Seeing that the eldest lady was gone, Steward Cai redrafted the contract with an impatient face, and urged Xu Anping to sign it quickly. Xu Anping glanced at it, and the monthly money changed from four dollars to two dollars. With an attitude of indifference, I signed the contract casually.

After signing the contract, Steward Cai pointed casually, "You will live in that room in the future." You can't go to the backyard, and don't walk around the front yard at will. You can go home one day a month, but you have to get my permission in advance. After speaking, he waved his hand and asked Xu Anping to go to the room to clean up.

Xu Anping pushed open the door of the room, and there were already three people living in it, so he put the burden on the innermost empty bed, and took the initiative to greet and talk to a few people. A few people were more reserved at first, but after Xu Anping told a few meat jokes, they all began to be enthusiastic, and gossip and chatted until they flew. "What is Steward Cai teasing the maid Cai'er at home, Liu Jiading can eat meat at every meal because he is eye-catching with the fat eldest sister chef in the stove room, and Mrs. Pei'er is merciful to Zheng Changgong's three smiles......" Xu Anping laughed in agreement, and also had some understanding of the general situation of the Deng family's mansion.

The next day, Xu Anping and the others got up and washed together, and went to the courtyard to wait for Steward Cai to give orders. Steward Cai paced in all directions, and said to Li Changgong with an expressionless face: "Today, you go to be responsible for turning over the ground in the garden in the front yard, and you have to avoid when you see someone coming to visit the master." "What's your name as the new kid?" Is it the surname Xu? Well, Xiao Xu, you will be responsible for filling the several water tanks in the stove with water in the future. When you're halfway through the water, you'll have to fill it up. ”

Li Changgong was the only one who should be, and Xu Anping also agreed.

Xu Anping walked to the well platform next to him, shook the well rope with his hand to fill the wooden barrel with water, and lifted it up vigorously. In the process of lifting the water, I felt that the weight of the rope was getting lighter and lighter, and I quickly pulled it a few times, picked up the wooden barrel and looked at it, and it turned out that there was a large crack at the bottom of the barrel that was two fingers wide. He scratched his head with his hand, "It shouldn't be! There were traces of water on the side, and if the bottom of the bucket was leaking, it should have been discovered a long time ago. Unable to figure it out, Xu Anping decided to go to the stove room to find a new barrel.

When I arrived at the stove, several cooks were busy making breakfast, and no one had time to take care of themselves. Xu Anping searched left and right, but did not find an idle empty barrel, so he had to go back to the well and prepare to ask someone.

As soon as I walked to the well, I heard Steward Cai's angry shout, followed by a reprimand with a split head and face: "The surname is Xu!" What are you doing! Why is there still no water in the water tank in the stove room? Delay the old lady for breakfast, can you afford it? You're a newcomer, you're treated better than others, and you're not good at behaving well, and your conscience is really eaten by dogs! ……”

Xu Anping lowered his head, frowned and listened, but did not make a sound. After Steward Cai finished speaking, he raised his head and said, "Steward Cai, when I was carrying water just now, I saw that the bucket in the well was broken, so I went to the stove room to find a new wooden bucket, but I didn't find a suitable one, so it was delayed." ”

Steward Cai walked to the well in a few steps, pulled out the wooden barrel in three or two, and pointed to Xu Anping with his finger and said, "Open your dog's eyes and see, where is the barrel broken?" You! It's stupid to be lazy and don't know how to find a suitable excuse. Don't receive this month's salary, hurry up and fetch water! There were snickerers from a few housekeepers next to him, and a few maids pointing.

Xu Anping knew that he had been tricked, and it should have been that the other family members knew that they had made excessive demands yesterday, and they deliberately rectified themselves today. I didn't feel sad in my heart, I just thought it was a little funny, and I came to the Deng family as an undercover agent and encountered a "palace fighting drama". Thinking like this, he threw the bucket into the well and began to draw water. When he carried water and walked towards the stove room, Deng Wu happened to walk towards him, the corners of his mouth were raised with a playful smile, Deng Liu was chatting with a few family members not far away, his eyes glanced towards this side intentionally or unintentionally, as if he was waiting to see a good show. When Deng Wu approached, he suddenly stretched out his right leg, just waiting to trip Xu Anping and give him a dismount.

Xu Anping raised his vigilance when Deng Wu came over. When I saw him approaching and stretching his feet, he deliberately changed the bucket from his left hand to his right hand, and when his right foot was raised, he paused and stepped on it hard, and half of the bucket of water was spilled. Hearing only a wail, Deng Wu jumped up on one leg holding his feet. Xu Anping not only stepped on him, but also drenched his lower body. In the middle of winter, the sour feeling is like being stuck in an ice hole.

