When Ruhai heard this, he sighed. Lin Er knew that he could not persuade him, so he did not say anything more. He only picked out some interesting things about Daiyu in the Jia family's daily life. In less than two cups of tea, Ruhai was so tired that he could not hold on. Lin Er forced him to take a nap in the inner room and told the servant girls to take good care of him.
Xiao Lin left the side court where Ruhai was discussing matters and met Jia Lian in the second hall.
Jia Lian was holding a cup of tea and sitting alone in the second hall. When he saw Lin Er come out, he smiled and said,"Second Younger Sister missed Uncle and was a bit too anxious. She couldn't even wait for the time to unload the carriage and horse.”He tidied up his clothes.
Lin Er smiled and said,"Second Brother, don't be busy." Uncle was probably tired from work last night and slept late. Just now, I paid my respects to him. We didn't even say a few words before he instructed me to tell your Second Brother to rest first and not to be in a hurry to meet.”
Jia Lian said,"Thank you for your concern, Uncle. I'm used to walking. Although there were some twists and turns along the way, it was smooth sailing and I didn't feel tired." There's no need to rest. I'll wait here for tea.”
"That's good too. Since that's the case, please try my Suzhou specialty snacks first, Second Brother."”He left two of his servant girls in the second hall and ordered a table of food.
After coming out of the main hall and making arrangements for Jia Lian in the second hall, Lin Er was about to go to the courtyard where the family worshipped the doctors when someone came to ask, saying that the chief steward asked where the accompanying personnel of the Jia family were arranged, and whether the carriages of gifts should be sent to the east courtyard's warehouse or the west courtyard's warehouse.
Lin Er couldn't help but get angry.! Aunt Jia is really good at managing the family!" He immediately called for Aunt Jia.
The servant girl who reported the news was so frightened that she cried. She knelt down and cried,"Young Lady, Second Young Lady, Second Young Lady and Young Lady have been away from home for more than half a year. The servants are always looking forward to Young Lady's return. Ever since the young ladies left home, the house has gradually changed. Old Master has always been bad, so it was fine to have Aunt Jia in charge of the house. After Aunt Jia left, the house, the house..."
The servant girl's reply was a mess. Lin Er called her over and called the butler over.
The Head Butler ran over. His head was covered in sweat, and his gray hair was steaming. He was panting heavily.
Lin Er asked why there were no rules in the residence. The Head Butler panted and sighed,"Second Young Lady also knows how the family was in the past. Even when Aunt Jia was around, there were many things that Zhou Quan could not make a decision. After all, she managed the internal and external matters of the residence and was also very loose. Not long after the girls left, Old Master said that he wanted to reduce the number of people. For families like ours, there are old rules in the family and outside the family. Not to mention the internal and external reputation, those people have to do things to operate. Once Old Master reduced the number of people in the residence, the hands of the internal and external affairs were even more uncoordinated and scattered.”
Lin Er had naturally heard about the matter of Ruhai selling his property to help the victims. He sighed and said,""Let's not talk about natural disasters. Just man-made disasters, the barbarians on the border, and the bandits on the inside. No matter which one of them causes harm, even the entire family can't make up for it. Cutting down on household expenses was like putting out a cart of firewood with a cup of water. Saving a few starved people might not be beneficial to the big picture. Uncle is too much of an official. He is still an elder, so he endured it.
The Head Butler also sighed." That's right. There was a shortage of manpower in the manor, so it was inevitable that there would be chaos. She had almost missed the master's official business several times. Concubine Jia was ashamed, so she went to ask for help. Now, she was cultivating in Leisure Cloud Temple. Old Master pitied her for managing the household for so many years, so he asked the family to send money and food to her every month.”
"After Aunt Jia left, who was in charge of the affairs of the manor? Aunt Xu and Aunt Li?" asked Lin Er.”
"Yes," the Head Butler replied.
"Since you're the housekeeper of the two concubines, why are you asking me about such a small matter like arranging the servants and carriages?" Lin Er said. Send someone to call the two of them over. I'll ask her.”
The Head Butler knelt down, his old eyes already filled with tears. He swallowed his tears and said,"Since Old Master has the meaning of adopting Young Lady, he has long treated Young Lady as his own daughter. We have long treated Second Young Lady as our master to serve. Since that's the case, it's better to say some words to Young Lady and ask Young Lady to make a decision than to be laughed at by outsiders.”
Lin Er quickly asked the servant girl to help the head butler up and said,"Head Butler, if you have something to say, just say it. Although I'm under Uncle's protection, I treat it as my own home. First, my uncle is seriously ill. Regardless of whether it's inside or outside, we have to work together to manage it. As long as it can be helpful, you just say it. There's no need to care too much.”Then he ordered the attendants to serve tea.
"Yes, Young Lady is right."”She sat up and said," In the past, when Mistress was still around, the residence was orderly. After Mistress passed away, Concubine Jia's housekeeper became weaker, especially after the family affairs were reduced. Even if we wanted to, we were powerless. Old Master was worried about the country and the people. He saw the sufferings of the people on official business every day. When he returned home, he was inevitably annoyed and lost his understanding. He was stricter with Aunt Jia. With Aunt Jia's personality, there was no way she could beg. However, after she begged, the family was handed over to Aunt Xu and Aunt Li…Miss knew the appearance of those two concubines very well.”
