The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 508 Rumors?

Throughout the dynasties, those who made bold reforms and innovations all ended up with a bad ending, because in the process of changing the old order and establishing a new order, the interests of the vested interests would inevitably be affected. These vested interests are mostly powerful people, so the energy for their counterattack is naturally tremendous.

For example, Shang Yang was torn to pieces by a chariot; Wang Anshi was much better off, although he lost his official position, at least he saved the lives of his entire family; Zhang Juzheng of the Ming Dynasty was very powerful, and no one dared to touch him during his lifetime, but his house was still ransacked after his death; the six gentlemen of the "Hundred Days' Reform" in the late Qing Dynasty were all killed.

Therefore, reforms are risky and layoffs should be carried out with caution.

Today, the Jia family is like a mysterious small imperial court, with a bloated internal organization, redundant staff, insufficient income, and deteriorating finances. It has reached the point where reform is necessary, otherwise it will collapse and go bankrupt.

Fortunately, although the relationships within the Jia family are complicated, the resistance to drastic reforms is much smaller than that of the imperial court's reforms. In addition, the Jia family is already on the brink of collapse. Under tremendous financial pressure, the head of the family must be very determined to reform, and the servants under them are also well aware of this. In addition, Jia She and Jia Zhen got into trouble and lost the titles passed down from their ancestors. Naturally, many servants became alienated. This is a good time for change.

So Jia Huan believed that as long as Lady Jia and Jia Zheng were not stupid, they should know how to choose.

……

The sun was setting in the west, and the spring air was chilly. Lin Daiyu had just returned from paying respects to Grandmother Jia and found two mahogany boxes in the room. She asked curiously, "What are these?"

Zijuan replied, "This is the five thousand taels that the Third Master sent back. He said he won't need it for the time being."

Lin Daiyu is a straightforward person and usually doesn't like to deal with financial affairs. Since Jia Huan doesn't need it, then so be it. She lets Zijuan and Xueyan take the silver and be done with it.

Zijuan put away the silver and hesitated to speak. Lin Daiyu was lying on the bed, preparing to take a nap. Seeing this, she asked, "Why are you hesitating?"

Zijuan said softly, "Miss, you have heard that the mansion is in financial difficulty and has no money to spend, so the Third Master plans to sell half of his servants."

Lin Daiyu frowned and asked, "Who told you that?"

Xueyan pouted and said, "I don't know who spread the news, but now everyone is talking about it secretly, and some are cursing Third Master behind his back, and the curses are really ugly."

Lin Daiyu felt a little uncomfortable and said calmly, "I'm afraid someone is fanning the flames. The mansion does owe a huge debt, but it shouldn't be necessary to sell the slaves. What's more, how much is a slave worth? Even if they are all sold, what can they get in exchange? Let others gossip about it. Don't mind your own business."

The lights were just coming on in the Lixiang Garden. Aunt Xue, Xue Pan and the sisters Chaiqin, the family rarely got together to have dinner.

Aunt Xue said with admiration, "Huan'er is indeed a man who can accomplish great things. Only he can clean up the mess that the Jia family has. He handled the matter beautifully today and sent away all the debt collectors. We can finally breathe a sigh of relief."

Because Xue Pan had some problems in his lower body, he has been much more low-key since he came to Beijing. He basically doesn't go to brothels anymore, and the probability of him getting into trouble has naturally dropped a lot. He is like a castrated cat, which makes people feel more at ease.

However, Xue Pan was still very unhappy with Jia Huan. He sneered when he heard this and said, "The Third Brother Huan is indeed capable, but he does not do things in a very authentic way. He is treacherous and cunning!"

Aunt Xue said angrily, "You are talking nonsense again!"

Xue Pan curled his lips and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? Huan Lao San sent people to keep an eye on the Lai family long ago, which shows that he had already predicted that the Lai family was going to run away with the money. As soon as the family ran away, he immediately caught them back and seized their wealth legitimately. Tsk tsk, isn't this treacherous?"

Xue Baoqin smiled and asked, "Brother, if our housekeeper took our money and ran away when we were in trouble, what would you do?" Xue Pan glared at him and shouted, "If he dares, I will skin him alive!"

