"If the national plan is already so difficult, then our aristocratic families 'private plans need not be mentioned!" Jia Zheng sighed.”"What are the plans of the East Mansion this year?" he asked Jia Zhen.”"Where do you plan to start?" Jia Zhen asked. The estates there were all newly rewarded. This year's money and grain had already been handed over to the local government. They were all old foxes. How could they be willing to give a second portion? They were also suffering from famine now. In the past, what was collected from the manor would be distributed to the various houses in the clan according to their share. This year, they could only leave the carriage!”"The year-end sacrifice in the ancestral hall is still the same as in previous years." Those door gods, couplets, and hanging boards, my nephew has already told them to prepare to change them. This was barely done by relying on the sacrificial silver that was rewarded. In the past, he laughed at the families of poor hereditary officials. If they did not rely on this, what could they offer for the New Year? Now that we're in this state, it's really unexpected!”"This is the Emperor's grace!" Jia Zheng said. Last year, two hereditary posts were removed. If they were not rewarded, how could they live?”
Jia Zhen was ashamed and speechless. Seeing that Jia Zheng was a little tired, he left with Jia Lian and Jia Rong. Jia Zhen said goodbye to Jia Lian and returned to the East Mansion to prepare for the sacrifice.
When Jia Lian returned, Ping 'er was in the room and greeted him,""Why is Old Master looking for you?”Jia Lian said," This matter is really too much. It's almost the new year. There are a lot of accounts, and I can't see any cash. How am I supposed to deal with them?" Old Master only knew to give a command and quickly think of a way to do it. I don't have a way to turn empty hands into money.”"It's useless for you to be anxious," Ping 'er said. In my opinion, it's better to discuss it with the chief in charge. Otherwise, the Old Master had inherited his position and the Grand Master had given him an official position. The higher-ups were very favored. It might be possible to borrow a few thousand silver from the outside.”"These old men are all fat now," Jia Lian said. The first one was that Lai guy. He had hugged enough and went to enjoy life at home. The rest of the gang were like black-eyed chickens. When it came to money, they felt more heartache than if they had been skinned. Even if they said it, it would be a waste of time. What you said about the second level makes sense. It's late today, I'll go out and try it tomorrow morning.”"Sis hasn't come back yet, so send someone to bring some food to see him tomorrow." She asked him if he was used to living in the village. If you have time, come back and stay for a few days. You should also send a good son to grandma.”Ping 'er agreed.
Jia Lian stood up and was about to leave. "There's one more thing you need to do when you come back," Ping 'er said. Ever since Uncle Wang had sold his sister, his wife had ordered, The next time he comes, don't let him enter our door. Today, he came again, crying outside the door, clamoring for money, and refused to leave even if he was chased away. Xing 'er came back to me, and I thought,"After all, she's my grandmother's in-law. I secretly gave him two taels of silver before he left." As for the silver, it's a small matter. I have to tell you.”
Jia Lian looked back at Ping 'er and said,"You're so merciful. You'll make a scene in the future!"”
As he spoke, he left.
Ping 'er remembered that Tanchun had some ideas and went to discuss with him. Tanchun had just received a letter from her son-in-law when she arrived and had just opened half of it. Seeing Ping 'er come in, he hurriedly put away the letter and talked to Ping' er for a while, his face still carrying a troubled expression. Pinger did not want to talk too much about it, so after sitting for a while, he went to Baochai's place to see Xiangyun. Everyone chatted for a while. Seeing that the sky was getting dark, Fang Tong went to Madam Wang's room to ask for good night.
That day, while she was in the room, Madam Wang saw Yuchuan 'er, Caiyun, and the old women packing up. The outer room was still full. When he saw them, he hurriedly said,"Let's talk in the inner room so that they can return here."”Everyone went to the inner room and saw that everything was ready. Their eyes lit up. "In previous years, there were always gold and silver gifts. Have you prepared any this year?" Madam Wang asked Pinger.”Ping 'er thought to herself,"How would I have the strength to do this this year?" However, she couldn't say it out loud, so she only said,"This year is tighter than the previous years. Second Master Lian is preparing!”"No wonder the servant girls kept talking behind my back, saying that last month's monthly payment hasn't been paid yet," said Madam Wang. This is your business. If it was Little Feng, they would have other things to gossip about.”
