The filial son of the Red Mansion

Because I remembered the two sentences Daiyu said when I sent flowers to the palace last year:

"Is it just for me, or are there other girls too?"

"I just knew that if others didn't pick out the leftovers, they wouldn't give them to me."

Zhou Rui's wife was afraid of angering Lin Daiyu again, and she also knew that Daiyu was the most favored by the old lady recently. Now even Yingchun, Tanchun and Xichun had moved out of the old lady's courtyard and lived in the three small porches behind Mrs. Wang's courtyard, asking Mrs. Zhu to accompany and take care of them.

She opened the box and said, "Girls, take a look, is there anything you like?"

It was nothing. When Zhou Ruijia spoke, she just looked at Lin Daiyu.

Lin Daiyu was always sensitive, and her face immediately turned serious when she heard this. This was clearly a way of adding fuel to the fire, implying that she was more difficult to get along with than others, so she was chosen first.

Daiyu sneered, "There are so many girls in the room, but you are talking to me?"

Chapter 70: Borrowing a Knife from Wang Xifeng

As soon as Lin Daiyu finished her words, several people's faces changed color and the atmosphere became a little cold.

Grandmother Jia smiled and said, "Don't pay attention to these snobs. Now that the things are here, girls can pick out what they like to play with."

Baoyu saw an opportunity to please Daiyu, so he took a kite from the box and walked towards Daiyu, coaxing her: "They only make people upset, why bother with them? I just saw this one that suits my sister's temperament very well."

The room became lively again.

Lin Daiyu only glanced at the beauty kite in Baoyu's hand and said, "I don't want this."

Jia Rong stared at the lively scene for a long time, as if he had figured something out. The thick disguise on his face gradually fell off, and he couldn't help laughing at himself.

Damn it, why was he so nervous before?

Neuropathy!

Now he not only has a title, but will soon have a real job. Now is the time for others to be on their toes.

He bowed and said, "I am sorry to have troubled you today. My great-grandson will soon be on duty in the palace, and I have not yet made detailed arrangements for the affairs of the mansion. I have to take my leave today. I will invite you and all the ladies, aunts and cousins ​​to Tianxiang Tower for a drink tomorrow during the Dragon Boat Festival."

"Rong...Brother, if you have something to do, just go back by yourself. Your business is more important than ours." Grandmother Jia saw that Rong'er's temperament changed slightly in the blink of an eye, and she couldn't help but sigh in her heart: After all, he has started a family and established a career. The former dandy boy also knows how to manage household affairs.

Jia Rong himself was unaware of the changes that had taken place in him.

More often than not, mentality affects temperament.

He greeted everyone and said goodbye. When Youshi and Qin Keqing saw that he was leaving, they thought it must be related to the family affairs of the East Palace, and they also said goodbye one after another.

Before leaving, Jia Rong returned to Wang Xifeng and said, "My nephew has another case to ask Second Aunt for help."

Wang Xifeng took a secret glance and turned back to say goodbye to Grandmother Jia and Aunt Xue. Daiyu, Baochai, Tanchun and the others all left when they saw them, and their interest was greatly reduced.

Several people came out of the old lady's courtyard and returned to the wide north-south alley in front of Wang Xifeng's courtyard.

Seeing that everyone around him was his own people, Jia Rong said, "I want to borrow a few people from you."

It was the first time that Wang Xifeng heard him speak so directly. She felt a little uncomfortable. She glanced at Youshi, Qin Keqing and the maids around her. "Who do you want to borrow?"

Jia Rong glanced at Ping'er beside him and said, "Sister Ping'er." Seeing Wang Xifeng's sudden change of color, he knew that Sister Feng had misunderstood, so he quickly stopped Wang Xifeng's hand and continued, "There are also Laiwang, Lin Zhixiao, Wang Xin, Wang Qing, and Brother Caiming."

He didn't want to borrow a person, but a knife.

Wang Xifeng felt a numbness and heat in her hands. Seeing the maids Yindie, Ruizhu and Baozhu lowering their heads in surprise, she gritted her teeth in anger.

This bastard has no manners in front of so many people.

Wang Xifeng saw Qin Keqing's pitiful appearance with her head bowed, and she pinched Jia Rong's arm, gritting her teeth and groaning, "Not only did you take Ping'er away, but you also borrowed all the people around me who can do things, not even letting Cai Ming'er, a little book boy, go?"

Needless to say, the relationship between Ping'er and Wang Xifeng is very close.

