Strange to say, after last year's Zen enthronement ceremony, since this spring, the weather in various places has been smooth, unlike the uneven floods and droughts in the past few years, the yearly situation has gradually improved.Nowadays, I deeply hate rats and robbers for disturbing the people and disturbing the law and order during the farming season. Therefore, we continue to dispatch guards from all over the country to suppress bandits. And the emperor is holy and loves the people.

Yun'an and Sister Feng are also one of these beneficiary beings.

The sun is hot in midsummer, thanks to Wang Xifeng who doesn't mind the sun, so he found time to come to Pingminglou to talk.

As soon as I entered, I saw that all the sisters were here. In the cool hall on the first floor, there were four Xiangfei bamboo curtains and a big iceberg in the middle. The girls were sitting around on the low couch, talking and doing needlework by chance.

Sister Feng said with a smile: "You are all here, why don't you invite me?" Then she said: "It's so cool in this building, and the iceberg melts slowly."

Everyone hurriedly let her sit down, and Yingchun asked the women to remove the iceberg.

Sister Feng said, "It's so boring. How about asking me to take a breather?"

Everyone looked at her swollen belly: "Don't make trouble, it's not stubborn to catch a cold."

Baochai said with a smile: "There is a pagoda in front of this building, and a piece of bamboo is planted behind it. It doesn't need ice or heat."

Sitting down, Sister Feng looked at the various needles and threads in the girl's hands again, and wondered: "You two are together, and you don't write poems, paint, play chess and write, why do you start sewing in the hot weather? Could it be that the needles and threads in the house are not easy to manage?" ?”

Everyone picked up the needles and threads, although they were of different designs and colors, they were all made of the softest and fine cotton material, and they all laughed: "Look, who is this made for?"

Sister Feng looked at the size and noticed the material, so she realized that it was made for her stomach, and she couldn't help being very grateful.Although the sisters are all daughters of gold, they have been taught by someone to do the work in their hands. Even in Yun'an, there are Mrs. Chen and Mrs. Wang who have taught female chefs, so these little clothes and shoes are all in one piece. The stitches are fine.

But Sister Feng, she was grateful in her heart and still joked, because she said to Yun An and the others: "You are all rich, why don't you give us a gold and silver longevity lock collar and gold ring?"

It is said that pregnant women are stupid, and this is true. Baochai's neck is hanging brightly with the golden lock from which the words "golden and jade match" are spread.

Yunan guessed the reason for Sister Feng's visit, fearing that Baochai would be embarrassed, she hurriedly said with a smile: "This rich man who kept his mouth shut about gold and silver must have come to show us how well she makes money and how she manages the family! It's okay to just tell us." If you don't agree, take the profit!"

Sister Feng laughed loudly: "It's all there! They're all sent to your house."

Baochai shook her head and said with a smile: "When I first came, the sisters only talked about poetry, books and needlework. Now they are full of economic money. It's a pity." , and said with a smile: "Brother Bao is going to school today, otherwise, this time, he would not have to slap his sleeves and stop, intending to be annoyed."

Tanchun snorted: "Second elder brother also said that I 'just care about being rich and honorable, why is the good young lady stained with copper stink?', this is not the time for him to ask me to make him a pair of butterfly shoes. "Looking like I only depended on two or two months of money every month, so tight, how can I look like a rich lady?

Yun An took a look at Baochai and felt that the girl didn't care about Jia Baoyu as much as before.Hearing the girl ask again how much profit was made, Yun An had a rare time to reflect on herself: she was the one who led these young ladies down, because she started and Sister Feng took over, and as the small coffers of these girls swelled up, the change was almost a complete change. Out of control...

Sister Feng was beaming: "Only the flowers and herbs in spring and summer, I got 300 taels! There are also fruits, medicinal materials, potted flowers, etc., all of which add up to nearly 600 taels..."

"So much?"

"That's not true. We have a large number of people, and we prepare carefully, and most of them are sold in our own shop in the official's house, and the split is twice as small. Besides, even if it is sold in the drugstore, because of the careful processing and high quality, it is also First-class goods." Sister Feng was very satisfied.

