in spring

Chapter 258 Cold Sweat
Mrs. Zhao San stood below and lowered her head and said: "Going back to my wife, this was originally a way for the young people to make money when they saw that their income was low every year when they were in the village. Because the village is close to Nanyuan, the royal family has opened Nanyuan to them in recent years. The kings and grandchildren were hunting and playing, and the prey in the garden was not enough, so the admiral ordered people to buy it outside. The younger ones thought, since there is a lot of space by the edge of the forest, it is better to buy some chicks and cubs of birds and beasts, raise them and sell them It can also add some income to Nanyuan. At first, it only raised some rabbits, golden pheasants, etc., and later even raised a dozen of sika deer. Although young deer are rare, they come every year, and there are hundreds of taels of interest. Because there is no publicity on the other side of Nanyuan, and the old man and wife are working in the south again, the younger ones dare not mention it in the letter, and they dare not report to the wife until the wife returns to Beijing and collects the latest bill. .”

Zhuo raised his eyebrows, and flipped through two pages of the account book: "Since you said... there are several hundred taels of interest every year, why are there less than 400 taels in the past few years?"

Mrs. Zhao San hurriedly said: "At the beginning of the trial breeding, the wife of the Xifu sent a steward to be the head of the village. The younger ones accidentally let him know about it, and they were still thinking that the matter would not work out. Unexpectedly, the steward Cao was so bold. , He actually hid the knowledge of the West Mansion and partnered with the younger ones, and he took the lead. The younger ones were afraid that he would yell out, let outsiders know, and hurt the reputation of the master and wife, so they had to agree. The first year was a loss, It was only in the second year that I started to make a profit, but it was not much, and Cao Guanshi took half of it. This is the money that the little ones have saved over the past few years, and it has all been handed over, so I dare not take it privately."

When Chunying heard this, she took a special look at her, and seeing Mrs. Zhao Sansao's face was full of sincerity, she was secretly amused.In three or four years, it was less than 400 taels of silver. Is this possible?Those precious birds and beasts cost money to buy seeds at first, and most of them were bred later. Except for the cost of labor and feeding, plus some things to keep out the cold, there is basically no big cost.She remembered that in the six months after Uncle Wang took over, he had earned more than 300 taels. After deducting the cost and the "hush fee" for each family in the village, after several family discussions, the Zhao and Zeng families each They got 80 taels, and the three Caowang Road families each got 30 taels, which is quite a fortune.Even when Guanshi Cao was here, the Zhao family still took the lion's share. I'm afraid his family got their own share of the money, and it was discounted. It's just that no one above knew about it, so they rushed here What is the purpose of being courteous?
Zhuo smiled and said, "Secretizing...you don't dare, at most you can deduct it. How could I argue with you about this little money? If I were a ungrateful master, I would have heard others say that When you have a lot of money, you should get angry."

Zhao Sansao hurriedly knelt down: "The young one is really wronged. The young family lives in the village, and even the house is an old house for more than ten years. Except for the holidays, I usually don't even want to wear decent clothes. Where is the family wealth? What about Wanguan? Even if the family really hid wealth, it was hidden for the masters, not the little one's own wealth!" Looking at Chunying again: "Miss Lu's family lived in the village, and also went to it. I've been home several times, girl, please defend me!"

Zhuo turned her head to look at Chunying, Chunying could only laugh and said: "I did go to Mrs. Zhao's house. The house is a bit old and the furniture is old. It looks like a slightly richer household. The whole Zhuangzi has only The house in Zhuangtou is more decent. As for other things, the servants don’t know about it.” In fact, no family in the Zhuang is really rich on the surface, and Zhao and Zeng’s family, like the Cao family, bought real estate in or near the town. , so their residences in the village maintained a simple and simple appearance.

Zhuo asked with a smile, "Since you live in their village, have you ever heard of their business with Nanyuan?"

Chunying hesitated for a moment: "It's not clear, but the Wang's family and the servant's family entered the village at the same time in Xinzhuang. Once the servant went to talk to his daughter and heard them say that two golden pheasants were missing. At that time I still don’t understand, but after listening to Zhao Sansao’s talk today, I finally understood.”

Zhao Sansao naturally knew that Chunying was lying for her, and hurriedly said: "That time, it was because it snowed heavily at night, and the shed where the golden pheasant was raised collapsed, and a few chickens ran away. I think the guards reported it, and I was in a hurry. Pay attention, I just slipped my mouth!"

Zhuo Shi smiled: "So, the rumors are indeed untrue, you really didn't hide anything from me?" His eyes swept to Chunying again.

