Dream of the Red Chamber: A Refined and Elegant Young Man in a Turbid World

After patrolling the streets, Jia Cong did not eat at the court banquet. He hurriedly returned to the Rong Mansion with Li Rong. He first took out thirty taels of silver from his private funds, sealed it, and then personally carried it to Jia Lian's residence.

Jia Lian was not there, but Wang Xifeng was having lunch. Upon seeing Jia Cong, her eyelids twitched. Lai Wang'er had naturally returned early and informed her of the matter, so she immediately had to put on a smile and get up to greet him.

"Brother, you've come at the perfect time! I happen to have some piping hot pheasant here. Come on, sit down and have a couple of drinks!"

Jia Cong also put on a smiling face and handed the silver to Li Rong, then sat down next to Feng Jie and picked up his cup.

"Thank you, sister-in-law! This pheasant is incredibly delicious; we're in for a treat today!"

The two chatted and laughed for a while. Jia Cong knew that Wang Xifeng was also waiting for him to speak, so he coughed lightly and beckoned Li Rong to come forward. He then politely pushed the silver over.

"I happened to be out on patrol today when I ran into Laiwang'er, who was extorting money from someone. He kept saying he was acting on my sister-in-law's orders. Here he is, thirty taels of silver, please tell me the price, sister-in-law!"

Wang Xifeng dared not accept the invitation. Although she had personally promoted Jia Cong, he was now a legitimate official of the imperial court. If things escalated, she knew she would not fare well. She immediately waved her hands repeatedly.

"Brother, you've truly misunderstood! This scoundrel is abusing his power everywhere, and I've been kept completely in the dark!"

Wang Xifeng hurriedly pushed the envelope of silver back, one hand gripping the edge of the table, a guilty smile plastered on her face, but a hint of embarrassment and panic flashed in her eyes.

"It's all because I haven't been strict enough with my servants, letting them cause trouble outside. It's my brothers who have to patrol the streets and run into them, even having to smooth things over for the household. If I accept this money again, wouldn't the whole household laugh at me for not even being able to manage my own servants, needing my brothers to subsidize them? Absolutely not!"

Seeing her earnest refusal, Jia Cong did not press the matter, but simply put down his cup and chopsticks and bowed slightly.

"Sister-in-law, you are mistaken. Laiwang'er claims to be following your orders to collect debts, and all his actions outside are done in the name of the Rong family. Even if you are unaware, it is still the responsibility of our Rong family's servants. Today's incident was something I witnessed while patrolling the streets. I suppressed him according to the law, and repaying the money on his behalf was a temporary measure to prevent the servants from causing trouble and disgracing the family's reputation. This thirty taels is the proper amount of the debt, not a private gift from me to you. If you do not accept it, it will put me in a difficult position!"

Wang Xifeng observed Jia Cong's thoughtful expression for a moment, then gestured for Ping'er to temporarily put the silver aside. Her smile faded, replaced by a hint of unspoken bitterness.

"Since you say so, brother, I'll accept it for now, but I really feel bad about it." Fengjie picked up a handkerchief to wipe her lips, her voice lowering. She dismissed the maids serving in the corridor, leaving only Ping'er by her side.

"Brother, you have been granted an official position and you see the law clearly. However, you are unaware of the difficulties of this large family in your household. Although it looks glamorous, it is already struggling to make ends meet. Even the perfume, tremella, and glass workshops look like they bring in a lot of money from the outside, but they are just for show and not for practical use."

Jia Cong frowned, realizing he really couldn't get any money out of her. Looking at Wang Xifeng, she seemed to be looking for an opportunity to lament her troubles, and continued talking.

"When noble ladies and noble families saw these novel and exquisite items, they would inevitably flatter and give them as gifts. The imperial concubines and princesses, as well as the close relatives and friends of various families, would not dare to neglect them. Most of the finished products were given away as favors without taking a penny. Only two or three out of ten could be sold. Those who could afford them were mostly people who wanted to curry favor with the government. They would either sell them at half price or give them away as gifts. Officials who were really willing to spend real money could not afford such precious items."

As Sister Feng spoke, her eyes reddened slightly, her words filled with helplessness.

"Moreover, those eunuchs in the palace, like Xia Shouzhong, come to borrow money every few days, taking tens or hundreds of taels at a time. Once they've borrowed it, it's like a stone sinking into the sea. Who dares to ask for it back? Asking for it back would offend the inner court, and our family's connections in the palace would be completely cut off in the future."

"The income from the workshop filled the gaps in social obligations and covered some of the deficit. When you factor in the food, clothing, and daily necessities for the entire household of several hundred people, as well as the pomp and circumstance of welcoming and sending off guests, not a penny can be spared. It seems that we are better off than in previous years, but in reality, we are still struggling to make ends meet."

Wang Xifeng sighed deeply, her voice extremely low.

"I had no choice but to delay the monthly allowance, and I had to resort to lending money out of sheer desperation. However, I managed to borrow some interest to cover the daily deficit and barely maintain the dignity of the Duke's mansion, so that people wouldn't laugh at me."

