Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Seeing that Wang Xifeng was about to leave, Jia Lian gestured for her to calm down, then beckoned to Xiangling beside him, letting her hold the fishing rod. Only then did he pull Wang Xifeng closer and ask, "Approximately how much cash do we have in our household?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Xifeng immediately turned her head and glanced around, then said warily, "Why are you asking this out of the blue?"

"What, can't I ask? Or are you afraid those three will betray us and expose our secrets to the outside world?"

Don't worry, even if they let it slip outside, who would dare to covet it? In this family, we're already doing well by not eyeing others."

Wang Xifeng blushed. Thinking about it, it made sense. Ping'er and the other two were their trusted confidantes. Apart from Xiangling, who was a bit dull and didn't care much about money, both Ping'er and Qingwen were probably quite knowledgeable about the family's wealth.

So he lowered his voice and said, "I haven't counted the exact amount, but it's probably around 100,000. What do you want to do with it?"

In fact, she had counted them; it was more than 100,000. Her inability to speak was purely instinctive, even when facing Jia Lian.

Even so, Jia Lian was somewhat surprised. Considering how poor the Rongguo Mansion's official treasury was, while his own private treasury was so full, this feeling was actually quite... satisfying!

But thinking about it, it makes sense. Under Wang Xifeng's management, the household was basically a place where money only went in and never came out.

In the years since I started my career, not to mention the various rewards I've received, just consider the time I raided the Shuiyue Nunnery to find Jingxu, the Zhou brothers' generous bribes at the Prince's Villa, the coercion of servants to donate silver, and the portion of the old man's estate that he withheld after his death...

Each and every one of these transactions brought in several thousand or tens of thousands of taels of silver.

Not to mention, since becoming the commander of the military command, he has received offerings and donations from people from all walks of life in the vast western city. However, Jia Lian did not entrust all of this money to Feng Jie for safekeeping.

"Don't look at me so defensively. There's something I want to discuss with you."

As you know, two years ago I had someone open a restaurant outside, specializing in various famous wines from Jiangnan. After such a long period of operation, it is now making a steady profit.

I was thinking that our family is large and has many mouths to feed, but we only focus on the fixed amount of money and goods that the government provides each year. Over time, we will inevitably end up living off our savings.

Therefore, I want to expand the scale of Juxianlou and try to acquire some other businesses, preferably integrating them into a family business model.

"While we can't compare to those big business tycoons, at least we can ensure our family has a stable income each year, eventually creating a virtuous cycle."

Wang Xifeng was also a shrewd businesswoman; she understood Jia Lian's meaning almost immediately.

Because she understood, she had even more questions!

"You want to open more restaurants? And acquire other businesses? Or are you planning to follow in the footsteps of those massage parlor workers and start your own business?"

Wang Xifeng was straightforward and outspoken, without any scruples, saying whatever she wanted, since Aunt Xue and her family weren't around anyway.

Besides, the Xue family were, after all, imperial merchants, and had the imperial title attached to them.

What are those other merchants in their eyes?

The social hierarchy of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, with merchants ranked last, is not just a saying; it is a deeply ingrained prejudice that has remained in people's minds for thousands of years!

Few of the princes and nobles in the capital engaged in commerce.

Not to mention royalty and nobility, even high-ranking officials were ashamed to engage in commerce.

It's not that there aren't any, but most of those families would be looked down upon by high-class families like the Jia family, who would despise them as unsophisticated, lowly people!

In this world, the truly wealthy and noble families are those who live off thousands of acres of manor and tens of thousands of acres of fertile land.

For example, the Jia family, whether it was the Ningguo Mansion or the Rongguo Mansion, owned more than 100,000 mu of fertile land. Some of this fertile land was bestowed by Emperor Taizu during his reign, while others were acquired by several generations of dukes.

This is also the reason why the Jia family has enjoyed wealth and prosperity for a hundred years!

Now, with hundreds of thousands of acres of fertile land under his control, Jia Lian, the heir to the Rongguo Mansion and a Marquis of the current dynasty, actually told her that he wanted to go into business to supplement his family's income? Wang Xifeng's first thought upon hearing this was to ridicule Jia Lian.

Seeing Jia Lian looking down at her, Wang Xifeng managed to suppress her smile and asked, "Why did you suddenly have this idea?"

"Leaving aside the fact that Tao Zhu's methods are not simple, our family doesn't seem to have fallen to this level, does it?"

The manor's treasury is a bit empty right now, but that's because of this garden. Once this matter is over, with the output of the vast estates, the manor will recover in a few years.

After all, how much can a few hundred mouths in the mansion possibly consume in a year?

Wang Xifeng's idea wasn't necessarily wrong, but how could she have known Jia Lian's plans?

To develop one's own power, money is needed in every aspect. Relying solely on the output of the family's farmland, the total amount is limited and must be divided among the whole family.

While a life of comfort and wealth might be sufficient, it clearly wouldn't meet Jia Lian's demands.

