Chapter 1881: Staying in the Villa

Translator: Atlas Studios || Editor: Atlas Studios

Xia Wen did not tell Qiao Mei anything about having given Butler Xu an advance payment. The rent for the house and the car as well as the costs of some simple repairs to the property were all paid out of Butler Xu’s own pocket. He even had to borrow part of the money.

Qiao Mei took out 1,500 dollars from her bag and handed it to Butler Xu. In addition to those expenses he had paid in advance, she gave him an additional 100 dollars as a tip. When in Rome, one had to do as the Romans do. Butler Xu had helped them out so much and was considerate enough to take care of all their needs. Qiao Mei still felt that the tip of 100 dollars was too little, but she could not afford more than that at this moment.

Xia He watched as Butler Xu put the money into his pocket. She did not know the customs and practices here, nor did she know the standard of living. There were so many people in their group and they had only brought 10,000 dollars in total. They had only just landed and had not done anything yet, but they had already spent one-fifth of the money. She did not know how they were going to survive the following days!

Qiao Mei sized up the house carefully. The fixtures and fittings were still relatively well-kept though the furniture was a little old. She felt that she only needed to get some new things for the children. The adults could still live with the status quo for a few months.

However, she had to hurry up and get the necessary stuff done. It was going to be winter soon. Winter in Country M was very cold and she must buy enough winter clothes for everyone.

“It’s been hard on you to plan for us during this period of time. You’ve done very well. Thank you,” Qiao Mei said with a gentle smile as she looked at Butler Xu.

Butler Xu was overwhelmed by her reaction and his impression of Qiao Mei changed. In all these years, very few of his fellow citizens had come to Country M. Most of those who made it here came as illegal immigrants. He himself had been bullied and deceived many times and it was ra_re to see someone who was as kind, generous and polite as Qiao Mei.

“This is what I should do,” Butler Xu said.

“Where do you stay? Do you live here too?” Qiao Mei asked.

“l live not far from here, about 30 minutes away by foot. But I have a bicycle and it’s only a 10-minute ride for me,” Butler Xu reported.

Qiao Mei pointed at the helper’s room downstairs and said, “If you think that it’s too tiring to travel to and fro, you can stay in this room downstairs with Auntie Wang. ”

“No need, no need! I still have two children at home. If I stay here, there’s no one to take care of them. I can ride here every day,” Butler Xu said quickly.

“Alright, but you can stay here anytime if you want.” After Qiao Mei allocated rooms to everyone, she looked at them and said, “Everyone, it’s been a tiring day. You can just do a quick cleanup and go take a rest. Everything else can wait until tomorrow.”

“No, we can’t. The children are still so young. They can’t stay in such a dusty environment. It can cause harm to the children’s lungs,” Auntie Wang said nervously.

Qiao Mei did not consider this point. Xia Wen had told her earlier that among these helpers, Auntie Wang and Auntie Zhang were better at taking care of children. Auntie Cui was better at housework and cooking. However, he was still not sure if these people would be loyal staff. He asked Qiao Mei to test them out and keep an eye on them.

“In that case, then let’s do some cleaning up. Thanks for the hard work, everyone. Auntie Wang, after we’re done, you can go home with Butler Xue You haven’t been back for so many years. You should go back and visit your family,” Qiao Mei said.

Butler Xu looked at Qiao Mei with gratitude in his eyes. He had been meaning to talk to Qiao Mei about this, but he did not manage to find a chance.

“I’ll wait until it’s my day off. There’s no hurry to go back,” Auntie Wang said firmly.

Butler Xu tugged at the corner of Auntie Wangs shirt and whispered, “The children haven’t seen you for so many years. Don’t you want to go home to take a look?”

“I’m already here now, do those few days really make any difference? I’m here to work and I can’t break the rules,” Auntie Wang whispered to Butler Xu. After comforting him, she looked at Qiao Mei and said, “I’ll go home on my off days.”

The three women had discussed it before. They would take a break once every two weeks and take turns to rest during the first and third weeks of every month. They had to ensure there were at least two of them with Qiao Mei and the children on those rest days.

“Since you insist on staying here, you can go back during the weekend. It’s only a few days away.” Qiao Mei did not continue to persuade Auntie Wang to go home. If she continued to do that, the other two women would inevitably feel dissatisfied and jealous. It would then become difficult to manage the situation..