The Second Master of the Red Chamber

Chapter 139
The Lantern Festival has passed, and the taste of the new year has suddenly declined, and the various houses in the capital have gradually returned to their usual tranquility.

And Jia Lian, after completely expelling his deputy from the Bingmasi, made the Bingmasi all respectful and obedient, and no one person or thing dared to defy him.

Jia Lian himself was not complacent or overjoyed, he still went to the government office every day, and while familiarizing himself with the government affairs, he inspected many officials in the government office, chose all available people for his own use, and strived for the fastest speed to completely control the soldiers and horses of Xicheng. manage.

In the evening of this day, Jia Lian went home from Yamen as usual.

After dinner, Wang Xifeng asked Ping'er and Xiaohong to turn out half of the twelve bolts of satin and prepare to make new clothes for Yingchun and others.

While worrying about which one, which color, which person to match, and how much material is needed, he sighed: "Such a good material, such a thickness, even if you take dozens of taels of silver, you may not be able to buy one. The Lord is generous, and he sent them all out as soon as he opened his mouth."

Sighing, looking back and seeing Jia Lian still leaning on the kang drinking tea with the old god, he suddenly became angry, walked over and asked with a smile: "Do you think good things are hot at home, don't you find a place when you get them?" Throw it out?
Yingchun and the others have no shortage of clothes to wear. Every year, the officials will spend money to tailor clothes for them alone. You called Bala to take care of this matter. What are you trying to do? "

"Officials are officials, and they want to accept love from their wives, so what does it have to do with you and me?

This is just a little thought from us, why can't you bear it? "

Jia Lian smiled back indifferently.

When Sister Feng heard Jia Lian's words, she really wanted to talk about it separately from Mrs. Wang. She had some thoughts in her heart, and it was hard to say it in front of the maid, so she just said, "what can I be reluctant to do? It's something you earned anyway. You can make clothes for whoever you want to make clothes for.”

Wang Xifeng said, discussing and discussing: "In this case, we will make one for each of Ying girls, sister Lin and Baochai, sister-in-law and Brother Lan... You must save some for us in the future." Eldest sister cuts clothes..."

This is Sister Feng's personality, she always speaks to the full, but always leaves half of the room in her work.

If such a piece of cloth is not used as a complete set of inner and outer clothes, but only for outer clothing, Yingchun and the others can make at least four or five pieces.In other words, twelve bolts of cloth are enough to cut two pieces of clothes for all the masters in the family!
If he hadn't known this, Jia Lian would not have agreed casually on the night of the Lantern Festival.

When I arrived at Sister Feng's place, I felt like I was stretched.This point, from the fact that she only took out half of the goods, she knew that she only wanted to use half of the goods to settle the case, and also wanted to deduct a part from this half, which was called reserved for her daughter.

As expected of a master who is good at calculation.

"I don't have any objections to how you do it, anyway, I don't stay at home often, and I don't often meet Yingchun and the others, so I'm not afraid that they will call me stingy behind my back.

If you, the sister-in-law, are not afraid, that's fine too. "

Sister Feng knew Jia Lian's irony as soon as she heard it, and her face turned red.In fact, she thinks it's okay to be called stingy, anyway, it's good to get benefits.

Besides, how can one person be stingy?It’s not just about cutting out the satin. For such a good material, you must hire skilled embroiderers to design the style, embroider the pattern, and finally put it together into a complete dress.

In the end, let’s say that a piece of clothing is worth more than ten taels of silver, hum, is this considered stingy?From childhood to adulthood, my old lady has not had a few clothes that exceed this number!

However, it can also be seen that Jia Lian means that he does not want to break his promise.That night, Jia's mother said that it would be fine not to do it for her, but to do two things for Yingchun and others, and they all agreed at that time.

So he changed his tune and said: "Okay, okay, it's all up to you, the sisters in the family have two pieces for each of them, it's finally done."

There is still room for Sister Feng's words, the sisters will only have two, and the others have not promised to give two.Just like Jia Baoyu, Jia's mother and Mrs. Wang don't know how many clothes are made for him every year, so naturally they don't need to be generous.

There is also my sister-in-law, whose monthly salary is several times more than mine, so she and Boy Lan don't need to be generous.

Well, I still have to give the old lady and the wife a favor, so that when the time comes, the wages of the embroiderer and the silk thread consumed can all be paid from the official, which can save a lot...

Jia Lian only cared about Yingchun and the others, because they were the only proletarians in the family, and the others didn't need others to make clothes, so they nodded.

Seeing the calculating look in Sister Feng's eyes again, she couldn't help laughing, patted the hot kang next to her, let her sit down and said, "You don't need to feel bad, there will only be more such things in the future, and there will be no less, why bother to do it?" This miser's appearance makes the girls laugh."

Ping'er and Xiaohong bowed their heads hurriedly after hearing this, and said to themselves, the second mistress is not a miser, but the second master, you don't know how expensive the firewood is if you are not in charge of the family.Throwing these things out, even their slaves feel a little distressed when they see it...

What Sister Feng heard was different from that of the girls. She raised her head and asked, "This is something bestowed by the emperor, and you brought it back with your wealth and life. It's not the only thing like this. Do you still want to buy it?" Lead troops outside?"

Jia Lian just smiled.

The emperor's rewards are naturally something that can be met but not sought, but in fact, most of the things bestowed by the emperor are offered by compradors in the palace, such as the Xue family.As long as you have access and money, you can buy it outside.

