Chapter 58: Enforced Rest
Although this policy had been implemented among vampires for a long time, even before Jasmine was born, many humans had never received any personal wages. They didn’t even have a single penny to their name. This was because of vampires like Oakham, who believed that humans didn’t deserve money and that all wealth should belong to them.
They deprived their workers of their earnings, making them work for free, and even felt smug about it, “Those humans have no time or opportunity to spend money anyway, so why bother paying them? The higher-ups won’t send anyone to investigate. Paying humans is just a waste.”
That’s why Bella had never received a single penny. She looked at Adele with calm eyes, her voice steady and devoid of resentment as she said, “Oakham didn’t allow us to have personal property.” Adele took a deep breath. Jasmine knew she was trying to calm her anger. Otherwise, she would probably dig up Oakham’s ashes and beat them up again.
“Then congratulations. From today onwards, you have earned your first personal income.” Adele smiled kindly and handed the 20 yuan to Bella.
Bella’s calm facade crumbled. A conflicted expression appeared on her face. After a moment, she reached out and took the banknote. It seemed like this was the first time she had ever seen money. She carefully examined the banknote, then took out a clean handkerchief from her pocket. She folded the banknote neatly, placed it in the center of the handkerchief, and wrapped it carefully. Only then did she put the handkerchief back in her pocket.
The atmosphere around Bella relaxed. She was genuinely happy.
Adele added, “I saw a small village not far from here when we were on the carriage. It doesn’t have many people, but there are some shops. However, I’m guessing those shops only open at night. If you have time off, you can go there together. You might find something interesting.”
Bella expressed her gratitude and agreed.
Hearing this, Jasmine felt a pang of envy. She was a 007 worker, working 365 days a year, with only the Blessing Festival as a day off.
Seeing Bella agree, Adele continued, asking about the shift arrangements for the servants. Then she mentioned that she planned to set their wages and asked Bella what she thought was a reasonable amount. Bella didn’t know, so Adele turned to Jasmine and asked about her monthly salary.
Jasmine wanted to exaggerate, but if Bella and the others earned more than her, the money-hungry Lady Dawn might get jealous. Besides, Adele could easily find out the exact amount by asking any maid when she returned home. So, it was better to be honest now.
“It’s 120 yuan.”
Jasmine gave the exact figure. That was her monthly salary, and she didn’t even get bonuses. Only those who were close to the lady received bonuses. She hoped Miss Adele would remember her dedicated service and give her a bonus.
But Adele wasn’t focused on her right now. Her attention was on Bella. Hearing the exact amount, she nodded and said to Bella, “Jasmine is my maid, and her salary is paid by the Blake family, a member of the thirteen clans. She earns more than ordinary human maids. Your wages can’t possibly be the same as hers. I’m setting your wages at 40 yuan for the first three months. After that, your salary will be adjusted based on your performance, ranging from 40 to 60 yuan, divided into three tiers.”
Bella wouldn’t be dissatisfied. After all, receiving any wages at all was a pleasant surprise for them. They had never had any money before. So, Bella quickly agreed and asked about the evaluation criteria. To her surprise, Adele said, “You, as the head maid, will be responsible for the evaluations. I won’t be involved in the specifics.”
Bella probably hadn’t expected to have such authority. She swallowed nervously, then agreed. After finishing their discussion, Adele dismissed Bella and summoned the steward. With the steward, she focused on farm matters. “I can’t visit the farm frequently. The farm workers are now working during the day, so I need someone to manage the farm on my behalf. I think you’re doing a good job, and I want to entrust you with some important responsibilities.”
Hearing this, the steward straightened his back, looking eager to please, “As you wish, Miss.” Adele gave him many detailed instructions, from setting a base salary of 10 yuan per month for the farm workers to contacting a construction team to build new houses.
The steward hadn’t expected wages to be involved, but he was older than Bella and more adaptable. Hearing about the wages, he wasn’t surprised at all. His eyes darted around, and he immediately agreed, even thanking Adele enthusiastically.
