Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

The Rongguo Mansion courtyard generally refers to the spacious two-section courtyard from the main gate to the ceremonial gate, and from the ceremonial gate to the main hall.

It was already night, but the Rongguo Mansion was bustling with noise.

The servants of the Jia family were crammed together in the courtyard, most of them talking amongst themselves, wondering what important matter their master had summoned them for.

Some people managed to squeeze to the front, and when they could see the bright hall, rows of tables with neatly arranged trays of silver ingots, and twenty or thirty baskets filled with strings of copper coins at the bottom of the steps, they couldn't help but get excited.

As a servant of the Jia family, I had naturally witnessed many such scenes.

In addition to joyous occasions in the family, the government also gives each household a bonus at the end of each year to celebrate the New Year.

However, none of them were as grand as today's event.

The people of Rongguo Mansion noticed that, in addition to their own family members, even people from Ningguo Mansion had come.

"It seems the manor is going to give everyone a reward." A young servant said with a look of anticipation.

"Of course! Second Master Lian has become a Marquis. Such a joyous occasion, how could the manor not distribute rewards so that everyone can share in the happiness?"

"Hmm, not bad. But what are those people from the East Mansion doing here when we're distributing reward money?"

Many of the Rongguo Mansion's servants looked at the Ningguo Mansion's people, who seemed somewhat disadvantaged in the crowd, with expressions of rejection.

The fewer people who share the reward money, the better. Besides, their second master is distributing reward money to everyone, why is the Ningguo Mansion getting involved?

Although Second Master Lian held the position of acting clan head, he was not the master of the Ningguo Mansion.

One of the stewards from the Ningguo Mansion laughed and said, "We don't know what's going on either. Steward Lin came over early this morning to announce that each household should send one person over..."

Although the Ningguo Mansion is the eldest branch, it is now in a weak position. Therefore, the servants of the Ningguo Mansion naturally cannot hold their heads high in front of the wealthy and powerful Rongguo Mansion.

A steward from the Rongguo Mansion laughed and said, "What do you know? The garden in the back is almost finished, isn't it?"

Perhaps the government will reward this matter along with other rewards.

Although the construction of the garden was a matter for our household, many people from the East Mansion also contributed, so it's not surprising that the Master and Second Master wanted to reward them both.

"I see."

Just as the people below were discussing among themselves, Jia Lian came out with Lin Zhixiao and others.

Upon seeing Jia Lian's tall, slender, and noble figure, the entire courtyard fell silent in an instant.

Jia Lian stood on the platform under the eaves of the main hall, looking down at the hundreds of Jia family members in the courtyard.

Illuminated by the lanterns hanging high throughout the courtyard, the men, women, and children all wore undisguised joy, their gazes towards him filled with either reverence or fear.

Jia Lian knew that although the people under him might not be of high quality, and their bodies were not as strong as the officers and soldiers he had led before.

However, these were the Jia family's native servants, the group most likely to die for him.

"I have summoned you here today for three matters."

As Jia Lian slowly began to speak, everyone below fell silent. After Jia Lian paused, the entire large room became so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

A young and impetuous servant, unaccustomed to such a tense situation, excitedly replied, "My lord, please give your orders. We are willing to die for you!"

As soon as he spoke, he noticed that many people were looking at him with surprise, and no one responded.

Even Jia Lian looked at him, and he immediately blushed and awkwardly shrank back.

Jia Lian didn't seem to care about this person. After the scene quieted down again, he said, "The first thing is that I returned to the capital today and found that everything at home is fine. Even the garden in the back is almost finished."

I was very happy, so I specially prepared some small change for everyone so that they could buy more food and drink when they got home, and share in the joy.

Although they had already guessed it, hearing Jia Lian say this still made everyone in the courtyard excited, and they all expressed their gratitude.

Jia Lian waited until they quieted down before speaking:

"Let me first explain the rules for distributing the reward money."

All the servants registered in the east and west mansions of my Jia family, regardless of gender or age, whether they are looking after houses in Nanjing or guarding estates in the north, will each receive a reward of five hundred coins.

