In the first two days, because Wang Xifeng wanted to arrange for Jia Qin to manage the affairs of the young monk and Taoist priest, Jia Lian said that Wang Xifeng would not be allowed to take charge of the Grand View Garden. Wang Xifeng still had some luck in his heart, and now he finally understood it.
Jia Lian, what he seems to say casually is also a nail driven directly into the wall, and no one else can touch it.
Daiyu and Tanchun were here, and Wang Xifeng did not dare to reveal anything; when they left, Wang Xifeng sighed:
"My second master, it's my fault for what happened with Jia Qin, but you really don't want me to take care of the garden?"
Jia Lian saw that Wang Xifeng looked like a defeated quail at this time, so he sent Ping'er out, pulled Wang Xifeng, let her sit on his lap, and said with a smile:
"Let Third Sister take care of this garden. Part of it is for me to punish you, and part of it is for me to love you."
Wang Xifeng touched her slightly bulging belly and frowned:
"I'm still young this month. When I was pregnant with our eldest sister, I could still..."
"You have to let go when it's time to let go. Even if you have eight hands, you can't do everything."
Jia Lian interrupted Wang Xifeng directly, stretched out his hand to touch Wang Xifeng's belly, and said with a smile:
"First of all, you have to feel sorry for the child in your belly, and you also have to feel sorry for yourself. Why bother forcing yourself on the back of a tiger all the time?
Secondly, our family has a growing population but limited income, so we can no longer be so extravagant. But we can’t be too frugal all at once, lest we make people laugh outside and let the whole family say that we don’t know how to be the master of the family.<
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Now this third girl has been wanting to do something, and it just so happens that she can start a pilot project in the garden.
If it is done well, the results will be expanded and the whole government will adopt it; if it is not done well, it will only be used by the few sisters in the garden, but it’s like ‘a small boat is easy to turn around’, isn’t it?
You have three younger sisters serving as pioneers for you, why do you bother to ‘take advantage of the river water without washing the boat’?”
When Wang Xifeng heard this, she lowered her head and said:
"What you said makes sense.
My housekeeper has been in a lot of trouble these past few years.
In order to save some money, everyone in the family, big and small, probably hated me secretly.
Having my third sister take care of the cooking for me can temporarily relieve everyone's resentment towards me in the past, and it's also a good thing for me selfishly."
After a pause, Wang Xifeng shook his head again and sighed:
"In the list of people to be laid off that we talked about last time, apart from the ones we sent to Zhuangzi last time when we were investigating corruption, there are still quite a few left.
Many of these people are relatives of relatives, and many of them are with the eldest wife. The dowry brought by the wife is related to some old people, or there are old people in the family who have been served by the Jia family for several lifetimes, and they are not so easy to eliminate.
”
Jia Lian hugged Wang Xifeng's waist and said with a smile:
"Didn't we agree? The food must be eaten one bite at a time, the road must be walked step by step, and the things must be done one by one. For many things, haste makes waste.
You must be right to listen to me in everything.
There are a lot of big and small things going on in this house, which is enough for you to worry about.
You have been busy with the matter of your mother-in-law's marriage plan for a while, so don't put more pressure on yourself.
The sisters have moved into the garden, so you are not bad either.
When we were building the garden, I asked them to leave a door in our yard leading directly to the garden.
And as soon as you enter, you will see a place that I built separately, with lush flowers and trees.
In addition, a small courtyard was built close to our courtyard. It was just because it was so small and elegant that the empress forgot to name it when she came to visit the bride.
Now that the sisters have all moved in, you can go in directly through the small door in our yard. Why don't you go in and have some fun?"
When Wang Xifeng heard this, she suddenly remembered something:
"Oh! My second master, you are really good at pinching and calculating! Do you know that the imperial concubine will let people live in her?"
Jia Lian hugged Wang Xifeng with one arm and spread her other hand in front of Wang Xifeng:
"You lose, quickly bring me a thousand taels of silver!"