After listening, Jia Cong remained silent for a long time. Even he thought that the workshop was thriving and the family's finances had already recovered. He did not know that the pomp and circumstance of a noble family, the courtly social interactions and interpersonal relationships were such a bottomless abyss.

Seeing that Sister Feng's face was full of sorrow, no longer displaying her usual shrewdness and intelligence, but instead showing signs of the hardships of managing a household, he could only offer a few words of gentle comfort.

"I now understand your difficulties, sister-in-law. However, lending money and forcing people to pay loans is ultimately against the law and immoral. If Laiwang'er acts so recklessly, he will surely cause great disaster in the future. I hope that you will keep a close eye on him in the future and not let him prey on the common people and ruin the reputation of our household."

Wang Xifeng nodded repeatedly, her eyes filled with gratitude.

"Brother is right, I've got it. I'll give that unruly servant a good beating in a bit and never let him run wild like that again. Thank you for your understanding today."

Jia Cong raised his wine cup and clinked it against the other person's, then downed it in one gulp. He then rolled his eyes.

"In your opinion, sister-in-law, perhaps adding one or two more workshops would make things manageable..."

Wang Xifeng personally poured him more wine, a smile playing on her lips.

"Brother, you are exceptionally talented, but income is not so easily generated..."

Jia Cong also sighed. In the end, he still couldn't leave the Rongguo Mansion. This mansion absolutely could not collapse like this!

After pondering for a moment, and drinking another cup of hot wine, Jia Cong gritted his teeth, relying on his science and engineering skills, and looked up to instruct Ping'er...

"Please, Sister Ping'er, fetch some paper and pen!"

Ping'er agreed and left, but Wang Xifeng's beautiful eyes lit up, and she grabbed his sleeve.

"Brother, have you come up with another idea? We never knew you were so skilled in the study of things!"

Jia Cong chuckled twice, pulled his sleeve back, and nodded vaguely.

"I was just idly thinking about playing around a bit earlier, and I don't know if it will work. I'll let you know, sister-in-law."

After Ping'er brought over the writing materials, Jia Cong wrote two more ways for Wang Xifeng to make money!

Firstly, there is the refined single-crystal rock sugar, which needs to be sold together with white fungus or other delicacies, and the price is lower than that of white fungus.

Although rock sugar was available at that time, it was only available in yellow rock sugar, coarse sugar, and brown sugar. It contained many impurities, was dark in color and had a mixed taste. High-end banquets or tonics (bird's nest, white fungus, medicinal cuisine) lacked refined sugar with a single color, high purity and a sweet taste.

Put the raw sugar into an iron pot, add water and simmer until boiling. While the sugar solution is still hot, put it into a multi-layered cotton filter bag and suspend it in a ceramic jar to naturally filter out the sugarcane residue, mud, and caramel. Filter it two or three times until the sugar solution is clear and free of suspended matter.

The filtered sugar solution is poured into the upper part of a double-layered ceramic pot, and the pot opening is sealed with a cowhide gasket, leaving no gaps after sealing.

The upper pot is connected to a bamboo pipe that leads to an external leather bladder negative pressure pump. The pump body is connected to a waterwheel, which is pulled by a waterwheel or a human-powered winch in the village.

Pour clean water into the lower pot and heat it over a low flame in a water bath, so that the sugar solution in the upper pot is heated but not boiled violently. At the same time, start the water windlass and pull the bladder pump back and forth to slowly remove the air from the pot and create a low negative pressure.

Under negative pressure, the boiling point of the sugar solution decreases, and it is rapidly dehydrated and concentrated at low temperature, without burning, scorching, or discoloration. Throughout the process, a bamboo stirring stick is used to gently stir to prevent sticking to the bottom. Once the sugar solution can form tight, soft beads when dropped into cold water, the fire is immediately stopped, the negative pressure is removed, and the kettle is opened.

After concentration, the sugar solution is transferred to a ceramic jar, placed in a cool, sheltered place, and allowed to cool naturally to a lukewarm temperature. The last layer of film is then skimmed off.

The sugar solution is poured into a divided wooden tray, each section filled to seven-tenths full. The tray is then moved to a quiet room with constant temperature, no vibration, and no light, and left to stand for 7 to 10 days to slowly grow into pure white and uniform single crystal rock sugar.

Finally, carefully remove the sugar from the pan and air-dry it in a bamboo sieve for two or three days. Sift out any broken pieces to obtain high-purity single-crystal rock sugar.

The second is cold-process floral soap.

Place wood ash in a bamboo basket, put a ceramic jar underneath, pour boiling water over it in several batches to filter out the natural alkaline solution, let it stand for 1 day, and take the clear middle layer for later use.

Place tea oil, sesame oil, and rendered pork fat into a porcelain basin, warm them slightly in a double boiler, and let them cool to room temperature.

Slowly pour the alkali solution into the oil and stir continuously in one direction for half an hour until the paste is thick and the lines do not disappear.

Mix in half-crushed fresh flower petals, drizzle with fragrant syrup, and gently stir until well combined.

Smooth the mixture in a wooden mold, cover it with cotton paper, and let it solidify in a cool, shaded place.

After unmolding, place it on a wooden rack and air dry in a ventilated, shady place for about half a month to complete natural saponification before use.