"Fifth brother, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to. You have a lot of adults, so let the younger brother go. As he spoke, he kept around Deng Wu.

Deng Wu blushed, squeezed out a little smile, gritted his teeth and said, "It's okay!" Xiao Xu you are also serious about your work, no wonder you, I didn't pay attention to my walking. ”

After Xu Anping apologized repeatedly, he continued to lift half a bucket of water and walk towards the stove room. Deng Liu led a few family members to Deng Wu, "Fifth brother, why did you let that kid go?" If you don't give him a little color, his tail will rise to the sky. "Damn! That kid was already on guard, so don't touch him yet. Stop talking nonsense, help me to the house and change my clothes. Oops! Slow down, slow down! I felt like my feet were swollen. ”

Xu Anping poured the water into the water tank, walked to the stove to help the fat sister light the fire, and shouted with a smile and a sweet mouth: "Sister Li, the fifth brother asked me to ask your family if the meal is ready?" Speaking of which, I haven't eaten your meal yet. It smells so good that my saliva is going to come out. Xu Anping deliberately swallowed his saliva, and his eyes looked at the cauldron directly.

"You kid just has a slippery mouth, and you can say that I don't know how many yellow flower girls will be harmed by you in the future." The fat everyone was so happy that their mouths were about to grin on their cheeks, and after speaking, they turned around and walked out of the door and shouted loudly: "Deng Wu, come over and take the food away, and call everyone to eat." ”

Before Deng Wu walked into the house, he heard the fat sister shouting to him, and almost fell to the ground. He didn't dare to offend the fat eldest sister by eating pig food in the future, so he could only shake off Deng Liu and another family, turn around and walk towards the stove room with a limp, and a lot of water droplets fell on the road, and it froze in a blink of an eye. "Come on, Sister Li, I'll come here."

Xu Anping said hello to Sister Li, picked up the bucket again and walked to the well. When he filled the water tank and walked to the dining place, he found that the large pot of vegetables in the wooden basin on the table had been eaten, and only a few broken nests remained. Seeing Deng Liu holding his arms next to him and sneering, knowing that breakfast was not finished, Xu Anping had to go back to the room. The atmosphere in the room also changed, and the other three people got together and muttered, no longer chatting and joking with Xu Anping. Even if they took the initiative to say hello, they lazily replied, not as enthusiastic as yesterday.

Xu Anping knew that he was isolated, and he didn't take it seriously, and continued to think about his own affairs: Lian'er should still be so well-behaved, and she will definitely take out my bedding to dry when the weather is good. Aunt Yu should be fine, I don't know if any new "weapons" have been found to clean up Xiaohu. Daddy Yu is estimated to squat under the old elm tree in the afternoon and brag with others, and it is estimated that he will talk about himself with a big mouth...... When thinking like this, the corners of Xu Anping's mouth couldn't help but rise, and he suddenly felt a little homesick.

spent a few days at Deng's house like this, stumbling with the family members on weekdays, but it was quite calm. In the process of carrying water, I occasionally chatted and joked with the fat sister, so I could also mix a bowl of meat dishes and a few white flour buns when eating. Xu Anping naturally had no interest in the boiled pork with a lack of oil and salt, after all, it was far from being as good as the chicken stewed mushrooms made by Yi Lian'er, so he divided the meat among the envious eyes of the three people in the house. The three of them first refused, because they still had lingering fears about Deng Wu's threat; Under Xu Anping's enthusiastic persuasion, several people couldn't resist the aroma of pork, so they took it easily. After hiding in the room and eating a few meals of pork, the three of them regained their enthusiasm, and their fear of Deng Wu had long been thrown to Java, but they were still cold to Xu Anping when they were in front of people.

In the afternoon of this day, Xu Anping was carrying water again. Deng Wu walked over with a smile, patted Xu Anping's shoulder and said, "Xiao Xu! You've been working really hard these days, and everyone is watching it. No, the eldest lady asked me to ask you to go to the backyard, and I must have rewarded you. You're going to get lucky, go ahead! ”

"Thank you, Fifth Brother! Thanks to your support, I'm going to get there. Xu Anping put down the bucket, walked through the arch and walked along the cloister towards the backyard, thinking in his heart: "Nine times out of ten, this is Deng Wu's trick, and he wants to fix some moths." But just in case, it's better to go for it. That bright and heroic smiling face appeared in front of him, Xu Anping shook his head and quickly pulled back the thought of losing his mind.