But it turned out that because Sister Feng was pregnant and lacked energy, she wanted to make friends and accumulate blessings for the child, so she suggested to Jia's mother during the New Year's Eve, saying that the house is big, and this time the second master Lian brought people to guard the outer wall. I found that many corners and remote places could not be taken care of, and a lot of them were deserted—it was because she didn't think carefully when she cut down the redundant manpower, but she just sent people to these places again. There is no effective manpower to check and manage for a short time, and they are slack in dealing with it. It would be better to assign these places to the masters and masters in each house.

Sister Feng's thinking came about because Jia's mother said that she would set aside a piece of land for Li Wan to collect land rent.The Wang family always held grudges, and Sister Feng hadn't forgotten the disaster that happened at Li Wan's place, so why did she just pass by without a sound and let her take advantage of it.Then Sister Feng came up with this method, dividing each house into a place to take care of, leaving four layers of money for the officials above, and giving the rest to each house, and then the owner of the house distributed the rewards downwards, and most of the masters and slaves each took five. Five shares, the more you work, the more you will be rewarded, which is a way out for those who work hard at the bottom.These prospects are all traded by the public in a unified way, so there is no fear of chaos, and everyone in each house is also concerned.

Even Aunt Zhao, Aunt Zhou and other half masters were helped by Sister Feng, and they divided up a small place, which gave them extra income.Aunt Zhao is also in charge of Jia Huan's share. This aunt is stingy and loves money, and she doesn't have more people here than in the other room, so she just ruthlessly orders the people who wait on her and Jia Huan to do it, so she just divides it up. There are still few rewards.So when those few people cried to Sister Feng, there was no need for Sister Feng to show up. Ping'er, the nameless 'internal manager', told them that they were diligent and had a good evaluation in the manager's room, so they could go to the manager's room to apply for a change of place. There are many places where such hardworking and capable people are needed.Aunt Zhao’s place was vacant, and the steward’s room was soon assigned to Aunt Zhao who was not good enough in the evaluation and was sent back to the steward’s room to wait for a new place. Most of them were tricky and unruly people. When those old servants come back, they dare not do this again.

As for this "evaluation" system, it is also a new regulation introduced by the Rongfu this year. Due to the distribution of land and manpower, there is an endless stream of people who come to Sister Feng's house to beg for favors and give gifts. Asking for advice from the sisters—the girl chattered, and came up with some detailed rules to evaluate the many servants in the mansion by comparing the methods used by the imperial court to inspect officials.The large Rongguo Mansion still has a population of 500. If you only rely on those big and small butlers who can't keep their butts upright, it is inevitable that good people will suffer and lazy people will benefit. It is better to come up with a rule of serious judgment.With this rule, this promotion or reward is not as much a function of favor as usual. Some individuals can no longer rely on a good relative to get a monthly salary. Whether they can keep the job or not depends on their own ability: The job may be returned, accumulatively three times, and then kicked out of the house.In this way, the strength of the kinship relationship between the family and the children is much weaker, and to a certain extent, such things as the gangsters in Li Wan's house can be avoided from happening again.

Moreover, once the population flows, it also avoids the scourge of some slaves instigating the master to do bad things or the master forcing the slaves to do bad things-the little girl who Aunt Zhao asked to be transferred elsewhere once reported to Ping'er, saying that Baoyu's real godmother Ma Daopo instigated Aunt Zhao said, "When the second grandma's baby is born, there will be no place for my aunt and Brother Huan to stand" and other poignant words.Sister Feng knew, and saw that Aunt Zhao had devoted herself to the future of the land, so she didn't bother with her, she just used Qingxu to look at the old Taoist Zhang's words to find an excuse, and didn't ask Mrs. Ma to come in again. The middle child is so born, and then find a way to take care of this irrelevant Ma Daopo.

……

Since the land was divided, the ladies have known that the roses and thorns all over the shelves, the gold and silver vines climbing the corners, or the weeping willow branches, and the sour fruits that no one cares about can all be exchanged for money.Besides, everyone knows that this is not a one-shot deal, so they take care of the flowers and trees meticulously, but they are unwilling to exhaust them. Not only did they not appear bare and embarrassed, but they took better care of the trees and flowers, such as the riverside of the flowing water. The weeping willows in the garden are all miscellaneous branches and branches, and the green waterfall hangs down from the tree, which is really "green silk ribbon made of jasper".