Wang Xifeng just remembered the big bet of one thousand taels of silver, and couldn't help feeling a little distressed. She curled her lips and said:
"Didn't you say that if you lose, give me one thousand taels of silver? But if I lose, you don't want the silver..."
Jia Lian didn't wait for Wang Xifeng to finish speaking, so he opened the window and ordered outside:
"Ping'er, each of you, please go back to your room. I won't tell you to come out now."
After that, he closed the window tightly with a "snap".
Wang Xifeng said "Ah":
"You pervert! I didn't agree last time!
It's broad daylight! I'm still pregnant with..."
.
Because Baoyu was going to the palace early tomorrow morning to express his gratitude, before dinner that night, Baoyu was writing down the arrangements for everyone to live in, preparing to show it to Jia Mu first.
Jia Huan came again triumphantly.
When he heard that Tanchun was going to live in Qiu Shuangzhai and Lin Daiyu was going to live in Xiaoxiang Hall, he immediately insisted on staying in Yihongyuan instead.
In this way, you can be farther away from Tanchun and closer to Sister Lin.
Baoyu was forced to give up her chosen Yihongyuan to Jia Huan.
Jia Huan only thought that the matter was settled, so he raised his head and rubbed his nose and left Jiangyunxuan where Baoyu lived.
.
At dinner time, Jia Lian and Wang Xifeng happened to be at Jia Mu's place. When everyone saw the paper handed over by Baoyu, it was written:
Xue Baochai lived in Hengwuyuan, Lin Daiyu lived in Xiaoxiang Pavilion, Jia Yingchun lived in Zhujinlou, Tanchun lived in Qiushuangzhai, Xichun lived in Liaofengxuan, Li lived in Daoxiang Village, Baoyu lived in Luxueting, and Jia Huan lived in Yihongyuan.<
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Jia Mu frowned and asked Baoyu:
"In the imperial edict, Jia Huan was also allowed to live in the courtyard?"
Baoyu bit the bullet and said:
"It is true that this was not commanded in the edict. It's just that I want to go and ask the empress tomorrow. They are all my brothers, so that Huan'er can also move into the garden."
Jia's mother didn't know that Baoyu was being threatened, but she only said that she loved Sun Baoyu and had a deep brotherhood with her younger brother. She couldn't help but admire him greatly.
Mrs. Wang immediately frowned but said nothing.
Jia Lian could tell with one ear that Baoyu must have been pinched by Jia Huan, and couldn't help laughing:
I knew Baoyu was a waste, but I still didn’t expect him to be such a waste.
At this moment, Daiyu walked up to Jia Lian and said softly:
"I don't want Jia Huan to live near me. I wonder if second brother Lian can do anything?"
Jia Lian had seen Jia Huan harassing Dai Yu, and felt that it was inappropriate for Jia Huan to live in Yihong Courtyard near Xiaoxiang Pavilion, so he whispered:
"In the small courtyard behind my courtyard, please ask Sister Lin to write a plaque for me, and I will find a way to prevent Jia Huan from succeeding."
Daiyu pursed her lips and smiled, thinking about how the small courtyard was extremely quiet and elegant. There were only a few bamboo poles, the water surface was outside the courtyard, and there was only a winding bridge outside the wall, winding to the vicinity of Didui Pavilion, and then she said:
"I wrote the four-character inscription 'Feng Lai Yan Ferry', but I want to see how Brother Lian writes the couplet."
Jia Lian nodded to Daiyu, then walked to Jia Mu and said with a smile:
"Old lady, Brother Bao is better than the ancient Kong Rong Rangli.
Although it is a good thing, there are only about twenty maids around Brother Bao, plus the mother-in-law and the maid Sasu, I am afraid there is no other courtyard that can accommodate them except Yihong Courtyard."
When Jia Mu heard this, she immediately felt that she must not wrong Baoyu, and immediately said:
"Baoyu, it's better that you live in Yihongyuan. If Huan'er wants to live there, let him live in Lu Xueting."
.
The next day, when Baoyu came back from the palace, he looked like an eggplant beaten by frost, dejected.