Chunying knows that her father is involved now, and she will be implicated if she is not careful, but if she doesn't satisfy the second wife, she will be in an embarrassing situation, so she hurriedly smiled and said to Mrs. Can you still hide it from your wife? If nothing else, I don't believe my sister-in-law is telling the truth just because of the money borrowed from the neighboring village."

Mrs. Zhao San understood quickly and complained: "Miss really don't give us face!" Then she turned to Zhuo's and begged: "They are all small, right? Borrow the water from the village. Mrs. Yin would not pay attention to this little thing, and the little ones in the village... have a hard time..."

Zhuo put down the account book with a smile, and said: "Forget it, I'm afraid there are still more, but you have worked hard in the past few years, it's a shame that you have not forgotten your money, and you know how to hand over the money you have earned, so I will just turn a blind eye and close my eyes! But what's going on with Zhuangtou now?"

Chunying immediately pricked up her ears and listened carefully.Zhao Sansao told the story of Cao Guanshi's expulsion and Wang Da's succession, and then slowly said: "This Wang Da is a sensible man. When Cao Guanshi was here, half of the income of the village was deducted by him. Go, the rest was handed over to the West Mansion. After Wang Da took over, he didn’t say anything, and even divided the things into two parts. One was handed over to the West Mansion, and the other was handed over to the younger ones to take care of it, implying that the younger ones kept it Bring the things back to the mansion. He never asks about the money he got from doing business with Nanyuan. Usually managing Zhuangzi is much more capable than Cao Guanshi before."

"That's rare." Zhuo smiled, "Isn't he afraid of being blamed by his master?"

Zhao Sansao quickly laughed and said: "Speaking of which, he is not an outsider. Jiuru, who served the fourth lady before, was his eldest daughter. Now his youngest daughter may be given to Mrs. Xu's grandson. Besides, their surname is Wang, and there are relatives in our house. Li. After all, this is the truth, there are no rules before, and our mansion is the right master of Zhuangzi, isn't it?"

"Don't mention this again." Zhuo smiled and looked a little serious, "We are all close relatives, what is the family doing so clearly? The brothers and sisters-in-law also sent their family members because they saw that we were inconvenient to take care of them." Help. Didn’t we hurt my brother and sister-in-law by withdrawing people as soon as we came back?” She tapped the edge of the table three or four times with her finger, and then said: “Forget it, since this Wangzhuangtou is well managed, I don't need to bother, I will mention it to the young lady of Xifu later, we can borrow a house from them and help our family members to take care of them, and we will pay the monthly money, silver and rice." Suddenly remembered something, and turned to Chunying: " Your old lady is also at the farm?"

Chunying had an idea in her mind, "Yes, since the servant's parents were driven to the farm last fall, they have been idle. They can only do one or two small errands during the busy farming season. Last winter, the third young master went to After a while, I talked a lot, sometimes said that I want to promote my servant's father, and sometimes said that I want to punish his old man, this servant was worried for a long time, but after seeing that the third young master didn't seem to move, I felt relieved."

Zhuo had already heard about his nephew's "great achievements" from his son during the day, although he didn't fully believe it, he didn't think much of him.She has always respected her status, and she has high demands on her son. She believes that the son of a rich family should study well, or practice martial arts to kill the enemy. !He also thought that Chunying was already a member of his own house, if he was too controlled by the old master, it would be a hidden danger.Anyway, it's not a big deal, she said: "If that's the case, then I'll take your family over. Your father used to be the shopkeeper, right? Now our family's shop is managed by people from Xifu, and there is nowhere to put it. Go, I'm going to transfer Zhao San to another Zhuangzi, and your father will stay in Lijiazhuang as a foreman to help with the management of the village. Didn't you say that your family is on good terms with that Xinzhuang head?"

Chunying was overjoyed and hurriedly thanked her.Mrs. Zhao San felt a little uneasy, but she also thanked her. When she heard Zhuo's saying that she would promote her man to be the head of another newly bought village, she changed her joy and kowtowed again.

At the end, Zhuo said again: "You tell the family, do your job well, I know it in my heart. Don't gossip about Xifu indiscriminately. The aunts, brothers and sisters-in-law of Xifu have good intentions. At home, I was afraid that the housekeepers would not be able to handle the matter, so I sent my family members to help take care of it, and those who make irresponsible remarks and stir up the friendship between the two families should be taught a lesson!"

