Transmigration: I Have Storage Space in the Apocalypse
Chapter 660 - 656: It’s All Landlord Style

Nanny Chen led everyone into the courtyard; the first section featured a three-room main house, facing a row of side rooms. After handing over several male servants to Lei Hairong, she continued to lead Xie Jingchen and his wife into the next section, with Wang Chunmei closely following behind, her hands still holding several bundles.

If the first section is the front courtyard, then the second section could be called the back courtyard.

The layout was fixed, but after Nanny Chen arrived, she initiated a major reform. With her skillful hands and innate servility, it could be said that she had the entire Siheyuan organized meticulously.

She also arranged the rooms according to the general intentions, with the three main rooms in the back courtyard naturally allocated to Xie Jingchen and his wife.

On one side, the east and west side rooms were divided, and after one side was turned into a study and discussion room, the east side room could be used to accommodate the family women.

Wang Chunmei and Nanny Chen lived in the east side room, where the kitchen was also located. After all, this Siheyuan was not inhabited by just one family, but rather, was home to a portion of Xie Jingchen’s subordinates.

The front row of the front courtyard was a row of side rooms, amounting to five in total, just enough for allocation, and there was even a small kitchenette and bathroom inside. If you wanted to take a bath, you just needed to heat some water.

After arranging for everyone, Nanny Chen respectfully said to Yan Jinsu and her husband, "Thirteenth Master, my lady, please rest for a while. Nanny will warm some soup for you to heat your body."

Nanny Chen’s face was cheerfully smiling, and after she spoke, she left. She didn’t give Xie Jingchen a chance to speak at all, and with her agile movements, no one would believe she was an old woman!

Yan Jinsu’s body, still stiff from being helped down by her husband, looked up at him and lightly tugged at her lips: "Thirteenth Master?"

"My wife, I am the thirteenth in the family ranking within the Xishan clan," Xie Jingchen explained with a headache, instructing Wang Chunmei to carry the two children into the inner room before he found a moment away from others to feed his little wife some Superpower Water.

His little wife had quite a difficult journey in the carriage. Xie Jingchen was always worried about her. Seeing that she was cooperating nicely, Xie Jingchen then quietly informed Yan Jinsu of Nanny Chen’s background and past encounters—

Not knowing her own title allowed her Thirteenth Master to be spared a scolding by the newly met lady. After finishing her words, Nanny Chen immediately turned and entered the kitchen; she had to prepare some hot soup for Thirteenth Master and his wife.

The kitchen in the back courtyard was set in the corner, not far from the front courtyard and even closer to the main house in the back courtyard.

The weather in Beijing was already cold, and knowing that Thirteenth Master would be arriving in a few days, Nanny Chen had been simmering bone broth in the big pot for a long time, over the smallest flame.

The weather was cold, and Nanny Chen also wanted to warm up the Dragon Throne in the main house of the back courtyard, to dispel the moisture in the room. As a result, these past few days everyone in the Siheyuan enjoyed delicious meals daily, with a variety of dishes being prepared, and for a while, Nanny Chen was extremely popular.

At this time, there was no talk of leftovers being old; it was too normal to eat them the next day. Because of Nanny Chen’s innate servility, after cooking, she would pick out the best dishes and set them aside, planning to save them for Thirteenth Master and his family.

The slightly inferior dishes were left for the bunch of rascals in the front courtyard.

Xie Jingchen and his family arrived in the afternoon, and most of the other people in the courtyard had gone out on errands, except for Lei Hairong, who was staying in his own room due to an old illness.

When Xie Jingchen and his group entered, Lei Hairong forced himself out of bed and to the door, where he was spotted by the sharp-eyed Hu Zhengjie. Hu, with a strong hand, unceremoniously pulled him and criticized:

"I’m telling you, Brother Lei, you shouldn’t be putting on a brave face with your bad back and legs. If Mrs. Lei sees this, you’d better take it easy."

Lei Hairong had met Hu Zhengjie a few times, and being of the military, he naturally had a boldness about him. When Brother Rong met another from the military, it was like meeting family, so even after a few collaborations, they were on good terms.

Moreover, Hu Zhengjie knew that Lei Hairong had transferred out of active service because he had been shot in the knee, so he was quite familiar with his injury.

Nanny Chen greeted Lei Hairong cordially upon seeing how familiar he was with the visitor, then quickly pulled Yan Jinsu and her husband away, taking Wang Chunmei along without knowing the situation in the front courtyard.

Yan Jinsu and her husband had barely started their conversation when, with nimble hands and feet, Nanny Chen brought in a tray in just a few minutes.

"Thirteenth Master, Madam, come and taste the fruits of this old nanny’s labor; it’s delicious." Nanny Chen called out with a hint of pride on her face, obviously very confident about her cooking skills.

"Okay, Nanny, please join us as well." Yan Jinsu gestured for her to sit down and eat. Snow was starting to fall outside, but fortunately, the Siheyuan had covered corridors, so their food was spared from being covered with snowflakes.

"No, no, Madam, that would be against the rules," Nanny Chen said, her heart warm from Yan Jinsu’s offer but her mouth hurriedly refusing as she clutched the tray tightly.

"Nanny, this way of thinking isn’t right," Yan Jinsu retorted as she saw Nanny Chen about to leave, briskly grabbing her hand and forcefully pulling her to sit beside herself, while Xie Jingchen nodded at her and then headed to the study.

Although Yan Jinsu was a bit hungry, she had just drunk a full cup of Superpower Water and truly couldn’t drink any soup right now, even though the aroma of the bone broth was indeed rich and tempting.

Upon hearing the phrase ’isn’t right,’ Nanny Chen felt even more stressed and instinctively asked, "What’s wrong with it?"

"Nanny, you know that Brother Chen is a member of the military, right?"

"Of course, Thirteenth Master is extremely formidable!" Nanny Chen replied, filled with boundless gratitude.

"Yes, Brother Chen is indeed formidable. But, Nanny, the military has its own rules, and no member of the military may act like a ’feudal lord.’ Do you understand that?" said Yan Jinsu.

"Thirteenth Master doesn’t have any manners of a feudal lord, Madam, don’t talk nonsense," Nanny Chen, despite her lack of education, knew that ’feudal lord mannerisms’ wasn’t a compliment; just the word ’feudal lord’ itself was enough to make her bristle.

"But in the old society, terms like ’Master,’ ’Madam,’ ’Young Master,’ ’Young Lady’ and so on, in the eyes of modern people, are all ’feudal lord mannerisms.’ Nanny, I know you respect and are grateful to Brother Chen for saving your life back then. But you don’t have to use these honorific titles to show his distinctiveness. Doing so, for Brother Chen, could be considered a stain on his military career, do you understand?"

Although servants and menials still had not disappeared from the upper echelons of society, the case was completely different for someone like Xie Jingchen who came from a peasant background.

It can only be said that Xie Jingchen’s situation does not warrant this, and being heard by others with such titles would only make them think ’a nobody trying to act important.’

"..." Nanny Chen looked at Yan Jinsu, bemused and unable to respond.

Her former masters had always liked such ’honorable titles.’

Thus, even though Xie Jingchen had repeatedly emphasized not to call people in that manner, she did not really take it to heart, nor did she realize that such a way of addressing could jeopardize his Rong Ji position at any moment—