Lai Wang was her confidant, in charge of collecting rent from the farm outside the Rongguo Mansion; Lin Zhixiao was her son-in-law, in charge of the treasury and accounts office of the Rongguo Mansion; Wang Xin and Wang Qing were her trusted servants brought from the Wang family; and Cai Ming was her literate tool who helped her with accounting, roll call, and book checking on a daily basis.

These people can be said to be the people Wang Xifeng trusts the most.

When they heard that Jia Rong wanted to borrow these people, not only Wang Xifeng was surprised, but Youshi and Qin Keqing were also very confused.

Jia Rong's idea was very simple. Now that he had some free time and had Wang Xifeng as his helper, he could just borrow a knife from Wang Xifeng to kill the manager of Ningguo Mansion.

It is easier to get things done with an outsider. In the past, when Ningguo Mansion was managing the outer residence, even if someone cheated, it was difficult to investigate. Even if they did, there might be mutual concealment and cover-up. To deal with those old-timers, a third party like Wang Xifeng is needed.

Jia Rong said, "I want to lend these people. You should understand me. Just tell me whether you want to lend them or not."

Wang Xifeng understood the list when he finished talking about it, but she was worried about the opinions of Youshi and Qin Keqing. Now that she thought about it carefully, she felt that it was nothing, and at most she would ask Lai Wang, Lin Zhixiao and others to check the accounts.

"You can order those people around. Don't delay too long. I'm also short of people to serve me."

When Jia Rong saw that Wang Xifeng agreed, he quickly asked Ping'er to find Lai Wang's wife and Lin Zhixiao's wife, and asked the two wives to ask all the people they had just mentioned to wait in the main hall of the Ning Mansion's outer house.

Wang Xifeng looked at everyone leaving and felt extremely depressed. There was really no one around her who she could trust.

He snorted coldly, lay down in the room, and called a few maids to massage his legs.

Gradually a smile appeared on Wang Xifeng's face.

This bastard is finally starting to do some serious work.

Jia Rong, Youshi, Qin Keqing and others left Rong Mansion. When Jia Rong saw Youshi got on the carriage in front, he quickly got into Qin Keqing's carriage, holding Keqing's little hand.

"Did my good wife get jealous just now?"

Qin Keqing saw that Jia Rong was not even pretending now, and she felt wronged, helpless, and angry. She said in distress: "I still feel that I am useless. If the master wants to do something or send someone to do something, he can only ask her to borrow someone. But I can't help the master with anything."

Shouldn't this girl be jealous? Why is she blaming herself?

Jia Rong hugged Keqing's body, and because he had a lot of experience, he easily put the beauty on his lap. He comforted her, "Who said you are useless? Isn't the inner house managed by our virtuous Ke'er? I don't need to worry about it at all, which shows how well my wife manages it. We are just the new head of the family, and we don't have anyone reliable to use, so we have to borrow someone."

There is no need to worry about the borrowed people colluding with the people in the outer house of Ningguo Mansion.

The accounts are what they should be.

Qin Keqing felt better after hearing this, but she felt uncomfortable again and said timidly, "Master, we are in the car now."

What happened in the car?

I tried it with Wang Xifeng yesterday, and it was a different experience. But let's talk about it later. It's important to shock the managers of the outer house today.

When the stewards of the outer house heard the call, they were all confused, wondering if the master was going to the west to have a drink today?

When they entered the hall of the outer house, they were all stunned.

Master Xiao Rong was sitting in the hall, with the serious-looking butler Lai Sheng standing next to him. Beside him were the two Rong housekeepers Lai Wang and Lin Zhixiao, and next to them were the two Rong mansion servants Wang Xin and Wang Qing. Ping Er, Feng Er, and Cai Ming were on Master Xiao Rong's left and right.

Shi Maode was considered half of Jia Rong's confidant in Ningguo Mansion. At this moment he had a very bad premonition because he had never heard Jia Rong say anything about this case.

Shi Maode felt very bitter when he saw other managers looking at him.

Jia Rong was very excited. He glanced at everyone and finally stared at Lai Sheng. He asked, "Are all the stewards here?" Seeing the nod, he sat up straight and said calmly, "Since everyone is here, Brother Caiming, start calling the roll. If anyone is still absent, they will be dismissed from their stewardship and Lai, the chief steward, will have his salary deducted for three months."

Lai Sheng's old arms and legs suddenly trembled. He had never expected that his wages would be deducted. His old, weathered eyes suddenly opened, and he almost threw out his eye bags.