"...Third sister, I will give you an extra reward from your nanny who can take care of flowers." Sister Feng smiled and said, "The big jasmine bush in my yard suddenly stopped blooming, so I ask her for help." have a look."

But I heard Xi Chun laughing and saying: "Nurse Fang is pruning two pots of white begonias at my place today, and I will send her to the Osmanthus Garden when I get back."

"Nurse Fang is very famous now, and she can account for half of the people who come to my yard to invite people out of ten times." Tanchun said.

Baochai pointed to Yinger, who was weaving in the Baosha, and said with a smile: "And me too, I asked her to learn how to weave small flower baskets, to tie the net... the whole house is busy and belongs to her. "

This is also the advantage that the girls only know when they manage it with their own hands: the price of raw materials is cheap, and the profit will be multiplied several times after a little processing, so many talented people are unearthed.In each house, there are more people who work hard, and fewer people who make troubles. In previous years, hot and dry summers would often lead to many quarrels and disputes, but this year there are almost none. The Rongguo Mansion is peaceful and peaceful.This made Jia's mother more fond of her, and even Jia Zheng and Jia Lian felt that Sister Feng took care of her very well, and the servants were grateful to her. Therefore, Sister Feng's heel was very firm, and even the two wives of King Xing could not be easily shaken.

After the foundation was laid, Sister Feng tasted the benefits of properly delegating power and letting go, because she will not cling to power as she did when she first took charge. At this time, she said another reason for this: "I am getting bigger and bigger this month, The energy is really short. So I said, ask the younger sisters to take care of the family affairs for a few months."

"I brought this matter back to the old lady. The old lady said that I should ask my sisters for approval before making a decision. I thought that my sisters are used to doting on me, so they will definitely agree?" Sister Feng asked everyone with a smile.

Before saying a word, Yuanyang came in and smiled back: "It turns out that they are all here, so I can find them easily. Second Mistress, ladies, where is the old lady?"

Sister Feng said with a smile: "You hoof, if you don't come early or late, you will ruin my business at this time! My sisters are about to agree to my request. If it doesn't work, I will ask you to come one by one as three envoys!"

After a while, everyone came to Jia Mu's upper courtyard.

Jia Mu was in high spirits, sitting on a low couch and reading a letter with glasses. Seeing them coming in, she first smiled at Daiyu and said, "Good Yuer, your father wrote to say that he is going back to Beijing to report on his work, and he will definitely be there before the Mid-Autumn Festival! Good boy, we can reunite this Mid-Autumn Festival!"

Although there are many letters and objects, they still can't relieve her longing for her old father. When Daiyu heard what Jia Mu said, her eyes were red, and she threw herself into Jia Mu's arms to wipe her tears to read the letter that Jia Mu handed over. .

Jia's mother cried when she thought of Jia Min.Everyone was busy persuading her, and so was Daiyu, that the reunion of father and daughter was a happy event, and Daiyu was still crying even when she was crying.

Baochai sighed slightly in her heart, thinking that if her father was still alive, she and her mother would not be so anxious and dependent on others.

Fortunately, there was another happy event to say, and Mother Jia quickly shed tears and said to everyone: "Just now, the Beijing Palace came to announce the good news. There is a happy event in Yuanchun. Today has just turned three months, and the princess and the prince are busy. Come and tell, it can be seen that I am very happy."

"Big sister is happy!" Sister Feng clapped her hands: "Uncle, the old man has returned to Beijing again, this is double happiness!"

Mother Jia who sat on the top nodded again and again, only to feel that this year was full of good things, and the gloom of last year was gone.

Because Mrs. Wang was in poor health and was inconvenient to go out when she was recuperating in her room, Mother Jia said that she would go to visit Yuanchun in person.

All the sisters discussed together what to send to the elder sister to congratulate her.

