My Stepmother is Soft and Charming

Day after day passed, no different from the past.

It's just that right now, everything in the Duke's mansion is filled with red and colorful celebrations.

The reason is that the Grand Duke Shang Yukuan is celebrating his birthday.

The fifty-fifth birthday is not a birthday. On a normal day, it would just be a gathering of family members or a few friends.

But today is different.

Since Shang Ji came back, the Duke's Mansion has not held any big banquet to invite his colleagues to gather together.

One is that Shang Ji is really busy, training troops in the military camp and has no time to pay attention to them.

Secondly, everyone wants to become a hussar general, so it is most appropriate to hold a birthday banquet at the Duke's Mansion.

Therefore, Mrs. Wei sent the news out, and many people who had not had much contact with them before sent messages saying that they were coming.

This is a good thing for the Duke's Mansion, and naturally Mrs. Wei is also happy to spread the invitations.

Therefore, everyone from top to bottom is working hard to get this matter done.

Naturally, no one cares about the three melons and two dates.

Taking advantage of this loophole, Du Jingyi went out twice.

Each time I went to the General's Mansion to see the repairs, and then I went to Du's house to visit my parents and sister.

I have to say that this team of bricklayers did a really good job, and the progress was much faster than Du Jingyi expected.

Now less than a month has passed, and we have already completed seventy-seven or eighty-eight.

At this rate, I'm afraid it will be completed by mid-October.

This would allow the gardeners to come into the house earlier and take good care of it.

Although the winter in Sui'an City is harsh, Du Jingyi once followed his father to Mobei, a colder place.

I have seen greenhouses and gardens built by local wealthy households.

Even in the coldest time of winter, the flowers are still blooming like a spring breeze.

Master Du was happy and took a set of drawings from his old friend for his own use.

But it costs a lot of money.

But now, the most indispensable thing for Du Jingyi, or the general's mansion, is money.

Therefore, Du Jingyi took the drawings needed to build the greenhouse from the Du family, and after returning to Dongyuan, he asked the maid Yingying to invite Aunt Dou.

Aunt Dou is not very busy these days, she is basically still working as an errand in Dongyuan.

So, when Cherry went there, we happened to meet him.

Aunt Dou looked happy and took two steps forward and asked.

"Why is Miss Cherry here? But the young lady has something to give you?"

Cherry mouth is sweet, and people look kind.

So he smiled and saluted Aunt Dou, and then said.

"Mother Dou's guess is correct. Madam, please come over and discuss matters at the General's Mansion."

When she first heard the news, Grandma Dou thought it was better to ask about the progress.

Without doubting his presence, he followed Cherry.

After entering the door of Xitang Courtyard, the coldness outside was quite isolated.

It is now the end of September, and after the autumn wind and autumn rain have fallen for a few times, it is getting colder and colder.

In the first half of ten days, I could still wear thin shirts for two more days with the help of Qiu Laohu, but now I have changed into thicker cloth and silk.

After another month, I will have to change into the winter jacket.

Therefore, Lu Ju and several embroiderers from Dongyuan were working on it.

When Aunt Dou entered the room, she saw Du Jingyi sitting on the Kang under the bright window. She also put on a goose yellow embroidered vase style gown, which looked warm.

There is an abacus with white jade beads in a gold frame in front of you. You can tell at a glance that it is worth a lot.

"This slave has met the young lady."

"Mother Dou is here, Li Zhu is serving tea."

"yes."

For Du Jingyi, Butler He and Aunt Dou are not ordinary servants, so they will still be more generous.

Li Zhu brought a round mahogany stool and asked Aunt Dou to sit down.

Then another cup of tea was served, which was very polite.

Aunt Dou did not hesitate and asked directly.

"What do you want to tell me, Madam? The General Mansion's purchase list is almost complete now. I brought it here specially for Madam to see. Is there anything you want to add?"

After that, he handed over a brochure.

Du Jingyi took it, looked at it carefully, and said with a smile.

"Mama Dou is very experienced in handling matters. She has prepared everything. Let's do this."

As if he still remembered something, he lectured to Aunt Dou.

"After the warehouse in the General's Mansion is repaired, let me send my dowry there. There is a set of very good rosewood furniture inside. Let's put it in the front hall to entertain guests."

"Yes, young lady."

Things from the Du family are not only expensive, but also very elegant.

Aunt Dou would know just by looking at the furnishings in this room.

Therefore, I am happy to save this money and spend it elsewhere.

"By the way, I also brought a set of blueprints from my parents' house. They are the greenhouses built by the Mobei wealthy merchants' association at home. Aunt Dou will take a look at it and discuss it with the masonry team to see if it can be built. "

"If it's possible, we can build a room in the main courtyard, the sister-in-law's courtyard, and the eighth sister's courtyard, so that everyone can have a warm winter."

Aunt Dou had never heard of it before, so she was a little curious.

But seeing that the drawings handed over by his wife were very detailed, he took a brief look at them and nodded in agreement.

"Okay, I will take this to the masonry team to discuss how to build it. If it can be done, it will be a great thing."

However, Aunt Dou estimated that they were blind, so they could only follow the drawings meticulously.

Seeing this, Du Jingyi also had the idea of ​​making money.

"There are many aristocratic and wealthy households in Sui'an City. If we can build this greenhouse this time, we can publicize it. This mud and tile team will become a rare commodity. When the time comes, 30% of the profits will be given to us. It is natural."

After hearing this, Aunt Dou frowned.

She didn't mean that she didn't agree with her wife thinking of some ways to make money, but she always felt that this method would be looked down upon by the ladies in other high-end courtyards.

So I didn’t dare to accept it directly.

When Du Jingyi saw her stop talking, he immediately reacted.

If she were in the Du family, she would naturally get the applause of Du's parents for proposing this method, but this is in the general's house, and face and reputation are more important.

So he turned a corner and said.

"At that time, we can use the money to go to Enshan Hall to give out porridge, which can be regarded as accumulating blessings for the general."

Shang Ji is a man who fights on the battlefield, so he carries a heavy sin of killing.

Therefore, it is not just them, all the generals are keen on charity and believe in the blessings of gods and Buddhas.

After hearing this, Grandma Dou's frown relaxed.

He said to Du Jingyi.

"The young lady is kind-hearted, I will do it now!"

The two chatted for a short while about the arrangement of the General's Mansion, and then Aunt Dou stood up and left.

After she left, Du Jingyi was going to sleep for a while, but he saw Li Zhu running in like a raging storm.