After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 1135: The Smart Wife

After being persuaded by her family, Ma finally changed her mind and agreed not to spend extra money on her granddaughter Haitang's dowry.

In fact, Ma was not dissatisfied with her granddaughter's dowry. She just attended several banquets hosted by the rich and powerful, and heard a lot of snobbish words, but she couldn't get angry in public, so she was angry and had a knot in her heart. Now her family persuaded her in every way. She was an open-minded person, so she quickly figured it out and stopped being so stubborn.

However, she couldn't return the things she had already bought. Anyway, the things had already been bought, so it would be a waste if she didn't use them. If there were more good things in her granddaughter's dowry, she would be more respectable after marrying into the Jin family, right?
After the Hai family finished chatting, they dispersed and returned to the courtyard to rest.

It was not too late at this time. Before leaving, Haitang whispered to her brother Haijiao and invited him to come to her room when he was free.

After she returned to the room and had just sorted out her things for a while, her brother Haijiao arrived.

Haitang smiled and pointed to the new fabrics on the table. "These are the fabrics that grandma bought today. I saw that the patterns and designs of some of them are suitable for sister-in-law. Sister-in-law looked at these fabrics today and seemed to like them very much. So I kept them and didn't send them to the warehouse. Brother, take these fabrics back and make new clothes for sister-in-law."

Hai Jiao laughed when he heard this: "Grandma bought these materials specifically for your dowry. How can you use them to offer gifts to your sister-in-law as a favor?"

Haitang sneered, "Grandma has been saving fabrics for my dowry since last year. After she saved them, Luo's Cloth Shop had a big discount, so she bought a batch of new fabrics. Now Jiyuan's Cloth Shop got some good fabrics from Jiangnan, so she bought another batch. All the fabrics add up to more than a hundred. How can I use so much fabric for my dowry? Even if I put all the boxes in it, I'm afraid it won't be enough. No matter how good and luxurious they are, how much can I use by myself? Clothes for all four seasons, handkerchiefs, shoes and socks, even if I count Brother Jin's share, and add Ma Ma and Chunyu's share, I can't use more than a few dozen pieces a year.

"Even if I use the rest to honor the nobles in the palace, or give gifts to the Prince Kang's Mansion, the Earl Cheng'en's Mansion, the Tao family, or the Zhou family, it will take two or three years to use it up. By then, new patterns and designs will surely be popular in the capital, and my fabrics will be out of date. Even if I give them out as gifts, people will despise them. So why should I bring so much fabric to go out with? It's better to dress up my family first than to have the good stuff. My brother has an official position now, and my sister-in-law is also a sixth-rank official, so there will always be times when we go out to visit guests. Make a few new clothes for my sister-in-law, so that she can look decent when she goes out, and my brother will also be proud."

Haijiao couldn't help but laugh. After all, it was his younger sister's intention. He thought about it and didn't refuse. He asked Haitang very carefully: "Which one does your sister-in-law like the most today? Are there any left at Jiyuan? If your sister-in-law really likes these materials, I will buy her a few more later."

Haitang did not go to the cloth shop in Jiyuan, so she really did not know what patterns and colors were available in this batch of fabrics. She only knew that Zhuang Minyi had looked at the two pieces of fabric with bamboo and orchid patterns for a few more times, and then pointed them out to her brother, saying, "There are still many in the warehouse. If you want to give more fabrics to your sister-in-law to please her, just go to the warehouse first and choose, and don't go to Jiyuan to buy them. We already have enough fabrics at home. The fabrics we bought from Luo's Cloth Shop last time were actually all top-quality goods, with very elegant patterns and colors. It seems that your sister-in-law likes them too."

Haijiao looked at the fabrics on the table and asked Haitang: "Are these fabrics really enough for you? Don't let your dowry be reduced by sharing them with your family." Haitang waved her hand: "I have plenty of good fabrics here. There's really no need for you to worry about me, brother."

Haijiao then said no more.

The issue of fabrics was resolved, and Haitang asked her brother to sit down again. She had something serious to ask him: "Today, I heard from grandma that in order to prepare a dowry for Wu Qiong, the Cheng'en Marquis' Mansion spent a lot of money to buy a batch of fabrics from Jiyuan. The fabrics were more and better than those bought by grandma, and the cost was also higher. Although the Cheng'en Marquis' Mansion has a stake in Jiyuan and can buy things at a better price than outsiders, so much fabric must have cost a lot. According to my brother, the current wife of the Cheng'en Marquis, Zhang Yingfeng, is a very smart and capable person. Since she has taken over the household affairs of the Cheng'en Marquis' Mansion, there is no reason for her not to know that the Wu family still owes foreign debts. Wu Qiong's dowry is not short of fabrics, so why did Zhang Yingfeng buy so much? I think this matter is a bit strange. Does she have other intentions?"

Hai Jiao paused for a moment before answering, "I don't know much about this daughter of the Zhang family. I only know that in her previous life, the head of the Zhang family promised her to Jin Wu, the second branch of the Jin family, in order to marry the relatives of Empress Dowager Xu's family. Although Jin Wu is better than others in the second branch of the Jin family, he is still not a good man. Zhang was wronged to marry him. She had no choice but to get no support from her family. After marrying into the second branch of the Jin family, she was controlled by her parents-in-law and her great-grandmother, and suffered a lot. But even Even so, her reputation for being smart and capable spread throughout the capital. The second branch of the Jin family was originally just a poor family. Even if they got the inheritance of Jin Juren, how much wealth could they have? No matter how much the Queen Mother gave, it was impossible for her to give them a fortune of ten thousand. The second branch of the Jin family suddenly gained a high position, and they wanted to put on airs as royal relatives and spend money to show off. If it weren't for Zhang's good management, how could the second branch of the Jin family have been able to put on an empty air that was not inferior to other families after entering the capital for several years, and still be laughed at as a vulgar upstart? "

That's naturally because the second branch of the Jin family is rich, otherwise they wouldn't even be nouveau riche.

Haitang understood it immediately. The second branch of the Jin family was not wealthy, and Zhang Yingfeng's dowry was not generous. If she did not have the ability to run a business, it would be impossible for her to earn enough money to make her husband's family "nouveau riche" in just a few years after marrying into the second branch of the Jin family. Doesn't this prove her shrewdness and ability?

Haitang then asked, "What kind of business does Zhang Yingfeng run? Is there anything illegal?"

Hai Jiao thought for a moment, "It's nothing more than doing business. When the second branch of the Jin family was convicted, one of the charges was lending money at high interest. It seemed that it was lent in the name of Zhang, but Zhang produced evidence to prove that it was her mother-in-law and her great-grandmother who really handled the matter. She just didn't dare to say more because of her junior status. The government later found out that what she said was true, so they questioned the crimes of the second old lady of the Jin family and Jin Liu, but never pursued her. I don't know the details, but Zhang is the daughter of a noble family in Beijing. It is impossible for her not to know that lending money at high interest is against the law of the country. I don't think she would knowingly commit the crime, right?"

Haitang thought about it and asked, "If Zhang Yingfeng is really a smart and capable person, why did she spend a lot of money to improve her sister-in-law's dowry and spread the news? Is there any special reason?"

Hai Jiao paused, "I don't know if she has other ideas, but I have heard about this from Wu Ke. He was very touched and said...it was his great fortune to have such a virtuous wife, and he would never let her down for the rest of his life! He also said that Zhang spent her dowry money to prepare for the marriage of her sister-in-law, and he would definitely repay her greatly when he has the chance in the future."