The Red Chamber: Starting from Saving Xue Baochai

Chapter 38: Girls Do a Kind Act

Rongguo Mansion.

Baochai, Daiyu, Xiangyun, Yingchun, Tanchun and Xichun built a simple corridor in the backyard for the purpose of fundraising.

This is the connection between the west room and the main courtyard. On weekdays, the young ladies, maids, and nannies would pass by here.

Soon, quite a few people gathered at the donation center. Most of them were illiterate and just stared at the corridor and the ladies with curiosity.

"I wonder what the girls are going to sing today?" the maid Ping'er asked in confusion.

She had just delivered the account books to Mrs. Wang on behalf of Wang Xifeng. When she returned, she saw a new balcony by the hallway, so she stopped to take a look.

Xiangyun saw more and more people gathered around, her beautiful eyes twinkled, she took a step forward, raised her eyes and said loudly: "The heavy snow in the past few days has caused disasters in the capital. There are now a large number of refugees outside the city, who are poorly clothed and hungry. We have set up a donation stand here today, hoping that everyone can donate some spare money and old clothes to help those disaster victims tide over the difficulties. Donations are all voluntary, I would like to thank everyone here."

As soon as he finished speaking, Baochai, Daiyu and others stepped forward and took the lead in donating some silver and other items. Baochai donated more, twenty taels, while Daiyu, Xiangyun and the three sisters donated some small change and some seldom-used jewelry, also worth five or six taels.

Baochai had saved a lot of her own money before, so donating twenty taels was just enough. If she donated more, it would bring pressure to others. She thought she could donate some more to Shen Yuan in private.

Daiyu, Xiangyun and the three sisters in the family all had two taels of allowance each month. As they had to spend extra on food and clothing on a daily basis, they could not save much. So they donated five or six taels, which was considered a gesture of kindness.

After hearing Xiangyun's words and seeing the girls' behavior, the maids and servants who were watching understood the girls' intentions.

"You girls are really kindhearted. I've also heard about the starving people outside the city. They are really pitiful. Today I have the opportunity to do a good deed."

Ping'er has always been considerate and kind. After the girls finished donating, she also donated two taels of silver.

But not everyone was so kind-hearted. The maids and old women watching were either hesitant or indifferent, and no one came forward to donate.

From time to time, you can hear people whispering below.

"It's really a new thing. Which civilian family hasn't suffered a disaster? They all just leave it to fate and get through it."

"That's right. Our family was hit by a locust plague that year. We moved around everywhere, eating wild vegetables and chewing tree bark. No one helped us at that time."

"Who says it's not true? The girls in your mansion don't care about worldly things. Today they are playing house here, so we don't need to get involved and make trouble."

"you."

After listening to the discussions of the maids and old women, Xiangyun suddenly felt very angry. She pursed her lips and didn't know how to refute for a moment.

When Daiyu, who was standing by, saw this, she frowned slightly, walked forward, gently stroked Xiangyun's hand, and said a few words to comfort her.

Then, she raised her delicate head and looked at the maids and old women who had just been discussing. Her eyes were clear and she said in a delicate voice, "Since you said your family had suffered a disaster before, you should be able to empathize with them. Why do you think that the victims should just fend for themselves? And since it's a donation, whether to donate or not is entirely up to everyone's own will. Why are you saying such cold words here?"

When those people heard Daiyu's rebuttal, although they were still dissatisfied, they couldn't argue with the girl anymore and could only say a few angry words in secret.

Some people's coldness is ingrained in their bones, and they won't change just because of a few words from others.

Daiyu understood it herself, so she just sighed in her heart and said no more.

"That's right, girl Lin!"

Before seeing the person, they heard the voice first. Everyone looked up and saw Wang Xifeng approaching them with her hands clasped. "Since you volunteered, I will also do a good deed." Wang Xifeng said, walking to the balcony and putting down five taels of silver.

Then, she turned to look at the maids and servants who were watching, and said sternly, "Those who are willing to donate, please stay and show your gratitude. Those who are unwilling to donate, please go away and do your own work. Why are you wasting your time here?"

As the actual manager of the Jia family, Wang Xifeng has always been a dignified person.

After hearing this, the maids and old women who had been gossiping just now were stunned for a moment, and soon left with their necks shrunk.

The remaining people were all more or less kind-hearted and had wanted to donate just now. Now, led by Wang Xifeng, they no longer hesitated and stepped forward to donate a little. This not only showed their kindness but also made the Second Madam Lian look at them in a more respectable light.

Rongqing Hall, hall.

Grandmother Jia was sitting on the Arhat couch, with Jia She and Jia Zheng sitting on her left and right. They came over to greet the old lady.

But the maid Yuanyang came in to report.

"Madam, Miss Bao, Miss Lin and the others set up a collection stand in the east and west halls, saying that they wanted to raise money and food for the famine victims outside the city who were hit by the snowstorm. Second Madam Lian also donated money there."

Grandmother Jia was stunned for a moment, then looked at Yuanyang and confirmed, "Are you saying that Yu'er and the others are raising money for the disaster victims in the mansion?"

Yuanyang nodded and recounted in detail what he had just seen.

"It's just a few maids playing around to kill time." Jia She said indifferently.

The master of the Rong Mansion has never taken his eyes off the girl since Yuanyang entered the hall.

He stared at the pretty maid with delicate face and curvy figure with burning eyes, as if his eyes were absorbed by her, not concealing the passion and greed in his heart.

Cough
Jia Zheng noticed that Jia She had lost his composure, so he coughed lightly a few times as a reminder to his brother.

He thought for a while, then said to Lady Jia: "Speaking of fundraising, my son heard a piece of news these days.

It is said that Shen Yuan and Hanmozhai jointly called on the people of Beijing to donate to disaster relief, and Shen Yuan even wrote a fundraising letter. "

"Oh? Is this true?" Grandmother Jia was a little curious.

"It shouldn't be a lie. My son saw the fundraising brochure posted on the street on his way back from work."

After hearing this, Jia's mother thought for a moment, looked up at Yuanyang, and said, "I will also take out five hundred taels. You can take it to Yu'er and the others for me and tell them that this is my donation to the disaster victims."

Yuanyang was surprised. What did the old lady mean by this? She donated five hundred taels of silver to support the girls' fundraising. In this way, who in the whole mansion would dare to say that the girls were playing house?
Although this old lady was only too happy and eventually watched the Jia family fall, she would usually sympathize with the poor and the weak. People are complicated and this is not a contradiction.

Perhaps the old lady had other plans and hoped to use this to improve the Jia family's reputation outside.

At the initiative of Shen Yuan and Hanmo Zhai, people from all walks of life in the capital city donated enthusiastically, especially old clothes and rice, which solved the urgent problem, saved the lives of countless victims, and bought precious time for the court's disaster relief.

The snowstorm in the winter of the sixteenth year of Yuanzhen not only made Shen Yuan a household name throughout the capital, but also made his name deeply engraved in the hearts of hundreds of thousands of disaster victims.

At this moment, no one can realize what impact this incident will have on Da Zhou in the future.
(End of this chapter)