Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 261 The Female Mistress

Knowing that she would become a daughter-in-law of the Shen family in the future, Lu Jia naturally studied her father-in-law before getting married. The impression of Shen Bo among the world—including Lu Jia's—was that he was a seasoned official who knew how to protect himself. Since he was good at protecting himself, he would not easily show his talents. Therefore, even though Lu Jia had never met him, she was not afraid of him.

I never expected him to be so generous with the gifts when we first met, but then do this when he was about to leave!
Careless.

Noticing that Shen Qingzhou was about to come out from behind her, she quickly blocked him, saying, "Daughter-in-law, remember this, Father, please take care."

Shen Bo glanced at the two of them before stepping out.

Lu Jia turned around and saw Shen Qingzhou with a cold face. She quickly rubbed her face and pulled him out the door. On the way, they ran into Shen Zhui, who was staring blankly at them. She glanced at him and said, "What are you still looking at? Have you done your homework? Have you practiced your martial arts?" Shen Zhui ran off in a flash.

After leaving the main courtyard and passing through the small garden, Shen Qingzhou complained, "Why didn't you let me speak just now?"

Lu Jia chuckled and said, "Think about it from another perspective. What he said isn't wrong. If this happened to you or me, the words would probably be even harsher. Why take it to heart?"

"But he treated you like this..."

"What's the big deal?" Lu Jia shrugged. "As the saying goes, time will tell. We got married under these circumstances, after all. These things can't be rushed."

For her, it wouldn't matter if Shen Bo was ten times stricter, because he was definitely not like the Yan family; he always had a bottom line in everything he did.

How is she like she was when she lived in the Yan family?

From top to bottom, who in the Yan family ever treated her like a human being?
Lu Jia is content.

Shen Qingzhou gazed at her for a moment, reached out and touched her hair, then led him into the room: "I'll go give you the household account books..."

He knew his father's attitude towards Jiajia was really impolite, but he also knew that what she said made sense. In the current situation, arguing was useless. Only by letting his father see the true qualities of this daughter-in-law who had been "forced" into the family as soon as possible would the problem be solved.

……

The newlyweds return to their parents' home on the third day after their marriage. Lu Jia still had some time to adjust during these two days. After receiving the account books, she immediately summoned the household stewards and their wives to meet her.

Because Shen Qingzhou has been in charge of the family for many years, the people and affairs of the Shen family are much simpler and clearer than those of the Lu family. From top to bottom, apart from those close to Shen Bo, almost everyone is a supporter of Shen Qingzhou.

It seemed they had known through some channel how important the new young mistress was to the eldest son. When they met in the hall, everyone knelt down solemnly and respectfully. Afterwards, they smiled and took the initiative to explain the various matters one by one.

This thoughtfulness is almost on par with the people Lu Jia brought with her.

Lu Jia was overjoyed. With external enemies at hand, the worst thing for their own people was not to be united. With such a cohesive group of people, it was no wonder that the Yan family had been unable to infiltrate the Shen family for so long, and even had to come up with such a bad idea as to send Lu Jia as a spy.

"I've already discussed it with the eldest young master. To avoid me being caught off guard when I first arrive, you just need to inform the eldest young master who was in charge of the shops and estates in the manor before and who will be in charge in the future."

"All internal affairs of the household, as well as social interactions with clients, will be reported to me. In addition, since our household has not had a mistress for many years, we have had almost no contact with the families of officials from other households, and I rarely went out for social engagements before my marriage. Therefore, we need to add another item: any family matters between different households in the future will also need to be reported to me, so that I won't be clueless when I go out to meet people."

After the housekeepers agreed, the head housekeepers also responded in unison, "Please rest assured, young mistress. We all used to serve Madam, and we still remember the rules of conduct. We would never dare to make a mistake." Lu Jia nodded, "That's very good. We'll have to trouble you all to take good care of things in the future."

After saying this, she had Qinghe bring over the reward money, promised them generous rewards one by one, and then called over all the people she had brought from the Lu family, and everyone greeted each other.

Upon seeing Qinghe and Fuxiaozhimu's impressive demeanor, Li Sanniang, the head of the main kitchen, immediately remarked, "Young mistress is indeed skilled in training them. These servants seem to be no less capable than the servants I have seen in the princess's residence."

Lu Jia and the others exchanged smiles: "Third Sister has a good eye." But there was no need to explain their background to her in detail.

They chatted casually for a bit, and quickly became acquainted.

Before long, everyone left. While Li San Niang took Fu Xiao Zhi Mu to inspect the main kitchen, Lu Jia had Qing He bring Xie Yi and Li Chang over.

The two arrived at the Shen family a day before the bridal sedan chair. Shen Qingzhou had already arranged for a two-courtyard house on the east side to be set aside for them. They could reach the Begonia Pavilion, where Lu Jia usually conducted her daily affairs, by simply passing through a small garden.

Xie Yi turned fourteen, and Li Chang was already fifteen. Since solving their food problem, the two of them had grown up quickly and were practically adults.

"Greetings to the young mistress."

They bowed to each other mischievously.

Lu Jia asked, "Are you itching for a beating?"

The two quickly composed themselves and refused to utter another word.

Lu Jia handed over the ten dowry shops to the two of them: "You two will both be the head managers, each in charge of five shops. You two can discuss the matters of the shops, and if you can't make a decision, come back to me."

"There's no need to look after it every day. I've already checked, and the shop is operating normally. It only needs periodic maintenance."

"You can stay in the manor and read more books. Mr. Song, who is with the eldest son, is a learned man with extensive knowledge. You can consult him when you have nothing to do. Most importantly, you can learn from him how to handle things and broaden your horizons."

“My father asked you two to come with me, and I can’t hold you back. So you can’t limit your sights to just a few shops.”

The two exchanged a glance and solemnly accepted the order: "Before we came, the Minister had already given us some instructions. We will follow Elder Sister's orders in everything we do."

Lu Jia raised an eyebrow and picked up the thick gift list beside her: "Then the first thing is for you two to take care of my homecoming the day after tomorrow."

“I heard that not only people from the Lu family will be attending the homecoming banquet, but also relatives. Perhaps Father will also invite some close friends. In short, there will be many people. This time, I will be returning in the name of the Shen family. You all know that the Grand Commandant still holds a grudge against me, which is not good for either of us. So we must not make any mistakes.”

The two men accepted the gift list with both hands, and after carefully reviewing it twice, they immediately said, "The Yan family will also send people?"

Lu Jia picked up her cup and glanced at them: "They are my sister's husband's family. With such a close relationship, how could no one come?"

Not only will people come, but they will certainly not be ordinary people!