Now that you're reborn, who would still keep a mistress for their scumbag husband?

Everyone could hear that these words implied Dou Jinzhao.

Dou Miaojin was a little scared at first, but after hearing what the lady said, she gained tremendous courage, as if she had been injected with chicken blood, and felt that she could do anything!

What's so difficult about it? Even if you haven't eaten pork, have you seen a pig run?

"Mother is right. We are all daughters of the Dou family. I don't believe that I am inferior to others. It's just that I didn't have the opportunity before. I will take good care of sister Changting's marriage. If there is anything I don't know, I still have mother and second sister-in-law, right?"

Dou Miaojin raised her eyebrows at Dou Jinzhao, showing her provocation. Zhang saw that Dou Jinzhao looked calm and shook her head secretly.

On that day, Dou Miaojin was busy, and Zhang conscientiously explained some key points to her, and reminded her, "Sending the dowry and setting up the bed are important matters, and the banquet on the wedding day is also important. If you take care of these matters in the next few days, it will be almost done."

Dou Miaojin thought that this was not a difficult task. Lu Changting's dowry had been prepared long ago and placed in her yard. The lady had arranged people to guard it, so how could it be stolen?

As for the banquet, those who are in charge of the kitchen are all old hands with many years of experience, how could they make mistakes?

Since Dou Miaojin had taken over the household duties, she had to do her job properly. She took the roster and ordered everyone in the mansion to go back to the hall to report back, one purpose was to recognize the people, and the other was to find out about the distribution of affairs in the mansion.

"Madam, the mansion has arranged people for daily chores. There are ten people in the purchasing department, twenty people in the kitchen, and ten maids in the back room. They are divided into two shifts on a daily basis. They are responsible for all cups, plates, and tea utensils. If there are any missing, they will compensate for them. The night patrols are all maids, twenty people in total, who take turns to watch over the door..."

The housekeeper's wife in the mansion is in her thirties. Her husband has been with Lu Changyuan all year round. He is a well-known man and also a manager in the mansion. His name is Ruisheng, so the housekeeper's wife is also called Ruisheng's.

The woman was eloquent and quick-witted. With just a few words, she explained everything clearly to the three or four hundred people standing in the yard.

A maid named Jin, who was in her forties, was a widow next to her. When she was young, she combed the hair for the lady-in-waiting. Later, she was in charge of purchasing, which was also a lucrative job. However, she was no match for the housekeeper who was beside the master.

Dou Miaojin was obviously very satisfied with the Ruisheng family. "You are a wise person!"

Mrs. Jin immediately laughed and said, "That's right. When the eldest lady was in charge, she relied on the Ruisheng family for everything. We are not like us who are clumsy and can't speak clearly, and are not liked by the master."

Dou Miaojin understood that the Ruisheng family belonged to Dou Jinzhao, and she immediately turned hostile.

A new gentleman appoints his own ministers. Ruisheng's family knew this very well. He smiled awkwardly, said nothing, and stepped aside.

Dou Miaojin was in high spirits. After asking someone to go back temporarily, he began to realign the division of labor in the mansion.

Mrs. Jin offered advice, "These people are used to working with the Madam, and have gained a lot of benefits. Madam, your approach may not be the same as the Madam's. If you suddenly change, these people may not be able to keep up.

It is common to reassign tasks. When the first lady just took over the household management, she replaced all the people in the lady's position.

To be honest, Madam, I was once the housekeeper for Madam Tai."

Dou Miaojin said with a smile, "I don't have many people under my command. If you follow me, not only will you have a good life, but I will also never let anyone bully you!"

Mrs. Jin hated those people in the Ruisheng family and fanned the flames, saying, "After the Madam gets married, everything will be fine. Our mansion has been going from bad to worse under the Madam's rule over the past year. The profits of several farms and shops were not good to begin with, and the number of people in the mansion has only increased, so we have kept so many idle people.