People in this era considered farming and relying on the weather for their livelihood the only legitimate way to make a living. However, Jia Lian naturally knew that the only way to openly and legitimately accumulate wealth far exceeding that of ordinary families was through business.

Jia Lian didn't actually want to become as wealthy as Shen Wanshan. He just felt that with the power of the Jia family and his own status, as long as he got involved in some suitable industries without going too far, those industries would obediently give him some market share.

This is called "making money while it's free".

In any case, the dynasty has never prohibited nobles from engaging in commerce. Even in those dynasties that did prohibit it, there were always princes and nobles who allowed their servants and relatives by marriage to engage in commerce.

"Our family isn't so poor that we've already borrowed 80,000 taels of silver from the East Mansion. We still don't know when we'll be able to pay them back."

Hearing Jia Lian say this, Wang Xifeng couldn't refute it, so she asked with a smile, "You, a dignified marquis, are doing this? Aren't you afraid people will laugh at you?"

"I am a military officer, not a civil official. What use is a good reputation to me?"

Jia Lian was quite decisive. At present, the only two people Jia Lian truly feared were Emperor Ningkang and the Retired Emperor.

I haven't seen the retired emperor, but I heard he also enjoyed luxury in his later years. As for Emperor Ningkang, although he was quite diligent in his duties and disliked mediocre officials, he wasn't a harsh person. He just had a lot of authority, which made him easier to talk to.

As long as someone is useful to him and loyal, he will not hesitate to give them some benefits.

Therefore, as long as it's not something that will make these two people resent him, Jia Lian won't feel any pressure doing it.

Seeing Jia Lian's attitude, Wang Xifeng was certain that Jia Lian was serious, and she couldn't object, because she always felt that every decision Jia Lian made these days wasn't without reason. If it really could bring in income for the family, as Jia Lian said, she would naturally be happy.

She was in charge of the household, and she preferred to be in charge of a well-off household rather than a poor one.

"If you really want to try, I certainly won't stop you."

"However, you should have discussed this matter with Master and Madam first. And since it's family property, even if we need to raise initial funds, it should be drawn from the government funds. Why do you want us to use our own money to do this?"

Wang Xifeng spoke with a mix of reminder and complaint.

The other day, Jia Lian spent so much money rewarding the servants and building a second ancestral hall, which made her feel heartbroken for a long time.

But Jia Lian rolled his eyes at her: "You really want to live with Madam and the others forever?"

"What do you mean?"

Wang Xifeng was secretly startled and glanced around.

This is the pavilion in the lake. Ping'er had already led Qingwen and the other two to stand guard at the bridgehead while they were discussing serious matters.

"You'll figure out what I mean in time. Don't worry, you have to take it one step at a time, and I'm not going to start a family business all at once."

What I mean is, let's test the waters with a small amount of money first, both to avoid risks and to save you from feeling too bad about it.

When these industries have grown and the time is right, we will discuss establishing a family business.

"At that time, regardless of whether we've separated from the master and mistress or not, as long as we control the money, the two of us will be the ones calling the shots at home. Understand?"

Wang Xifeng understood immediately. Although she didn't know the concept that the economic base determines the superstructure, she naturally grasped the principle.

To build this garden, the official treasury was almost depleted, and even Grandmother Jia and Lady Wang had to contribute a considerable amount of their private savings to subsidize it.

Furthermore, they owed the Eastern Palace 80,000 taels of silver. With this hole in the hole, it's unlikely that the government will be well-off for at least ten years.

In this way, as long as the industries Jia Lian mentioned can bring in huge profits, who in the family wouldn't fawn over them and rely on them for a life of wealth?

Moreover, the reason she advised Jia Lian was that she was afraid he would act impulsively and invest all the family's accumulated wealth at once, and if they lost money, it would be too late to recover.

Hearing that Jia Lian meant to take it slow, she felt relieved and nodded in agreement. Then she hurriedly asked Jia Lian for the specific plan.

Just as the couple were discussing their grand plan to make a fortune, a servant woman from the Xue family came from the Rongguo Mansion. Jia Lian then told Wang Xifeng that they would discuss it in detail when they got home that evening, and then invited the old woman into the pavilion.

"This servant greets Your Excellency. Our mistress said that she is grateful for Your Excellency's help to our master, and has specially prepared wine at home. She asked this servant to inquire if Your Excellency is free tonight and invite you to come and have some wine."

And also, please visit Second Madam Lian when you have time.

Wang Xifeng noticed that the old woman first invited Jia Lian, and then changed her address when she saw her, so she knew that the Xue family mainly wanted to invite Jia Lian.

The purpose is easy to guess. Expressing gratitude for the help is only one aspect; he probably wants to ask Jia Lian how he plans to deal with Liu Xianglian, who assaulted him.

So he smiled and said, "Please thank your aunt for me. Tell her I have other matters to attend to and will visit her again when Baochai celebrates her birthday in a few days."

As she spoke, Wang Xifeng called Ping'er away.

Jia Lian had already decided to visit the Xue family the next day, so he said to the old woman, "Go back and tell my aunt that I will visit them later."

The old woman thanked her profusely and left.