Red Mansion, Ningfu Scholarly Family

Chapter 86: Little Elder is Really Difficult

……

"Creak" sound.

The door opened and Wang Ziteng came in person.

Baochai hurriedly stood up and bowed.

"uncle."

"Ah."

Wang Ziteng nodded calmly and said with a smile: "I saw Feng girl coming outside, you sisters should go and have some fun."

Baochai bowed again and then left obediently.

At this time, Mrs. Wang had already stood up and said with a smile, "Brother, you are here. I was just talking to my sister about that matter."

Aunt Xue was still a little confused at this time. She could hardly believe that her brother could actually say such words.

Wang Ziteng walked forward, sighed, and then said: "You are all daughters of my Wang family! You were, are, and will be here in the future. This will always be your home!"

After hearing this, Mrs. Wang showed a look of pride on her face.

After hearing this, Aunt Xue couldn't help but shed tears.

"Our Xue family..."

"My dear sister, where is your Xue family?" Wang Ziteng said earnestly, "Pan'er has been sentenced to death, and the Xue family is no longer yours. Just now, the Ning Mansion sent a letter. Later, Jia Rong, the eldest son of the Ning Mansion, will come with Xue Ke from the second branch of your Xue family to discuss the acceptance of the imperial merchant."

"Now that the imperial merchant is gone, do you think the Xue family still has a place for you and your daughter? I'm afraid you'll be eaten alive!"

"Ah? How could they do this?!"

Aunt Xue couldn't catch her breath, her eyes went dark, and she almost fainted.

Wang Ziteng still felt that this was not enough, and added: "What's more, they are allowed to do this by the court law, because Pan'er committed a crime and his name on the Ministry of Revenue's treasury has been removed. If the second branch does not make up for it, it will be taken by another branch."

"It's my brother who is useless and can't stop them."

Aunt Xue was suddenly heartbroken and burst into tears.

I have lost my life and my money, how am I going to live in the future? Aunt Xue's spirit collapsed all of a sudden, and her eyes became dull and lifeless.

Mrs. Wang looked at Aunt Xue worriedly: "My sister..."

Wang Ziteng shook his head and said, "Don't worry, she is the daughter of our Wang family after all, she will understand."

"We're leaving first. Think carefully about who you're going to rely on for your future."

……

When Jia Rong and Xue Ke arrived at Wang's house, they did not see the mother and daughter of the Xue family at all. They were directly invited to Wang Ziteng's study.

Wang Ziteng sat high up in the seat, drinking tea with a calm expression and not saying a word.

Xue Ke sat below, his eyes on his nose and his nose on his heart, without moving a muscle.

Jia Rong also sat steadily, fanning himself gently, looking very relaxed and comfortable.

half an hour.

Wang Ziteng saw that his power did not frighten the two men, so he smiled and said, "I know why you came, but my sister has been worried and sick recently, so I'm afraid it's inconvenient for us to meet. I'm afraid it will take a few days for the transfer of the treasury money and grain."

As he spoke, he picked up the teacup, intending to send the guest away.

Jia Rong immediately stood up and said with a smile, "In that case, we will not bother Lord Wang any more."

Wang Ziteng put down his teacup and said with a smile, "Come here, send Master Jia and Master Xue off for me."

After the two of them went out.

A man came out from behind the study.

He bowed and saluted.

"grown ups."

"Ok!"

Wang Ziteng nodded calmly and said, "Mr. Wenfang, did you hear everything just now?"

Wenfang smiled and said, "Of course I heard it."

Wang Ziteng asked, "Do you have any explanation?"

Wenfang said, "Your Excellency is taking a step back to advance, which is really wise. The second branch of the Xue family wants to take over the job of the treasury without showing sincerity. Even if it is not justifiable, after all, the Xue family has orphans and a widowed mother. Even if Lord Jia comes, he will not be able to find fault with this."

Wang Ziteng smiled.

"I'm not doing this for myself."

"It's not easy for them, mother and daughter. Xue Pan can't protect them. It's my duty to fight for some benefits for them."

Wenfang bowed and said, "Your Excellency is very righteous!"

……

After leaving Wang's house, the two got on a carriage.

Xue Ke sighed and said, "What should we do about Brother Rong? We can't even see him."

Jia Rong thought for a moment and said, "First, I'll register at the Ministry of Revenue and get a nominal position. The treasury is not important, and the title of an imperial merchant is more prestigious."

The most important point is that Jia Rong is not counting on the little money he can earn from purchasing items for the palace. What he is interested in is the connections and background of the second branch of the Xue family.

With the Ning Mansion as our backing, we will be able to make money by doing business with Westerners in the future.

"By the way, what kind of business has the eldest branch of the Xue family been doing in the palace in recent years?" Jia Rong asked.

Xue Ke smiled and said, "Spices and wood and the like, after paying for various matters and favors, there really isn't much left. It's just like what Brother Rong said, it's just that the name of Royal Merchant sounds better."

Jia Rong smiled and said, "Then there is even less need to rush. If Wang Ziteng wants to delay, then let him do so. He will get what he deserves."

"Go to the Imperial City, the Ministry of Revenue."

Jia Rong gave an order to Xiao Zhu who was driving the car.

The Grand Square in the southern part of the Imperial City.

The east is the left gate of the imperial city, the west is the right gate of the imperial city, and there is also a gate in the middle called "Daxia Gate".

From the Palace Gate to the Daxia Gate is the central imperial road paved with stone slabs for the emperor to enter and exit. Along both sides of the central imperial road, there is a "Thousand-Step Corridor" with a length of 700 steps and continuous eaves and ridges. It connects to the Chang'an Left Gate in the east and the Chang'an Right Gate in the west. There are more than a hundred rooms facing the east and west, and dozens of rooms facing the north.