Those who cannot be present today may have their family members collect the payment on their behalf. If their family members are not in Beijing, the payment will be temporarily recorded in the accounting office and can be withdrawn at any time in the future.

Secondly, all those who are currently serving in the Rongguo Mansion and at the beck and call of their master can receive double the amount.

Finally, anyone who has served or handled affairs in the rear gardens in the past year, regardless of whether they are in the East or West Palaces, and whose record is in the steward's office, can receive an additional copy.

Don't think it's too little. All the rewards today are just money I'm using to entertain you. The real rewards will come when the garden is completely completed, or when the Imperial Concubine returns home for a visit. At that time, the mansion will bestow extra rewards according to the size of your contributions.

In addition, I will reward the stewards and housekeepers in various places as appropriate.

After Jia Lian finished speaking, without waiting for the servants to hear him clearly, he returned to his seat in the center.

However, it was clear that his words caused a great commotion below.

Five hundred coins was the monthly wage of an ordinary servant boy in the Jia family.

It's not a lot, but it's not a small amount either. After all, many people toil away for a month just to get these five hundred coins.

Not to mention, those who work in the government office and also work in the garden can receive two extra portions, making a total of three portions.

One thousand five hundred coins, which translates to about one or two taels of silver. This might not seem like much to those high-ranking stewards, but for the vast majority of lowly servants, it was still a considerable sum of money.

After all, even the young lady Yuanyang, who served the old lady, only received one tael of silver a month.

I haven't heard of that. This is just what the Second Master personally gave to everyone. There will be more rewards after the garden is completed.

For a time, many people who had not yet entered the garden to do business secretly plotted to find a job there in the coming days, otherwise they would be at a huge loss.

Some people were secretly surprised by another point.

In the past, rewards were always given according to the roster of people who worked in the mansion. It was never like what the Second Master said, that every registered servant of the Jia family was given a reward? You must know that the Jia family has been wealthy for a hundred years, and there are naturally many servants.

And slaves beget slaves; these people in the slave register are all registered members of the Jia family.

The Jia family's two mansions are only so big, and there are either no vacancies or people who are unwilling to endure hardship, so many of them have not yet taken up positions in the two mansions.

For example, if a servant has several children, the grown ones will naturally be sent to the household to be given jobs. But the younger ones are also registered members of the Jia family. Does that mean that the Second Master will also reward these freeloaders?

If that's true, then it truly is a cause for universal celebration.

There was no time for further thought or discussion. As the Second Master opened the roster on the table and read out a name, Steward Lin, standing beside him, loudly announced, "The Fan Dapeng family has four registered members. Fan Dapeng and his eldest son, Fan Chengcai, are both feeding horses in the Rongguo Mansion's South Garden. They are entitled to six portions of reward silver, totaling three thousand coins. Any questions?"

"No, no, this servant thanks you, Second Master!"

The middle-aged man who stepped forward upon hearing this was filled with gratitude. He truly never imagined that his two children, around ten years old, would one day be earning money for the family!

If I had known, I should have had my spouse sign the household registration certificate as well, then I could have received another one.

His wife was married outside the Jia family; she was not a servant of the Jia family, and the Jia family did not force the spouses of their servants to become slaves.

"Since there are no objections, go and collect your money."

Jia Lian casually crossed out a name on the list, and after Fan Dapeng received the reward money from the old women, he casually read out, "Next, Zhao Xin."

"..."

……

In the back hall of Rongxi Hall, Lady Wang returned from Grandmother Jia's courtyard and came looking for Jia Zheng.

"Master, I heard that Lian'er is handing out generous rewards in the front yard, not only to those in our household, but also to everyone in the East Mansion. Is this...?"

After Madam Wang sat down, she couldn't help but ask.

Jia Zheng was taken aback, then said, "What's wrong with that? Lian'er is in a good mood today, so he's using his own money to give the servants some rewards. Is there anything wrong with that?"

"Your own money?"