Xue Baoqin laughed and said, "That's right. Brother Huan was just smart and didn't let the Lai family run away. If it was my eldest brother, I'm afraid he would have run away without even knowing it."

Xue Baochai said calmly, "The men of the Lai family have been stewards in the Jia family for generations. They are dressed in fine clothes and fed with delicious food. They are called servants, but in fact they are more respectable than ordinary masters. However, they have enriched themselves at the expense of the public and accumulated a huge fortune. The son of Lai Da was even allowed to leave the mansion by the old lady to donate money to become an official. Now that the master's family is in trouble, they don't think about repaying them, and even absconded with the money. They deserve this kind of disloyalty and injustice. How can you blame Brother Huan?"

Xue Pan had no way to refute, and could only humph: "The sisters are close to Huan Lao San, so naturally they all help him. Well, I am too lazy to talk about this. Huan Lao San is planning to sell the servants in the mansion. Isn't this considered being rich and unkind?"

Xue Baochai frowned and asked, "Who told you that, brother?"

Xue Pan chuckled and said, "Now the servants are spreading the news. Many people are secretly stabbing and cursing Huan Lao San behind his back."

Aunt Xue sighed, "Is it really that difficult? A family like ours would never do such a thing. Even if we were to be dismissed, we couldn't sell it to a pawnbroker. Why is Huan'er so foolish? Bao girl, you have to persuade him. How could he do such a thing? His reputation would be ruined, and he would offend others."

Xue Baochai hesitated for a moment, then smiled and said, "Brother, you just believe everything you hear. This may not be true, but how could mother believe it? Besides, although the old lady let Brother Huan be the manager of the household, I'm afraid Brother Huan can't make the decision on selling slaves. He needs the consent of the old lady, the wife, and my uncle. I'm afraid someone might deliberately slander Brother Huan."

Xue Baoqin laughed and said, "That's right. The old lady and the mistress are most compassionate to the elderly and the poor. How could they agree to sell slaves? A family like ours has always only known how to buy people, and there is no reason to sell them."

Aunt Xue nodded and said, "That makes sense, but I'm afraid that Huan'er is young and hot-tempered, and he might act impulsively and fail to think things through, and do something foolish like this."

Xue Baochai shook her head and said, "Others might be able to do it, but it's absolutely impossible for him!"

Xue Baoqin covered her mouth and laughed, "Brother Huan is more stable and mature than my uncle. Where does his youthful vigor come from?"

Aunt Xue couldn't help but laugh, obviously remembering her brother-in-law Jia Zheng's panic and stamping of feet when he encountered trouble, and sighed: "If the Jia family can recover this time, it is all thanks to Huan'er. I hope that in the spring examination next month, Huan'er can pass the exam and be happy."

Xue Pan curled his lips and said, "The third brother Huan is indeed quite clever in studying, so it's not surprising that he passed the exam. However, the Jia family has lost both hereditary titles, so what good is it if he passes the exam? He still owes a lot of debts, so he has a lot to worry about. It's better for him than me, who doesn't have to worry about money."

Aunt Xue could not help but scold her, "How dare you criticize her? She is not good at studying, nor is she good at business. She has nothing to do all day. If it weren't for Bao, our business would have gone bankrupt. You would have ruined mountains of gold and silver. Look at what Jia Ai has become now. It's not because of her poor offspring that she has ruined the family!"

Xue Pan muttered, "I am helping to run the business now. Huan Lao San is so nice, you should just take him as your son-in-law. It will suit your mother and daughter's wishes. Anyway, this is how I will live my life. As long as I have food and drink, that's enough."

Xue Baochai's face immediately turned red. She put down her bowl, stopped eating, and turned away, wiping her tears in grievance.

Aunt Xue was furious and annoyed. She hit Xue Pan hard with her chopsticks and cursed, "It's not enough that you made my sister so angry before, but now you bring up the past again. You are such a jerk!"

When Xue Pan saw that he had made his sister cry again, he immediately regretted his behavior and apologized repeatedly. However, he was eventually driven out by Aunt Xue, and he was able to have peace of mind for a while.

(End of this chapter)