The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 507: Accumulating Disadvantages
Perhaps in order to establish the majestic image of a father, Jia Zheng never eats at the same table with his children. In any case, in Jia Huan's memory, or in the memory of the original owner of this body, there has never been such a scene. However, at noon that day, Jia Zheng actually invited Jia Huan to stay for dinner for the first time, on the grounds that he had things to do in the afternoon and it was far to go back to the garden, so he wanted to save Jia Huan from running back and forth. If he dragged his feet like he did in the morning, it would delay his work.

Hence, Jia Huan also got into the bridal sedan as a grown-up girl - it was the first time that he had the honor of dining at the same table with this cheap old man, and there were only the two of them, father and son. Because they were eating in the front room and did not return to the back house, Lady Wang did not sit at the same table with them.

Confucius said: Do not talk while eating and do not talk while sleeping.

A pedantic person like Jia Zheng, who considers himself a disciple of a sage, naturally regards the words of the sage as his guiding principle, so he sits very straight and does not say a word during the meal. Jia Huan has nothing in common with this cheap father, so naturally he will not make trouble by chatting him up or making small talk, but just concentrates on eating.

At this moment, a slender maid came in, bowed and said, "Master, the mistress wants to ask if you want to go back for dinner."

Jia Huan felt a familiar voice and looked up, only to find that it was Caixia who was standing beside Lady Wang. At this moment, the latter was also stealing glances at him. When their eyes met, Caixia immediately lowered her head in embarrassment.

Jia Zheng said calmly, "No need for that. Let Madam eat by herself. We have a lot to do this afternoon."

"Yes!" Caixia bowed and then retreated briskly. Before leaving, she did not forget to steal another glance at Jia Huan.

In the main room of the backyard, Mrs. Wang was about to order dinner to be served when Caixia came in and reported, "The master and Mr. Huan San are having dinner outside. The master said he has something else to do in the afternoon, so he won't be back for dinner. Please help yourself, Madam."

Mrs. Wang's heart sank slightly. The reason she suppressed Jia Huan was that she was worried that this boy would seize the throne as a illegitimate child and endanger the status of her son Jia Baoyu. Unfortunately, this illegitimate son was too powerful and his luck was incredibly good. She tried her best but failed to suppress him. Now the scene she least wanted to see appeared. Her husband Jia Zheng actually asked Jia Huan to have dinner with him.

This move may seem insignificant to outsiders, but Mrs. Wang knows what it means. You know, even her own Baoyu rarely receives such treatment. This represents Jia Zheng's recognition of Jia Huan, his illegitimate son.

Originally, Grandmother Jia had been paying more and more attention to Jia Huan, and even let him be the housekeeper. If even her husband Jia Zheng began to rely on Huan, the third son, then Baoyu's status as the legitimate son would be in great danger.

Thinking of this, Mrs. Wang could no longer eat. She said calmly, "In that case, there is no need to serve me food. I am fasting today." After that, she lay down on the kang and took a nap.

Jin Chuan'er and Yu Chuan'er looked at each other. As the maids who served the lady personally, they naturally knew that the lady was sulking, so they did not dare to offend her and quietly left the room.

When they got outside, they saw Caixia talking to other servant girls about the master and Master Huan San having dinner together. Her expression and tone were very happy. They immediately became unhappy. Wasn't it because of this matter that the mistress was so angry that she couldn't eat? Caixia was spreading the news so widely, as if she was afraid that everyone in the mansion didn't know about it.

"You bunch of wild bastards, you have nothing to do but sit here chewing maggots. You don't even clean the yard or fetch water. You must be eating too much. Wait until I report back to my wife and I'll chase you all away." Jin Chuan'er stepped forward and scolded.

The maids were so frightened that they scattered like birds and beasts. Caixia was also one of the senior maids, and she was confident, so she was not afraid of Jin Chuan'er. She smiled and said, "You are crazy, right?"

