Chapter 111 Xishan

When Eleven Niang came out from washing, Xu Lingyi had already gone to bed, and the two of them were leaning on the bedside talking.

The fifth brother and sister moved to live in the garden, and the second sister-in-law went to the other courtyard in Xishan. I recruited the waiters in each house. Otherwise, the family would definitely be in chaos. Xu Lingyi told the eleventh mother what happened at home in the past few days,

My mother is getting old, and my second sister-in-law is not around. You have to help her take care of her.

Eleven Niang responded quickly. Thinking that Mrs. Tai and Xu Lingyi had always been polite to the second wife, she discussed with Xu Lingyi: Should I send someone to say hello to see if the second sister-in-law has anything she wants, so that she can bring some with her.

Seeing that she was so sensible, Xu Lingyi smiled and nodded, and his eyes softened as he looked at her: It's good if you think so. She is alone, and we younger brothers and sisters should take more care of her. If it's okay, you can go to her too.

I walked around there. As I talked, I mentioned Shiyiniang’s land. There was a boss named Chen Ping in the Ministry of Works. Although he was a civil servant, he was very good at water control. I once heard that he was planting some fruit trees in Daxing.

I came to him and asked. I originally wanted to invite him to your farm to have a look, but he heard that I had 500 acres of sloping land and was very interested. He wanted to rent it for one hundred taels of silver a year.

I think the price is okay, it depends on what you think

Eleven Niang didn't expect Xu Lingyi to move so fast. Her mind was spinning quickly: Mr. Hou is well-informed. Since he said the price is okay, he can't be wrong. It's just that I rented the land to Mr. Chen, and the family's

I have nothing to do as a roommate. I just idle around every day, fearing that something will happen. I heard from Manager Jia that it is best to plant fruit trees on the slopes. I don’t know what kind of renting method he and the Marquis discussed in detail. I don’t think so.

It's not like you can get a profit in a year or two. It must be rented for many years. Mr. Hou, can you help me ask how many years Mr. Chen wants to rent? Is the rent fixed like this or does it follow the rise and fall of surrounding land prices?

Somewhat mobilized

Her voice was as clear as a silver bell, and she talked a lot, but her words were clear and to the point.

Xu Lingyi couldn't help but his eyes lit up when he heard that. He sat up straight with admiration for her and said: "Chen Ping wants to rent for ten years. He will pay one hundred taels of silver per year to death. He will pay three years' rent in one go. It's like ten years."

If you want to renew the lease later, you have to put him first.

Eleven Niang heard something again.

That land cost 50 taels of silver per acre, and 500 acres of land cost 2500 taels of silver, but Chen Ping paid 300 taels in one breath.

She pondered: There shouldn’t be many slopes around Yanjing with 500 acres of land like mine.

Xu Lingyi couldn't help but laugh: That's right. Otherwise, he wouldn't have paid three years' rent as soon as he sold it.

Eleven Niang felt more confident.

Although it tastes like drinking a dove to quench her thirst, with these three hundred taels of silver, she can do other things. Including opening the three hundred acres of sandy land. Fortunately, Xu Lingyi's popularity is wide enough, so she can give it to her at once.

She found a way out.

The Marquis will send someone to talk to Mr. Chen. Eleven Niang smiled and said, renting land is easy, but he has to use my people to help him manage the garden.

Xu Lingyi smiled and said: If you want to learn from a master, ten years is too long, so why not take someone out to do something else?

It’s not like they were learning skills from their masters. Eleven Niang said with a smile, it’s just a rare opportunity for them to learn a craft so that they can have a living in the future. It’s better to teach people how to fish than to teach them how to fish.

Xu Lingyi looked at her with a flash of appreciation.

Let Mr. Bai go tomorrow, he said with a smile, but don't worry, it's almost the beginning of winter now, and renting will be a matter of next year.

If you want to rent, you can decide on it in the next few days. Eleven Niang is thinking about the rent of three hundred taels, so I can arrange a few rooms and accompanying rooms early. It's almost the beginning of winter.

I understand. Xu Lingyi said and lay down.

Knowing that he was going to sleep, Eleven Niang blew out the lamp.

In the darkness, she listened to him rustling and turning around, and wanted to ask Xu Lingyi if he still followed the previous rules, resting in each aunt's room for five days, or if he had to set new rules. But listening to his gradually calming breathing,

She decided to find another opportunity to talk about it.

Early the next morning, Xu Lingyi was sent to the morning court. Hubo and the others were packing boxes and cages at home. She took two second-class maids, Lu Yun and Hong Xiu, to greet the Dowager.

Mrs. Tai is telling Mama Du: Pull out more charcoal. Send Mama Ding from our small kitchen over. She makes the best hot pot. The weather is getting colder and colder, so eating hot pot will keep you warm. And last year, the palace

I also brought all the white plum blossoms, orchids, bamboos, flowers and satin that I admired there.

When Eleven Niang heard this, she knew it was about the second lady.

Seeing her coming, Mrs. Tai waved to her: We will go see Yizhen together later.

Eleven Niang was very surprised.

Mrs. Tai did not mention going to Xishan Villa last night. It seemed that it was an impromptu decision. Xu Lingyi went to the court directly early this morning. He must not have known that Mrs. Tai was going to Xishan Villa.

