After traveling for more than a month, the three carriages finally entered the capital at midnight.
There was no letter telling Li Yue and Li Heng about the specific date of their return to Beijing, so after arriving in the city, they did not go to the original house in Beijing. Instead, they asked Dexi to drive directly to the newly built Sanjin compound that Xiao Qinglin bought for them.
The carriage stopped at the main entrance of the front yard, and the servants in the house came out and bowed their hands.
Before he could ask, Dexi took out his badge and announced his family name.
When the porter saw that the real master had arrived, he hurried back to call for someone.
Soon, an old man with a gray beard came out, bowed his hands and said:
"Old slave Cui Li, I have met Master and Madam."
Li Hui said "no courtesy", turned around and took Cheng Xue out of the car.
There were many people walking on the road, so Li Hui didn't waste any time and pulled her into the hospital quickly.
In the yard, eight people knelt on the ground and said in unison——
"I'll give my regards to you, sir and madam."
"Everyone, please get up. No need to be polite."
"Thank you, Madam."
Li Hui winked at Tiandong and Bai Wei, then hugged Cheng Xue's slender waist and went straight to the main courtyard.
Although this is my first time here, the structures of the houses in Beijing are basically the same.
You can feel the heat as soon as you enter the house. The ground dragon is very hot. There is a large Kang for about three people in the main room. It is quite warm to the touch.
"It should be Tangtang and Qinglin who arranged the arrangement. They know that we like to sleep on the fire bed."
Cheng Xue nodded when he heard this, yawned and sat down, looking up at the house. It was obviously different from the one they lived in before. The beams and window frames looked very elegant at first glance.
"No wonder the price is so high, the things in the house are not cheap."
"That's for sure, you get what you pay for." Li Hui sat down next to her and added, "Let someone notify Yixin and Qinglin the day after tomorrow. Wentian and Tiedan will also have to call back to make a mess.
stew?"
"Okay, there are still a lot of big white geese and wandering chicken that Li Zhong brought back last time, but there is no sauerkraut, otherwise we can make two kinds."
Speaking of this, Cheng Xue told Hongyu who was busy outside:
"Tell Bai Wei that you and Hong Shuang will pickle some sauerkraut tomorrow."
Hongyu heard the words and walked forward, saluted again and said:
"Madam, there are five jars of sauerkraut over there in the kitchen. Do you want to pickle more?"
"Is it marinated?"
"It's marinated and can be eaten at any time."
When Cheng Xue heard this, she nodded and said:
"Since we already have five tanks, there's no need to marinate it. Let someone prepare the food. The master and I will rest after taking a shower and changing clothes."
"yes."
Hong Yu hurried out, but Bai Wei brought someone in and laid out five dishes and one soup.
The dishes are not big, just enough for two people, and not wasted.
This is the rule of the Li family: eat well and eat well, but don't waste anything.
Looking at the green vegetables on the table, it was either pickles or cabbage or potatoes. This kind of vegetables is really rare. It's not that there are none, but the price is relatively expensive. They feel that the price-performance ratio is not high, so they simply don't eat it.
Cui Li stepped forward, saluted and said:
"Master, madam, these vegetables are all grown by the eldest lady when she goes to the village in autumn and brings the people there. Our vegetables are used in the stir-fry houses in the capital. The old slave has given the account book to Tiandong steward, and he will
Come take care of it."
"Tian Dong has a lot of things to do, so from now on you will be in charge of things in the house. If anything happens, you can discuss it with Tian Dong. He has been with our couple for many years and knows our habits well."
"Yes, madam, please remember this." Cui Li saluted again, bowed and stepped back.
The others also went out afterwards. Li Hui gave Cheng Xue some vegetables and said:
"You trust him so much? Are you going to leave everything in the house to him?"
"Where are you Chengxi and Bai Wei? Do you think I will be afraid? Besides, he is not necessarily someone's spy. Let's try it out first."
After Cheng Xue finished speaking, she lowered her head and continued eating.
You can't marginalize people as soon as they come in, as that will sow the seeds of disaster. Anyway, they are all getting along. If he really has second thoughts, those Xi are not vegetarians, and they will naturally find ways to deal with it.
After the meal, the two of them took a bath. When they came back, the kang had been laid out, and the bedding was all new. They put on comfortable and loose clothes, and it was very comfortable to lie down on the bed.
"Hey, what do you think the North will do now?"
Li Hui put one hand behind his head, thought for a while and said:
"The workshop should be busy building snowmen, and the street department should be dealing with official roads, household houses..."
Balabala said a lot, but did not mention the Governor of the Northern Territory.
Seeing him like this, Cheng Xue didn't ask further questions. She just found a comfortable position in his arms, closed her eyes, and asked:
"Do you really want to go to the Ministry of Finance to make money strings?"
"Qian Chuanzi?" Li Hui sneered, "Being a spearman is more or less the same. It seems that you have been promoted to a higher rank, but there is a price to pay for the higher rank. I estimate that the capital will be restless in the days to come."
"What about you? What if they jump over the wall in a hurry... No, you have to take Chengxi with you. I'll stay in the house and won't go. Nothing will happen."
Seeing that her heart was focused on him, Li Hui smiled and rubbed her shoulders and said:
"Don't worry, he's protecting me. He's not stupid, he even asked me to turn him into money."
The main room is peaceful, but the situation in the kitchen is tense.
Bai Wei knows nothing about cooking, but she is very comfortable managing the kitchen.
I bought the house more than half a year ago, and the cost of the kitchen is 500 taels of silver, which is more than 70 taels per month on average. This price is not high in the capital, but it is very high for the Li family. The mother-in-law keeps moving out.
The eldest lady, she understands that this account has been cleared, but the price is too much, and many things are available in Zhuangzi, so there is no need to spend any more money.
Tiandong heard the sound and rushed to the kitchen, took the account book in his wife's hand and looked through it. There was nothing wrong with the account, but the expenses were indeed very high. He had not returned to Beijing for more than two years, and they didn't know the specific situation, so even if they had doubts, they had to
Press temporarily.
“Who is in charge of kitchen purchasing?”
"Go back to the housekeeper, it's the seller Aunt Cui is looking for."
When the mother-in-law who just kept moving out of Li Yue heard this, she hurriedly stepped forward and said:
"The big housekeeper is the seller I found. He is Ya Xingzhang's cousin."
Tiandong nodded when he heard this and said calmly:
"Sir, Madam has just come back. She doesn't like eating many things. Let's stop the shopping for now. The eldest lady has pickled sauerkraut, right? Tomorrow morning she will make sauerkraut minced meat and braised noodles."
"Yes, housekeeper." Cui Li's wife saluted again and agreed.
As for how to reorganize the kitchen in the future, don’t be too hasty yet.
Tiandong understands Bai Wei's psychological changes at this moment. After all, in Beijing Mansion, the monthly expenses together with their wages will not exceed one hundred taels. Nowadays, a kitchen is so expensive, which is indeed too much, and the expenses in the government are
There are only a dozen people, how can we eat so much?
Back in the room, Bai Wei said with a straight face:
"What's the use of moving out, Miss? It's a big expense, but no one will ask?"
"Okay, don't be angry. The seller is my cousin who is in charge of business. I guess all the water is here. I'll ask the eldest lady tomorrow and I'll find out."
Bai Wei gave a muffled "hmm" and said nothing more...