Going out from the Banyan Garden, along a hidden path paved with bluestone, through the two-month cave gate, and passing through a courtyard full of flowers and a rockery, it is an atmospheric courtyard. This courtyard is the Peony Garden where Chen Yin, the old lady of the Li Mansion, lives.

The peony garden sits in the north and faces south, the mahogany columns of the five main halls are one color, the blue glazed tiles, the tender green flying edges, and the verandah is painted and carved. On the north wall, there is a Taishi chair carved from golden silk nan wood, a wenge wood on each side, and a beautiful vase is placed on it, but there are no new flowers in it. In the corner of the wall, there is a carved high table, on which is placed a gilded Boshan furnace, in which an unknown incense is burned, but there is no smell of smoke.

Facing it was a red sandalwood five-lun throne screen. There are five screens in total. Turning the screen, a large pit was set up by the window, on which a large red striped mattress was laid. On a rosewood pit table were several multicolored saucers, and in them were some dim sum.

At this moment, an old woman was leaning on a large lilac-colored pillow, and an old woman in her early fifties was hammering her legs at once, and the old woman was facing the middle-aged woman sitting on a stool below;

"One winter, all I ate was pickled meat and pickles, and everyone was bored with it. The winter is over, and tomorrow let the steward go out to buy more fresh vegetables and meat, so that the master of the house can improve the food. In addition, I also bought some for the people, although the Li Mansion is not as good as it was back then, but it can't be saved in terms of food, and the face that should be done still has to be done, otherwise people will lose the face of the Li Mansion when they say it. ”

This old woman is Chen Yin, the old lady of the Li Mansion. And the middle-aged woman is the daughter-in-law of Lao Taijun, and she is also her own niece, and now the head of the Li Mansion, the Chen family.

The old lady Chen Yin is sixty-two years old this year, but due to long-term maintenance, her body is still very healthy, and she looks only in her early fifties. The one who beat her legs was Grandma Sun, who had been serving her since she was a child, who had never married in her life and was the confidant of the old lady.

Chen, who was sitting below, was Chinese New Year's Eve five years old, with a goose egg face, white skin, big eyes, and although his nose was a little collapsed, his facial features were generally not bad, and he could score seventy or eighty points. It's just that a yin owl's face at any time makes people dislike and dare not touch too much, which also makes the original seventy or eighty points of appearance deducted less than fifty points.

Hearing the old lady's order, Chen's mouth was deflated, his face was unhappy, and he thought to himself, it was easy to say, just after the winter, although there were fresh vegetables, they were all transported from the south, and they were frighteningly expensive. There are hundreds of people up and down in this house, and if they all improve their food, this will be a lot of money. Now the Li Mansion has a bright appearance, but in fact, it has long been unable to make ends meet, and there is not much property left in the public school. She's not going to pretend to be generous here.

Although the boss was dissatisfied in his heart, he still pulled out a smile that he thought was very decent and replied to the old lady obediently; "My mother told me to arrange it later. It's just that the daughter-in-law thinks that it will be improved for the master in the house, and the next person will be exempted. They were all bought by the Li Mansion, and it is their luck that we can keep them from starving, where do we need to spend money to give them extra food.

Besides, my mother also knows the situation in the house now. Since Xianggong has been gone for more than two years, the second room has no scruples at all. For more than two years, I have been saying that the shop is in deficit, not to mention that I haven't paid a penny to my family, and even we have to use silver to subsidize the deficit, which is a lot in the past two years! Now that the family has not much money left, I don't know what to do if it goes on like this. ”

Although the old lady is in her early sixties, her eyes and ears are still good. She didn't look at Chen's expression at all, and after listening to Chen's words, she couldn't help but be very disappointed in this daughter-in-law. also secretly said in his heart, this Chen family's eyelids are still too shallow to get on the stage. If it weren't for the fact that she was her own niece, she would have figured out a way to clean up after so many years, where would she be allowed to take care of the house. Hey, the only thing I'm glad about is that this daughter-in-law is still filial, and she turns a blind eye to many things for this.

Thinking of this, the old lady tried to suppress the anger in his heart and spoke;

"I know my family is struggling right now, but we can't save the money we need to spend. Our Li Mansion is a famous family in this vast country, and it was once the richest man. Although it is not as good as it used to be, the emaciated camel is bigger than the horse, so we can still maintain the semblance of brilliance. But if we let outsiders know that our family is reluctant to give even a little fresh vegetables to our subordinates, then how will our Li Mansion gain a foothold in Cangyang City in the future, and how will we go out to meet people? Don't forget that none of the younger ones in our family are married. If we let outsiders know that our family has to save even this amount of money now, then do you think there will be anyone willing to marry us?

As for the second room, don't care about him now, let them jump. There are still three months left for Xiang'er to pass away, and it will be three years since Xiang'er died, and Da Ge'er's filial piety period has also expired. Since Da Ge'er has no intention of taking the imperial examination and likes to do business, I will no longer force it. In this case, as soon as the filial piety period is over, Da Geer will enter the commercial house. After Da Ge'er takes over the firm, we'll clean up the other side. Now we can't act rashly, lest the dog over there jump over the wall. Bear with it again, can't you endure it for so long for a few months? Speaking of this, the old lady also looked fierce.

She didn't expect to look away. In the past, Li Xiang was alive, but Li Yong helped to take care of the business house in a proper manner, and the money was handed over on time. After a long time, she completely relaxed her vigilance, and unconsciously let him completely control the entire trading house. But since Xiang'er's death, the white-eyed wolf has revealed his true face.

Thinking of the arrogant appearance of the slut mother and son in front of him after Cong Xiang'er's death, and the fact that he didn't know how much money had fallen into their own wallets in the past few years, the old lady couldn't wait to make them disappear immediately. But not yet, now she can't completely tear her face with that side. For the sake of Li Mansion and for Da Ge'er, she can only endure silently now.

The vast country stipulates that if there is heavy filial piety, you must worry for three years. During these three years, you can't enter the government and can't do business, otherwise you will be regarded as unfilial. If it is reported, unfilial piety is a felony and will go to jail. Because of Xiang'er's death, the grandchildren and granddaughters in the family are all filial piety and must worry about it for three years. Therefore, although he had seen Li Yong's true face, he could only hold back and let him continue to manage the firm. But he only needs to wait for another three months, and when Ding Wei is over, then Da Ge'er can rightfully enter the business house, after all, the position of the head of the Li Mansion belongs to Da Ge'er. After Da Ge'er takes charge of the firm, it will be time to see that he will not be able to clean up the pair of slut mother and son.