Ping'er and Feng'er, who were watching from the side, actually felt a little bit unfamiliar with Jia Rong. It seemed as if they saw a bit of the domineering shadow of Aunt Feng in young Master Rong.

Could it be possible that a person's character could be contagious through that kind of thing?

Chapter 71: Using a Knife to Clean Up the Ning Mansion's Outer House

Caiming's job while working for Wang Xifeng was to make books, check accounts, call the roll, and look up books, and she had already become extremely skilled at it.

Caiming checked the list and surprisingly, everyone was there.

Jia Rong felt quite regretful, and smiled as he asked Wang Qing and Wang Xin to move the chairs and stools. He said, "Everyone, please take a seat. Steward Lai should also take a seat."

Lai, the old man in charge of the two mansions, had been the housekeeper of Ning Mansion for Jia Jing and Jia Zhen. Now that he was at Jia Rong's place, he couldn't help but feel nervous when he saw the confidants of Second Lady Lian around him.

The year before last, it was Second Madam Lian who brought people to renovate the inner house. This year, it was the eldest master who brought Second Madam Lian's people to renovate the outer house.

Seeing that Lai the steward was still standing nearby, Jia Rong smiled again and said, "Lao Madam Lai is an old lady who served the Duke. According to the rules of our family, I should have called you Grandpa. Since Lai the steward is not going to sit down, I can't sit down any longer, and it's even more difficult for them to sit down. Come on, sit down, everyone, and let's talk about it slowly."

Lai Sheng sat down helplessly and sighed secretly, thinking that many people would have a hard time getting through this.

When the other managers saw Lai Sheng sitting down, they had no choice but to follow suit. At this time, Shi Maode saw his two sons bringing in various account books, circulation books, and expense books from outside.

All of a sudden, Shi Maode's heart was lifted.

What do you want today, sir?

Shi Maode was already wondering if he had done anything wrong in the past two years, or if he had stolen anything.

The others were not much better. They were used to being lazy, and Jia Zhen was generous and not very strict in his work. These housekeepers had often stolen things in the past.

Jia Rong said, "In the past, I respected you too and asked people to find all the things. It's not that I don't trust you. It's just that I am the head of the family now, and I want to know everything about it and where the expenses are."

He paused and said with a smile, "I'm sure everyone who came with me to the hall today knows me."

How could the steward of the Ning Mansion not know the people from the Rongguo Mansion?

Lai Sheng and Shi Maode recalled that they had been relatively clean in the past few years, but they felt mixed emotions.

Although they had not interacted much in the past, they knew that they were the confidants of the Yaksha tigress in the West Palace. The Yaksha did everything very carefully, and after the inner house was punished, no one dared to be sly.

Not only is the tigress famous, these people are also famous in the two governments.

Now the rent collector and the accountant of the treasury beside the Yasha Tigress have all come. How can a little mistake escape the eyes of these people?

Some of the people sitting on both sides were already holding down their legs to prevent them from trembling and making any noise.

Some people wanted to cry. What Master Xiaorong did today was really scary. Why did he bring someone else, Yasha Tigress? Wouldn't he be beaten half to death?

Jia Rong took note of everyone's expressions and was very satisfied.

Asking professionals to do professional things has always been his principle. Only professionals know where loopholes are easy to exploit and where mistakes are easy to make.

What if the professionals don’t do it carefully?

Jia Rong grinned and shouted, "Brother Laiwang, please help me get all the books from the foreign affairs departments."

Lai Wang was frightened by the shouting, and the experience of being almost buried that day was still vivid in his mind. This old man really knows how to bury people!

Lai Wang, holding the mentality that it was better for all to die than for one, bowed and replied: "In the past, I only took care of the trivial matters of the village head, rent and travel. The books of the treasury account office still need to be reviewed by Steward Lin."

Butler Lin was Lin Zhixiao. He didn't say anything, just nodded and went to check the notebook.

Jia Rong knew that this was Lin Zhixiao's character, low-key and not good at talking, and he and his wife were scolded by Wang Xifeng as a "deaf and dumb couple". Lin Zhixiao was not only capable, but also very smart, and even always cared about the family and was very loyal. The only shortcoming of Lin Zhixiao was that his wife learned to be as arrogant as Wang Xifeng.

There is no perfect person in the world, let alone a perfect servant. There are not many people in the two mansions who are as thoughtful as Lin Zhixiao.

Seeing Lai Wang and Lin Zhixiao nod, Jia Rong said, "Brothers Wang Xin and Wang Qing, please take notes on which books we received today."