Sister Feng hurriedly took this opportunity to tell her that she wanted her younger sisters to manage the housework for her. Mother Jia laughed and said, "As long as your younger sisters are willing, I will agree to everything."

Yun'an and Daiyu declined in a hurry, the two of them often went back to Weiyuan to live, besides, Lin Ruhai went to Beijing in August, if he was promoted to be an official in Beijing, Daiyu would have no time to spare.

Yingchun thought about it, she was originally from the eldest family, besides, Sister Feng was her own sister-in-law, once she was also in charge of affairs with the sisters, it would not be good if many people would praise her because of Sister Feng.Therefore, he refused to do it, and only said that Pingmingyuan and the shop of the three sisters had not been sorted out by himself, and he was really powerless to take care of him.

These three people stopped talking first, and Sister Feng hurriedly stopped the others, and said with a smile: "You three are not allowed to shirk, the three of them are still busy with other things, I will ignore them. If you don't Help me, I'm about to cry. Really cry for you!"

This made everyone laugh, and the daughter-in-law in charge standing outside said in a low voice: "Don't fight for the housekeeper's right at home. We are doing well here. The second grandma has to cry to ask for help!"

Baochai hurriedly said: "The two of her are enough, with the old lady and you watching, it will be all right."

Sister Feng quickly shook her head: "You must be needed. The three of you have a garden together. I think you have discussed it very well. This time, I will be more at ease if I hand it over to you."

Jia's mother also said: "That's right. Bao girl, don't refuse, I know you are also the housekeeper at home. Your two younger sisters are inexperienced, and you are needed."

Sister Feng even gave the pair of cards and the key on the spot, also called Ping'er, and ordered her to obey the girl's instructions.

From this day on, all the managers who really happened went straight to Zhiyuanzhai to listen to them, and even Xichun moved to live in Zhiyuanzhai for the time being.Li Wan was the only one left in Luweitang. Because the past was not far away, no one from Jiamu and Sister Feng to the respectable housekeepers below suggested that Li Wan should come to help, because the big guys all Said, "Grandma is a person who appreciates morality but not talent, and it is good for both sides to respect and worship."

The next day, Mother Jia took the gifts to Beijing Palace to visit Yuanchun.

Yuanchun looks very good.

Therefore, the fetus was the first child of the king of Beijing County. The concubine, the prince and the young concubine all attached great importance to it. Not only did the imperial doctor sit in the town, but also invited good doctors from the city to be on duty.

Yuan Chun lived in Xitang Courtyard, and the plaque on the courtyard gate was written and engraved by the prince himself. When Jia Mu saw it, she praised it first, but Yuan Chun smiled faintly: "There is a piece of Xifu Begonia behind, and the flowers bloom very well in the season." Beautiful, the lord took this name." The lord also compared her to the begonia in Xifu, and used a Tang poem "Qiongrui's home is in Zhongwenlangyuan, and Zizhi picture sees Penglai". The prince seems to have a deep meaning.

After all, this palace is wider than the imperial palace, and the women can always see each other several times a year, so there is no such thing as looking at each other with tears between grandparents and grandchildren. Jia Mu only told Yuanchun about the prenatal care.

Yuan Chun could hear it, and Hou'er asked, "Uncle Lin is going to Beijing?"

Jia's mother frowned, and said in surprise, "I just found out yesterday. Your Aunt Lin's father wrote to tell you this. Where did Yuan'er know about it?"

Yuan Chun shook his head and said with a wry smile: "Because Uncle Lin not only went to Beijing to report on his own work, but also served as an imperial errand - to escort Mrs. Zhen Yingjia back to Beijing to plead guilty..." The Zhen family was about to fall in summer, and the princess was so anxious that she went to the doctor indiscriminately No, even here she came to ask her natal family for help.

Yuan Chun looked carefully at Jia Mu's expression, seeing that the old lady really didn't know anything about such a major event, he couldn't help but smile bitterly in his heart: The Jia family has really fallen, and such a major event in the court can't even be regarded as an afterthought. What hope?

"The Zhen family?" Mother Jia's complexion changed, her mouth trembled: "Is the Zhen family going to die?"