Jin Chuan'er sneered, "Some people haven't even climbed up to the high branches yet, but their eyes have grown to the top of their heads. If they are not careful, they will fall from the high branches and fall flat on their faces. Only then will they realize everyone's eyes."

Caixia frowned and said, "What do you mean, sister? I don't understand it at all. Let's go eat." After that, she turned and walked away.

Jin Chuan'er spat at Caixia's back and said, "Don't think I don't know the dirty things you did behind her back. You haven't even started yet, but you really think you are already that person's wife? You are cheering him on. After all, a concubine's daughter is still a concubine's daughter. The Jia family's property will eventually be inherited by the legitimate son. I advise some people not to be too happy too soon."

Caixia turned around and retorted, "Who thinks they are whose family members? Who is the one acting so pretentiously? If you want to make a coat out of a tiger skin, you have to be a real tiger." After saying that, she walked away.

Caixia's words were not at all ambiguous. Her words not only mocked Jin Chuan'er, but also hinted that although Jia Baoyu was a legitimate son, he was a useless "fake tiger". Now that there was a disaster in the mansion, it would still be up to the Third Master to bear it.

Jin Chuan'er was so angry that she stamped her feet and spat twice: "Shameless bitch, if you have the ability, you should stand on that high branch far away and never come back, that would be considered your ability, bah!"

…………

After Jia Huan and Jia Zheng finished their meal and took a break, the creditors also came back after lunch. However, since they were all individual investors, the pressure was not great. They spent about 6,000 taels and paid off all their debts. The remaining doubtful debt of about 5,000 taels had to be verified before a decision on whether to pay it back could be made.

Seeing that all the creditors had been sent away, Jia Zheng finally breathed a sigh of relief, feeling relieved and breathing more smoothly. He asked, "Butler Lin, how much is left?"

Lin Zhixiao tapped away on his abacus for a while, and after he had calculated everything correctly, he answered carefully, "Today, I repaid a total of 101257 taels, plus 456 taels of silver. Now I have 15743 taels left, plus 3685 taels of silver."

Jia Zheng thought, "If we sell off the jewelry, antiques, calligraphy and paintings that the Lai family embezzled, we should be able to collect 30,000 to 40,000 taels. Although the emperor has decreed that the eldest master's title be stripped and the East Palace be confiscated, he has not mentioned how to punish them in the end. The power of the emperor is unpredictable, so we must return the stolen goods. Otherwise, let's collect 30,000 taels and return the stolen goods. What do you think, Huan'er?"

After experiencing this disaster, Jia Zheng obviously recognized Jia Huan's ability. He put down his strict father's airs and spoke in a more negotiable tone. However, he was still so confused that people were speechless. Jia Huan hoped that Jia She and Jia Zhen, the beasts, would be sentenced to heavy sentences. Even if they were not beheaded, they should be exiled as far away as possible to prevent them from harming his family again. However, these two were his uncle and cousin after all, so he could not oppose it openly, so he said calmly: "The master's move is of course well-intentioned, and Huan'er supports it, but don't forget that our family still owes more than 100,000 taels of foreign debt. Although we don't have to pay it back for the time being, we still have to pay it back eventually.

For example, if he owed Shanxi Merchants’ Money House 41800 taels, of them would mature in June this year, and the other would have to be repaid by the end of the year. The principal plus interest was taels.

In addition, the 58,000 taels owed to the Zhejiang Merchants Bank and Mr. Zhou will also be due one after another. Although Aunt Xue's 20,000 taels does not need to be repaid in a hurry, it will have to be repaid eventually. Moreover, among the remaining silver, 5,000 taels were given to Huan'er by Sister Lin last night for emergency use. Now that there is a surplus, it is natural to return it to her first."

Lin Zhixiao echoed, "Master, what Master Huan San is worried about is true. Besides, there are still hundreds of people in the mansion to support. We must set aside at least 5,000 taels to barely make ends meet. If we use all the silver to return the stolen money, how will we live? Are we going to borrow new debts?"

Jia Zheng was troubled upon hearing this. He had finally paid off half of his debt, so how could he go back to his old ways?

