Chapter 5

There were forty-one staff members at the West Building, including handymen, serving maids, kitchen assistants, waiters, and guest escorts. With the three deputy managers added, the total came to forty-four.

Not a single person was late. Perhaps it was because of the biting cold outside, or perhaps because the head manager, Cao Shunxin, was never one for long-winded speeches. After calling out two handymen who had made mistakes the previous day and deducting ten coins from each of their wages, the roll call concluded in less than a quarter of an hour.

Everyone rubbed their hands together and scrambled into the building. Yang Manniang and Lu Xiaoniang followed several colleagues responsible for the second floor up the staircase.

As soon as they entered the spacious hall on the second floor, they were greeted by a diamond-shaped bronze mirror, polished to a high sheen, standing to one side. It was there for guests to tidy their appearance. Yang Manniang stepped up to the mirror to examine herself carefully. She was short, with an oval face and a frame that was excessively thin. Her hair was long but of poor quality, light in color, almost brown.

However, her skin was not the sallow, sickly complexion she had previously imagined. It was a clean, translucent white. Unlike her younger sister Yang Panniang’s round, skeletal eyes, she possessed clear, almond-shaped eyes with distinct whites and pupils, a delicate nose, and pale pink lips. Her hair on both sides was styled into symmetrical twin buns resting by her ears, giving her a look that was simple, clean, and touched with a youthful playfulness.

All in all, apart from being too thin, she was above-average in appearance. If she were a bit plumper, with more flesh on her cheeks, and dressed up, she could be a striking little beauty. It was no wonder she had been hired as a candle-tending maid for the second floor of the Fan Tower.

One had to understand that the Fan Tower was the premier entertainment venue in Bianjing. It not only had exorbitant prices but also strict management and high standards for its employees. While the kitchen and handyman staff were one thing, the various maids and waiters who dealt directly with guests were required to meet specific physical standards.

"Tonight, five private rooms have been booked on our floor: the Zhisheng Carriage House, the Green Bamboo Pavilion, the Brush-Tilling Study, the Wild Goose Wing Pavilion, and the Bright Moon Residence. Winter nights fall early, so the guests will likely arrive by this afternoon. Whoever is in charge of these areas, get them cleaned up quickly. Go to the Four Bureaus and Six Offices to collect whatever supplies you need immediately. If you drop the ball when the guests arrive, don’t blame me for the wage deductions—do not say I didn't warn you."

Chang Qingnian stood with his hands behind his back, stroking his goatee. As one of the three deputy managers of the West Building, he oversaw the twelve private rooms on the second floor and was Yang Manniang’s direct superior. Having failed to pass the entry-level exams after seven or eight years in a private school as a child, he was prone to quoting books, and his favorite phrase was "do not say I didn't warn you." He appended it to almost everything he said, and everyone had grown used to it.

Following her usual routine, Yang Manniang prepared a basin of hot water mixed with honey locust juice. Armed with specialized towels, osmanthus oil, a small shovel, and a brush, she headed first to the booked Bright Moon Residence to clean the candle holders.

The staff at the Fan Tower had clearly defined roles. As a candle-tending maid, her job was to clean the candle stands in the six private rooms on the west side of the second floor, ensure the twenty-four lanterns on the second-floor promenade did not go out, and promptly replace candles that were burning low while guests were drinking or watching performances. She was also responsible for managing the candles she drew from the Oil and Candle Bureau each day.

Candles were not cheap in this era. Ordinary people could not afford them and relied mostly on oil lamps for light. For a family as destitute as Yang Manniang’s, they didn't even light an oil lamp at night unless absolutely necessary, preferring to sit in the dark. Burning an oil lamp all night cost four to five coins, while keeping candles lit through the night cost four to five candles—roughly fifty to ninety coins, ten times the cost of an oil lamp.

And that was just for ordinary candles. Naturally, the Fan Tower did not use common ones. The candles used there were meticulously crafted from fine materials and were far more valuable than standard ones.

The candles used in the first-floor main hall were standard grade, costing 150 coins each—equivalent to two or three days' income for an ordinary city dweller. The candles used on the second and third floors were even more expensive, at 400 coins each—more than Yang Manniang’s monthly salary.

Therefore, to prevent waste and theft, the Fan Tower had established the Four Bureaus and Six Offices to manage all valuable items in the building. The Four Bureaus were the Account Setting Bureau, the Tea and Wine Bureau, the Tray Bureau, and the Kitchen Bureau. The Six Offices included the Fruit Office, the Candied Fruit Office, the Vegetable Office, the Oil and Candle Office, the Incense and Medicine Office, and the Arrangement Office.

Every morning, candle-tending maids like Yang Manniang had to go to the Oil and Candle Office to collect the day's quota of candles and lamp oil, and return the half-burned stubs from the previous day. The old woman in charge of the Oil and Candle Office patrolled the building every night, her eyes sharper than a needle's tip; it was impossible to sneak away with even half a candle.