She smiled and greeted Mrs. Tai, and said: Mother, do you want to tell Mr. Marquis? It would be better to send a few more people to accompany you.

Mrs. Anxin smiled and said, this is in Yanjing, not in Miao territory. Are you still afraid of being hijacked by someone?

Naturally, Eleven Niang agreed with a smile, and on the pretext of going back to change clothes, she hurriedly sent Hu Bo to the outer courtyard to find Manager Bai and asked him to report to Xu Lingyi that Mrs. Tai was going to the Xishan Courtyard. She also hurriedly changed into a green one.

The eldest son of Sixiwen went to the dowager's house.

I met the third lady when I entered the door.

She had the account book in her hand and had just come out of the dowager's room.

The fourth brother and sister are lucky enough to be able to go out and play for a day. Unlike me, who have no free time every day. There is a bit of disapproval in the tone.

It's not a trivial matter, don't show off

Eleven Niang said with a smile: Those who can do more work. We don’t have a third sister-in-law, so we can’t be so carefree.

The third lady was very pleased with what she heard, and a bit of pride flashed in her eyes. She chatted with Eleven Niang for a few words, and excused herself from being busy.

As soon as Eleven Niang entered Madam Tai's house, Madam Fifth came.

I heard that they were going to Xishan Villa, and they also shouted to go: I want to see the second sister-in-law.

The madam smiled and scolded: We are going to deliver things to Yizhen, we are not going out to play. You should stay at home and don't run around.

She pulled the Madam's sleeve and acted coquettishly.

This time, Mrs. Tai was determined not to let her go out: after leaving Yanjing Road, Bu Ping thought she was pregnant and was afraid of having fetal motility.

When the fifth lady saw this, her smile became very obedient and her tone was very sweet: Then I will ask the maids to accompany me to Lijingxuan to pick flowers. She looked like a pampered child.

Okay, okay, okay. The next best thing is to do the next best thing. The lady responded hurriedly, but be careful not to let any insects sting you.

The fifth lady smiled like a flower: No, no.

The madam shook her head: How could she have such a skinny face but her eyes were full of smiles.

Although it was a simple carriage, more than a dozen black-painted flat-top horse-drawn carriages lined up in a row, with three layers of guards inside and three layers outside, the posture was already very impressive.

Pedestrians on the road avoided him one after another.

A group of people went to the other courtyard in Xishan.

Eleven Niang and Mrs. Tai were sitting in a carriage, looking a little dazed.

I didn't expect to leave Xu Mansion without any preparation.

She served the Madam carefully, fearing that the Madam was not feeling well after all, she was old, and the carriage had no shock-absorbing measures, so it might not be able to withstand the bumps.

Madam Tai smiled at her nervousness and said: It's okay, it's okay. But the eleventh mother's filial piety still made her feel very happy.

After walking for about an hour and a half, we arrived at Xishan Villa.

A young servant had already reported to the steward in charge of the other courtyard. After entering the hanging flower gate, the maid and her mother-in-law fell on the ground.

The second lady came over with a guilty look on her face: Mom, it’s all because of the daughter-in-law’s fault. She greeted the eleventh mother again, which made her four younger siblings drag her feet.

The eleventh mother hurriedly stepped forward to meet the second lady.

The lady laughed and said, "I'm here to see if you are used to living here." She looked around.

Xishan Villa has deep ancient trees, dotted with pink walls and blue bricks, and is as elegant and distant as an ink painting. The bluestone corridor in the courtyard is clean and tidy, the black columns are polished brightly, and newly bloomed chrysanthemums are placed on the stone railings.

The madam nodded with satisfaction and was helped into the house by the second madam.

The painting desk was also dotted with reddish brown, pen, ink and paper. It was obvious that the second lady was painting before they arrived.

The lady then walked to the painting desk.

It is a picture of red leaves in the Western Mountains and is about to be colored.

The second lady smiled and said: Mom, don't worry about me. I'm fine here.

The madam took another look at the white curtains in the room, which were as bright as the moonlight, the cloisonné three-legged elephant-trunk incense burner, and the hibiscus on the blue and white vase on the high table, and said with a smile: "As long as you like it."

The scenery here is unique. The second lady helped the wife to sit on the big kang near the window in the east room. The maid made incense and offered Lao Junmei to everyone to drink. They got up and walked in the forest every day, and then returned to the house to do paintings or

Reading is very enjoyable.

The madam's smile deepened upon hearing this.

The second lady exchanged greetings with the eleventh mother: "You just came back yesterday, how are you, madam?"

Everything is fine. She and the second lady exchanged a few polite words.

Madam Tai asked Mama Du to bring in the things she had brought for the Second Madam.

The maids were filing in and out. There were large, soft pillows, crystal clear crystal plates, cloisonné enamel hand stoves as bright as jade, ram horn palace lanterns, silver gilt hairpins, warm inkstone boxes, and various piles of half a kang.

The second lady was very uneasy: Mom, I can’t use so many things.

This place is no better than home, and it is inconvenient to get anything. Madam Tai disagrees. If you are missing something, you can't keep it in your heart and keep silent. Just tell me.

The second lady hurriedly bowed and thanked the madam, and asked Yuexiang to put away her things. She drank tea with the madam and asked about her health. A mother came in and asked where the lunch was. The second madam looked at the madam.
To be continued...