Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Jia Lian had anticipated that money would not be the biggest obstacle for the Rongguo Mansion in building the Grand View Garden.

As the saying goes, even a broken ship has three thousand nails, let alone the Jia family now, which is far from being as dire as it was later in the original story.

At the time when Yuan Chun was being made a concubine, amidst the festivities and extravagance, even a haphazard arrangement could easily create a basic framework.

Therefore, the Grand View Garden can definitely be built.

However, Jia Zhen's unwillingness to use Huifang Garden to build the Imperial Visit Garden was somewhat unexpected by Jia Lian.

He remembered that in the original novel, the Jia family was united in this matter, and the Ningguo Mansion was like a family with the Rongguo Mansion, directly cutting off a large part of the Huifang Garden to build a garden.

Could it be that the Rongguo Mansion in the original novel was really very wealthy at the time, and that the money was just right?

Jia Lian had no way of knowing the specifics, but he had been planning to build the Grand View Garden for a long time and really wanted to see what the legendary Grand View Garden looked like.

Furthermore, once the Grand View Garden is completed, Daiyu and the others can move in. Putting aside the fact that Daiyu will have her own separate residence, it won't be so easy for Baochai to seduce his Lin Daiyu anymore…

Having made up his mind, Jia Lian, after listening to the statements of Jia Zheng and others, spoke seriously:

"Building a temporary palace for our eldest sister's return to her home province is the most important thing for our family right now, so no matter how difficult things are at home, we will do our best to complete this task."

However, as the old saying goes, "He who does not plan for the whole will not be able to plan for a part." Since this matter is of great importance, we must make thorough preparations, because once this matter begins, there is no such thing as giving up halfway.

So, I still have to ask, how much money can our family actually afford to arrange for my eldest sister's return to her home province?

There are many ways to do more and few ways to do less, and these are all open to discussion. The worst thing is to start with too much and then run out of steam. That would be terrible. It would be one thing if others laughed at our family, but if it damaged our eldest sister's reputation, how would we face her in the future?

"My eldest sister has endured so many years of seclusion in the palace for the sake of our family, from her teenage years to her prime. Now that she has finally achieved success, if we, her closest relatives, cannot even bring her home for a single visit, wouldn't that be heartbreaking?"

Upon hearing Jia Lian's words, everyone looked on with a sense of unease, unsure of what to say.

Grandmother Jia was overcome with emotion, tears welling up in her eyes.

Wang Xifeng glanced at Jia Lian secretly. Everyone was discussing important matters here, but you came up here with a sentimental show, deliberately making the happy occasion so dull.

Lady Wang was determined to get this matter done well, and after hearing Jia Lian's words, her resolve only strengthened.

Seeing that Jia Lian really wanted to ask, he didn't shy away from the question and said directly, "There is still about 100,000 taels of silver in the official treasury."

I had discussed it with the old lady before. Back then, the Zhen family in Jiangnan were in the silk business, and they kindly invited our family to join them. In the end, including the principal and profits, we had about 50,000 taels of silver. Since our family wasn't in a hurry to use the money, we didn't touch it and left it with the Zhen family.

In addition, the rent and land taxes from Nanjing have not been collected in Beijing for several years. We have checked the accounts before, and there are about 30,000 taels of silver in the treasury at the old house.

"Adding these together, we have 180,000 taels. In addition, the old lady and I discussed it and decided to each contribute another 20,000 taels of silver, bringing the total to 220,000 taels, which should be about enough..."

Two hundred and twenty thousand taels of silver is an absolutely moving sum.

There are countless wealthy families in the world, but those who can afford this amount are extremely rare. They are either tycoons or corrupt officials.

Even Jia Zhen raised an eyebrow.

I had assumed the expenses here would be enormous over the years, but I never expected there would be such a large amount of savings...

However, Jia Lian shook his head after hearing this.

"If we were to handle the matter of the eldest sister separately, that would be about right."

However, judging by the time frame, all of our family's assets, including rent and land rent across the country, will not arrive until at least September or October.