After a while, Tanchun arrived as well. Seeing Shan Fang, he smiled." Time flies. It hasn't been a few days since I came back home." In a flash, it's going to be the new year again!" Xiangyun said,"In the past, when the old lady was here, every New Year's festival: There were opera performances, storytelling, and flower explosions. How lively was it! It was during the lantern riddles that year that Younger Sister Qin wrote several poems by herself. She even wrote the poems that Second Older Sister did not easily write. I don't like to keep things to myself. Now that I think about it, it's also very interesting!”"It's not convenient for us Xiao family to play with other things," Tanchun said."If we do some lantern riddles and let everyone guess during the New Year, what can't we do?" If Sister Shi is happy, you can sit first.”"It's only interesting if there's a lot of people," said Baochai."Who's going to guess if it's just the few of us?" Forget it!"
"Let's make our own guesses, what's wrong with that?" Tanchun said. I'll give you a guess: Type one word.'" Baochai thought for a while but didn't say anything. "Isn't that the word 'Chi?"”"How can the word 'Chi' be combined with the word 'Jianghuai'?" asked Pinger.”After thinking about it carefully, he realized the word "water". "I'll say one thing too," said Baochai."What's the use of water? Type a sentence in the Four Books, and it's a hat-off box." Xiang Yun guessed that it was 'drinking soup in winter.'”"Almost," said Baochai."I haven't guessed it right." How can this be called a hat-off?" "My guess must be right."‘Yi Yin asked for soup. You thought of that!" Xiangyun said,"Your riddles are too literary.'The Prime Minister is too deceitful. Hit an ancient name." "Do you even need to guess? Isn't it Cao Ba?" Tanchun asked.”"I'll say a cold one, you might not be able to guess."'Leave me alive. Type the name of an ancient country." Tanchun and Xiangyun thought for a long time but couldn't guess. Just as Xiufeng was about to invite Lady Wang to dinner, Xiangyun asked Baochai to tell her. So it was Xiu Tu.
Madam Wang asked them to eat together in the upper room. It was Xiangyun and Tanchun who ate with Lady Wang, while Baochai and Pinger ate by themselves. The maids handed over tea to rinse their mouths and changed it to green tea. Everyone accompanied Lady Wang to talk until the second watch.
When Ping 'er returned to his room, Jia Lian was already asleep. The next day, he woke up early in the morning and ate some breakfast. He urged the servants to prepare the horses and only returned in the evening. She was fuming as soon as she entered the door. The little girl took a handkerchief and Jia Lian was angry. He immediately threw it on the ground and said,"Are these people all dead? Wasn't such a cold towel wrung out by the dead?”Ping 'er was packing things in the inner room. When she heard Jia Lian's anger, she rushed out and said,"Why are you angry?" "Why don't you ask yourself!" Jia Lian said. Do I know?" "You went out early in the morning and I haven't even woken up yet. How did I offend you?" Tell me! Don't play such riddles, it's so uncomfortable.”"It was all your brilliant idea," Jia Lian said."You made me run around for an entire day, looking at people's faces everywhere! And to think that Boss Feng promised me a thousand silver. Otherwise, I will die outside and have no face to come back!”"What's the point of talking about life and death during the New Year?" Ping 'er asked. Was cursing Second Grandmother to death not enough? Besides, I'm doing this for you! Can you promise me that I will never speak again?" Jia Lian saw him pouting and stopped talking. He sat there feeling bored.
"Are you looking for Second Master?" Feng 'er came in.”Jia Lian walked out lazily. It turned out to be Lin Zhixiao who came to reply. Seeing Jia Lian, he replied,""Wu Jinzhong sent his son Wu Xuegui here.
Is this master going to see him or not?" "This beheading!" Jia Lian said. He didn't come even after he died, but instead asked his son to fight in the arena. What a bastard!”Lin Zhixiao said,"There's a letter from him here. I'll take a look first."”