However, he seemed hesitant about contacting a construction team. He didn’t know how to find one. Adele reminded him of the nearby village, saying that he could definitely find contact information for a construction team there. The steward agreed, seemingly familiar with the village.
Adele was a bit surprised. She asked, “You know about that village?”
“Yes, I do. Mr. Oakham used to send me there to purchase supplies. But I didn’t know there were construction teams there.” He quickly explained, afraid that Adele would think he was withholding information.
Adele nodded. She had nothing else to discuss with the steward. Finally, she instructed, “Bella will be in charge of the manor from now on. You, steward, will be responsible for the farm.” After the steward understood, Adele dismissed him.
After finishing her business, Adele stretched. She continued working on her plans for the farm. Jasmine, however, had nothing to do. Seeing how bored she was, Adele told her to go out and explore. Jasmine brewed a pot of tea for Adele and left, taking a walk around the manor.
She actually wanted to chat with Bella. She wasn’t a talkative person, but it would be a waste not to chat with someone as promising as Bella. She wandered aimlessly around the manor and found that every maid was busy with their work. Perhaps because the rotating shift system had just been implemented, the first batch of servants working the night shift were incredibly busy, like spinning tops.
They had already cleaned the manor during the day, but a faint smell lingered. They were clearly trying to completely eradicate the odor. Jasmine noticed the exhaustion on their faces. She didn’t think this was the right way to work.
She found Bella and, before they could chat, she pointed out the servants’ condition.
But Bella seemed unconcerned, “They can rest during the day tomorrow. They have sixteen hours of rest. Isn’t that enough?” Hearing this, Jasmine was speechless. This was a true workaholic.
In her previous life, Jasmine hadn’t disliked workaholics that much. After all, they were only working themselves to the bone. As long as she was lazy enough, no one could force her to work harder. But in this life, it was different. Workaholics could truly affect her, especially a workaholic head maid like Bella, who could make her subordinates’ lives miserable.
Bella herself was also working tirelessly. She probably hadn’t rested at all since last night. There were dark circles under her eyes, but her eyes were bright, clearly full of energy. Jasmine guessed that Bella was currently driven by a sense of loyalty to Adele, but Jasmine didn’t want to see this.
Setting aside the fact that she had proposed the three-shift system and deserved some credit, Adele herself wouldn’t want to see this either.
Seeing that Bella was about to go back to work after their brief conversation, Jasmine grabbed her wrist. Bella was stunned and asked, “Is there something you need?”
“Have you considered that there’s always more work to be done? And not only you, but the other servants haven’t rested much either. You’re all in poor health. This will shorten your lifespans.”
Bella paused, her lips pursed as she thought for a moment. Then she said, “But things are much better now. They should be grateful to Miss Blake. It’s their honor to work for her. I’ve never met such a kind vampire. Don’t you think it’s fortunate to serve her?”
To be honest, Jasmine did think so. Being Adele’s maid, rather than any other vampire’s maid, was indeed fortunate. Not only for Jasmine, but also for Adele. If someone else were Jasmine’s master and did the same things as Oakham, Jasmine would have dealt with them before they even had a chance to bite her.
She truly felt that Adele was a good vampire, different from others, but not to the extent that Bella was behaving. Bella was basically acting like an overzealous fan after being saved by Adele!
Jasmine decided to correct her behavior. She pointed out bluntly, “Working for her is a good thing, but before being her servant, you are yourself first.”
Bella looked confused, as if she didn’t understand what Jasmine was saying. Jasmine sighed, “Your well-being should be your priority. The same goes for the other servants. Only when you’re healthy can you live a better life. How can you work if you’re not even healthy?”
“Miss Adele is kind, but she’s just your master, not your entire world. Don’t treat her like a goddess or a savior just because she indirectly saved you. Don’t tie your life to someone else, Bella. You are the most important person in your own life.”
“You’re exhausted. The most important thing now is to rest.”
Jasmine didn’t care if Bella understood. She chose to use physical means to make her pass out. Before Bella could react, Jasmine knocked her unconscious. Bella didn’t even realize who had done it. She collapsed towards Jasmine, who caught her effortlessly.
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