After the marriage, the cousin was spoiled by the whole family of the Marquis's Mansion

Chapter 13 Housekeeping Account

"Flowing smoke."

Rong Peilan put the account books at hand in order, but found that Liuyan, who was supposed to be serving in the room, was nowhere to be seen.

"Young Madam." Qingtan, who was doing needlework in the corridor, stood up immediately.

Rong Peilan raised her eyes and saw that it was the second-class maid of Yuhui Garden. "Where is Liuyan?"

Qingtan paused for a moment, then said, "Sister Liuyan went out with the prince early in the morning."

Rong Peilan paused, her eyes drooped slightly, and then she raised her head again, "Since Liuyan is not here, then you come with me to find mother."

"Yes."

Rong Peilan pointed to the account book on the table and said, "Take all of these with you."

Seeing Qingtan's quick hands and feet, she said, "From today on, you will serve me."

The population of the Marquis's Mansion is simple. In addition to Mrs. Zhong, the Marquis has a concubine and no children.

Most of the properties in the mansion were bestowed by the emperor, and only a few grain shops in the city were Zhong's dowry.

Although the Zhong family wanted to teach Rong Peilan how to manage the household, the affairs in the mansion were simple, and most of the people in the mansion were elderly people who had been working there for many years.

Even though she, as a new bride, has the support of her mother-in-law, she is afraid that she will not be able to win the support of others in a short period of time.

So Mrs. Zhong gave her the account books of the farm and the shop to look at first, so that she could learn to read the accounts first and then learn to manage the accounts.

"Mother."

As soon as Rong Peilan entered the courtyard, she saw Zhong and her maid drying books.

Although Xinling Hou was a military general, he had a large collection of books in his study.

Rong Peilan couldn't help but sigh again, wondering why such a well-educated father gave birth to a son who was completely illiterate.

"It's so hot in the sun, just ask the maid to bring it over."

Zhong picked up a silk umbrella beside her and came forward, holding it up to cover her head.

Rong Peilan also brought the round fan closer to Zhong, and with a little force from his wrist, he fanned it a little louder.

"I have read all these account books, mother. I thought mother would test me, so I came here first."

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law walked towards the flower hall together. Mother Zhou, who was beside Mrs. Zhong, asked someone to take over the dozens of account books from Qingtan's hands.

The flower hall of the Marquis' Mansion is much larger than that of the Xie family. The last time I came here was when the bride was serving tea.

Mrs. Zhong pulled Rong Peilan to sit down, "Girls from noble families usually start learning to be housekeepers when they are twelve or thirteen years old. You are new to the profession, so you can't rush. There is no need to waste time."

Rong Peilan lowered her eyes slightly, "My daughter-in-law failed to share my worries in time and did not fulfill her responsibilities as a new wife..."

Mrs. Zhong gently patted the back of her hand and said, "A bride's duty is to give birth to a baby boy as soon as possible."

"Zhang'er's father is a man who values ​​love. When I followed the Marquis to fight in my early years, I lost a child and was injured, so I only have Zhang'er as my child."

"Zhang'er is just like his father, so mother only hopes that you can have children and spread out as soon as possible."

The tips of Rong Peilan's ears quickly turned red, and she whispered, "Yes..."

Zhong looked at Rong Peilan's blushing face with a smile, and the topic finally returned to the account book.

"Now that you've read it all, can you see any difference?"

Rong Peilan collected his thoughts and said, "The account book is the account book of the five grain shops in the city for the past three years."

"Of these five grain shops, the one in West City is the best run. West City is home to many aristocratic families, with many people and a lot of money."

"The two grain shops in the north city have the worst business. Their business is less than 20% of that in the west city. Most of the people there are ordinary people, but..." Mrs. Zhong nodded, "Can you see any difference?"

Rong Peilan frowned slightly. "Because the income and sales of each shop are written together, when my daughter-in-law read it for the second time, she found that the amount of grain collected by these five shops is almost the same."

"Mother, the shops in the North City have more revenue than revenue. This... my daughter-in-law really doesn't see through it."

Zhong smiled, "You are better than that brat."

Then he explained in detail, "The grain in West City is refined grain, almost exclusively for the wealthy and powerful families. In addition to ordinary people, there are also refugees and beggars in North City."

"The Xinling Marquis's Mansion would set up a porridge stall in the North City every year during the hot summer and cold winter, while the porridge stalls of the royal families would directly purchase the porridge from the grain store in the North City. The price difference between brown rice and polished rice is dozens of times, so the North City cannot compare with the West City."

"Although the North City Store is not profitable, if our store in North City is gone, how many poor people will be able to survive the scorching heat and severe cold."

Rong Peilan pursed her lips. She had seen famine-stricken areas with widespread suffering.

She was eight years old that year. There were people fleeing famine along the way. Some of them lay on the ground to stop their carriages, and some of them jumped directly from trees to the roofs of the carriages regardless of the speed of the carriages.

She screamed in fear.

In order to protect her and her mother, her father injured his leg.

Mrs. Zhong thought Rong Peilan was frightened, and patted her hand soothingly, "Don't be afraid, everything is fine now. The famine nine years ago was scary. You are still young, so you probably don't remember it."

A maid in emerald green came in and bowed, "Madam, the time has come."

Mrs. Zhong clapped her hands, and then said to Rong Peilan, "We agreed two days ago that we would go to West City today. It just so happens that we have arrived. So, let's go together?"

In addition to the Imperial City located in the center of Yanjing City, the rest of the city is divided into four cities: East, West, South, and North. The West City is closest to the Imperial City Gate and has the largest number of royal relatives.

The most famous Yunjianzui in Yanjing City is located on Xishi Street in the west city.

Rong Peilan followed Zhong to the shop. Although it was just a grain shop, its luxury was no less than that of a jewelry shop.

The shop sells the most basic items such as rice, oil, and noodles.

There are actually nourishing products such as bird's nest, red ginseng, cordyceps, and dendrobium candidum.

It turned out that Zhong had only shown her a small part of the account book. No wonder Ji Yunzhang frowned when he saw her holding the account book. It was obvious that she had been "tortured" before.

The shop is spacious, with no counter, only a few shelves made of golden nanmu wood.

The rice is placed in a glass bowl on a shelf, and there is a small wooden sign next to the bowl with "Lotus Rice" written on it.

Rong Peilan was truly enlightened today. It turns out that there are dozens of different kinds of rice.

There is even colored rice.

The shopkeeper has already received the news that the master will bring the young lady over.

Seeing the novelty flashing in Rong Peilan's eyes, he stepped forward and said, "This is the characteristic of the foreigners. The rice is ordinary glutinous rice, and these colors are dyed with vegetable juice."

"Not many people buy it, they just want to see the novelty."

Rong Peilan nodded, the corners of her lips curled up slightly as she said, "I have seen green rice when I was a child, but I was too young and thought it was a memory error. I didn't expect it to be real."

After hearing her words, Zhong glanced sideways. This colored rice was obtained by chance when the shopkeeper was doing business.

Only then did Zhong remember that Rong Peilan's biological father, Mingshi Jushi, was the "heretic" and talented man.

After only three years as an official, he gave up his smooth career path and traveled around the world with his wife and daughter, making the world his home.

It is not surprising that Rong Peilan has seen colored rice feces. Her knowledge will only be more, not less.

Mrs. Zhong suddenly felt that this daughter-in-law of humble origin might be the greatest help to Zhang'er in the future.

(End of this chapter)