Lady Wang was somewhat surprised. She had heard that there was a great commotion outside and knew that Jia Lian was giving out large sums of money as rewards, so she naturally assumed that Jia Lian had taken the money from the government. After all, Jia Lian and his wife were in charge of managing the household, so it would be easy for them to take money from the government. She had never thought that Jia Lian would be so generous as to pay out of his own pocket.

Now, after hearing Jia Zheng's words, he realized he had misunderstood and changed his words, saying, "Although it is his own money and he can use it however he wants, the situation in our mansion is not the same as before. We should be more frugal in places where we can save money."

If this becomes a habit, and the rewards are too small in the future, I fear the servants will harbor resentment.

Lady Wang felt that Jia Lian had the mentality of a nouveau riche.

It should be understood that managing a household, especially disciplining servants, is an art. The Rongguo Mansion has long had established practices, but now Jia Lian is recklessly breaking them; won't things fall into chaos in the future?

"How is things at our residence?"

Jia Zheng, however, disagreed. He even spoke to Madam Wang as if their Jia family had already fallen into ruin, which made him very unhappy.

"Isn't there still tens of thousands of taels of silver in the official treasury?"

"Although there are still some, aren't they all prepared to welcome the Imperial Concubine back home for a visit?"

According to my calculations, it's only enough to get by this year. What about next year?

Jia Zheng remained unconcerned: "Our family has only been burdened by this garden and the imperial visit these past two years. Once these two major events are over, there shouldn't be any other major issues in the manor, and things will naturally become more relaxed."

Jia Zheng believed that as long as they didn't reach a dead end, there was nothing to worry about.

Will the Jia family ever reach the end of their rope?

Obviously impossible.

He lived for fifty years and never saw the Jia family in dire straits.

This was the only time that hundreds of thousands of taels of silver were spent on building the garden.

But this was an accident.

As long as this matter is resolved, with the Rongguo Mansion's more than 100,000 mu of fertile land, the annual cash harvest alone will exceed 10,000 taels.

Including other miscellaneous items, such as shops in both the northern and southern capitals, the Rongguo Mansion's normal annual income was approximately 20,000 taels of silver.

As long as no major events are undertaken, the official treasury will naturally become abundant within a few years.

Lady Wang did not think Jia Zheng's idea was wrong.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have dared to ask Madam You for money.

She instinctively felt that she couldn't let Jia Lian steal the limelight and win people's hearts.

After all, if things continue like this, how many of the servants in the mansion will listen to them in the future? Won't they all have to curry favor with Jia Lian and his wife?

"My lord, I have always felt that the government treasury is spending more than it is earning, and every household is asking the government for money."

If we keep spending more than we earn, problems will inevitably arise sooner or later.

So, shouldn't we think of a way to change this situation? After all, with both sides sharing funds, if things aren't organized properly, problems are bound to arise.

"Hmm, do you have any good ideas?"

Jia Zheng also had a feeling that since he and Jia Lian decided not to divide the family property, there had been no income in the official treasury except for the annual rent from the estates and shops.

From Grandmother Jia downwards, everyone was reaching out to the government for money.

"In my opinion, since we are all one family, why don't you and Lian'er discuss it and decide that all the salaries and rewards from the court, whether for you or Lian'er, should be distributed uniformly by the government?"

"Yes, and the same goes for gifts from relatives and friends. What do you say, sir?"

To be honest, Lady Wang was jealous of the enormous amounts of gifts Jia Lian had sent to her home over the past two years, which Wang Xifeng then moved to her small courtyard to hide away.

For example, when Jia Lian returned this time, he received three rewards at once.

Besides the Empress Dowager and Yuan Chun's gifts, when Zhao'er and the others returned earlier, they also brought back Emperor Ningkang's rewards.

Although it wasn't much, aside from the official robes and belt, it was only one thousand taels of silver.

It's always something that people envy.

After all, apart from when Yuan Chun was promoted to Imperial Concubine, Jia Zheng had never received a reward of more than a thousand taels from the imperial court.