Walking to the door of the backyard, Xu Anping did not rush in, he remembered that Steward Cai had told him not to enter the place where the master lived on the first day. Although I could hear the low laughter of the maids, I waited for half an hour and didn't see anyone coming or going. So, Xu Anping could only bow over, raise his voice slightly, and shouted towards the courtyard: "Fifth Brother Meng Deng told me that Miss was summoned and I came to ask to see you!" ”

There was no response in the hospital, and when Xu Anping was thinking about whether to go back, he heard the sound of an animal running quickly, and his heart tightened, and his hands clenched into fists, ready to fight back when he encountered danger. Before he could react, he suddenly saw a black sight in front of him, and a large object pounced on him, and his body involuntarily fell backwards. Xu Anping saw that he was pressed under a big black dog, this dog had fierce eyes, hideous face, and drooling, and it was not a good kind at first glance, and at this time he was grinning and was about to bite someone. When he hesitated to kick the vicious dog away, a child's voice came from behind: "Little Black, Little Black, where have you gone?" Come back, come back......" The black dog's straight tail suddenly began to shake flexibly, and he actually stretched out his big tongue and licked it on Xu Anping's face.

A little boy of five or six years old ran out of the backyard door and saw the black dog pounce on a person who looked like a housekeeper, and looked puzzled. "Who are you? Why in my house? ”

Xu Anping knew that this was the little young master of the Deng family, so he pretended to be frightened, and tried to turn his head sideways to avoid the big tongue of the black dog. "Little master, I am Xiao Xu, the family Ding that Steward Cai recruited a few days ago. Hurry up and call Xiao Hei away, I'm scared to death. ”

The little boy called the letter back to the black dog suspiciously, and then asked, "Then what are you doing in the backyard?" There's never been a family here. ”

Xu Anping got up, lowered his head and replied truthfully: "Little young master, just now Fifth Brother Deng said that the eldest lady was looking for me. I'm just waiting at the backyard door. ”

"You talk nonsense! My sister went out at noon and wasn't in the backyard at all. Say it! What exactly do you want to do? If you don't tell the truth, I'll let Xiao Hei bite your ass. The little boy patted the little black who didn't live up to the name, and said menacingly.

"Little master, I'm telling the truth! If you don't believe me, you can find Fifth Brother Deng to confront you. If I tell a lie, I will be bitten to death by Xiao Hei. Xu Anping was anxious, his face turned red, and he seemed to have been insulted because he was suspected. Of course, he knew that even if he confronted Deng Wu, the other party would definitely not admit it. So, put the expression in place and let the little boy believe it.

Sure enough, the little boy felt a little embarrassed to wronged the family, bit his finger and said embarrassedly: "Okay, okay, I won't let Xiao Hei bite you." My sister is not home now, and I will tell her when she comes back. You go back first. After speaking, he called Xiao Hei to turn around and go back to the backyard.

Xu Anping casually beat the dust on his body and walked towards his residence, secretly hating in his heart: "I was pecked out of the eyes by hunting geese all day long!" Deng Wu, you bastard, you dare to come to pit Lao Tzu! Thankfully, my expression was in place, otherwise I would have hung up today. Sure enough, life in the world depends on acting skills. Look at me and I won't let you look good in the future. When he returned to the small courtyard, Deng Wu hadn't left yet, and was laughing with a few people around him. Xu Anping adjusted his expression and pretended to be a little disappointed.

Deng Wu saw Xu An come back safe and sound, and his big mouth with a smile was so shocked that he forgot to close it for a while. He originally stayed here to see Xu Anping make a fool of himself, after all, there were not one or two people who were bitten by the big black dog before, and he could only consider himself unlucky. I was a little surprised in my heart, and asked pretending to be concerned: "What is the matter with the eldest lady looking for you?" Did you tip you? ”

Xu Anping tried hard to put up a smile, "Fifth Brother Deng, the eldest lady is out and not in the backyard." ”

Deng Wuyu continued to ask hesitantly, "You haven't encountered anything else?" ”

"Oh, I met the little master and the little black. Xiao Hei was obedient and licked my palm. I told the little master that it was Fifth Brother Deng who told me that the eldest lady was looking for me. The little young master asked me to come back first, saying that he would tell him when the eldest lady came back. After speaking, he didn't care about Deng Wu, who was stunned, and went straight to the well to fetch water.

"Scare the hell out of you, bastard, and make you have nothing to do." Xu Anping walked briskly towards the stove room with water, and once again met Deng Wu, who was lost and dejected, and took the initiative to say hello.