Seeing that Sister Feng wanted to persuade him that Xiaofu would be safe and stop doing risky things, Jia Lian shook his head and said, "It's just that I want to go outside again. Do you think it's so easy? Now I'm carrying the soldiers and horses." The errands in the yamen are heavy responsibilities, do you think the emperor will let me move my position so easily since he has ordered my palm seal?"

Sister Feng feels at ease now, that's right, it's great to be an official in the capital...

So he decided to listen to Jia Lian, took them out together, and made two decent ones for himself and Jia Lian.

Jia Lian didn't object after hearing this, and even said with a smile: "If there are any leftovers, give Ping'er and the three of them a piece of clothing, so that they can also be polished and fresh."

"Okay, okay, just listen to you, they are all your darlings, and no one can short them! Even if I don't have it myself, I must give them their share."

Hearing the quarrel between Jia Lian and Sister Feng, they decided the matter, and Xiaohong was very envious of Ping'er and others.Ping'er was a little uneasy, and hurriedly said: "Grandma doesn't need to think about me, I can't wear all the clothes my grandma gave me in the past, so don't waste these materials for me."

Ping'er's clothes are definitely the top among the maids in Jia's mansion, because in the past, whenever Sister Feng felt a little old or didn't like the clothes, the first choice was to reward Ping'er, so Ping'er said that she couldn't wear out all the clothes ,it is true.

It's okay if she doesn't say it, but when she says that Sister Feng is serious about getting her a new one, let others see whether she is bullying Ping'er, or treat her sincerely!

Now that the decision has been made, Sister Feng is the most appropriate and smart in handling things, and immediately ordered Ping'er to lead the mother-in-law to measure the stature of Yingchun, Daiyu and others.

Like girls of their age, their stature changes every year, so they will be re-measured every year to facilitate tailoring clothes for them.

"By the way, remember to go to Pear Fragrance Garden and test the ones for Miss Bao. Their family doesn't care about our two clothes, but you just tell her that it's my kindness. His sisters have all of them, so it's okay. We can't just let her go, she must have followed."

Sister Feng told Ping'er again, and Ping'er also took orders.

Wang Xifeng ordered Xiaohong again: "You take all these satins in, and just put them on the empty cabinet inside. They will be used tomorrow. Remember to wrap them in a clean cloth first, so that they don't get dirty."

"Yes, Second Grandma."

Xiaohong obeys orders, judging from her hands and feet, she is also very quick and safe.

After all, Jia Lian personally recommended him to Sister Feng, so he took a special look at him.

Sitting next to him, Sister Feng shook her hand and asked with a smile, "Why, did you like this one too? I knew that you must have other intentions for bringing her in, and you said it was for me, so I almost gave it to you." Cheated."

Jia Lian knew that Sister Feng was trying to test him again, so she didn't bother to pay attention to it, so she just asked, "How is it, is it easy for your granddaughter to use it?"

Sister Feng laughed.

She is the housekeeper in the mansion, and the housekeeper's daughter-in-law, Lin Zhixiao's family, is her right-hand man.Because Lin Zhixiao's family is obedient and filial to Sister Feng's words, just like a daughter is filial to her mother, others will laugh at her, it is better to recognize Sister Feng as a mother.

Although it was a joke, it reflected the loyalty of the slaves in Jia's mansion and the good custom of harmony between master and servant, so it spread.

And Xiaohong is the daughter of Lin Zhixiao's family, so Jia Lian joked.

"Stop joking, let me ask you, I heard that Uncle Xue has invited you to drink several times these days, why don't you go?"

Sister Feng heard what Aunt Xue said, so she asked specifically.She knew that Aunt Xue's worry was whether Jia Lian had something to dislike about Xue Pan.

Jia Lian understood as soon as he heard it, and just replied: "I am so busy with things in the yamen, how can I have time to go to those meaningless wine bureaus? Besides, isn't the old man still sick? Let alone Xue Pan, it is uncle Zhen There are also invitations from other families, these days there are fewer invitations? Didn't I ask you to help me back?"

When Jia Lian was promoted to the military department, anyone with a discerning eye could see that he had a bright future, not to mention that the military department office was related to the interests of various families, so they all wanted to make friends with Jia Lian.

Jia Lian just chose the most important ones to perfunctory, and the others basically disappeared.

Anyway, Jia Amnesty was seriously ill, so he had every reason to refuse all kinds of banquets.

Sister Feng was just asking, what kind of good wine can a person like Xue Pan set up?It's just drinking and drinking. It would be better if Jia Lian didn't go.

Thinking about what to say the next time I see Aunt Xue, he lightly hammered and massaged Jia Lian's upturned Erlang's leg.

Wang Xifeng usually doesn't serve others, and occasionally pinches Jia's mother coquettishly, but now she uses it on Jia Lian, it's a concubine's love...

When Xiaohong went out, the handsome man and the beautiful couple looked at each other, and they could almost understand each other's intentions. Just when they were about to do a little business, a girl rushed to spread the news of Dongkuayuan.

"Second master, the servant at the second door said that the master is awake and is anxious to see you."

Sister Feng hurriedly got up from Jia Lian's arms and looked at Jia Lian worriedly.Gein, every time Jia Lian was called away by Jia Amnesty, something bad would happen.

Jia Lian also saw that something must have happened there, but seeing Sister Feng's appearance, she stretched out her hand to support Sister Feng's pretty face, rubbed her face with her warm thumb as a comfort, and said with a smile : "Don't worry, today is different from the past, I'm fine."

Indeed, Jia She's current state, and Dongkuayuan is completely under his control, not to mention that it is absolutely impossible for Jia She to take care of him like before.Even Jia She's lingering life is under his control, if he wants to die, he must die.

Might as well just wait and see what the old stuff is going to do.

(End of this chapter)