Should we accept Chapter 86 now?
ah!
Tao's mother and Ke'er both thought of this problem last night and discussed it with her in advance.
Open-book exams feel so good.
Suppressing her excitement, Song Yi said, "Let's revise the menu. People can't handle eating vegetarian food all the time."
"Alright then, each master's rations will be changed to one meat dish, one vegetable dish, and one soup per meal, while the servants will have meat for lunch and vegetables for dinner."
As soon as he finished speaking, smiles appeared on the faces of all the stewardesses.
It's no wonder they were happy to hear there was meat to eat; they had been eating only vegetables for seven or eight days straight, and their faces were practically turning green.
Although the second young mistress had Zheng Mama hint to them that eating vegetarian food was only a temporary expedient and would not last long.
But who wouldn't want to eat meat every day?
The kitchen manager agreed, saying she would go to the market to buy meat in a little while.
The group of stewardesses looked at Song Yi with less hostility.
Things went much more smoothly after that.
Everyone came up and conscientiously reported their tasks and arrangements for the day, as Song Yi had requested.
Song Yi listened very carefully to each item, inquired in detail about previous precedents, and then gave instructions on how to handle the situation.
Zheng's mother, standing to the side, listened as Song Yi mostly followed the old ways, and couldn't help but secretly purse her lips.
The second young mistress was right; no matter how eloquently the heir apparent's wife spoke, she would reveal her weakness when it came to actual practice.
She followed the old ways in everything, which shows that she had no ability to manage a household at all.
Soon, everyone finished their business.
Mother Zheng stood up and curtsied.
“This servant has… an important task.”
Her face was terribly swollen, and every time she opened her mouth, her cheeks would twitch in pain, making her speech slurred.
But when she thought of the second young mistress's instructions and the embarrassing situation Song Yi would face later, she gritted her teeth and insisted on continuing.
"It's almost September... September. The various aristocratic families in Bianjing Prefecture will be holding flower-viewing banquets one after another. In previous years, they would start buying flowers around this time."
"So that the young mistress knows the old custom of previous years. In the past, the second young mistress would send a servant to the flower market to order flowers at this time."
We usually buy green peonies, black chrysanthemums, red-clad green-skirted chrysanthemums, and West Lake Willow Moon flowers, and we also order a few pots of the precious Phoenix Flying Feathers.
She covered her face to ease the pain, then looked up at Song Yi, a strange light flickering in her eyes.
"Please instruct the Lady of the Heir Apparent what flowers should be purchased this year, so that I may make arrangements accordingly."
Song Yi frowned slightly.
She was naturally aware of the flower-viewing banquet.
Every year in September, the nobles of Bianjing Prefecture would hold various banquets such as flower viewing and flower competitions, and every household would make arrangements in advance to prepare all kinds of precious flowers and plants.
The Marquis of Anping's residence had also held several flower-viewing banquets. Her husband loved appreciating flowers, and every time a flower-viewing banquet was held, he would enthusiastically drag her along to admire the flowers.
Madam Zheng was not lying; the flowers she mentioned were indeed purchased by the Marquis's residence every year.
She hesitated for a moment, then asked, "If we follow the old practice, how much silver would it cost to order these flowers?"
Madam Zheng was delighted and lowered her eyes, saying, "According to the old custom, ordering these flowers would cost around two thousand taels of silver."
The second young mistress said that the public account only had a little over two thousand taels of silver left.
If the Crown Prince's wife instructed her to order according to the old practice, she would spend all the money in the public account in no time.
With no money in the account, everyone who needs to withdraw funds will have to urge the young master's wife. At that point, she won't refuse to provide the dowry money.
Madam Zheng was pleased with herself and deliberately avoided mentioning that there were only two thousand taels of silver left in the account.
Instead, she advised Song Yi, "Apart from the phoenix with its wings spread wide, which is the most precious, the other flowers are reasonably priced. If the young master's wife has no objections, I will proceed as usual..."
"No need to buy it."
Song Yi suddenly interrupted her.
Zheng's mother didn't hear clearly at first, and after a moment of confusion, she immediately raised her voice.
"Buy... Huh? What did you say?"
Song Yi: "I said I'm not buying flowers this year, did you hear me clearly?"
"Not buying flowers? Then how about a flower-viewing party..."
"We're not going to do it anymore."
"Almost every household holds a flower-viewing banquet, but the Marquis's mansion doesn't, otherwise the Marquis will definitely be angry."
Song Yi's face darkened.
"I will explain this to my father-in-law myself, so Madam Zheng need not worry. However, there is an important task that needs to be assigned to you."
"What's up?"
“I have checked. There are still two hundred acres of sacrificial fields in Changyuan County. Mother Zheng, you can set off for Changyuan today.”
Tell the head of the farm to hurry up and harvest all the harvestable crops and fruits and vegetables in the fields; this must be done within the next two days.
Zheng's mother was so shocked that she almost bit off her own tongue.
"Harvest...harvest the crops? Now?"
Song Yi's expression was resolute.
"That's right, now."
"But the crops in the field are not ripe yet."
Song Yi said, "We still need to collect it. You should set off now. Make sure the head of the estate starts collecting it today. This is very important. If there is any mistake, I will not forgive you."
Mrs. Zheng rolled her eyes, covered her face, and agreed.
"Yes, ma'am. I'll go back and pack my things to go to Changyuan right away."
After leaving the flower hall, Zheng's mother went straight to the second room. As soon as she entered, she collapsed in tears at Sun's feet and recounted, embellishing the story of what Song Yi had done.
"...I don't know where they found this old woman, Tao, who grabbed me and started hitting me without saying a word. She wasn't hitting my face, she was hitting your face, Second Young Mistress."
"That old woman Tao kept saying that the servant didn't know the rules and criticized the Second Young Madam for being unruly."
Sun stared at Zheng's mother's face, which was swollen like a pig's head, her expression gloomy.
"Did she really say that?"
“This servant dares not lie. She even deliberately changed the menu and added meat dishes to win people’s hearts. Many old women praised her.”
Sun slammed her hand on the table with a dark expression.
"Song Yi is going too far!"
"Oh, right, she also canceled the flower viewing banquet and instructed me not to buy any more flowers this year."
This is what annoys Zheng's mother the most.
Ordering premium flowers for the annual flower viewing banquet is a very lucrative job, and she can make a lot of money from this alone each year.
Song Yi canceled the flower viewing banquet right away, which was practically a blow to her wallet.
Madam Zheng said resentfully, "Second Young Madam must talk to the Marquis. If the Marquis's mansion doesn't hold a flower-viewing banquet, wouldn't the whole Bianjing Prefecture become a laughing stock?"
Sun sneered.
"She says she won't do it, so she just does it? That's ridiculous. Does she really think she can be in charge of the Marquis's mansion just because she has the steward's token?"
You don't need to listen to her about this. Just order the flowers, and the florist will settle the payment with Song Yi later.
Mother Zheng was delighted, "Yes."
Remembering Song Yi's instructions to harvest the crops, he quickly told Sun.
Sun first exclaimed in surprise, then couldn't help but sneer repeatedly.
"This fool doesn't even know that the rice, wheat, millet, and beans planted in the fields are not yet ripe."
Mother Zheng nodded, "Who says otherwise? If we harvest now, the yield will probably be less than half. The head of the village would never agree to that."
I think she's just trying to use this opportunity to get rid of me so that Granny Tao can take my place.
Second Young Mistress, what do you think we should do about this?
Sun squinted and thought for a while.
"She wanted to transfer you, but you refused to go, and that's how it happened..."
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