The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 513: Training a Wife
Although it was already the end of the lunar month, the chill was still strong after nightfall. Jia Huan tightened his cloak, carried a lantern and walked through the corridor and courtyard towards Mengpo Zhai alone, like a firefly in the summer night.

In the past, as soon as night fell, the entire Rongguo Mansion would be brightly lit, and even every gate would have someone guarding it at night. However, in order to save money, Jia Huan had ordered that unnecessary candles be extinguished, and the guards at some unimportant gates inside were also withdrawn to keep the staff as small as possible, so the huge mansion was now much quieter.

Jia Huan went straight to Jia Zheng's study, Mengpo Zhai, and found that the two rows of lanterns outside the study had been removed. The study, which used to be brightly lit all night, was now only illuminated by dim candlelight.

"Master Huan is here. Hey, where are all the servants who accompanied him? These lazy guys deserve to be beaten to death!" Li Shier, who was guarding outside the study, saw Jia Huan coming alone with a lantern, and immediately stepped forward to bow and try to please him.

Jia Huan was quite surprised that Li Shi'er voluntarily left the mansion without receiving the severance pay. However, he thought again that Li Shi'er was Jia Zheng's close attendant and usually followed Jia Zheng in and out. He probably made some extra money from him, so he was unwilling to leave even if his monthly salary was stopped.

While handing the lantern to Li Shi'er, Jia Huan said calmly, "It's late at night, and you're not going out to do any business, why would you let a servant follow you? Now everything should be kept simple, and these extravagant ceremonies should have been dispensed with long ago."

Li Shi'er originally wanted to flatter the master, but he ended up hitting the horse's leg. He smiled and said, "Master Huan San is right, but it's quite far from the garden to here, and the road is dark. I am also worried about Master Huan San's safety. After all, it's safer to have a servant with you. Haha, Master Huan San, please come in. The master and Steward Lin are waiting inside."

Jia Huan walked into the study and saw two candles lit in the room and a charcoal stove burning on the ground. Jia Zheng was sitting behind the desk and Lin Zhixiao was standing respectfully beside him serving him.

"Huan'er greets the master!" Jia Huan stepped forward and bowed slightly. Jia Zheng nodded leisurely and instructed: "Lin Zhixiao, tell Huan'er the details of the situation."

"Yes!" Lin Zhixiao picked up the account book and reported to Jia Huan the results of this afternoon's layoffs: "There were 438 servants in this mansion, 48 of whom left without saying goodbye to seven households. Now 206 of them have voluntarily left the mansion to seek a way out. There are 182 people left, including 87 male servants and 95 female servants. However...about % are over years old, and more than % are over years old."

The average life expectancy of ancient people was short, and forty years old was indeed considered old. The maids in the Jia family would be called "old women" after they were over thirty-five years old.

The age crisis exists in every dynasty, but it manifests itself in different forms. For example, many companies now do not recruit people over the age of 35, so employees over this age limit rarely change jobs in pursuit of stability. The situation in the Jia family is similar now. Older servants are more willing to stay. After all, even if the monthly salary is stopped, at least they still have a place to live with food and accommodation.

Jia Huan had already considered this situation, so he was not surprised. Moreover, the remaining 182 people were more than enough to serve the master. The ideal situation was about people. So he nodded and said, "That's about it. Starting tomorrow, we will redistribute the manpower. Steward Lin will decide on the manpower for the outer house. Please ask Madam for instructions on the specific arrangements for the back house."

"That's right!" Jia Zheng nodded with satisfaction when he heard this. As the saying goes, men are in charge of external affairs and women are in charge of internal affairs. Although the old lady let Jia Huan be the housekeeper, the power to manage the rear house still belongs to Mrs. Wang. If Huan interferes in other people's affairs, it will only deepen the conflict between the two.

The father, son, master and servant chatted for a while about the staffing arrangements. When everything was arranged, Jia Zheng stroked his beard and said, "If there is nothing else, Huan'er, you can go back and prepare for the exam tomorrow."

Now that the creditors have been sent away and the servants have been reduced, the two toughest bones have been chewed. It is obvious that Jia Zheng feels that he is able to handle the next things again, so Jia Huan does not need to worry about it anymore.

Although Jia Zheng is old-fashioned and pedantic, and his way of educating his son is inappropriate, he is just like all parents in the world in wanting his son to become successful. Naturally, he hopes that Jia Huan can go all out, pass the imperial examination, and bring honor to the family!
Just as Jia Huan was about to leave, he suddenly remembered that Jia Tanchun was planning to use the garden to make a living, so he told her about it.

Lin Zhixiao clapped his hands and praised, "What a good idea. It cost more than 100,000 taels to build the garden. Now it costs at least a thousand taels to maintain it every year, hire a gardener to trim the flowers and plants, and raise birds and animals. If the third lady can really make use of it, even if it can't generate interest, it's good to save the money on taking care of the flowers and plants. In this way, the surplus will make up for the shortfall, and we can save thousands of taels of silver."

Jia Zheng had old-fashioned ideas and had always viewed business as a lowly profession. What's more, Jia Tanchun was a girl who stayed at home and should focus on needlework. It was really beneath her status for her to do this. So after hearing what Jia Huan said, his first reaction was displeasure. However, after hearing what Lin Zhixiao said, he was suddenly moved. Saving one thousand taels of silver was not a small amount. His official salary was only eighty taels a year, and with the money for maintaining his integrity, it was only more than one thousand taels.

Hey, as the saying goes, a poor man has low aspirations, and a thin horse has long hair. Now that the Jia family has lost their ancestral title, the annual fiscal deficit exceeds six thousand taels. Although most of the slaves have been cut today, the expenses will certainly drop significantly, but there are still more than 100,000 taels of foreign debt, which must be repaid eventually. Naturally, we have to find ways to increase revenue and reduce expenditure.