Jia Lian took it and looked at it. It was nothing more than auspicious words such as "Glory, peace, promotion and salary". Excluding tiger skin and leopard skin, roe deer, roe deer, all kinds of pigs and sheep, all kinds of miscellaneous fish, as well as wind chicken, goose duck, bear paw and deer tail, sea cucumber, clam and shrimp, there were only 20,000 catties of firewood and charcoal, 60 bushels of green glutinous rice and white glutinous rice, 40 bushels of miscellaneous grains, 1,000 catties of regular grain, and 1,200 taels of silver for selling grain and livestock. After reading it, he said,"We're still counting on him to calculate some income." What could this idea do? This year is really over!" "This is still good." His brother was in charge of the East Mansion's farm. Because of the looting, he couldn't get a single cent out of it this time.”Jia Lian said,"Tell this monkey to tell the old man to be wary of me." There will be a day when we settle accounts with him. Only then will he know the family rules of our residence!”Lin Zhixiao agreed. Just as he was about to leave, Jia Lian said,"Brother Lin, go and call all the people in charge here. I have something to say."”
Lin Zhixiao quickly replied,"Yes."
After a while, the stewards of the various stalls finally gathered. Lin Zhixiao brought his companions into the room and filled half of the room with them. They all stood together and greeted Jia Lian. Jia Lian said,"We'll talk a lot today, so please sit down."”Everyone hesitated. "Since the Second Master has given the order, you should obey."”Only then did they sit down together.
Jia Lian said,"I called you here for no other reason. Now, the end of the year is coming. The old master asked you to clean up the old and new accounts." I estimated that it would be two large numbers, including the new and old ones. There were only ten percent of the people who moved between the house and the outside world. How could they deal with it? You are all Chen people in the fu. Everyone, dig out your conscience and think of a way. This is only a temporary shift. Master will have to pay for it and will not let you be burdened.”Wu Xindeng stood up and said,"This servant was just about to reply to Second Master. These few days, people from those shops came to the residence every day, saying that the market was very tight and they were forced to pay the bill and even came up to see Second Master. The servants said all kinds of good and bad things. Just as they coaxed one away, two or three more came. Those old accounts holders were even more detestable! The servants said that he was Chen Zhang. He said," There was no new or old debt, but the debts of several lifetimes had to be paid. He added: "When I went back to the mansion, I met with an accident and moved my property. This account is almost ruined!" It was not easy for him to get his job back. If we don't do anything now, or if we encounter something else, won't we lose our hard-earned money for nothing?”"Bastard!" Jia Lian said. What are you talking about?" "This servant is right," Wu Xindeng said."They want to lie." They say that you are using the power of the government to oppress the merchants. Let's go to the yamen and talk about it. Or else, he would be paraded through the streets with your High Duke's memorial tablet. Who asked him to raise such an unfilial descendant? How many servants shouted, but they couldn't suppress him."It's not even the end of the year yet!
I told you that you have to make preparations to pay off the debt." Lin Zhixiao said,"This servant has said this to them more than once." They were stunned to say that there was money in the residence. It was just a matter of whether they gave it or not. What preparation was there? Even if it wasn't the end of the year, he would only be at ease if there was a date for him. They also said that they would prepare for three days, five days, or ten days. They would also wait. It would be better if they did not prepare for eight to ten years.”Jia Lian said,"They're just messing around. It's useless to talk about it. It's more important to think of a way."”
Everyone looked at each other speechlessly. Only Qian Qi and Zhao Yihua stood up and said,"If it's three or two hundred silver, this servant can still suck up to it. With such a large number, the servants were extremely determined and did not have a single ounce of strength. Second Master, please investigate." Another newly promoted manager called Yu Ren said,"In this servant's opinion, there is only one way. Second Master, don't be presumptuous. Only this servant dares to reply.”"Tell me," Jia Lian said. "Second Master, you are wise. There was no need to talk about this new account, but there must be a reason why the old account suddenly turned upside down. As the old saying goes,'When the soldiers come, we will parry them.' Right now, they could only invite Master Lai out. Old Master and Second Master would give him some face and entrust him with everything. Everything would be fine as long as he did it.”