Jia Zheng pondered for a long time, then sighed and said, "Forget it. Let's talk about returning the stolen goods for now. The government is now spending more than it earns. We must be frugal in everything and avoid extravagance. We should save as much as possible."

Jia Huan winked at Lin Zhixiao, who immediately understood and said with a bitter face, "The master is usually busy with official duties, so he may not be aware of the specific expenses of our house."

Jia Zheng nodded and said, "I really don't know. By the way, how much does our house spend in a year?"

Lin Zhixiao immediately opened the account book and began to calculate: "There are 452 masters and servants in our mansion. The monthly salary alone is 535 taels, which is 6420 taels a year."

Jia Zheng was greatly surprised when he heard this and asked, "How could you want so much?"

Lin Zhixiao said: "This is just the monthly salary. Firewood, charcoal, candles, etc. cost 1500 taels a year, rice is about 1400 dan, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, tea cost more than 1000 taels, cloth, silk, needles and thread cost more than 2000 taels, welcoming and seeing off guests cost more than 2000 taels, meat and vegetables cost 3000 taels, and other miscellaneous expenses cost 2000 taels. All these, the annual expenditure exceeds 18500 taels. This is still a normal matter. If there is something big to do, double it may not be enough."

Jia Zheng asked hurriedly, "How is the income of the mansion?"

Lin Zhixiao did some calculations and found that the annual rent and taxes from Rongguo Mansion's farm in Jinling were about 10,000 taels of silver, which was the main source of income.

In addition, Jia Zheng was a fifth-rank official with an annual salary of 80 taels, 40 dan of rice, and 1000 taels of silver for maintaining integrity; Mrs. Wang was a fifth-rank official with an imperial decree, an annual salary of 80 taels, and 40 dan of rice.

Jia She was a first-rank general with an annual salary of 180 taels and 90 shi of rice; Mrs. Xing was a first-rank imperial official with an annual salary of 180 taels and 90 shi of rice.

Lady Jia was the wife of a duke, a superior rank, with an annual salary of 500 taels and 250 shi of rice.

In other words, the Jia family's annual income used to be about 12020 taels, plus 510 shi of grain. But now that Jia She has been stripped of his title, Mrs. Xing's first-rank imperial edict is naturally gone. After deducting the couple's salary, there are only 11660 taels and 330 shi of grain left.

However, the annual expenditure of Rongguo Mansion was as high as 18000 taels, plus 1400 dan of grain, that is, the annual fiscal deficit was 6840 taels and the grain deficit was 1070 dan. If one dan of grain was calculated as two taels of silver, it would cost more than 2000 taels to buy grain, and the total deficit for the year reached more than 8500 taels.

After hearing Lin Zhixiao's calculations, Jia Zheng could not help but break out in a cold sweat and stamp his feet, saying, "The income is still not enough to cover the expenditure. If this continues, how can we expect to end up with nothing?"

Jia Zheng was so anxious that he paced back and forth. Suddenly, he saw Jia Huan looking calm and composed, as if nothing had happened to him. He immediately became angry again and shouted, "My evil creature, every man is responsible for the fate of his country, let alone his own family. Do you have any good ideas to eliminate this evil?"

Jia Huan rolled his eyes secretly and said, "Of course there are good ideas, it's just about increasing income and reducing expenditure, but the master may not be willing to be the bad guy."

Jia Zheng snorted coldly, "When a viper stings one's hand, a brave man cuts off his wrist. Now that the situation is urgent, why are you still cherishing the feather? If you have any good ideas, please tell me."

Jia Huan was a little surprised. Could it be that his pedantic and confused father had finally come to his senses? So he told him about his plan to reduce the number of servants.

Who would have thought that the domineering father Zheng would immediately become timid upon hearing this. He coughed lightly, stroked his beard and stammered, "This matter is very serious... Well, let's report to your grandmother and mother first and then make a decision."

Jia Huan silently raised his middle finger with contempt in his heart!

(End of this chapter)