Mrs. Qiao knew her daughter well. She knew that if she gave in now, she would be afraid that she would not take it seriously again. So she looked at her daughter with a disappointed expression and said, "No need. I have heard too many of your hypocritical words. I don't want to hear them anymore."

"No, no." Qiao Lianfang assured repeatedly, "Didn't I say what you asked me to say last time?"

"Then ask yourself, am I wrong?"

"No, no." Qiao Lianfang said hurriedly.

"Well then." Mrs. Qiao stared at her daughter. "Since you said you would listen to me, I have a few things to tell you."

"Mom, just tell me, I will listen to you."

"Okay." Mrs. Qiao said sternly, "The first thing is to use the one hundred taels of silver given by the Marquis to buy a good headband, one that is more expensive and more beautiful than the one you wore before. Next time the Marquis comes, wear it happily to show him. Then tell him how happy you are..."

A hint of hesitation appeared on Qiao Lianfang's face.

"Can you do it or not?" Mrs. Qiao asked her sternly.

Qiao Lianfang shuddered and immediately said, "I can do it!"

"For the second one," Mrs. Qiao pondered, "after I leave, you should immediately go and apologize to Shiyi Niang. Ask for a new imperial physician to treat you, and promise to cure your illness before Laba Festival."

Although Qiao Lianfang's face was uncertain, she nodded obediently.

Mrs. Qiao looked at her with relief and said, "For the third matter, you should follow what Aunt Qin does from now on, and never be disrespectful to Shiyi Niang. If you show disrespect again, don't even think about me coming to see you."

Qiao Lianfang said nothing for a long while.

Mrs. Qiao stared at her with a pair of sharp eyes, not relaxing for a moment.

The mother and daughter confronted each other for a long time. Qiao Lianfang lowered her head, and crystal tears dripped onto her plain pink jacket with floral patterns.

Mrs. Qiao couldn't bear it, so she stepped forward and gently touched her daughter's head: "Tolerating anger for a moment will cultivate your body for a hundred years. Now is not the time to worry about empty reputation. You must remember my words."

Qiao Lianfang burst into tears.

* * * * * *

Seeing that Mrs. Qiao had gone to Qiao Lian's room, she was about to get up and go to see Zhen Jie'er when a little maid came in and reported, "Liu Yuanrui's wife is here."

Eleventh Lady sat down again and had Liu Yuanrui's family brought in.

She was wearing a parrot green Lu silk jacket, her jet-black hair was neatly tied into a bun, she wore a big red velvet flower on her head, and had red gold willow leaf earrings on her ears. Her eyes were bright and she looked very capable.

She squatted steadily and bowed to Eleventh Lady: "Madam, I am the servant Liu Yuanrui, and I pay my respects to you."

Eleventh Lady had someone bring a small stool for her to sit on.

She said "I dare not" repeatedly and stood respectfully in front of Eleventh Lady.

Eleventh Lady did not force her and asked her about Goldfish Lane with a smile.

She took out a small book made of hemp rope and straw paper from her bosom and calculated the accounts for Shiyi Niang: "You gave ten taels of silver first, and then fifty taels, a total of sixty taels. Among them, each person made a cotton jacket, an average of two taels of silver per adult, and one tael of silver per child, a total of thirty-one taels of silver. There are twenty-nine taels of silver left. I saw that the weather was bad, so I bought ten taels of silver worth of cabbage and radish in one go. At that time, a bag of cabbage weighed fifty catties and cost seven cents of silver, and a bag of radish weighed fifty catties and cost nine cents of silver. Jiang Bingzheng's family moved in on October 16th. , the daily allowance for firewood, rice, oil and salt is five cents of silver. Wan Yizong moved in on October 20th. They have an adult child, so they add three cents of silver a day. Chang Jiuhe moved in on October 23rd, so they add two cents of silver a day..." Every detail was clear, even the plan for Chinese New Year was said to have been made, "...have a simple meal at noon, and have a family reunion dinner in the afternoon. Eat dumplings on the first, second and third days of the New Year, and start having a hot pot every day from the fourth day, using pork belly, cabbage, radish and some tofu. It costs no more than seven cents of silver a day, which is enough to get through to the beginning of spring."

He is a man who knows how to live a good life and is very careful with his money.

Eleventh Lady nodded slightly and pointed at the small stool: "Sit down and talk!"

Liu Yuanrui knew that she had passed the test, and she half sat on the stool with a smile: "Thank you, Madam, for the reward."

Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "I didn't expect you to keep accounts."

Liu Yuanrui's family looked embarrassed: "I just remembered it randomly. I can't compare with those accountants."

"Let me see." Eleventh Lady said with a smile.

Liu Yuanrui's face was slightly red as he handed it over.

Amber took it and handed it to Shiyi Niang. Shiyi Niang opened it and saw that it was full of circles, crosses, and dots... Just like Wan Yizong, she was using something she invented to keep accounts.

This at least shows that she has a good memory.

Eleventh Lady smiled and returned the account book to Liu Yuanrui's family, and asked about the situation of the other families.

There was a sense of consideration in Liu Yuanrui's tone, and it can be seen that he is a person who is cautious in his words.

Eleventh Lady asked about Wan Daxian's marriage: "...I don't know what kind of daughter-in-law they want to choose?"

Liu Yuanrui's family turned their eyes and said with a smile, "Now that you have rewarded their boy with a job, why don't you also reward him with a marriage? Their Wan family's ancestral graves will be filled with smoke!"

How clever!