To be honest, everyone is looking forward to the Madam's marriage. Who wouldn't speak well of the Madam's neat and tidy manner behind her back? Only the people on the side of the First Madam would speak ill of the Madam behind her back."

Dou Miaojin suddenly remembered that before she got married, several maids spoke ill of her behind the screen wall and looked down on her status as a co-wife.

"What do you think we should do?" Dou Miaojin already had an idea in his mind.

Mrs. Jin observed her expression and said, "Our family is now prosperous and prosperous, but we must also keep things steady. I am talking nonsense. If you think it doesn't make sense, just pretend you didn't hear it."

"You are a knowledgeable person. Go ahead and talk. I'm listening!" Dou Miaojin could already tell that this old woman's ideas were somewhat similar to her own.

"According to this servant, it would be better to fire all those disobedient ones, so as to reduce the expenses for the mansion."

Dou Miaojin agreed, "You are an old servant of mother, so help me keep an eye on them these few days and see which ones should be employed and which ones should not be employed. After the eldest girl's wedding is over, we will tidy up this house."

On the way back, Dou Miaojin became more and more excited the more she thought about it. She discussed with her maid Ruyi, "Dou Jinzhao has always wanted to save face. The Duke's Mansion is so poor, but he still wants to save face. There are so many idle people in the mansion, not to mention others, there are quite a few people like the doorman and the night watch. In my opinion, at least half of them can be cut."

Ruyi did not dare to object. Besides, this matter had nothing to do with her. She just flattered him. "Young lady, you have learned housekeeping from Madam for so many years, but what's the use? Young lady is better than you who have real insights. Everyone knows that the Duke Dingguo's Mansion is just an empty shell. If Young lady had the ability, she would not let the situation get worse and worse."

It looked like we were going to run out of food.

Dou Miaojin said "hmm" in a high voice, and she even walked with her feet floating as she talked about her plan, "Just talking about cutting down the staff, it's not that difficult. Let's start with the eldest daughter. After Changting got married, her yard was almost empty. Those who should have been given as dowry were given away, and those who were left behind were useless.

As for Xie Jinzhao's yard, if she is locked up in a side yard, we can just find two maids to look after her, and there is no need to keep all the people in the yard..."

Ruyi listened with fear and trepidation, agreeing as she listened and occasionally helping out with a couple of bad ideas. Before Dou Miaojin returned to the main courtyard, the ideas she had come up with on the way had already spread throughout the Duke's Mansion.

The only ones that were not affected were Xuancao Hall and Xixiangyuan.

Everyone in Xuancao Hall was the old lady's people, and no one thought that Dou Miaojin would be so bold as to use a knife to attack the old lady.

In Osmanthus Fragrance Courtyard, those who followed Dou Jinzhao were not ordinary people. Most of them were from Changliu Pavilion. Some of Dou family's dowry and indentures were also in Dou Jinzhao's hands. No one could touch them.

The people in the palace were in panic.

Hongying and Jixiang came to Dou Jinzhao's yard together. After they exchanged greetings, they talked about the gossip they had heard, feeling particularly distressed.

Hongying stroked her belly, which was still not getting better, with a worried look on her face, "Thanks to Madam, my yard now has two sweepers, two old women, and two maids to serve us, a total of five or six people.

I thought that when I give birth to a child, I would have enough people to serve me. But I heard yesterday that from now on, I will only have two people to serve me in the house. What should I do?

Although Jixiang is not pregnant, she is now treated the same as Hongying. Her status as a concubine has not even been established yet, but her treatment is about to be reduced.

What she was most worried about was that Dou Miaojin would not let her go. She sat on a small stool, drooping her brows, and spoke her mind, "If Madam still has the final say in the household affairs of this mansion, we servants will not be afraid."

Hongying also agreed, "Yes, Madam is originally the legitimate wife. If it were you, a concubine would also be a concubine. Who has ever seen a concubine be the head of the family?"