Outside the Qianbu Corridor was a six-meter-high vermilion palace wall, with the central government offices of the Great Xia court concentrated on both sides of the wall.

Outside the wall of the East Palace are the Ministry of Rites, Ministry of Personnel, Ministry of Revenue, Ministry of Works, Ministry of Clan Affairs, Imperial Observatory, etc. Outside the wall of the West Palace are the Ministry of War, Ministry of Justice, Censorate, Dali Temple, etc.

At this moment, the Ministry of Revenue is located.

The cars and sedan chairs lined up at the entrance for a long distance. Most of the people coming in and out were officials from the Ministry of Revenue and the provincial departments, as well as officials from other departments, wealthy merchants dressed in fine silk and satin, etc.

They chatted and laughed with each other.

"How much tax has your province collected this year?"

"Seventy percent, shame on you!"

"70%? That's already a lot. Our province has only completed 65%."

“I heard that Shandong was hit by a severe drought, but they still completed 30% of their mission this year.”

Everyone's expression changed slightly.

Despite the severe drought, they still collected 30% of the taxes. I don’t know how many people will starve to death in Shandong.

Jia Rong paused and sighed in his heart.

"Come on, let's go in."

Jia Jing had already arranged everything some time ago. They just needed to come and find the person in charge of the Ministry of Revenue, sign their names, and get the documents.

Xue Ke hurriedly followed Jia Rong.

After entering the room, the two approached the clerk present to explain their purpose. The clerk did not dare to neglect them and hurriedly led them into the inner hall, saying with a smile: "Please come in, the head of the Ministry of Revenue, Mr. Liu, is here today."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, both of you."

The clerk knocked on the door himself and brought the two men into the house.

"Sir, these two are the eldest son of Ningguo Mansion Jia and the second son of Xue family."

Liu, the chief official, stood up and said with a smile, "Mr. Jia is here. Please take a seat."

"Come here, serve some tea."

Jia Rong sat down with Xue Ke, took a sip of tea and said with a smile: "Master Liu, you are too polite. Is the matter of the official registration in the department settled?"

Manager Liu smiled and said, "It's all done."

"Thank you."

"What are you talking about, young master? It's my job."

As Liu took out two documents, he said with a smile, "Second Master Xue, just sign your name. A nominal position is easier than other things."

Things went more smoothly than expected. Xue Ke signed the document and made two copies, one for the Ministry of Revenue and one for himself, and that was it.

From then on, I had a nominal position, which would be of use to me when I traveled around the country doing business.

"Let's go home and have a drink to celebrate."

"Also, the 200,000 kilograms of grain from Jiangnan should be shipped to Shandong as soon as possible. If possible, send a few more ships back and forth and open a few 'Xue's Grain Stores' there to lower the grain price."

Jia Rong plans to care about people's livelihood.

Lay the foundation for becoming a junior cabinet minister in the future.

Xue Ke smiled and said, "It's not difficult to transport grain from Jiangnan to Shandong. It's a sure-win business. But the pirates on Weishan Lake are a problem. I guess they just want the people to die."

Jia Rong looked at Xue Ke in surprise and said with a smile, "You know a lot."

Xue Ke sighed, "I've traveled a lot with my father, and I've seen a lot. With a drought like this, not only will the pirates take notice, but even the local landlords and grain merchants will probably have already started hoarding goods. Can they just watch the grain being shipped in? Maybe they'll even disguise themselves as pirates to steal the grain and burn it all."

Jia Rong: “…”

"Brother Xue, do you mean that if you want to transport grain to Shandong, you have to suppress the pirates first?" Jia Rong said seriously.

Xue Ke shook his head and laughed, "I'm afraid it's difficult to suppress them. The pirates hid before the army arrived. At most we can kill some petty thieves, and some even killed fishermen for credit."

Jia Rong suddenly felt that he should go out more often. Reading the Four Books and Five Classics and writing eight-legged essays all day long would make one stupid. The saying "Reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles" is indeed true.

"Is there any way to get food in?"

"There is a way."

"explain."

Xue Ke said seriously: "Like the last time we transported tax silver to the capital, we not only transported the silver, but also wiped out the pirates... We only need an elite force."

"But then again, the cost of such an elite force escorting food will increase greatly, even exceeding the local food price, so it is unnecessary."

Jia Rong: “…”

It’s really difficult for the young cabinet minister!
How did he take charge of the two capitals and thirteen provinces?

For a moment, Jia Rong fell into deep thought.

The carriage creaked as it moved along the bluestone road. A gentle breeze blew up the curtains. Jia Rong subconsciously looked outside and saw that they had arrived at the Wang family's door again.

Jia Rong suddenly had an inspiration.

It’s actually about money.

As long as the young cabinet minister has money, he can take on anything.

……

Wang family.

Xue Baochai did not go to play with Fengjie.

She had no mood to play.

After Wang Ziteng and Mrs. Wang left, she returned to the room.

Aunt Xue was still lying on the bed in a daze, not knowing what she was thinking about.

Xue Baochai brought a bowl of tea and sighed, "Mom, we can't stay in the Wang family anymore."

"What? What did you say?"

Aunt Xue didn't understand what he meant for a moment.

Baochai said, "My uncle and his family have done their best for my brother's matter. If that's the case, why don't we go back to our own home?"

Aunt Xue hurriedly stood up and said, "Silly child! How are we going to survive if we go out? We will be eaten by others!"

Baochai shook her head, covered her chest and said, "Either go back or go to my aunt's house. Here... my daughter is scared!"

"You, what are you afraid of? They are your uncle and aunt... Did you hear something?"

……

(End of this chapter)