Eleventh Lady smiled slightly: "This kind of thing also depends on fate! Wan Daxian's mother came to thank him a few days ago, but I didn't ask in detail."

Liu Yuanrui's wife immediately laughed and said, "If Madam has this intention, why not grant me a favor - I will help run errands and earn a pair of matchmaker shoes to wear."

Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "I would like to give you a pair of matchmaker shoes, but I don't know if you have the ability to do it!"

Liu Yuanrui's wife stood up immediately after hearing this: "Madam, just wait for my good news!" She bent down and asked Shiyi Niang, "I wonder which sister Madam thinks is suitable for Daxian. I will be able to talk to her then."

Thinking about the attitude of the Wan Yi clan, Eleventh Lady was afraid that if she told others about it, not only would she not know the reason, but she would also be laughed at for nothing, so she said vaguely, "It's just that I thought Wan Daxian was a good guy, so I had this idea. As for who it is, I haven't decided yet, anyway, a few of them are old enough."

After hearing this, Liu Yuanrui's wife complimented him with a few words like "The sisters in Madam's room are all beautiful as goddesses", and then got up and left.

Amber suggested: "Should I go and ask around? Can the sisters in our house humiliate their family? They are so reluctant." But she knew in her heart that Shiyi Niang wanted to train her own people, but whether it was Wan Yizong or Chang Jiuhe, after all, there was a layer between them. The best way was to reward someone like Dong Qing around her as a daughter-in-law. Otherwise, Wan Daxian's job would be in vain. In the office, without a middleman, there was no way to pass on any news.

Eleventh Lady thought for a moment and said, "Okay, see if you can find a way to find out. Otherwise, we can only find a way to place another person in the outer courtyard. But it's really not easy to get past the Marquis and the Madam..."

"Don't worry, ma'am." Amber smiled, "Things won't get to that point."

She comforted Shiyi Niang a few more words, and then Mrs. Qiao came to say goodbye.

"Madam is right. It is not good to drag it on like this." Mrs. Qiao bowed slightly, "Please ask Madam to help change the doctor. Maybe he can diagnose the symptoms and get better!"

Eleventh Lady smiled slightly: "It should have been done a long time ago!" Then she served tea to see the guest off and went to Zhen Jie'er.

Zhen Jie'er had already picked out the things and was registering them with Wei Zi. When she saw Shiyi Niang, she took Zhun Ge's hand and came forward to greet her.

"What did you pick?" Eleventh Lady asked her with a smile, then picked up Zhun'er.

Zhun Ge did not refuse and let her hold him.

Zhen Jieer smiled a little embarrassedly and said, "I've picked out a plum vase, a colored glaze plate, a sweet white porcelain high-footed dish, and a set of old kiln tea sets."

Eleventh Lady was very surprised, but then she changed her mind and felt that it was reasonable.

If it were me, I would probably also pick these harmless things and would definitely not really move the lady's favorite things into my own room.

She smiled and touched Zhen Jie'er's head: "Okay, if you need anything, we can buy it when the time comes."

Zhen Jie'er smiled, and Shiyi Niang carried Zhun Ge to the lady's place.

Seeing Zhun Ge being carried in by Shiyi Niang, the lady was slightly surprised. Then she looked at what Zhen Jie'er had picked out and asked hesitantly, "Isn't there anything you like in Curry?"

Sister Zhen smiled and said, "I really like these things. The plum vase is azure blue. There is a red plum tree next to our Lijingxuan. It will look beautiful when the plums are placed in the vase. And the sweet white porcelain high-footed dish. I wonder how beautiful it will be if I put yellow oranges or red apples in it in winter. The glazed plate is used to grow the flowers given in the greenhouse. I will give it to everyone to wear. And the tea set from the old kiln. When my second aunt comes back, she will definitely like it..."

"This child!" The lady smiled helplessly at Eleventh Lady, "You're just thinking about others." She turned around and instructed Mother Du, "Since everything you said makes sense, go to my warehouse and register these things under Sister Zhen's name."

Mother Du replied with a smile.

Sister Zhen hurried forward to thank the lady for her reward.

The lady asked how the tidy room of Eleventh Lady was going.

"Do you want to go and have a look?" Eleventh Lady said with a smile, "They have had the house dusted and the official green curtains replaced with royal blue ones."

The lady was very excited: "Okay!" Then Eleventh Lady, Zhen Jie'er, Zhun Ge, Du Mama, Wei Zi, Yao Huang and a large number of maids and old women went to Eleventh Lady.

The house was repainted when they got married. It looks snow-white, with black lacquered floor-length shades and furniture, royal blue curtains, and green floor tiles. It looks neat and elegant.

The man nodded continuously.

Eleventh Lady pointed to the warm room in the south room and said, "Sister Zhen, please rest here for the time being." She then pointed to the north room and said, "The maids and old women who serve you will rest here."

After hearing this, the lady suddenly walked out.

Everyone was confused and hurriedly followed him out.

The lady looked around and said as she stood in the hallway, "I see this courtyard is quite spacious. We can change the hallway into five rooms with two side rooms, add a three-room porch in the front, and build three side rooms in the east and west. I think it will be enough for the next few years."

Amber was secretly happy to hear this.

The porch is usually used for the maids on night duty to sleep, or for the housekeepers to take shelter from the wind and rain while waiting for something - when the weather is too cold or too hot, you can't let them wait under the eaves!

If it was for the maids on night duty, it should be built in front of the main room. Now it is built in front of the main room on the second floor, so it is used for the mother who manages the house to do housework...

She couldn't help but curl up the corners of her mouth.