Yuan Chun nodded slightly, and said in a low voice: "I'm afraid it's not good. Old ancestor, is our family confiscating something that their family shouldn't have?"

Jia's mother shook her head, because Wang's ignorance, Yuanchun's incident finally created a rift between the two families. Afterwards, the Zhen family even had to go back the money they kept at their house, and there was little communication after that... "I remember the end of last year. , the woman from the Zhen family came to pay your respects to your mother..."

Jia's mother recalled that Yuan Chun was taken aback suddenly: "My wife won't take things from their house!"

"Good boy, don't be in a hurry." Mother Jia hurriedly said, "Your wife is sick and has been recuperating. I can't see them, so I sent them back."

"What's the matter?" she asked again.

Yuan Chun breathed a sigh of relief, and said happily: "I'm afraid that my wife will be deceived, and if she accepts the things that their family entrusts for no reason, it will break."

"The Zhen family tried to protect the succession of the sixth prince, and even got involved in the conspiracy of the third highness. Her family left a way out to protect the foundation, and entrusted and hid a lot of property in the old relatives' house... This time the cabinet liquidated Jiangnan's finances and found that The Zhen family has a big hole in the hole of corruption, but his family's property is not much. I am afraid that sooner or later there will be a thorough investigation, and then anyone who is entrusted with the crime of 'hiding stolen goods' may not be able to escape..."

Jia's mother froze: "The Zhen family ransacked the house?"

Yuan Chun said in a low voice: "Openly check and secretly copy, serious copying needs to wait until the Zhen family enters Beijing... The Holy Majesty will entrust this matter to Uncle Lin for assistance, and he attaches great importance to it." If there is no accident, Uncle Lin is the same as Uncle He will become an important minister who is highly valued by two generations of emperors.

He sighed secretly again, everyone in-laws could do something, only his own man... and his wife, Yuan Chun didn't know whether he should be thankful that she was ill, otherwise with his wife's temper and his uncle's power, it was hard to guarantee that he wouldn't be bold Accept the benefits of the Zhen family and hide those belongings at home.

Thinking of this, Yuan Chun didn't want to talk about the Zhen family anymore, as long as the family confiscated the Zhen family's belongings.Because of changing the subject, he asked: "How are the sisters? Has Baoyu improved?"

The Zhen family and Jia's family have been relatives for several lifetimes. Once his family was down and punished, Jia's mother was quite frightened by "things hurt her kind".

Speaking of Baoyu, Mother Jia's heart moved, and she said with a smile: "Your wife is ill and has no energy to take care of Baoyu's affairs now. You are his eldest sister, and I have something on my mind that I would like to discuss with you."

"Is it Baoyu's marriage?" Yuanchun Bingxue is smart and understands everything.

Mother Jia nodded: "I've taken a fancy to your Cousin Lin. Do you think it's okay?"

"Baoyu also likes it in his heart, but he is reasonable and refuses to say it, but I know it all. There is nothing wrong with you, Cousin Lin, so I thought of fulfilling Baoyu's heart. I also have the intention of motivating Baoyu to make progress... ..."

Mother Jia had this intention long ago, but she just felt a little hypocritical, so she took advantage of the happy event of Yuanchun's pregnancy to speak out to see if she could add Yuanchun's support.

But Yuan Chun shook his head and smiled wryly: "After Uncle Lin came to Beijing to report on his duties, he may be able to join the cabinet. Sister Lin is the daughter of the old man in the cabinet! Besides, Uncle Lin only has her as a seedling. Baoyu... can't be matched in any way."

Ever since marrying into the palace, Yuanchun has seen the superiority and inferiority more clearly than before. For example, she and the concubine, before the Zhen family had an accident, all the "rich eyes" in the palace reminded her: Jia Yuanchun is just the daughter of a fifth-rank official!And... The Jia family is really down and out.

Yuan Chun sighed, trying to dispel Jia's mother's thoughts: "Old ancestor, I understand that you love Baoyu, but if he doesn't work hard himself, so what if he forces himself to be the son-in-law of Mr. Ge? The root lies in himself, if he If you are willing to work hard, even if you are not as successful as Uncle Lin, as long as you are admitted to Jinshi like Master Jing of Dongfu, you will be able to gain a foothold—no matter how noble your wife is, he just hates studying and still achieves nothing."