Jia Zheng thought about it for a long time, and finally decided to bow to the "five pecks of rice". He nodded and said, "In this case, if the third young lady is willing to do something, let her do it. After all, managing your own garden does not require showing your face outside. If you are like Bao girl, it will definitely not work!"

Jia Huan said disapprovingly: "There is no distinction between high and low professions. One just needs to make a living based on his ability. Merchants are not necessarily inferior to others."

Jia Zheng shouted at him, "You are childish! All other things are inferior, only reading is superior. This is what Zhu Zi said. Moreover, since ancient times, scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans have been the four major occupations, and merchants are the lowest occupations. You are a juren, but you have read so much that you have lost your stomach? How dare you be so lowly!"

Shit! Jia Huan rolled his eyes secretly. They had no common language and there was no point in talking. He simply lowered his head and said nothing.

Seeing Jia Huan bowing his head in shame, Jia Zheng did not reprimand him any further because he had worked hard to save the situation. He just waved his hand and shouted, "Go, go back and study hard, don't just think about these money-making activities. If you fail the Spring Examination this time, watch out for your skin!"

Jia Huan said nothing more, took the lantern from Li Shier and left alone. Seeing this, Jia Zheng couldn't help but frowned and asked, "Housekeeper Lin, how many servants are there with Huan Ge'er outside now?"

"The three of them, in addition to Shitou and Xing Wei, there are Mu Ye and Jin Bao, but they are not our family's servants. They were all brought back from Jinling by Master Huan San." Lin Zhixiao replied.

Jia Zheng asked again: "How many servants are there with Baoyu?"

Lin Zhixiao thought for a moment before answering, "It seems there are ten people. In addition to Mingyan, there are Chuyao, Saohong, Moyu, Saohua, Yinquan, Banhe, Tiaoyun, Shuangshou, and Shuangrui."

Jia Zheng was slightly stunned when he heard this, and then asked, "Where are the servants serving in Baoyu's room?"

Lin Zhixiao replied, "That's even more. There are nine maids alone, more than ten maids, and seven or eight old women."

According to the original standards of the Jia family, a young master was usually equipped with a wet nurse, four teaching maids, two personal maids, and five or six maids responsible for cleaning. If the master was a man, he would be equipped with four servants. It can be seen that the number of servants serving Jia Baoyu was greatly exceeded, which also reflected the degree of favor that Jia Baoyu, the legitimate son, was favored by Jia's mother.

Jia Zheng paused for a moment and said, "From now on, the number of servants accompanying Baoyu will be reduced to four, and Huan'er will be added to make up the total number of four."

Lin Zhixiao quickly agreed and was happy for Jia Huan. He thought that the master was trying to treat them equally.

"By the way, how many servants are there serving in Huan'er's room?" Jia Zheng asked again.

Lin Zhixiao replied, "If you count carefully, the only maid who serves me personally is Ping'er. The foreign maid Mandalin was given by Mr. Lin before he died. In addition, there are three maids who do menial work and two old women."

After listening to this, Jia Zheng was silent for a moment, then waved his hand and said, "You may leave now."

Lin Zhixiao bowed and left. Jia Zheng sat for a while before leaving the study and returning to the main room in the backyard. Mrs. Wang had intended to go to bed, but when she saw that Jia Zheng had returned and did not stay in the study, she was naturally very happy. She hurriedly asked someone to fetch hot water for Jia Zheng to soak his feet, while asking about his health.

"Now more than half of the servants in the mansion have left, and there are less than 200 people left. It is inevitable that there will be a shortage of manpower. Madam, please ask someone to find Lin Zhixiao's family tomorrow to get a list and reallocate the staff to serve in each room." Jia Zheng said while soaking his feet.

Madam Wang nodded and said, "I see. This is a good thing. It can save a lot of expenses. In the past, we had too many servants in our mansion. It is rare that Huan Ge'er is so capable and has accomplished this."

Jia Zheng hummed, and then said, "By the way, there are too many servants serving in Baoyu's room. Now all rooms should reduce the number of servants that can be reduced. It would not be bad if Baoyu were an exception."

Mrs. Wang's face froze for a second before she said, "That's right. Let alone Baoyu, I have to cut down some of the space in my room as well."

Jia Zheng said, "Just follow the old rules. The East Mansion has been completely confiscated now. The servants who serve Grand Madam Zhen and Rong'er and his wife should also be arranged according to the old rules. Each room should be allocated, and the more should be removed and the less should be added. For example, there are not enough people to serve Huan'er's room."

Madam Wang gritted her teeth secretly, nodded and smiled, "I understand. In fact, I have long been planning to fill the gap for Huan Ge'er, but I just can't find a suitable candidate for the time being. I will make sure it is done in the next two days."

"Don't worry, just remember it." Jia Zheng said as he raised his feet to let the maid wipe them dry, then put on his shoes and suddenly asked, "By the way, has Baoyu gone to school these days?"

"Baoyu has caught a cold these past few days and has not been to school for the time being." Mrs. Wang stammered.

Jia Zheng's face changed, and he frowned and said, "It is true that a loving mother spoils her son. This evil boy hates studying the most. He is probably pretending to be sick to avoid being lazy. He is also wasting his time in the garden. If Madam indulges him, he will never achieve anything in his life. Look at Lang'er, he is already a student before he is ten years old. Doesn't his uncle have any sense of shame?"

Mrs. Wang blushed in shame and anger, and was unable to speak.

(End of this chapter)