"We can't do it, but he can?" Jia Lian laughed.”Wu Xindeng said,"Lai Da is a rich man, and he has received the grace of the residence for several generations. I think the big score is not wrong."”
Lin Zhixiao said,"This servant wouldn't dare to hide this from Second Master. If we were to talk about these businesses, there are quite a few that are owned by the Lai family!" However, someone else will step in." "Then when the master returns to Nanduan," Jia Lian said,"he'll write to Lai Shangrong to make an exception. He complained that he was poor and only borrowed fifty taels of silver, but the old master did not accept it. In the past, when Lai Da was in the residence, he always used his official position for personal gain. Otherwise, how could he have such a big garden? It was just to entertain the old lady and give her some gifts. The people used the money from the public to buy him good. He was only a little afraid of the old lady. Now that the old lady was gone, who was he afraid of? At this moment, even if he was willing to come out and shoulder this burden, he might have some ideas? We'll talk about it after we return to the old master!" Seeing that Jia Lian had nothing to say, everyone retreated and dispersed.
When Jia Lian found out that Jia Zheng was still outside the study, he hurried over to see him and told him everything that had been said by the stewards. Jia Zheng originally had no idea and only said,"Lai Da is also an old friend. Although my son was a bastard in the past, I don't blame him. As long as he can bear these accounts, you can do whatever you want.”Jia Lian came down and ordered Yu Ren and Zhao Yihua to discuss with Lai Da.
At this time, Lai Da was enjoying himself at home and had a round head and a fat face. After hearing what Yu Ren and the others said, he said,"I've been blessed for many lifetimes and dare not refuse to bear these accounts. However, I didn't dare to say anything when I saw it. Firstly, these companies had their own face. They could only discuss peacefully and not rely on power to pressure them. Second, if you want me to handle the matters in the residence, you have to give me full authority. Old Master only needs to play big chess and sleep. Third, although the fu was in a difficult situation, the madams all had their own ladder, and at this time, it was also not good to say. Instead of worrying about the silver, it was better to hand it over to the public to operate, it could also have some growth. Otherwise, the jewelry and dowries of the madams and grandmothers would be enough to feed them for several lifetimes. Why don't you take it out?"
Yu Ren and Zhao Yihua also felt that his methods were too ruthless. However, because she had benefited from him before, she did not dare to reject him and only agreed perfunctorily. Lai Da could tell as well and smiled at Yu Ren."Big Brother Yu, even if you become the manager, you still can't get rid of the fact that you're a slave. We all have a share in this. Don't make the wrong decision!”It was inconvenient for the two of them to interject, so they only agreed to "yes".
On the way, Yu Ren said to Zhao Yihua,""Boss Lai, we're old friends. I didn't expect him to turn into such a ghost face!”"Grandpa Yu, how would I know?" Zhao Yihua laughed. This was all Brother Rong's idea. Ever since he offended the old master and could not be the magistrate, he was angry and resentful. He colluded with those shops and forced the government to ask for money. If he wanted to carry his father out, as long as he got his hands on the family property, wouldn't his father be his?”Yu Ren smiled." You're a handyman after all, so you know more than me. I only know that he wants to come out, but how can he think of so many other ways?"”
When they returned to the Rong Mansion, the two of them went to reply to Jia Lian and added a lot of words for Lai Da. "If he can say that, how can I reply to Master?" Jia Lian asked. If the ladies knew, they would be even angrier.”Zhao Yihua saw that Jia Lian was in a difficult position and said,"This servant also has a foolish idea: the ladies 'jewelry is in the hands of the big maids. Second Master has discussed with them behind their backs and temporarily lent them out as collateral. After the new year, when the turnover is opened, we will think of a way to redeem them. As long as they were given some benefits, there was nothing they could not do.”Although Jia Lian had borrowed the bronze ware of Grandmother Jia from Yuanyang, he did not agree to it because of his face. He shook his head and said,"This idea is not good. Let's discuss it again."”
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]