"Are we supposed to abandon all other family matters just to celebrate my eldest sister's birthday? Obviously not. Aside from that, we have Master's birthday celebration to attend to right now, and Madam's in August. Besides that, there are our daily expenses, the comings and goings to various residences, and preparing gifts for the Empress..."

Jia Lian's words made the others fall into deep thought again.

Yes, the Rongguo Mansion is so large, with hundreds of people. Could they really have spent all their money at once? Even if they can manage this year, what about next year, the year after, and the future?

Although Wang Xifeng and others often joked that they only needed to eat, none of them had ever considered the possibility of living a frugal life!

Jia Zheng sighed, "Apart from the old lady's expenses, I can keep everything simple this year..."

This shows that although Jia Zheng appeared arrogant, he actually really wanted to make the trip home a success.

Jia Lian bowed to Jia Zheng and said, "Even if you, sir, are willing to humble yourself, outsiders will inevitably become suspicious when they see our family acting this way all of a sudden."

Therefore, the master's important business cannot be neglected.

In fact, even if we saved some money from the master, it would be nothing more than a drop in the ocean.

Our family is already stretched thin just from building the temporary palace... Master, don't forget, once the palace is completed, there's still a huge expense to be made for welcoming the Empress back home..."

Everyone's hearts tightened. Yes, it was an unprecedented honor for the empress to return home for a visit, and her family would naturally welcome her with the highest and most elaborate ceremonies. The expenses involved would likely be astronomical.

Jia Zheng remained silent.

Although Lady Wang knew that Jia Lian wasn't just talking nonsense, she was still eager for things to go smoothly. Seeing Jia Lian repeatedly pouring cold water on everyone's plans, she couldn't help but wonder: Could it be that Lian'er was afraid that the family would run out of money, so he was unwilling to do so?

"So, according to you, what should our family do? You just said that this matter is right to be handled, and it shouldn't be stopped just because of money, right?"

Even if our family is going through a tough time, it shouldn't be this bad.

Lady Wang naturally had reason to suspect Jia Lian's motives; what they had discussed before was nothing more than the cash that the family could afford.

When things get really tough, the family's assets and possessions can be sold off easily, and every single one of them will be worth a fortune.

There's a reason why the rulers of the Rongguo Mansion, who have inherited the century-old legacy of the Duke's Mansion, never worry about money: they are truly not short of cash!

Jia Lian glanced at Madam Wang, his contempt almost showing.

"Madam has misunderstood. That's not what I meant at all."

What I mean is that a portion of the government's money should be set aside for other important family matters, and not all of it should be used for a family visit.

Visiting one's family is a momentous occasion, and its success is an honor for the entire Jia clan.

Therefore, I feel that in this matter, it shouldn't just be the old lady and my wife who contribute money; as members of the family, we should also contribute money and effort if we have them.

As Jia Lian spoke, he looked around at everyone and said, "My father was fond of collecting trinkets when he was alive. This was his hobby, and as his son, I naturally supported it."

Originally, I thought of putting all the things he loved in his life into his tomb to ease his worries in the afterlife, which would be a way for me to show my filial piety.

But upon further reflection, most of the things he left behind were quite valuable, and if they were all placed in the tomb, they would inevitably attract the attention of villains...

So in the end, he only chose a few of his favorite items to be buried with him, and converted the rest into money, thinking that if anything major happened in the future, he would have some money to prepare for it.

I never expected to actually encounter it so soon.

Therefore, if my wife doesn't mind, I'm willing to use all of this money for important family matters. It's not a large sum, but it's a token of my appreciation as a member of the family.

Jia Lian's words surprised everyone.

Since ancient times, who doesn't love money? If they can avoid contributing money, who would be willing to share their money with everyone?

As soon as Jia Lian finished speaking, Madam Xing, who had been acting like a wooden statue, couldn't sit still any longer!

That's true; logically, she should have a share of what Jia She left behind...

However, at this point, even if she was unwilling, she dared not object.