually beat and curse our servants. Just tell the truth! Otherwise…”

“This slave knows, I know…” Li Qiqi, still shaken, stood up and, like beans spilling from a bamboo tube, recounted which “inappropriate things” she had probably said in the teahouse at Number 43.

The more Li Xiaolü listened, the angrier she became. Snippets of her private conversations with Xiao Zishan had been turned into gossip by this girl. Fortunately, she had warned her beforehand, so at least the intimate secrets between her and Xiao Zishan had not been revealed.

“Besides that Sun Shangxiang, which other life secretaries are you close to and might have heard you say these things?”

Li Qiqi trembled all over. She tried hard to recall which families’ life secretaries might have heard.

Xiao Zishan casually took out a notebook and a short pencil from his pocket and quickly jotted down the names of these life secretaries.

“Is that all of them?” Xiao Zishan asked. “Anyone else?”

“Then there are the waitresses at the teahouse. They might have overheard when they were serving tea…”

“Think carefully again! Did you miss anything?” Li Xiaolü reminded her, her voice stern without being angry.

Li Qiqi racked her brains for more details, then replied, “That’s all I can remember.”

Xiao Zishan waved his hand. “You may leave. If you remember anything else, report it to your mistress immediately. No concealment, do you understand!”

“I understand.” Seeing that neither the master nor the director had any more questions, Li Qiqi quickly excused herself and left the room.

“Women just love to gossip!” Xiao Zishan complained with dissatisfaction.

Li Xiaolü was not pleased. “It’s clearly your own carelessness, talking about work as soon as you get home! You violated work discipline first!”

Xiao Zishan remained silent, his brows furrowed. He had indeed been too careless. He had only thought of this household as having two “silent gourds,” Aunty Cao and Li Xiaolü, and had forgotten about the lively young girl. He had clearly noticed the frequent social activities among the life secretaries, and the Li family’s house was so small… He had been truly careless!