"That's right," said Lin Er. Fortunately, the Head Butler is in charge of everything."
The Head Butler shook his head guiltily and said,"I dare not accept your words." I can't take care of the matters in the inner residence. I'm old and I'm getting tired of the matters in the outer residence. I really don't dare to bear it. The residence is not developing well and is worrying. Fortunately, Miss has returned. Please preside over the decision.”
Lin Er finished a cup of tea and said," I shouldn't be the one pointing fingers. However, this is a critical period. We can't just watch and watch the chaos continue."”
The Head Butler left his seat and knelt down again." Please don't refuse, Young Lady. If Young Lady were to stand aside and watch at this time, I'm afraid this family would really be in chaos."”
Lin Er sighed." Country, country. Even if Uncle is willing to put in one ten-thousandth of his effort at home, he will still be able to do so."”the hell
After some discussion, the two of them decided to bring Aunt Jia back to take charge of the internal affairs. The chief steward outside was old and had transferred his nephew to help.
The Head Butler went to arrange for his nephew to come over and assist him in handling the personnel arrangements for Jia Lian's entourage. Xiao Lin only needed to report back to Ru Hai before setting off to the Leisure Cloud Temple to pick him up.
Ru Hai slowly woke up. He saw the carved beams, precious furniture, ancient paintings, and the strange green cauldron that was burning with a faint cigarette. He thought of the folk things he had seen in his dream and closed his eyes. He could not bear to look anymore. He sent two servant girls to help him chase away the dust and insects and called for Mr. Zhao to come in.
The brush official entered and bowed. He smiled and said,"Second Young Lady has returned to have a family reunion. Duke Lin's heart is at ease and he slept well.”
"Do you still remember the flood report from Guanxia County? Let's go and take a look." After the flood, there was nothing left. The people suffered and countless people died. That scene seemed to be glued to my mind. Every time I think of the corpses on the ground and the hungry people lying among them, my heart is filled with pain. Now that the food and clothing of the hungry people have not been provided, I am really ashamed to sleep here.”
The brush official advised," Master Lin, don't think like that. Although the matter is urgent, we are still mortals. We are sincere in serving the people. We can't burn ourselves like candles." As the saying goes, one thing in a day is worth ten thousand in three years."
Ru Hai waved his hand to stop the brush official from persuading him and said,""Although you're right, we can't not be anxious. We don't have to wait for them. Guanxia County reported the flood. Do you have a way to help us with the money and food?”
The official stroked his beard and said,"The road is blocked by the flood. Even if there is money and food to help, it will be difficult to send them." Moreover, I think that the most important thing for Lin Gong now is the salt storage price of Guanxia County.”
Ru Hai sighed." Guanxia County has ten thousand stones of salt, which affects the price of salt in the neighboring thirteen counties. When the Yellow River burst, the salt reserves were all taken away. I'm afraid that even if the salt tax in the south were to go all out, it would still be difficult to stabilize the price. The only way is to take care of the transportation affairs first and wait for the completion of the registration report.”
In a moment, everyone had arrived. First, they sorted out last month's salt tax and wrote down the cost of production. Then, according to the transfer book, they raised the amount of money to support the people, bandits, and disaster relief. Finally, they had to do a measurement evaluation of the administrative use of the relevant officials. They also wrote down the cost of production and sealed it. At the end of the month, they would summarize it and present it directly to Shangjing.
After dealing with all the matters on this day, the moon was already hanging high in the sky. Everyone left like a sea, and on the way, they continued to discuss.
After everyone exited the second layer of the Moon Gate, they were suddenly stopped by a kid who greeted them,""My family's old master thought of all the old masters 'hard work, and it's already so late, so he specially prepared a small sedan chair for all of you.”After saying that, he lit a lamp and led the way. Beside him was a fat woman who lit a lamp to illuminate everyone.
When everyone heard that there was a sedan waiting for them, they couldn't help but look at each other.
Zhang Qi, who was in charge of the money and grain of Guanxia County, was a step behind the official who was in charge of the writing brush. He said,"Master Lin's mind has always been focused on business. Usually, he would forget to eat or sleep. He would also swallow the details of life. When things happen, it's normal for us to drink a stomach full of herbal tea. Why did you prepare a sedan chair for us today?”Before he could finish, he laughed.
Zhao Fusheng stroked his beard and pointed at the servants on the side curtains of the sedan chairs. He smiled and said,""What do you think of this palanquin?"
"It's a small blue cloth sedan that's commonly seen on the streets," said Zhang Qi."It must have been hired by Chief Lin." Although it wasn't as comfortable as his home, it was still Duke Lin's concern and love.”As he spoke, he bowed towards the Second Court." Duke Lin is respectful to the wise. We have suffered.”
Zhao Fusheng turned to the bearded guest in green and asked,""What does Cao Hujun think? What does Cao Hujun think of this small sedan?”
Guard Cao shook his robe and said," The bidder is poor and only walks around the camp. He has never seen much in the sedan chair. The sedan chair is a proud son. I can't tell you anything about the bidder."”
Zhao Fusheng then asked the rest of the people. Some of them were grateful for Master Lin's compassion, some commented on the current sedan chairs, and some were unwilling to express their opinions because it was already late. None of them had any opinions.
Zhao Fusheng smiled and shook his head. He bowed to everyone and left. He got into the sedan chair and left the Moon Gate.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。