13 Sorting Things Out

With the news conveyed, wedding gifts unloaded in the Blooming Courtyard, and the red wedding dress delivered, Steward Wu promptly excused himself.

Although the wedding ceremony would be small, with only close family members in attendance, there was still much to be prepared in a short time.

Xu Feng looked over the piles of things to be sorted as his brows twitched.

The two girls, Si and San, were completely unaware of their master's mood. They continued poking and prodding around all the gifts sent from the Xuan family to their new young mistress. She was clearly favored by the family!

While Xu Feng was not a native of this era, from Lady Xuan's strong reactions whenever money was discussed, this was likely a small bride price for such a big family. Most of the carriages were half empty, only looking imposing and rich, but with scarce items of value and boxes that were half filled with air.

This wasn't an issue for Xu Feng. The items that were sent, while "cheap," were things that were more practical for a new homeowner ready to spend his first winter in his new home.

"Let's get this sorted before lunch," Xu Feng instructed Si and San.

"Yes!" "Yes, young mistress!"

Both girls were beyond excited to serve their new young mistress. No matter what strange demands he had.

Since Xu Feng came to the Nanshan estate, the entire household had been eating three times a day on the dot. In this era, two meals a day were the standard for most families. Even larger families, who would have three meals a day, would only allow the servants to have two meals a day.

As soon as Xu Feng learned of this, he made sure Si, San, and Erlang—the servant boy in charge of odd chores like filling bath water and taking out waste, the three children of the estate had three meals a day.

They were still growing and needed more food to develop well. This helped Xu Feng solidify his stance in the hearts of the three young servants.

Nearly an hour later, Xu Feng looked at the sorted piles of gifts. There was a pile of clothes, a pile of food, a pile of accessories and other trinkets, and a pile of household items.

The largest pile was the food pile, with dried fruits and vegetables, kimchee, pastries, dried meats, and a small number of fish, fresh meat, and fresh fruits.

"Move all the food to the kitchen," Xu Feng gave a task to the eager Si and San, who pounced into action quickly.

After the renovation and expansion of the kitchen in the Blooming Courtyard, Xu Feng had taken his time organizing the cupboards and other storage areas with the girls. They had even taken half of the items from the main kitchen of the estate.

Xu Feng's plan was to start cooking most of his meals on his own after the first snowfall. Now, while he was still getting things organized and there was so much going on, he would settle for meals from the main kitchen delivered to his courtyard.

Moving the new items sent by the Xuan family to the kitchen was an easy task for Si and San, they already knew how Xu Feng organized his kitchen.

They found his kitchen setup to be weird and interesting at the same time, but it wasn't their place to question the new young mistress.

Once his two little helpers were busy, Xu Feng dove into the pile with the trinkets to hide away a few items not meant for young eyes!

Someone from the main house sent a few little yellow books, and other "educational" materials and tools for Xu Feng to study before the wedding.

It wasn't just a few things. It was two larger, ornate-looking boxes full of yellow content!

Xu Feng, with his reddened face, carried the two boxes to his room, completely ignoring the glowing red bridal robe.

Without wasting any time, he made his way over to the newly delivered, ornate, finely carved hardwood bed. In modern times, this bed would be considered a king-sized bed.

Did Xu Feng really need a king-sized bed? No.

Did Xu Feng love his new king-sized bed? Yes!

The mattress for the bed was based on treated bamboo weaved together like a tatami mat and then topped with poultry feathers and cotton to provide a luxury feeling Xu Feng craved from the modern era.

Even the pillows were made to mimic modern pillows with the ancient twist. They were softer than the hard neck pillows common in Donghua, but they were still neck pillows.

It wasn't perfect, but it was more than Xu Feng was expecting.

The most important part of the bed was the secret compartments built into the bedframe. They looked like part of the ornate craving spread around the frame, but there were a handful of drawers, both large and small.

Xu Feng moved to the foot of the large bed and opened the second largest compartment that had a few spare pillows inside and stuffed both boxes comfortably into the space. Only after shutting the drawer did he relax.

The largest compartment held a spare cotton stuffed blanket that was ordered specially for the large bed. And the other two small compartments held Xu Feng's real treasures.

The first compartment, which was a bit larger in size held Xu Feng's hokku, the weathered tablet and rolled-up paper document that signified his freedom in this new world.

The other compartment held the most important relics from the original owner's ger dad. The original owner, while still young when his ger dad died and his father remarried, was raised well by his ger dad, and was rather sharp.

The original owner was given two ancestral rings and a large ingot of gold. He mentioned that the rings were ancestral rings that had been passed down for generations. His ger dad told him to take care of the rings and use the gold as a final resort.

Afraid of losing them to the new wife when she moved in, Xu Zeng had sewn a hidden pocket close to his body on his only two pairs of clothing and kept them close to him at all times.

Somehow, along the way to Nanshan Village, one of the rings was lost.

Xu Feng picked up the remaining ring and rubbed it before putting it back into the hidden compartment.