MTL - My Stepmother is Soft and Charming

Chapter 52 Looking after the house

Steward He and Aunt Dou next to them looked at each other, their bodies bent, and they were more respectful than before.

 They were not surprised that the young lady Du Jingyi took charge of the family.

 But they also knew in their hearts that the general was taking this opportunity to give them a beating.

Tell them to act more carefully in the future.

　　Only when you have identified the owner of the back house can things be done beautifully.

 So, the two of them, who were still a little shaken before, settled down and decided to use this matter to officially move Du Jingyi to the position of the master of the back house.

 After handing over the internal affairs, Shang Ji still had military affairs to attend to, so he no longer accompanied Du Jingyi.

He just left a team of personal guards for her to protect her safety, and then left first.

After he left, Du Jingyi did not leave immediately. Instead, he turned around and said to Butler He and Aunt Dou.

“I’m young, and my mother-in-law’s family is not a well-known one, so I don’t know much about the affairs of the back house, and I never had anyone to teach me, so I still rely on you two for matters concerning the front yard and the back house.”

"You are all old people used by my mother-in-law. When you were in Dongyuan, you also loyally protected the whole courtyard. So when you come to the general's mansion, you can show your skills even more. Please don't have **** with me. It’s better to have some time off. Let’s work together so that the general can have no worries when he is working for His Majesty outside.”

These words brought tears to the eyes of Butler He and Aunt Dou.

With their previous qualifications in the Duke's Mansion, it is really unqualified to manage a small Dongyuan.

But Du Jingyi has not seen any complaints from them in the three years he has been in the government. He works hard and manages Dongyuan as one.

If she can bring this trend to the General's Mansion, then she will have a comfortable life in the future.

Hence, Du Jingyi really meant what he said.

 Mother Dou took a step forward and expressed her stance.

“Don’t worry, young lady, all the slaves and maidservants are dedicated. Even if you invite any family in Sui’an City to come, they will not be rude.”

"That's good."

 Then, Du Jingyi took them to play around in the backyard.

The front room is not complicated. You only need to carefully sweep the top and bottom again and add furniture.

 So no effort is required.

The backyard, on the other hand, had to be carefully thought out as we had to bring my sister-in-law Liu, my nephew Shang Zhiping, and my eighth sister Xue Niang with me.

The small garden in the southeast corner doesn't look too big at all.

 But it makes people feel more open.

 So, Du Jingyi made up his mind after walking up and down and back and forth.

“Housekeeper He should merge this small garden into the adjacent courtyard, and the two rooms in front of it will be designated as Ping’er’s study. It happens to be close to the courtyard next door, so it will be easier for my sister-in-law to take care of it.”

 Her impression of Shang Zhiping still remained that he was timid and timid.

 It is very difficult to change things all at once.

 Hence, it is most appropriate to start with the environment.

People will appear a little sluggish if they stay in a cramped place for a long time.

But if everything in front of you is full of vitality and green, no matter who you look at it, you will feel relaxed and happy.

Such a grand arrangement cannot be explained in just one or two sentences.

Steward He and Aunt Dou looked at each other with admiration.

I thought that the young lady would arrange the matters in the main courtyard first and then talk about other things, but I didn't expect that the first person she cared about was their eldest young master's child, Shang Zhiping.

 Hence, the two of them also felt emotional.

How could Du Jingyi not know what they were thinking, so he said comfortingly.

"Don't be afraid of spending more money. Anyway, the general said that all the rewards can be used, so let's expand this courtyard. Ping'er is not young anymore. In the future, whether he is studying and practicing calligraphy, or practicing boxing with the general, After all, you have to have a place, right." After hearing this, Butler He and Aunt Dou did not hesitate and expressed their opinions immediately.

“Don’t worry, young madam, I will definitely take care of this matter.”

"That's good."

A few people walked along the corridor and came to another part of the courtyard.

Du Jingyi walked in and took a look. The yard was not big.

 There are three rooms in the main house, one on each side, but the scenery is unique.

There is a maple forest here, which is shining red in the autumn. Looking at it makes people feel happy, and they immediately said.

"Leave this place to my eighth sister. I remember that she had maple leaves embroidered on her handkerchief. I think she likes it. She will definitely like it when she sees this scene."

Mama Dou had a lot of contact with Miss Eight, so she naturally knew some of her preferences, so she praised her with a smile.

“Young Madam is really attentive. Miss Eight really likes to see the maple leaves flowing with red leaves.”

"That's good."

 Then Du Jingyi pointed to an open space next to him and said to Aunt Dou.

“I’d like to ask grandma to set up a swing here so that when Eight Sisters get tired of embroidery, they can have a place to relax.”

 She arranged everything in an orderly manner, not like a woman from a small family at all.

 If we talk about it before, Grandma Dou was still a little worried.

Now that I have walked around with Du Jingyi, I feel a lot more relieved.

After taking a clear look at their courtyard, Du Jingyi led people around to the main courtyard of the general's mansion.

This area is to the north, and there is nothing outstanding about the scenery.

But the advantage is that the land is spacious, giving Du Jingyi enough room to play.

Steward He suggested based on what she just said.

“Young madam, we can build a garden here. We can find some masters from the south of the Yangtze River to build it carefully. It will definitely look good.”

Du Jingyi nodded, shook his head again, and said with a smile.

"The garden needs to be built, but the training ground used by the general on weekdays also needs to be cleared and arranged properly. The general's mansion is not so big, and there is a trend of cooing and whispering everywhere, and the general's reputation is not very good. .”

He Guanjia said with a sudden look on his face.

“What the young lady said is true, but the old slave almost ignored it.”

“It’s just that we need to go to the trouble of discussing with the general how to build this training ground so that it can be done properly. As a housewife, I really don’t know the ropes here.”

“Don’t worry, young lady, just leave it to the old slave.”

"nature."

 Then she looked around the yard again, and she made a prompt decision to determine the boundary.

It is clearly explained where to build a garden, where to leave open space, where to decorate, and how to renovate which areas.

 After all the fuss, it was almost evening.

Looking at the afterglow of the setting sun shining on the wooden pillars and bluestone floor of the entire General's Mansion, it gave off a faint warm color.

Everyone felt relieved when they saw it. Finally, there was a bright future in the village, and everything would get better.

Before leaving, Du Jingyi also took people to take inventory of the warehouse in the main courtyard.

The people guarding this place are Shang Ji's close personal guards in the army.

 Hence, casual people are not allowed to approach without saying anything, and there is no possibility of losing anything.

 (End of this chapter)