But the phrase "Ge Lao's son-in-law" is really what Jia's mother desires most now. The old man's heart to make the two jade children a pair has faded, but Yuan Chun's belly is the happy event of the first child of the king of Beijing County. It gave her some confidence, and the matter of the Zhen family made her eager to find a backer—Mrs. Wang was abolished, and Wang Xifeng was Wang Ziteng's niece. In the eyes of the elderly, it was still far away. If Daiyu married Baoyu, then she would really have no A closer relative than Lin Ruhai.

At this time, in the Rongguo Mansion, Xifeng was also talking to Ping'er about Baoyu's marriage: "I didn't like Miss Xue very much at first, but now it seems that it is very good that she becomes Baoyu."

Ping'er knew that her mind had changed, she used to think that Miss Bao would compete with her for power when she married, but now that grandma's own shop is booming, she doesn't care much about the little income from the housekeeper.What's more, once the second wife fell, grandma was back on her feet. This Rongguo mansion will still belong to grandma and the second master in the future, and the daughter-in-law of the second master Bao can't go past grandma, so I think Miss Xue is suitable.

Ping'er thought in his heart, but smiled and said: "I said why grandma tried so hard to recommend Miss Bao to be the housekeeper. It turned out to be the case. It's just that grandma's words should not be revealed in front of the old lady. The old lady doesn't always prefer Miss Lin. ?"

Xifeng sneered: "That depends on whether you are compatible or not? If there is a brother in my Wang family, he would be suitable for Miss Lin. Uncle and Uncle Lin are of the same rank. But what match does Baoyu use? Does he put his heart into the girl? ?”

"Come on! Don't talk about him!" Sister Feng frowned, and since she had divided the land, the ancestors in Baoyu's house shouted all day long that there were too many of them, that they were disadvantaged and treated poorly, but Xifeng lost his appetite, and Baoyu also came to ask for it. Sister Feng had to give him the biggest piece.But no one in his room is willing to work, this precious jade still insists on managing it by itself like the sisters, and the place is really wasted.If she doesn't speculate with Miss Xue any more, Sister Feng thinks that she is at least very capable, and she has wronged Miss Xue with Baoyu, who is useless except for her family background and appearance.

Ping'er smiled, afraid that she would be sleepy at night, so she picked up other words and said: "There is one more thing to tell grandma. An official matchmaker named Zhu came to propose marriage, and every day he made a post and posted it on the door. It’s been a few days. I asked the door to be pressed, but I’m afraid that if we don’t pick it up here, she will go to the eldest lady again, which is not good.”

Sister Feng knew it: "Are you here to beg your second younger sister? Whose family?"

Ping'er asked to suppress it and not allow it to be sent in. It must not be a good family. Sure enough, Ping'er laughed and said: "What kind of grandson's family is it? First, this young master is related to our family from his ancestors, and second, he is from another family." The Central and Eastern Houses are close again."

"It's even more ridiculous. This Young Master Sun is only in Beijing waiting for approval to take up his post. His parents are dead, and only a few distant relatives are left. Sister-in-law Zhu said that this man is 26, a good-looking talent, tall and strong, and his family is rich..."

"What?" Sister Feng frowned: "Take the second master's post and ask this official matchmaker if she sincerely looks down on the Duke's mansion. What kind of heartless dear friend is this! I think she is more or less suitable for this old and young master! "

Ping'er chuckled, and forced himself to say: "Grandma never imagined that this Young Master Sun is a relative of someone in the Ning Mansion. It turns out that Young Master Sun is of the same family as Old Man Sun of Datong who married Mrs. You. I heard that Second Sister You and You The third sister also married a young man named Sun, so the two of them could not change their surnames. This young master Sun went to find relatives with Grandma Zhen, and sent two women from the family to pay grandma Zhen, but It disgusted Grandma Zhen, and she almost didn't call her out."

Sister Feng also burst out laughing: "This old and young master has such a thick skin!"

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