Traveling to Daliang Kingdom starts from falling into the water

Chapter 1050 It depends on who we compare ourselves to.

Gu Wenxuan decisively ignored it. No, it was the horse's speed that was too fast. It couldn't stop in time and had already run far away. So where was Ma's second sister-in-law?

"She doesn't look like she's going back to her parents' home. What would she be doing going to town alone? We have a market here. I understand, she's going to Dongkou Village."

It must be that Brother Erhu went to his family's fields in the east village early this morning to arrange for the farmhands to weed and water the fields, and Sister-in-law Erhu was in a hurry to find him for something.

If it weren't for his good hearing, he almost wouldn't have understood such a well-organized cause-and-effect relationship.

Gu Wenxuan chuckled, "The Ma family doesn't have enough servants to do their bidding?"

“There were already few. Aunt Ma said that buying people not only requires paying indenture fees and annual head tax, but also involves bribing officials at all levels if the number exceeds a certain threshold. It’s more cost-effective to hire farmhands.”

Is this how you calculate things?
"To be honest, the truth is that her family doesn't even have a scholar, so the servants they buy aren't under fixed contracts. They can only have open contracts that last for ten years, and then the contracts are changed every ten years."

As expected of you, you're an expert.

"There are too many variables involved. If something changes and delays the contract exchange, and the contract is not registered with the government office by the due date, the person will no longer be considered her servant."

The most crucial point is that it's not a death contract; the servants also have family and relatives. If a murder or lawsuit occurs, it won't be up to her family to cover it up.

In mild cases, money can be given to keep quiet; in severe cases, it won't work, and when the other party's family and relatives go to the government office to file a complaint, money can no longer solve the problem.

Absolutely right. Buying servants is never as cost-effective as hiring long-term laborers. To put it bluntly, you can earn enough by having servants for generations to come. Otherwise, where would the concept of "house-born children" come from?

As the name suggests, long-term laborers are hired on a long-term basis. They are not slaves, but rather free people, and their relationship with their employer is simply that of an employer and employee.

The distinction between social classes and ranks is not the same concept at all. That makes sense. My wife is right. It's not that Aunt Ma didn't want to buy servants.

"Furthermore, I guess it's related to the fact that Aunt Ma has many children and grandchildren. She doesn't need to assign a servant or maid to each of her grandchildren, and half of them are not a small number."

Once the grandchildren have servants, the four daughters-in-law will naturally need even more people to serve them, which will greatly increase the expenses.

They have a considerable fortune, having provided substantial assets for their four sons. However, with their grandchildren all grown up, how much of it can they actually inherit when divided among themselves?

Even if the daughter-in-law doesn't bring much dowry, if she has good financial management skills and the principle of "whoever gives birth should bear the responsibility," then there's no need to worry about wealth not lasting beyond three generations.

So, I believe that I'm worried about my grandsons growing up day by day. A half-grown boy can eat his father out of house and home; just the cost of food and drink is no small matter.

Let me tell you a joke. My sister-in-law said that even if it's not the Lunar New Year, her mother doesn't dare to let the family eat white flour freely. Just think about it, even her family's circumstances are like that.

It's easy to imagine how big her nephews' appetites are; most families simply couldn't afford to raise them. The problem is, her nephews from her maternal family weren't raised in poverty.

Only Grandpa Ma is capable enough to run a livestock farm, so at least his family isn't short of money. Otherwise, sending his grandsons to school one after another would be a real struggle.

Gu Wenxuan glanced at the old and young people bustling about in the fields on both sides of the road ahead, and said, "It's alright, it depends on who you're comparing it to."

Compared to ordinary people, the Ma family is rolling in money; don't listen to Aunt Ma complaining.

She deliberately said random things in front of her sister-in-law, hoping her sister-in-law would tell you.

I don't dare let my family eat white flour freely. No respectable family eats white flour every day. I don't eat white flour every day either.

"With her family's current circumstances, she's still not satisfied. She's got huge ambitions; she thinks she can fly!"

sweat!
"So what if you can't get white flour every meal at the county school? And you're bringing up whether she's from a respectable family or not." "If you ask me, she's just too well-fed. Let her starve for a few days, and see if she dares to say that again. She's only capable because her family is large."

My grandmother doesn't have many grandchildren? They all grew up eating coarse grains. What's white flour? When we make dumplings for Chinese New Year, it's all mixed flour, and that's just for tasting.

If this is considered a well-off family, and her family is already doing very well, yet they still have worries, then what about ordinary farming families?

She's just too full and has nothing better to do than compare herself to our family. Seeing that her own life is not as good as her in-laws', she feels unbalanced and comes here to seek attention.

As for why she came to you to complain, it's simple. Before, she could compare her daughter to you, but now there's no comparison at all. A smart person would back down.

Zhou Banxia looked like she had a toothache. "That's an exaggeration. It's not that they're completely incomparable. My sister-in-law has many good qualities that I don't have—"

"for example?"

"A broad mind."

Gu Wenxuan laughed heartily, "So you know what you're like when you're being petty? I don't agree with that. You're not petty."

You can talk!
"How much longer until we reach Peach Village?" Zhou Banxia abruptly changed the subject, surveying the surrounding scenery—no, the fields—"Isn't this all fields around here?"

"That's right, this is still a village. We have to pass through another village to reach Peach Village. Peach Village is easy to find; you'll see a large area of ​​peach trees as soon as you leave the next village."

Of course, what you should see at this time of year is not a peach grove, but peach blossoms, a vast expanse of peach blossoms, almost covering the entire mountainside.

Before, when this Peach Estate was in the hands of County Magistrate Huang, many people wanted to borrow it from the nominal owners of the Peach Estate to stay for a few days for the Spring Festival banquet, and even County Magistrate Cheng was no exception.

This is one of the main reasons why I asked you to give the order to build thatched huts and wooden houses. After that, you can let them hold banquets, go on outings, and enjoy the scenery.

Before I came back yesterday, I spoke with Magistrate Cheng. Taozhuang has been renovated and you have instructed the head of the village that they can go there at any time.

As long as it doesn't affect the outcome, and everyone pays their own expenses, let them build whatever they want in the southeast of Taozhuang. Otherwise, several businesses know that Taozhuang belongs to us, and it wouldn't make sense to keep it closed.

Yes, you old sixth brother, you're so generous. Not only did you gain favors, but you also got the head of the manor to promote the Peach Blossom Banquet effortlessly.

Then, you can make peach blossom tea, peach blossom honey, and peach blossom wine, and you won't have to worry about selling them at high prices, right?
"Please, have some mercy and leave me some peach blossoms. The soap workshop needs a lot of fresh flowers."

"I know, all the fallen peach blossoms are yours. If that's not enough, there are still wildflowers all over the mountains and fields; just send someone to buy them."

"It's a good opportunity to help our fellow villagers. It wouldn't be right for us to eat meat without offering them a drop of soup. Sharing joy is far better than enjoying it alone."

what!
Zhou Banxia suddenly turned her head, "I understand. It seems you agree with my decision to raise the price for wildflowers this year. Let's increase it by 30% compared to last year—"

"Stop!" Gu Wenxuan shouted, both amused and exasperated. "Be careful not to twist your neck! If you're going to raise the price by 30%, why not just send someone to the flower nursery to buy more?"

They've organized and categorized everything so clearly; whatever kind of flower you want, you get—fresh flowers or dried flowers. How can wildflowers be considered the same?

"Isn't there a saying, 'Wildflowers smell sweeter than garden flowers'? Looks like I misunderstood; you still don't like wildflowers, huh?"

"..."

"Hahaha……"