Chapter 333 - Morning Shift

It had been two days since Huang Jia had been taken hostage and today was her trial day at the Qing's residence. She was met at the back of the house by an old wrinkled lady along with two other women. 

It was five in the morning and since she was used to graveyard shifts, she was not even yawning like the other two. There was only one slot that was up for hiring and if Huang Jia would not be able to get it, she did not know what would happen to her son.

"Today is your trial day as one of the maids here inside the Qing's residence. At the end of this, we would be choosing who would get the job," said the old lady.

Huang Jia was wondering that Mr. Dong must have pulled some strings in the agency that was supplying maids to this house. Another thing that she noticed was that the pay in this household was more than what she could make answering angry customers in her other job.

No wonder why people had been running after this position.

"You will address me as Ms. Shao. I am the major doma of this place. First few rules: do not talk. Do not ask questions. Do as you're told. Understood?" 

They all nodded. 

"Let's get started."

Huang Jia hadn't seen the entirety of the house yet, they were transported there from the agency's office earlier this morning and were dressed in their maid uniform. Her jaw almost dropped open when they followed Ms. Shao inside the mansion.

Everything screamed expensive. The walls looked like they were newly coated and all the vases and even the chandeliers were all sparkling under the light. The air was cold and clean and you could use the floor as a mirror. It was so shiny. Carpets ran from some of the rooms and most looked like they hadn't even put to use. 

"You break something, that would be the end of your trial," said Ms. Shao as she saw them eyeing all the breakables. "Remember, you are invisible in this house. You will not greet the owners and you will certainly not go to the second floor."

The day before, Huang Jia already got some information about how the house was ran. When Mr. Dong said 'the Qings' she didn't think it would be the family that had built this city. She was certainly hoping that the family did nothing wrong with Mr. Dong. She was fearing for their safety.

But she was fearing more for hers and her son's.

According to the information, the house had two shifts of maids. One in the mornings and one in the evenings. The morning shift started at five in the morning and ended in one in the afternoon. The night shift would quickly take over until nine in the evening.

The night shift position was a spot that you could get promoted to as this was the shift that had more exposure to the owners of the house. It required a lot of trust, commitment, and loyalty to be able to get there. The pay was also higher for this shift.

As a maid in this house, you are not allowed to leave the property unless you were authorized. It was all written in the contract. It might be a scary thing to look at at first but if you get to stay here and enjoy your free time, you get free food and lodging, it did not exactly sound like a bad deal.

Upon arrival, the three of them signed non-disclosure agreements. It only made Huang Jia suspicious on what were the things that she would possibly see that she would not be allowed to talk about outside.

"Do not go in if the doors are locked," said Ms. Shao, pointing to each of them, "you're in kitchen duty, get into the garage and clean, you are going to clean the living room."

It must be her lucky day. The living room, she got to stay inside the house and find something. She had asked for a discreet microphone or camera that she could place, but Mr. Dong said that the security would be strict and he was not wrong. They had to pass a metal detector before they could get into the house.

How was she supposed to know what else was going on in this house? she wondered. But she had to do something or her son would get it.

Ms. Shao led the other two girls in their rightful places of work and she was already silently cursing because it seemed like the old woman was coming with her.

"You're going to work here," said Ms. Shao, gesturing to an entryway to a room that was bigger than the apartment that she had been occupying for the past two years.

It didn't look like there was something that she could clean in that room. It was immaculate. The walls were covered with deep mahogany paint and patterns. Everything she lifted was heavy, pure metal and ceramic. She wiped the tables and the shelf above the fireplace, vacuumed the carpet, and fluffed the pillows. 

"Good," said Ms. Shao, "Now, go clean the powder room over there. I am going to check on the other two."

Huang Jia took a deep breath. That was tiring. She eyed the room across from this one and stared at the huge closed doors, wondering what was inside.

Huang Jia got into the powder room and almost scoffed at the thought of needing a room just to fix your face. But then she heard some noise and she eyed the wall. It was not something that was loud, more like a constant hum of people talking in their normal voices.

This room was right next to the one with closed doors. Huang Jia knew she shouldn't but she took the chance anyway. She pressed an ear to the wall and started listening.