Hearing these words, Chunying felt apprehensive, and couldn't help feeling anxious.Unexpectedly, Zhuo's tone changed, and he said again: "I'm afraid we will stay in the capital from now on. Let's call all the shopkeepers or stewards of Zhuangzi, shops, and restaurants to pay the bills. After all, it's our own property, it doesn't make sense My brother and sister-in-law have been bothering me all the time. Now in the mansion over there, the old lady is sick, the Marquis is busy with government affairs, the wife is not in good health, and the eldest and youngest mistress are good, but young. She is busy with the affairs of one mansion. Isn't it exhausting to add to our family's affairs? I have to cheer up and pick up all the affairs again. "

Chunying knew that the second wife was about to take power.That's good too, at the beginning it was Master Hou and his wife who were calculating the property of the brother's family, now that the master is back, they should spit out the things.It's too much for a family with a lot of money to keep their eyes on the little money of the brother's family!
Zhuo's housework kept Chunying on the sidelines. Chunying didn't dare to make mistakes, and waited quietly. When the ladies in charge had left, Aunt Xu glanced at her, and then at Zhuo's teacup.Chun Ying hurriedly brought hot water and poured Zhuo a cup of hot tea.

Zhuo looked up at her and said with a smile: "Look at me, I forgot you for a while, and you didn't remind me."

Chunying smiled and bowed her knees: "Madam is in charge, how dare the slaves disturb her?" She also thanked her for rewarding herself with the bracelet.

Zhuo smiled, and asked about the second old lady's diet and daily life, Chunying answered carefully, and also mentioned the excellence and cuteness of the fourth young master and fourth young lady, which made the second old lady very happy.As soon as Zhuo heard it, she was in a good mood, but her mouth was full of remorse: "These two children know how to pester the old lady and act like a spoiled child! The old lady is still pampering." Then she told Chunying many things carefully, including The old lady's three meals a day and what needs to be paid attention to in daily wear.Although they were all clichés, Chunying listened carefully and wrote them down carefully.

Seeing her like this, Zhuo's tone slowed down a lot: "You did a good job in persuading Brother Dun to concentrate on studying earlier. I know you are a smart person, not like some frivolous girls who only want to climb high branches. In the future Now that your old lady has entered our house, you don’t have to worry about your family anymore, just take care of our old lady and don’t worry about other things.”

Chunying hurriedly saluted and agreed, and when she exited the house, she felt a cold sweat on her back, and a gust of wind blew her up, causing her to shiver involuntarily.

This second wife is a powerful person, not so easy to fool.In fact, she couldn't understand the appearance of the third young master during the day, and she couldn't help venting it because she was suffocated before, and she regretted it afterwards.Anyway, my parents are still under the name of the Hou Mansion, if the third young master wants to take it out on them in a hurry, won't I regret it too late?Fortunately, the second wife came forward and brought her parents here. Although they are still slaves, at least they don't have to worry about being retaliated by the wife and the third young master.

She should be a maid honestly, coaxing her boss well, and leaving the house with dignity in the future is what she should do. As for the people in the Hou's house, let them go alone!
Since then, Chunying has been more low-key, just doing her job honestly, teaching the little girl, and consciously reducing the number of times she appears in front of the fourth young master and fourth lady. When famous housekeepers and ladies came to pay their respects, she would avoid them, and she was relieved until the second uncle sent a letter to confirm that her parents had been transferred to the Dongfu roster.

The second wife, Mrs. Zhuo, borrowed people from the Hou Mansion to ask for help, not just Wang Da's family and Chun Ying's family. Among the big girls around the old lady, Bai Ling had a sister who belonged to the Hou Mansion, and she also begged for it. He also "borrowed" a few houses from family members, all of whom were stewards or deputy stewards who helped take care of the property under the name of Dongfu.When she reported all these things to her mother-in-law, she mentioned another thing: Qiuyan next to the second old lady was bought in the south, and she had no relatives in the mansion. The mother-in-law on the bed recognized Qiuyan as her goddaughter, and from then on Qiuyan could be relied on in Dongfu.

The second old lady smiled and said, "That's fine too. If I want to buy anything in the future, I'll let Qiuyan find her as a godmother! It's just mine, but you bought three out of four."

Zhuo hurriedly said: "Mother has misunderstood my daughter-in-law. The daughter-in-law is thinking that if the mother wants anything every day, she must report to the daughter-in-law first, and then arrange it. It takes a lot of time. It is better to let the girls around the mother go home Take some errands, so the mother can feel at ease when buying things like this, isn’t it better than handing them over to others? If the mother doesn’t like it, the daughter-in-law can make other arrangements.”

The second old lady waved her hand: "It's just a joke, you should take it seriously. This is very good, and I don't have to look for you for everything, and you don't even have any free time!" Then another topic was brought up, "Zhang'er My daughter-in-law always sends someone to invite you recently, doesn’t she? What are you always refusing to do? As a family, you just go and have a look, just don’t just agree.”

Zhuo quickly responded, and said some gossip before leaving the room. After going out, she stood for a while, then sighed secretly, and left.Chunying lowered the curtain, feeling puzzled.

(End of this chapter)