Each private room had two paulownia-silver candle holders. Yang Manniang would place the remaining candles into a specialized box, scrape off the wax drippings from the holders, wipe them inside and out with a damp cloth soaked in honey locust water, dry them with a clean towel, and then use a small brush dipped in osmanthus oil to polish the surface until it shone and emitted a faint fragrance. Only then was the cleaning considered complete.

After finishing in the Bright Moon Residence, Yang Manniang moved to the adjacent Green Bamboo Pavilion. Although the decor style was uniform, each room had different furnishings. The Bright Moon Residence was decorated in shades of goose-yellow and moon-white, while the Green Bamboo Pavilion featured various shades of green. In particular, the bamboo in the corner was exceptionally well-tended; it was not only lush but nearly as tall as the door. At a glance, it felt as if a small forest had been moved indoors.

The door to the Green Bamboo Pavilion was open. Inside, a handsome young waiter wearing the uniform blue round-necked jacket was setting the table. He looked up when she entered, then went back to his work.

"Finished one already? I just went down to get a pot of hot water. Pour some for yourself if you want," he said.

This handsome waiter was Lu Yawei, also a staff member on the second floor, two years her senior. He was primarily responsible for serving dishes, taking orders, and setting tables for half of the rooms on the second floor.

"Alright. Thank you!" Yang Manniang was indeed thirsty. Since they were acquaintances, she didn't stand on ceremony. After thanking him, she poured a cup of hot water into her own bamboo cup and sipped it slowly.

"Oh my, oh my! Is there any for me? You two, pour me a cup too!" Lu Xiaoniang said, leaning against the doorway with a grin, holding her own bamboo cup.

"Naturally, there is," Lu Yawei replied. His eyes lit up, and he immediately set down his work to take Lu Xiaoniang’s cup, filling it eight-tenths full before handing it back.

Yang Manniang glanced at the blushing Lu Yawei and sighed to herself. *A fair maiden is a fine match for a gentleman indeed!*

Lu Xiaoniang was a lively and spirited girl. Finding it dull to work alone, she had begged Yang Manniang to work with her. Both were candle-tending maids on the second floor, each responsible for six rooms and twenty-four lanterns on the promenade. They were accustomed to working together and had developed a natural rhythm.

They finished cleaning the candle holders, polishing them, replacing the lanterns on the promenade, and returning the previous day’s remnants to the Oil and Candle Bureau before collecting the new supply. By the time they finished, it was already the first quarter of the Shen hour—time for the staff meal.

This was more than half an hour later than a normal lunch, but it was unavoidable. While the Fan Tower was busy with guests at night, there were still patrons dining in the East and North Buildings during the day, so the main kitchen naturally prioritized them.

Today’s staff meal included not only the standard cabbage and rice, but also braised meat with tofu. In this era, mutton was expensive, so ordinary folk often chose pork to satisfy their cravings. "Braised meat" involved cutting pork into uniform pieces, adding seasonings, and simmering it slowly over low heat until tender.

The poet Su Dongpo once wrote, "Without bamboo, one becomes vulgar; without meat, one becomes thin. To be neither vulgar nor thin, eat bamboo shoots and meat at every meal." At this time of year, it was hard to find bamboo shoots, but having braised meat with tofu was a rare treat. It was quite rich in fat. The smell was so overpowering that as soon as she entered the small room outside the main kitchen, the rich aroma hit her, making Yang Manniang, who hadn't eaten meat in a long time, swallow hard against her will.

The staff meal service was like a modern school canteen. The kitchen matrons, all in their forties, had developed an intuitive, Parkinson’s-like tremor in their hands whenever they held the serving spoons, making the staff waiting in line tremble with anticipation.

However, where there are people, there is intrigue. The matrons didn't always shake. For instance, when serving Lu Xiaoniang, Matron Zeng didn't shake at all, giving her a generous, solid ladle of braised meat and tofu. Matron Zeng was a distant relative of Lu Xiaoniang’s. Thanks to Lu Xiaoniang, Yang Manniang also received a generous portion.

"I’m telling you, what Liu Xishi said this morning wasn't just idle talk," Lu Xiaoniang gossiped as she ate a piece of meat. With Matron Liu not around, Lu Xiaoniang used her nickname by habit.

"Oh? How so?" The Fan Tower’s cooks were the best of the best, so the food was naturally excellent. Yang Manniang picked up a piece of the tender meat and ate it with her rice.

"See this meat? This is the first time we’ve had meat all month. Know why?" Lu Xiaoniang was impatient. Not waiting for Yang Manniang to ask, she swallowed her bite and continued, spilling the news like beans from a bamboo tube:

"I heard it's because the Imperial City Guard was making arrests at the South Building last night. Apparently, Deputy Commander Luo Sunian led the team. They locked down the building, but they just arrested people without killing anyone, so it didn't cause too much of a stir. The South Building is still receiving guests as usual tonight. The owner is so happy that he gave every staff member who worked at the South Building last night a reward of thirty coins. And look, we’re benefiting from it too—the standard for our lunch today has been raised!"

"Oh, I see!" Yang Manniang nodded, enlightened, and went back to eating her meat. Since she couldn't get the thirty-coin reward, she might as well eat more meat.