Of course, when Jia Zheng was in charge of important duties at the Ministry of Works, he did manage to skim some extra money on a few occasions.

But no matter what, Jia Zheng is definitely no match for Jia Lian.

Leaving aside the rewards that are out in the open, just look at the Military Command; who doesn't know it's a very lucrative government office?

Unlike Jia Zheng, who is "honest and upright," Jia Lian has amassed quite a fortune in the past two years...

This was Madam Wang's idea.

She even considered having Jia Zheng persuade Jia Lian to transfer this "shady" income to the government for official use.

When Jia Zheng first heard this, he thought that Lady Wang's suggestion was feasible. After all, although he had his own ulterior motives, he genuinely regarded Jia Lian as a nephew.

He was also thinking that he and his nephew, working together, one in literature and the other in martial arts, would bring glory to the Rongguo Mansion.

Therefore, if salaries and other benefits could be consolidated into one system, it would not only bring the two families closer together but also reduce their scheming against each other, which would be a good thing.

But then he shook his head. He was aloof and lazy, but that didn't mean he was stupid.

He felt that Jia Lian would definitely not agree. After all, Jia Lian held several positions and had a noble title, while he, a minor official of the fourth rank, earned only a few hundred taels of silver and a few dozen shi of grain a year. How could he possibly compare to Jia Lian?

"This is inappropriate."

I know you're looking at Lian'er's glory over the past few years, but have you ever considered why Lian'er received so many rewards from the court and the palace?

Take this time for example, haven't you heard that most of the people who followed Lian'er died in the Northern Desert?

Lian'er had told me before that the compensation for those who died alongside him in battle would not be provided by the government.

He said it was the first time someone close to him had died on the battlefield, and he wanted a generous compensation, but he didn't want to violate the compensation standards set by the Duke, hence his actions.

I asked him how much silver he planned to use for compensation, and he said around five thousand taels…

As Jia Zheng spoke, there was a hint of surprise and confusion in his eyes.

After all, the standards for the previous two generations of Dukes to compensate their servants and retainers were not low, and were much higher than those of the imperial court.

However, the death of a personal guard would only amount to about sixty to eighty taels of silver.

But what about Jia Lian? He only has so many guards around him, yet he has to spend so much silver on compensation...

"Five thousand taels?"

Madam Wang seemed somewhat surprised, and then fell silent.

She also thought that if Jia Lian were to be treated the same way, what if he went to the battlefield again in the future and lost his personal guards? Would the government pay the money or not?

After all, if, as Madam Wang had previously stated, salaries and all other expenses were to be controlled by the government, then such expenditures should naturally be borne by the government.

If that's the case, it would be better to separate and each manage their own affairs.

Taking the opportunity, Jia Zheng advised, "I know you're a little envious of Lian'er's good fortune these past few years. But don't you think about it? Lian'er risked his life for all of this."

"If you're willing, I do have something to suggest."

"What?"

"I think Baoyu is getting old now. Since he refuses to study, why not let him follow Lian'er's example and go to the battlefield?"

Therefore, it wouldn't be considered a disgrace to his status as the eldest grandson of a duke.

As Jia Zheng spoke, a hint of anticipation appeared in his eyes.

Jia Lian's achievements were the envy of not only Lady Wang, but even Jia Zheng himself.

He wanted Jia Baoyu to study hard and become a successful person, but in his opinion, that was probably impossible.

Therefore, it would be better to let Jia Baoyu follow Jia Lian.

He had heard that the reason Jia Lian was able to quickly establish himself in the army was because many military generals took care of him out of respect for the old Duke.

If Jia Lian is treated this way, then Jia Baoyu's treatment will likely be just as good.

Lady Wang's face grew somber. She glanced at Jia Zheng and said softly after a long while, "Sir, you should speak to the Old Madam about this. As long as the Old Madam agrees, I have no objections."

Uh……

Knowing Jia Mu's temperament well, Jia Zheng awkwardly stopped his wild speculations.