"What are you dazing for? Put all your clothes in the wardrobe!"
Ah Ling urged her. "I"ll get you a uniform so that you can change your clothes." She added.
Du Xiaoxian turned to look at her with an embarra.s.sing smile. She whispered: "Thank you, Sister Ah Ling."
When Ah Ling brought her the uniform, Du Xiaoxian had paced all her clothes in the wardrobe. She didn"t have much clothes, and they only occupied a small corner of the wardrobe.
Ah Ling pulled the curtains around the bed and asked Du Xiaoxian to change her clothes. She sat on the chair at the table, telling her the rules and terms of employment: maids got up at six in the morning; they could only use the public restrooms. Breakfast was at 6:30, lunch at 11:00, and dinner at 5:00. If you were late, there would be no dishes.
You could take one day off each week: you could stay in the room or hang out. On your birthday, the master and the lady would give you red envelopes. During the Spring Festival, you would receive red envelopes not only from the master and the lady, but also from the young master and young lady....
Ah Ling added, all the Gu"s family were good people and easy to get along with, especially the kindhearted lady, who chanted prayers and meditated every day in the family Buddha Hall, not daring to trample even an ant.
The master was ill and always taking medicine.
The young lady was lively and cheerful. She worked at the television station, and was seldom at home.
The young master was a good man as well, but he was too busy. He did not talk or laugh a lot, and was a little bit weird. So, it would be better not to hang around before him.
Uncle Xiao was the fairest person. Tell him when you felt you were unfairly treated.
Anyway, as long as you did a good job here, you could live comfortably.
Du Xiaoxian listened to Ah Ling carefully as she was changing clothes, and kept all her words in mind.
Her second aunt had told her to be especially careful when working in such a family: have keen eyes and a good memory, be quick to do errands and talk less. These were the tips.
The second aunt had begged to get the job for her, so she must cherish the chance and not let down the second aunt.
When she lifted the curtain and got out, Ah Ling couldn"t help laughing: "I got the smallest size, but it was still big on you. All right, just wear it for now. You can have additional clothes under the uniform when it"s cold. And the next time we have new uniforms, I will ask the tailor to take your body measurements."
Du Xiaoxian lowered her head and uneasily pulled her clothes. They were a little big, but they were brand-new. It was the first time she had put on new clothes, and she felt so nervous that she grabbed the ap.r.o.n with her hand. When she let go, she saw wrinkles, so she tried to get rid of the wrinkles by pulling and sc.r.a.ping.
Ah Ling could not help laughing when she saw how nervous Du Xiaoxian was. She took her hand and said, "It"s all right. Clothes will wrinkle. They will be OK later on after being washed and ironed."
With her head down, Du Xiaoxian was still uneasy. She kept pulling the clothes, hoping that with more efforts, the wrinkles would disappear.
Ah Ling led Du Xiaoxian out and showed her around the house. The living room, the dining room, the kitchen, the grocery room, the wing-room, the masters" bedrooms, the study, the Buddha Hall, the wine cellar, and the indoor temperature-controlled swimming pool.
After a tour inside the house, they went out through a side door of the dining-room. There was a back garden which had a set of carved stone tables and stools.
It was just the beginning of autumn, when summer flowers had not faded and autumn flowers had begun to blossom, so the garden looked beautiful and luxuriant.
Du Xiaoxian was instantly fascinated.
But Ah Ling didn"t let her stay long. She pulled her to the left, pointing to the swimming pool and tennis court.
Then they went round back to where they had just entered. There was a large lawn, which was surrounded by a brick-paved path, on which both people and vehicles could go.